The road was quite smooth, Han Jiang took over Tang Feng's driving, and as soon as it was dark, Tang Feng and his entourage came to Dawu Town, Maqin County, the capital of Qinghai Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. It is said that as the capital of Goluo Prefecture, it is also a prefecture-level administrative unit, but on this desolate plateau, Maqin County, as the capital of Goluo Prefecture, is only a small town of hundreds of households, "Dawu" local Tibetan means "place where horses are lost", this town is located in the hinterland of Animaqing Snow Mountain, most of the town is Tibetan, occasionally some Sichuan people who do business here, of course, there are also people from all over the world who come to Mu Animaqing's name.

However, when Tang Feng and they came, it was already past the tourist season, as soon as it was dark, the whole town quickly quieted down, "Cherokee" slowly drove on the streets of Dawu Town, the four people came here for the first time, Tang Feng touched the hotel where they could stay all the way, while Han Jiang drove the "Cherokee" unhurriedly wandering the streets.

"Hey! There is a hotel with its doors open, so you can go and ask. Tang Feng pointed to the hotel on the side of the road and shouted, but Han Jiang ignored Tang Feng at all, and drove past the hotel, Tang Feng complained: "You are about to turn around this town, what are you going to do?" ”

"Han is looking at those old friends of ours, are they also here?" Makarov answered Tang Feng for Han Jiang.

Makarov's words reminded Don, yes! It's not the tourist season, and it's easy to see if an outsider arrives in this desolate highland town.

Tang Feng was thinking about it, suddenly, Han Jiang stopped the car, Tang Feng fixed his eyes, outside the door of a small hotel, there was a "Land Rover" off-road vehicle parked, the hotel door was open, the "Land Rover" headlights were flashing, and several figures were entering and exiting from the hotel......

Han Jiang glanced at Xu Renyu and said, "You are a new face, go and ask who those people are?" ”

Xu Renyu received the task, jumped out of the car, pretended to be a traveler, and walked over...... After a while, Xu Renyu returned to the car and reported to Han Jiang: "A few Beijing travelers have driven all the way from Tibet and are ready to return to Beijing. ”

"Fellow travelers? Coming from Tibet? Why don't you take the national highway and come here when you come back to Beijing from Tibet? Han Jiang maintained a high level of vigilance, and he was even prepared to deal with the sudden arrival of the guns from the car.

"Oh! I asked, and they said that they came from Huashi Gorge to see Animaqing Snow Mountain, of course, they could only look at it from a distance, because in this season, it is generally not allowed to climb Anima Qing Snow Mountain. ”

Xu Renyu's words were reasonable, but Han Jiang still couldn't rest assured, he observed the group of people for a while, and finally he was sure that it was indeed a group of untimely travelers, and then slowly launched the "Cherokee" and drove back to the hotel that Tang Feng just said, the reason why he chose this hotel was because this hotel had a yard where parking could be parked, and at the same time, Han Jiang also saw the satellite dish on the roof of the hotel.

Han Jiang parked the "Cherokee" in the yard, and the four of them jumped out of the car and walked into this deserted hotel, the hotel is not big, the conditions are not good, the boss is a Sichuanese, but also enthusiastic, except for the four of them, there are no other guests in the hotel.

Han Jiang looked around and asked the boss vigilantly: "Business is so cold, why are you still holding on here?" ”

The boss shook his head and replied, "Now that the tourist season has passed, there are no guests, you are a coincidence, I am about to pack up and go back to my hometown!" If you come in two days, I'll probably not be there. ”

"So we're lucky!" Tang Feng said with a smile.

"Yes! You're in luck, hehe! The boss said.

Han Jiang asked the boss again: "Are there any outsiders in the town in the past two days?" ”

"There are a few groups of people from other places, mainly who go to Tibet to do business, and there are very few tourists." The boss replied.

It seems that the men in black didn't come here, at least not yet. Han Jiang listened to the boss's words and thought to himself.

The owner took the four to the room on the second floor, which was a room for four people, just enough for them! The boss went down to prepare a meal for them, Han Jiang closed the door, checked it carefully, and made sure that there was no problem with the room, so he sat on the bed.

Tang Feng knew that Han Jiang was always vigilant against the group of black-clothed people who were chasing them, but he always felt that Han Jiang seemed to be a little too nervous, he saw that Han Jiang was busy for a long time and found nothing, so he couldn't help but laugh and said: "Captain, I think you are too nervous, let's come out of Maqu this time, along the way, except for the Coke bottle that accidentally appeared, I didn't see the shadow of the black-clothed people at all, I don't think they came here at all." ”

"You don't take it lightly, based on past experience, they can appear at any time!" Han Jiang admonished.

Tang Feng retorted: "It's not that I underestimate the enemy, think about it seriously, Heiyun took us out of the Seven-Colored Jinhai, and we mobilized so much information and equipment into the Anima Qing Snow Mountain without stopping, and that group of black-clothed people I guess they don't know the situation of the black-headed stone room at all, at least not as much as we know, take a step back, even if they know about the black-headed stone room and the second jade interstitial, but after all, they don't have such a fast preparation speed as us, how can they appear here before us?" ”

Han Jiang couldn't listen to it anymore, and said to Tang Feng in a tough tone: "I don't know how much that group of people knows about the Blackhead Stone Room, and I don't know if they have come here, but I believe in the intuition I have cultivated over the years, if you believe my words, the more we loosen up, the more likely our enemies will appear!" ”

As soon as Han Jiang's words fell, there was a sudden knock on the door, and everyone looked at each other and became alert.

2

When Han Jiang heard the knock on the door, he alertly pulled out his pistol and walked behind the door and asked, "Who?" ”

"Several! The food you want is ready, do you come down to eat it, or do you want me to bring it to you? The innkeeper's voice came from outside the door.

