Chapter 563 - Mission at the South Pole, and Weyland's Willfulness
Ushuaia was one of the closest locations in the world to the South Pole, which was a mere 960 kilometers away.
It was also one of the most popular starting points for travel to the South Pole, and the last stop for many exploration teams before they headed to the South Pole.
Luke stayed in Ushuaia once he got there.
In contrast to the North Pole, the South Pole had the worst weather in June. A wind with a chill factor of over eight degrees blew all the time, and the temperature could go lower than -50 degrees.
The harshness of the environment was beyond imagination.
Even Luke didn’t dare take any risks. He followed the arrangements of the staff of Weyland Corporation and started to brush up on his knowledge of the South Pole.
He had gotten rid of many scoundrels, but none of them had any combat abilities suitable for the poles. There could only be one reason for it: Who were you going to kill in the poles? The seals and whales?
He could only look for something on his own list of abilities that he could use for fighting in the snow. He then looked at the various files provided by Weyland Corporation.
He waited for three days before the weather finally cleared.
Luke, who had been ready to set off at any moment, boarded a small plane in less than ten minutes. Except for the pilot, there was nobody else on the plane.
After the plane took off, Luke began to chat with the pilot.
He was quite interested in the small plane.
It had fixed wings and buoys on the bottom so that it could take off from water or snow.
Their destination was the South Pole, and this was also the coldest time of the year. Most metal would become extremely brittle in such a harsh environment.
Any planes that dared to head for the South Pole at this time naturally weren’t simple.
The pilot was very tight-lipped. He simply told Luke not to worry; the plane was small in size, but it had been specially manufactured by Weyland Corporation.
Three hours later, the plane arrived at its destination and glided over the ice.
After Luke got off, the pilot simply pointed at a bunch of snowmobiles not far away, before he quickly took off again for the trip back.
The weather at the South Pole could be unpredictable.
According to the weather forecast, it would be calm for most of the day, but that might not be accurate.
If it wasn’t because they were pressed for time, Luke wouldn’t have taken a plane here. The pilot was also only risking his life to fly because of the generous amount of money he had received. After he returned, he wouldn’t need to work for the rest of the year, and could take a vacation on the warmest beach.
Luke moved quickly through the snow.
He was still several hundred meters away from the snowmobiles. He certainly didn’t want to have to deal with an unexpected eight-degree chill factor gale.
Several minutes later, after he reached the snowmobiles at the fastest possible speed that an ordinary person was capable of, he saw a building complex at the foot of a slope.
After a few more minutes, he reached the complex and waved at someone inside one of the buildings.
The man opened the door and let him in.
Luke took off his mask to reveal his face. “I’m Luke Coulson. Mr. Weyland hired me and had me come here.”
The man observed him carefully for a moment before he nodded. “Welcome. I’ll let them know to come pick you up.”
He said something into a walkie-talkie.
More than ten minutes later, Luke followed another man to a building in the middle of the complex, and met a familiar face: Charles Weyland, chairman of the board of Weyland Corporation.
The old white man was as pale as ever. Despite the warmth in the room, he didn’t look very good.
Luke went forward with a smile and exchanged polite greetings with the super bigshot magnate before he tactfully got straight to the point. “Mr. Weyland, can you tell me exactly what this assignment entails now?”
Over the phone, the magnate had only given him the location, and hadn’t explained what the assignment was.
Weyland nodded at a black middle-aged man next to him. “This is Maxwell Stafford, who’s in charge of this operation and who is my head of security.”
Stafford simply nodded at Luke, then started to briefly explain the assignment.
A few days ago, Weyland Corporation had found some mysterious ruins on Bouvet Island, and Weyland had personally set out to explore the place in the hopes of finding something
big.
Morris Cole, Weyland’s personal bodyguard with the strongest individual capability, caught a severe cold on the boat here.
Given his professionalism, this first-rate bodyguard requested leave.
In his own words, it was very possible that he might make a mistake in his current condition if they ran into danger. On an expedition, one mistake could lead to dire consequences.
Thus, he gave up this temporary assignment that would have earned him a bonus of over 200,000 dollars, and solemnly asked his employer to find another trustworthy bodyguard.
Weyland wasn’t annoyed about Morris backing out.
This wasn’t a regular job, and an elite bodyguard shouldn’t force himself to take on a mission when he was well aware that he wasn’t in the best shape.
If something happened to his employer, his reputation in the industry would drop, and it would be very hard for him to make a living in the future.
For bodyguards, their favorite saying was: “boring is best.” Because boring meant that all was well.
Actually, Weyland had a lot of options.
As a huge magnate and the leader of a major corporation, he had a lot of bodyguards on hand.
When he was considering a replacement, however, Weyland, who was approaching the end of his life, happened to remember the minor detective who had been the cause of his “mess.”
After talking to Takagi over the phone, Weyland decided to follow his heart.
He had made many risky decisions in his life, but that had always been when he was safe and had the time to think through his decisions.
This time, he didn’t want to think too much anymore.
Perhaps, this would be the last time that he could be so willful!
For this willful decision, he offered a high commission of 500,000 dollars, because Takagi said that he had tried to hire Luke with an annual salary of 500,000 dollars, only to be turned down.
Weyland wasn’t short of money, nor did he want to be turned down.
In fact, it was a good thing that the place he had come to was so unique.
The South Pole!
If it wasn’t for Weyland, Luke didn’t know how long it would’ve taken him to think about visiting this place. That was right; Luke had come to the South Pole precisely for a holiday.
He didn’t believe that a bigshot like Weyland would endure hardship in the South Pole.
However harsh the South Pole was, the bigshot wouldn’t feel it.
Like this very moment; it was so warm inside the room that the freezing cold outside couldn’t be felt at all.
After listening to Stafford’s explanation, Luke asked, “My responsibility is simply to ensure Mr. Weyland’s safety, is that right?”
Stafford nodded. “Yes.”
Luke: “So, I don’t work under Mr. Stafford, right?”
Stafford again nodded calmly. “That’s right. Morris, the previous bodyguard, was also only responsible for Mr. Weyland.”
Luke looked at Weyland, and the old man coughed and said, “I know what you’re worried about, but there’s no need for it. In this place, I’m your only boss.”
