Chapter 367 [The Voice Under the Ice] (Big Chapter)
Chapter 367 [Sounds under the Ice]
This is difficult to handle.
Chen Nuo really couldn't communicate with Ke Luo, an old bastard who didn't recognize his relatives and was one-minded.
This guy determined the specific reason why the chosen one couldn't go out, but he didn't say whether he was alive or dead.
At the same time, this guy was tricked by the last chosen one who was here with him, which caused him to have an even worse impression of the chosen one.
So now, no matter how Chen Nuo communicates with him, he just refuses to listen or acknowledge him.
·
Antarctica.
The Octopus Monster's red circle base is located five kilometers northwest.
A team is moving forward on the ice field.
In August, the climate in Antarctica is still challenging human limits.
A blizzard had just finished raging. Although the strong winds had stopped, the visibility on the ice sheet was still very low.
This advancing team is obviously not a scientific expedition team, but more like an expedition team that has been challenging themselves to the extreme.
There are only two snowmobiles in the team, but all the equipment seems to be very well-equipped. Snow boots, winter clothing, and a sled with equipment.
The team was moving forward slowly.
This is a private private expedition team, composed of one or a few rich people. It seems that rich people in Europe and America are particularly keen on doing this kind of things, exploring, extreme challenges, etc.
This private expedition team aims to go to the South Pole.
However, after being hit by a storm on the way forward not long ago, the team waited for five days at a supply point along the way and spent a lot of supplies.
The most important thing is that during the process, the team lost a snowmobile, which caused some problems with the team's current load.
Of course, this problem is not big.
According to the advice of the guide sent by the professional polar expedition service company in the team, it was to retreat. However, a few financial backers in the team could not bear it and insisted on moving forward. These rich people spent a lot of money on this Antarctic expedition.
Money and preparation time.
Now that we have come this far, how can we be willing to go back?
Moreover, after assessing the risks, the guide also believed that the risk of continuing was not great. After contacting the rear, the forecast of future weather, the team's mobility, supply reserves, and the physical condition of the personnel were all important.
After making an assessment, I agreed to move forward.
However, after losing one snowmobile, the team's load-bearing capacity was suddenly pushed to the critical point.
"If anything happens again, we will have no choice but to turn back. There is absolutely no room for negotiation this time."
The guide solemnly declared to the three donors in the team: "No matter how much money you have, you can't buy life. I will serve you with all my strength and try my best to ensure that you complete the goal of this polar expedition."
But life comes first!"
"As long as you try your best, even if you fail, I will increase your reward by 15%." An expedition member in the team, a wealthy boss, made a promise very readily: "If you succeed, then I will
I can pay you an extra amount privately and it won’t go to the company’s account.”
The guide looked at this wealthy client in his forties and sighed: "No need for this, I am a partner of the company and do not accept private remuneration. If you are willing, you can transfer all the money to the company."
"OK!"
Since there are no problems, the team will naturally move on.
The guide always pays attention to correcting the direction of travel, and contacts the logistics base at the rear more than three times a day to determine weather changes.
Also always pay attention to the coordinates of satellite positioning and so on.
In fact, I still have a lot of complaints about these wealthy customers.
But for the sake of money... forget it, this is what I do.
Moreover, the customers this time are pretty good. At least they all have some regular exercise habits and have a lot of experience in outdoor adventures. They are not novices.
This guide is most afraid of meeting customers who are complete novices.
The most troublesome customers are those who are rich but want to seek excitement and travel to Antarctica. They are arrogant, lack self-awareness, and lack prediction and vigilance of dangers. However, relying on their wealth, they think that the whole world is the same.
Go around him.
Taking care of that kind of client is the hardest and most tiring.
Fortunately, the three customers this time were fairly reasonable.
At least……
I didn't ask such stupid questions as "Why are there no polar bears here?"
It’s not a joke, this guide has actually heard stupid customers ask this question before.
They were a few so-called rich and famous people from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, Country M. They were probably tired of the life of feasting and partying, so they came here to seek some excitement, mainly to take photos and videos, and then go back and socialize with their peers.
People here show off and give themselves a novel and advanced personality.