It turned out to be a false alarm, Han Jiang put away the pistol and replied, "Let's come down and eat later." ”

The four of them went down to the first floor and saw that the boss had prepared a table of dishes for them, and then looked closely, it was all red Sichuan food, and the four of them had not eaten a hot meal for a day, so they quickly reimbursed this table of food, including Makarov, who was not used to eating chili peppers, and he also ate very well at this time.

Tang Feng asked the boss about some of the situation, especially the situation of Anima Qing Snow Mountain, the boss heard Tang Feng ask Anima Qing Snow Mountain, and hurriedly waved his hand and said: "This time is not the time to climb the mountain, you must not go to the snow mountain, there will be an accident, and to climb the Anima Qing Snow Mountain, you need to go to Xining to go through the formalities, and after getting approval, you can only go to the team!" ”

Tang Feng smiled: "We just ask casually, of course we won't go mountaineering this season." ”

Although Tang Feng strongly denied that they were going to climb the mountain, the boss may have seen some of the mountaineering equipment they were carrying, and still strongly persuaded them not to go, and told everyone many examples of failed attempts to climb Animaqing Snow Mountain, terrible avalanches, sudden weather, and legends about the mountain gods...... After listening to what the boss said, everyone's hearts were shrouded in a layer of mist.

Back in the room, Tang Feng and Han Jiang connected with Zhao Yong again, asking Zhao Yong to collect detailed geological data for them in the western area of Animaqing Snow Mountain, Zhao Yong took the order, Han Jiang ended the connection, and then saw that Tang Feng, Xu Renyu and Makarov were tired, but Han Jiang still couldn't let everyone sleep, he arranged for himself and Tang Feng and Xu Renyu to take turns on duty in case of accidents.

Tang Feng and Xu Renyu both thought that he was too suspicious, but they had to carry out the order. The night passed peacefully, and the next morning, Zhao Yong sent them the information that Han Jiang needed, and everyone gathered in front of the computer, carefully checked, on the three-dimensional topographic map transmitted by Zhao Yong, he had marked a suspicious area, when everyone was surprised, Zhao Yong opened his mouth and explained: "This is the result of my overnight research with Professor Luo, and the marked area is the area where the black-headed stone chamber is most likely to be found, and this suspicious area is located on the main peak of Animaqing Snow Mountain." Surrounded by snow-capped mountains more than 30 kilometers northwest of Maqing Gangri, this is very similar to the area depicted in that ancient legend, and even greater than the A and B areas we determined before! ”

"More hope than both A and B?" The crowd was puzzled.

Zhao Yong explained: "Because combined with the analysis of satellite photos, we found traces of artificial buildings in this area, although there are not many, and it is not clear, but it is enough to explain everything, you think about it, the altitude of this area is higher than that of Area A and Area B, which is not suitable for human beings to survive for a long time, how can there be traces of artificial buildings there?" ”

"There's only one possibility, the building was built for some specific purpose!" Tang Feng boldly speculated.

"A specific purpose?" Han Jiang was puzzled.

Tang Feng further speculated: "For example, the ancients used it as a memorial building for sacrifices. ”

"On such a snowy mountain?" Xu Renyu was surprised.

"Nope! Not on the snowy mountains, but here! As he spoke, Tang Feng pointed to the corresponding position on the topographic map and explained: "Judging from the topographic map, this is not on the snow-capped mountains, but in the col surrounded by snow-capped mountains, which is extremely similar to the legend of the Dangxiang people, from the map, the altitude here is much lower than the surrounding snow-capped mountains, but there is no road leading here, if you want to enter this area, you have to climb over the snow-capped mountains." ”

"Would the party members build the black-headed stone chamber at such a high altitude?" Makarov also couldn't believe it.

Tang Feng said with a smile: "Old Ma, let me first correct a small mistake in what you just said, if the black-headed stone room is really here, then it is not the party members who built the black-headed stone room here, but the black-headed stone room is already here!" ”

3

"The Blackhead Stone Room is already here?" Makarov was even more puzzled.

Tang Feng explained: "According to the text engraved on the jade insert, combined with the records of other documents, the Dangxiang Qiang people have been hunting under the Animaqing Snow Mountain since ancient times, in the grasslands and forests of the Baihe River Basin, within the sight of the Dangxiang Qiang people, the Anima Qing Snow Mountain is the highest mountain they can see. The 'Blackhead Stone Chamber', which is used to commemorate their ancestors and deities. This can answer your previous question, because the black-headed stone chamber was originally modified by using special geological structures such as caves, and in addition, to satisfy the worship of the god of Anima Qingshan, it is understandable that the black-headed stone chamber appeared at such a high place. ”

"So, the black-headed stone chamber is used to worship the mountain god?" Makarov asked again.

Tang Feng explained: "The worship of Animaqing Snow Mountain, in fact, is still widely existing until now, for example, the local Tibetans believe that Anima Qing Snow Mountain is a sacred mountain, Tibetans call Anima Qing "Bokava Gong", that is, one of the nine gods of creation and transformation that open the world, in the Tibetan belief in the twenty-one gods of the snow mountain, Anima Qing ranks fourth, specifically responsible for the mountains, rivers and rivers in the Amdo region, is the protector of the local people, before, I have seen the portrait of the mountain god of Anima Qing in the home of Tibetans in Qinghai, Anima Qing Mountain God is wearing a white helmetMany Tibetans in Qinghai believe that the Anima Qing Mountain God is superior in martial arts, the magic power is boundless, and he can subdue demons and eliminate demons. ”

"Worship the mountain god, this is a primitive polytheistic worship, right?" Xu Renyu interjected while smoking his pipe.

"You can say the same, but, with all due respect, Dr. Xu, you don't know the beliefs of the local Tibetans, their persistence is beyond the imagination of ordinary people, you must not think that this is some kind of 'primitive polytheistic worship', just think that this is very ignorant, this kind of worship can last for thousands of years, which in itself shows the vigorous vitality of this faith."

