723: Chapter 715 Ukraine 723: Chapter 715 Ukraine Gao Yang had called everyone he could, only to find out that aside from himself, everyone was fine and nothing had happened.
Of course, it was best that nothing happened.
Gao Yang didn’t wish for others to be unlucky just because he was.
Gao Yang thought he might be overly sensitive, but it wasn’t until the next day when he had packed his luggage and returned to New York, waiting for the plane to land, that he felt somewhat relieved, because he was afraid the plane might crash.
The reason he was only half relieved was that right after getting off the plane, he got into the car sent by Morgan to pick him up, waiting for Yelena to drive him home and cautioning her not to talk nonsense.
Then, fearing that Glolov and others might ask why he was injured, Gao Yang immediately rushed to another airport to catch Morgan’s flight straight to the West Coast to see Professor Buck.
Gao Yang didn’t want to meet with Glolov and the others, so naturally, he could go see Professor Buck sooner.
Morgan had been waiting at the airport for a while, and when he saw Gao Yang with a splint on his left hand, a shaved head, and a large swathe of gauze that looked like a patch on the back of his head, Morgan was instantly shocked.
“Gao, what happened to you?”
Gao Yang hemmed and hawed for a moment before murmuring softly, “It’s nothing.
I just fell down.
When do we leave?
Can we go now?
It’s better to be quick.”
Gao Yang’s attempt to steer the subject away didn’t succeed because Morgan’s concern for him couldn’t be dismissed with a simple fall.
“Gao, what really happened?
How could you get injured from just a fall!
Were you attacked or something?”
Gao Yang didn’t want to talk about it, but lying would require fabricating a whole string of lies to cover up the truth, and he wasn’t that bored.
So, he sighed deeply and then said with a wry smile, “It was just a fall.
I fell in the bathroom and got a bit injured, nothing serious.”
After Morgan’s facial muscles twitched a couple of times, he still said seriously, “Who are you kidding?
How could you fall in the bathroom and break your left hand!”
Gao Yang lifted his left arm and said helplessly, “It’s not broken, just bruised.
The doctor said it’s better not to move it too much to heal faster, so I had it plastered and splinted to prevent myself from moving it unintentionally.
As for my head, it’s just a minor scrape.”
Morgan couldn’t hold back anymore, he turned his head, his shoulders shrugged until he finally laughed out loud, then Morgan turned his head back and said, “Sorry, I really shouldn’t laugh, but I’m sorry…”
Gao Yang said helplessly, “All right, let’s drop it.
If we can go now, let’s take off.”
After Morgan smiled again, he made a gesture for Gao Yang to follow him to the plane.
There were already four people waiting on Morgan’s private plane.
When they saw Gao Yang, one of them stood up and said with great surprise, “Gao, you’re injured?
What happened!”
The speaker was Simon.
Gao Yang waved at him listlessly and said, “Hey, Ass Face, long time no see.”
Since Simon was shot in the face in Mexico and had a piece of flesh pulled from his buttocks to repair it, Simon had been nicknamed Ass Face by Gao Yang and the others, whether behind his back or to his face, and Simon had no way to stop it.
Hearing Gao Yang’s words, Simon resentfully flipped him the middle finger but still asked, “Where were you fighting?
Is the injury serious?”
Gao Yang really didn’t want to explain anymore.
The joy of meeting an old friend had also diminished somewhat, and at that moment Morgan cheerfully said, “Gao fell in the bathroom.
Alright, everyone sit down.
We’re taking off.”
After rolling his eyes resignedly, Gao Yang sat down next to Simon and whispered, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.
How have you been lately?”
Simon shrugged and replied, “I’ve been fine, just a bit bored.
But at least I haven’t fallen in the bathroom.
Now, Morgan has assigned me to handle the search for the shotgun, so I’ll have something to do in the future.”
Flying from the East Coast to the West Coast takes quite some time, at least five hours non-stop.
After chatting with Simon for a while, Gao Yang started to feel sleepy.
Morgan’s private plane was more comfortable than a commercial plane’s first class, so Gao Yang made himself comfortable, reclined his seat, and slept all the way to San Francisco.
After getting off the plane and driving for more than an hour to Stanford University, it was already dark, but Professor Buck was still waiting, so Gao Yang and the others went straight to Professor Buck’s house.
Upon seeing Gao Yang, Professor Buck, who was waiting on the road to greet them, was extremely enthusiastic.
Professor Buck was genuinely grateful to Gao Yang for saving his life along with half of the production crew.
After a fervent embrace, however, Buck inevitably asked about the injuries Gao Yang had sustained, prompting Gao Yang to explain once again.
Morgan hadn’t brought too many people along, just Simon, who was tasked with locating the shotgun.
He had known Buck for a long time, and after some pleasantries, Buck invited Gao Yang and the others inside his home.
