CHAPTER 370: CHAPTER 367: VOICES UNDER THE ICE (LONG CHAPTER~)

Chapter 367: Voices Beneath the Ice

This was troublesome.

Corot, who had no sense of kinship and who was stubborn to the core, was someone Chen Nuo truly could not communicate with.

The man had made up his mind that the Chosen Ones could not leave—specifically why, however, he stubbornly refused to say.

At the same time, Corot had been tricked by the previous Chosen One who had been with him here, which had led to his even worse impression of the Chosen Ones.

So now, no matter how Chen Nuo tried to communicate with him, he simply wouldn’t listen, simply refused to acknowledge.

「Antarctica.」

The location of Octopus Monster’s Red Circle Base, five kilometers to the northwest. A team was moving across the ice field.

In August, Antarctica’s climate was still challenging the limits of human endurance.

A blizzard had just ravaged the area; although the violent winds had ceased, visibility on the ice field remained very low.

The advancing team was clearly not any scientific expedition but resembled more an extreme challenge exploration team.

The team only had two snow vehicles, yet the equipment of the whole group looked top-notch: snow boots, cold-weather gear, and a sled laden with equipment. The team was moving forward slowly.

This was a private exploration team organized by some wealthy individual or individuals—it seemed that wealthy people from Europe and America were particularly keen on this sort of thing: adventure, extreme challenges, and so on.

This private exploration team aimed to head for the South Pole.

However, having recently encountered a storm en route, the team had waited five days at a supply point along the way and used up a significant amount of provisions.

Most importantly, during the process, the team had lost a snow vehicle, creating a bit of a problem with the team’s carrying capacity. Of course, this problem wasn’t very big.

Following the advice of the guide deployed by the professional polar exploration service company, the recommendation was to retreat. But this was stubbornly opposed by several patrons in the team, who had spent a substantial amount of money and preparation time on this Antarctic expedition.

Having come all this way, to turn back now? They simply couldn’t accept it.

Moreover, the guide assessed the risks. He consulted with the rear base for the latest weather predictions and evaluated the team’s mobility, food reserves, and the physical condition of the members. After this, he agreed to the request to continue moving forward.

However, the loss of a snow vehicle had pushed the team’s carrying capacity to the critical point.

"If there is any unforeseen incident, we’ll have no choice but to turn back; this time there’s absolutely no room for negotiation," the guide solemnly announced to the three patrons in the team. "No amount of money can buy a life. I will serve you all to the best of my ability, trying to ensure that everyone can achieve their polar exploration goal.

But life is the top priority!"

"As long as you give it your best, even if we fail, I will add a fifteen percent increase to your compensation," a wealthy boss from the team promised generously. "If we succeed, I’ll personally pay you an extra bonus—off the books from the company."

The guide looked at the forty-something-year-old rich client and sighed, "That won’t be necessary; I’m a partner in the company and do not accept private compensation. If you like, you can transfer all the money to the company."

"OK!"

Since there was no issue, the team naturally continued to move forward.

The guide constantly paid attention to correcting their direction. He contacted the logistics base in the rear more than three times a day to confirm weather changes. He also always kept an eye on the satellite positioning coordinates and other details.

In fact, he had many complaints about these wealthy clients in his heart. But considering the money... well, this was his line of work.

And this time around, the clients weren’t too bad. At least they all had some habit of regular exercise and quite a lot of outdoor exploration experience. They weren’t newbies.

The one thing the guide dreaded the most was those utterly inexperienced clients.

Clients who were rich but sought thrills by traveling to Antarctica were the most troublesome: arrogant, lacking in self-awareness, deficient in the anticipation and vigilance of danger, and yet, leveraging their wealth, they believed the whole world should revolve around them.

Managing such clients was the most demanding and exhausting.

Fortunately, the three clients this time were rather reasonable. At least, they hadn’t asked any incredibly foolish questions like, "Why haven’t we seen any polar bears here?"

It wasn’t a joke; this guide had indeed heard such idiotic questions from previous foolish clients.