"Good! I can't tell you, even if this kind of faith has strong vitality, but what does this have to do with the black-headed stone room? Xu Renyu asked.

"Of course it has a relationship, I just said that the local people's worship of the Anima Qing Snow Mountain God has a long history, before, I also said that the original inhabitants here are the Dangxiang Qiang people, then, we have every reason to believe that the local people's worship of the Anima Qing Snow Mountain is to inherit the tradition of the Dangxiang Qiang people, and more importantly, the Anima Qing Snow Mountain, for the early Dangxiang Qiang people is not only a sacred mountain, a great mountain, she is also the original birthplace of the Dangxiang Qiang people, so, Animaqing Snow Mountain has a special significance to the Dangxiang Qiang people. ”

"But now there are no traces of any party members in the local area!" Xu Renyu was skeptical.

"Not bad! For so many years, the remains of the Dangxiang Qiang people have never been found in Animaqing Snow Mountain, that is because the history of the Dangxiang Qiang people here in the early years is too long, if there is, then it can only be the black-headed stone room we are looking for! Tang Feng said.

"Since that's the case, that means that Area C is very likely?" Han Jiang suddenly asked.

"I still can't believe that the altitude of Area C is too high, and judging from the map, if we want to enter Area C, we have to climb at least a snow-capped mountain, and I don't believe that those party members can enter such a remote, desolate, high-altitude area back then." Xu Renyu voiced his opinion.

"It's incredible." Makarov also shook his head and said.

Han Jiang turned his gaze to Tang Feng and asked, "Tang Feng, what about you?" ”

"I'm not sure it's more than we imagined!"

After Tang Feng finished speaking, Han Jiang said angrily: "With what you just said so energetically, in the end, you don't believe it yourself." ”

"It's not that I don't believe it, what I just said is just my inference, although I think it's entirely possible that my inference is in line with the facts, but this inference is really shocking, so I can't be sure either." Tang Feng argued.

Han Jiang's face became gloomy, and he concluded: "Okay, I don't need to ask you anymore, my rule is that as long as there is a glimmer of hope, we must go to that mysterious C area to have a look!" And the three of you, if you want to quit now, hmph, it's too late, throw away your illusions and get ready to hit the road! ”

4

After Han Jiang finished speaking, it was inconvenient for everyone to say anything, Han Jiang looked at the information sent by Zhao Yong again, and found that there was very little information about Area C, except for those vague satellite photos, and a three-dimensional topographic map inferred by Zhao Yong based on some data, there was nothing else.

Han Jiang asked Zhao Yong suspiciously: "How can this be the information about Area C?" ”

Zhao Yong explained: "It's really very little, because we have very little information. Let me introduce you to the Anima Qing Snow Mountain, which was previously called the 'mysterious Anima Qing', because in 1926, when an American climbed the main peak of the Anima Qing Snow Mountain, at a position of 4,900 meters, he estimated that this place was still 3,600 meters away from the peak, so the American wrote a book and claimed that the Anima Qing Snow Mountain was 8,500 meters high. Later, another American climbed the Animaqing Snow Mountain, and he finally came up with the data that the Anima Qing Snow Mountain was 9,000 meters high. ”

"9000 meters high? Isn't that taller than Mount Everest? Makarov exclaimed.

"Yes! If the Animaqing Snow Mountain is really 9,000 meters, it is really higher than Mount Everest, so the Animaqing Snow Mountain was once mistaken for the world's highest peak! But in fact, these two Americans are wrong, Anima Qing Snow Mountain is not so high, its main peak 'Maqing Gangri' is composed of three peaks above 6,000 meters above sea level, and the highest peak is 6,282 meters above sea level,' There are also 18 peaks of more than 5,000 meters around Maqing Gangri, these high mountains are covered with ice and snow all year round, during which the glaciers are developed and the mountains are steep, and the C area you are going to go, although you do not need to climb the snow mountain, but it is more difficult and more sinister, because there is a shortage of information here, and there is no trace of modern people at all! ”

"In other words, this is a virgin land that no one has ever visited." Han Jiang Road.

"At least there are no records and traces of modern human beings going to Area C, and some people have climbed the summit of Animaqing Peak, but no one has been to this mysterious Area C, so I am very worried about you, the average annual temperature in the Animaqing area is below 0 degrees, the climate is harsh and changeable, and the general mountaineering season is from June to August; And you go this season, the temperature is already very low, and you may encounter a snowstorm at any time on the mountain, although you do not go to the top, but your difficulty is not inferior to the top. ”

"I totally understand." Han Jiang and Zhao Yong ended the connection and asked the other three instead: "Which of you has experience climbing mountains above 5,000 meters?" ”

The three of them looked at each other, Xu Renyu shook his head first, and Makarov also shook his head and said: "When we were young, we used to learn mountaineering, but I didn't really climb that high mountain. ”

When Han Jiang turned to Tang Feng, Tang Feng was just about to speak, but Han Jiang interrupted: "You don't have to think about it, you have fine skin and tender meat, you must not have it!" ”

Tang Feng was still quite unconvinced, "Don't underestimate me, I have been to Qinghai and Tibet before......"

"You're here for tourism, not mountaineering!" Before Tang Feng could finish speaking, Han Jiang rudely interrupted him.

Han Jiang continued: "So, among the four of us, I am the only one who has climbed a mountain above 5,000 meters, so what should the three of you do?" ”

"What should I do?" The three of them asked in unison.

Han Jiang whispered: "What should I do!" We only have half a day left, and I'm going to train the three of you to at least become amateur mountaineers in this half a day. ”

So, for the rest of the day, Han Jiang did his best to teach the three of them how to use mountaineering equipment, how to absolutes on cliffs, how to fix anchor points, and how to deal with avalanches and other emergencies.

