Chapter 3603: Absolutely Not Suffering a Dumb Loss

Ushuaia Port, being the port closest to the Antarctic continent on Earth, primarily handles the transshipment and resupply of vessels bound for Antarctica.

However, this port is not large, with only one commercial dock and one fuel supply dock, totaling fewer than ten berths; during peak season, berths are often insufficient, forcing many ships to anchor offshore and personnel to reach shore via shuttle boats.

At this time, the port's berths are nearly full, mostly occupied by research vessels flying different national flags, including not only Scandinavian research ships but also those from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia.

Due to strong winds and waves in the Drake Strait these past few days, these research vessels are waiting in Ushuaia for a departure window; reportedly, many cruise ships and research vessels still need to depart during the final window from the Antarctic Peninsula, mainland, and islands, and are awaiting their return time window, until the last batch of Antarctic tourists and summer research team members are withdrawn to Ushuaia, after which this summer's Antarctic tourism season will officially end.

After the recent withdrawal peak passes, Ushuaia Port will see almost no cruise ship dockings in the next six months, only freighters and research vessels from various countries; at that time, Ushuaia will enter a true off-season.

Regarding Ushuaia Port, there is also a small trick: since many Antarctic trips must be booked far in advance and are therefore very expensive, unaffordable for ordinary people, but if a ship still has remaining tickets before departure, the price will be discounted.

Therefore, many backpackers, to reach Antarctica in the most cost-effective way, do not pre-book cruise ships but instead fly directly to Ushuaia during the Antarctic tourism season and wait here for a ship with remaining tickets to proceed to Antarctica, at which time many ships are available and snagging a deal is relatively easy.

A minibus drove directly to the dock, proceeding until it stopped in front of the Nordic research vessel; seeing the minibus return, several men immediately came down from the ship, enthusiastically greeting Ye Chen and his companions.

They were also somewhat surprised that all four meteorological experts were Asian, but when their superiors issued the notice, they had been reminded that the four individuals' identities involved state secrets, so they were not to inquire further; thus, although surprised, they all displayed good professionalism and asked no further questions.

One man, about fifty years old, stepped forward and said to Ye Chen: "Mr. Louis, hello, I am Captain Johan Torelsen of the Nordic research vessel Iliad; you may call me Johan, welcome you and the three ladies aboard!"

Ye Chen was somewhat surprised, not expecting the Nordic region's only research vessel to actually be named Iliad? That would be named after the royal surname?

It seems the Nordic countries' respect for the royal family is indeed stronger than that of other constitutional monarchies.

Ye Chen then politely shook his hand, saying: "Hello Captain Torelsen, I will be troubling you for the next few days."

Johan Torelsen was not entirely clear which Nordic department these few "meteorological experts" belonged to; when superiors synchronized the information, they also specifically instructed him not to ask too much or interfere, and to accommodate them as much as possible, so he even thought Ye Chen and his group might be military personnel, yet he secretly felt something was off, as military immigrants are rare, let alone so many Asians arriving at once.

Ye Chen noticed the doubt in his eyes and thought that after boarding, he would find an opportunity to give everyone on board a psychological suggestion, to eliminate future troubles once and for all.

The Iliad is an icebreaking research vessel launched less than five years ago, with a displacement of 12,000 tons, icebreaking capability level three, able to navigate smoothly through 1.5-meter-thick ice, capable of year-round operations in ice-covered waters, whether in Antarctica or the Arctic.

After boarding, the captain led the four on a tour of the ship's facilities and layout; the vessel is large, and aside from the engine room and cargo hold below, there are more than ten laboratories alone, with dining hall, library, gymnasium, and other public facilities all present.

Subsequently, the four followed the captain to the crew quarters, which contain over forty rooms of various types, with three room categories: single, double, and quadruple.

Research staff are standardly assigned double or single rooms; besides the captain and chief mate, all other crew members reside in quadruple rooms; since this voyage to Antarctica primarily aims to transport supplies and retrieve research station personnel, the entire ship has only over twenty people, and with Ye Chen's four, the total is still under thirty.