They were from the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York, M Country, a group of so-called socialites and the wealthy who seemed to have grown tired of their lavish, intoxicating lifestyles and came here seeking thrills. Mainly, it was to take photos and videos to later show off to their peers and craft an image of themselves as novel and sophisticated.

The guide looked at the sky, then at the time, and most importantly, checked the changes in temperature, frowning.

"Our pace is a bit slow!" The guide called over his assistant and whispered, "We’re going to find it difficult to reach the next supply point today; we need something."

"Yes, and a few pieces of equipment need batteries; the charge may not last for our return trip. When we lost that snowmobile, tumbling into the crevasse, some spare batteries were in it too," the assistant said as he shielded the wind with his hand, speaking quickly into the guide’s ear, "I told you we should have gone back!"

"The clients refused, and besides, they were willing to pay more," the guide glanced at his assistant. "You’ve been in need of money lately too, haven’t you?"

"Alright! I hope we don’t encounter anything worse."

"The current situation is still manageable, not the worst. I’ve faced much worse situations," the guide said, smiling confidently.

As a highly experienced gold-medal guide with ample Antarctic exploration experience, he was confident they could still complete the expedition and even make a nice extra profit.

"We can consolidate the equipment to save power, shutting it down except when we need to communicate. As for the satellite coordinates... we’ve walked this route too many times; just turning on the equipment a few times a day to check the coordinates will suffice.

By doing this, we could save a great deal of power and extend the battery life until the end of our return trip."

The assistant proposed a workable solution.

The guide thought for a moment and nodded in agreement with the suggestion. But then a thought struck him. "I have a better idea."

The assistant looked at him. "And that is?"

"I have a friend, the one we drank and brawled with on King George Island. Remember him?"

"...I remember."

"He’s with a big company that specializes in polar logistics and supply, and I’ve been dealing with him for over a decade!

He once told me about a large research organization that had established a monitoring station here, which was later abandoned after a blizzard.

But many pieces of equipment were left behind... they had lots of monitors there, though those devices must have fulfilled their purpose by now!

We can head to that place, salvage some of the equipment they left, and remove the spare batteries; we might even get some extra supplies!"

With that, the guide pulled the assistant behind a snowmobile, shielded from the wind, and quickly took out a map, circling a location with a pencil.

"I remember him mentioning it was roughly here! Not far from our current position! If we walk there, we can make it today!"

The assistant glanced at the map. "That means taking a bit of a detour, several more hours of walking."

"Finding batteries is more advantageous for us," the guide insisted. "Ensuring the operation of the equipment is better for safety."

The assistant pondered for a moment. A few extra hours’ detour didn’t seem like a big deal. The map showed the nearby area as safe, with no dangerous features, and the weather forecast predicted no bad conditions.

So, the assistant nodded. "Alright, you’re the boss; you call the shots."

「Several hours later.」

The expedition team slowly approached the perimeter of the former Red Circle Base.

After confirming the map and coordinates several times and observing the two characteristic hillsides, the guide was sure they hadn’t gone the wrong way.

The buildings of the Red Circle Base had vanished entirely. They were buried under the collapsed ice after the explosion. Mysteriously, even after the Octopus Monster Company conducted surveys and excavations, they found no trace of remains—not even underground.

It was as if this place had always been a natural landscape, never marked by the presence of any man-made structures.

A wealthy adventurer in the team began to voice his doubts. "Why have we come here? Aren’t we off our planned route?"

"We’re scavenging for some supplies here, relax, everything is under control," the guide reassured the patron and then started directing his subordinates to search around.

The composition of the expedition team was four to three: four employees from the exploration company and three paying adventurers.

There was one chief guide with three assistants, each responsible for serving one patron one-on-one. The guide acted as the leader.

Searching in the vicinity of the Red Circle only yielded a few surveying instruments left behind by the staff of Octopus Monster during evacuation.

But after more than ten months, these instruments had long ceased to function.

There was also a satellite signal transmitter that had stopped working.

"Is there anything usable?"

"We’ve found some stuff, all good things, but we’re not sure if they can be used. Ekter is dismantling them to see if there are any spare batteries inside. With some luck, we might get our hands on a few."

