Chapter 3604 Never Suffer in Silence

Ushuaia Port, as the closest port on Earth to the Antarctic continent, primarily handles the transshipment and resupply of ships bound for Antarctica.

However, the port is not very large, with one commercial terminal and one oil supply terminal, totaling less than ten berths. During peak season, there are often not enough berths, and many ships have to anchor in the near-shore anchorage, with personnel going ashore by ferry boats.

The port berths were almost full at this time, and most of them were research vessels flying the flags of different countries. There were not only research vessels from Northern Europe, but also research vessels from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia.

Because of the rough seas in the Drake Passage these past few days, these research vessels are waiting for their departure window in Ushuaia. It is said that there are also many cruise ships and research vessels from the Antarctic Peninsula, the mainland, and the archipelago that are rushing to disembark before the last window opens and are also waiting for their return window. Once the last batch of Antarctic tourists and members of the summer research team have returned to Ushuaia, this summer's Antarctic tourism season will officially come to an end.

After the recent peak of the evacuation period passes, Ushuaia Port will hardly see any commercial cruise ships docking for the next six months, with only cargo ships and research vessels from various countries remaining. At that time, Ushuaia will enter a true off-season.

Here's a little tip about Ushuaia: many trips to Antarctica need to be booked well in advance, making them very expensive and unaffordable for most people. However, if there are still tickets available before departure, the price can be drastically reduced.

Therefore, many backpackers, in order to reach Antarctica in the most cost-effective way, do not book cruises in advance. Instead, they fly directly to Ushuaia during the Antarctic tourist season and wait for ships with available tickets to go to Antarctica. At that time, there are many ships to choose from, and it is relatively easy to find a bargain.

The minibus drove directly to the dock and stopped in front of the Nordic research vessel. Upon seeing the minibus return, several men immediately disembarked and greeted Ye Chen and his companions warmly.

They were somewhat surprised that all four meteorological experts were Asian, but their superiors had warned them that the four individuals' identities involved state secrets and that they were not allowed to inquire about them. So, although they were surprised, they all demonstrated excellent professionalism and no one asked any questions.

One of the men, who was about fifty years old, stepped forward and said to Ye Chen, "Hello, Mr. Louis, I am John Torresson, the captain of the Nordic research vessel Iliad. You can call me John. Welcome to the ship with you and the three ladies!"

Ye Chen was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that the only research vessel in Northern Europe would be named the Iliad. So it was named after the royal family's surname?

It seems that the Nordic countries do indeed show more respect for the royal family than other constitutional monarchies.

Ye Chen then politely shook hands with him and said, "Hello Captain Torresson, I'll be troubling you for the next few days."

John Torresson wasn't quite sure which department Ye Chen and his "meteorological experts" belonged to in Northern Europe. When their superiors shared the information, they were specifically instructed not to ask too many questions, not to interfere, and to make things as convenient as possible. So he even thought that Ye Chen and his group might be military personnel. But he also had a vague feeling that something was not right. Military immigrants are very rare. How could so many Asians come all at once?

Ye Chen noticed the doubt in his eyes and thought that after boarding the ship, he would find an opportunity to give everyone on board a psychological suggestion to eliminate future troubles and solve the problem once and for all.

The Iliad is an icebreaking research vessel that was launched less than five years ago. It has a displacement of 1.2 tons, a Class III icebreaking capability, and can navigate through ice layers up to 1.5 meters thick without hindrance. It can operate in ice-covered waters year-round, whether in the Arctic or Antarctic.

After boarding, the captain led the four on a tour of the ship's facilities and layout. The ship was very large, with more than a dozen laboratories in addition to the engine room and cargo hold at the bottom, as well as a restaurant, library, gym and other public facilities.

The four then followed the captain to the crew cabin, which contained more than forty rooms of various types: single, double, and quadruple rooms.

Scientific research staff are provided with double or single rooms as standard. Except for the captain and first mate, all other staff on the ship live in four-person rooms. The main mission of this trip to Antarctica is to transport supplies and then evacuate the scientific research personnel from the research station. Therefore, there are only more than 20 people on the entire ship, and even with Ye Chen and his three companions, there are less than 30 people in total.

