CHAPTER 337: CHAPTER 334 [INSTANT COLD KILL] (PART 2)

Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty-Four: Instant Freeze Kill (Part Two)

Nolan took a deep breath and said slowly, "We don’t know the reason, nor do we know what happened, and we are even more clueless about the process. But the result is, the base suddenly lost all contact with us. After the loss of contact, our company immediately initiated the emergency plan and subsequently obtained some information about the scene..."

The photos on the screen changed. This time it was a close-up shot. Outside a large, square modular tent with a domed top, a thick layer of frost was visibly covering it. Then the photo changed. Below were three or four photos taken from different angles, all shot within the camp; buildings in the camp and some instruments all exhibited inexplicable frost.

"What you see here are the buildings, including a laboratory, logistics supply warehouse, survey material warehouse, staff residential area, security zone, and so on... As you can see, all the buildings seem frozen, with visible chunks of ice on them, as if... they were frozen solid. Then... we could only take some measures to investigate..."

CLICK.

The photo switched again. This time the photo was somewhat terrifying!

There was a modular tent, the outer wall of which had been cut open to create a small hole, and the photo was taken from this hole. The perspective and field of view of the camera were limited, but within the constrained angle, you could still see some of the interior. In front of a table covered in diagrams and documents, there were coffee cups and other items. Four people were sitting at the table... However, all four people had turned into frozen ice zombies! On each person’s face, the surface skin had turned a pale blue-white, with ice crystals still clinging to it. The most eerie part was that the faces of these four deceased still retained the expressions and even gestures of their final moments. One person was reaching out to grab something on the table—judging from the direction of their hand, it was probably a diagram. Another person even had a coffee cup in his hand, his face still bearing a trace of a relaxed smile.

"Instantaneous deep freeze?" an Ability User blurted out. "Could it be that the base’s heating system failed instantaneously, and then everyone died from the severe cold?"

"That’s impossible. Antarctica may be cold, but it’s not so cold that people would freeze to death indoors instantly—even if the heating system were damaged, the loss of heat would take time," another person answered.

"Excuse me, may I ask a question?" Kamisou Ichiro, standing next to Chen Nuo, suddenly spoke up. He stood up and nodded at Nolan.

"...Of course."

"I’ve noticed that the bodies in the photos are not wearing cold-weather gear. For example, the individuals in this picture are wearing sweaters and ordinary jackets... Obviously, they were wearing normal indoor work attire before they died. So, does this mean that the base’s heating was functioning properly before their death, allowing them to dress like that indoors, right?"

Nolan smiled and nodded. "Mr. Kamisou Ichiro, your inference is very consistent with the facts. According to our initial checks, the time when the heating stopped coincides almost exactly with the time we lost contact. That is to say, right until the moment of their death, the heating was functioning normally. Then, in an instant, due to some special reason, the base’s heating and all equipment froze instantly. Both the inside and outside were plunged into a terrifyingly low temperature, killing all living beings in the base with extreme cold."

Instant Freeze Kill!

The people in the room fell silent.

"May I ask, how did you take these photos? Have you already sent someone to the scene for an inspection?" That was Chen Nuo speaking. He was not particularly worried about his identity. For this mission, the resumes of all participating Ability Users had already been reported to the Octopus Monster. His own alias, Anderson, was clearly stated in his resume as a senior investigator of the Abyss Organization, possessing excellent analytical and logical skills, playing a role similar to that of a sage within the organization.

"No, I’m sorry Mr. Anderson, our personnel did not reach the scene," Nolan shook his head. "The photos everyone is seeing now were all taken by robots. We mobilized three robots capable of withstanding extreme climate and conditions as soon as possible, transported them to the vicinity of the Red Circle, and then had the robots enter the Red Circle... By the way, please trust our robots; they are the same model as the Mars Rover Robots currently used by NASA."

Impressive, no wonder they’re so capable.

"But why didn’t you send people in?" asked Chen Nuo.

"Because it was impossible," Nolan sighed. His gaze lingered on Chen Nuo’s face for a moment before quickly scanning the other attendees. "We originally planned to dispatch a team of operatives to the site for survey and inspection as soon as possible, but... we encountered a strange phenomenon that we’ve never seen before. The Red Circle, which is our base. An area roughly five kilometers in diameter, with the base at its center, has transformed into a bizarre ultra-low temperature zone! Very strange!"

After a pause, Nolan’s tone carried a hint of a bitter smile, even a touch of the absurd. "The strange part is that our satellite remote sensing shows... a staggering temperature anomaly. This entire five-kilometer diameter zone has reached an astonishing... Minus 185 degrees Celsius. This is the peak low temperature observed. Yet, just outside this five-kilometer zone, the temperature is only minus 50 degrees Celsius. Ladies and gentlemen, minus fifty degrees is the normal temperature for Antarctica. Minus one hundred eighty-five degrees is not! Such an environment shouldn’t exist anywhere on Earth. But it happened. And what’s bizarre is... The dividing line is incredibly sharp! Step inside this zone, it’s minus 185 degrees! Step outside, it’s minus 50 degrees! A 135-degree temperature difference over a very narrow boundary! And this difference has persisted for a very long time. Let me put it this way... Our base seemed to be sealed within a special icebox, with the temperature delineation being extremely clear, even precise! This ’icebox’ covers a circular area five kilometers in diameter and extends one kilometer high into the air. It was as if an invisible and intangible freezing cover had descended and sealed this place from above. With such low temperatures, we couldn’t send people in, so we could only deploy robots capable of operating under extreme conditions."

