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墨書 Inktalez
I had become familiar with and adapted to this monotonous and tedious work. The excavation work felt like fishing; you never knew if you would catch something in the next moment, so you could only silently repeat the same dull actions. But then, suddenly, I felt something beneath my hands, as if a fish had taken the bait. A sudden joy surged through me, allowing me to forget all the previous monotony.
Squad Leader Liu not only participated in the excavation himself but also constantly checked the stability of the surrounding walls to see if they needed reinforcement or deepening. His workload was the largest, yet his enthusiasm was the highest. He was holding his breath for this test pit, which was being dug the fastest and deepest but had yet to yield any large artifacts. There were several pits that were far behind this test pit in progress but had unearthed significant finds. The warriors in our team were quite frustrated about this, except for Squad Leader Liu, who remained confident. Before I arrived here, he even encouraged Song Guilong, saying that as long as we persisted, we would surely reap rewards.
Later, as we became more familiar with each other, he privately revealed his thoughts at that time: since it was impossible to be the first to discover cultural relics—indeed, there was a possibility that we might end up with no significant finds—he aimed to achieve first place in terms of project progress.
His unyielding spirit and relentless drive to be first continued to inspire me. Our excavation pit consistently outpaced other test pits in progress. Just as Squad Leader Liu had promised, I quickly adapted to and mastered the characteristics of construction in the desert, allowing me to take over many of Squad Leader Liu's tasks. The only area I dared not intervene in was the wall protection; a slight mistake there could be fatal.
The project progressed smoothly. Without any finds, everything went along without a hitch. Because when no discoveries occurred, there were no interruptions to our digging. Squad Leader Liu's goal was achieved when our excavation pit was the first to reach the wet sand layer.
Prior to this, our work had been on loose quicksand. Even when digging down over ten meters underground, there was no moisture in the sand; even when compacted tightly, a flat-head iron shovel could easily scrape off a layer. When stepping on it, it still felt loose. Upon reaching the wet sand layer, however, everything changed—the ground beneath my feet became solid, making the excavation work naturally more challenging. What amazed me most was that in this desolate desert with almost no vegetation on the surface, once we reached this stratum, numerous intricate roots appeared. These roots intertwined so much that it was impossible to find their surface plants. The moment I saw them, I was captivated by their tenacity.
As our excavation pit entered the wet sand layer, it immediately caused a stir; all the engineers and archaeology team members rushed over to take a look. Those materials scientists who were sifting sand from a distance also came down out of curiosity. One expert's comment was particularly representative: "If we dig deeper now, we won't need water supply from base anymore."
Though this statement carried a hint of sarcasm, our progress truly left other excavation teams far behind. Naturally, Squad Leader Liu was the most excited; facing the influx of visitors, he instructed his warriors to smooth out the wet sand layer meticulously. The sensation of standing on solid ground thrilled those archaeology team members and experts who had been working on soft sand for an extended period. The firm ground not only earned Squad Leader Liu countless praises but also sparked another idea in him. "Now that our excavation pit has increased in depth and the ground hardness is significantly different from before, I suggest we conduct an escape drill to adapt to these new changes." He directed this suggestion towards both me and the Engineering Platoon Leader simultaneously.
At that moment, I was speaking with Li Squad Leader from the Engineering Corps, Captain Xiao Guolin from the archaeology team, and two materials scientists. Li Squad Leader immediately supported Squad Leader Liu's proposal; it was indeed reasonable and timely, and he wore an expression of righteous authority. In fact, as soon as he spoke up, I knew this show-off had something else in mind.
Li Squad Leader specifically called over several other squad leaders for a demonstration; this made for a scene that perfectly aligned with Squad Leader Liu's intentions. A circle of people stood around our excavation pit; at a whistle from Squad Leader Liu, we skillfully rushed toward the escape pod. The solid ground truly provided support; I stepped onto the transition cabin and turned smoothly into the sealed chamber in one fluid motion. Turning around, I saw Squad Leader Liu sitting in seat number one. When he noticed I was the second one to enter, his eyes seemed to light up for a moment—it felt like he sighed with relief. His expression annoyed me greatly. After a chaotic round of names being called out for attendance, Squad Leader Liu shouted into the microphone with dissatisfaction: "Too slow! Unqualified! Do it again."
I had already been displeased with his need for attention. If it were for an escape drill purposefully conducted for practice's sake, I would have cooperated willingly; however, under these circumstances, it felt entirely like he was indulging his desire for recognition. "What do you mean unqualified?" I snapped as I pressed down on the intercom switch beside me. "I also have a timer on me! Nine seconds—that's our best time! What more do you want? To set a world record?" Although I turned off my intercom switch, there were still two warriors inside the sealed chamber; my anger led me not to spare him any leniency at that moment. However, I had every right to say such things since he technically still reported to me as his superior. My outright rejection left Squad Leader Liu looking embarrassed; yet he understood that he had set his expectations too high and had gone too far with his demands—he quickly compromised: "Nine seconds is acceptable enough; fine then—let's go with Brother Qiang's suggestion."
Squad Leader Liu opened up communication between us and said into the intercom: "This escape drill took nine seconds total; however, it was completed under significantly improved conditions—I'm not satisfied with this result." He added that Brother Qiang showed understanding for everyone's hard work and decided to end this drill on Brother Qiang's behalf."
I heard sighs of relief through my earpiece; clearly many people were still haunted by such frantic drills. Nine seconds—Li Squad Leader seemed very pleased with this result and organized a meeting among various squad leaders present at the site to praise this benchmark set by Squad Leader Liu extensively. Seemingly modestly responding with: "This little achievement isn't worth celebrating; it's what we ought to do," he continued.
In military meetings where confidentiality isn't required, voices are generally quite loud. My colleagues and I on the other side of the excavation pit clearly heard Squad Leader Liu's words: "Hypocritical," I muttered under my breath. Throughout all this time we were welcoming an influx of visitors; while not a major event for the entire project overall—it certainly felt fresh and novel. Some people simply came here seeking refuge from heat; compared to other excavation pits' sweltering environments ours felt much cooler due to its moisture content. In a desert setting where an independent space with humidity is so precious and rare—a feeling incomprehensible to those who have never worked in such conditions before.
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