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墨書 Inktalez
Snowmobiles moved forward in the darkness, the headlights illuminating the path ahead. After traveling a distance, Bai Yujing and the others would get out to confirm their location before continuing on. Although the wind was strong, it had not reached blizzard levels, so the weather was still relatively good.
With only one snowmobile left, seven people were crammed into the small space. Bai Yujing sat in the passenger seat, while Zhu Wei had no choice but to sit on his lap, and everyone else was packed tightly together in the back.
After more than thirty hours of continuous travel, Li Xiang took over driving the snowmobile. The others squeezed into the cramped vehicle to rest. Although they were all somewhat tired, no one dared to fall asleep; the polar night and ice added to the cold had reached an extreme.
As they were nearing the peak of the ice cap, about to reach Dome A, the highest point in Antarctica, they also experienced changes in altitude-related climate. The surrounding air became thin and dry, and everyone felt unwell; even through the windows of the vehicle, the cold was unbearable.
After Li Xiang descended a steep slope and traveled a short distance, he shouted back, "Wen Feng, Wen Feng, can you see if this is it!"
Wen Feng groggily sat up and inadvertently knocked Liu Hai, who was squeezed tightly against him, forward. Liu Hai bumped into the seat in front of him. "Wen Feng, be careful!"
Liu Hai immediately shot a reproachful look at Wen Feng. Feeling embarrassed, Wen Feng apologized to him. Bai Yujing quickly interjected, "Alright, it's just a small matter. Wen Feng, come over and check if this is Kunlun Station; why don't we see any buildings?"
Bai Yujing searched around with a flashlight and only saw snow everywhere. Although the terrain here was flat, there were still many dips and hollows. When Wen Feng got out to take a look, he nodded immediately. "That's right; this is it!"
Wen Feng then took over the flashlight and pointed it at a small mound ahead. "That should be Kunlun Station! I've been here before, but it seems to be buried under snow!"
Bai Yujing looked at the mound and indeed noticed a red top peeking out from beneath a large accumulation of snow that had piled up several meters high. Liu Xinwu nodded and used his gloved hand to clear away some snow beneath his feet, revealing a stone underneath.
"That's right! Look at this!" Liu Xinwu exclaimed as he called everyone over to take a look.
Bai Yujing followed Liu Xinwu's gesture and immediately saw a stone tablet that was partially exposed. They all used their hands to clear away more snow and soon revealed the upper half of the tablet. When Bai Yujing shone his flashlight on it, he quickly spotted a line of red characters.
"Chinese Antarctic Kunlun Station!"
Bai Yujing nodded. "That's right; this is it! We've finally reached our destination! We can rest at the base today!"
Upon hearing Bai Yujing's words, everyone cheered. Even Liu Xinwu, who had maintained calmness throughout to steady everyone's spirits, now wore a smile on his face. Bai Yujing led everyone toward the base as ice and wind howled around them in an endless expanse of darkness; yet everyone felt warmth in their hearts.
Under Wen Feng's guidance, Bai Yujing found several shovels in the storage room behind the base, and everyone began digging at the entrance.
"Hurry up!"
"Quickly dig, and we can go to the base to sleep soon, eat well, drink well, and enjoy the heating!"
However, after a few movements, Li Xiang started to feel out of breath. "I can't take it anymore; this place is so stuffy, I always feel like my lungs aren't breathing smoothly!"
Bai Yujing nodded. "Li Xiang, you've worked hard. Why don't you go back to the vehicle and rest for a bit? You've been driving all the way here, and the air is thin at this altitude. You might be experiencing some discomfort. The base has oxygen supply; your body should get used to it in a few days."
At this moment, Liu Hai also raised his hand. "I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable too, White Collar Team. Can I go back and rest?"
Bai Yujing frowned. Liu Hai had been very negative on the way here, always complaining about one thing or another. Bai Yujing found it quite displeasing, but they had been maintaining a united front with Liu Xinwu, so Liu Hai didn't dare to say much.