Ye Chen and Lin Wan'er each chose a single room; Yun Ruge and Song Ruya, accustomed to sharing, thus requested a double room.

The research vessel's rooms naturally cannot compare to the luxury of commercial polar cruise ships, but they are absolutely clean and tidy, with all necessary facilities present, including private bathrooms and 24-hour hot water and showers, which are more than sufficient for the four.

After helping them settle in, the captain said: "Please rest for a moment; we will have dinner in an hour, and when dinner begins, we will make a broadcast announcement; you just need to go to the dining hall when you hear the broadcast."

Ye Chen lightly nodded, then used a bit of spiritual energy to give him a psychological suggestion, instructing him: "At dinner, remember to have all staff come to the dining hall; I wish to meet everyone."

The captain instinctively agreed readily, smiling and saying: "No problem, rest assured, I will call everyone over."

Ye Chen nodded and said: "Then you go ahead with your work; we'll meet at the dining hall later."

"Alright, see you at the dining hall."

After the captain left, Ye Chen said to the three ladies: "After this flight, everyone should be somewhat fatigued; let us each return to our rooms to rest and tidy our luggage, as the ship will not depart for another four or five days, and the voyage will take at least three more days, so we will not disembark for at least seven days."

Yun Ruge said: "Mr. Ye, I notice the crew seems somewhat surprised to see us; perhaps our four Asian faces are indeed somewhat abnormal to them; will this pose any risk? I and Ruya don't mind, but I am mainly concerned about Miss Lin's whereabouts being exposed, after all, there are surveillance cameras everywhere on this ship."

Ye Chen smiled: "I have felt that as well, but there is no need to worry; I have already had the captain arrange for everyone to gather at dinner, at which time I will give them all a psychological suggestion, urging them to assist us wholeheartedly while not leaking our whereabouts to anyone; as for the surveillance footage, it is also simple—I will have their technical staff open an interface, allowing our AI large model to process all stored surveillance recordings, erasing our traces, so basically there is nothing left to worry about."

"Then it's fine." Yun Ruge relaxed, smiling: "Since Mr. Ye has already made plans, I will not worry needlessly."

Ye Chen slightly nodded, smiling: "After dinner, once the psychological suggestion is complete, you two may rest in seclusion in your rooms, or come find me to seclude together; these few days, not going out will not be a problem; as for Miss Lin, you can have them deliver meals to your room, and if you have any food requests, you can instruct them, and they will certainly comply wholeheartedly."

Lin Wan'er tentatively asked: "Young Master, if you also wish to seclude, may I stay with you in a room, otherwise being alone always makes me feel uneasy."

Ye Chen smiled: "Of course there is no problem."

……

When Ye Chen's four returned to their respective rooms, inside an island about three thousand kilometers from Ushuaia, Wu Feiyan was sitting cross-legged in her palace, meditating.

Before her, five jade stones of varying shapes and sizes were placed.

She continuously practiced the breathing technique, drawing precious spiritual energy from the five jade stones until all spiritual energy within them was completely absorbed.

These five jade stones were painstakingly gathered by the Wu family from around the world and specially presented to her.

For over three hundred years, Wu Feiyan has never ceased searching the world for various rare treasures, spiritual stones, and magical artifacts; in earlier years, she reaped abundant harvests, with various good things continuously sent to her, not only helping her cultivate her celestial palace and greatly increase her cultivation, but also helping her gather and establish her own cultivator force.

However, as modernization advances, those rare treasures have become increasingly difficult to find; many natural treasures requiring thousands or even tens of thousands of years to form, due to climate change and human activity, gradually vanish before reaching maturity.

In the Dharma-Ending Age, natural treasures are already rare, and the vast majority of them wither before maturity, making them even rarer.

In recent years, medicinal herbs for alchemy have become scarce, and spiritual stones that can directly absorb spiritual energy are even rarer.

Yet, according to Wu Feiyan's current cultivation, even fifty spiritual stones, let alone five, would not necessarily bring much improvement, so a sense of helplessness in cultivation has gradually arisen in her heart and feels increasingly intense.

