2024, Alaska, Barlow District, Far North

☆☆☆

"Chris!" Cutting through the crowd, a small figure pounced on Chris's long legs, and she leaned over to pick up the little one. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

"Oh, Aya, why didn't you give me a Kunik today?" Chris deliberately narrowed the distance between the two of them, revealing a shallow smile, and the pale blonde hair in the sunlight was particularly eye-catching, in stark contrast to Aya's black hair.

Aya was stunned for a moment, and immediately leaned the tip of her nose over, touched Chris's tall nose, and rubbed it. Kunik is the "Eskimo Kiss", and the way the Inyupitts (1) greet each other, of course, the people who can be treated with such courtesy by the Senogetuck family are limited to those close to them, and for Chris, an outsider, it is a special honor.

"Don't go, okay. Aya looked around, the other members of the research team didn't stop what they were doing, and she couldn't help but put her hands around Chris's neck, "Don't go to that place, and let my brother not go." ”

"Asu?" raised his eyes, and unsurprisingly saw Aya's brother. Chris had expected him to offer to go in along, so he wasn't surprised at all.

"Don't be afraid, there will be no danger, everyone is ready for this day. Chris saw Aya pursing her lips and sensing her uneasiness, so he could only comfort, "What?

"Mom said you can't come near here...... She said something bad would happen. In the open environment, Aya's immature voice sounded a little noisy.

"Aya, don't say it, I must go! They're not afraid, and I'm certainly not afraid!" Aso glanced at his sister who was lying on Chris's shoulder, and suppressed the anger in his heart, which came from his wounded self-esteem, which belonged to the Synogetuck family.

The Senogtacker are an Inupitit tribe living in the Barrow region of the North Alaskan coast, known as the Taggumut, who call themselves the "Tagiugmiut" (people-of-the-sea). Due to the cold climate, it is impossible to grow trees further north, and the Inupites regard the "tree line" rather than the Arctic Circle as the limit of the Arctic. In total, there are less than 100,000 inhabitants north of the tree line, and despite the growing foreign population, the Tagumuts are still the majority of the population.

Like other Inyupitts living in Alaska's North Slope Autonomous Region, the conflict between traditional and modern life is their worst enemy. Local residents can get a considerable amount of income from big oil companies every year, and at the same time, they are accepted not only for modern values, but also for modern lifestyles, which has changed a lot of people.

It was Ronksü Senogtak, father of Aso and Aya, who upheld the traditions of the Tagumuts. Ronksu was an educator and a blacksmith who struck iron in the traditional way, not a virtuosity, but one that struck the soul and smashed the Tagumut into a monolithic piece. He led the local population to resist Big Oil's so-called development plans, crushing their attempts to invade the "Holy Land," and the Senogetuck family became the spiritual leaders of the Inyupits of Alaska's North Slope Autonomous Region.

Why would his father agree to Chris's request to let this research team from Silicon Valley enter the heart of Barlow, an area that no outsiders are allowed to enter? Aso had to admit that deep down in his heart, in addition to anger, there was also an uneasiness that bordered on fear.

"Are you sure you want to go down with me?" asked Chris softly.

"Yes, my father sent me!" Aso said, though not yet shoulder-high as Chris, but Aso still held his chest up proudly. "Also, I'm going to spy on what you're doing, and who knows what you're up there. Aso hurriedly added loudly.

"You don't have to say it so ugly. Hearing this, Eddie, who was sorting out his equipment next to him, was a little unconvinced.

"I'm telling the truth!"

Chris interrupted a conversation that could turn into an argument, "Okay, in that case, let's prepare." Add, tell him how to use these devices. ”

"What? why me?" Eddie's eyes widened in surprise.

Aya shook Chris's arm in dissatisfaction, as if complaining that no one took her seriously.

Chris put Aya on the ground, stroked the little girl's black hair, and asked mysteriously, "Aya, in this way, I'll tell you a secret, you just let us go, okay." ”

"What's the secret?" Aya blinked wide, smartly.

"Of course, it is a very private thing, a secret that ordinary people cannot know. "Chris's art of speaking has always been able to pique people's interest.

"Hmm......" Aya hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Then can you guarantee that my brother won't have an accident?"

"I promise, foolproof!"

"Alright then, I agreed, you tell me quickly. ”

"Haha, you're really in a hurry, well, in fact, the secret is ......" Chris deliberately dragged out his voice, satisfying Aya's appetite, before saying, "Don't look at me like this, in fact, I am Chinese." "Speaking of which, the Chinese and the Inyupits are both, and Chris wants to be close to Ayatau.

