bit stealing game

Chapter 68: Boil the snow and boil the sea

The young man stood on the deck, facing the biting air and soft snow.

Snow has been falling these past few days. The ship has sailed into the Arctic Circle, and the long night is coming. This will be the last time the young man sees the sun for more than a month.

Murmansk has abundant energy. Even in the polar night, the city is still lively and the lights are brightly lit all day long. However, the liveliness of the city has nothing to do with the sea. The young man withdrew his gaze from the distance and continued to watch the endless falling snow in front of him melt one after another.

On the sea.

The ship sailed for a few more days.

The sea breeze blew so hard that the young man couldn't open his eyes. He came from Sicily, which prefers sunshine, and he had never experienced such a long night.

"You come from a different place than we did."

This is the second time it has passed Teriberka. When the ship finally stopped at sea, the bearded captain said.

Russians don't look at ice and snow for long. It's part of who they are.

The young man smiled. Even though he spoke the language fluently, some people knew that he was out of place.

It's the same everywhere.

"Thank you, is this here?" The young man changed into his diving suit and looked at the captain inquiringly.

Half a month ago, a young man appeared at the port under the jurisdiction of Murmansk carrying a bulging backpack.

It is a large city, but few outsiders come. At the end of the last century, countless foreigners stuck their big noses in, and now there is nothing here that interests them.

The vigilance left over from the Cold War is still in the bodies of the residents here. They are all people who have experienced the most glorious days of the former Soviet Union, and some of them have even driven their own fishing boats to beat up the intruders.

Captain Bearded has stayed here all his life and experienced the prosperity and decline of Murmansk as a military port. When he took over this broken fishing boat from his father, it had already experienced the transformation from a fishing boat to a warship, and returned after completing its mission.

Got my job.

This is an honorary fishing boat. The captain takes good care of it every day and is always ready.

This ship can only be used for fishing now. Occasionally, the captain will miss the time when he and his old friend rode the wind and waves together.

But it took too long, twenty years, and the captain did not wait for the call from the empire. Until the young man appeared in this unknown port and wanted to see the place where a certain Soviet warship sank that year.

The captain remembered that warship. It was a maritime research institute. Scientists who could influence the situation of the country wanted to defect to other countries with imperial secrets.

But no one can really leave this piece of ice and snow, and the scientist and his secrets sleep peacefully on the land.

Later, many people came to look for the warship. But even in the most chaotic period, the captain and others remained silent. Over time, the flies stopped coming. Now, foreigners are still prepared when walking on the streets of this small town.

Attention.

The young man was able to successfully find the captain of the ship that had not been driven away, thanks to his blond hair that was lighter than the sun and his eyes as blue as glaciers. This was the look that belonged here. But the captain knew that the young man was definitely not

local people.

The young people still attracted the attention of the residents. There are very few young people here anymore. Those children who were born here later despised this place and were dejected all day long. When they grew up, they left the place without looking back, where even the New Year was buried in the eternal night.

Most of those left behind are obsolete people.

But an era will not come to an end easily. Even now, the wind and snow have not dissipated.

Moreover, the young man came at the wrong time. No tourist would rush to see that piece of frozen soil before the polar night. If he hadn't really had an appearance made of ice and snow, he wouldn't even be able to drink a sip of vodka here.

The captain watched the young man enthusiastically thank the hostess of the tavern who closed the door in front of him, then slumped his shoulders, walked to the shore with dry cheese in his mouth, and ate a piece of black bread in the sea breeze.

For some reason, the captain stopped the young man. "Hey, I heard you're looking for the Lasvet."

The young man didn't even raise his head. "No, I just want to go to the sea to see the Aurora."

"No one is going to sea at this time." The captain stepped on the frozen fishing net and drank a sip of vodka. He had watched with cold eyes as the young man was rejected countless times in the past few days. "Let's wait until next July to come back."

"That's it. Thank you very much." The young man raised the corner of his mouth slightly and gave a cold smile. "It seems that I don't know enough about this place."

The young man finished his lunch slowly, took out a pair of sunglasses from his backpack and put them on. The thick green banknotes popped out and were covered back. He stood up and stretched, then touched his forehead with his hand and asked

Captain's greetings.