5

After a whole day of training, several people basically mastered the key points of mountaineering, but everyone knew that this was far from enough, it was getting dark again, but Han Jiang was still standing alone by the window, staring at the Anima Qingshen Mountain in the snow and mist in the distance.

Tang Feng thought that Han Jiang was worried about the few of them, so he comforted Han Jiang and said: "You don't have to worry about us, we have already learned what you handed over to us, and we will not let you down." Besides, I looked at the three-dimensional topographic map sent by Zhao Yong, and when I entered Area C, it didn't seem that I had to climb over a mountain of more than 5,000 meters, and I saw that there was a wide glacier in the south and a wide glacier in the north, and the slope was not too steep, if we climbed over the glacier, I didn't think it would be too difficult! ”

Han Jiang turned his head and patted Tang Feng's shoulder, and said, "I also saw the two glaciers you mentioned, but the question is ...... Which of the two glaciers should we take? From the map, the glacier in the north is long and has a gentle slope, so I call it Glacier No. 1 for the time being, while the glacier in the south is shorter, I call it Glacier No. 2 for the time being, and the slope seems to be about the same, maybe Glacier No. 2 has a larger slope; Personally, I prefer to go from glacier 2 because it is significantly shorter than glacier 1 and we have to rush for time now. ”

"Glacier No. 2? However, it seems too hasty for us to determine the route only from the distance and the slope. Tang Feng said suspiciously.

"But we only have this information now, and we don't have time to send a team to investigate first, so that's all we have to do! Also, in the satellite photos, I can't see the final course of Glacier 1, where does it lead? Whether it will lead us into Zone C, I can't tell, but Glacier 2, as you can clearly see on the map, can climb up and enter Zone C from the south. Han Jiang explained.

Xu Renyu leaned in to take a look and said, "Yes! I guess it's because Glacier 2 is in the south, facing the sun, and Glacier 1 is in the north. ”

Han Jiang concluded: "Dr. Xu's analysis makes a lot of sense. Glacier No. 2, from the satellite photos it is a fairly majestic modern glacier, from there to climb into the C area, relatively speaking, should be a shortcut, but even so, we must be very careful, on the glacier, there may be avalanches at any time, and over this glacier, the specific situation, we are not very clear, so everyone must be careful. ”

Tang Feng nodded, but Han Jiang continued: "Actually, what I'm most worried about is not you, nor is it to cross that glacier, what worries me the most is the group of people in black, since we entered the Anima Qing Snow Mountain, they have not appeared, and even disappeared without a trace, this is too abnormal, too abnormal." Could it be that they have already found the Blackhead Stone Chamber before we do? ”

When Tang Feng heard that Han Jiang was still worried about the group of men in black, he sighed and said: "The opponent didn't appear, you feel unhappy, do you have to be chased by them and have nowhere to escape, so you feel normal; As I said yesterday, there's no way those guys can find the Blackhead Stone Room before we do, and they shouldn't have found the doorway yet? So, you see, there is no sign of them in this deserted town. ”

Han Jiang still shook his head, "Yes, we haven't seen them here, but that doesn't mean they haven't come to Animaqing Snow Mountain." ”

"All the people who come to climb Animaqing Snow Mountain will come to this town to rest and prepare first, I don't believe that they will enter the mountain and will not come to Dawu Town." Tang Feng said.

Tang Feng was right, Han Jiang thought for a long time, and suddenly muttered, "What if they didn't come here at all, but brought enough equipment and rested in the wilderness?" ”

"Wild? You mean here! The snow is falling, the cold is biting, and they are resting in the wilderness? Tang Feng pointed to the heavy snow that was still falling outside the window and asked.

"Judging from the situation of the fight some time ago, the quality and endurance of this group of people are far beyond our imagination, so we can't rule out any possibility." Han Jiang said.

Tang Feng said, "You still want to think about how to set off tomorrow, right?" This snow has been falling intermittently since yesterday, and if it continues to fall, I think we will have to spend the winter here. ”

Han Jiang looked at the heavy snow outside the window, and couldn't help but feel even more depressed, "Yes! The enemy has not yet been seen, but the heavy snow is the problem in front of us! Han Jiang didn't think about this anymore, he was looking forward to the appearance of a miracle, maybe at this time he needed the blessing of the Anima Qing Mountain God even more!

6

Early the next morning, a miracle happened, it snowed heavily for two days, and it actually stopped! Tang Feng, Han Jiang, Xu Renyu and Makarov had breakfast, packed all their equipment, jumped on the "Cherokee", and drove at full speed towards the mysterious Area C......

According to the route determined by Han Jiang yesterday, they did not go along the highway to the snow-capped mountain township that ordinary mountaineers must go, but plunged into the hinterland of the Animaqing Snow Mountain, which is the nearest and fastest route to reach Area C, two days of heavy snow covered everything on the surface, including the road, "Cherokee" can only slowly grope in the snow to move forward, Han Jiang while driving, while constantly observing the outside of the car, but outside the window in addition to white, it is still white, Tang Feng, who is sitting in the co-pilot seat, has become his navigator, Tang Feng constantly corrected the route according to the GPS, electronic compass and map markings, but even so, they still took many unjust roads.

At noon, the sky was completely clear, Tang Feng and his entourage finally entered a canyon, this is a wide canyon, the mountains on both sides of the canyon are not high, according to the data, the end of this canyon should be the magnificent glacier, and this glacier is the most convenient passage into Area C that Tang Feng said.

The route was determined, and there was a canyon as a reference, the Han River significantly accelerated the speed of the car, "Cherokee" bumped up and down in the canyon, over some small hills that were not high, an hour later, a magnificent picture appeared in front of everyone, four people got off the car in surprise, in front of them, the originally gentle mountains on both sides of the canyon, suddenly was suddenly raised by a magical force, everyone looked up at the mountain peaks in front of them, the wall stood thousands of miles, towering and steep, and between the two peaks, a huge glacier, like a white dragon from the ridge straight down, The glacier is spectacular and beautiful when illuminated by the sun, giving people a sense of etherealism.

