Chapter 54: Chapter Fifty-Four: Midnight Wolf Pack

Vehicle drove out of the camp, the jolting of the Gobi Desert made He Yuzhu grip the steering wheel tightly; after a long period of rushing, the convoy stopped on a stretch of Gobi Desert, and the vehicle ahead's Hou Weiguo walked up to He Yuzhu's car and said, "Director Chen, we're about to cross the border line soon, we can't go forward."

Chen Yun got out of the car, looked around, and said, "See if we can find a valley or a sheltered spot; we don't necessarily have to hold out here for long." Hou Weiguo responded and ran toward the front vehicle; the convoy then drove another half hour or so before reaching a valley, where after stopping, Hou Weiguo led the guard company personnel to start pitching tents.

He Yuzhu got out of the car, and he and Chen Yun carried the two radio signal receivers into a pitched tent; He Yuzhu opened and tested it, then said, "Professor Chen, no, the signal here is too weak to receive any signal at all."

Chen Yun pondered and said, "Zhuzi, we need to go to higher ground; otherwise the weak signal will be detrimental to our data reception." After saying that, Chen Yun walked out of the tent.

He Yuzhu saw Chen Yun leave, then began packing the radio signal receiver into a box; after a while he heard Chen Yun's voice say, "Zhuzi, pack up and follow me." After saying that, Chen Yun came back in, saw that He Yuzhu had already finished packing, and the two carried the two receivers out of the tent. Upon exiting, He Yuzhu saw Hou Weiguo sitting in a Jeep, with another person who had come to the Northern Frontier with He Yuzhu et al. sitting in the passenger seat; Hou Weiguo was not wearing military uniform but had changed into ordinary clothes.

After He Yuzhu and Chen Yun got in the car, Hou Weiguo drove out of the temporary encampment and said, "Director Chen, according to what you said, within a 10‑kilometre radius only the area near the border line has a steep slope; beyond that steep slope lies White Bear's territory, so not many people can go there—only the four of us can go."

Chen Yun said, "No problem; the main thing is to capture the data—this time I trouble you, Professor Li."

The Professor Li sitting in the passenger seat said, "Old Chen, you're being unorthodox; although our Astronomical Observatory is cooperating with your work, our tasks are equally important."

Upon hearing Professor Li's words, Chen Yun said to He Yuzhu, "Zhuzi, these three people who came with us are all from the Astronomical Observatory; they helped us observe the launch vehicle's trajectory when White Bear launched it, facilitating our later calculations."

He Yuzhu said, "Professor Chen, do you know the exact launch time?"

Chen Yun shook his head and said, "I don't know; our intelligence only mentioned these few days, without specifying the exact time."

The car drove for about twenty minutes and stopped at a steep slope; Hou Weiguo said, "Professor Chen, we've arrived—this is it."

After He Yuzhu and Chen Yun got out of the car, facing the steep slope, the four of them lifted three large boxes up, found a relatively level spot, and He Yuzhu and Hou Weiguo pitched a tent there, placing all the equipment inside.

He Yuzhu sat in the tent, turned on the radio signal receiver, then erected the antenna beside the tent, tested it, and said, "Professor Chen, it's ready."

Chen Yun took He Yuzhu's headphones, listened briefly, and said, "Good, Zhuzi, when White Bear launches, you must carefully record the data; make sure the signal is not interrupted."

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Professor Chen, don't worry." He Yuzhu then adjusted the signal strength a bit, went to the tent, took out a cigarette and just lit it, when he saw Professor Li already having set up a telescope; He Yuzhu walked over and said, "Professor Li, busy?" After saying that, he passed over a cigarette.

Professor Li glanced at He Yuzhu and smiled, saying, "You kid are interested in this thing, huh?" After saying that, he took the cigarette He Yuzhu had passed over.

He Yuzhu, not denying being called out, nodded and said, "This is the first time I've seen such a big telescope; how far can this thing see?"

Professor Li, cigarette in hand, said, "Point it at the sky and you'll see; just never look at the sun."

Upon hearing Professor Li's words, He Yuzhu stubbed out the cigarette in his hand, walked to the side of the telescope, half‑squatted and looked up at the sky; after a while he said, "Wow, Professor Li can see that far?" Then He Yuzhu lowered the telescope, saw a cluster of buildings in the distance and said, "Professor Li, is that White Bear's launch base over there?" He Yuzhu shifted his gaze and looked again; with the naked eye he could only see a black dot, unable to make out the building complex.

Professor Li, having heard He Yuzhu's words, came over, took a look, and said, "That should be it; aside from White Bear's base, there's probably nothing else on this Gobi Desert."

He Yuzhu and the others waited until midnight, but still no White Bear launch vehicle appeared; seeing that it was already 3 a. m., He Yuzhu said to Chen Yun, "Professor Chen, get some rest—I'll take over."

Just as He Yuzhu finished speaking, he heard Hou Weiguo's voice come into the tent from outside: "Wolves, everyone be careful." Upon hearing the shout, He Yuzhu drew his dagger and stepped out; Hou Weiguo's call also woke the sleeping Professor Li, and after He Yuzhu emerged, Chen Yun and Professor Li also came out of the tent.

After He Yuzhu came out of the tent, he saw creatures emitting green light moving all along the bottom of the steep slope, and he said, "Company Commander Hou, what should we do?"

Hou Weiguo said, "Too close to the border line to use a wooden crate; Comrade He, go to the side of the tent and fetch that firewood."

Upon hearing Hou Weiguo's words, He Yuzhu sheathed his dagger, kicked it up, then ran to the edge of the tent and moved the firewood that Hou Weiguo had chopped during the day over there; seeing He Yuzhu bring the firewood, Hou Weiguo said, "Comrade He, trouble you to carry the firewood downhill; rest assured, I'm watching and this will absolutely not put you in danger—go as far down as you can."

He Yuzhu, hearing Hou Weiguo's words, understood his meaning and said, "All right, Company Commander Hou, I entrust my little life to you." After saying that, he turned to Chen Yun and Professor Li and said, "Professors, please bring the remaining firewood over."

Just as He Yuzhu was about to go down, he saw Hou Weiguo block him and say, "Let's go down together; if they charge up, don't worry about me—just run straight back."

The two moved down bit by bit; although Hou Weiguo was holding a wooden crate, the proximity to the border line made him reluctant to use it, since their mission this time was not yet complete—if White Bear discovered them taking measurements here, it would surely provoke unnecessary disputes.

The wolf pack watched He Yuzhu and 【someone】 go down, then scattered; Hou Weiguo, seeing they had gone far enough, said, "Comrade He, scatter the firewood."

He Yuzhu placed the firewood he had carried, folded three times, on the steep slope; at that moment he saw Hou Weiguo pull a bottle from his pocket, open the cap, and pour it over the firewood, a kerosene smell emanating from the poured liquid.

After Hou Weiguo finished pouring the kerosene, the two retreated slowly, all the way to the hilltop; then He Yuzhu and Chen Yun carried down the firewood that Chen Yun and 【someone】 had brought, going back and forth four or five times before managing to bring all the firewood down.

After He Yuzhu and Chen Yun finally retreated to the hilltop for the last time, Hou Weiguo turned back into the tent, took out a beer bottle, opened it, and He Yuzhu smelled the odor—also kerosene—then saw Hou Weiguo take something not adjusted, stuff it into the bottle, pull out a cloth strip, and tuck the other end in; after Hou Weiguo finished, he looked at He Yuzhu and said, "Our firewood is just that much; I don't know how long these wolves will stay, but we'll use it when they really attack." He then smiled at He Yuzhu.