The captain watched the young man walking towards another icebreaker not far away.

At dusk, the young man came to the shore again to eat bread. He buried his head and allowed himself to be immersed in the loss for a short while. After this short while, he had to rush to touch the sun again before it fell into the sea.

Luck. You must find a ship that can go to sea before the polar night.

The captain was warming a pot of stew on the deck.

The young man sniffed, raised his head and looked around. The captain smoked his cigarette unmoved. Then the young man put the black bread in his hand on the shore without hesitation and walked towards the place where the warm aroma of food exuded. The seagulls were following him

A crowd rushed up behind him, dismembered his dinner, then fluttered his wings and flew to the sea.

"Aren't you afraid of being hungry tonight?" The captain looked at the young man on the other side handling the food elegantly and quickly. In his opinion, this was a rich man who didn't know the heights of the world.

"Afraid. But I'm more afraid that those dry breads will ruin my taste buds." The young man licked his lips and smiled at the captain. "Can I have some more stew?"

The captain saw that he still had some round cheeks. In fact, he was still a child, maybe even younger than his own son. Finally, the young man got a small bottle of vodka from the captain.

This kid looks a bit like a Russian when he drinks. The captain thought. The next second, the young man choked and coughed.

After drinking and eating, the young man took out a green bill from his pocket. The captain glanced at it. It seemed that in addition to what was in his backpack, the foreigner should also have a lot of US dollars with him.

The young man took his bulging backpack and said goodbye to the captain.

"Why are you going to sea?" the young man heard the captain ask from behind.

"There are some things I want to see."

"There's nothing there."

"Maybe." The young man shrugged. "But maybe it's my destiny."

The captain took a drag on his cigarette.

No one knows what the young man is going to do better than him. Twenty years ago, in the last days of the Soviet Union, a piece of history and a research secret were buried there forever. And those of them were that glorious at that time.

The people covered by the curtain of the times have also silently guarded the past twenty years in their own way.

But so what? Who cares now about the legacy of a long-gone empire.

The captain took a long drag on his cigarette. He was old. This ship had not sailed for a long time.

"Hey, I'll go with you!"

The young man stopped. He turned his back to the captain and smiled.

Those who are willing take the bait. The young man doesn't know who has the information from that year, but there is always someone who will help him.

The wind is getting stronger in Teriberka.

Fragments of ice and frozen soil were lifted up from the wasteland and rushed towards the only fishing boat that dared to sail through the polar night. The starlight of the eternal night illuminated the sacrificial piles placed by the Sami people and local fishermen.

People who rely on heaven for food are full of reverence for nature.

The young man saw the lighthouse from a distance and told the captain that he wanted to go to the shore to have a look.

It is said to be "on the shore", but in fact it is just another desert island floating in the Arctic Ocean. It used to be the northern port of the Soviet Union and was very beautiful for a while. Now as people have moved to Murmansk, there are only a few left here.

We got off the abandoned ship and an old lighthouse that was no longer useful.

The captain flashed the searchlight several times, and the island guard responded with the same language. After receiving permission, the fishing boat docked. This small island welcomed a long-awaited visitor.

In the past, far beyond the scale of human life, this island was once part of the mainland. Now it is no different from the frozen wasteland. The young man put his hands in his pockets and paced slowly under the scrutiny of the island guards. For a long time

He just stopped and stared at the frozen ground beneath his feet.

The soil freeze-thaw cycle here has been disrupted. Things that were once buried underground as the seasonal frozen soil was further frozen will be revived.

This place suddenly melted in the last century, and the explosive energy field attracted many greedy eyes.

At that time, it was still under the high-pressure control of the former Soviet Union. Before it caused trouble, it was taken over by the research institute. The project was brought to its peak by a genius scientist. Later, all the information was accompanied by the warship called Rastvi.

Sleeping at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean not far away.

The young man looked at the speechless earth quietly, and withdrew his gaze when the tower guard came over.

"This is such a beautiful and vibrant place." The young man sighed.

"What's wrong with him?" the island guard asked the captain.

"Artist." The captain shrugged and returned to his fishing boat. In addition to chatting with the captain these days, the young man spent all day painting on the boat. It seemed that this unchanging world of ice and snow was so colorful.