Ye Chen and Lin Wan'er each chose a single room, while Yun Rugo and Song Ruyu, who were used to living together, asked for a double room.

The rooms on the research vessel are certainly not as luxurious as those on commercial polar cruise ships, but they are definitely clean and tidy, with all the necessary facilities. There is a private bathroom, as well as 24-hour hot water and a shower, which is more than enough for four people.

After the captain helped them settle in, he said, "Please rest for a bit. Dinner is in an hour. We will make an announcement when dinner starts. Just go to the restaurant when you hear the announcement."

Ye Chen nodded slightly, then used a bit of his spiritual energy to give him a mental suggestion, instructing him: "At dinner, remember to have all the staff come to the restaurant. I want to meet everyone."

The captain readily agreed, smiling as he said, "No problem, don't worry, I'll call everyone over."

Ye Chen nodded and said, "Then you go ahead and get busy. See you at the restaurant later."

"Okay, see you at the restaurant."

After the captain left, Ye Chen said to the three ladies, "After flying all this way, everyone must be a little tired. Let's go back to our rooms to rest and pack our luggage. After all, it will take another four or five days for the ship to leave port, and another three days of sailing on the sea, so it will take at least seven days before we can disembark."

Yun Rugo said, "Mr. Ye, I noticed that the crew members on this ship seemed a bit surprised to see us. Perhaps the fact that we are four Asian faces is a bit unusual to them. Is there any risk involved? Ruyu and I don't mind, but we are mainly worried about Miss Lin's whereabouts being exposed, since there are surveillance cameras everywhere on this ship."

Ye Chen smiled and said, "I sensed that too, but don't worry. I already had the captain call everyone over for dinner. I'll give them a mental boost then, so they'll do their best to make things convenient for us and not reveal our whereabouts to anyone. As for the surveillance footage, it's simple. I'll have their technicians open an interface so our AI model can process all the stored surveillance footage and erase any trace of us. That way, there's basically nothing to worry about."

"That's good." Yun Rugo was relieved and smiled. "Since Mr. Ye has already made plans, then Rugo will not worry about it anymore."

Ye Chen nodded slightly and smiled, "After dinner, you two can relax and go into seclusion in your rooms. Or you can come and join me in seclusion. It won't hurt if you don't go out for the next few days. As for Miss Lin, you can have them deliver your meals to your room. You can also tell them what you want to eat, and they will definitely do their best to accommodate you."

Lin Wan'er tentatively asked, "If you are also going into seclusion, young master, may I stay in the same room with you? Otherwise, I always feel uneasy being alone."

Ye Chen smiled and said, "Of course, no problem."

……

When Ye Chen and the other three returned to their rooms, Wu Feiyan was sitting cross-legged in her bedroom on an island about three thousand kilometers away from Ushuaia.

In front of her were five jade stones of different shapes and sizes.

She continuously practiced her breathing technique, drawing precious spiritual energy from the five jade stones until all the spiritual energy within them was completely absorbed.

These five jade stones were painstakingly collected by the Wu family from all over the world and then specially presented to her.

For the past three hundred years, Wu Feiyan has never stopped searching for all kinds of rare treasures, spiritual stones and magical artifacts around the world. In her early years, she reaped a great harvest, and all kinds of good things were sent to her in an endless stream. Not only did they help her conquer the Niwan Palace and make her cultivation stronger, but they also helped her win over and build her own army of cultivators.

However, as modernization progresses, rare treasures are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Many natural treasures that require thousands or even tens of thousands of years to develop are slowly disappearing before they can mature due to climate change and the impact of human activities.

In the Dharma-ending Age, rare and precious materials are already scarce, and the vast majority of them die prematurely before they can be fully grown, making them even rarer.

In recent years, medicinal materials for refining elixirs have become scarce, and spirit stones that can directly absorb spiritual energy are even rarer.

However, given Wu Feiyan's current cultivation level, let alone five spirit stones, even fifty spirit stones might not bring much improvement. Therefore, a sense of powerlessness in cultivation gradually grew in her heart and became stronger and stronger.

