I made up myths in America

Chapter 126 Black Swan Harbor
Just leave.

The two young people, who were not yet married, had no burdens and immediately booked the next available flight from London to Moscow.

After a four-hour flight to Moscow, followed by a five-hour domestic flight within Russia, they arrived in Norilsk, the northernmost industrial city in Russia.

This is almost one of the most desolate cities on Earth, with temperatures dropping as low as minus 53 degrees Celsius, and experiencing extreme blizzards for a third of the year.

This godforsaken place, which was practically pushing the limits of human endurance, made Niles, who was really looking forward to experiencing the exotic Russian landscape, seriously doubt whether he had been scammed. Staring wide-eyed at the vast expanse of snow outside the airport, he gave the jerk next to him the middle finger and cursed:

"Fuck you, Mason, this is the hometown you said was only slightly worse than Moscow? There's practically nothing here. I can't even see a few buildings taller than ten meters."

"Those industrial chimneys are them, buddy. Don't be so picky. When we get to my house, I'll definitely have my sister introduce you to some real Slavic beauties."

Mason grinned and pulled him onto a snowmobile belonging to a middle-aged Russian man outside the airport.

Thump, thump-thump—

The icy snow was bitterly cold, and the wind made it even colder. Niles, with his dark skin and tolerance to heat but not cold, clung tightly to his friend in front of him, feeling only one thing in his mind.

He regretted it deeply. He had been misled by that bastard Mason and ended up in this desolate Arctic city that seemed to have hardly anyone living there.

However, after enduring the cold wind for almost an hour, and seeing a beautiful blonde woman with fair skin, delicate features, and blue eyes waving and greeting them from the snow in front of them, Niles felt like he could do it again!

His eyes widened instantly, and he lowered his voice, saying, "Buddy, I misunderstood you. Tell me this beautiful lady's name, and I can wash your smelly socks for a month."

"Heh heh, that's my sister Natalie. If you dare lay a finger on her, I'll kill you, Niles!!"

When Niles heard his best friend speak to him in such a menacing tone for the first time, he shrank back, realizing that his friend was probably serious, and immediately became obedient.

After the snowmobile stopped, he jumped off with his bag and politely greeted the blonde woman.

After a brief exchange in Russian, Niles saw his friend once again fly into a rage.

"No, absolutely not, Natalie! Do you know how dangerous it is outside right now? You kids are actually thinking of going on an adventure to Dixon Harbor? It used to be a site for Soviet biological experiments, and it's been abandoned for ages."

"Brother, I'm an adult now, and I'll be going to Moscow State University next month."

Natalie sighed and gestured for her cousin, who had come with her, to explain.

"Ahem, it's like this, brother."

The tall, thin, brown-haired young man seemed a bit nervous. Mason had trained in boxing with his father when he was a child and had beaten them both up, so much so that no one in this small town dared to mess with Natalie.

Under Mason's somewhat impatient gaze, his childhood trauma resurfaced, and he stammered for a long time before finally managing to explain himself.

Their plan to explore Dixon Harbor this time wasn't for fun, but to make money. Recently, anything with a touch of mystery has become incredibly popular online, and some people have even become internet celebrities by exploring legendary places in Russia.

It just so happens that they are close to Port Dickson, which is a very good opportunity.

"That's it?!!"

Mason was speechless at such a naive and childish idea.

But the next second, Natalie couldn't help but say, "Also, Dad was diagnosed with a heart problem and hospitalized two weeks ago. Mom has been taking care of him at the hospital, and they don't want me to tell you about this."

"What?!!"

Mason's expression finally changed.

More than an hour later, I left the only hospital in Norilsk.

Under Niles's somewhat worried gaze, his usually jovial and mischievous friend lit a cigarette, looked up at the sky, and said with a sad expression. "Niles, you know what? This place is awful, absolutely awful. I always thought that getting out of here would be a source of pride for my parents and family, but now... shit."

Thinking of what he had just seen—his father, whom he had once thought would never fall ill and who was as strong as a polar bear—now lying in a hospital bed, looking extremely weak, Mason wanted to slap himself.

He stood at the hospital entrance for a moment, then looked at his sister and cousin beside him and said, "Tell me your plans. When are you going to Dixon Harbor, and how are you going to get there?"

Seeing that Mason seemed to have given up on their adventure plans, Natalie perked up, her face turning red from the cold, and her voice filled with excitement.

"We're planning to rent an all-terrain vehicle that can carry eight people, and we'll set off tomorrow. The weather near Norilsk has been pretty good these past few days, so there shouldn't be any blizzards."

"Alright, I've been to Dixon Port once before, I'll go with you tomorrow."

"And I."

Niles quickly interjected.

He didn't want to be alone in this godforsaken place.

"Go, all of you."

Mason waved his hand dismissively. After all, he had aspired to be a reporter since he was a child, and there was no place around here that he didn't know.

Three days later
On the vast ice field, Mason, who was in charge of driving and had already circled around for a long time, fell into a state of existential doubt as he faced the questioning looks from the people in the car.

"That can't be right. I clearly remember Dixon Port being nearby. How could it suddenly disappear?"

He took out the map to confirm the direction, his eyes regaining their confidence, and pointed to the left, saying:

"Guys, trust me, it's definitely there, this time it won't be wrong."

As he spoke, he started the all-terrain vehicle again and sputtered towards the direction where some white ice mist was swirling, a direction he hadn't dared to go before.

As time went on, the white ice fog around them increased, and soon the visibility of the people inside the car was reduced to less than three meters.

Faintly, everyone seemed to hear whispers in an ancient language within the icy mist.

"Hiss."

Seeing this, even though the car's heater was on, Niles's PDST symptoms flared up again, and he said with a pale face, "Mason, why don't we go back? I feel like something's not right here."

"But I can't tell which way is north, south, east, or west at all now, and my GPS and compass have suddenly stopped working."

After Mason said those words with a helpless expression.

The people in the car exchanged bewildered glances, knowing they could only grit their teeth and keep driving. At this point, they couldn't afford to turn off the engine; otherwise, if it wouldn't start, they might freeze to death.
After driving for almost half an hour, and feeling as if an eternity had passed, the fog finally began to dissipate.

An isolated island, seemingly forgotten by the world, came into their view.

Under the iron-gray sky, the spires of Gothic buildings pierced the snow, standing like tombstones on the ice field.

Bathed in the beam of light from the all-terrain vehicle's headlights, the people inside stared in disbelief at the scene before them, almost thinking they had arrived at the end of the world.

It wasn't until Natalie, sitting in the passenger seat with a high-powered flashlight, saw a crooked stone tablet not far away, almost buried by the wind and snow.

She got out of the car, wiped the snow off the stone tablet, and softly read the words on it.

"Black Swan Port".

(End of this chapter)