48 Hours a Day

“After what happened that night, the mood of the scientists was a little low, but I don’t know if it was my imagination, but the expedition team clearly lost two members, but Mr. Tam became even more excited. What surprised me the most was the retired soldiers. They clearly lost two companions, but they weren’t worried at all. Moreover, there wasn’t any sadness on their faces. They were so calm that it was a little scary. In addition, because I had been paying attention to them these days, I even discovered their little secret.

“That is, this group of retired soldiers will also perform a small ritual before the meal, similar to the pre-meal prayer, but not the Christian kind. Moreover, they are very secretive and try to hide it from others. In other words, they might be from a secret sect, which makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

“Although my father is an Inuit, I’m actually more inclined to atheism. However, I’m usually not very resistant to these mysterious things. On the contrary, I would feel curious from time to time. But not now, not in this uninhabited ice field, with a group of sneaky heretics. It sounds like something bad is going to happen.

“Although I didn’t believe the story the doctor told me, I had to admit that it haunted me for the next few days. I couldn’t even sleep well. I went to see Mr. Tam again, hoping that he would take the weapon for self-defense, but he comforted me that I didn’t have to worry. There were ex-soldiers protecting us in the team. I had no choice but to bring an ice pick with me. It was better than nothing.

“We arrived near our destination on the seventh day. Although I didn’t see anything except the undulating glacier mountain range, Mr. Tam told us in an unusually firm tone that this was the place. The ancient relic that could bring great fame to the discoverer and even rewrite the history of mankind was here, but it was hidden somewhere, and we needed to search carefully bit by bit.

“I carried out my duty as a guide and found a suitable camp for the expedition team. With this as the center, I began to carefully search the surroundings. I prayed that the operation would be fruitless, and that it would be best to leave empty-handed before the food and supplies ran out, so that there would be no more trouble.

“However, I realized that I might have underestimated Mr. Tam’s determination to find the ruins. Three days later, we changed our camp. Mr. Tam gathered everyone together and once again reiterated the importance of what we were doing. He also said that we would not leave this place unless we found the ruins. If the supplies ran out, he would use the satellite phone to contact another team to transport them for us. His words also caused the expressions of many people, including me, to change. “I’m even considering stealing a satellite phone to call the police, but Greenland doesn’t have enough police, and we’re in the middle of nowhere, so the number of people we can send is probably no match for these ex-soldiers. The doctor seemed to see through my thoughts and warned me not to act rashly.

“After that, we continued to search for the ruins. I led a group of people to the north of the camp. The geologist led a group of people to the south. They were still studying the rocks along the way because according to Mr. Tam, the history of the ruins was very long and had already surpassed the history of mankind. The meteorologists were responsible for observing the weather every day, reminding us when there was a snowstorm and when we should return to the camp. In addition, Mr. Tam and the couple of theologians from China also brought a group of people.”

“On the twelfth day, the team of geologists made a new discovery. They found some strange fossils that they had found before, and this time, there were even more. Mr. Tam was very happy, and he even opened a bottle of champagne in the evening to celebrate. However, this time, for the sake of safety, he did not allow anyone to bring the fossils back to the camp. However, to everyone’s surprise, not long after eating and lying down, the strange snowstorm came again.

“Before that, the meteorologist announced that it would be sunny for the next two days, so we could continue to explore. Because the snowstorm came too suddenly, I didn’t even have time to chase the Greenlanders into the tent. As a result, I heard gunshots very quickly. The two ex-soldiers who lived with me rushed out together, just like last time. Meanwhile, I grabbed the ice ax nervously and stayed in the tent with the doctor.

“We turned on the camping lights, hoping that the light would give us a sense of security, but then I felt all the blood in my body rush to my head, because when we turned on the lights, we saw a shadow on one of the tents, and that shadow was exactly the same as the story that the Doctor had made up. It looked indescribably twisted and weird. The doctor and I were scared out of our wits, thinking that the thing would rush into the tent and kill us in the next second. What was worse was that the ex-soldiers had already run out to join the battle, which meant that there was no one in the tent to protect us.

“That was definitely the scariest half a minute of my life. However, that thing didn’t rush in after that. Even though it had its face pressed against the tent (if that part could be called a face), the barking of the dogs seemed to have attracted its attention. It walked towards that direction. When the snowstorm subsided, I stuck my head out of the door and discovered that there wasn’t a single greenlander dog left in the kennel. All of them had been killed. Other than that, there were three retired soldiers who had died in battle. One of them was seriously injured. I saw the remaining people carry their corpses to the side and start digging a hole. It was the same scene as the last time I saw it.

“But I didn’t expect Mr. Tam to be so Shameless. He still insisted on blaming it all on the hungry polar bears, and had no intention of canceling the expedition, even though there were only half of the combat veterans left.”