·
After looking at the sky, the time, and most importantly, the change in temperature, the guide frowned.
"We are moving a bit slowly!" After calling for his deputy, the guide whispered to his deputy: "It will be difficult for us to walk to the next supply point today. We need something."
"Yes, there are still several devices that need batteries, and the power may not last for our return trip. When the snowmobile we lost before fell into the ice crevice, some spare batteries were inside." The deputy used his hand.
Blocking the wind, he whispered quickly in the guide's ear: "I just said we should go back!"
"The customer refuses, and they are willing to pay more." The guide looked at the assistant and said, "Don't you need money very much recently?"
"Okay! I hope we don't encounter a worse situation again."
"The current situation is not bad, not the worst. I have encountered worse situations." The guide smiled confidently.
As an experienced gold medal guide in the industry with extensive experience in Antarctic expeditions, he is confident that he can still complete the trip this time and take the opportunity to make more money.
"We can combine the equipment to save power, and shut down the equipment except when we need to contact you. As for determining the satellite coordinates...we have walked this road too many times, and we only need to find a few times every day to turn it on and check.
Just look at the coordinates.
In this way, we can save a lot of electricity and allow the battery to last until the end of the return journey."
The deputy came up with a workable plan.
The guide thought for a moment, nodded, and agreed with the suggestion.
But suddenly something clicked in his mind: "I have a better idea."
Deputy: "?"
"I have a friend, the one who had a drinking and fight with us last time on King George Island. Do you remember him?"
"……Remember."
"He is a person from a large company that specializes in the sales and supply of polar materials. I have been dealing with him for more than ten years!
The last time I heard him tell a story, he said that a large scientific research institution had set up a monitoring point here, and that the monitoring point was later abandoned after a snowstorm.
But a lot of equipment was left behind... They purchased a lot of monitors there, but those monitoring equipment should have completed their mission!
We can go over to that place, pick up some of the equipment they left there, remove the spare batteries inside, and maybe get some supplies!"
As he spoke, the guide took his deputy to the back of a snowmobile, took out a map with his back to the wind, and quickly drew a circle on a location on it with a pencil.
"I remember he said last time, it's probably at this location! It's not far from where we are now! If we walk there, we can reach it today!"
The deputy took a look at the map and said, "It will take a little detour, which will add several hours of walking."
"It will be more beneficial for us to find batteries." The guide insisted on his own idea: "It is better for safety to ensure the operation of the equipment."
After thinking about it for a while, I probably decided that a few more hours of detours would not be a big deal, and the map showed that there was no danger in the nearby area, and the weather forecast was not bad.
So the deputy nodded: "Okay, you are the leader, you have the final say."
·
A few hours later.
The expedition team was slowly approaching the outer perimeter of the original red circle base.
After checking the map and coordinates several times, and looking at the two iconic hillsides, the guide confirmed that he had found the right place.
The original building of the red circle base has completely disappeared, and no trace can be seen by visual inspection. After the collapse of the underground glacier caused by the original explosion, what is even more amazing is that after the Octopus Monster Company conducted surveys and excavations, they also found
Less than half of it remains even underground.
It's as if this place has been like this since ancient times, with no traces of artificial construction at all.
·
"Why did we come here? We seem to have deviated from the route, right?"
One of the gold-rich explorers in the team began to have questions.
"Looking for some supplies here, don't worry, everything is under control." The guide reassured the financial owner, and then began to direct his men to search around.
The configuration of this expedition team is four to three. Four expedition company workers and three paid explorers.
There is a general guide with three assistants. The three assistants are responsible for serving one funder one-on-one. The guide serves as the leader.
The search results near the red circle only found a few survey instruments left behind after the Octopus Monster personnel evacuated.
But after more than ten months, these instruments had long stopped working.
There is also a satellite signal transmitter that has also stopped working.
"Is there anything I can use?"
"I found some, they are all good stuff, but I don't know if they can be used. Eckert is disassembling them to see if there are any spare batteries inside. If we are lucky, we may be able to get some."
The guide and his men were busy for a while, and then directed the people to continue searching along the place where the monitoring equipment was found.
