Chapter 3624: Opening Up New Territories

Kikuchi Kohei saw Wu Bolin's shocked expression and replied honestly: "Master, it really is that far, and this stretch isn't a smooth ice plain—there are many icebergs and hills, so our detour will greatly reduce our speed. Even if the snow vehicles never stop, the whole journey will take at least eight days."

"Eight days..."

Wu Bolin couldn't help but ask: "Isn't the straight-line distance only over 1,300 kilometers? Why not just fly there?"

Kikuchi Kohei quickly explained: "Master, of that 1,300-plus kilometers, about 1,000 are over the sea, meaning helicopters have nowhere to refuel mid-flight. Even with auxiliary tanks, they simply can't make it that far."

Wu Bolin asked him: "So, besides taking a detour, there's no other way?"

Kikuchi Kohei thought for a moment and said: "There really isn't any other good option."

Wu Bolin asked again: "What about ships? If we launch a ship, we could land the helicopter on it, sail close to their waters, then transfer back to the helicopter!"

Kikuchi Kohei shook his head: "Master, don't you want to keep Japan from knowing the ship's exact situation? If the ship moves, they'll know we're lying—this amounts to treason, and they might send troops to suppress the rebellion."

Wu Bolin said: "Can't I just shut down the positioning system completely? Once it's off, how could they detect the ship moving?"

Kikuchi Kohei pointed to his head and said: "Spy satellites and commercial imaging satellites pass overhead every day. They follow fixed orbits, photograph the ground, and automatically compare new images with old ones in the system, making it easy to spot any moved objects."

Wu Bolin cursed: "You think I'm an idiot? It's polar night now—what can satellites even see?"

Kikuchi Kohei said ruefully: "Although it's polar night, there's aurora, so visibility isn't too bad. Besides, satellite resolution and light sensitivity far exceed the human eye—cameras can see what eyes can't. Most importantly, our research vessel is huge; even at night, it's visible on satellites. Vehicles and helicopters, being small, are relatively safe."

Wu Bolin stomped his feet in anger.

This is damn tricky!

Even if he were arrogant, he wouldn't dare oppose a sovereign nation. If Japan discovered these research team members seemed to have defected and sent troops, even if he could escape, the search for the Ascension Gate would stall, and worse, the Japanese might find out he'd used psychological suggestion on those team members.

In that case, reaching the American research station by land might be the only option.

Eight days there, eight days back—that's sixteen days total.

Wu Bolin wanted to cry but had no tears.

Yet he also knew that, given the current Japanese team's capacity, attempting to explore all of Antarctica this winter was pure fantasy. But if they captured the populous, well-equipped American McMurdo Station, everything would change—search speed would at least triple or quadruple.

Thinking this way, losing sixteen days en route wasn't such a big problem; it was just a necessary investment.

Having realized this, he immediately told Kikuchi Kohei: "Prepare as fast as you can—we're departing for that American research station to open up new territories!"

Kikuchi Kohei respectfully replied: "Yes, Master, your subordinate obeys!"

……

When Ye Chen returned to the Nordic research station, Li Yalin had already used AI to complete deep processing of the captured audio.

Natural noise and equipment noise were stripped away bit by bit by the AI algorithm, clearly restoring Wu Bolin and Kikuchi Kohei's conversation.

Realizing Wu Bolin was about to make a major move, he immediately sent the processed audio-video to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen, Lin Wan'er, Yun Ruge, and Song Ruyu watched the video together, and all four expressions showed some shock.

Ye Chen murmured: "This broken Qing Association elder is really going all-in. If he brings the over two hundred people at the American McMurdo Station under his control, even if he temporarily avoids detection by the Sino-Japanese supervisory department, their large-scale search will inevitably cause massive fuel shortages and equipment wear. When summer comes and more researchers and tourists arrive, this secret absolutely cannot stay hidden!"

"By then, both countries' supervisory departments will be baffled—for example, why did thousands of tons of fuel vanish for no reason this winter? Why do those vehicles' odometers show astronomical numbers? Even if they could adjust the odometers, the wear on tracks, tires, engines, gearboxes, drive shafts, etc., cannot be hidden. Frequent use will also quickly deplete their spare parts inventory, and these will inevitably alert the national supervisory department, triggering a large-scale investigation."

Lin Wan'er agreed: "Young Master is right—spiritual energy can erase memory traces, but not natural physical traces. This elder surely knows that himself, so I guess he's planning to go all-in this winter, win or lose, and probably won't set foot here again afterward."

Song Ruyu said worriedly: "If they conduct such a large-scale operation this season, it will inevitably cause material shortages. Even if the American McMurdo Station has large reserves, it absolutely can't withstand such frequent searching. So they'll likely target other research stations soon—will they come after us?"

"It's not impossible." Ye Chen said with a solemn expression: "The situation is now too passive. We can't rashly go out to communicate with the aurora and that mysterious entity. Staying here also carries risk, and even if we wanted to leave Antarctica now, it's pure fantasy. If they really launch such a large-scale search and find us, it wouldn't be surprising—then we can only pray not to be discovered by that elder..."

Saying this, Ye Chen said somewhat regretfully: "If I'd known I'd meet him here, I would have brought a few close-in defense cannons when I came. We've grasped his facial features and appearance—we could pair close-in defense cannons with radar and AI algorithms to lock on, set an ambush somewhere in Antarctica, and maybe even trap him here forever!"

Song Ruyu excitedly asked: "Mr. Ye, can close-in defense cannons still be brought in now?"

Ye Chen shook his head: "Definitely not now, and even if they could be sent later, it would be too late."

"Alright." Song Ruyu felt a bit resentful and sighed: "If we could take down that elder of the Broken Qing Association, it would surely deal a huge blow to Wu Feiyan."

Ye Chen nodded in agreement and smiled: "Too bad, this opportunity slipped through our fingers."

Lin Wan'er fell silent for a moment, then said to Ye Chen: "Young Master, I have an idea."

Ye Chen smiled: "Young Lady Lin, please speak."

Lin Wan'er said: "If we could send a message to Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, letting them know the Japanese research team is secretly conducting some operation behind the ministry's back, the ministry would certainly assume they've defected and would attach utmost importance to it."

"But they're powerless—their only icebreaker is still stuck here, so they'll certainly have to ask the military for help."

"Given the Japan-U. S. cooperation, they'll likely relay this to America and even request help from the U. S. military."

"Once U. S. -Japanese troops land in Antarctica, they'll not only destroy the foundation he painstakingly built at the Japanese research station, but also eliminate his idea of controlling the American research station. By then, with both nations launching military operations simultaneously, he'll probably end up like a homeless dog, with nowhere to stand in Antarctica."

Ye Chen nodded somewhat delightedly and said: "Young Lady Lin's idea is excellent, but I only have one concern."

Lin Wan'er said: "Young Master, please speak."

Ye Chen sighed: "I worry that if this elder becomes a homeless dog, he'll inevitably need to find a new shelter in the vast Antarctica. If he happens to find us here—or even just pass through—then we'll really be in an awkward situation."

Lin Wan'er nodded and said: "This risk does exist, but I think it's not big. We're only 200-300 kilometers from the Japanese research station. If he wants to evade the U. S. -Japanese military search, he'll necessarily flee farther away, so he's unlikely to choose this place."

"That's also true."

Ye Chen felt Lin Wan'er was indeed bold and meticulous—her plan was excellent. Following her strategy, that elder who originally wanted to open up new territories would very likely suffer a backfired plot and lose his stronghold.

Now the problem is: how can we make Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology "naturally" discover the issue!