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墨書 Inktalez
It was the sound of wind. Unlike the howling of a hurricane, it emitted a whimpering noise; and it was different from the mountain winds that blew through the forests, producing a shrill whistle. It was unlike any wind I had ever heard before. It resembled thunder, as if all the thunder in the world had converged here, echoing like a stampede of thousands of horses, shaking the very ground beneath us.
The darkness was as deep as hell, and the rumbling wind drowned out all human voices. The faint light in Xiao Guolin's hand became our only guide. In that moment, that glimmer shone like a lighthouse or a giant candle, giving us direction to move forward.
Wind goggles were essential in the desert. To prevent loss and for easy retrieval, all our work uniforms had designated pockets for them. I quickly took out my goggles and secured them tightly over my eyes. Due to frequent use, they were quite worn down, and once on, my vision became even more blurred; that faint light was barely visible now. But I knew no one would take off their goggles, as the consequences would be far worse. Shortly after hearing the wind, it truly arrived. More accurately, it came like iron pellets shot from a shotgun, striking me densely all over.
I felt that the wind was no longer blowing chaotically as before; instead, it swept in from the north, carrying a multitude of sand particles with it. Fortunately, our direction of movement aligned with its path; the sandstorm battered against my back, pushing me onward. As I desperately ran forward, I raised my collar and grabbed it with one hand to shield my neck. Living and working in the desert meant wearing long garments regardless of the heat, with only my face and hands exposed. Just moments ago, when the storm first hit, the sand stung painfully against my bare neck; I felt as if the skin there was already raw.
Everyone was running desperately and intently. The camouflage net above us was torn into shreds by the sandstorm almost immediately. Larger pieces of camouflage netting struck me and tangled around my head as they were whipped about by the storm. The iron plates underfoot vibrated as if resonating with every force at play while I ran; I must have looked quite strange—like a zombie flailing about. Suddenly, that thought crossed my mind.
The light suddenly stopped, and before I could react, I collided with someone in front of me. I couldn't see who it was; they didn't speak either. In the dim light, I saw our destination—the deepest excavation pit lay right before us.
At that moment, a brighter light illuminated the lifting system. A person holding a powerful flashlight instantly became the focus of everyone's attention; judging by their silhouette, it should be Li Squad Leader.
I should clarify here that we had come out to search for Song Guilong this time; each unit carried walkie-talkies. Except for Li Squad Leader's shoulder-mounted walkie-talkie, we all had simpler versions. Given our proximity to each other, bringing along a shoulder-mounted walkie-talkie felt excessive and cumbersome; thus, Li Squad Leader's choice seemed peculiar to me. However, this type of walkie-talkie surpassed portable ones in both communication range and duration; it also had an advantage: a built-in powerful flashlight that came with it. Of course, this depended on its robust battery—our portable walkie-talkies could never have such high-capacity batteries. Li Squad Leader immediately gestured toward someone. A combat engineer swiftly climbed up the lifting system's scaffolding and ascended to its beams under the guidance of the powerful flashlight.
The steel cable of the escape pod differed from that of the dump in its usual state. The escape pod would lower continuously as we dug deeper into the excavation pit; thus its steel cable would be slack rather than taut. However, since the escape pod was positioned in the middle of the test pit, its steel cable pulley would also be fixed at the center of a beam spanning above the excavation pit. Currently without power, if we wanted to enter the excavation pit, we either had to jump down or climb down along the steel cable. What this soldier needed to do was drag the steel cable pulley from the center of the beam over to one side of the excavation pit.
The lifting system itself stood seven or eight meters high while below it lay an excavation pit over twenty meters deep; in such an eerie atmosphere and without any protection, this action felt akin to suicide. Yet this was our only chance; I believed everyone’s hearts were in their throats—no one spoke. Of course, even if they did speak, no one could hear them.
This soldier did not drag over the pulley as I had imagined but instead tied a towing rope to it and grasped onto the steel cable as he descended. I couldn't help but break into a sweat; under these circumstances, achieving such a feat exceeded ordinary capability—how could he possibly have enough strength left to drag back the pulley? There were still over twenty meters of steel cable trailing behind him.
Several soldiers worked together to pull over the pulley. One soldier climbed up onto the scaffolding and secured it with an iron hook. The steel cable had been pulled taut but still remained over two meters away from the edge of the excavation pit; without power supply, there was no way for it to extend further. Normally speaking, jumping out to grab hold of a steel cable posed some difficulty; given our current situation, accomplishing this task became even more challenging.
I tapped the person holding the Powerful Flashlight, signaling that I would go first. Li Squad Leader said nothing and stepped aside, allowing the Flashlight to shine directly on the Steel Cable. Each of us had to make this jump; it was either death or survival, and no one could help with this.
The Steel Cable was taut, shaking violently under the Sandstorm. This distance posed no difficulty for me; driven by the will to survive, I had the courage to leap. The hardest part was managing the tremors caused by the Sandstorm. I took two steps back and leaped into the air, aiming for the Steel Cable.
"I made it," I cursed inwardly. The shaking Steel Cable whipped across my face like a lash, nearly sending me flying away. Fortunately, I reacted in time and grabbed hold of the Steel Cable with both hands. Descending from the Steel Cable to the bottom of the Excavation Pit was easy; it was well-maintained, with no protruding steel wires, and a thin layer of protective grease on its surface. I half-climbed, half-slid down to the bottom of the Excavation Pit.
The first warrior down was experienced; he quickly opened the hatch of the Escape Pod and turned on the overhead light. I descended rapidly, almost colliding with the Escape Pod, but he caught me with his body. As we both scrambled to our feet, I realized that this person was Liu Squad Leader.
The Excavation Pit below was much quieter, devoid of the terrifying Sandstorm. If it weren't for the concern about falling dust from above, we could have removed our goggles. However, the deafening roar of the Sandstorm above still echoed around us, leaving us unable to speak; we merely nodded at each other.
The third person down was another warrior. With two people providing protection, things were much safer; no one fell. Upon landing, he made a serious gesture: first pointing upwards, then extending two fingers horizontally before mimicking carrying something on his back.
Liu Squad Leader and I exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. Clearly, a severely injured person needed to be carried down, which was a gamble with our lives.
Fortunately, these two managed to come down safely. However, they descended too quickly, almost sliding down. All three of us meat shields were knocked aside as they landed heavily. The injured person's arm was broken and he couldn't descend alone; this time he fell hard onto the ground. I couldn't imagine how severe his pain would be from such an impact; his expression confirmed my fears. Yet soon after, he began to laugh heartily—perhaps joy at surviving outweighed his pain.
So far, we were lucky—twelve of us had safely reached the bottom of the Excavation Pit. The last to descend was Li Squad Leader; he instructed us to enter the Escape Pod immediately but not to use our life masks just yet—meaning we wouldn't use oxygen inside for now. His decision was cautious but made sense.
I opened a door to a Sealed Chamber and let Xiao Guolin and Cao Mingzhe enter first while I went in last, taking seat number three on the outer side. This way, if we needed to close the Hatch in an emergency, being younger than them would give me an advantage in speed.
I finally breathed a sigh of relief; at least I could rest for a moment. Suddenly, a scream came from across the Sealed Chamber that drowned out even the Sandstorm: "Captain Song!"
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