The sky was already very dark, but at this moment, the open area between the two hillsides happened to be a slightly sheltered environment.
"We will rest here today." After looking at the time and judging the distance traveled by everyone, the guide believed that the physical strength of the team had reached the critical point and made a decision.
After discussion among the three sponsor explorers, they selected the one who seemed to have the strongest momentum to come and negotiate with the guide.
"Did we encounter any problems?"
Faced with the donor's doubts, the guide only offered comfort: "Don't worry, there is no problem. We are just looking for some usable materials here. This is an abandoned monitoring point left by a scientific research institution. We are looking for some useful materials here."
Things to use...
The snowmobile we lost had some spare batteries, and now we are short of those."
The donor asked a few more questions, but was reassured by the guide, and then left with satisfaction.
Everyone worked together to build the tent and it was completed quickly. There were also things like sleeping bags. The sponsors obviously had good qualities and could complete it by themselves. They also received some training and were familiar with it along the way.
Another donor took out his camera and took pictures everywhere. These photos will be good material to show off to his friends after he goes back.
The era of 2002 was not the social media era of more than ten years later. There was no need to die and no Instagram, but you could still show off if you wanted to.
For example, this guy who took the photo, in addition to being an upstart in financial capital, is also an amateur photography enthusiast, and his photography skills are quite good for ordinary people.
He has already thought about it. After returning this time, he plans to select some of the photos taken in Antarctica and then fund a small photography exhibition for himself.
On the one hand, he shows off his photography skills, and on the other hand, he also shows off his Antarctic expedition.
Well, rich people are so willful.
In another tent, the sponsor who had just been in charge of negotiating with the guide got into the tent and took off the goggles on his face, revealing a face full of beards and a warm smile.
"Hi, Linda, I just had a chat with them..."
In the tent, the only woman among the three sponsors of the expedition was boiling water.
What was put into the pot was crushed ice, which was slowly melting.
The woman was kneeling and sitting on the sleeping bag. Although she was wearing cold weather clothing, she could still vaguely see her tall and straight body and the slender curves of her buttocks and legs.
It looks like a combination of fitness and femininity.
Especially the woman's face, which has a hint of Latin style, with deep eyebrows and eye contours, is very in line with European and American aesthetic standards.
After hearing what her companion said, the woman didn't react much. She quietly adjusted the flame under the stove before turning around and nodding.
"Well, as long as there is no problem."
The bearded man looked a bit lost for words: "Your tent is well done, and I was thinking of coming over to help you."
"I don't need help." The woman shook her head.
Well, the bearded man is a little embarrassed.
In fact, after joining this "group-joining" rich man's expedition, Big Beard has always been a little bit contemptuous of the guy who likes photography among the two companions on this trip.
But he is extremely passionate about this woman.
She's pretty, has a hot figure, and has a Latin style.
The most important thing is...those who can join this group and can afford the money must be rich and have status.
It just perfectly meets all my criteria for choosing a mate.
Big Beard is also a rich man, a standard M country businessman. He is forty-one years old this year, in the prime of life, and his second marriage just ended three years ago.
During this adventure, after meeting this beautiful woman named Linda, he suddenly felt as if God had once again released a signal of guidance for him.
After joining the team, Big Beard showed his favor to Linda many times. From the training at the logistics base on King George Island to traveling along the way, Big Beard would always look for opportunities to get close to women. But this woman seemed to
Very aloof, taciturn and doesn't like to talk much.
Moreover, it can be seen from her actions that this woman's hands-on ability is obviously more than one level better than mine.
Whether she is traveling, trekking in the snow, or camping and resting, her physical fitness and hands-on ability are not inferior to those of men, and she is not even better than those guides.
This made Beard, who originally planned to offer help to attract beautiful women, a little confused as to where to start.
We struck up a conversation several times, and the woman reacted lightly to the bearded man bringing the topic to himself and bragging about what he had seen and heard about hiking around the world.
Even once, Big Beard deliberately told a story he heard from a friend, about how an explorer encountered crossfire from terrorists in the Middle East and then escaped with the refugees...
After the bearded man added more fuel to the matter, he exaggerated and boasted about it and turned it into his own personal experience.
