Plague Doctor

Translator: Lonelytree

The time was noon on 3rd December, but the sky was suspiciously dark, and it was covered with constellations that should not have appeared at this time of day. Wrangel Island was located at 71°14′, 179°25′. The island was once home to a military airstrip, a military radar center, and even a few mines, but all of them had been abandoned not long after they were built. Ushakovskoye was situated along the southern coastline, and a small marine base was adjacent to this former community. The base was made up of standardized constructions, and about several hundred members from two different countries were occupying it.

Gu Jun’s team of five had arrived at Cape Schmidt Military Base yesterday, and when the weather conditions permitted them to fly, they had immediately hopped on over via a helicopter. They had crossed the two hundred plus kilometers of sea and arrived at the helipad of this small marine base. The surface of the sea had basically frozen over, and that made sailing impossible unless one had the service of an ice-breaker in its armada.

The arctic wind was howling as the five descended from the copter. Every one of them was covered in thick winter coats and carried a rucksack with them. The warmth that they enjoyed inside the cocoon of the helicopter cabin was instantly stripped away. Once Gu Jun’s feet connected on the land of this Arctic island, he felt a bone-chilling cold. His face, which was wrapped in a mask, was red, and he could barely keep his eyes open due to the wind. It was just so cold. He did not grow up in the north, and this was the first time in his life that he was deposited in such a low temperature. At least now he could say he had experienced what life at negative twenty degrees felt like.

However, this island was not only cold, the air had very high humidity, which meant that heavy fog was constant, giving the island the rather romantic nickname of Fog Island. In reality though, the effect of the fog was less romantic than that. The cold mist seeped through even Gu Jun’s thick layers and crawled into his skin. That, combined with the freezing air that went down his nostrils, made it feel like his lungs had frozen over with only a few breaths, making something as simple as breathing incredibly difficult. His chest went numb, and his trachea pricked with pain.

“Ah…” Next to him, Uncle Dan shivered conspicuously from the chill. They had just arrived, but the mission had already proven more difficult than the one inside the abnormal space.

“Now I really yearn for some shots of vodka,” Lou Xiaoning grumbled. She suddenly understood why this place was uninhabitable; it was both dark and cold. The island was 7,600 cubic km in size, and the weather conditions only got more treacherous the further north they went.

1

“This place is so white.” Wu Siyu looked at the snowy picture under the night sky. It reminded her of the ESP training. To prove her point, if one stayed too long in this kind of experiment, one might suffer from the Ganzfeld effect, seeing illusions and going mad.

“If anyone suffers from signs of discomfort, please inform the team immediately,” Xue Ba reminded the rest. He puffed up his chest, but his bushy brows and beard were already covered in frost particles. Moving around the Arctic belt in the winter time was a real test of one’s mind and physique. If this was a standard operation, all of them would have to go through some training first, and people like Gu Jun who suffered from a fatal illness would never be allowed on this mission, but this was not a standard operation.

Near the helipad was a small welcoming party.

Among them was the scouting team called the Arctic Wolf from Phecda. They were led by Leader Yu Xiaoyong and Vice Leader Zhang Xiaoqi. Arctic Wolf was a large-scale Special Mobile Force unit temporarily formed to accommodate this mission. The team had members from different backgrounds, but most of them had professional arctic exploration training. Next to the Arctic Wolf were the people from the Russian National Security Department. They were the real shot callers here, and the people from Phecda were their guests. The leader of the Russian squad was a middle-aged man called Ivanov Mstislav. The beard on his face and muscles all over his body were even more pronounced than Xue Ba’s. The man was like a walking brown bear.

“Captain Yu.” Xue Ba led the way and greeted the Russian with a not that accurate, “Капитанмстислава.”

1

Even though Xue Ba could not speak all of them fluently, he did know more than a handful of languages in his repertoire.

“Captain Xue!” To their surprise, Ivanov responded in heavily-accented Chinese. The man was apparently as gifted as Xue Ba in terms of language mastery. Then came a quick get to know each other session. When Gu Jun was introduced, everyone’s eyes lit up with various degrees of curiosity, especially the members from Arctic Wolf. The reason was, despite his age, Phecda had given them explicit order to cooperate fully with Gu Jun. Basically, the operation was going to be led by him. It was fairly uncommon for someone so young to take up such a big role. However, Yu Xiaoyong and his team had been given some info on Gu Jun. They knew about his ESP capability and that he possessed some kind of ‘unique psychic ability’.

“Let me show you to your accommodation first.” Ivanov greeted them warmly. “A little alcohol will go a long way in this kind of weather.”

Even though Gu Jun wished to explore the surroundings immediately, he knew now was not the time to rush into things. They had been briefed about the hazards of the island before they departed. The island was too big, and the weather was bad. In fact, the circumstances were so harsh that the scouting mission had been at a standstill for the Arctic Wolf. If they had a direct location to search, there might have been progress. It was impossible to scour the entire island in this kind of weather.

The accommodation was the largest building around the area. It was separated according to gender. There were generators providing heat and electricity, but the energy had to be used sparingly. The supply at the base was enough to last them and thirty Alaskan snow hounds for a month. Additional supplies could be called in from the mainland, but they should always be prepared for any contingencies.

After they settled down, Gu Jun immediately requested for the exploration to begin. Captain Yu thus led the five of them and headed down the western side of the island on a snowmobile. Soon, the abandoned Ushakovskoye appeared within their sight. Captain Yu said by way of introduction, “The place has been left like this for years. It is like a place frozen in time. The Russians hesitate to take it down and forbid other countries from intervening as well.”

Gu Jun knew that from the files he had read about the place.

Lit up by the headlights, some old electric poles could be seen leaning in the snow. Confusing electrical wires connected some old and squat wooden houses. Various kinds of trash peeked out from the layer of snow, especially the rusted edges of abandoned oil barrels. Around them were endless stretches of white that seemed to reach down to the mountains on the horizon.

“There’s a polar bear.” Just as the vehicles stopped, Wu Siyu pointed in a direction. Gu Jun turned to look.

A burly polar bear stood next to an old house with its head lowered about twenty meters away from them. It glanced at the team before turning to disappear into the snow.

‘Why…’ Gu Jun frowned as a strange feeling overwhelmed him. ‘Why does it feel like the polar bear has been waiting there for us to arrive?’

The wind continued to wail. Other than that, there was an enveloping silence. However, Gu Jun could hear the sound of blood flowing in his veins. ‘Has the effect of mental disturbance arrived so soon?’

“Captain Yu, I wish to explore that house further,” Gu Jun said. The polar bear had long since disappeared, so they were spared the trouble of chasing it away. Heeding Gu Jun’s instinct, the group headed toward the old wooden house, which was less than thirty cubic meters in size. The roof was almost collapsing from the weight of the gathered snow, but that was already an impressive feat considering it had stood there for several decades already.

The wooden door was half buried in snow. Gu Jun pushed it open and looked into the room with the flashlight.

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