Chapter 005 Do You Have Something To Rely On Behind Your Back

  After struggling in the city, tired of the hustle and bustle, disgusted with the crowded tourist areas, we yearn for a pure land to see the mountains, waters, and animals there, and let our souls rest for a while. Return to nature, let your chest close to the earth, and listen to the heartbeat of Mother Earth. Qinghai is just such a place.

  She has two business cards for external publicity: Koko Xili and Qinghai Lake.

  The vast and boundless Kekexili uninhabited area, with rich mineral resources underground, especially gold, attracts a large number of gold prospectors. Underground lies secrets that have been unknown for thousands or even tens of thousands of years. On that land, long, long ago, there may be traces of our ancestors' lives. It is as quiet as a virgin, making many adventurers infatuated and crazy about it.

  If Kekexili is a beautiful girl, then Qinghai Lake is a mother who has experienced many hardships.

  She is mysterious and unparalleled, located in the heart of China's map, so deep that it intoxicates people. It's like a mother's heart, making us want to dive into her bosom to feel her unique temperament.

  Liu Yi and his companions drove their dilapidated Jeep along Highway 109 out of Xining City, passing by Huangyuan, and entering the Qinghai Lake area. Except for Ma Liujiu who was focused on driving and Professor Zhou Tao who was fast asleep, the other two were silent, gazing at the blue sky outside, white clouds that seemed to be far away near heaven when their eyes were open, but felt within reach of their souls when they closed their eyes.

  Life is like this, open your eyes to see the world, you will find paradise, close your eyes to feel, can only approach yourself.

  They gazed at the distant Qinghai Lake water, which was endless and unmatched, gazed at the animals by the roadside that were leisurely standing and staring, and gazed at the pilgrims walking on the road, and their entire tired heart suddenly felt relieved.

  This long-forgotten feeling made Liu Yi feel refreshed all over, he gazed out of the window, the scenery constantly flashing before his eyes, as if it had taken him back to two years ago when he was backpacking alone in Kekexili, walking on the uninhabited land, unable to see the horizon or the future, but his heart was at peace, a wonderful feeling.

  At that time, he thought that even if he couldn't find his father, even if he died here, this life would have no more regrets. At least, he had made an effort to "search".

  What happened in the past will often be repeated in the future.

  Two years later, he came here again and restarted his journey to find his father. This time, he was not alone; he had Professor Zhou Tao, Ma Li Ka, and the powerful government as his support. The anxiety in his heart about the crystal sheep head being taken away by the relevant personnel for investigation disappeared, replaced by full confidence.

  He only felt a kind of unutterable pleasure in his heart, so he started screaming and shouting, as if roaring at the world: "I must do it!", with the cry, it was like spitting out the heart that had been suppressed for many years, and a tear actually fell from the corner of his eye.

  As he shouted, Malacca and Lin Xueyan in the front row seemed to be infected by his emotions and also shouted together.

  Their youthful and energetic shouts were carried away by the wind to even farther places.

  Their cries awakened Professor Zhou Tao, who was fast asleep. He turned his head to look at the tear that was about to fall from the corner of Liu Yi's eye, and silently grasped Liu Yi's hand, as if to convey strength to him. In his heart, he sighed: "So many years, suffering, child!"

  Liu Yi couldn't hear Professor Zhou Tao's inner words, but he felt the warmth in his palm. He smiled gratefully at this mentor who was like a father to him, and everything was understood without needing to be said.

  Malacca was screaming, and it seemed to have returned to the days when he volunteered to guard the Tibetan antelope. He was wild and free, with no constraints, his thoughts flying high as he stepped on the accelerator, the jeep speeding like a happy bird on the highway.

  Time slipped away bit by bit as the car moved forward, passing through the Kunlun Mountain Pass. The roadsides turned into Gobi Desert, with little vegetation except for camel thorns. The vast expanse of the Kunlun Mountains stood majestically like a giant Chinese dragon.

  In order to catch up with Malacca, the car was driven into a small path and turned onto an endless plain. The ground was full of potholes and bumps, making it difficult to walk, and the ride was bumpy. The ground was covered with sparse wild grass, hanging its head in despair like a sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

  Occasionally, the ground would reveal huge pits, it was unknown whether they were man-made excavations or naturally formed sinkholes. In the distance, a few wild yaks stood still, sizing up that fast-moving iron box.

  As they entered the Golmud area, they found that in the distance, on a mountain ridge with half green and half yellow colors, there were two small black dots approaching them. Before long, the black dots revealed their full appearance, which turned out to be two off-road vehicles, looking like two fast-moving scarab beetles from afar.

  The car was getting closer and closer, Liu Yi faintly heard the sound of gunfire and shouting coming from afar, the voices were scattered by the wind, intermittent, and should be words like "Halt, don't run!"

  "It must be poachers!" Malacca clenched his fist and slammed it onto the steering wheel, causing the car horn to let out a sharp, angry blare.

