CH 19

The death of the mother bear left people with a heavy heart. On the way back, apart from the roar of the vehicles, the team was mostly silent, until they returned to the Changshan station.

The deer, wolves, bears, foxes, and other animals that were captured were put in cages and entrusted to the care of the Arctic wildlife specialist. Everyone else returned to their own rooms for a brief rest. The chefs had already started preparing dinner, marking the end of Zhao Huasheng's first day in the Arctic.

The sun that wouldn't set made Zhao Huasheng feel somewhat restless. The presence of light easily disrupts one's biological clock, having a range of negative impacts on the body. Zhao Huasheng drew the curtains and then turned on the light, feeling a bit better.

At this moment, Li Wei arrived at Zhao Huasheng's room. Seeing the tightly closed curtains and looking at the electric light on the roof, Li Wei was somewhat surprised and looked at Zhao Huasheng. Zhao Huasheng spread out his hands and said, "It's more comfortable this way." 

"Mmm, yeah," Li Wei smiled. "People always pursue the light of the sun, but when it won't disappear, they will get bored with it."

Zhao Huasheng tidied up the scattered materials on the desk and handed over a chair. "Sit down."

Li Wei took the chair but did not sit down. She looked at Zhao Huasheng who was still tidying up the materials, and there seemed to be some kind of light in her eyes. Li Wei also walked to the desk and said softly, "The materials can't be organized like this. Although it looks neat, it's actually very messy, and it's not easy to find them when you need them."

Li Wei said and naturally took over the documents that had been gathered by Zhao Huasheng and reorganized them, then sorted them completely according to the dates. There was a lot of information, and it was chaotic, but Li Wei's hands seemed to have eyes. The disorderly information was quickly tidied up after Li Wei's sorting. After placing the last document in the folder, Li Wei smiled at Zhao Huasheng.

"Thanks for your help during the day."

"Oh, don't mention it; it's what I should do. In fact, I didn't do much, and if it wasn't for Meng Zhuo, we may have been injured." Zhao Huasheng said.

Li Wei's eyes curved into a crescent moon, as if she had thought of something pleasant: "You and my brother are very similar. Both of you are not good at expressing yourselves; you look cold, but have a sense of responsibility in your hearts. Whenever I encounter danger, my brother always rushes out to protect me from behind."

Zhao Huasheng could not think of anything to say and could only say, "It's nothing."

"Let's go, it's time to eat." Seeing Zhao Huasheng's awkwardness, Li Wei smiled and took Zhao Huasheng's arm, and the two of them left the room together.

After dinner, Zhao Huasheng was still greeted by the quiet night of the North Pole. In the morning, the staff of Changshan Station set off again to hunt for prey; there were still many Arctic creatures on the list that had not been captured. Meng Zhuo originally wanted to go with them, but the Arctic wildlife expert strongly opposed Meng Zhuo's follow-up, so Meng Zhuo had to stay at Changshan Station.

Meng Zhuo couldn't go, so Zhao Huasheng couldn't go either. Meng Zhuo's reason was simple: "What if something dangerous happened without me there?" So Zhao Huasheng had to stay.

The departure of many personnel left Changshan Station in silence. Zhao Huasheng put on his thick winter clothes and went to a place near Changshan Station, then randomly sat on the ground and stared at the distant scene in a trance.

Today's weather seemed to have improved a bit. Although the sun was still in a half-dead state, the wind had dropped significantly. Zhao Huasheng sat here until noon, ate lunch, and still came out in the afternoon to sit here.

No one knew what Zhao Huasheng was thinking, not even Zhao Huasheng himself. His mind was empty and quiet, just like the vast and desolate Arctic. Zhao Huasheng seemed to have fallen asleep but also seemed not to have.

Zhao Huasheng spent three days in the Arctic in this state. He watched the staff of the Station capture all kinds of Arctic creatures and saw them put into cages, sometimes even hearing their anxious howls. Until after three days, the cages were tied to a helicopter. The helicopter would take them away from the Arctic, leading them into a whole new world and embark on a new life.

During these three days, Zhao Huasheng's spirits gradually improved, and when he left the Arctic, the feeling of deterioration that seemed to be able to fall at any time had disappeared. Zhao Huasheng's eyes began to shine, and his voice became stronger, and even his thoughts became much sharper.

"Where are you going next?" Meng Zhuo asked.