I remember at that time, when I talked about how I bravely ran out from the hail of bullets...
Only then did this beauty show a smile to herself.
The bearded man was quite proud at that time.
But I don’t know why, but when I think about it afterwards, I always feel that there seems to be a hint of... in the smile this woman gave me.
Mockery?
At this moment, when the bearded man was thinking about how to find another topic...
Suddenly, the woman sat up straight and frowned.
"Did you hear that?"
"ha?"
The woman stood up suddenly, quickly took out an ice ax with a rope wrapped around it from the sleeping bag, and then quickly ran out of the tent, her movements were vigorous and sharp, like a female leopard!
·
The expedition team had a simple campsite, with snowmobiles around the outermost edge and a few tents in the middle.
The bearded man who followed the woman out of the tent also heard the sound coming from the wind.
Sharp whistle!
This is the equipment issued to everyone by the expedition team. In the polar regions where there is wind and snow, if you encounter danger and shout loudly, it will be difficult for the sound to be transmitted very far. Moreover, if you encounter danger and someone is injured, it may not be possible.
Have the strength to shout for help.
At this time, blowing the whistle is the way to call for help.
At this moment, I heard exactly this kind of whistle!
Before the bearded man could react, the woman had already ran out.
Bearded man has one feeling: This Linda runs so fast...
·
The person in distress was the guide's deputy.
He is also the second-ranked deputy team leader among the four staff members of the expedition service company.
Arranged according to ability and qualifications.
If something unexpected happens to the leader and guide, then according to the rules, the deputy is qualified to take over and serve as the commander and lead everyone.
He can also be regarded as a polar explorer with outstanding abilities and rich experience.
This guy had an unfortunate accident.
While accepting the guide's order to look for survey equipment nearby, I accidentally walked across a patch of ground where the floating snow on the ground blocked a crack in the ground.
As a result, when he walked over, the floating snow collapsed, and he fell directly!
Fortunately, the crack in the ground is very tortuous, and the direct vertical distance is not very high. After falling, the ice layer blocked it several times and slowed down the force of the fall.
Moreover, this guy was very experienced. When he was walking and searching, he had a safety rope tied to his body, and an ice ax was hung on the rope at the far end of the ground.
So when he fell, he ended up hanging in the air in a crack in the ground. Then he fell after the ice ax fell off, and his strength was weakened a lot.
When they were discovered, the guide and two men arrived first, followed by the woman named Linda.
The bearded explorer and photographer were the last to arrive.
"Everyone, back off!! Back off first!!"
The guide quickly made a decision. He didn't know the condition of the ground in this place, and it would not be good if another collapse occurred.
Ensure the safety of people on the ground first.
Then, after the guide began to check the ground conditions with two of his men, one of them lay down on a crack in the ground and shouted loudly to the deputy who fell below.
Fortunately, nothing serious happened to him. It was just that when he fell, this guy was unlucky to be hanging in the air. The force of the fall may have caused him to sprain or strain, and he was unable to exert any strength.
Then, simply putting down the rope and letting him climb up by himself will definitely not work.
Someone has to go down and get him up.
"There is no fracture. He checked himself. It should be a strain or sprain."
The man in charge of shouting at the ground seam told the guide the news.
"But there is a problem... when he fell into this crack just now, the ice collapsed, and after peeling off in some places, it got stuck on the crack, causing a little blockage, and the entrance and exit were very narrow.
We are on the ground now, and the distance from him is not a straight line.
There is a protruding point where the ground seam is stuck in the middle, forming a curve...
And the opening is very narrow..."
The burly subordinate looked at his two equally burly companions, frowned and said nothing further.
The guide frowned tightly.
"How about cleaning up the entrance and exit?"
"It takes some time. I can go down and clean it up, but without equipment, I can only try little by little. It may take a few hours or even longer."
"First think of a way to send him something down. He needs to replenish calories and loosen some medicine. Let's clean the hole and make a bigger hole." The guide whispered to his men.
This time.
"How about I give it a try?"
The woman named Linda suddenly spoke.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Everyone was stunned.
The guide looked at the female sponsor in his team in surprise and did not react.
