Tang Min was taken aback by the sudden shift in the situation. Tashi Danba gently embraced her and firmly grasped Ma Zhanhao's wrist. Zhang Li noticed Ma Zhanhao's agitation and tried to calm him down by saying, "Let's talk this through calmly, Captain Ma. Don't be upset. What exactly happened? Please tell us."
Ma Zhanhao withdrew his hand from Tang Min and then seized Zhang Li forcefully, saying with intensity, "Do you know? Do you know? That thing has already killed five people!"
The three exchanged puzzled looks. Tashi Danba asked, "What exactly happened?" Ding Ming and Lu Li, the couple, also rushed over and comforted Ma Zhanhao, helping him to regain some composure.
Ma Zhanhao, with sorrow in his voice, recalled, "The first time I saw that thing, it was in Dui Wang's hands. At that time, I noticed that this team member was isolating himself. Whether out on a mountain patrol or back at camp, he always liked to sit alone, which you know is very dangerous for a mountain patrol team. Kekexili is full of wild beasts, and poachers roam around like ghosts. Being alone makes one a target for both. When I scolded him to rejoin the group, I noticed he was always looking at that black object. I thought it was a book. Later, I severely reprimanded him in the camp and demanded he hand over the black book, but he stubbornly refused to admit to it. To avoid affecting team morale, I let the matter drop without punishing him. But… but… the next morning, we found his frozen body in front of the camp."
Zhang Li sat upright and asked, "How did he die?"
Captain Ma looked at Ding Ming, who said, "After examining Dui Wang's body, we found no obvious wounds or internal diseases. He froze to death."
Dui Wang's body, when found, was half-buried in snow. His half-open mouth silently conveyed his ordeal. His clothes, inexplicably, were left inside the tent. In the subzero temperatures of Kekexili nights, anything can freeze solid. Ma Zhanhao regretted scolding Dui Wang; he was a good team member who had passed away silently. Even now, recalling the incident filled Ma Zhanhao with remorse. He covered his face with his hands and after a long pause continued, "The second was Chen Yongjun, a burly man from the Northeast. He formed a close bond with Dui Wang during their second year on the mountain patrol team. After Dui Wang's death, I never saw that black book, oh, the notebook, again. I hadn't paid it much attention. But Chen Yongjun's behavior became secretive. He often hesitated to speak when he saw me, but ultimately remained silent. At first, I thought he was just grieving for Dui Wang. However, the next day during a patrol, I clearly saw him hide that notebook against his chest. I even suspected he had killed Dui Wang over that notebook, but I couldn't believe he would kill his Tibetan friend, with whom he had a deep bond, over a notebook. Unbelievably, the next night, Chen Yongjun also froze to death, and the notebook vanished."
Two mountain patrol members died within two days, a bizarre occurrence. Ma Zhanhao immediately ordered the team to return to the station, stating everything had to be investigated before proceeding. Shortly after issuing the order, three more team members went missing. Ma Zhanhao was shocked. They couldn't establish contact with the missing members via radio and had to split up to search for them. Eventually, another team saw that the three missing members had entered an ice cave! According to the report from this other team, they had caught up with the three members. However, instead of stopping when called, they sped up and entered the ice cave, where the other team dared not follow. The three men were seen pulling out a black-covered book while running, which was highly suspicious.
"Do you know?" Ma Zhanhao said, "No one who has entered an ice cave has ever come out alive. So I must ask you, Miss Tang, what exactly is written in that notebook? Why have five of my team members either died or fled? Can you tell me?"
Tang Min replied timidly, "There's nothing in it. It's just my brother's travel journal. It… it only records some of his travel experiences, really nothing more! I think, I, I am very sorry about what happened to your team members, but it definitely has nothing to do with my brother's notebook."
"How could it not be related! They were all looking at it in the end!" Ma Zhanhao was very dissatisfied with Tang Min's answer. Tashi Danba and Zhang Li exchanged looks, realizing that perhaps only they understood this matter, as they were also survivors of the ice cave.
Zhang Li murmured, "It seems, then, that the notebook disappeared along with the three mountain patrol members."
Tashi Danba gently tugged at Tang Min's clothes, signaling her not to argue with Ma Zhanhao, then Zhang Li spoke some words to soothe Ma Zhanhao, and finally asked, "How long after you found Tang Tao did this happen?"
Ma Zhanhao replied, "About a month."
Zhang Li changed the topic, "By the way, Captain Ma, I heard that after you found Tang Tao, you also found his car, which was said to look quite terrifying. Can you tell us more about that?"
