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墨書 Inktalez
Xu Xinming had just left, and Zhao Squad Leader was likely still replaying the melody of "Send Off the Comrades" in his mind. I turned to him and said, "Let's arrange for some personnel to search this area."
Zhao Squad Leader's face instantly took on a look of despair. The only ones who could still accompany me on this mission were him and Liu Squad Leader. Whether it was Liu Squad Leader’s current tense relationship with Xiao Guolin or the importance of waiting here for Xu Xinming, it was clear that this operation could only be executed by me and Liu Squad Leader. I even suspected that Liu Squad Leader's provocative words towards Xiao Guolin had ulterior motives.
Zhao Squad Leader lamented, "Is there even a need to arrange anything? Unless you’re willing to go alone, it can only be you and Liu Squad Leader. What do you think, Liu Squad Leader?"
"I will follow Zhao Squad Leader's arrangements," Liu Squad Leader declared solemnly. I admired Liu Squad Leader's thick skin and dark demeanor, reminiscent of Li Squad Leader. Even Zhao Squad Leader showed a look of disdain and waved his hand, saying, "You two prepare yourselves. Leave markers along the way, and signal if anything happens."
Liu Squad Leader responded with a simple "Yes."
I went over to the wrecked ship and pried off a piece of the hull to make two torches. Water was no longer an issue, and we could last for a while with compressed food. The most crucial things were lighting and warmth. When Liu Squad Leader and I went out to search, we had to take the most important and currently only source of light: the Powerful Flashlight. Zhao Squad Leader and the others left behind at the wreck would have to wait in darkness. Given the uncertainty of our current environment, we couldn't afford to light a fire for illumination or warmth just yet; I made two torches as a precaution but would not ignite them easily.
Before leaving, I greeted Xiao Guolin, who had been harshly reprimanded by Liu Squad Leader and remained in a sour mood. He waved me off dismissively, saying, "Be careful and stay safe." The direction of our search had been discussed with Zhao Squad Leader; it was along the two-meter-wide Cave Wall embankment above us. The greatest advantage of this search route was that we wouldn't get lost; we had come down through a crevice and felt our way along the left side all the way here. Returning to the crevice would be straightforward. In light of our current lighting shortage, this was indeed the best plan. Other search directions were too uncertain; searching along the water's edge had also been an option, but after discussion, we concluded that this constructed embankment held more value for our search.
I carried the heavy Walkie-Talkie and my gun, no longer worried about lacking water since we only brought one flask with us—on Liu Squad Leader's person. Each of us held a makeshift torch over a meter long; I thought it resembled a defensive club more than anything else because I doubted my lighter would ignite it. Due to a lack of kindling, the torches were merely shaped without any real means to light them; when it came time to ignite them, I could always tear off a piece of clothing to wrap around them for ignition—clothing was still needed for warmth.
I walked ahead while keeping the Flashlight dimmed mainly to conserve battery life. The two-meter-wide embankment wasn't very smooth but was quite flat with obvious signs of human craftsmanship. Here, traces of processing appeared on the Cave Wall as well; I deduced that parts protruding from the embankment had been deliberately shaved off by someone. The embankment should have been level, maintaining about two meters in height above the Pavement below. The side entering the water plunged vertically like a knife into it; I couldn't help but wonder how such an enormous project had been constructed during that historical period—what resources were required and how long it took.
Liu Squad Leader lacked my sense of wonder as he continuously searched for traces on the ground. I knew what he was looking for; I was looking too, but found nothing—no sign of Song Guilong whatsoever. Liu Squad Leader seemed even more frustrated than I was about this absence. While I remained curious about exploring this ancient site, his purpose was clear: he was solely focused on finding Song Guilong and had no need for pretense in front of me.
After wandering along this Embankment for over an hour, Liu Squad Leader called out to me and requested we stop searching. I firmly disagreed, telling him clearly that "Searching for Song Guilong is equally important as exploring this space for me. Unless you have more critical information indicating that finding Song Guilong is paramount, we must proceed as planned." Liu Squad Leader didn’t expect my insistence; however, he refused to reveal any information I wanted to know. In our two-person Search Team, I held absolute dominance; as long as I persisted, he would have no choice but to continue searching alongside me.
I waited for him to compromise; now was my chance to force him into revealing secrets. He must have been eager to abandon this futile search; forcing him wouldn’t work—my assertiveness only made him more cautious. I could only let him tread down this wrong path until he lost patience and willingly compromised with me.
Of course, finding Song Guilong took precedence in my mind, but that secret tormented me too much; at the same time, searching for Song Guilong without knowing that secret felt inherently dangerous. Perhaps my methods were somewhat despicable; however, under those circumstances, I felt capable of even more despicable acts.
Liu Squad Leader proved more patient than I'd imagined; after my clear refusal, he neither insisted nor compromised but silently followed behind me as if focused solely on examining the geological environment here. His behavior was unusual but left me at a loss—each step forward made me feel my plans slipping away.
To my left stood the towering Cave Wall while waves shimmered on my right; as we ventured deeper, temperatures dropped further still—the air held little humidity perhaps due to low evaporation rates at such temperatures. However, the coldness combined with the monotonous Embankment stretched endlessly before us gradually sapped my courage to continue.
I walked ahead without seeing Liu Squad Leader’s face but imagined his expression must be grim—darkened by frustration. The only way forward was to quicken my pace slightly against the bone-chilling coldness surrounding us. Eventually in that vast emptiness echoed only our hurried footsteps alongside gentle water sounds—a pair of figures marching stubbornly along the Embankment.
The end of the Embankment met a stone wall abruptly—as if construction halted here due to some special reason. The wall towered high beyond sight; adjusting my Powerful Flashlight to its brightest setting, I leaned forward illuminating it—the stone wall extended endlessly outward like the lake beneath us.
I glanced at my watch—it had been six hours since we set out. The effects of our brisk march began manifesting as hunger and disappointment weighed heavily upon us both physically and mentally until we reached our limits. I removed my Walkie-Talkie and set it against the Cave Wall before sitting down beside Liu Squad Leader at the edge of the Embankment where we ravenously devoured compressed food.
We remained oblivious that danger was closing in on us.
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