However, the four of them soon came to their senses, and this was not a dream dream, but a real appearance in front of them, and it would be the white dragon they were going to conquer. Tang Feng sighed: "This is the No. 2 glacier? Such a spectacular glacier, several kilometers long, is a hundred times more spectacular than the one we saw in Area B! ”

"It's a lot more spectacular than I used to look at in the photos and topographic maps, but I can't get excited at all, because it means that conquering this glacier is much more difficult than we thought it would be!" Han Jiang said.

"Yes! It's the first time I've seen such a majestic glacier! Makarov couldn't help but sigh either.

Xu Renyu came to his senses and asked Han Jiang: "According to the plan, do we have to climb up from this glacier?" ”

Han Jiang nodded firmly, and when Xu Renyu heard this, his head immediately widened, "Oh! It's terrible, and now that I think I shouldn't have come here to suffer this sin! ”

"It's too late to regret it now!" After Han Jiang finished speaking, he began to remove the necessary equipment from the car, and when Xu Renyu saw this, he asked again: "Do you want to leave now?" ”

"Now don't take advantage of the good weather, hurry up and turn over! How long are you going to wait? Han Jiang asked Xu Renyu rhetorically.

Xu Renyu said: "But it's noon now, and it's getting dark early on the mountain, what if we climb halfway and it's dark?" ”

Han Jiang looked at the glacier in front of him and said confidently: "Without further ado, I think I can climb this glacier today while the weather is good, and you can enter Area C before dark!" ”

Xu Renyu was helpless, looked at such heavy equipment, and asked Han Jiang: "Who carries such heavy equipment, especially this tent?" ”

Han Jiang said in a commanding tone: "Everyone has to carry a lot of things, no one should complain, now everyone fills their stomachs first, and then heads towards the No. 2 glacier!" ”

The four of them hurriedly filled their stomachs, put on their helmets, put on their full mountaineering gear, and carried heavy equipment on their backs, and began to march towards the white dragon in front of them......

7

This majestic white glacier, for thousands of years has been lying on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, hidden in the depths of the Animaqing Snow Mountain, it has no name, no one knows when it was formed, maybe this is the masterpiece of the ancient flood era! Perhaps, it has a much older history!

When Tang Feng stood in front of this white dragon, he fell into deep thought, has anyone conquered this dragon for thousands of years? If not, then they were the first discoverers, pioneers, and if so, who would they be? Is it a party member? He didn't know, he followed behind Han Jiang and came to the glacier near the glacier, the part of the ice tongue in front of the glacier, due to long-term sunlight, weathering and water impact, formed a spectacular ice tower, Han Jiang introduced: "Ice towers generally appear at the end of the glacier, it is a large piece of ice left at the end of the glacier due to the ablation, because the shape is like a tower, so it is called the ice tower." ”

The four of them walked through the ice towers of different shapes, as if entering a dusty ice and snow world, because the angle of sunlight is different, the melting speed of the ice towers is not the same, which makes the ice towers form different heights, different levels, strange ice wonders, of course, this also lays a hidden danger for these ice towers to collapse at any time.

Tang Feng followed behind Han Jiang, looking up at the ice towers more than twenty meters high, sighing at the magic of nature, suddenly, Tang Feng heard a slight sound, he looked up, and saw that a crack appeared on the body of an ice tower in front of him, and the crack was expanding rapidly, not good! This ice tower is in danger of collapsing! Tang Feng thought of this and found that Han Jiang was under the ice tower at this time, he wanted to call Han Jiang, but it was too late, Tang Feng pounced on Han Jiang violently......

At the same time, the twenty-meter-high ice tower collapsed with a loud bang, and Han Jiang and Tang Feng were buried in the snow, but fortunately, Tang Feng's pounce took Han Jiang away from the most dangerous area, and when Xu Renyu and Makarov pulled the two out of the blood, he and Han Jiang were fine, but their necks were stuffed with cold snow.

Coming to his senses, Han Jiang looked at the place where the ice tower collapsed, which was where he was standing just now, and he couldn't help but feel palpitations, he patted Tang Feng on the shoulder: "Good boy, I didn't mistake you, you saved my life this time!" ”

Tang Feng said worriedly: "Although the ice tower forest here is magnificent, it is too dangerous, and it is easy to get lost. ”

Han Jiang dusted off the snow on his body and said with a smile: "How does it sing in that song, 'How can you see a rainbow without experiencing wind and rain', in the same way, how can you see such a beautiful scenery without experiencing risks!" Hehe! ”

"I don't want to give my life here just to see this beautiful scenery." Tang Feng Road.

"That's it! Just do what I say, and I promise your life won't be lost here! After speaking, Han Jiang, under the guidance of the electronic compass, led the whole team through this ice tower forest at the fastest speed.

From the tongue of ice, the four of them stepped on the No. 2 glacier, this is a huge ice field, the slope is not large, because it has just snowed, the snow on the glacier is very soft, Tang Feng measured it, the thickness of the snow is 6, 7 centimeters, and it is powder snow, one foot down, it took a lot of strength, before pulling out the leg again.

The glacier gradually rose with the slope of the mountain, and the four of them walked hard for an hour, but they couldn't get far, at this time, Han Jiang, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped......

