At least there was a chance of deceiving the elder.
Moreover, this stranded vessel was unlikely to be the elder’s main base for searching Antarctica. He might never return in person, eliminating the risk of discovery.
So Ye Chen acted at once. Using stronger spiritual energy, he erased Matsushita Heiji’s existing suggestion and implanted his own.
Once it took effect, Ye Chen asked in English, “You were ordered to remain here. Whose command was it?”
Matsushita replied immediately, “I was acting on the orders of Guanghan Zhenren.”
“Guanghan Zhenren?” Ye Chen was puzzled. He pulled up a photo on his phone of the Poqinghui elder who had vanished in Ushuaia, showed it to the man, and asked, “Look. Is this him?”
Matsushita nodded at once. “Yes, that is him. This is Guanghan Zhenren.”
The answer was no surprise to Ye Chen, so he continued, “Where is this man now?”
Matsushita answered, “Zhenren should be at Wu Han Palace at this moment.”
“Wu Han Palace? Where is that?”
After dubbing himself Guanghan Zhenren, Wu Polin had treated all these Japanese as his servants. He had ordered Kikuchi Kohei to inform everyone of the station’s renaming and his new title, so Matsushita had long received the instruction.
In response to Ye Chen’s question, he said truthfully, “Wu Han Palace is Japan’s Showa research station on the Antarctic continent. Zhenren simply changed its name.”
Ye Chen almost laughed in spite of himself. The elder certainly had a playful side, giving the Japanese station such a dramatic, second-year syndrome name. He clearly wanted to be a sect leader like Wu Feiyan.
Then Ye Chen asked, “Has this Guanghan Zhenren been here recently?”
“No.” Matsushita said, “He has not returned since disembarking and heading to the station, though a few days ago he sent people to collect some supplies.”
Ye Chen pressed on, “Do you know what he is doing in Antarctica?”
“Not very clear.” Matsushita replied, “I only know that Zhenren has sent out several snowmobiles and one helicopter. They are using ice radar to scan the entire continent.”
“Ice radar? What does it do?”
Matsushita explained, “It scans the structure beneath the ice sheet. Penetration depth is two to four thousand metres. It can map the terrain and structures under the ice.”
“Under the ice sheet…”
Ye Chen frowned.
The elder was having the Japanese probe beneath the ice, which suggested he did not know Ye Chen and Lin Wan’er were here.
But what was there to find under the Antarctic ice sheet? It had formed millions of years ago. There probably was not even a dinosaur fossil to be found.
He asked Matsushita, “Do you know what he is looking for?”
“Not clear.” Matsushita said, “I only know they are out surveying every day. Fuel consumption at Wu Han Palace is severe. They need to transport marine diesel from our tanks, but at their rate, our ship’s fuel will soon run low. Forget lasting until summer when the sea ice melts. We probably will not even survive this winter.”
Ye Chen frowned and asked, “If you run out of fuel, does that mean certain death?”
“Yes.” Matsushita said casually, “Without fuel, we would freeze to death in two days.”
Ye Chen sighed inwardly. This elder was clearly a butcher who treated human life as worthless. To achieve his goal, he cared nothing for these people’s survival, even hastening their deaths.
Curiosity surged within him. What on earth was that man searching for in Antarctica?
