I Have a Mansion in the Post-apocalyptic World -
Chapter 773 - Breaking Ice
Chapter 773: Breaking Ice
Translator: _Min_ Editor: Rundi
“If the cold blizzard is like a knife, then the earth is used as a chopping board, and the people are fish and meat. Snow gusting, the heaven is the furnace, and it melts everything into white silver…”
When seeing the snow dancing and whirling into a white wall in the storm, Jiang Chen recalled this stance by Jin Yong.
They seemed to have ran out of luck. On the shores of George V, the Pathreplaceer encountered a blizzard from the pole.
Bean-sized ice cubes flung against the ship, but the Pathreplaceer, designed for bad weather, wouldn’t be stopped by a small blizzard like this.
Because of the uncertainty of where the eye of the storm was located, Captain Marshall, in order to prevent the Pathreplaceer from rolling over, directly placed the large ice-breaking bow in the direction of the storm and then anchored the ship to wait for the storm to pass.
While waiting, the leader of the research team gathered its members and crew together. Fifty people sat around five tables and began to eat hot pot in the cafeteria. A couple of Californians who couldn’t eat the chili peppers was screaming about how it was too hot and attracted the friendly laughter of others.
The storm was blowing outside and the pot was lit inside. It was a great experience.
Jiang Chen had not eaten hot pot for a long time. It was the first time he had eaten such spicy hotpot, he had to eat several bowls of rice to down the food. With the president being so down-to-earth, the members also became less reserved. A pretty little girl was adding rice for him. Regardless of the skin color, everyone spoke the same language. Everyone ate meat, drank alcohol, and chatted freely.
But Garrett was stubborn and didn’t drink.
As soldiers of the “Sea Lions” Special Forces, protecting the safety of Jiang Chen was their top priority. Not to mention not a single drop of alcohol, they must take shifts when eating. With such strict discipline, although he felt bad for the soldiers, he didn’t say anything.
Discipline was discipline. For soldiers, discipline was above all else.
Since it was Garrett’s team, everything was up to him. Jiang Chen knew very clearly that giving directions as the president would only cause trouble for other people.
The storm persisted until the next morning.
The Pathreplaceer has stowed the anchor, adjusted its course, and continued along the shores of George V.
…
Inside the control room, Captain Marshall had just lit a cigar and was frowning slightly at the map.
After a while, he put down the cigar and looked at Jiang Chen with questions in his eyes. Jiang Chen was standing on the side with his arms folded. Just ten minutes ago, the president of the group found him and suddenly asked him to change the original destination and deploy the station on the location marked on the map.
“Why choose to build a station there? Whether it is the weather conditions or the cost of supplying, this is far less ideal than the Ross Bay.” Marshall asked, pointing at the red circle on the map with the two fingers still holding a cigar.
“But there are abundant flammable ice reservoirs in the nearby sea.” Jiang Chen shrugged.
The sea floor has abundant flammable ice reservoirs, but that is not the only reason.
The closest location to the coordinates on the codebook was the real reason he chose this place. The reason why he did not disclose this information before and suddenly went to replace Captain Marshall, was because he was worried that the people on board the ship would leak the information.
“It’s reckless.” Marshall shook his head, sighed, and looked at the first officer. “Reduce the speed of the ship, the landing point has changed!”
Although he was not satisfied with the reckless decision, he was the president after all. The salary he now earned was twice that of his peers, and he just couldn’t complain for the sake of his salary.
Just like this, the Pathreplaceer made a turn from its original route and diverted to the hinterland of Cape Goodenough.
There was a thick layer of ice on the sea, but it was not difficult for a polar expedition ship with ice-breaking capabilities. The large ship’s hull directly hit the thick ice, and then crushed the ice directly with its displacement. Just like the roller cruising in the glacier, in the frozen sea, a blue trial was rolled out through the whiteness.
Many members of the expedition team stood on the bow and took pictures with their phones. Although it was the first time for some of them to come to the poles, they didn’t have much of a chance to see the icebreaker breaking ice before. It was also the first time for many people.
Also standing on the bow was Jiang Chen.
It was his first time seeing an icebreaker in action..
In the past, he always thought that the icebreaker used its bow to cut, but he did not think that in fact, the icebreaker was “crashing” ice with its own weight.
“Fortunately, we didn’t come across a thick layer of ice that couldn’t be crushed. Now, we don’t need the explosives anymore.” Standing in the air-conditioned cabin, Captain Marshall wiped his sweat off of his face and then looked at Jiang Chen who just came inside. “Close the door, my sweat is freezing!”
Jiang Chen gave him a friendly smile and immediately closed the door behind him. He hung his winter coat up and walked next to him.
…
“How are things going? With your experience, is this coast suitable for the deployment of a station?”
“The terrain is good, but I’m afraid it will be a little troublesome later for supplying.” Marshall glanced at the ice outside the window and picked up a pen to draw a line on the map. “We want to make sure that it will not freeze here. We must cut a triangle here and push it out of the region… I suggest we push it out. If we blow it out, the International Environmental Protection Organization may give us trouble.”
“However you see convenient. I believe in your judgement.” Jiang Chen laughed.
Marshall grinned and put the cigar back in his mouth.
“Leave it to me.”
…
In the middle of Cape Goodenough, on the frozen, the Pathreplaceer crashed outward along the triangle. Several crewmen in winter clothes jumped out on the triangular ice shelf and drilled a dozen piles from the outer edge of the ice shelf with spikes.
The graphene cables were thrown off the boat. The crew members tied the ropes down, and then returned to the boat. These cables were all tied on the mechanical arms of the polar expedition ship, the strongest point of the entire ship.
Everything was ready, Marshall, with the same cigar, began to increase the horsepower of the ship.
The graphene rope gradually tightened and creaked.
At this time, Jiang Chen was surprised to replace that the ice surface of several square kilometers was moved by a small ship.
“Although the surface looks daunting, we just need to give it some speed and it will run out on its own.” Marshall said with a smile, pointing out the window. “Those cables are really strong. Much stronger than what we used before. We used steel rope before, the toughness was bad. Not only was it susceptible to breaking, it may hurt our own people.”
“Graphene material.”
“Is it? Technology is a magical thing.” Marshall grinned.
The ice outside the window slowly moved, and the cheer of the crew came from the bow. The members of the research team have returned to the cabin. The Pathreplaceer was about to land and it was time for them to prepare for their landing.
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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!]
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Elinamicheal
He doesn’t need to any more, he pays people to do that for him besides he has Jean to help him sort out his documents. He can’t always be serious about everything, sometimes he needs to let loose and just be normal even for a few days.
MizunoKage
He probably thinks he doesn’t need to, since he’s already the President of Futurr, the General of the NAC, and the shadow president of Xin. He probably also thinks he’ll just need to tell someone to do something for him instead of doing it himself. He’s forgotten how he got to where he is now, that he did everything he could before.
amp323
Seriously? Can he not use the Phantom’s learning modules instead. Do something productive with your time for crying out lout.