Chapter 1 Expedition in distress

In July 2012, I followed my grandfather's expedition to Heizhugou, Sichuan to collect ancient Yi historical materials.

Grandpa is a famous scholar of the Academy of Sciences. He is proficient in paleontology and has made many major contributions in academic aspects. He and some professional inspectors have entered Heizhugou for investigation. As a junior intern, I asked Grandpa to work on the investigation team and was responsible for knocking their daily inspection findings to the computer. Transfer it back to the Academy of Sciences for analysis and research.

The inn I stayed in is a small inn run by a local Yi people. It is very close to the mountains. It is antique and the air is very fresh.

The boss is a young man of Yi nationality named Azhuo. His face is very dark, but the two rows of white teeth are very festive when he smiles. When I am free, in addition to learning about some local customs with him, he mostly stands on the balcony on the sixth floor and looks at the scenery in the mountains in the distance.

The black bamboo ditch is formed by two north-south mountains and is a deep canyon. Because Sichuan has been rainy since ancient times, the plants in the canyon have grown quite densely, almost to the point where it is difficult to reach. Huge trees are growing in extremely crowded canyons. In order to win more sunlight, each tree is thick and tall, many trees are more than 30 meters, and tens of thousands of years of forests are rarely hunted by humans.

Seeing the scene in front of me, I was shocked and sighed that the original landscape here was well preserved. No wonder the locals said that they had seen pterosaurs in Heizhugou, and they did not know how the ancestors of the Yi people thrived in this deep canyon.

There is also a fat man over METER who stayed in the inn with me, whose full name is Wang Chunxiong and his nickname is Daxiong.

He weighs more than 200 catties and has dark skin. He speaks with a Beijing accent and a heavy nasal sound, because he speaks more funny, and soon we became friends.

The air was sultry at night, and the clouds were rolling in the sky. After a few thunderstorms, it rained heavily.

While looking at the heavy rain outside, I chatted with Nobita, looking absent-minded.

Nobita asked me, "What are you looking at?" The investigation team has been in the wild for so many years, and it's not that we haven't encountered heavy rain. We are equipped with windproof tents made in the United States, rain or shine.

I shook my head and said, "I don't know, I just have an ominous feeling."

I told him that my hunch was very accurate. One day, I kept sneezing, but Xiaobai at home was crushed to death by the car. Once I was dizzy for no reason, and the cat next door drowned in diving. This time, my left eye jumped violently.

After hearing this, Nobita laughed and said, "You are really good at talking, so our investigation team didn't bring pets..."

Because I was worried about Grandpa's safety, I called the investigation team. As expected, the phone signal was cut off and didn't work at all.

Nobita advised me not to worry too much, but I was still restless all night and fell asleep in a daze. The next morning, I was woken up by a rapid knock on the door.

"Kawako, it's not good. There's something wrong with the inspection team!" Daxiong's heavy voice came in from the outside.

I didn't have time to put on my clothes. I turned over and got out of bed. When I opened the door, I saw Nobita standing anxiously at the door and hurriedly asked, "What's going on!"

Daxiong said to me, "Get dressed and go downstairs."

I hurriedly put on my clothes and came downstairs. In addition to Daxiong and the innkeeper, there was also a weak young man with glasses in the hall. He was wet all over and his face was very haggard. He sat on the sofa and looked at the ground with dull eyes.

I know this person. He is a plant researcher on the expedition called Feng Ze.

When Nobita saw me coming down, he said to me, "I have notified the nearby military region, and they will send a car right away." I saw that Feng Ze's eyes were dull, but he just kept shaking. It seemed that he had received a huge mental blow.

Nobita said to me, "He escaped from the mountain overnight and hesitated for a long time. He only said that the investigation team found ancient ruins in a cave deep in the canyon. The people of the investigation team all entered the ruins and left him outside to contact him. Last night, there was a thunderstorm and the mountain collapsed. Except for him, Everyone was trapped in the hole.

