Captain Zhang did not want to talk. Lan Jin and the others had expected that. Captain Zhang's silence did not mean others would be silent.
Lan Jin turned and sounded out the on-duty crew. She had no special knack for asking questions. In the end, Lao Gao chatted and coaxed the story out.
Only then did they learn that the ship had already reached the mission zone, which lay in the woods beside them. The ship had been circling here for days but still could not find the way up the mountain.
Lan Jin asked in puzzlement, "This hill is covered in dead branches. Where can you not climb. Why fixate on one entrance. Is that spot closer. Can we not go from elsewhere?"
Lao Gao answered directly, "No. To put it plainly, our mission is the same type as the Maolin operation near the H City base, except this Maolin is many, many times larger. This hill is also far larger. The entrance is the most direct and the nearest. Otherwise we could wander in these woods for days."
Lao Gao paused, then added, "The real reason is not that we cannot walk it, but because we need to bring the professors with us. It is difficult for the professors to walk."
Ling Jiang frowned. "Bring them for what? Maolin is dangerous. Do we…"
Lao Gao nodded. "Right. This Maolin mission is to take the professor team in to find something. As for whether we need to destroy the place, I did not get that answer. What we are supposed to find, I also did not learn."
Huang Jinghe said, "You already got a lot. I went out and got nothing."
The important pieces were in place. They would take ordinary people into Maolin to search for something. Only the higher-ups could think of that. Could others not search. Or did it have to be them.
If so, anyone with weak abilities or poor skills might never return. Bringing a professor team would add even more risk.
…
With no entrance found, they could not enter the woods. Captain Zhang did not keep circling blindly. They had brought plenty of high-tech gear. Two days earlier, the equipment had been launched. The hill was large, so it took time. After another full day and night, the aerial drones finally reported the entrance. The drones returned first, then guided the ships toward it.
After more maneuvering, five ships steadied at the bank by the entrance.
Once ashore, Lan Jin said, "Has the water level dropped again?"
"At seventy-plus degrees, no flood can last that long. Dropping is normal," Lao Gao said as if it went without saying.
Lan Jin asked, "How long until the extreme heat ends? How long until the polar day ends? At this temperature, floods will bake away. If it lasts longer, rivers and lakes might dry too. What do we do then."
It was a good question. Lao Gao did not know.
Captain Zhang passed by Lan Jin and said, "If we get out safely this time, I can tell you an approximate time."
So the ones who needed to know already knew. Ordinary people like them did not.
Captain Zhang did not linger. Captain Zhang had everyone put on heatproof suits. Worried about mutated insects, Captain Zhang added an outer mesh, then tightened the cuffs at the legs to stop bugs from flying up inside and injuring the team.
All measures were thorough.
…
Captain Zhang counted heads. Excluding earlier losses and not counting crew who ran the ships, the elite team still had 153 people, including Captain Zhang. Every ship needed guards, so Captain Zhang left ten on each ship. The remaining 103, plus eight from the professor team, made 111 heading up the mountain.
The extreme cold earlier had hurt the trees to the root. Even the extreme heat could not bring them back. In this blazing weather, the mountain trees were deadwood that shattered at a touch.
Huang Jinghe flicked several branches aside and said, "These will start fires easily. Dead twigs light at once. Very dangerous."
Lao Gao said flatly, "Dangerous what? No one lives here. The mountain is full of mutated creatures. Better to burn them."
Huang Jinghe said, "Fine. You win."
The mountain was truly huge. They had climbed for hours and were still on the path. If this were the H City base job, they would have reached the target already.
Captain Zhang said, "This hill was always big. With vehicles we would take the access road, but we came by ship, so we walk. We have only just begun. Rest here. The deeper we go, the less time there will be to rest."
The break was not for Lan Jin and the ability users. With their stamina, they could climb all day. They were escorting the professor team. Professor Pei was older and could not handle such a climb. In a few hours they had already stopped several times.
This time was different. Captain Zhang had just given the word when Captain Zhang's mental power sensed a large swarm rushing their way.
Before backpacks were even off, before anyone had picked a spot to sit, Captain Zhang shouted, "Hold on. Everyone careful. Lots of small things are flooding toward us."
The words were barely out when the mutated creatures came into view.
The swarm was cockroaches the size of a men's forty-something shoe.
Why so precise. Credit the men in the team. One big foot, one cockroach, no head or tail showing, just two twitching antennae. The comparison fit.
The cockroaches were fast. In no time they were darting through the formation. Disgusting as they were, these cockroaches did not eat people and did not injure people.
Rest was over. Almost everyone snatched up their weapons the instant the cockroaches rushed in and began striking at the scuttling bodies around their boots.