The young man took off the picture folder from his back. His hands were frozen, and he held it to his mouth for a long time. Then he carefully unfolded a piece of paper and carefully drew the scene in front of him.

The dark night at noon watched the young man.

The island guard sneered at first, but then he was gradually brought into the thin yet dense painting by his brushstrokes.

"Can I take some souvenirs with me?" the young man asked politely after putting away the sketch.

"This is not a tourist attraction, kid. I have nothing to offer you." The island guard's tone was stiff. He had begun to like the young man, but the warmth in his words was taken away by the biting sea breeze.

The young man moved his stiff joints and slowly squatted down. He awkwardly swept away the frozen clods of soil, rummaged for a long time, and picked up a piece of dry grass from underneath. He raised his head and lifted the piece of grass.

The withered grass shook and touched the North Star.

The island guard watched silently. In the end, the young man only took away the grass, a few stones randomly picked up from the surrounding frozen soil and his sketch. The frozen soil cannot support life, so it is nothing to take away.

The island guard thought so and acquiesced to the young man's behavior. When leaving, the young man gave the lighthouse painted on the boat to the island guard.

After returning to the boat, the young man had to put his hand in the sea water to slowly warm it up. When he could move, he began to play with the small objects he had just obtained.

The captain sneered and sailed away from the island.

The Arctic Ocean means the ocean facing the constellation Ursa Major in Greek.

In order to show off, the captain wandered around this sea area for many days, and finally cast the net today. So the two of them ate fresh ingredients that they had not seen for a long time, and the young man's taste buds gradually recovered.

The place they went to was close to the North Pole, and most of the surrounding area was covered by sea ice, making navigation difficult.

Everyone here knows what is under that sea area. It was the hope of the former Soviet Union, the dawn of eternal night. Now it is so desolate that even fish can’t come. Countless abandoned fishing boats are like its tombstones on the silent sea.

ups and downs.

Searchlights swept across the sea. The ships drifting from the abandoned port of the last century quietly undulated with the ocean currents and wind and waves, like living tombs, gradually surrounding the fishing boats.

The young man stared at the world frozen in darkness. The ship he was looking for was sleeping in the deep sea more than 3,000 meters below.

The young man asked casually: How did that ship sink?

The captain looked at the North Star. It was also a polar night twenty years ago, and this was still a military port. I didn't expect that the stars would change so quickly. The stars are so eternal.

"Why are you looking for that ship?" the captain asked again.

During the Cold War, the United States had been inciting politicians and scientists to rebel against the former Soviet Union, and the Lasvet was naturally targeted as an energy source that could reset the empire. In the late 1980s, someone took advantage of the chaos of the collapse of the Soviet Union to open it.

The warship where the research institute is located went directly to the Norwegian waters. Those people not only had to leave, but also took away the secrets on this frozen soil, the last weapon of the Soviet Union. This plan was very good, and it even succeeded immediately.

At that time, no one knew how this research institute destined to be left behind by the former Soviet Union ended up sleeping in the sea.

Some people say that a sudden snowstorm disrupted the view, causing the warship to hit a broken iceberg.

Some people say it was an experimental accident. After all, this was the research institute of Ivan Nevalov, a hot new star in chemistry at the time. It is said that he extracted energy that could support the operation of the entire empire, and he conducted experiments day and night in order to put it into use as soon as possible or extract it in batches.

This resulted in errors.

Some people also say that the Lasvet was attacked. In order to defeat the Soviet Union and suppress its scientific development, the evil U.S. imperialism destroyed the scientist and his research together.

Amidst the divergent opinions, the truth of that year has disappeared like the day in the eternal night.

The young man looked at the auroras spreading in the distance and asked the captain, "Have you ever seen the flames burning in the sea?"

The captain was silent. At that time, the port was not ruined, and he was still young. It was also a day of polar night, and the fire lit up the entire Arctic Ocean.

The captain looked at the young man standing on the bow of the ship. Many people wanted to get out of the ice and snow, including those former Soviet scientists and the captain himself.

And this young man who is incompatible with the cold is back.

The young man did not give the captain an answer, nor did he wait for the captain's answer. He put on his diving goggles, and the tempered glass blocked the blue eyes that were condensed into ice blades, and the violent waves in his eyes.

