CHAPTER 654: CHAPTER 651 ICE LAKE

"Is this... a log cabin?"

"..."

Not long after entering the subglacial layer of the polar region, Ronald was once again stunned by the sight before him.

Located underground in such an extremely remote part of the polar region.

There was actually a house built here.

Or more precisely, it was an ancient log cabin frozen in the ice layer.

Thanks to the natural preservation of the glacier, the ancient house appeared quite new. Observant as Ronald was, he could even see the traces of the owner’s life left here before his death.

"..."

"Yes, it’s a house."

"And it was built a long time ago, at least ten thousand years old."

Hearing Ronald’s sigh,

Ai Wei, who was walking nearby, began to explain how this underground log cabin was discovered.

"About a month ago—"

"A team of adventure enthusiasts accidentally discovered an entry to explore the subglacial environment and were surprised to find prehistoric human traces here. Furthermore, it so happened that one of them was an explorer sponsored by our company, so the situation was immediately managed and controlled."

"..."

"It’s like that..."

Ronald nodded, understanding.

Perhaps hearing their conversation, Airen, who was walking ahead of the team, suddenly spoke up:

"I happen to know a bit about that exploration team."

"To ensure that the condition here wasn’t leaked externally, all those people were ’invited’ by the company to ’vacation’ on the island of Saipan, and it’s unlikely they’ll be seen any time soon."

"..."

Quite the ’invitation’! Quite the ’vacation’!

Ronald caught the hint in Airen’s words—it was both a reminder and a threat.

The mercenary hinted at the exploration team being detained to illustrate what could happen to Ronald and his team if they did not comply.

Just then, Yani quietly gave Ronald a meaningful look.

Following his teammate’s lead,

Ronald immediately noticed an unnaturally large chunk missing from the side of the frozen log cabin.

—The signs of cutting were all too clear.

Not to mention that part of the ancient building itself had been forcefully removed with tools.

Absolute destructive harvesting!

Ronald wasn’t sure whether this was the doing of the exploratory team who had initially found the place or the result of actions by those who had arrived subsequently.

However, regardless, such extensive damage and removal of artifacts was abnormal and unacceptable, even in a setting that necessitated taking samples for research, the approach should be conservative.

It made no sense to directly cut out a large chunk of a relic for study as was done here.

It was also because of this discovery

that Yani now looked particularly troubled.

Just as Ai Wei, out of professional habit as a medical worker, was dissatisfied with Airen’s actions, as a researcher, Yani was extremely averse to such destructive behavior.

But Yani knew clearly

that the current team leader, Airen, was not someone likely to agree with her.

So without causing overt conflict, Yani could only hint at the situation to Ronald among fellow academics, expressing her current discontent.

Regarding this situation.

Ronald could only return a wry smile.

If it had been an official organization leading them, this would not have happened.

But what could they do, given they were part of a private institution with company backing?

In consideration of profit and efficiency, some not-so-friendly methods were nearly unavoidable, even before Ronald’s time travel, he had seen such conduct.

A subtle atmosphere permeated the team.

And the five of them continued to laboriously make their way through the glacier.

It was unclear whether the preparations Airen made before leaving camp were effective or the underground beasts just weren’t keen on pursuing too far.

In any case, as the environment grew colder, Ronald and his team noticed that the blue creatures behind them were indeed not catching up to their fleeing group.

The subglacial environment was by no means friendly.

But frankly, compared to the dangerous beasts they had encountered earlier, this place was relatively safe.

The team pressed on—

An even more incomprehensible scene appeared as they advanced.

—It was plants.

In the cold, low-light environment of the underground glacier, there suddenly appeared an expanse of blue plants unlike any found above ground. Even though Ronald knew some plants could adapt well to extreme environments, their thriving here was still...

Honestly, it felt quite bizarre to Ronald.

At that moment, a thought even crossed his mind.

The log cabin they had seen earlier might have been left by people who once lived here.

After all, here was—plants, water sources, and even animals. As long as one could figure out how to supplement certain specific supplies, surviving here long-term was entirely feasible.

Ronald’s mind was swarmed with thoughts.

However, as they delved deeper, these purely theoretical considerations changed again with the environment. The initially narrow glacial fissure gradually widened until it was as broad as a roadway.

And under these circumstances.

The end of the increasingly large glacial fissure finally came into view.

—It was an underground lake with seemingly no boundaries.

Encased by both subglacial ice and rocky soil, the smooth and tranquil surface of the lake shone like a beautiful gemstone embedded underground, the mere light from the exploration team’s lamps casting an almost dream-like gorgeous visual perspective.

It was indeed due to such an astonishing scene.

That Yani finally couldn’t hold back any longer:

"Let me ask—where exactly are Drat and Anger?"

""Damaging such a precious environment is definitely not a good thing. Even if it’s just in consideration of company benefits, destroying this kind of place would cause a loss to the company’s reputation, and that’s absolutely unacceptable."

Yani’s inquiry was very effective.

Because it related to the company’s reputation, Airen almost immediately pointed toward the left bank of the ice lake:

"Do you see that? Those two guys are staying over there."

"We’ll be there in a few minutes."