Tang Feng chased after him and asked Han Jiang, "Why don't you leave?" ”

Han Jiang frowned, pointed ahead, and said, "The situation I was worried about has appeared-ice cracks!" ”

Everyone looked forward, the snow in front of them was full of cracks, some were bottomless, some were shining with the cold light of the cautious people, Tang Feng was still stunned, Han Jiang had already taken out the rope from the backpack, and instructed everyone: "Everyone wrap the rope around their bodies and move forward in groups, I am in a group with Tang Feng, Lao Ma and Dr. Xu are in a group, you must be careful." ”

Han Jiang demonstrated, Tang Feng, Xu Renyu and Makarov did so, and the four of them embarked on the journey again, on the way, Tang Feng stepped on the air several times and plunged his foot into the ice crack, but fortunately he moved forward in a group, and was dragged up by Han Jiang every time.

8

Everything exceeded Tang Feng and Han Jiang's original expectations, the glacier that seemed to be not very steep at the bottom of the mountain became steeper and steeper, the thickness of the snow and the dense ice cracks under their feet greatly slowed down their progress, and it took the four of them more than two hours to reach the half of the glacier, and the next half of the journey will only be more difficult.

Tang Feng looked at the sky, the light had gradually dimmed, at most one or two hours, it would be dark, now, it was almost certain that Han Jiang's original plan was impossible to complete, Tang Feng felt a burst of dizziness, he beat his spirit, and insisted on walking up a few hundred meters, he couldn't go anymore, not because of physical strength, but because he knew that if he didn't say it now, everyone would be annoyed!

Tang Feng gasped, shouted to Han Jiang with difficulty, and said, "Captain, we have walked most of the distance now, but you see that it is getting dark, and we will not be able to walk this glacier today anyway." ”

"What do you want to say?" Han Jiang asked rhetorically.

"You're not going to let us keep climbing the mountain after dark, are you? What does that mean? It means a sharp drop in temperatures, even more snowfall, ice crevasses beneath our feet and avalanches that could fall at any moment! ”

Han Jiang also looked at the sky and said angrily: "We have walked so far, as long as we work harder, we can climb over this glacier before dark, do you want to be a deserter?" I want us to waste all our efforts and retreat to the bottom of the mountain! No! It's impossible! ”

"You're crazy! But you can't go crazy with a few of our lives! Obviously there is not enough time, and if you go over the glacier, what will it be? Do you know? Are you sure we can enjoy a warm dinner over there? You don't know either! Tang Feng was in a hurry.

Han Jiang had never seen Tang Feng contradict him like this, and yelled at Tang Feng: "Don't think that saving Lao Tzu's life today can change my determination, if you want to go back, go down by yourself!" ”

After Han Jiang finished yelling, he felt a lack of oxygen in his brain, and almost fell down, and then looked at Tang Feng, showed no weakness, and retorted to Han Jiang: "No! I didn't say I was going down, we needed an overnight camp, didn't you say you had climbed a snowy mountain above 5,000 meters? When you climbed the mountain, did you climb to the top in one step and didn't set up camp? ”

Tang Feng's words reminded Han Jiang, he felt that he was indeed too anxious, this time, although their task was not to climb the Great Snow Mountain of more than five or six thousand meters, but their mission this time was not inferior to climbing the Great Snow Mountain, just the glacier in front of them was a few kilometers long, it was enough for them to bear, it seemed that it was time to build a camp, but on this increasingly steep glacier, how could there be a place to build a camp? Han Jiang calmed down a little and asked Tang Feng rhetorically: "Then you said that in this place, how can there be a place to build a camp?" ”

Tang Feng looked back at the glacier he was walking by, pointed to the place near the rocks below, and said, "The ice field below is relatively gentle, you can find a leeward place to set up camp." ”

Han Jiang looked at the place Tang Feng pointed, nodded, and said: "The place you chose is good, but I won't go there to build a camp, going there to build a camp means that we have just done more than two hours in vain, and we will start again tomorrow, this is not the most important thing, the most important thing is that if we let us get right first, then all the efforts we have put in will be in vain." ”

"But it's the closest place we're going to camp right now! Can you still find out that place? Tang Feng asked Han Jiang loudly.

Han Jiang looked around, there was indeed no better place nearby, but he still stubbornly yelled at Tang Feng: "My determination remains the same, I am willing to continue to move forward with me, and if I don't want to go up, I can go back!" ”

Han Jiang's roar, in the empty valley, on the desolate ice field, echoed for a long time, Tang Feng was speechless, he didn't know what other words could persuade Han Jiang, the stubborn donkey, to change his mind, perhaps, it was an earthquake! Tang Feng thought, and suddenly felt that the ground under his feet began to tremble, what was going on? Tang Feng's eyes widened in horror, he didn't know what was going to happen, could it be ...... Is it really an earthquake!

Xu Renyu and Makarov were also stunned, at a loss, but Han Jiang was the first to react, "Throw away all the equipment you don't need, quickly retreat under the rocks over there, avalanche!" It's an avalanche! ”

Tang Feng finally came to his senses, it turned out that this was not an earthquake, but a sudden avalanche......

9

Tons of snow and ice poured down from the ridge at the end of the No. 2 glacier, pouring mountains and seas, deafening, that was the momentum of swallowing all things, anything that stood in front of it would be coerced down by it, not to mention Tang Feng and the four of them. Fortunately, the location of the four people was close to the mountain rock next to the glacier, Han Jiang saw that the situation was not good, and pulled Tang Feng to pounce under a rock not far from him, the rock above his head resisted the huge snow blocks pouring down, but there were still many scattered snow blocks rushing into the small space under the rocks, Tang Feng only felt dizzy, his whole body was cold, and his eardrums were about to be broken by the deafening sound, slowly, slowly, he closed his eyes......

I don't know how long it took, when Tang Feng woke up again, there was a dead silence in his ears, there was no deafening avalanche, no other people's voices, everything seemed to have stopped, this was another world? Tang Feng raised his head, shook his head vigorously, and finally breathed fresh air again, but just as he was about to get up, he suddenly felt that his entire lower body couldn't move, could it be that he was pressed by the snow? Tang Feng looked back, and it was Han Jiang who was pressing on him, but what was pressing on Han Jiang was thick white snow!

