Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 30 Hu Bayi's Story on the Kunlun Glacier
This time, we might have to go to the Kunlun Glacier to end Hu Bayi's nightmare of more than ten years, and maybe even get a reward from the system.

Three days later, the westward-bound train roared past, speeding across the vast land...

On the old train, the scenery outside the window flashed by, possessing a dreamlike beauty.

Hu Ming was sitting by the window looking at the scenery outside when suddenly someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked up and saw it was Sa Dipeng, and immediately gave the guy a cold shoulder.

"Comrade Sadipeng, stop talking to me about aliens. My patience is limited."

Seeing this, Hu Ming couldn't help but snort coldly. He had no choice but to do this; that bastard Sadi Peng kept pestering him about aliens, refusing to let it go. It was like having a fly buzzing in his ear.

"Brother Hu Ming, I just wanted to ask the last question: Are there aliens in the Jingjue Ancient City...?"

Hu Ming glared fiercely at Sa Dipeng. This grandson of a bitch was so tactless; he was about to hit him.

"Hey Sadipeng, stop bothering my brother, or I'll beat you up!" Fatty yelled at Sadipeng, who was sitting opposite Hu Ming. Only then did the bastard slowly sit down on the outermost side of the bottom bunk.

This is a six-person sleeper compartment, which is considered luxurious.

"Mr. Hu, please come over here for a moment." Shirley Yang stood outside the private room, glanced at Hu Bayi, and then turned back to her own private room.

"Go ahead, Lao Hu." Hu Bayi nodded to Hu Ming, then went to Shirley Yang's private room. A moment later, an angry voice came from inside, followed by a loud bang as the door slammed shut.

"Mingzi, let's go take a look!"

Hu Bayi arrived at the connection point between the carriages and looked outside through the transparent glass installed on the carriage door.

His face was grim; he was furious.

The fat man walked over first and stood by the car door. Seeing Huba's frosty face, he paused for a moment, then asked with concern, "Old Hu, what's wrong?"

Since Hu Bayi returned from his military service, his personality has become calm and reserved. Fatty had never seen him so angry before, and had forgotten that his brother could be so angry. He thought that being a soldier had made him lose his temper and courage.

"They're changing their route to Kunlun Ice Mountain, which they didn't mention before. They're setting us up halfway. What do they take us for?" Hu Bayi's cold words gave Fatty goosebumps. It was the first time he'd ever seen Hu Bayi so angry.

He took out a cigarette and offered it to him, lighting it for him. After lighting the cigarette, he tentatively said, "This is what I was thinking, let's go then, let's call them."
"I'm not going," Hu Bayi roared almost frantically, his eyes bloodshot.

Before the fat man could even utter the words "add more money," he was startled by Hu Bayi's roar. His mouth was half-open, and he didn't know what to say. He shook his long hair past his ears, somewhat bewildered, and took a drag of his cigarette.

"Hey Lao Hu, if you don't want to go, you don't have to go. Don't get so angry."

"Old Hu, you should talk things out. We're brothers, not enemies."

The fat man complained, but he could understand that Hu Bayi must have something difficult to say. He turned to Hu Ming, who was standing to the side, and said, "Mingzi, you can see how Hu is feeling. Why don't you comfort him?"

As he spoke, the fat man lit a cigarette and handed it to Hu Ming. Hu Bayi took a deep drag on the cigarette without saying a word.

"Old Hu, I'm not trying to be mean, but tell us what's wrong. Anger won't solve anything. Tell us, it'll make you feel better. What exactly happened over there back then? Why are you having nightmares every night?"

As soon as Hu Ming spoke, Hu Bayi exhaled a puff of smoke and took a deep breath.

His anger subsided considerably, and he looked at the fat man apologetically, saying, "Fatty, I did raise my voice a bit just now, but there are many things that happened to me during my years in the army that you don't know. I dared not tell you in my letters, and even after I was discharged, I received orders to keep it strictly confidential."

Upon hearing this, the fat man's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that he had encountered something strange?
"It's alright, Lao Hu." Hu Bayi took a deep drag on his cigarette, threw the butt at his feet, stepped on it, and clenched and unclenched his fists.