She knew that she had entered the final fifth of her life. If she hadn't taken the Elixir of Immortality, even if she could live to be a hundred, she would already be over eighty years old now.

With less than a hundred years left, which will pass in the blink of an eye, if he cannot capture Lin Wan'er and obtain his master's ring, he will face certain death.

But even if we capture Lin Wan'er, what then?

Even if you catch her, you might not get the ring.

Even if we could get that ring, we wouldn't know if it contained the Hundred Turns and Thousand Reversals Pill.

If there are no pills but only a recipe, it will be even more troublesome. Will I be able to gather all the materials to refine the Hundred Turns and Thousand Reversals Pill?

Even if I find the materials, will my cultivation level be sufficient to refine the Hundred Turns and Thousand Reversals Pill?

The more problems you encounter, the lower your success rate will be.

Moreover, behind the Qing-Breaking Society lies a mysterious enemy, a person like a time bomb, who could explode at any moment.

Overall, Wu Feiyan was increasingly uncertain whether she could live to see the next five hundred years.

The thought of that mysterious enemy made Wu Feiyan even more agitated. She immediately summoned Wu Tianlin, whom she trusted most, and asked him, "How's the investigation in Morocco going? Have you found any clues about that person or those assassins and elite guards?"

Wu Tianlin said with shame, "Your Majesty, I have sent several groups of people to Morocco to investigate, but so far I have not found any clues. Those people seem to have vanished from Morocco. No matter which major ports, border crossings, or transportation routes in Morocco, no clues have been found."

Wu Feiyan angrily crushed a dried-up spirit stone into powder and said coldly, "Outrageous! Thousands of people vanished without a trace. How could they leave no clues at all? Even if they were burned, at least their ashes should have been left!"

Wu Tianlin sighed, “My lord, our enemy is definitely a powerful organization. They not only have powerful cultivators, but also strong modern combat capabilities. The close-in weapon system in Cyprus is the best proof of this. Their style of operation is extremely cautious, leaving almost no clues. It will probably take more than a day or two to investigate them.”

Wu Feiyan gritted her teeth and asked him again, "Since the complete overhaul of all the garrisons, have you discovered any trace of the enemy?"

Wu Tianlin shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have increased the number of sentries and surveillance at each garrison and have been paying close attention to the situation at each garrison. So far, I have not found any abnormalities or suspicious personnel approaching. I believe that our enemy is aware of the major reshuffle plan and will not risk attacking our garrisons again."

Wu Feiyan sighed: "The fact that he has stopped attacking the base proves that our major reshuffle plan has been very effective, but it has also cut off the enemy's leads. I'm afraid he will give up now, and then we may never be able to catch him again!"

Wu Tianlin knelt on one knee, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, I dare to say something treasonous."

Wu Feiyan hummed in agreement: "Go ahead and say it."

Wu Tianlin said, "My lord, if the other side really stops now, although we cannot recover our losses or avenge these attacks, at least we will no longer be distracted by them. I think the most important thing right now is to bring Lin Wan'er back as soon as possible. Other matters can be put aside. What do you think?"

Wu Feiyan remained silent for a long time before nodding slightly and saying, "You're right. It doesn't matter if we suffer a little loss right now. Since the other party is also a cultivator, they must have been there for decades or even a hundred years. If I can resolve the Hundred Turns and Thousand Reversals Pill issue, I'll have plenty of opportunities to slowly find them and kill them one by one!"

At this point, she growled with a ferocious and sinister expression, "I, Wu Feiyan, have been proud all my life. I can suffer losses, but I will never suffer in silence. Anyone who offends me will pay a thousand times, ten thousand times the price!"

Then, she said coldly, "Pass on my order: all members of the Wu family, as well as all military governors and elite guards, must do everything in their power to find Lin Wan'er's whereabouts. Whoever finds Lin Wan'er will be rewarded with a hundred years of lifespan and billions in assets. Whoever captures Lin Wan'er will be rewarded with an additional hundred years of lifespan for their entire family!"