Instead of answering the question, Satchus took a deep look at Song Jia, then pointed to the bottle on the table and said, "Can I have another glass?"
"Help yourself."
Upon hearing that, Satchus picked up the bottle again. This time, he didn't pour it into the glass. Instead, he drank the remaining half of the bottle in one go. It seemed that only with the help of alcohol would he have the courage to talk about what had happened back then.
"I'm a native of Greenland. I'm half Inuit and half Danish. So, every year, I would go back to my father's tribe to stay for a period of time. I used to hunt and fish with them. Many Inuit live on the ice sheet, so they are very good at dealing with the harsh weather and the environment on the ice sheet. I didn't like to study at that time, but I was very interested in hunting and the like.
"Although my marksmanship wasn't that good when I was young, I learned a lot of survival skills on the ice sheet from the old hunters in the tribe. In addition, I learned a little English. Once, I accidentally became a guide for a group of photographers who were photographing polar bears. At that time, I didn't take it to heart. I just wanted to earn some extra money, but I didn't expect them to recommend me to many friends who wanted to come to Greenland to film. At that time, I was already over twenty years old, and I was thinking about what I should do. So, I naturally entered this industry.
"In the eyes of others, this job is hard and dangerous, but I'm born to look for excitement. This job is quite suitable for me. Soon, I made a name for myself in this industry, and more and more people came to look for me." Satchus was lost in his memories. "Once, after leading a group of tourists to see seals, Dr. Baker found me.
"Oh, I've known him for about a year at that time. He came to Greenland to travel and liked it here, so he found a way to settle down here. He opened a clinic to do his old business, but the business wasn't very good. So, he and his friends started an Explorer's Club, introducing people to explore here, helping them take care of their food and accommodation, and hiring guides. That's when our paths crossed.
"He came to my residence that day and said that there was a very well-paid but dangerous job that needed an excellent professional guide. He asked if I was interested. I was short of money at that time, and I was a little bored from leading a group of tourists. The adventurous genes in me began to stir again, so I asked him to continue.
"Baker said that a man named Tim got the news that there was an ancient ruin under the ice sheet in Greenland. The person who found it first would not only become famous immediately, but the discovery might even rewrite the known history of mankind. So, he was going to form a scientific research team.
"To be honest, I was skeptical about things like ancient ruins. If such a thing really existed, the government would have done it a long time ago. Besides, there was a US military base on the island, so nothing could be hidden from them. However, as Baker said, the reward was very generous. This trip was basically equivalent to my annual income. Plus, it sounded much more interesting than leading a group of tourists, so I agreed to it. It's also the thing that I regret the most in my life.
"On the day of departure, I saw Dr. Baker in the expedition team. I was a little surprised because he was a psychiatrist, not the kind of doctor who could treat people's physical diseases. Although he said that he had learned some first aid and bandaging knowledge … you know, if you really wanted to bring a doctor on an expedition, there were too many better choices than him.
"So, out of professional ethics, I found Mr. Tim and told him about my doubts. He was a very nice person, seemingly easy-going and always in high spirits. The only problem he had was that he liked sweets. During the expedition, he brought several bags of sweets with him, one a day. He hardly took a break. Mr. Tim told me that he knew what Baker was doing. The reason why he brought a psychiatrist was mainly because there were many scientists in the team.
Many of them were exploring such a dangerous place for the first time. He was worried that some of the team members would have psychological problems, and they would need Baker to solve it. To be honest, this reason was a little far-fetched, but he was the one paying. I needed to explain the situation to the employer, but the final decision was still made by the employer. He said that we should bring Dr. Baker, so we should bring Dr. Baker.
"In short, after we were ready, we set off. There were a total of 22 people in the expedition team, including a geologist and his assistant, an archaeologist, a biologist, a meteorologist, and two theologians. They were a couple from China," Satchus paused and looked at Zhang Heng with some confusion. "Are you also from China? Do you have anything to do with the China couple? "
However, Zhang Heng did not answer his question. Instead, he gestured for him to continue.
"I have a good impression of the China couple because both of them are very polite. As for the other people, hehe … other than the few people I mentioned above, the rest of them don't look like good people. Although they tried to cover up along the way, I could see that many of them had served in the army, and they carried weapons with them. They made me want to back out. The place we were going to was a no-man's land, and it was very likely that we wouldn't meet anyone along the way. Even if we were worried about wild beasts along the way, there was no need to bring so many people to protect us.
"But Mr. Time said that these people were just hired by him to help the scientists. They were responsible for exploring the way, carrying luggage, and other chores. The reason why he hired retired soldiers was that they had better wilderness survival skills. What else could I say? The expedition team was already on its way, and it was not appropriate for me to withdraw now. So, we took a boat to the landing point on the East Coast. Landing from there would save us about one-third of the journey compared to starting from inland.
"We've packed enough food for everyone on board for two months, as well as some scientific research and drilling equipment, cameras, satellite phones, winter suits, tents, and gas tanks. You don't have to worry about the water source, because we can directly boil snow water. In addition, we've also brought dogs and sleds to transport supplies."
"The captain of the ship is also an old friend of mine. He sent us to the agreed place and left. He promised that as long as we called the satellite phone, he would immediately rush to the designated place to pick us up. So, so far, everything has been going well. The weather that day was good. It was sunny, and there was almost no wind. We even took a group photo together."
(End of chapter)
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