The guide and his men busied themselves for a while, then motioned for everyone to follow the direction of the monitoring equipment they had found and continue the search.

The sky was already dark, and at this moment, the flat ground between two hills provided a slightly wind-protected environment.

"Let’s rest here for today," the guide decided after checking the time and assessing the distance everyone had traveled, believing that the team had reached their physical limits.

After conferring among themselves, the three wealthy patrons selected the most imposing among them to negotiate with the guide.

"Have we encountered any problems?"

In response to the patron’s skepticism, the guide remained comforting. "Don’t worry, there are no issues. We’re just looking for some usable materials here. This is an abandoned monitoring station left by a research institution; we’re trying to find something useful... In the snowmobile we lost, there were some spare batteries, and now we need those things."

The patron asked a few more questions, all of which the guide managed to appease, before he left satisfied.

Everyone lent a hand in setting up the tents, and the task was quickly completed, along with the sleeping bags. The patrons clearly possessed these skills, as they were able to handle the gear on their own after having received some training and had grown accustomed to it throughout the journey.

Another patron took out a camera and began taking pictures everywhere—these photos would be great to show off to friends after returning home.

In the year 2002, it wasn’t yet the era of social media that would come a decade later, with no Facebook or Instagram, but there were still ways to brag.

For instance, this photography enthusiast, who was not only a rising star in the financial capital world but also an avid amateur photographer with quite impressive skills—for an ordinary person, that is.

He had already planned to select some of his photographs from Antarctica after returning, then use his own funds to organize a small photography exhibition for himself.

On one hand, he would boast about his photographic skills, and on the other, his adventurous expedition to Antarctica.

Well, that’s just how arbitrary wealthy people can be.

In another tent, the patron who had just negotiated with the guide crawled in, pulled off his goggles, and revealed a face full of whiskers along with a warm smile.

"Hi, Linda, I just talked with them..."

Inside the tent, the sole female amongst the three patron passengers of the expedition team was boiling water.

The pot contained shattered ice that was slowly melting.

Kneeling on the sleeping bag, though clad in a thermal suit, the woman’s tall stature and the sleek curves of her legs and hips were still subtly visible.

She exuded a combination of athleticism and grace.

Especially the woman’s face, with a hint of Latin charm and a deeply contoured brow and eyes—features that fit very well with Western beauty standards.

After hearing her companion’s words, the woman didn’t react much, quietly adjusting the flame under the stove before turning around and nodding her head.

"Hmm, it’s good that there’s no problem."

The bearded man seemed a bit awkward in trying to find conversation, "Your tent is set up nicely, I was thinking of coming over to help you out."

"I don’t need help," the woman shook her head.

The bearded man felt a bit embarrassed.

Actually, after joining this "group-buy" team of wealthy explorers, the bearded man had always looked down on the photography enthusiast in the group.

But his enthusiasm toward this woman was unmatched.

She was beautiful, with a stunning figure and Latin charm.

Most importantly... anyone who could join this team, afford to spend this much money, must also be wealthy and of status. This just perfectly met all his criteria for a partner.

The bearded man was also a wealthy man, a standard businessman from M Country, forty-one years old, in the prime of life, having just ended his second marriage three years ago.

During this adventure, upon meeting this glamorous woman named Linda, he suddenly felt as if God had once again sent him a guiding signal.

After joining the team, the bearded man had made multiple advances to Linda, from the logistics base training on King George Island to accompanying her along the journey, always finding opportunities to get closer to her. However, the woman was very aloof, mostly silent and not fond of talking.

Moreover, from her actions, it was clear that the woman had far superior physical skills than him.

Whether traveling on foot, trudging through the snow, or setting up camp to rest, from physical endurance to practical skills, she showed that she was in no way inferior to men and was even better than some of the guides.

This made the bearded man, who’d planned to attract the beauty by offering help, somewhat at a loss about what to do.

Despite several attempts at striking up a conversation and steering the focus to himself, bragging about his globetrotting adventures, the woman’s reactions were always tepid.

Even once, the bearded man purposely recounted a story he’d heard from a friend about an explorer encountering a firefight with terrorists in the Middle East, then how he fled with refugees...