All those present were Ability Users, and all were formidable. Without needing further explanation, everyone clearly understood that such an incident could not occur under normal circumstances.

"Did some kind of special energy instantaneously create a standard-shaped cold space, enveloping the base and killing all living creatures inside?" The speaker was the Wizard—more precisely, the old fox muttering to himself.

"So, has the low temperature around the base dissipated now? Can we enter?" Lillian, another influential figure, asked.

"After the incident, we’ve been closely monitoring the temperature within the Red Circle. That strange low temperature persisted without dissipating, but later began to change gradually. The temperature within the Red Circle started to show some strange fluctuations. The severity of the cold eased, dropping from a peak of minus 185 degrees to a peak of minus 106 degrees. However, this temperature isn’t constant. According to 24-hour monitoring, the temperature within the Red Circle area showed variances. After monitoring for a period, we grasped some patterns of the temperature changes. That is to say, there were some ’windows’ in the low temperatures. During these window periods, the temperature could rise to around minus 60 degrees. But these window periods were very brief, occurring once every 27 hours. This window lasts only about an hour and a half before the temperature rapidly plummets again, back to the terrifying minus 106 degrees. Ladies and gentlemen, a window opens only once every 27 hours for an hour and a half. During this hour and a half window, we can send people in. This is the mission we are recruiting you for. We need you to enter the Red Circle during this hour and a half window to search for any obtainable clues inside!"

The room fell silent for a moment. Even the Controller couldn’t guarantee survival in conditions of minus 106 degrees! Because such low temperatures simply don’t exist on Earth, no one had ever experienced it.

"Why not use spacesuits?" Chen Nuo asked. "You managed to get NASA’s Mars Rover Robots, so getting spacesuits shouldn’t be difficult, right? Spacesuits can withstand temperatures around minus 180 degrees. Send some people wearing spacesuits inside. There’s no need to worry about the window period at all."

"Because this is the surface of the Earth, not space. In the weightlessness of space, astronauts can work wearing spacesuits that weigh dozens of kilograms. But under Earth’s gravity... for an ordinary person to walk around in a suit weighing dozens of kilograms on the ground... And don’t forget, the frozen area of the Red Circle is five kilometers in diameter! In those terrifying, ultra-low temperatures, our existing transportation vehicles, whether snowmobiles or cold-resistant transport vehicles, can’t function. Entering would mean walking in a spacesuit. An ordinary person, wearing a suit weighing dozens of kilograms, walking five kilometers under those extreme conditions... I’m afraid that’s an impossible mission."

True, a spacesuit alone weighs dozens of kilograms. Although carrying such a weight for a few kilometers might seem manageable for elite soldiers... But! Survey teams would also need to carry other supplies, tools, and equipment. It would indeed be incredibly difficult for ordinary people.

"What about the window period? Haven’t you tried sending people in during the window?" Chen Nuo calculated quickly. "You have an hour and a half during the window when the temperature is relatively close to normal Antarctic temperatures. You could send people in quickly, using snowmobiles and transport vehicles to rapidly search, inspect, and then withdraw... I think it’s entirely feasible."

With that, everyone’s gaze turned to Nolan. Completing the Octopus Monster’s task to earn rewards was one thing. But risking their lives was another matter entirely.

"First, I must clarify that we only recently figured out the pattern of this window period. We determined it after long-term monitoring of the temperature changes," Nolan explained quickly. "Secondly, Mr. Anderson, you are correct. Once we understood the window period—that brief one and a half hours when the temperature rises to normal Antarctic levels—we naturally planned to send a team in first... And we did."

Chen Nuo sighed and nodded. "It seems there was a problem."

"Yes, there was a problem," Nolan said flatly. "After repeated calculations of the window pattern, we only had time to send people in once. Just once. We sent a squad of twenty elites during the window period’s temperature rise to enter the Red Circle. Then... None of them came back."

"Dead?" This time it was Lillian who asked. She frowned. "All dead?"

"All of them." Nolan gestured, speaking seriously, "This brings me to the next part I want to discuss with everyone: the risks of the mission. We can be sure of one thing: within the Red Circle, there exists something that is hostile to us! We don’t know who it is; we don’t even know what it is. But we do know that it killed everyone at one of our bases and then easily killed the team of investigators we sent in. We also know that it can control the temperature within an area with incredible precision, causing extreme changes. So, beyond this search mission, there’s another part... It doesn’t matter who this entity is, or what it is. Find it! Capture it! If it comes down to it, kill it! And bring it back!"