It was the bearded one who reacted the fastest: "Linda? Stop joking! This is not a joke! It's not the time to show courage... You'd better retreat to a safe area and wait.
Leave professional matters to professionals!”
“There is a raised area between the underground and the ground, so it’s not easy to abseil, right?
The opening is too small, so you can’t get in, right?”
Linda squinted her eyes and looked at everyone: "I am a master of climbing. Even without a rope, I can climb down with my bare hands! And I am smaller than you all, so I can go down through that gap.
If I wait for you to clean the hole, I don't know how long it will take.
I have also learned first aid, so I can go down and check his injuries first."
The guide was obviously tempted, but still shook his head: "No, you are our customer, we need to ensure your safety..."
"But I am also an explorer. According to the rescue rules of the expedition team, the identity and client are not respected."
"Linda, you are a woman, don't take risks, leave the professional matters to..." The bearded man still wanted to persuade.
"Shut up, explorers do not distinguish between men and women." Linda turned her head and glanced at the bearded man, then stared at the guide and said solemnly: "I insist! Now I am the best candidate!
And, when it comes to rock climbing, none of you are probably better than me."
After saying that, the woman quickly started to arrange the safety rope.
Seeing her skillfully tying the figure-8 button, the guide hesitated for a moment and finally nodded: "Okay, you can try it with a whistle. If you have any questions, don't be brave, we will pull you up immediately!"
"Hey!" The bearded man still wanted to object, and glared at the guide and shouted: "We are paying for it...how can you..."
"This is my business and has nothing to do with you." Linda suddenly stood up, stared at the bearded man coldly, and said slowly in a cold tone: "If you don't want to help, don't get in the way!"
·
The speed and movements of this woman's sewing were far faster and more professional than several people expected!
Her muscular figure is really like a female leopard, full of bodybuilding and strength.
Seeing her quickly descending to the raised area of the crack in the ground, and then quickly diving in, the guide let out a long breath.
But I began to think... How could such a customer find an adventure company like ours that specializes in serving the rich?
Her ability is enough to join a professional expedition team.
·
Linda soon fell to the ground.
The position where she landed was only four or five meters away from the unfortunate guy who fell.
But after landing, the woman did not run over immediately. Instead, she checked the ground first and then walked over cautiously.
"How are you?"
"Why did you come down?" The deputy breathed out and said slowly: "I'm fine. The bones are not broken. I checked, but the left shoulder muscle is strained and the waist is also weak. I can't use the strength."
Linda knelt down next to the deputy, first checked the guy's body, pinched the main parts of the body, and then opened her eyelids and looked at the eyeballs.
"Indeed, you are lucky. There are no fractures. There is no congestion in the eyeballs... You are conscious and there is no sign of cerebral hemorrhage.
Well, if you have a strain, I will tie the injured part tightly for you first, and then... You are very thin, so you should be able to pass through the blocked entrance. We can give it a try.
Can you stand up?"
"I can sit up, but if I stand up, I can't do it by myself. I need you to help me up." The deputy gritted his teeth.
Apparently he was still enduring the severe pain of the strain.
"All right."
The woman took out an energy bar from her pocket, tore it open and handed it over.
"Eat it and replenish your strength. Then we will rest for five minutes and start taking action."
After finishing speaking, the woman turned around and curiously observed the bottom of the crack in the ground.
This is obviously an underground glacier zone. Where the glacier and permafrost combine, you can faintly see the outline of the huge glacier underground...
Under the faint blue glacier, it looks like a crystal palace.
The woman's eyes were very complicated. She stared at the depths of the glacier for a long time, but suddenly turned away from the wounded man on the ground who was chewing an energy bar, carefully walked to the edge, and continued to look down.
Pick up the flashlight in your hand and look down.
"Hey, be careful not to get too close. It's dangerous here." the deputy reminded.
The woman seemed to turn a deaf ear, and actually took out a light stick from her pocket, folded it, brightened it, and threw it away.
The faint light slowly fell with the light of the fluorescent stick...
The woman's expression suddenly changed!
She turned her head and stared at the deputy before walking over.
Deputy: "Huh?"
