Chapter 1247: Preparation
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du expected Tang Chaoyang to say so, so he asked him to wait and went to find a suitcase to open, and then, looking through the little bug’s black hole s.p.a.ce, he took out the papyrus that he had placed in it.
This papyrus had such a long history that even the little bug could not see its origin after reversing the time.
Looking at the little bug that flew out, Li Du understood its ident.i.ty for the first time. What should it be called? The “cosmic saint”? However, it was clearly not a statue, but a living thing.
So maybe we should call it a s.p.a.ce bug? Li Du shook his head. He preferred to call it a s.p.a.ce-time bug.
It could reverse time and shape s.p.a.ce, so taken together, the name “s.p.a.ce-time bug” was easier to understand and catchy.
Looking at the little bug, he could not help but sigh. This was the first time he had named it after having it for two years.
Then he took out the papyrus, handed it to Tang Chaoyang, and said, “There is only this. The bug sculpture vanished at that time, I am not sure when.”
Listening to his words, Tang Chaoyang was a little disappointed. “If I could get the cosmic saint sculpture, some big problems would be solved.”
“What kind of big problems?” asked Li Du.
Tang Chaoyang smiled and said, “Oh, nothing.”
Obviously, the other side had a secret and did not want to reveal it.
Li Du did not care. He had no interest in these so-called “adventures”, “unsolved secrets” and “mysterious cultures”. Of course, his little bug was the unsolved riddle of a mysterious culture.
However, he didn’t plan to involve himself in this kind of thing. He was an ordinary man with no big ambitions, and he could live on easily with some money.
If it had not been for Luo Qun and Steve, he would not have taken part in the journey this time.
Looking at the papyrus, Tang Chaoyang frowned. “Hey, this is interesting. An early pharaoh’s text? This is not my expertise, but it should be useful. A pharaoh would not make useless records.”
Li Du saw his interest. He generously waved and said, “If you like it, you can have it.”
Tang Chaoyang had a lot of power. If he could make connections with this kind of people, it would help him much in the future. Li Du had planned everything.
Tang Chaoyang put the papers away and said, “Thanks, Li. I’ll take them for now. However, they are not for my own. I’ll find someone to examine the writings and then inform you later.”
The flight took less than three hours until the plane had arrived at its destination.
They landed in Irkutsk, the capital of Irkutsk Oblast, the largest hub of industry, transportation and hub in Siberia, and the largest international airport in the region.
They landed in the middle of a sunny day, overlooking the city and the airport.
Siberia was a desolate region. The largest airport was in a central place, but the surroundings were spa.r.s.e and even a little rough.
The tarmac was large, but only a handful of planes were parked there, and the airport was surrounded by highways lined with weeds, devoid of towering buildings or busy traffic.
Another flight arrived before theirs. Li Du went to customs and saw more than 200 people waiting in line to pa.s.s. Judging from the language of these people, they were his compatriots.
Immigration checks were slow and local officials were ineffective.
Fortunately, Li Du did not have to wait. Ford Jr. made a phone call, and someone came in a hurry to take them through the customs. They could get a stamp on their visa without being inspected.
People waiting in line were frustrated, complained, and some raised their hands in protest.
As a result, the security guard on duty stormed over furiously and took the troublemakers away for inspection.
This way, the people had no choice but to fall silent and looked enviously at Li Du pa.s.sing easily through the customs.
Today’s experience strengthened Li Du’s belief that money and connections were the most useful things everywhere.
Although this city was known as the industrial center of Siberia, in fact, the industry was not very well developed. The area was large and spa.r.s.ely populated, the natural environment was relatively intact, and the air quality was very good.
Because of the cold weather, Li Du went out and inhaled deeply, feeling a chilly cold breath spread from his nasal cavity to the alveoli of his lungs.
Here they met up with the meteorite hunters Hankway, Hudi, and the others, whom Li Du had rescued in Antarctica and won over in a drinking contest.
At this point, they divided into two teams. Tang Chaoyang and Song Biaozi had other things to do, and they left in a cab as soon as they landed.
As the fleet of meteorite hunters drove along the sparkling Angara River, Li Du looked out at the vast, calm river and nodded, “What a view.”
“Is it so? I don’t know about views, but this is our mother river. She is very important,” Hudi, who was driving, said in a casual manner.
The Angara River looked calm and peaceful, but in fact, its water flow was quite turbulent and abundant. There were three hydropower stations built on the river, generating a total of more than 50 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually, which accounted for a quarter of the annual hydroelectric power resources in Siberia!
Luo Qun, who sat in the pa.s.senger cabin, was more concerned about the main purpose of their journey and asked, “Do you know any ivory hunters?”
“Of course, I was an ivory hunter once. But it was risky work, and then I gave up. Too many dangers,” said Hudi.
He shook his head helplessly as he spoke.
Luo Qun asked, “Is there a gathering place for ivory hunters in this city? We want to get a tip out of them.”
Li Du coughed and said, “Luo Qun, don’t worry, don’t rush things, we have to walk step by step.”
Luo Qun wanted to argue, but looking at the motorcade in front and behind them, she nodded her head solemnly.
Li Du brought so many people to help her. If she still gave Li Du trouble, it would be ungrateful of her.
Hudi looked at Li Du in the rearview mirror and asked, “Li, were you going to look for the ivory hunters? No problem, I know a few of their parties in town, but they don’t show up very often.”
Li Du said, “You get some information about it, and I’ll talk to them in these two days. By the way, how much money do they make?”
He was going to use the money strategy on the ivory hunters.
“Well, most of them are poor people, but if they find ivory, they can still make some money. A single mammoth tusk can sell for between $30,000 and $40,000, enough for a family to live comfortably for ten years,” said Hudi.
“Is the local standard of living that low?”
“This place over there is a state industry. Working here, they would be given 500 USD monthly as their salary if they were lucky. So what do you think?” said Hudi, pointing to a power plant.