After the bearded man had exaggerated the story, he had passed it off as his own personal experience.

He remembered that at the moment he described how he bravely escaped from a hail of bullets... the beauty finally showed him a hint of a smile. At the time, the bearded man felt quite pleased with himself. But for some reason, looking back on it, he always felt that the woman’s smile contained a hint of... Mockery?

Just as the bearded man was thinking about how to find another topic...

Suddenly, the woman sat up straight and furrowed her brow.

"Did you hear that?"

"Huh?"

The woman quickly stood up, reached for an ice axe wrapped in rope next to her sleeping bag, and dashed out of the tent with agile and sharp movements, like a female leopard!

In the simple camping site of the expedition, snow vehicles were parked on the outer edge, and a few tents were set up in the middle.

Following the woman out of the tent, the bearded man also heard the sound carried by the wind.

A sharp whistle!

This was part of the equipment given to each member of the expedition team. In the blizzard of the Arctic, when in danger, shouting out loud may not carry far, and if someone is injured, they may not have the strength to cry for help.

At such times, blowing a whistle was the way to call for help.

And now, it was precisely this kind of whistle that they heard!

Before the bearded man could react, the woman had already run out.

One thought went through the bearded man’s mind: Linda runs so fast...

The one who met with misfortune was the assistant guide.

He was also the second-in-command of the four staff members of the adventure service company, ranked according to ability and experience.

If the lead guide were to encounter any sort of accident, then according to the rules, this assistant would be qualified to take over and lead everyone.

He was also a Polar Explorer of exceptional ability and rich experience.

This guy encountered a very unlucky accident.

While following the guide’s orders to look for survey equipment nearby, he accidentally walked over a patch of ground where the surface snow concealed a crevasse beneath.

As a result, when he walked over it, the surface snow collapsed, and he fell right in!

Fortunately, the crevasse was winding, and the vertical distance wasn’t too great; after falling in, the ice layers broke his fall several times, reducing the force of his descent.

Moreover, this guy was very experienced; while walking and searching, he had tied himself with a safety rope, and the rope had an ice axe attached to the far end on the ground.

So when he fell, he eventually ended up hanging in mid-air within the crevasse. Only after the ice axe dislodged did he fall, which greatly reduced the force of impact.

When he was found, the guide and his two subordinates arrived first, followed by the woman named Linda.

The bearded adventurer and the photographer patron were the last to arrive.

"Everyone, step back!! Back off first!!"

The guide quickly made a decision, not knowing the situation with the ground in that area; it wouldn’t have been good if there was another Collapse.

First and foremost was to ensure the safety of the people on the surface.

Then, after checking the ground with his two subordinates, one of them lay down at the mouth of the crevasse and shouted loudly to the assistant who had fallen below.

Luckily, he wasn’t badly hurt; it was just that during the fall, hanging mid-air led to a possible sprain or strain that left him unable to exert any strength.

Therefore, simply lowering a rope for him to climb up was definitely not an option.

Someone would have to go down and get him up.

"No fractures, he checked himself. It’s likely a sprain or strain."

The subordinate responsible for shouting down the crevasse relayed the message to the guide.

"But there’s a problem... When he fell just now, the Collapse of the ice layer caused some parts to peel off and get stuck in the crevasse, creating a bit of a blockage, and the entrance is very narrow.

From here on the surface, the distance to his position isn’t a straight line.

There’s a protruding point in the middle where the crevasse is blocked, making it a curve...

And the opening is very narrow..."

The burly subordinate looked at his equally bulky companions and frowned without continuing.

The guide’s brow furrowed tightly.

"What about trying to clear the entrance a bit?"

"It’ll take some time. I can go down and clear it, but without equipment, it’s just trial and error, and it could take several hours or even longer."

"First, let’s try to send some things down to him. He needs to replenish his energy and take some medication. We’ll clear the entrance to make a bigger opening," the guide spoke in a low voice with his subordinates. At that moment, the woman named Linda suddenly spoke up, "How about I give it a shot?"

Everyone was stunned.

The guide looked at the female patron in his team in surprise, unable to react.

