Chapter 564 - Entering the Cave, and the Hunt Begins
As he spoke, Weyland started to gasp for breath.
Stafford picked up where he left off. “I’m responsible for the safety of all the personnel during this operation. I won’t ask you to do anything else. Your only role is to protect Mr. Weyland.”
Luke nodded with a smile. “Very well. I’ll follow the team’s safety regulations as well.”
Stafford finally smiled.
Both of them were doers instead of talkers. They had already clarified their responsibilities and reached a tacit understanding. Weyland stood up the next moment. “Luke, can I call you that?”
Luke nodded with a smile. “Of course, Mr. Weyland.”
Weyland: “Although you’ve only just arrived, you’re a good lad and you’ve already rested in Ushuaia for three days. Now, we need to enter the ruins and catch up with the team who set off earlier. Is that alright with you?”
Luke was stunned, but he quickly nodded. “Certainly. But can I ask Mr. Stafford to tell me more about the ruins we’ll be exploring on our way there?” Weyland: “No problem.” Stafford stood up as well. “Luke, you can just call me Stafford. What equipment do you need?”
Luke shrugged. “Can weapons be used here? I didn’t have time to prepare any.”
Stafford spoke directly into a walkie-talkie. “Bring over a set of medium-sized standard equipment right away.”
Then, the middle-aged black man helped Weyland put on his gear, and said to Luke, “Mr. Weyland isn’t very well. You must watch him at all times.”
Luke went over and helped Weyland with his kit.
This magnate was old, weak and seemed ill. There were a lot of things he couldn’t do himself; who knew why he had come on this foray to the South Pole.
Luke’s equipment was soon delivered.
The equipment was specially tailored for the South Pole’s harsh environment, and included a tactical vest, a walkie-talkie, a gun, ammunition, a flashlight, glow sticks, rope, medical supplies, and so on.
Luke was much faster than Weyland, and geared up in less than two minutes. “Let’s go, Mr. Weyland.” All three of them left the building.
As he led the way, Stafford paid attention to Luke, only to see that Luke was quick and steady. Also, Luke was supporting Weyland with one of his hands at the same time. Still, he wasn’t any slower than Stafford.
Fine, this young man was very strong, at least! Stafford inwardly gave Luke a tick. A strong body was a basic requirement for an expeditiion; there was nothing better.
Several minutes later, the three of them reached a large canopy on open ground that was formed by a tarpaulin set up at an angle on the wreckage of a house.
Looking at the straight tunnel that slanted downward, Luke was surprised. “How deep is this? You dug this out?”
Stafford looked at Weyland, then pointed at the house. “Our professional drilling team did the work in advance. This leads directly to the ruins, which are under six hundred meters of ice.”
“So deep?” Luke was even more surprised when he heard that. He suggested to Weyland solemnly, “Mr. Weyland, the environment at that depth isn’t good. Do you insist on going down?”
Weyland walked forward and got onto an elevator at the entrance of the tunnel. He then gestured for Luke and Stafford to come with him.
After they both got on the elevator, Weyland typed in the password and pressed the down button.
The simple elevator, which was surrounded by a railing made from special materials, started to take them down.
Weyland’s voice was a little indistinct under his mask. “Detective Luke, I must go myself.”
Luke frowned. “Why?”
If the super magnate, who was such an old man, really loved adventure, he should’ve been well-known for it already around the world.
But from memory, Weyland wasn’t someone who was famous for his love of adventure.
Weyland coughed. “I’m sick. In the next few months, the doctor might make news of my impending death public. Do you know what will happen then?”
Luke was stunned. He looked at Stafford, only to see that the head of security was as calm as ever.
Obviously, he already knew about it, and was definitely Weyland’s trusted subordinate.
“My company’s stock price will drop by twelve to eighteen percent, and… nothing.” Instead of waiting for Luke to reply, Weyland went on in an indifferent tone, “I fear death, but I fear dying an ordinary person’s insignificant death even more.”
Luke heaved a sigh, not knowing what to say.
Staring at Luke, Weyland asked, “Do you have any more questions, Luke?”
Looking at the tunnel entrance that was drawing further away, Luke took a deep breath. “Let’s go, Mr. Weyland. The faster we move, the earlier we can go back.”
At that moment, a gigantic warship hovered quietly in space.
An announcement rang out in an alien language: “The hunt has been permitted by the highest-level guardian of this planet. “The warship will monitor the hunt the entire time to ensure that no prey escapes the hunting ground or disturbs the regular order of this planet.
“The hunt is an independent operation. Except for the competitors, nobody else is allowed to intervene in the battle.
“The offerings for the hunt have been sent to the incubation room. “The hunt begins.
“The hunt has a time limit of twenty-four hours. “The number of participants in the hunt is three.
“The landing craft for the hunt is ready for launch.
“The landing craft will be recalled automatically in no more than twenty-four hours.
“Hunters, good luck.”
In the ice cave on an island in the South Pole…
The elevator descended quickly and soon reached the bottom.
Two team members were on the sides, and they respectfully greeted the three newcomers when they saw them.
The temperature here was much higher than aboveground, turning from minus dozens of degrees to minus a dozen degrees.
Everybody took off their face masks.
But Luke stopped Weyland from taking his mask off. “You’re not young; you shouldn’t inhale too much of the cold air.”
Weyland coughed and smiled behind his mask, pleased. “Okay, you know best.”
On the way down, Stafford had already told Luke what they had discovered.
The bulk of Weyland’s exploration team hadn’t come that much earlier than Luke.
Due to safety concerns, and because a lot of people and equipment had to be transported, they had taken an icebreaker here in the morning. At that moment, the first exploration team had only been in the ruins for less than an hour.
Weyland had stayed on the surface with Stafford to wait for Luke after receiving the news that Luke had already set off from Ushuaia on a plane.
“How many people have gone in?” Luke asked while he supported Weyland as they moved forward.
Stafford said, “Twenty bodyguards, twenty-five specialists whom we hired, and thirty-eight assistants.”
Luke clicked his tongue inwardly; in just a few days, Weyland had moved almost a hundred people to a remote island in the South Pole to make a name for himself before he died.
As expected, the rich did whatever they wanted.
