On the morning of the third day in the mountains, the small team arrived at the Great Glacier. It was said that there was a low-lying basin nearby, which was their destination. Due to the secret nature of their mission, they couldn’t hire a local guide (in fact, no one knew the way), so they had to rely on a rough military map to navigate through the tangled contour lines.
The Great Glacier was made up of three parts, with a significant drop and steep slopes. Its highest point exceeded six thousand meters, with snow that had not melted for thousands of years. The longest section was a smooth, mirror-like expanse of ice, hundreds of meters thick. The lowest part was below the average elevation of the Tibetan Plateau, deeply sunken into the earth like a crack. Here, the warmer climate created a rare belt of green vegetation. At this lowest point, the effects of altitude sickness were less severe, but to continue deeper into the Kunlun Mountains, they had to pass through the valley beneath the glacier.
Before setting out, the engineer had warned everyone not to make loud noises while marching under the glacier, as it could trigger an avalanche and bury them alive.
Everyone held their breath, but an accident still occurred. While descending from the glacier to the valley, an engineer from Beijing lost his footing and fell. In the oasis beneath the glacier, they found his mangled body. Luo Ning, a female geologist and his colleague, was overwhelmed by grief at the sight.
A geologist named Wang quickly covered her mouth and whispered, “Don’t cry out.”
Luo Ning buried her face in Wang’s arms, sobbing in pain. The instructor took off his hat to pay his respects to their fallen teammate. Then, I and Gawa gathered the engineer’s body, placing it in a bag for burial. He had been with us for less than three days; I only knew he was from Beijing, and I didn’t even have time to learn his name before he passed away silently.
As the tall man gently dug into the earth with a shovel, suddenly, a large blue fireball, the size of a basketball, shot out from the hole he was digging. It spun in the air twice before diving into the crowd, causing the team members to quickly dodge out of the way.
The Fire BettleThe fireball landed on the ground, and the blue flames gradually extinguished, revealing a strange little beetle. Its body resembled red transparent crystal, and its wings were clear and glistening. Through its transparent shell, they could faintly see its semi-transparent insides, with what seemed like flames flickering within, creating an air of mystery and intrigue.
Everyone exchanged glances, all wanting to ask what kind of bug this was. But no one could provide an answer; it was likely an undiscovered species. Wang, curious, leaned in closer, adjusting his thick glasses, and carefully picked up the beetle, which resembled a red flame, with two fingers to examine it closely.
At that moment, however, his fingers ignited upon contact with the beetle, and in an instant, blue flames engulfed his entire body. Blisters erupted on his skin, and his glasses melted and fell to the ground as he writhed in agony.
It was too late for us to save him. His screams echoed through the valley, chilling everyone to the bone, and it seemed he would not die quickly.
Some tried to use shovels to extinguish the flames on him, but his entire body was already severely burned, with 100% burn coverage. Even if they managed to put out the fire, in this remote part of the Kunlun Mountains, he would likely not survive more than an hour without medical help. That would only prolong his suffering.
The sight of a living person being burned was too cruel. Luo Ning couldn’t bear to watch any longer; she turned her head away, her expression frozen in horror. She covered her ears and opened her mouth, unsure if she wanted to cry or scream. The youngest member, Xiao Lin, was terrified, hiding behind the tall man, trembling uncontrollably.
The second squad leader pulled out his pistol, wanting to help Wang end his suffering. He couldn’t bear to watch him in such pain, and he feared that if Wang continued to scream, it would surely trigger an avalanche.
The instructor held down the second squad leader’s hand, which was about to pull the trigger, and whispered, “We can’t shoot. Use the bayonet; let me do it.”
Above them, tons of snow hung precariously on the Great Glacier, and any noise could lead to catastrophic consequences. The only way to help Wang was to give him a quick death with a stab to the heart.
Without hesitation, the instructor took a semi-automatic rifle with a bayonet from one of the soldiers. He softly said, “I’m sorry, brother,” closed his eyes, and plunged the bayonet into Wang’s heart. Wang finally stopped his heart-wrenching screams and fell to the ground, motionless, though the flames on his body continued to burn.
Just as the instructor was about to pull the bayonet out, the eerie blue flames flared up suddenly, traveling along the blade and up the rifle.
The speed of the flames was astonishing; in less than the blink of an eye, before anyone could comprehend what was happening, the instructor was engulfed by the blue fire.
Like Wang, the instructor struggled and screamed in agony. Everyone knew him well; he was a tough man. Though he appeared gentle, his endurance and willpower matched the best professional soldiers. It was unimaginable how excruciating the pain from that strange fire must have been for him to emit such a mournful cry.
With tears in his eyes, the second squad leader raised his pistol. He could no longer worry about the risk of an avalanche; he simply couldn’t bear to watch the instructor suffer any longer. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, the instructor, engulfed in flames, suddenly spoke, “I command… none of you are to open fire… quickly, get the others out of here…”
Despite the unbearable pain, the instructor remained conscious. He realized that his screams could trigger an avalanche, and to silence himself, he reversed the glowing bayonet and plunged it into his own heart. After a long, agonizing moment, his body was reduced to a pile of fine ashes.
The remaining members of the small team watched this tragic and heroic scene in anguish. Each person clenched their fists and gritted their teeth, trying to hold back the tears welling in their eyes. Some had bitten their lips until they bled.
The valley was eerily silent, with not a sound to be heard. The deep blue sky reflected on the surface of the glacier, creating an illusion of two identical skies, making it hard to tell which was above and which was below. The breathtaking beauty of the scene felt surreal, yet it was filled with a sense of eerie terror.