Tang Feng called Han Jiang softly, but did not answer, Tang Feng had to move his body out little by little, and then remove the snow on Han Jiang's body, Tang Feng called loudly again, Han Jiang still did not answer, Tang Feng was so nervous that he didn't know what to do, his eye circles were a little moist, just when he was about to cry, Han Jiang's body suddenly shook slightly, Tang Feng hurriedly raised Han Jiang's head, and called softly: "You are still alive, you scared me to death just now!" ”

Before Han Jiang could open his eyes, he laughed dryly twice and jokingly: "Hmph! My life is very big, the chief looked at my face and said that I can live one hundred and two, haha! Suddenly, Han Jiang remembered something again, opened his eyes and asked Tang Feng: "Tang Feng, look at your bag, is the jade interstitial screen okay?" ”

Tang Feng opened the bag and checked it, the jade insert was still lying quietly in the red sandalwood box, Han Jiang's hanging heart finally fell, he patted the snow on his body, stood up, and comforted Tang Feng and said: "It's not a big deal, it was a little shock just now!" ”

"Listen to your tone, you're still ready to go into a big shock!" Tang Feng said, and suddenly Makarov and Xu Renyu sounded, "What about Old Ma and Dr. Xu?" They won't be buried by an avalanche!"

When Han Jiang heard this, his heart was also nervous, he and Tang Feng began to look down, the original route they traveled all the way was covered by thick snow at this time, and completely changed their appearance, the two walked down for five minutes, calling the names of Lao Ma and Xu Renyu as they walked, but all that answered them was the whistling wind. The wind mixed with snowflakes hit Tang Feng's face, Tang Feng felt that his face was about to be torn apart by the wind, he called out in despair again, and a huge echo echoed for a long time on this ice field that had never been conquered by humans, and suddenly, under a "small snow mountain" that fell from an avalanche, the voices of Makarov and Xu Renyu came......

The four of them did not die and reunited, and Makarov sighed: "In the words of you Chinese, 'If you don't die, there will be a blessing in the future!'" 'Ah, when I was washed down by the snow, I thought that this time my old bones were going to be thrown here, but I didn't expect that the 'little snow mountain' resisted the snow behind me and saved my life! ”

When Makarov and Xu Renyu were rejoicing, Tang Feng suddenly exclaimed: "Not good! We've lost a lot of our gear! ”

Sure enough, during the avalanche just now, everyone only cared about running for their lives, how could they take care of those heavy equipment, many of the equipment had disappeared without a trace, including the only tent we had, the loss of the tent meant that the overnight stay tonight became a big problem, and many other important equipment, all of which indicated that the operation was almost about to die.

Han Jiang was more anxious than anyone else at the moment, but he couldn't show it, he beat his spirit and comforted everyone: "It doesn't matter if you lose your equipment, as long as the people and the jade interstitial screen are there!" ”

"But what are we going to do tonight? And what about our actions? Tang Feng still said the worries in everyone's hearts.

10

Han Jiang looked at Tang Feng and did not answer his question, but counted all the equipment that could be collected, and then said to everyone: "One thing, I haven't told you, I'm afraid that after you know, you will have a mental burden, do you know under what circumstances the operation can be suspended?" ”

"Under what circumstances?" Tang Feng looked at Han Jiang puzzled.

"As long as there's one person left, we can't stop! What's more, all four of us are intact now, so we can't stop moving! Han Jiang said categorically, but then Han Jiang added: "Of course, I don't have such high requirements for Lao Ma, in addition, in some special circumstances, such as the need for timely rescue of the wounded, we can suspend the operation, and now, these situations have not appeared, so I will not end this operation because I lost some equipment!" ”

"Han! I hope you can also consider me as one of you, we have come so far together, I already have me as one of you! Makarov said to Han Jiang.

Han Jiang looked at Makarov's sincere eyes and said, "Okay! In that case, there is no need for us to discuss whether or not to suspend the operation, and we will see where we spend the night tonight. ”

Han Jiang raised his head and looked at the glacier above, and at this moment, he suddenly felt that the end of the glacier was so far away! Maybe...... Maybe I'm too tired and it's time to take a rest.

His eyes narrowed into a line, staring at the end of the glacier for a long time, and when his gaze slowly fell, suddenly, his eyes widened, and he saw that on the cliff next to the glacier, a large piece of leeward flat land was exposed, why didn't he notice it just now? Perhaps, maybe it was because of the big avalanche that took away the snow that originally covered the cliff, so that the cliff was revealed, seeing this, Han Jiang pointed to the flat land on the cliff and said to everyone: "There is leeward and sunny, it can be used as a camp, if there is an avalanche on it, the rocks above the camp can also be blocked, enough to avoid the avalanche!" ”

"What? You let us stay on the cliff tonight! Tang Feng and Xu Renyu were both surprised.

"Yes, there is no other place but to do it now!" Han Jiang seems to have regained his original self-confidence.

"But our tent was lost?" Tang Feng asked.

"Isn't the sleeping bag still there?" Han Jiang asked rhetorically.

Tang Feng was even more dizzy, but he had nothing to say, and he was even more convinced that the person in front of him was a madman! None of them said anything, took the rest of their equipment, and followed Han Jiang to the cliff.

By the time they arrived at the cliff, it was already dark, and as Han Jiang said, it was leeward and sunny, but this was far from meeting the needs of the camp! The gasoline stove was also lost, everyone had to gnaw some dry food, Han Jiang checked the equipment, and every time he found a surviving piece of equipment, he exaggerated it in front of several other people, as if he was using this to boost everyone's morale, but Tang Feng only felt that Han Jiang's behavior was a little funny, even naïve! Han Jiang sorted out all the surviving equipment and said to everyone: "Maps, sleeping bags, food, and compasses, these are all there, and the most important one is also there!" ”

Everyone looked at Han Jiang's hand, and it turned out that Han Jiang was referring to the gun! After packing up the equipment, Han Jiang joked: "This is our forward base, everyone rest early, keep your spirits full, tomorrow we will enter that mysterious C area!" ”

"Forward base?" When Makarov heard this word come out of Han Jiang's mouth, his heart trembled, and he actually muttered the word in Russian.