  He floored it, yanking the steering wheel hard to the left, and the car surged forward towards the two vehicles ahead. Based on his experience, he could tell that the brand-new Cherokee in front was likely the poachers' vehicle.

  Lin Xuewen was thrilled to encounter poachers on this trip, took out her camera, stuck her head out of the car window and snapped away.

  A comrade-in-arms from Malacca was once killed by poachers, so this guy sees poachers like a cat seeing a mouse, definitely thinking about how to take their lives, without any regard for the elderly Professor Zhou Tao still sitting in the car.

  Liu Yi glanced at the professor and saw that his face was calm and unruffled, only tightly grasping the steering wheel. He thought to himself: "The professor has indeed seen big scenes before, so this situation wouldn't scare him off, but I wonder if his body can adapt to such a wild and bumpy chase!"

  ……

  A Cherokee sped towards them with four people on board, driven by a skinny man nicknamed Huanghouzi. When he saw the Jeep from Malacca approaching, he didn't swerve or avoid it, seemingly wanting to die together with them. He was startled and quickly turned the steering wheel, veering off at an angle. The SUV behind them was also a Beijing Jeep, following closely behind the Cherokee without letting up. On their vehicle was written "Sonam Dajie Protection Station", but the font was smaller and the car was covered in dust, making it almost impossible to see if one didn't look carefully.

  Malacca saw the Cherokee change direction, and naturally he made a sharp turn, a perfect three hundred and sixty degree spin, closely following and biting tightly. The Jeep behind also caught up, and the two Jeeps drove side by side, quickly chasing forward.

  The car at the guard station saw someone helping themselves, a big bearded head stuck out of the window and shouted loudly, asking which department Liu Yi's group belonged to.

  The two cars were side by side, but they were quite far apart, and the engine noise was too loud to hear anything. However, without needing to ask, it was clear what the other person was saying. Malacca's right hand gripped the steering wheel tightly, while his left thumb, index finger, and middle finger were pinched together, with the remaining two fingers curled up, forming an animal shape, like a sheep's head.

  The big bearded man looked at his gesture and smiled, made an OK gesture, and then stretched out his middle finger to point forward.

  Malacca pinched the remaining four fingers with his thumb, forming an eagle's beak shape.

  The big-bearded man stuck out his thumb at them and waved it twice before withdrawing his head into the car, accelerating forward in pursuit.

  They all came down with a gesture, and except for Liu Yi, the remaining two were completely confused.

  Liu Yi saw the bewildered expressions of Professor Zhou Tao and Lin Xueyan, so he explained: "Malacca made a sheep head gesture, which means I'm a guardian, not an enemy. The OK gesture from the other side means they understand, and stretching out their middle finger pointing forward means let's chase after that scoundrel together. Malacca then made an eagle beak shape, meaning we won't give up until we devour them. This set of gestures was invented by the 'Snow Leopard' volunteer organization back in the day and has been widely spread among anti-poaching organizations!"

  Professor Zhou nodded and said: "I know that big bearded man, he's the deputy director of the Sonam Dargye Protection Station!"

  Liu Wei said: "July and August are the seasons when Tibetan antelopes migrate to Hoh Xil to give birth, and poaching activities are also more rampant. If Da Hu Zi is the deputy director of the station, then we don't need to go to the protection station, just follow them, if the deputy director doesn't know where Ke Kou Mu is, even if we went to the protection station it would be in vain!"

  The professor nodded in agreement, just about to say something. Suddenly, a burst of gunfire rang out, and everyone quickly ducked down, the bullets whizzing past, hitting the car with a loud clang. One bullet even pierced the windshield, fortunately without injuring anyone. Liu Yi's group was unarmed, so they slowed down, keeping a distance from the poachers' vehicle in front. Only after they were out of range did everyone dare to lift their heads up again.

  "Damn it, if I had a gun, I'd have shot these bastards to death!" Ma Liu cursed loudly.

  Liu Wei said, "The group of thieves is under the protection of Suo Nan Dajie's station. Let's see if we can help, and if not, let's just follow them from a distance for now, don't make unnecessary sacrifices."

  Malacca this kid's temper Liu Yi is very familiar with, provoking him, he really dares to drive and crash, then the lives of these people in the car will be left here, it's better to take a preventive shot first.

  The car didn't slow down at all, but the big-bearded man stuck his head out of the window again. Seeing that Liu Yi's side was slowing down due to gunfire, he knew they shouldn't have any defensive weapons. He took out a pistol, nodded and waved it twice towards Malacca, then threw it into the air with great force.

  The pistol was freely falling and accelerating downwards in the air, Malacca stepped on the accelerator, the car rushed forward quickly, and he saw him stretch out his left hand from the window, waiting for the pistol to fall near the window and grabbed it into his hand.

  The skillful hands, the powerful eyesight, and the precise timing all won applause from the people in the car.