"Chinese? No way, you lie. Aya carefully looked at the appearance of the person in front of her, a typical white man, blonde hair and blue eyes, high nose bridge and deep eye sockets, not the slightest resemblance to herself, without the slightest impression of the characteristics of Chinese.

"Hey, I didn't lie to you, my father is Chinese, I am at least half Chinese." Chris pulled out the wallet in his pants pocket, "Look, I have a picture to prove it." ”

This trick has not worked, and no one can tell from his appearance that Chris is half Chinese from his appearance alone. Even classmates and teachers from the same school, friends who have been friends for many years, no one can know this "secret" before Chris takes the initiative to explain, and even if he says it, many people still don't believe it.

☆☆☆

Large tracked bobsleighs drive slowly over the white ice field. In the carriage, Aso glanced at Chris from time to time, and Chris didn't mind his "surveillance".

"Is it Chinese blood?" Aso never expected that the secret in Chris's mouth was this, he had never heard anyone mention that Chris was half Chinese. Could her father have trusted her for this reason and agreed to scientific research activities that seemed suspicious to him? Impossible!Aso shook his head vigorously, as if to drive away his own thoughts.

"It's great to finally convince Aya that there will be no problems with our actions, and certainly no conspiracy. Chris winked at Atsu deliberately.

"Hehe, that little girl is not easy to deal with, she doesn't like "outsiders", so you can coax her, and she ignores the rest of the team. At this time, it was the local guide Chivik who spoke.

"Haha, it only proves that I am charismatic and the ladies like me. ”

Looking at the smug Chris, everyone in the car rolled their eyes, and no one wanted to take this sentence.

Aso suddenly asked, "Are you really a woman?" Of course he knew that Chris was a woman, otherwise he would never have let Aya be so intimate with her. It's just that Chris's deceptive appearance and height of 188 are really hard to accept.

"If you still don't believe it, do you want to touch it?" Chris raised his eyebrows and looked directly into the other's eyes, his fingers pulling at the neckline of his clothes.

"Touch...... What nonsense are you talking about!" Aso blushed, his flustered eyes dodging Chris's evil smile.

Eddie secretly slandered himself that his boss was really both male and female, and he was constantly molesting.

Christy L. Smith, with her masculine and handsome appearance, was naturally talked about by gossip magazines, so no one called her Christie, but everyone called her Chris. According to media reports, she is a "millennial" and an only child, born in San Francisco. Her maternal grandfather was once the boss of the Irish mafia in the American Southwest, and her mother was a well-known designer in the fashion industry and settled in London. Although there are often gossips that her mother's achievements in the fashion industry do not come from talent, but because of the support of a powerful family. As for Chris's father, little is known to the outside world.

"Does your middle name L represent Lancer?" Aso asked again with uncontrollable curiosity, "Or does it represent Lee?" "Asu guessed that Chris's Lancer company Lancer may be related to her middle name, and this L is likely to be Lee, a common Chinese name "Li".

Chris smiled and said, "You're right, but L isn't Lee, it's Lan, that's my real last name." ”

☆☆☆

Chris's Lancer Company, after the beginning of spring, has been working on this frozen land. They have been preparing for this thing for three years, after nearly six months of construction, it will be October in a blink of an eye, if it is delayed until next month, it will mean an unbearable cold of minus forty or fifty degrees and a dark period without daylight, Chris does not want to wait any longer, and he can't wait any longer.

Chris turned his head sideways and looked at Aso, who was still reddish on his face.

Although the negotiations with Ranksu Senogetak took more time than expected, they turned out well. However, Chris still felt that she had made the right decision, and instead of cooperating with the Russian government across the Bering Strait, she chose Alaska in the United States. Because she didn't like to deal with cunning Russians more than stubborn Eskimos.

Looking down at the empty space below that had been carved out by a large excavator, Aso remained motionless, and the dark tunnel plunged deep into the ground.

On several occasions, he had asked his Clan Guide Chivik what it was that Chris was trying to dig.

The guide could only smile wryly and say sincerely, he could not describe it in words, and even if he saw it with his own eyes, he did not know what it was.

Aso then decided to go down to the ground with Chris, and he wanted to see it with his own eyes.

Aso's gaze scanned the tunnel, which was still quite neatly built at first, and the traces of hurried construction became more and more obvious at the back.

The three of them walked quickly, and Aso began to feel that something was wrong, and he found that he was sweating, and it was not because of the brisk walking.

"We should have hurried a little faster. "Chris picked up the pace.

"What's going on here?" asked Aso.

Chris didn't answer.

"It's too hot here. Aso wiped the sweat from his face and muttered.

With a wicked smile on Eddie's face, he teased, "Maybe it's because we're almost at the center of the earth, it's so hot." ”

Aso clenched his fists nervously.