The biting cold surrounded him through the diving suit, and the young man shivered. He grew up by the sea, but the water of the Mediterranean Sea is as warm as the sun.

The captain watched the young man unfold his body and slowly dive into the dark water.

The fire 20 years ago burned in the captain's heart for a long time because it was the Soviet North Sea Fleet that sank the Lasvet.

Of course, the young man did not see the Lasvet in the Arctic Ocean.

The consequences of a nuclear leak are either mutant creatures like Godzilla, or nothing at all.

There is only dead silence here.

The deepest record of human free diving is 332 meters underwater. In the silent and cold water, the stars were trembling. The young man was breathless. His heart was beating violently and his lungs were shrunk.

The young man was hovering in the empty sea, staring at the wreckage sleeping deeper. In fact, he was just staring into the darkness. At the bottom of the water one thousand meters below, even in the darkest day, no light could penetrate.

The Lasvet is anchored more than three thousand meters underwater. Everything under such deep water has been crushed to pieces. This is why it has not been disturbed for so long.

Through the dense darkness of the everlasting deep sea, the young man seemed to hear the sound of the explosion twenty years ago.

What the young man is looking for is also looking for him.

The solidified sea water began to boil.

In the light of the fire, the young man saw the outline of the wreckage of the Lasvet.

He spread his arms. Through the sea water and time and space, he seemed to be waiting for a belated hug.

Death to humans has never been as simple as a biological concept.

The cold water and the nuclear strikes many years ago can prevent some dangers, but the captain dare not take it lightly. He watched the sea surface cautiously, so he missed an underwater burning.

The rope moved.

With the help of the captain, the young man shivered and climbed onto the deck, muttering "I'm freezing to death." The North Star, which was almost hanging overhead, cast a clear light and shadow on his face.

It was also this star that bid farewell to scientists back then.

The captain saw the sparkling light in the young man's eyes. Something was ignited by the Arctic Ocean.

The captain turned the rudder.

Perhaps this eternal night has finally ushered in the dawn.

Because of the boycott of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, only 14 countries and regions sent small Olympic delegations to participate in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Italy was one of them.

Malena, a girl from Naples, followed her family members who were on "business" to this exotic socialist country. There, in addition to the cute mascot Misha Bear, she also met a cute Soviet youth.

There is no conflict between the cold reception of the Olympic Games and a beautiful encounter in a foreign country.

Before Ivan graduated from St. Petersburg University, he already got an opportunity to do research in a top department. He said with high spirits that he would become a great scientist like Mendeleev in the future. However, when facing Malena, Ivan

But he is a quiet and slow young man.

Before leaving, Ivan gave Marlena a Misha bear. In the years that followed, the two kept in touch. However, as Ivan's research became more and more successful, he had less time and space for himself.

They did not see each other again until a few years later when the Soviet Union was facing its disintegration.

At the end of the 1980s, the precarious Soviet regime was naturally intervened by the Western forces that had been coveting it. Malena once again set foot on the land where her lover was trapped.

When they met again, the young man's meticulous blond hair and obviously stern face made Marlena feel a little dazed. But when he spoke, it was her language. It turned out that Ivan was also approaching her in the time they had not met. Even if he

Speaking the language of a lover so bluntly is enough to make Marlena, who has heard countless love words, fall in love again.

The lingering Italian words spoken from my lover's mouth melted the cold Moscow night.

The couple walked along the banks of the Moskva River, enjoyed the ballet, and made silly crafts together. However, for a top Soviet scientist and the daughter of an Italian arms dealer, neither the future nor the present belonged to them personally.

Ivan could not reveal his research status to anyone. He could only tell Marlena that after finishing the research at hand, he would go to Italy to find her.

But what came first was the decay and decay of the Soviet Union.

Countless Soviet scientists took advantage of the chaos and fled to the West. Naturally, the Americans offered Ivan an olive branch. But the scientists were not tempted.

A few years ago, the Soviets discovered an ore that was almost billions of years old in the frozen soil in the far north. It could continue to burn under extreme circumstances and had enough energy to ignite ice and snow. Ivan analyzed it.

There was an element that might be able to help the building collapse. Like many people at the time, he believed Gorbachev's lies and fought for the Soviet Union that was about to be overthrown by the leader he trusted.

