Chapter 774: The Fortress on Antarctica
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Rundi
To be honest, April was not a suitable season for a visit to Antarctica.
Every year from the winter solstice on December 22nd, the brightest months were in January and February, and they were the most suitable times for traveling to Antarctica. By the summer solstice on June 22nd, the sun would shine north of the equator. The South Pole would welcome polar night and remain in complete darkness.
Now in mid-April, after entering the Antarctic Circle, the sun was not far above the sea level, as if it could fall at any time.
However, Jiang Chen did not have the patience to wait until next year.
Ten-meter-long mechanical arms were deployed to move containers on the white coast. The crew of the expedition got onto the boat and landed on the ice-covered coast one after another.
Before boarding, everyone consciously used a vacuum cleaner to clean every corner of their pocket to avoid seeds or other creatures being brought to the South Pole. It was a rule that all surveyors stepping on to Antarctica consciously abided by. The Antarctic ecosystem was extremely fragile and everyone must prevent the ecological disasters caused by the invasion of species.
After all the errands were taken care of, Jiang Chen boarded the last boat and stepped onto the continent of Antarctica.
Accepting from the hands of the exhilarated members, Jiang Chen inserted the blue flag into the height of the white desert.
The nine stars that represent the nine islands of the Pannu archipelago swayed in the wind and the palm leaves that surround the nine stars symbolized victory.
“As the first South Pole research station, the president should name it! Everyone! What do you think?” The leader of the mission, He Gaoyang, said in excitement.
“Yes! Yes! Please give a name to the research station!” Immediately someone responded with whistles.
“Haha, why don’t we call this Future Research Station!”
“It’s not creative…”
With the enthusiasm of the team members, Jiang Chen thought carefully for a moment.
With his naming creativity, it would be difficult to think of a good name. Future? He was almost bored of hearing this name. The research team was not an enterprise. There was no need to make it sound like his retail chains.
“Let’s call it Antarctic Gull!”
Seagulls are the national birds of the Pannu archipelago and have not changed even after the change of regime. It is said that the first settlers who arrived in the Pannu archipelago were rescued by seagulls, so the colonists who first arrived in the Pannu archipelago considered the seagulls as the ambassadors of God.
Antarctic Gull Research Station was unanimously agreed upon by the team. Because their trip was planned in a hurry, the team also didn’t have a name. Therefore, He Gaoyang decided everyone should vote by democracy to pick a name, and it resulted in the research team being named Antarctic Gull as well.
Therefore, the first research station of Xin in Antarctica was established.
Named Antarctic Gull.
With the help of the crew, the members of the mission started to remove their equipment from the containers. The radio was first set up in the snow, and then the tented dome-shaped house was opened followed by a simple port…
Not far away, the chubby penguins formed a line on the snow, revealing their bulging white belly. Flapping their wings from time to time, they watched this group of foolish humans.
In order to avoid bothering these cute animals, the station site was chosen to be as far as possible from the activity range.
Just as the members of the team began their work, Jiang Chen, Garrett and several members of the “Sea Lions” Special Forces were preparing to march toward the Antarctic heartland.
“Where are you going?” Hearing Jiang Chen’s preparations for leaving the camp, He Gaoyang put aside his work. “There was just a storm and I don’t rule out the possibility of another some time soon. I don’t think…”
“I’m just going to take a tour.” Jiang Chen patted the polar car next to him. “There are supplies on this. Even if there is a snowstorm, you don’t have to worry about it.”
Seeing Jiang Chen insisting on going out, He Gaoyang didn’t try to persuade him further and watched the two polar cars head into the white desert.
…
The headlights shot out high beams to illuminate the road in front of them. The two SUVs blew up the snow and headed directly south.
The two polar off-road vehicles named Grizzlies-P3 were Russian products that had proven their reliable performance on the Siberian ice sheet. Two massive tires could smoothly run over the snow without being impeded by any kind of terrain. A car could seat up to six people, and could load up to five tons of cargo, even exceeding the load of some small trucks!
Garrett held the steering wheel, glanced at the coordinates on the map, and then looked at Jiang Chen who was sitting next to him with his eyes closed.
“Sir, can you tell us what the mission is now?”
“A treasure hunt.”
Garrett’s eyebrows twitched, and he looked at his president in exasperation.
[Taking a dozen Special Forces to go to the Antarctic for a treasure hunt, he is certainly a wild one.]
But he didn’t say anything. He closed his mouth and drove.
Unfortunately, thanks to He Gaoyang’s jinx, they really encountered a blizzard.
Visibility dropped to a minimum and it was dangerous to drive further. So, the two SUVs stopped on the empty snowfield one after the other, unfolded the brackets on both sides, and fixed the body of the car to the ground.
It was getting late and people took out self-heating food. There were roasted sausages, braised beef, dried fish, and rice. The food was wrapped in a hot bag and could be heated with some water. Apart from not seeing vegetables, this meal was quite delicious.
After lunch, Jiang Chen looked at the snowstorm screaming outside of the window and continued to rest.
They had to wait until late in the evening before the storm finally passed.
The two Grizzlies continued on the road and Jiang Chen informed the camp that they would not return for the night.
However, while he referred to it as nighttime, he was actually referring to the times of 18 o’clock to 8 o’clock in the 24 hours clock format. In the Antarctic in April, dawn was just a few hours after noon. After that, Antartica turned dark early with the majestic aurora not far in the distance.
Jiang Chen looked at Garrett as he casually asked.
“Where are we now?”
Garrett double-clicked on the car map and enlarged the area.
“We have already entered the heart of Wilkes Land, and the terrain in front will be a bit rough. We are close to our destination. Should we go straight or wait until morning?”
“Go now. Maybe we can stay in it overnight,” Jiang Chen said.
Garrett took some time to process and did not understand what Jiang Chen meant by staying overnight. However, since it was an order, he nodded and set his sights back on the road ahead.
Through the plains, the group came to a mountain range covered with snow.
“The snowstorm in blowing across the mountains. Let’s go back!”
“Forward! Listen to me!”
With Jiang Chen’s order, Garrett gritted his teeth and drove the vehicle into the storming mountains.
The storm screamed and the windows were also screaming! Heavy snow blew like a tide. It even annihilated the car’s high beam! Just watching through the window, the soldiers sitting in the car could feel the chilliness of the storm!
As they closed the distance, Jiang Chen’s heart rate also gradually accelerated as he held his breath.
Finally, after passing through the layers of the blizzard, the group broke through the limit of nature and came to the forbidden area of life that was guarded by the snowstorm, unveiling the mystery that had been masked for decades.
A beam of light scattered on the cement wall embedded in the glaciers and revealed a frozen castle covered in snow and ice.
When they saw this frozen fortress, everyone held their breath…
Jiang Chen stared at the gigantic door embedded in the glacier and squeezed his hands into fists. His eyes flickered with inexplicable excitement.
[Finally, I have found it!]