In front of the tunnel, a red warning light kept flashing, and Chris opened a large iron cabinet, "Don't scare him, he has only walked a few steps, how can he get to the center of the earth." ”

Eddie turned to Aso and said, "Do you want to continue? ”

"I'm going down. Aso blushed and said curtly.

Add said, "Well, then you must listen to my command. Now, we're going to put on protective suits, it's going to get hotter down here. We also need to add 'ice packs' to the suit. Even with these ice packs, it would only guarantee us 30 minutes below, which is our precious exploration time. ”

It's a small supply depot with a large freezer for some equipment and records. Eddie takes the ice pack out of the freezer and divides it among the three of them. When everything was ready, they continued on their way.

Chris is at the front, and although she is impatient, she is not presumptuous. The further you go, the more cautious you become. Atsu followed behind Chris, and Eddie was at the end. Despite wearing the protective suit, Aso still felt that the temperature was rising rapidly, and the heat wave was surging in waves, making it difficult to breathe. Soon, they reached the end of the tunnel.

As soon as he exited the tunnel, Aso was immediately stunned by the sight in front of him, and he couldn't help but hold his breath.

In front of him was an unusually huge natural cave, under the high dome, clusters of tall white crystals pierced into the air, smooth and crystalline, like giant icicles, scattered all over the cave. Aso knew that these huge crystals were not "ice cubes", as they were the source of the heat, and he could still feel the intense heat emitted by the crystals through the protective suit.

"Don't be in a daze, keep up. Eddie's voice came from the communicator in the suit.

Aso hurried to follow Add.

Chris, who entered the cave first, didn't stop at all, and went straight into the middle of the crystals, obviously she had her own goals.

"Attention, we have 5 minutes left. Eddie's voice came over the communicator again.

"You're annoying, Add. Chris grumbled, speeding up with the detection device in hand.

The white "ice" in the cave sometimes forms a huge single-plank bridge leading to the new cave, and Aso walks in awe on the hot white crystals, and the crystals change their light as if they were inducted, like the holy light of the god of ice and snow, soft and brilliant.

There is such a substance buried underneath this extremely cold land, maybe their ancestors have found these things, they can't understand it, and they are even afraid of these white substances, and they don't know when it will melt the land they live in. No wonder the ancestors regarded this place as a taboo and said that it would bring disaster.

"It's time, we're going back. ”

"Damn, can't you find it today?" Chris muttered to himself in frustration. "Okay, let's go back, you go to the front, let Aso go in the middle, and I will be behind. ”

Just then, Chris felt a rustling sound from the detector in her hand, her pulse beating, and a cry came from her heart: trust your instincts!

She turned and walked in search of the voice.

☆☆☆

The two returned to the previous supply station, and Eddie felt like he had done a super sauna, although he had the previous stage of exploration, and he had a bottom in his heart, but he really couldn't adapt to this prostration. Asu, who went to "hell" for the first time, quickly opened the mask of the protective suit and gasped for breath.

Suddenly, Eddie remembered something.

"Where's Chris, why didn't she follow?"

Aso shook his head, he didn't care about the people behind him at all.

Eddie hurriedly shouted at the communicator, "Chris, where are you?"

There wasn't a sound around, not even from the communicator, "Answer me!" ”

"No, I need to go back to her. Eddie opened the refrigerator and replaced it with ice packs, thinking about whether to bring extra ice packs, but this would slow down the speed of travel, which meant recalculating the various time differences, "Ah, I can't care about it so much!"

Just as he was about to return to the cave, the sound of rapid breathing could be heard from the communicator.

It's Chris!

Eddie didn't dare to come out, closed his eyes and prayed silently, listening to the sound of heavy breathing.

Five minutes later, Chris came into view, every step she took was extremely difficult, beyond the limits of her physical strength, and almost collapsed.

Eddie hurriedly ran over to grab Chris and led her back to the supply depot.

Chris falls to the ground, and Eddie helps her open the hood and sprays water on Chris's face to cool her down, and Aso comes to help.

Chris tried to calm her breath as she took the water from Eddie, took a few sips, and poured the rest over her head.

"You madman, it's like death to take such a risk!" Eddie almost screamed in anger.

"Hey, women are more heat-tolerant than men, Ann. ”

"it, there's no next time!"

"Hahaha, Add, I don't need another time, because I've found it, ahhhhhhh ”

"What? What did you say? Did you see it?"

"That's right, black kryptonite (2). ”

"Kryptonite" is the code name Chris gave to these crystals.

Eddie couldn't contain his excitement, "Black, Chris, aren't you really Superman?"

"No, no, I'm not going to be Superman, I'm also Lex Luthor (3)!"