Chapter 3606

As soon as the departure window opened, the waiting ships all raised anchor and queued up to leave the dock, setting sail for Antarctica.

Although these research vessels were all bound for Antarctica, their routes varied; most went to the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands, with few venturing to the harsher climate of the Antarctic mainland, so after leaving port, within just tens of nautical miles, all ships changed course and their tracks scattered.

The first stop for the Iliad research vessel was the Antarctic mainland; upon arrival, they would retrieve the station personnel, then proceed to other research stations on the islands, ultimately evacuating all staff back to Ushuaia Port, where the staff would fly back to Northern Europe while the research vessel would need nearly a month to return to its home port.

On the second day of sailing, the research vessel entered the Drake Passage, where the infamous Devil's Westerlies lived up to their reputation, with winds generally at force eight to ten and waves at least five meters high; sailing through this strait felt like a tiny leaf in a gale, appearing especially insignificant.

Due to the harsh weather and the vessel's inherently slow speed, it had not yet cleared the Drake Passage by the third day, while outside winds and waves continued to grow stronger.

As Ye Chen, Yun Ruge, and Song Ruyu focused on cultivating the Great Sun Tathagata Hand Seal without distraction, Lin Wanan used her delicate body to resist the ship's violent pitching and rolling in her cabin, while her pair of dark eyes stared fixedly at the pitch-black seawater beyond the window and waves higher than the cabin, gripping her fists tightly in tension.

In her over three hundred years of life, Lin Wanan had never before visited Antarctica.

She harbored endless anticipation for the Antarctic continent, yet dared not forget her reverence for nature; seeing the ocean—even higher than the ship—crush against the porthole with immense force, making the entire vessel tremble, she could not help but feel some nervousness.

Feeling the ship's violent motion, Ye Chen opened his eyes and immediately began searching for Lin Wanan; seeing her gripping the small table bolted to the floor, barely coping with the towering waves, he stepped forward, took her hand, and asked: "Miss Lin, how do you feel? Are you seasick?"

Lin Wanan did not expect Ye Chen to awaken from meditation, and with some shyness said: "Thanks to the Young Master's care, I am not seasick, just a bit nervous; although I have taken many ocean-going ships before, I have never seen such huge waves..."

Lin Wanan had shuttled between Europe, America, Japan, and Southeast Asia in modern times, naturally having crossed oceans by ship many times, but nearly all the seas she had sailed lacked the extremity of the Devil's Westerlies.

Not to mention the sailing ships or steam ironclads of that era; even modern vessels, the vast majority do not meet the requirements for navigating the Devil's Westerlies—only special ships capable of resisting waves above force ten and holding polar vessel certificates are permitted passage, and they must also follow regulations, crossing only when maritime authorities deem conditions suitable, otherwise there remains a risk of capsizing.

Ye Chen sensed her pulse and channeled a bit of spiritual energy into her meridians, saying: "Spiritual energy can help enhance your bodily strength, making it easier to withstand the waves; once we pass the Drake Passage and approach the Antarctic mainland, it will calm down."

Lin Wanan felt a sudden surge of strength within her body; her balance and core strength to resist the waves improved significantly, and her discomfort vanished instantly; gratefully nodding, she said softly: "Young Master, please return to your meditation; no need to worry about me."

Ye Chen smiled: "Such a place is rare to visit; I might as well stay and watch the scenery with you."

A flicker of delight crossed Lin Wanan's eyes; she shyly nodded slightly.

At that moment in the Drake Passage, fierce winds whipped up dark blue, towering waves; the entire sea surface churned like boiling water, violently and unpredictably, truly not deserving the name "scenery."

Yet Ye Chen stared blankly at this violent sea.

For this journey to Antarctica, he had prepared to endure the entire Antarctic winter; he did not know what mysterious encounters awaited him on the vast Antarctic continent over the coming half-year.

Unlike the usual four seasons, those who deal with Antarctica divide its seasons into only winter and summer: summer runs from November to March, winter from April to October, with winter being relatively longer, lasting a full seven months.

In the coming seven months, Antarctica will have no tourists; all commercial vessels will cease operations entirely. Although a few research vessels still travel to and from Antarctica now, by late April, all routes to and from the Antarctic continent will be completely suspended—even research vessels will be unable to withstand the extreme temperatures then.

That is to say, at that time, those on the Antarctic continent who wish to leave cannot do so; they must wait until October before navigation resumes.

In the blink of an eye, half a year passes; Ye Chen cannot help but worry: if his relatives and friends encounter trouble during this time, he will be powerless to help from Antarctica.

As for his wife Xiao Churan, he is even less able to seek her out; he can only pray she remains safe.

Seeing Ye Chen's dazed expression, Lin Wanan asked concernedly: "Young Master, are you uneasy about affairs at home?"

Ye Chen nodded calmly, saying: "Relatives, friends, and even our followers lack the ability to protect themselves before the Break-Pure Society; I only hope that during our time in Antarctica, the Break-Pure Society takes no action or makes no progress."

Lin Wanan comforted: "For now, the only thing openly known is your maternal grandparents' family; however, I believe Wu Feiyan should have some reservations and would not act rashly."

Ye Chen nodded lightly, sighing: "I hope so."

After speaking, he thought of the Ye family, then used the ship's satellite network to send a WeChat message to his grandfather, instructing: "Grandfather, I have been unable to free myself recently; thus, I cannot return to Ye Ling Mountain this year for the Qingming ancestral rites; please handle everything, and keep it simple and low-key."

Ye Zhongquan replied asking: "Chen'er, where have you gone? Can you not spare time to return even for Qingming?"

Ye Chen replied: "Where I am going is none of your concern, Grandfather; I will return to China immediately after finishing my affairs."

Ye Zhongquan then said: "Very well; I will arrange the ancestral rites myself. Rest assured, this year only direct-line members of the Ye family may participate; all branch members are strictly forbidden from coming to the capital."

Ye Chen felt relieved and replied: "Then thank you, Grandfather, for your trouble."

After sending the message, he saw his grandfather reply: "We are all one family; no need to speak of two families."

However, he did not reply again, but simply put his phone aside.

As he was about to chat casually with Lin Wanan, his phone suddenly received another WeChat message.

He opened it to see that the sender was not his grandfather Ye Zhongquan, but Li Yalin.

He tapped to play the voice message Li Yalin had sent, and heard Li Yalin's tense voice say: "Mr. Ye, our ground network system has just captured the facial features of the three great elders of the Break-Pure Society in Buenos Aires!"