Zhao Huasheng thought for a moment and replied, "Go to Siberia. I have always wanted to see Lake Baikal, but I never had the chance. Now I finally have time, let's go and take a look."

Meng Zhuo nodded and said okay. So, Zhao Huasheng's group parted with the workers from the North Pole Changshan Station. Some helicopters took the workers and the various animals they had captured to the City of Life, while another helicopter carried Zhao Huasheng, Meng Zhuo, Li Wei, and the medical and security team to a vast Siberian area near Lake Baikal. 

The members of the medical and security team quickly set up more than a dozen tents here, and even a helicopter delivered a food truck and a large amount of precious ingredients, as well as many hunting tools. With these things, a small settlement was formed in less than a day.

The camp site chosen by the workers was very advantageous. Not only was it close to Lake Baikal, but it was also sheltered from the wind, and there was even a hot spring nearby. The hot springs were powered by geothermal energy, so the sun's radiation would not affect them.

Although Siberia is located in a high-latitude area, it is much better than the Arctic, which is cold here too. It is not as desolate as the Arctic, and if Zhao Huasheng looked carefully, he could even find sprouting green grass or traces of some small animals. But unfortunately, the newly sprouted green buds were frozen to death, and in order to resist the cold, those small animals usually do not appear outside.

Zhao Huasheng seemed to have completely put down his thoughts and gave up thinking about those difficult and obscure things. During the day, Zhao Huasheng, Li Wei, Meng Zhuo, etc. would go to the lake to fish or follow others to hunt, and when it was time for lunch or dinner, the professional chefs who followed the food truck would use these ingredients to make dishes that Zhao Huasheng had never imagined before. Sometimes Zhao Huasheng would also take matters into his own hands, using a barbecue rack or oven to make food, and then gather with the staff to sing songs, dance, and drink together.

Faced with Li Wei's amicable overtures, Zhao Huasheng seemed to have opened up his heart. The relationship between the two of them was developing in a tacit understanding where neither spoke of it, as if they were lovers but also like old friends who had known each other for years. Zhao Huasheng didn't mention Li Qi's matter, and none of the staff members, including Meng Zhuo and Li Wei, brought it up. It was as if everyone had forgotten about it. Zhao Huasheng said let's go fishing, so they went fishing; Zhao Huasheng said let's go hunting, so they went hunting; Zhao Huasheng said let's have a barbecue, so they had a barbecue.

Meng Zhuo even brought in several motorboats, and when the weather was good, Zhao Huasheng, Li Wei and Meng Zhuo would ride the motorboats across the boundless surface of Lake Baikal. All of Zhao Huasheng's requests were met, and whatever he wanted to do or have, planes would fly in from thousands of kilometers away to deliver it. Among these items was even a huge RV. Inside the RV was a large HD display screen and state-of-the-art audio equipment. However, Zhao Huasheng only used it once for singing before he stopped using it. He realized that the reason he used to sing so badly was not due to a lack of good equipment.

The camp was always filled with laughter, as if everyone was just on vacation. Time passed quietly. Zhao Huasheng couldn't even remember how many days he had been here—seven or fifteen? It didn't matter to him.

However, the heaviness in Zhao Huasheng's heart was gradually increasing. The happier he was and the more he laughed, the softer Li Wei's words were, and the more gentle her gaze was, the heavier his heart became. The heaviness was like a shadow behind him, always lingering, and getting bigger and bigger with time.

On one night after dinner, Zhao Huasheng went to Li Wei's side and asked, "Can you accompany me for a while?"

Li Wei nodded, and then the two of them came hand in hand to the lakeside. There was a flat stone, so the two of them sat shoulder to shoulder there.

Zhao Huasheng's peripheral vision seemed to have seen Meng Zhuo's figure, but Zhao Huasheng did not take notice. Zhao Huasheng had long since become accustomed to Meng Zhuo's presence, and at the same time Zhao Huasheng also knew that ensuring his safety was Meng Zhuo's duty and he should not interfere with Meng Zhuo's duties.

The air is very fresh, the clean air of Siberia brings the world's most beautiful night sky. The dark sky was dotted with stars, and the magnificent Milky Way stretched across the horizon like a colorful ribbon.

Listening to the faint sound of the rolling waves and looking at the mysterious and profound night sky, Zhao Huasheng's mind was particularly tranquil.