On the ground lay two piles of ashes. Just moments ago, they had been living, breathing individuals, and now they were reduced to mere remnants, with not even bone fragments left. If it weren’t for witnessing everything unfold, who could believe such a thing could happen in the world?
Suddenly, from the ashes left by Wang, a blue fireball shot up into the air, hovering before the remaining members. It seemed to be selecting its next target. Its speed was astonishing, and within its range, no one felt they could escape. A faint vibration filled the air, the sound of the strange beetle’s wings as it prepared to fly.
The small team had already lost three members—its leader, the instructor, and two engineers. The remaining engineers were Luo Ning, the surveyor, and Liu, from the Shanghai Geological Institute. It was clear that this mission was now impossible to complete.
With the instructor gone, the soldiers felt a loss of their guiding force. Yet, as they faced the eerie blue fireball, a shared thought emerged in their minds: “We’d rather be buried alive in an avalanche than be burned to ashes by this thing.”
A few anxious soldiers raised their rifles, aiming at the beetle hovering in the air. Suddenly, the second squad leader stepped forward and declared, “Comrades, the instructor has sacrificed himself, and now I am the leader! I order you all to stay alive and get back safely, understood?”
I realized what the second squad leader intended to do—he was willing to sacrifice himself to buy time for the others to escape. I grabbed his arm, choking back tears, and said, “No! You’re not even a party member; why should you go? If anyone should go, it should be me!”
He pushed my hand away. “You little fool, you’re not even a team member! I told you not to mimic me, but you just won’t listen.” Before I could respond, he turned and charged toward the fireball suspended in the air.
The second squad leader had just taken two steps forward when he suddenly stopped. In front of us unfolded an unbelievable scene: the strange beetle, emitting flames, split into three identical copies, each the same size as the original.
One of the blue fireballs lunged directly at the second squad leader, while the other two darted like lightning into the crowd. The fireballs struck three people, including the squad leader, the cook Lao Zhao, and the communications officer Xiao Lin. They were instantly engulfed in flames, letting out horrific screams as they writhed on the ground, desperately trying to roll and extinguish the fire.
Then, a terrifying situation unfolded. In their earlier panic facing the fireball, the soldiers had all released the safety catches on their weapons, and the magazines were fully loaded and ready to fire.
Xiao Lin, only sixteen years old, lacked the courage and mental fortitude that the instructor and the second squad leader had shown in the face of death. The demonic flames consumed his reason. In the agony of being burned, his semi-automatic rifle discharged, “Rat-tat-tat-tat…” Three more comrades were hit by the stray bullets he fired, collapsing into pools of blood.
Things were spiraling into the worst possible scenario. The instructor had chosen to take his own life rather than allow us to fire our weapons, yet in the end, the gunshots rang out. Being attacked by the strange fire beetle was terrifying, but an avalanche would mean certain doom for the entire team. In the valley beneath the Great Glacier, shouting might have only a thirty percent chance of triggering an avalanche, but gunfire would guarantee the most horrific consequences.
Seeing the disoriented Xiao Lin accidentally shoot three comrades with his rifle, I didn’t have time to think. Gritting my teeth, I raised my own rifle and fired three quick shots, taking down Xiao Lin, the second squad leader, and Lao Zhao, who were all struggling in the flames.
The sound of gunfire echoed through the valley. The narrowness of the valley, combined with the glacier’s mirror-like ice walls, created a natural amplifier, causing the gunshots, screams, and cries to reverberate in waves that seemed endless.
I was still trapped in the agony of having shot my own comrades, their faces and voices haunting my mind. Suddenly, I felt a chill on my head and came back to reality, realizing it was a snowflake that had landed on my forehead.
The sun was shining brightly in the sky, making it impossible for it to snow. My heart sank, and the first thought that flashed through my mind was, “The avalanche has finally come.”
At that moment, from the burning bodies of the three fallen comrades, blue fireballs shot up into the air. There was no longer any hesitation about firing. Gawa, the best marksman among the team, raised his rifle and, without aiming, fired three shots in quick succession. Each bullet struck the center of a fireball, and the beetles inside, much smaller than the bullet’s caliber, were obliterated, causing the flames to vanish.
After this brief but brutal confrontation, out of the ten of us—eight soldiers, the second squad leader, and the instructor—only three remained alive: me, the tall man, and Gawa, along with the two intellectuals, Liu and Luo Ning.
Snowflakes began to fall more heavily, and a rumbling sound echoed from above, shaking the entire valley. I looked up to see the snowpack shifting, swirling like a white tsunami, rolling down toward us.
The tall man pulled me, shouting, “Old Hu! What the fxxk are you staring at? Hurry up and run!”
We were positioned in the middle of the valley, and the avalanche would surely fill it completely, leaving no place to escape. Yet, in this life-and-death moment, human instinct drove us to make one last desperate struggle.
Luo Ning had already fainted from fear, and the tall man hoisted her onto his shoulder. Gawa and I dragged Liu, trying to reach the opposite side of the glacier, hoping to climb to a slightly higher slope before the avalanche struck, grasping at this final chance for survival.
In our most desperate moment, we didn’t abandon our weapons; they were a part of our identity as soldiers. To discard them would mean to forsake our honor. But we couldn’t worry about anything else. We tossed aside our equipment, trying to unbuckle our backpacks, but in the chaos, there was no time. The five survivors pulled and dragged each other as we ran.
The avalanche came with terrifying speed, a massive wave sweeping down the valley, shaking the ground beneath us.
I had heard stories about avalanches before, but I never imagined the sheer power of such a silver wave. In that moment, despair filled our hearts; no matter how fast we ran, it felt like we could never escape.