bookbashuk Chapter 66 Two Weeks
Chapter 66 Two Weeks
Morris turned to Ella. "What do you want to write?"
Ella hugged the recorder a little tighter. "I want to write..." she paused, "I'm thinking, is it possible that something arrived at our destination before us and deliberately interfered with our equipment setup?"
The silence outside the tent was the fourth time. On the short grass in the open field, the wind came from both sides, pressing down the grass blades and then pushing them up again.
Kenneth did not speak.
Marcus looked down at the ground.
Kaller stood at the front of the line, his back to them, not turning around, but there was a slight tension in his back muscles before he relaxed.
Morris paused for about ten seconds after hearing Ella's words before speaking, "Do you have any evidence to support this inference?"
"Traces," Ella said. "Stone ridges, claw marks, and flocks of birds in the reeds—each of these is a normal grassland variable on its own. But they all appeared together today, on the same day, in the same area, and in the same direction of advance by the same group of people."
"They appeared simultaneously," Morris repeated the word.
"Yes."
He looked at her for about five seconds, then turned his head back and walked back towards the camp. "Write it in your own work log, not in the official report."
Ella followed, "Why?"
"Because you have no evidence," he continued walking, his voice unchanged. "Evidence is needed for the report; without it, the project will be shut down in London tomorrow." He took two steps without turning back. "How confident are you in your judgment?"
Ella took a few steps, pressed the recorder in the crook of her arm, and said, "Seventy percent."
Morris walked a long way without saying a word, then said, "Leave it for now."
Below the sandstone platform, Chen Fei was walking towards his landing spot.
He didn't walk in a straight line, but in an arc, circling about a third of the southern boundary of the territory, sniffing the air from all angles, and then continued walking.
The scent distribution on the south side is uniform, not concentrated at a single point. It spreads along the southern boundary of the territory, covering approximately 800 meters laterally, with the concentration decreasing from the center to both sides, and being the strongest in the center.
The densest concentration is directly opposite the central axis of the territory.
He marked this direction in his mind.
The central axis is a straight line from the landing site to the southern boundary, which is the core passageway of the territory. If the hyena pack is applying pressure along this direction, they are either testing or have already determined the entry route.
He tightened his claws on the grass for a moment, then relaxed them.
Not tonight.
The concentration isn't high enough to warrant action tonight.
But it's still a long way from the point where there won't be any action tonight.
He continued walking, his pace unchanged. He glanced at the outline of his landing spot from a distance, then looked down at the grass beneath his feet and continued forward step by step.
A place to settle down.
Sel was still lying on the outer edge of the bushes.
She's been here all day.
It's not about sleeping, it's about keeping watch, with your ears and nostrils facing south, standing up and turning around every now and then, and then lying down again.
The stingy little fellow, having chased dung beetles for ages, was exhausted and fell asleep next to her hind legs. His hind legs were still making running motions in his dream, tiny kicking movements, kicking three times before stopping.
Meimei returned from the west side, paused at the entrance of her lodging, glanced at Sel, and then took a few steps toward where Chen Fei usually stayed. Finding that Chen Fei was not there, she stood for a while, then turned to Sel, found a spot next to her, and lay down with both ears facing south.
Big Head emerged from the thick clump of grass on the north side, its fur covered with bits of grass. It yawned, kicked its hind legs twice, and walked towards Sel. Halfway there, it looked next to Sel and found that the space had already been taken by Meimei. It hesitated for three seconds, circled around, and squeezed into a corner on the other side of Sel.
Sel lowered his head and nudged him with his forehead.
Big Head rubbed his head back, then rested his chin on Sel's front leg and closed his eyes.
It closed its eyes for two seconds, then opened them, sniffed the south side, closed them again, opened them again, sniffed again, and then really closed them and fell asleep.
Sel kept his ear tips pointing south for a moment, then turned his gaze to the gap in the grass on the east side of his landing spot.
Chen Fei walked in from there, his pace normal, neither fast nor slow.
He paused in front of Sel, sniffed her scent, then lay down beside her and rested his head on his front paws.
Both ears face south.
The nostrils slowly open and close.
Sel didn't move, but simply flicked the tip of its tail lightly across Chen Fei's hind legs before retracting it.
The smell from the south wafted over in the afternoon heat, a bit stronger than in the morning. The concentration rose at a steady, unhurried rate, like a pot of water going from lukewarm to hot, not yet boiling, but the fire hadn't stopped.
Chen Fei mentally reviewed the concentration one last time.
There will be no action tonight.
But tomorrow, or the day after, the concentration will reach a critical point.
Once that critical point is reached, the question is not whether the hyena pack will come, but how many will come, from which direction, and how they will arrive.
He kept his eyes half-open, his ears facing south, and lay motionless next to Sel.
As they landed, Big Head's soft snores came from beside Sel's hind legs.
Evenly, sleeping soundly.
Another whiff of scent came from the south, slightly stronger than the last. It circled around the west side of our lodging, disappeared into the bushes, paused for a moment, and then dissipated.
Chen Fei tightened his front paws slightly.
[Host: Chen Fei]
[Identity: Sub-adult male lion]
[Energy Points: 884↑]
The mail from London arrived at 2:17 AM.
Morris didn't sleep.
He sat in a folding chair, his back against the thin side of the tent wall, which let in a bit of the cool night wind that pressed against his shoulder blades. He stared at the signal indicator light on the satellite communication device, which flashed green every forty seconds or so, indicating a stable connection and no new messages.
Then the light flashed once, paused for a second, and then flashed again.
The two consecutive flashes are new information.
He took the device and turned it on.
The sender was the project coordination department, not his direct superior. He recognized the difference; emails from the coordination department usually indicated administrative actions, not technical support.
He read the email from beginning to end, taking about two minutes, then placed the equipment on his lap, leaned back against the side of the tent, and closed his eyes.
The hum of the generator outside was still going on.
He mentally reviewed the contents of the email amidst the buzzing sound.
The core meaning is three points.
First, London is not satisfied with the project's interim results, specifically because the two deployments, eleven days on-site, and insufficient amount of effective data are not enough to support continued full funding.
Second, project funding will be reduced by 30 percent in the next evaluation cycle, with the reduction to be deducted primarily from equipment rental and personnel travel expenses.
Third, it is recommended that the project team submit a new progress plan containing verifiable objectives within two weeks; otherwise, the entire project will enter a dormant state.
Two weeks.
Morris opened his eyes and looked at the top of the tent.