"Alright, you can go back to the vehicle and rest!" Bai Yujing wasn't sure if he was pretending or not, but digging out the base's entrance wasn't heavy work; having one more person or one less didn't make much difference.
Sure enough, not long after, they found the entrance to the base. Kunlun Station wasn't large, only a few hundred square meters in total, resembling several large containers put together. The exterior was painted red and white. Bai Yujing took out the key that Nan Yong, the head of Zhongshan Station, had given him before leaving and unlocked the door to Kunlun Station. Immediately, a gust of wind and snow rushed inside.
Once everyone entered, Liu Xinwu closed the door tightly. The door was very well sealed; once it closed, it blocked out the Wind Chill Effect. It felt as if the temperature rose by ten degrees instantly. Just moments ago outside in the freezing temperatures of over minus forty degrees Celsius, everyone felt their legs tingle and their noses turn red.
Liu Xinwu pressed the light switch but found no response. Wen Feng immediately said, "We need to go to the generator room to turn on the generator; otherwise, we won't be able to use any equipment. I know where the generator room is; Zhou Jun, come with me."
Wen Feng led Zhou Jun through another door. Before long, the entire base lit up. Bai Yujing immediately saw that this was an activity room with a long table, exercise equipment, and sofas. There was also a five-star red flag hanging on the wall, with two small glass windows at both ends completely blocked by snow.
This was China's third Antarctic Research Station—Kunlun Station. Although not large, it was only 7.3 kilometers from Dome A, the highest point of Antarctica's ice cap. Scientists extracted bubbles from ice cores that had been frozen for thousands of years here to study global climate change.
Additionally, establishing an astronomical observation station here is akin to observing astronomy from a space station; it aids in researching dark matter and dark energy. There are very few places globally where such Research Stations can be established; near Dome A, this is even the only one. Though small in size, it made Bai Yujing, Liu Xinwu, and Zhou Jun feel proud to be here.
After turning on the heating, Zhou Jun and Liu Xinwu went to the kitchen to prepare food. Bai Yujing noticed that there was plenty of food stored up; however, most of it was non-perishable items. Eating fresh vegetables and fruits here was quite a luxury.
Everyone gathered in the activity room, enjoying hot food and drinking strong alcohol; their bodies quickly warmed up as they took off their down jackets and celebrated in sweaters and thermal underwear inside the base.
Liu Xinwu said, "It's so comfortable in the base! For the first time in these days, I feel warm!"
Wen Feng also shared his thoughts: "Speaking of which, when we were repairing vehicles earlier, I felt completely frozen and numb all over; I even got a blister on my foot! Thankfully it wasn't frostbite; I was really scared at that time!"
Li Xiang was unhappy: "You still say that? It was clearly my car that I fixed. I spent half an hour underneath it, and you were just standing by holding the wrench. How can you say that?"
Although everyone was complaining, they were in a good mood. Earlier, almost no one spoke, and that kind of silence indicated something was wrong psychologically. Now, Bai Yujing felt relieved.
"Alright, everyone, rest well today. You have warm beds and blankets, and there's no need to limit yourselves to getting up in five hours. Sleep as much as you want!"
"Oh oh oh!"
"Hooray!"
Previously, they had been traveling for sixteen hours a day, plus setting up camp and cooking, leaving them with less than five hours of rest each day and only two meals. Everyone was indeed very tired, so being able to rest peacefully and get some sleep was something to be happy about.
At this moment, Liu Hai said to Bai Yujing, "White Collar Team, I'm going to grab something from the car! I left my water bottle up there!"
Bai Yujing nodded: "Okay, hurry back once you get it. Don't stay outside too long; it's already over minus forty degrees out there!"
"Got it!"
After Liu Hai went outside, he didn't head toward the snowmobiles but instead took a flashlight and shone it around before climbing onto the roof of the base. He secured a cylindrical object in a crevice on top and pulled out an antenna from the top of the cylinder, with several protruding tentacles firmly attached below.
Liu Hai pressed a button, and a beeping sound came from above. After rotating once, there was no further movement. Only then did Liu Hai sneakily climb down from the roof and return inside the base.
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