Hu Bayi was trying to calm himself down, but his face was still pale. The things he was trying to forget were brought back to mind, and the panic and helplessness in his heart were written all over his face, with cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

Seeing this, Hu Ming said, "Old Hu, relax. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'll go ask Yang Xueli and the others why they changed their route."

Hu Bayi waved his hand and said, "In 1970, I had just joined the army and was sent to the Kunlun Pass in the plateau region to carry out a mission. Many strange things happened at that time."

"There are many things I don't think about today, or I dare not think about, because those strange things still can't be explained to this day."

His thoughts drifted back to the time in the Kunlun Mountains!
“One day, my comrade Xiao Luan and I went to transport supplies. The vehicle was in good condition when we set off, but we had an accident halfway there.”

According to Hu Bayi's account, he and his comrade Xiao Luan were driving a military truck to deliver supplies in a desolate, snow-covered area.

Suddenly, a bright blue object flew at high speed and slammed into the windshield of the truck with a bang. Xiao Luan, the driver, panicked and slammed on the brakes.

They stopped the car and got out to investigate what it was. Xiao Luan saw in the snow that it was a blue ladybug, about the size of a fingernail, its whole body as if it had been soaked in azure ink, so blue that it was almost transparent, and even its internal organs were clearly visible.

The blue ladybug was radiating blue flames, and when it spread its wings, blue flames seemed to flow faintly. However, the ladybug seemed to have been injured and struggled in the snow for a long time without being able to fly.

Neither Hu Bayi nor Xiao Luan recognized the insect. Xiao Luan saw that the insect was bright blue, small and pretty, so he put it in a glass bottle, put the lid on it, and put it in the car.

He planned to take it to show his comrades the little blue thing.

Xiao Luan started the vehicle, only to find it had broken down. Hu Bayi had no choice but to get out and check the problem. The high-pressure oil pipe, which had been working perfectly, had inexplicably burst. Without spare parts, he had to go to the outpost ahead for help, while Xiao Luan waited in the vehicle for Hu Bayi to bring him back.

Some time later, when Hu Bayi returned with the rescue team, he couldn't find Xiao Luan.

In the end, however, he found a pile of white ash in the shape of human figures on the clearing ground where the snow had melted.

Huba immediately broke out in a cold sweat. The white ash on the ground looked like the ashes left after someone had been burned alive. Not far from the white ash was a glass bottle, which Xiao Luan had used to hold the blue ladybug. The bottle cap was open, and it lay right next to the bottle.

This matter was too bizarre, deeply etched into Hu Bayi's heart. Whether his eyes were open or closed, his mind was filled with the blue flame insect and Xiao Luan. He felt that Xiao Luan's death was inseparable from that insect, perhaps she was burned to death? This made him feel terrified!
Not long after, due to the needs of the mission, Hu Bayi led a team of soldiers to the depths of the ice mountain. When they were halfway there, while climbing over the ice mountain, one of the soldiers lost his footing and fell into the glacier.

The team's motto was: "We will not lose any soldier." They took a detour down to rescue the fallen soldier, and as soon as they reached the glacial basin, the soldier who had fallen shouted for them to run.

They saw several blue ladybugs fly out from a few small cracks in the glacier and pounce on the soldier. The soldier was instantly engulfed in flames upon contact with the ladybugs, and the blue flames burned him. He dared not shout, fearing that it would trigger an avalanche and drown everyone.

Seeing his unbearable pain, a soldier drew his saber and, weeping, plunged it into his heart. He was finally freed, and half a minute later he was burned to ashes.

The ground was covered in human-shaped charcoal ash. The soldier wielding the dagger was then attacked by a blue ladybug and instantly ignited. He gritted his teeth in pain, looked at Hu Bayi, and begged him to give him a quick death.

Unable to bear seeing the soldier burned alive, Hu Bayi suppressed his grief and drew his sword, plunging it fiercely into the soldier's heart.

But suddenly, a number of blue ladybugs flew out from the crack and pounced on them. Another soldier was hit by more than a dozen blue ladybugs and instantly burned into a pile of ash. He only had time to let out half a scream before the other soldiers had no choice but to open fire.

But the sound of gunfire only spurred more blue ladybugs out of the cracks and attacked them.

Their commotion triggered an avalanche, and in the end, only Hu Bayi survived.

(End of this chapter)