Chapter 76 - The Sister Who Fled (1) (1/2)
Chapter 76 – The Sister Who Fled (1)
In September, the northern hemisphere is sunny and its autumn cold, while in Australia located in the southern hemisphere is a different scene.
The northern territory is located in the central northern regions of Australia and covers an area of one-fifth of Australia’s landmass, larger than that of Tibet. However, the population of the Northern Territory is as small as 250,000. On the road, there are many dark-skinned and high-rooted indigenous Australians everywhere.
In the northern part of the northern territory lies Kakadu**, Australia’s largest national park.
**T/N : Kakadu National Park
Near the equator, there are only two seasons—wet and dry seasons, with the dry season having longer days and extremely hot weather and wet season with thunderstorms and rainfalls.
Apart from the original frescoes of cliff caves which have been well preserved for 20,000 years, the wetland ecosystem is more famous here.
Simply speaking, wetlands can be regarded as low-lying plains with shallow water areas. Water is the source of life for all animals. Plants, animals and insects can inhabit and multiply on wetlands, forming a complete ecological chain.
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In Kakadu’s wetland area, tens of thousands of creatures live in harmony. Unfortunately, only few people appreciate such wonderful natural scenery.
Fundamentally, the Northern Territory is large and barren, and in the eyes of tourists, Kakadu National Park is far less attractive than Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. With a very difficult holiday, who would like to plunge into swamps and be covered with mosquito bites?
“The crocodiles are all fed up!”
Penny, carrying an empty bucket and a two-meter long iron rod on her shoulder, staggered off a boat and entered the deserted tourist service center.
She was overweight and was about 40 years old, with short brown hair. Australia’s scorching sun left countless sunburns and dark spots on her body, but she remained a confident beauty.
She had been working here for nearly 20 years, specializing in the Yellow Water cruise project, which is the hottest project in the whole park! More than 80,000 saltwater crocodiles inhabit the whole water area and everyday, Penny takes tourists on a motorboat and goes deep into the nest of saltwater crocodiles.
Also, from time to time, she prepares some fresh meat to “seduce” the crocodiles out of the water.
Entering the small door of the staff lounge area, Penny was greeted with a different view. Unlike the clean and tidy front lobby of the service center, it was small, with several tables haphazardly arranged along the wall and piled on with strange things—fresh pork, unknown flowers and plants, collected rabbit corpses and several stacks of documents pressed beneath them.
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As soon as she opened the door, two big butterflies collided head-on. Their wings spread as they flew out of the door. Being strangely bigger than most butterflies, Penny got frightened and hurried to hide nearby. Then, the creatures flew past her deftly.
“My bird-wing butterflies!” In the room, there was a shrill cry from a boy.
Footsteps sounded, and Edwin came out with a sad face. He was as thin as a bamboo pole, nearly two meters tall with a messy red hair. He looked up at the butterflies that were flying farther and farther, and said sadly, “Oh no! It’s so difficult to catch them!”
“We will never run out of butterflies. Just catch another two again.” Penny shoved the empty barrel and iron rod into a corner.
“This is different!” Edwin looked dejected. He was a Canadian who came all the way here to “suffer”… No, he came here to study his most-loved living things on earth—butterflies! He’s going to collect data for his PhD thesis, which is already his third degree.
The smell in the lounge was not very good. A few little bastards who were in-charge of bird migration data threw their smelly boots on the floor, leaving the room smelling of biological and chemical weapons. Ivanovic from Russia, despite the hot noon,was drinking vodka during working hours, completely uncaring of the clear regulations plastered on the wall.
Penny was the oldest and she knows everyone here as well as she does her children.
She looked around and found one person missing: “Where is Lin? Why isn’t Lin here? ”
“Lin is out on patrol.” Edwin made a gesture of shooting. “He went to the pool. Didn’t you see him there?”
“No.” Penny shook her head solemnly.
Saltwater crocodiles are almost extinct outside Kakadu National Park. As a result, many unscrupulous poachers sneaks into the park to steal. Fortunately, they have Lin.
Lin was the best marksman of all of them and he seldom cooperates with other people. He goes alone every time and pursues those hateful poachers by himself.
Everyone was guessing the location of Lin.
Ivanovic said that Lin’s skill was so exquisite that he might be a veteran hunter like himself. And Edwin said that Lin Bo knows a lot and can keep up with any topic. It seems that he had been to many cities and was a scholar.
Penny felt, however, that he was more like a traveler who traveled around and stayed if he liked to. When this place no longer satisfies him, he would certainly leave.
“Well, let’s not talk about him.” Penny crossed her arms and looked around the little lounge angrily.