Near the Death Lake is a tunnel-like ice cave, formed by the melting of ice from an underground river beneath the ice.

According to Mr. Qian, who purchased the ice cave at a high price, it has existed for many years, has a stable structure, and is basically free from the risk of collapse.

Standing inside the ice cave, you can see the scene inside the deadly ice lake up close through the ice.

Xu Nuo almost pressed his nose against the ice, his eyes fixed on the frozen lake. After a long while, he let out a breath: "Brother, there are no corpses."

Xu Ding said irritably, "Come and set up the tent."

Ice caves are formed from the melting of underground rivers, and their temperature is higher than that of the outside world. They also provide shelter from wind and snow, making them a good place to set up camp.

With no cameras around, Boss Qian finally revealed the true purpose of his trip: "There's another legend about the Death Lake, would you like to hear it?"

No one answered.

Mr. Qian continued, “Legend has it that there is a black fish in the lake that loves to eat carrion, and the appearance of this fish is always associated with death. But… once you catch this fish and eat it, you can live a long life.”

"A fish that experiences both death and immortality simultaneously, isn't that amazing?" Mr. Qian chuckled.

The sycophantic Xiao Zhou chimed in, "Yes, nature is truly amazing!"

Boss Qian and Xiao Zhou wandered around the ice cave, looking for traces of the immortal fish. The doctor followed at a distance, while the Xu brothers, Ding and Nuo, stayed behind to set up their tents.

Once Boss Qian was out of sight, Xu Nuo complained and vowed that when his powers returned, he would make Boss Qian pull his dog sled.

The ice cave is not long, only two or three hundred meters long, and it has many bends.

Mr. Qian slowly walked around and came back to find a tent to stay in.

"Not found."

Mr. Qian was not disappointed with the result; finding an immortal fish is not that easy.

Boss Qian directed Xu Ding to move a bucket out of the supplies, which contained food scraps from the past few days.

Because of the cold weather, the food scraps did not spoil.

When Xu Ding took the bucket out separately, he felt something was off; the wooden bucket, which only contained a little something, was surprisingly heavy.

Xu Ding carried the bucket out and put it away, and Boss Qian patted Xiao Zhou on the shoulder.

Xiao Zhou stepped forward, fiddled with the bucket for a while, and opened a compartment that contained swill that had long since decomposed.

Even below zero degrees Celsius, you can smell the sour odor.

Xiao Zhou looked at Xu Ding: "Buddy, lend a hand, let's move it to the ice cave."

Inside the ice cave is an ice chamber connected to the ice lake, and this chamber is positioned higher than the lake. This design ensures the ice cave won't flood, while also allowing fish to leap in... if there are any fish.

Time passed, and the polar night arrived.

Dr. Han opened the tent at the perfect moment, and there stood an emperor penguin like a guard in front of the tent, covered in a thick layer of snow.

In the distance, against the deep blue sky, a touch of emerald green begins to stir.

Xia Chuhe, who had just peeked out of the tent, was taken aback. He quickly took Lu Dangui's hand and excitedly pointed it out to her: "The aurora!"

That touch of green was timid, like a tender new bud swaying tentatively in the wind.

However, under the manipulation of an invisible giant hand, the tender shoot burst forth with astonishing vitality, blooming, surging, and swirling...

Green tinged with purple and red, intertwining, chasing, tearing, merging...

The deep blue sky is a constantly flowing canvas.

The light band moved silently, announcing with an extremely dazzling appearance—daylight has passed, and the polar night has arrived.

Xia Chuhe held his breath and focused intently on the light emanating from the universe.

In a moment, she suddenly realized that whether it was humans or emperor penguins, they were nothing more than fleeting specks of dust, occasionally reflecting the vast breath of the universe.

As Xia Chuhe was contemplating the philosophy of life, Lu Dangui curiously poked at the emperor penguin that was standing still.

She whispered uncertainly in Xia Chuhe's ear, "This emperor penguin seems to be dead."

Xia Chuhe: "..."

Qi Zhen coughed violently a few times, his voice hoarse, and said, "We're going to the sampling point first. You guys come over later and get your motorcycles."

“Okay,” Xia Chuhe replied.

After Qi Zhen and Dr. Han left, Xia Chuhe and Lu Dangui carefully examined the emperor penguin's carcass.

There were no wounds, so it was most likely frozen to death.

But this emperor penguin was strange; its abdomen was somewhat shrunken, as if its internal fat had been drained.

Xia Chuhe recalled the seal he encountered on the road...

No, the seal was different; it died and was eaten by another creature. But it's a bit strange that the creature only ate a little before abandoning the seal's carcass.

A colony of emperor penguins, with many penguins standing motionless on the outer side.

If Xia Chuhe hadn't noticed the dead emperor penguin, he would have simply assumed that they had frozen to death while trying to help their colony withstand the wind and snow.

But upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the emperor penguins died in almost identical ways.

Something strange has drained their internal fat.

Xia Chuhe: "I want to go inside a bit..."

Lu Dangui stopped her before she could speak and said directly, "I'll go with you."

It's always safer to be with two people than to be alone.

The interior is where emperor penguins incubate their eggs, and no other creatures are allowed to intrude.

Fortunately, the two did not go too far before they saw several abandoned and sickly little penguins.

Some of the little penguins are still alive, and can still open their mouths and make silent calls.

Some were already dead, mercilessly trampled flat by the giant penguins, almost frozen into a meat patty.

Xia Chuhe fiddled with the wings of the sick and weak little penguin: "They're all disabled, missing limbs, like..."

“Like mutants from the wasteland,” Lu Dangui added, omitting the unspoken description.

Xia Chuhe stood up: "Let's go see if those two researchers have finished collecting samples."

The emperor penguin colony was not far from the sampling point. The four of them only arrived on one motorcycle, and another motorcycle was parked near the sampling point.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!