It was the bearded man who reacted the quickest, "Linda? Don’t joke around! This isn’t a joking matter! Nor is it a time to showcase bravery... You should step back to a safe area and wait.

Leave professional matters to the professionals!"

"The crevasse from Underground to the surface has a protruding area, so it’s not suitable for rappelling, right?

The opening is too small; none of you can fit through, right?"

Linda narrowed her eyes and looked at everyone, "I’m an expert climber, I can climb down even without ropes! And I’m smaller in stature than all of you; I can get through that crack.

If we wait for you to clear the entrance, who knows how long that would take.

I’ve also learned first aid; I can go down and check his injuries."

The guide was clearly tempted but still shook his head, "No, you are our client; we need to ensure your safety..."

"But I am also an explorer, and according to the rescue rules of exploration teams, we don’t consider identity or customer status."

"Linda, you’re a woman, don’t take risks, professional matters should be left to—" the bearded man tried to persuade.

"Shut up, there’s no distinction between men and women among explorers." Linda turned her head to give the bearded man a look, then stared at the guide and said in a stern voice, "I insist! Right now, I’m the best person for the job!

And as far as climbing is concerned, perhaps none of you are better than me."

Having said that, the woman had already begun quickly setting up her safety rope.

Watching her expertly tie the figure-eight knot, the guide hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded, "Alright, you can try. Take a whistle; if there’s any problem, don’t try to be tough, we’ll pull you up immediately!"

"Hey!" The bearded man wanted to object, glaring at the guide and barking, "We are the ones paying... how can you..."

"This is my decision, none of your business." Linda suddenly stood up, staring coldly at the bearded man as she spoke in an icy tone, "If you don’t want to help, then don’t get in the way!"

The woman’s speed and movements descending into the crevasse were much faster and more professional than anyone had anticipated!

Her agile figure truly resembled that of a female leopard, full of a graceful sense of power.

As she quickly reached the protruding area of the crevasse and then swiftly went down, the guide let out a long sigh of relief.

Yet he began to think... How had a client like her come to seek out an exploration company that specifically serves the rich? Her abilities were entirely sufficient to join a professional exploration team.

Linda landed swiftly on the ground at the bottom of the crevasse.

The spot where she landed was only about four or five meters away from the unlucky victim of the fall.

But upon landing, the woman didn’t immediately run over; instead, she first checked the ground, then cautiously approached.

"How are you?"

"Why did you come down?" The assistant exhaled slowly and said, "I’m fine, no broken bones; I’ve checked. But I’ve pulled a muscle in my left shoulder, and my back, I can’t exert any strength."

Linda knelt beside the assistant, first checking his body, squeezing the major parts of his torso, and then lifting his eyelids to check his eyes.

"Indeed, you’re lucky, no fractures. No bloodshot eyes... Conscious, no signs of cerebral hemorrhage.

Hmm, as for the strain, I’ll bind the injured area tightly first, then... you’re quite thin, you should be able to get through the blocked entrance. We can give it a try.

Can you stand up?"

"I can sit up, but I can’t stand up on my own; I need your help to do that," the assistant gritted his teeth, obviously still forcibly enduring the intense pain of the strain.

"Alright."

The woman pulled an Energy Bar from her pocket, tore it open, and handed it over.

"Eat up to replenish your strength, then we’ll rest for five minutes before we start to move."

After she finished speaking, the woman turned around but curiously observed the bottom of the crevice.

This was clearly an Underground glacial area, where the glacier and permafrost met, barely revealing the massive outline of the glacier below...

In the faint blue light of the glacier below, it looked like a crystal palace.

The woman’s gaze was complicated as she stared into the depths of the glacier for a long time, then suddenly turned away from the injured man who was chewing on the Energy Bar and carefully walked to the edge to look down further.

She picked up her flashlight and shone it downward.

"Hey, be careful not to get too close, it’s dangerous here," the assistant warned.

The woman seemed to ignore him, as she actually took out a fluorescent stick from her pocket, broke it to light it up, and threw it down.

The dim light slowly descended with the glow of the fluorescent stick...

The woman’s expression suddenly changed!