The woman squinted her eyes and whispered: "There is something down there, let me go and take a look!"
"What?! Don't be kidding me!!!" the deputy said anxiously.
The woman gave him a cold look: "Just wait here for me to come back, and I will take you up."
After saying that, ignoring the deputy's repeated shouting, the woman quickly checked her safety rope as if no one else was around. After retracting it, she fixed it on the ground with an ice pick, then cut out a few rock wedges, and slowly leaned out and left.
The rock wall reached the crack in the ground, but continued to climb toward the bottom...
"Fake!!" The deputy's face turned pale!
·
A moment later, at a protruding place under the glacier, the woman's feet were supported, but because the length of the rope was exhausted, she clenched her fists in annoyance!
However, she can already observe the blurry shadow she just saw more clearly!
The expression on his face is becoming more and more excited and exciting...
After taking a deep breath and weighing it, the woman suddenly made a crazy move!
She untied the rope around her waist, and quickly took off her bulky cold-proof clothing. She was only wearing a close-fitting cold-proof clothing, which showed off her hot body curves.
As if she was not afraid of the cold at all, she gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and continued climbing down with her bare hands!
Visually measuring the distance of about ten meters, when the woman finally climbed to the place closest to the target that she observed, she carefully chose her foothold, and then...
Looking into the ice, I saw a vague, but clearly human-shaped figure...
The woman's eyes widened and her mouth opened wide!
"Oh God...it's really you!! I finally found you!! You damn bastard..."
The woman's eyes were filled with excitement and excitement, and more importantly, shock and gratitude.
A resolute smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, but his eyes could not help but reveal a hint of sadness and mockery.
"Didn't you once ask me to go into the woods with you... You guy...
No, how should I get you out... Damn it..."
Well, of course this leopard-like woman is not called Linda.
Her true identity is the female mercenary Selina!
One of the members who had adventures together in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil!
·
When she reached out and touched the ice...
Something unexpected happened.
The hard ice layer feels like a tentacle, but it seems as soft as water waves!
When Selina pressed one of her hands in, it seemed as if she had touched or broken some kind of balance...
Suddenly, the thick ice layer suddenly dispersed as quickly as water flow...
Seeing the figure inside leaning down with the "water flow", he was about to fall...
Selina gritted her teeth hard, and suddenly hooked a hand on the rock wall, quickly leaned out half of her body, and then grabbed the figure...
hair!
"Fake!"
The female mercenary cursed, and the heavy weight almost made her fall down too. She clung to the rock wall with her fingers and managed to hold on.
He pulled the figure up with all his strength, and then hugged this lifeless guy...
This man was wearing cold-proof clothes, but he was already riddled with holes...but his body was still intact.
It doesn't seem like it's frozen, but it's like I don't know what kind of power is used to maintain the condition of the body.
It's just breathless.
That familiar face turned out to be some arrogant guy!
Selina gasped, hugged this guy, and then laid her flat on the foothold. In the narrow foothold, she could only hold this bastard on her knees.
(Hell... is this dead or alive?)
According to the information and information I got, this guy should have been missing for ten months!
In ten months, even in a place like Antarctica, even if the body is frozen and does not rot, it should not be like this!
It's not like Selina has never seen a frozen corpse.
His skin should be blue and black, and his body should be hard.
But the guy he was holding now had a natural skin color, even with a hint of blood. The tentacles felt soft and elastic.
It doesn’t look like it has been frozen for ten months!
Except for the fact that he has no breath, he looks like a living person.
Unable to resist her subconscious move, Selina reached out and patted Chen Nuo's face gently: "Hey! Are you dead or alive?!
The price of death is different from the price of life!"
It was a completely subconscious move, but seeing that Chen Nuo's physical condition was too weird, Selina subconsciously patted her and said this.
I don't expect to get an answer either.
But...
A faint voice responded.
"Alive."
"..." Selina suddenly had all the hairs on her body standing on end, and blurted out: "Fuuuuuuuk!!!!!!"
With a shake of his hand, Chen Nuo almost threw Chen Nuo's body off the glacier!
Because, this "alive" answer did not come from Chen Nuo in his arms!