Ma Zhanhao suddenly shuddered, staring at Zhang Li with frightened eyes. "Why are you asking about that? What do you want to know?"
Zhang Li pointed to Tang Min, saying, "This lady is Tang Tao's younger sister. She wants to know more about her brother's situation at the time. The doctor said it would help with Tang Tao's recovery treatment."
Ma Zhanhao looked skeptically at Tang Min, then glanced at Tashi Danba, who was very close to her, and said in a low voice, "Alright, then, I'll tell just the two of you." Zhang Li and the doctor courteously gave them space.
Ma Zhanhao spoke gravely, "I can tell you what I saw that day, and you can think whatever you like. I'm just telling the truth."
Tang Min nodded, and Ma Zhanhao continued, "When we found your brother, he was repeatedly saying, 'They're coming, they're coming!' I'll never forget his panicked expression. At the time, we thought he had encountered the Hu Lang, you know, the poaching gang." Tashi Danba nodded, signaling him to skip the introduction about the Hu Lang. Ma Zhanhao proceeded, "Although he looked exhausted and had run a long distance, it's impossible to randomly wander around Kekexili on foot. We knew he must have had a car, we just didn't know where it was. Some of us took him back to the rescue station while others continued on the patrol path. Two days later, we found your brother's car, and it was so far from him, but that car— that car— was unforgettable!"
Ma Zhanhao smacked his dry lips, saying, "It was battered as if it had rolled over many times. What was horrifying was that it seemed to have been recently washed, but washed with blood. The windows, doors, windshield, and even the wheels— every place you could touch was covered in blood. The dried blood emitted an unpleasant smell. When we inspected further, we found that the car seemed to have been clawed and bitten by something. The steel pipes on the front and rear fenders were deformed from bites. The body was covered in scratch marks— claw marks. The back seats were completely shredded, and the steel wire mesh between the driver's seat and the back seats was also pulled out of shape. At that moment, we realized it wasn't just the Hu Lang; it was some animal. We didn't know where Tang Tao had brought it from, but it had escaped from the car. When we inspected the car, we also found that it had been modified to include four fuel tanks, totaling about 500 liters, which would have allowed him to travel around 2000 kilometers. So, we had no idea where he had come from. Damn, you would never forget that scene if you saw it—it was both bloody and eerie."
Tang Min curled up in Tashi Danba's arms and whispered, "I don't want to hear anymore."
Tashi Danba nodded in agreement, gracefully ending Captain Ma's rambling and somewhat incoherent explanation. He knew that while the captain might excel in guiding through the wilderness, clarifying what they actually saw that day could take days, and there seemed no new developments regarding the notebook. At this moment, the only thing to do was to leave this place and head back to Lhasa before the weather worsened. Without even waiting for lunch, the three hurriedly requested to depart. The mountain patrol team provided a vehicle and two veteran members to escort them away.
As Tashi Danba and the others departed, in the depths of the Kekexili no-man's land, within a cave beneath a sheer cliff, about a dozen people were gathered, discussing something. At the center, elevated above the rest, sat a figure with a crew cut and a scar stretching from the corner of his left eye to his ear, giving him a more ferocious look than the others. His piercing, triangular eyes scanned each person sitting below. "How many times have I told you not to act on your own? During the winter, when the Tibetan antelopes migrate, it's when the mountain patrols are most vigilant, sending more than double the usual number of patrols. Now, Niu Dashan and the other three have been gone this long without any news; can anyone tell me what happened?" His voice was like that of a night owl shrieking, causing the seated or standing people to shudder in fear, daring not to make a sound.
"A bunch of fools, four of them acting alone, even taking two newbies. If they had all cleanly died, it would have been simpler, but if they've been caught by the mountain patrol… heh…" His laugh strained the scar at the corner of his eye, sending shivers down the spines of those below.
"Ah, this cave is nice though, isn't it? The wind and snow are fierce outside, but step inside here, and it's warm as spring." As this half-cooked Mandarin voice spoke, two burly men guarding the cave entrance immediately rushed out. Soon after, noises of a struggle echoed from the cave, "Who's there!?" "What are you doing!" "Stay put!"
Quickly, a man with his arms held behind his back by the two burly men was pushed into the cave. The one on the left asked, "Boss, should we finish him off?"
The triangular-eyed man inspected the blond man in sunglasses, who was unusually dressed in a uniform resembling that of the Moscow Red Square honor guard, taller and more robust than his subordinates. The blond man, bent under the pressure, coldly chuckled and said, "Is this your way of welcoming guests?" His Mandarin was precise but painfully accented as if he had stones in his mouth.