She turned her head to look at the assistant and walked over.

The assistant looked at her. "Hmm?"

The woman narrowed her eyes and whispered, "There’s something down there, I’m going to take a look!"

"What?! You’re kidding, right?!!!" the assistant panicked.

The woman glanced at him coldly. "Just wait here for me to come back, I’ll take you up."

Without paying heed to the assistant’s repeated calling out, the woman quickly checked her safety rope, secured it with an ice axe on the ground, and after placing a few rock wedges, slowly extended her body away from the crevice wall and continued to climb down toward the bottom...

"FUCK!!" the assistant turned pale!

A moment later, at a protrusion under the glacier, the woman found footing, but cursed as her rope reached its limit.

Yet, she could now observe more clearly the vague shadow she had seen before!

Her expression grew more and more excited, more and more agitated...

After taking a deep breath, the woman weighed her options and suddenly made a crazy move!

She unfastened the rope around her waist and quickly took off her bulky cold-weather coat, revealing her form-fitting thermal wear and more of her explosive body curves.

She seemed completely unafraid of the cold, gritted her teeth forcefully, took a deep breath, and continued climbing down barehanded!

Estimating the distance to be about ten meters or so, once the woman finally reached a spot nearest the object she’d observed, she carefully chose a place to set her foot, and then...

She looked into the ice layer at a blurry figure, but one that was unmistakably human in shape...

The woman’s eyes bulged, her mouth agape!

"My God... It’s really you!! I finally found you, you damn bastard..."

Excitement, eagerness, shock, and gratitude filled her eyes.

A determined smile played at her lips, and a hint of involuntary sadness and derision showed in her gaze.

"Didn’t you once want me to crawl into the bushes with you... you rascal...

Damn it, how am I going to get you out... Damn..."

Well, this leopardess of a woman, certainly isn’t Linda.

Her real identity was that of a female mercenary, Selina!

She was one of the members who had shared in adventures and perils in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil!

When she reached out to touch that layer of ice... an unexpected thing happened.

The hard ice, to the touch, felt as soft as ripples of water!

As Selina pressed her hand into it, it was as if she had touched or broken some kind of balance...

Suddenly, the solid ice layer dispersed as quickly as a stream of water...

Watching the figure inside toppling down with the "water flow," about to fall...

Selina gritted her teeth and with a swift motion, hooked one hand onto the rock wall and stretched out half of her body, then grabbed the figure by the hair!

"FUCK!"

The female mercenary cursed as the heavy weight nearly pulled her down too; her fingers clung tightly to the rock wall, barely maintaining her hold.

She forcefully hauled the figure up and then embraced the breathless person...

This person was wearing a cold-weather suit, though it was riddled with holes... yet their body remained intact.

It was as if they hadn’t been subjected to freezing, rather preserved by some unknown force. Just lifeless.

The familiar face was undoubtedly that annoying bastard!

Selina, panting, held the bastard, then laid him flat on the ledge, and in the narrow space, she could only hold the jerk on her knees.

Damn... Is he dead or alive?

According to the information and messages she had, this guy had been missing for ten months!

Ten months, even in a place like Antarctica, a body shouldn’t look like this even if preserved in ice without decaying! Selina had seen frozen bodies before. The skin should be bluish-black, and the body should be rigid. But the guy she was holding now had natural skin tone, even faintly flushed. The touch was soft and elastic. It didn’t seem like he had been frozen for ten months at all!

Except for the lack of breath, he looked just like a living person.

Unable to help herself, Selina reached out and gently slapped Chen Nuo’s face, "Hey! Are you dead or alive?!

There’s a different price for dead or alive, you know!"

It was a completely subconscious act; only because Chen Nuo’s condition was so bizarre did Selina slap him and say these words without thinking.

She didn’t expect an answer.

But defying expectation...

An ethereal voice responded.

"Alive."

Selina froze. Her hair suddenly stood on end, and she blurted out, "FUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!"

Her hand shook, nearly throwing Chen Nuo down the glacier!

Because the reply "Alive" didn’t come from Chen Nuo in her arms!

It was...

a voice coming from behind her!