However, some people deliberately exploited the relationship between Ivan and his lover from a foreign country to make a fuss. No one dared to bet that a scientist with such ability would not rebel. So Ivan, who once wanted to be a scientist like Mendeleev, became a sinner because of the discovery of amazing energy.

After being counted as treason, his only way out was to flee the Soviet Union. Before the trial was handed down, his colleagues who had been incited to rebel took the opportunity to encourage Ivan to go with him. All the joints in the country that had been hollowed out had been opened, and they only needed to start

With the Lasvet, we can take all the research away from this inevitable sinking front.

The scientist could no longer do anything for the motherland. But at least, he would not give up the research of the motherland. So he set foot on the warship that was destined not to return.

Carrying the infamy, Ivan used his reputation and his own life to make the authorities and the Americans think that "Boiling Snow" was on that ship and sank into the Arctic Ocean with him after the defection failed. After that, he was able to change the world and even more.

The study of his fate lay dormant in the icy wasteland.

Until twenty years later, a young man docked in a broken fishing boat.

Ivan didn't feel cold when he was swallowed by the sea water. The person he loved should be under the sun in Naples now, that girl who is afraid of the cold.

I really want to see her again. Ivan thought. I want to tell her, I sewed a bear for you, do you like it? I also made a ring for you with fragments of stars. There is only one pair in the world.

.

Ivan cast his gaze towards the sky. The aurora in the eternal night is the color of his lover's eyes. Thinking of her, even the sea water is like a hug.

The water in the Mediterranean should be very warm. I really want to see her. I really want to see her again. I want to tell her that my life is loyal to my motherland and my heart is loyal to you.

The last thing that occupied Ivan's sight was the light that could penetrate the sea water. He closed his eyes. The sun should be warmer in Naples than in Leningrad.

After seeing a crooked Misha bear in a small building on the outskirts of Moscow, Malena's vision blurred.

After such a long time, the high-spirited blond young man who held the bear came to life again, taking off his hat and smiling shyly at her.

When he asked her out for the first time, he held the hat so tightly with his slender fingers that it was deformed. Although he was not good at crafts, he said he would make a Misha bear for her. Because the bear represented the bond between the lovers.

They met at the Olympic Games. He was obviously a scientist, but he believed that the mascot could bring good luck to their relationship.

Marlena laughed.

A girl from Naples will always meet that young man who is as cold and gentle as snow.

It's a pity that good luck can't help them. In that era, every step of a person was pushed by the wind of the times, and her lover could not get out of the storm of history after all.

The young man named Ivan slept forever at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean for the sake of his motherland, no, for the sake of mankind no longer being trapped in the flames of war. He never looked at the sun again, and the reputation in front of him was also gone.

Many years later, their son found the little bear.

Who would have thought that the research that the whole world is looking for would be hidden in this old residential building. This discovery that has been silent for a long time will stir up the world situation and stir up trouble again.

The young man brought the little bear to his mother.

Marlena looked at the ring held in the bear's arms. It was made by Ivan from meteorite fragments found in the wasteland. There were two rings, both of which were left to her.

After gently taking off the ring, the weightless bear waved its short arm toward Marlena crookedly, like a belated farewell.

The lover who came from Naples stood in his former house, and the long-lost snow and wind in Moscow drifted in from the window.

Twenty years passed by in a flash.

"How did you find [Boiling Snow]?"

"Mr. Black has a pocket watch and I have a heart made of lead."

What Marlena didn't know was that the bear's body originally contained a heart made of lead. In that firm heart were elements extracted from ores by Soviet scientists.

That was Ivan's silent confession to his lover.

"My feelings for you are like this element that never goes out."

The Misha bear left behind by Ivan contained a person's ideals and abandonment. Later, someone took over those years and walked into the desert from the wind and snow.

The last bonfire was burned out.

Arno looked into those bright and determined black eyes and saw the burning fire that could not be extinguished. He thought of the sunshine in Naples.

Under the starry sky, a smile appeared in his glacier-like eyes.

"Yu, are you willing to help keep my lead heart?"

Arno not only found [Boiling Snow], he also had an [Eternal Eye]

(End of chapter)