Volume 5: Bottomless Sinkhole Chapter 277 Narrative
“…”
Ke Lan thought for a while, then walked back to the mercenary, gave the mercenary, who was already beginning to feel a little confused, a shot of adrenaline, and asked:
"Can you tell me in detail how you got the jar? Including the 'accident' you mentioned, and...what was in the jar?"
"I... I'm a little out of breath..." Due to the side effects of the excessive injection of hormones, the mercenary's breathing began to become heavy, his chest rose and fell violently, and sweat continued to seep from his forehead. "Can... can you give me a cigarette? It's best... it's best to have something with added ingredients."
"You can't breathe, but you still want to smoke?" Ke Lan shook her head. "I don't have any cigarettes, but I do have a few sticks of morphine. Would you like one? It should make you feel a little better."
Mercenaries like them, who have been on the line between life and death for many years, have a history of drug use. They often use highly addictive emergency drugs such as morphine as a means to relieve tension. In , this is called "eating sugar", while "eating meat" refers to some inhaled drugs with more stringent control.
The "added substances" mentioned by the mercenary refer to cigarettes with military stimulants added to the tobacco. Although this is ostensibly against the rules, in some of the most intense fighting areas, this kind of "added substances" is often included in the official Ark's military supply list.
When facing monsters that are several times larger than their own, not every soldier has the courage to hold the line. At this time, the role of these controlled drugs is very important - when even their lives are at risk, who would care about the damage to the body and the future addiction?
"Is there morphine? Morphine is good... give me some..." The mercenary struggled and raised his arm.
"I can only give you five milligrams of morphine, no more. Otherwise, if you develop respiratory depression, you will surely die."
The standard single dose limit for medical emergency treatment is 20 mg, while the military standard is 32 mg. This specification has been passed down from the Second World War on Earth... For mercenaries, 5 mg is really too little, but it is better than nothing.
Ke Lan found a tube of morphine from the first aid kit, removed the protective cover, and inserted the needle into the skin on the inside of the other person's arm.
As the plunger of the syringe was slowly pushed down, the mercenary's frown soon relaxed and his breathing was no longer as rapid as before.
"Huh... much more comfortable... thank you..." he said after letting out a long sigh.
"Does that answer my question?" Ke Lan asked.
"Okay... let me think... where should I start..."
"Let's start from the secret passage." Ke Lan said, and he took out a new syringe. "If your answer satisfies me, I can reward you with another five milligrams."
"At that time, they... I mean the exiles. There were six of them... By the way, did you kill them all?"
"They were beaten to death and their bodies were thrown into the lake to feed the fish."
"Oh...oh...there are six of them. There are ten of us. Ryan and I are employees of the CCR private armed company, and the other eight are from the Bison Mercenaries...This group has a bad reputation and often robs other gangs. To be honest, if Ryan hadn't told me that the reward was really high, I wouldn't have wanted to take this mission."
"I know about the Bison Mercenaries." The hunter sitting nearby interrupted, "It was originally the notorious 'Cobra Mercenaries'. Later, because of crimes, the mercenaries were disbanded. Several leaders were either shot or exiled, and the rest were thrown into prison... Some of them got together again after being released from prison and formed this 'Bison Mercenaries'. This mercenary group is full of ruthless guys, but because they dare to take on any mission, the field forces have also cooperated with them several times."
“Have you worked with them?”
"Well, they are all a bunch of idiots. The only good thing about them is that they are not afraid of death." The Hound said with disdain, "But those people I know have died long ago. The mission they took on is just a cannon fodder mission, and the survival rate is extremely low." The Hound said.
"Go on." Ke Lan said to the mercenary.
"Well...the six exiles first blindfolded us...this was the employer's request. He said the location of the secret passage must be kept secret."
He went on to say, "We drove for about four or five hours, or maybe half a day... From what I recall, it was a relatively flat and open glacier area , and I didn't feel any bumps... When we were all thirsty and hungry and were about to quarrel with these exiles, the car finally stopped."
"Ice field..." Ke Lan pondered, "It seems that the entrance to the secret passage should be on the north side of the glacier. There are endless mountains on the east and west sides, and there are several transfer supply stations and outposts on the south side. Only the north is an endless empty ice field."
"I'm not sure about that," the mercenary said. "By the time they took off our blindfolds, we were already at the entrance to the secret passage. It was a hole cut out of the ice with a laser cutter, about three meters high and two meters wide. It should be at the foot of a snowy mountain."
"Snow mountain... Can you describe the shape of the snow mountain? There are many snow mountains here. You spoke so vaguely that I can't confirm which one it is." Ke Lan said.
"I can't remember clearly. I just looked up and took a glance at that time, and those exiles urged us to enter the secret passage." The mercenary said, "The first half of the secret passage is about two or three hundred meters long, all cut out of the ice. The second half goes into the interior of the mountain. After passing through the secret passage, we arrived at where we are now."
"Then what?"
"Can...can you give me some more morphine?" The mercenary looked at the syringe in Ke Lan's hand greedily, licked his lips and said.
"I said, if your answer satisfies me, I will give it to you."
"Okay...Okay..." The mercenary nodded. "After we came in, the exiles opened several equipment boxes they brought in. Inside the boxes were five sets of diving equipment."
"The jar is in the lake?" Ke Lan turned her head and looked at the calm lake surface.
"No, it's in another cave, but to get into that cave, we have to dive underwater." The mercenary replied, "They chose two exiles and three mercenaries to carry out this mission, and the rest stayed by the lake to support them. Ryan and I happened to be among the five people chosen."
