Chapter 3619

Ye Chen had once taken a scientific expedition ship, and knew that although it looked like a ship, its various system designs were redundant, possibly more than two ships combined.

For such a ship, breaking down would be somewhat unreasonable.

Combined with the fact that the Japanese scientific expedition team had already begun secretly using helicopters without informing their direct superiors and even turned off their positioning, he genuinely felt something was off, sensing that these people were not trapped here but deliberately wanted to stay for some purpose.

Yet this motive was quite strange.

They were all members of the scientific expedition team; if they truly had some Antarctic research project, it should have been handled by the newly arrived team taking over, and once the project was set, they would certainly have made all preparations before departure—personnel, supplies, and equipment all prepared in advance.

In that case, the scientific expedition team members who had already spent an entire summer here and should have withdrawn to Japan, along with the ship's crew, had no need to deliberately linger in Antarctica.

Moreover, they were not only lingering but also conducting small operations in Antarctica—what for?

Were they not afraid of being held accountable domestically later?

Even more absurd, flying helicopters in Antarctica during this season is extremely dangerous; they are scientific expedition members, not soldiers executing orders—why take such great risks to conduct actions unknown to the authorities?

This made even less sense.

Originally, Ye Chen could have ignored these matters, but the Japanese scientific expedition team flew helicopters back and forth, even hovering above his head; if he did not clarify what they were up to, he would always feel uneasy.

So, Ye Chen decided to first go to their grounded scientific expedition ship to check for abnormalities, or better yet, find someone to ask directly what they were doing.

Most importantly, he must ensure their activities stayed away from the Nordic scientific expedition station; otherwise, if the handprint of the Great Sun Tathagata appeared in the sky again and they discovered it and spread it, it would truly be troublesome.

Ye Chen shared his concerns with Lin Wan'er, Yun Ruoge, and Song Ruoyu; they also felt the Japanese scientific expedition team was indeed abnormal, and since Ye Chen's cultivation relied on the aurora's changes, the team's constant flights were definitely a hidden danger.

Thus, Lin Wan'er asked: "Young Master, you want to ask Miss Ito for the scientific expedition ship's coordinates—don't you plan to first go to their scientific expedition station?"

Ye Chen shook his head and said: "No matter what they are up to, the scientific expedition station is their core area; compared to that, the immobile scientific expedition ship is relatively more peripheral. I wish to proceed cautiously, so I will start with the scientific expedition ship."

Lin Wan'er said thoughtfully: "Young Master, what you say makes sense; being cautious is always good."

Yun Ruoge then said: "Master Ye, Ruoge will go with you; I can at least share some of your burden."

Ye Chen politely declined: "Miss Yun, Miss Song, you two should stay here to look after Miss Lin; she has no cultivation, and if danger arises, she may be unable to protect herself. I will go alone—I can return in a day."

Lin Wan'er said: "Young Master, do not worry about me; I can stay at the scientific expedition station without stepping outside, and I think there will be no danger."

"No."

Ye Chen firmly refused: "This environment is special; if danger truly arises, support cannot arrive in time. With Miss Yun and Miss Song staying behind to look after, I can also feel more at ease."

Seeing Ye Chen's firm attitude, Lin Wan'er gently nodded and said: "Then Young Master, please be extra careful."

Cai Cai Zi quickly found the coordinates of the grounded scientific expedition ship for Ye Chen; the location was about three hundred kilometers from his current position, but since the ship was trapped in the coastline of late summer, it was now possible to drive straight across the frozen sea.

Because the frozen sea terrain is relatively flat, the snowmobile's speed can be slightly faster, reaching the destination in five hours.

However, the snowmobile is large and noisy, making it easy to detect; Ye Chen thus planned to first drive to a point fifty kilometers from the target, then switch to walking from there.

Soon, he drove a light snowmobile out from the Nordic scientific expedition station, the snowmobile speeding across the ice, and stopped and turned off the engine fifty kilometers from the target.

Ye Chen left the vehicle in place, then gathered invisible spiritual energy beneath his feet; though the spiritual energy was insufficient to let him hover, it could form a barrier between his feet and the ice surface. Thereafter, he ran silently across the snow-covered ground at a speed no less than that of a snowmobile.

At this moment, the Japanese scientific expedition ship had already been frozen in the ice for nearly a month.

Although the surrounding environment was bitterly cold and seemed extremely harsh, for the ship, this was actually its most stable period, as it had been completely frozen onto the ice surface, like a massive ice-bound structure; no matter how strong the wind and snow outside, it could remain utterly still.

Due to sufficient marine diesel reserves on board, the generator sets roared without restraint; the heat generated by the internal combustion units during operation kept the entire cabin warm as spring.

At this time, Wu Bok Lin's lackey, Matsushita Heikichi, was idling in his captain's quarters.

When Wu Bok Lin left, he announced he had become the new captain of the scientific expedition ship; due to psychological suggestion, the entire crew, including the former captain, treated him with utmost respect.

He now greatly enjoyed this feeling of being highly respected, and combined with being bored from being frozen here every day, he began to enjoy life on the ship.

Moreover, Wu Bok Lin's energy was currently focused on urging the scientific expedition team to find the Gate of Ascension; aside from having Matsushita Heikichi stand by here, he had issued no other orders, so Matsushita Heikichi's days became even more leisurely.

Other personnel on the ship had also adapted to this idle state these days; in this icy world, they had assigned no lookouts, and everyone simply lounged in the warm rooms, merely keeping the radar running routinely.

However, the ship's radar could not detect human-shaped targets, so no one imagined someone was already rapidly approaching the scientific expedition ship.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Chen had already arrived beneath the Japanese scientific expedition ship; although the ship's side was at least ten or more meters above the ice, he merely exerted slight force with his legs and leapt up from beneath the side, landing lightly on the deck.

Since the entire ship no longer needed to sail, there was no one in the bridge; Ye Chen saw no one on the deck and immediately used spiritual energy to search the entire interior of the ship.

Finding that the crew were almost all in their respective cabins, he focused his attention on the sole person living alone in a single cabin.

That person was Matsushita Heikichi, who was sitting in his room with his legs crossed, listening to music.