Tang Feng and Han Jiang both looked at Makarov in surprise, not knowing what Makarov said in his mouth, although Xu Renyu understood Russian, but he didn't hear what Makarov said just now, the three asked Makarov what was wrong, Makarov prevaricated: "It's nothing, I just remembered some things from before." ”

Everyone no longer asked, for tomorrow's action, the four of them got into the sleeping bag early, but everyone knew in their hearts that this was likely to be another sleepless night!

11

During the night, the temperature on the mountain dropped sharply to more than thirty degrees below zero, and it was a difficult night for the four people lying in their sleeping bags, none of whom fell asleep, but none of them spoke.

Lying in his sleeping bag, Makarov was plagued by severe altitude sickness and low temperatures of more than 30 degrees below zero, and he had a splitting headache and could not sleep. At this time, Tang Feng opened his mouth and said to Makarov: "Since everyone can't sleep, old horse, you might as well tell us about your past!" For example, what about after you joined the KGB? ”

Tang Feng's words made Makarov fall into deep memories, and in front of his eyes, Sherepin's unsmiling face appeared again.

……

Since that long conversation with Sherepin in the Kremlin, Makarov's life has changed completely, and when he went to see Sheleping again a week later, with the report he had written on Operation Black City, he had already made his final choice - to join the KGB!

After four months of closed study at the KGB Junior School, Makarov was sent to the KGB school in Verkhovnoye, on the outskirts of Kazan, where he began to undergo strenuous physical training, where he first learned to climb rocks, climb over obstacles, cross swamps, forests, swim across fast-flowing rivers and other sports that challenged the limits of the human body, and then learn to use various firearms and weapons,* blasting bridges, railways, and other targets, and finally, he had to carry out such activities as eavesdropping, sending telegrams, poisoning, photography, etc. The one-year training of special skills such as opening a safe ended quickly, and Makarov finally completed his studies with excellent grades.

With the personal care of the big man Sherepin, coupled with Makarov's excellent grades in the KGB school, Makarov's life began with a green light, and the KGB up and down regarded him as Shelepin's protégé, Makarov, who completed his studies, was directly sent by Sherepin to work in the counterintelligence department of Leningrad (Petersburg), with the rank of second lieutenant, this job is well-paid, stable, and not much risky, and in a big city like Leningrad, it is a dream position for many KGB agents, Makarov had such a mentor as Shelepin, coupled with his hard work, and after half a year, Makarov's military rank was directly promoted to captain.

Soon, a beautiful female college student, into Makarov's life, this female college student is Makarov's future wife, Viktor's mother, during that time, Makarov himself could not believe that happiness came so suddenly, so that he was flattered for a while, a year ago, he was just a small warrant officer who served in the cold Siberian wind, strictly speaking, this rank is not even the lowest officer.

But now everything is different, and Makarov suddenly remembered the Chinese proverb that his Chinese friend told him in the expedition team - good and bad are unpredictable. I wonder how Liang is now? After the failure of the "Black City Operation", Sino-Soviet relations broke down rapidly within two years, and later developed into a military confrontation.

A few years have passed, Captain Makarov has become Major Makarov, because he is busy with work, he and his wife have not had children, but he feels that life is still full and happy, that terrible nightmare is gone, Heicheng, the scientific expedition, and his friend Liang have also drifted away from his life......

However, the happy days will not last long, in the past few years, the international and domestic situation has undergone earth-shaking changes, internationally, Sino-Soviet relations broke down, domestically, Khrushchev was ousted from power, originally, in the incident of ousting Khrushchev from power, his mentor Sherepin played a big role, many people believe that after Khrushchev stepped down, in terms of age, qualifications, and ability, Sherepin is the most promising person in the party to reach the peak of the highest power, but the facts disappointed Makarov, The real power faction in the party, led by Suslov, did not want to see a strong leader like Stalin and Khrushchev, so they elected the mediocre "Mr. Yes" Brezhnev, thus starting the 18-year "Brezhnev era", and Shelepin, who was once known as the "strongman Shurik", tasted the bitter fruit of defeat for the first time in the cruel political struggle, at this time, he was no longer the chairman of the KGB, and Makarov vaguely felt the coming crisis.

A few years later, when Sherepin was kicked out of the Politburo and completely lost his power, Makarov knew that his good days were coming to an end. Sure enough, as soon as Sherepin fell, those colleagues who used to look at Makarov unpleasantly accused him of his black state and wanted to drive him away, but Makarov ignored these people, but his work was inevitably interfered with, and the rank of lieutenant colonel, which should have been promoted a long time ago, was also in the soup.

Those former friends and colleagues have left him, Makarov, who does not care about politics, does not understand why life has become like this, he suddenly feels that no one else in this world is unreliable except for his wife, he wants to change all this through his own efforts, but he does not know how to work hard; He thought of Shelepin, and he wanted to go to Moscow to talk to Shelepin, but he knew that everything would not escape the surveillance of the KGB, and would only bring unnecessary trouble to both himself and Sherepin. In a state of panic, Makarov was at a loss until a letter of order from Moscow brought him to Lubyanka Square 11 again.

……

Makarov, who was in the sleeping bag, recalled this time, and slowly closed his eyes, Makarov actually fell asleep in such a harsh environment, he may be really tired.

Tang Feng, Han Jiang and Xu Renyu were shivering in the tent, they couldn't bear to disturb Makarov, and none of the three of them spoke, just like that, they waited quietly for the dawn to come as soon as possible.