Upon entering, Gao Yang and his companions found three elderly people waiting inside Buck’s home—a woman and two men.
Buck pointed at the old lady and said, smiling, “Olive, my wife.
This is Professor Tuyazuncha Belergen, a botanist.
Since he is of Russian descent, he is very knowledgeable about the plants in Eastern Europe and Russia.
This is Professor Will White; he is very familiar with European geography.
They are both my friends and my colleagues.”
After introductions, when Gao Yang and Morgan each shook hands with Buck’s friends, Buck smiled and said, “Gao, you came all the way from the East Coast, so you must be anxious to have that photo examined.
Let’s get started now.”
Simon opened a large tote bag and laid the photo out in front of the three old men.
Buck asked his wife to brighten the lights, and immediately, all three elderly gentlemen leaned in closely over the photograph.
After just a glance, the three old men almost simultaneously exclaimed, “This is Eastern Europe.”
Spotting some clues so quickly, Gao Yang and Morgan felt hopeful.
The two exchanged glances and nodded to each other, continuing to watch attentively as they waited for the professors to deliberate further.
After initially speaking out, there was a long silence before Buck slowly spoke again ten minutes later, “This moose, representative of a typical European lowland species, is an adult male.
Judging by the reference objects, this moose is quite large, at least 2000 pounds in weight, with a fluffy coat and congested corneas, indicating it is in its prime.
Moreover, from the scars on the moose’s body and the wear on the antlers, it appears that this moose is at its peak mating competition phase.
Thus, we can roughly determine the photo was shot around mid-September to October.”
After completing his explanation, Buck added, “This is a subspecies of the Eurasian moose, easily distinguishable from those found in the Far East based on the vegetation and the marsh’s appearance, as well as the condition of the moose.
I believe this place could likely be at the junction of the borders of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine—although Lithuania and Latvia are possibilities too.
However, considering that the population of moose in Lithuania is quite small, the marshland areas in the aforementioned four countries are all possibilities.”
Buck provided a location, but the range was still extensive.
It would be tedious for Morgan to investigate further in all four countries, yet just after a brief pause, Buck had another insight.
“Wait, given the weight of this moose, which is quite large, but the moose hasn’t won any female’s favor, it suggests there’s a large population with sizable competitors, which indicates a good living environment.
From this analysis, I believe we can narrow down the location further…”
Before Buck could finish, the old man named Tuyazuncha suddenly exclaimed loudly, “Found it!”
Tuyazuncha’s shout startled Gao Yang and the others, but Buck and Will remained composed and asked, “What have you found?”
Tuyazuncha pointed to a clump of grass beside the moose and said, “This is Golden Miscanthus, there’s no mistaking it.
Even though the color is still somewhat greenish and hasn’t turned golden yet, the height of this plant and shape of its leaves are definitely that of Golden Miscanthus!”
Buck, visibly delighted, said, “If the Golden Miscanthus you’re referring to is indeed the kind used for weaving everyday objects, then we can further narrow down the range to just the Sozh River.
Only the Sozh River basin has this grass!”
Tuyazuncha clapped his hand and said, “Correct!
On the border of Ukraine and Belarus, along the Sozh River!”
Buck clenched his fist and waved it, exclaiming loudly, “We can limit the range to within ten kilometers on either bank of the Sozh River.
Can we isolate the most likely segment of the river?”
Tuyazuncha shook his head and said, “I’ve looked for a long time, but the background in the photo is too blurred to distinguish specific types of plants.
I can’t make any further determinations.”
It was then that the old man named Will pointed at the photo, smiled, and said, “Look at their boots.
The mud on these men’s boots tells us about their location.”
Morgan couldn’t help but lean forward, and Gao Yang’s heart began to race as they listened to Will casually explain, “The mud reaches up to their calves.
To my knowledge, upstream on the Sozh River, the marshland mostly has sandy bottoms, and even if it has muddy bottoms, they would display a slightly yellowish mud color.
However, downstream from where the Sozh River flows into the Dnieper River at Loyev, then further down along the banks of the Dnieper River, nearly all have been turned into farmlands.
Hence, their hunting location is upstream from Loyev, down the river section by a small town called Stoya, where the marsh mud is dark brown.
If we are to further narrow down the location, please give me a map.”
Simon, who always carried a map with him, quickly spread a map out on the table in front of Will upon hearing this.
Ready with a steel pen, Will marked two points on the Sozh River after which, smiling, he said, “The most likely area is between these two points, along about a hundred kilometers of the river banks.”
Gao Yang leaned in and saw that the most likely location of the photo was essentially at the border between Belarus and Ukraine.
After exchanging excited glances with Morgan, Gao Yang and Morgan said in unison, under their breath, “Ukraine, Peter!” (To be continued.
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