I asked with some surprise, "Didn't we agree to only inspect the outside of the scenic spot before we came!" The black bamboo ditch hinterland is a famous death zone. How could the investigation team go deep there?

Nobita shook his head and said, "I don't know. Ask this boy, he is like a stuffy donkey, and he has always been like this..."

I looked at Feng Ze's appearance and guessed that this matter was not that simple, but I guess I couldn't ask anything.

Because the investigation team may have arranged the route for a long time, but they just didn't intend to tell us these unimportant people. No wonder the information brought back recently are some irrelevant animal and plant investigations. I guess they intend to hide it from me and Nobita.

After about 20 minutes, three Beijing jeeps stopped outside the inn, and more than a dozen uniformed soldiers got out of the car. Everyone was carrying rifles and a large bag of equipment, led by a three-star company commander.

It's just strange that the company commander is still leading a woman in a short-sleeved T-shirt and jeans, with big eyes, melon seed face and long hair and shawl. She is a beautiful woman.

Unlike ordinary girls, this woman gives me a very capable feeling.

Daxiong had been a soldier before. He heard that he was still the top of the team in the special field camp and had beaten the Yunnan border drug lord organization, so he came forward to salute a military salute and shook hands with the company commander.

The company commander, 30 years old, with a Chinese face and a very kind face, said to us, "It's urgent. We have something to say on the way..."

At this time, A Zhuo, the owner of the inn next to us, said to us, "Can you also take me with you? I know him well in Heizhugou. When I was a child, I went up the mountain to collect medicine with my grandfather. I know what the danger is."

The young company commander nodded and said, "That couldn't be better."

I, Daxiong, Feng Ze and the previous woman and the company commander sat in the same car.

The car quickly set off and headed for the depths of the mountain. The road conditions were not very good. They were all gravel-paved mountain roads.

After a moment of silence, I said first, "Commoureau, is this beauty?"

The company commander smiled and said, "Oh, I forgot to introduce. This is Miss Liang Qian, a well-known domestic explorer. She happened to give a speech in the army. After hearing about your situation, she also followed. She went deep into the Heizhugou a few years ago and was very familiar with it. You don't have to call me company commander, just call me Lao Huang. You are Professor Nie's grandson Nie Chuan, right? I have some friendship with your grandfather. I heard that you have just been a junior, but several papers published in paleontology have been highly praised by the academic community. Your grandfather is also a famous paleontologist in China. ..."

Such a weak woman went to the black bamboo ditch alone to explore the land of death? I felt a little incredible. I couldn't help looking at Liang Qian and said, "Commier Huang is joking. I also spend time at school every day. I'm just lucky in the exam."

Lao Huang smiled, was silent for a while, and then said, "by the way, I heard that someone came back to report the investigation team in distress. Can you tell me the specific situation?"

Nobita said angrily, "It was this guy who came back to report the news, but he only said a few words and became bored. I don't know what he was thinking."

After he said this, Feng Ze next to him still lowered his head and did not respond. Daxiong was angry. He hit Feng Ze on his knees and said, "What's Huang Lianchang asking you?"

Feng Ze shook his whole body, suddenly hugged his head and muttered, "Don't ask me... I don't know anything..."

Lao Huang looked at Feng Ze from the rearview mirror, frowned and sighed, "It seems that he is very scared. Forget it, don't embarrass him..."

We were silent again. Daxiong sent me a cigarette. We sandwiched Feng Ze in the middle and opened the window one left and one right to smoke stuffy cigarettes.

The scenery outside the window is beautiful. The mountain road after the heavy rain is not too muddy, and the fragrance of soil is emitted around it. The tall trees on both sides are as green as emerald after being washed by the rain. Occasionally, a drop of water drips, emitting a shining light under the refraction of the sun.

I stared at the scenery outside the window and occasionally glanced at the co-pilot Liang Qian. I saw her sitting there expressionlessly. Only when one or two birds and squirrels appeared on the road would her eyes wander for a moment, a very quiet look.