Suddenly, without much effort, the blond man straightened up like he was merely stretching, lifting the two burly men holding him as if they were mere chickens, still clinging to his arms but as ineffectual as if hugging a steel column. With a slight shake of his arms, he flung the two men several meters to the left and right. Seeing such a display of strength, the others in the cave prepared to draw their weapons, but the blond man merely snorted in disdain.
"Stop, all of you fools!" the triangular-eyed man commanded, halting his foolish subordinates. Given that the visitor had made it here unscathed, it was certain that the lookout, Leibo, had already been subdued. Few inside could be stronger than Leibo. He eyed the tall foreigner and asked, "You didn't come here to sightsee, did you?"
The blond man habitually took out a cigarette, lit it, and leisurely blew smoke rings, saying, "A few days ago, I came to Kekexili for fun and accidentally heard that a group of poachers called 'Huli Lang' are quite active around here. I've been wanting to come and see for myself."
The man with the scarred eye, uneasy, squinted his left eye and said, "Cut the crap. Since you've found us, just state your purpose."
The blond man replied, "Alright, I'll tell you. I'm planning a big deal but I'm a bit short on manpower, so I need some tough and alert people to join in. The Chinese government is gradually tightening its surveillance over Kekexili, and your easy pickings will only dwindle. If you cooperate with me, I guarantee you won't have to live the rest of your lives in fear and hiding."
The scarred-eye man asked cautiously, "What kind of business?"
The blond man smiled and said, "You probably won't believe it if I tell you. We're walking a fine line, perfectly legal. We're going to retrieve some abandoned things and then sell them."
The scarred-eye man scoffed and said, "Are you talking about tomb raiding?"
The blond man thought for a moment, smiled, and answered, "You could say it's like tomb raiding, but not exactly. We're just taking, and besides, tombs have owners; what we're going after does not."
The scarred-eye man said, "You make it sound so easy. Why do you need us?"
The blond man tapped his head and took a few steps forward, saying, "Ah, here's the thing. The items are there for the taking, but getting there is the hard part. Only people like you, who live year-round in the extreme environment of Kekexili, are suited for this task."
The scarred-eye man growled, "Stop beating around the bush. Where is it, how many people do you need, and how much does each person get if we succeed?"
The blond man gestured with his hands and moved forward, facing the scarred-eye man, "Don't rush. I'm afraid of scaring you if I disclose it now. The location isn't fully explored yet, but it's roughly in the southeastern part of the Himalayas." He looked at the scarred-eye man with a half-smile.
The scarred-eye man was shocked, feeling a twinge in his scar, and thought, "Could he really be planning to go there? How does he know about it? What exactly does he know?"
The blond man took a large step forward, standing close to the scarred-eye man, almost a head taller, forcing him to stoop down to whisper in his ear, "It seems you're quite nervous; you really do know about that place." He then said a word in English, "Spider-Man."
The scarred-eye man jerked violently, looking up at the incredible blond man, speechless for a moment. The blond man then addressed the surrounding thugs, "As for the payment, it's hard to say right now, but I think, at the very least, each person could get—several… millions."
A commotion erupted around them, "Clarify, is it thousands or millions?" "Think clearly before you speak, what gibberish is that?" "Make it clear or don't expect us to risk our lives."
"Several million," the blond man smoothly stated with a smile.
Hearing that number, the group, like a pack of wolves, began to boil with excitement, their ears ringing, eyes sparkling as each person took deep breaths, silently calculating, "Several million, several million, what can that number buy? Cars, houses, women, what can't it buy?"
The blond man added, "Of course, the lowest denomination would be in euros, maybe even pounds."
The thugs looked around disappointedly, wondering, "Several million euros, what's that in yuan?"
The scarred-eye man, unable to contain himself any longer, knowing the exchange rate of the euro to yuan was nearly one to nine, realized that several million euros would amount to hundreds of millions in yuan. Yet, he was also acutely aware of the danger of that place; apart from death, there was nothing there. What could this man possibly find there? Was his word trustworthy? A man who wouldn't even give his name? He coldly asked, "Who are you? Why should we believe you?"
The blond man had finished his cigarette, dropped it to the ground, and crushed it under his heavy, steel-plated boots, straightening up like a soldier, removed his sunglasses, revealing piercing blue eyes that twinkled with a serpentine mystery, and then smiled, "My name is Morgan."