She knows her life has already entered the final fifth; if not for having taken the Eternal Youth Pill, even if she could live to a hundred, she would now be over eighty.

The remaining less than a hundred years will pass in a snap; if she fails to capture Lin Wan'er or obtain that ring from her master, she has only a dead end.

But even if she captures Lin Wan'er, what then?

Capturing her does not necessarily mean she will obtain that ring.

Even if she obtains that ring, she does not know whether it contains the Reversion Pill.

If there is no pill, only the formula, then it becomes even more troublesome—can she gather the materials needed to refine the Reversion Pill?

Even if she finds the materials, can her cultivation refine the Reversion Pill?

Each additional problem greatly reduces the success rate.

Moreover, behind the Breaking Pure Society, there is a mysterious enemy, like a time bomb, whose detonation time is unknown.

In summary, whether she can live to the next five hundred years, Wu Feiyan feels increasingly uncertain.

Upon thinking of that mysterious enemy, Wu Feiyan's heart grows more vexed; she immediately summoned her most trusted Wu Tianlin, asking: "How is the investigation in Morocco? Have you found that person and any clues related to those dead warriors and the Valiant Guards?"

Wu Tianlin shamefully said: "Reporting to the Sovereign, I have already dispatched multiple batches of personnel to Morocco for investigation, yet to this day have found no clues; those people, as if they had evaporated from Moroccan society, have left no traces at any major port, border checkpoint, or domestic transportation route."

Wu Feiyan angrily crushed a dried spiritual stone into powder, coldly saying: "Absurd! Thousands of people vanishing into thin air—how could they leave not a single clue? Even if burned by fire, at least ashes would remain!"

Wu Tianlin sighed: "Sovereign, our enemy is certainly a powerful organization, not only possessing strong cultivators but also strong modern combat power; the close-in defense weapon in Cyprus is the best proof; their conduct is extremely cautious, almost leaving no traces, making investigation likely not something that can be accomplished in a short time."

Wu Feiyan gritted her teeth and asked him again: "After completing the full blood replacement at all garrisons, have you discovered any trace of the enemy?"

Wu Tianlin shook his head: "Reporting to the Sovereign, I have already increased the number of dark sentries and surveillance at each garrison, and have continuously monitored the situation at each garrison; to this day, I have found no abnormalities or suspicious personnel approaching; I believe our enemy already knows about the blood replacement plan, so they will not risk attacking our garrisons again."

Wu Feiyan sighed: "Not attacking the garrisons proves our blood replacement plan has worked well, but this also cuts off the enemy's clues; I fear he may just give up, in which case we may never catch him again!"

Wu Tianlin knelt on one knee, clasped his hands, and said: "My lord, I dare to speak a word of great treason."

Wu Feiyan hummed: "Speak."

Wu Tianlin said: "My lord, if the other party truly stops here, although our losses cannot be recovered nor can we avenge these several attacks, at least we can avoid being distracted by them. I feel that the most important thing now is to capture Lin Wanan as soon as possible; other matters can be set aside. What do you think?"

Wu Feiyan remained silent for a long time before lightly nodding and saying: "You are correct. For now, suffering a loss is no matter. Since the other party is also a cultivator, they will surely remain there for decades or even a hundred years. If I can resolve the Hundred Reversals Thousand Returns Pill, there will be ample opportunity to slowly track them down and kill them one by one."

Saying this, her expression turned fierce and sinister as she let out a low growl: "I, Wu Feiyan, have lived proudly all my life—I can suffer a loss, but I will never suffer a silent loss. Whoever provokes me must pay a price a thousand, ten thousand times over!"

Afterwards, she said coldly: "Convey my order: all members of the Wu family, all regional commanders, and all Elite Cavalry Guards shall exert their utmost to search for Lin Wanan's whereabouts. Whoever finds Lin Wanan shall be rewarded with a hundred years of yang lifespan and a hundred billion in assets; whoever captures Lin Wanan shall receive an additional reward of a hundred years of yang lifespan for their entire family!"