Chapter 141 Chapter 141 Spending Money Day 141
There are no fixed ski trails in Antarctica, the snow-capped mountains here don’t even have names, let alone a cable car.
But it doesn’t matter, Liu Yue can take a helicopter up.
She didn't know if other groups offered this service, but since she wanted to ski, there must be a helicopter at the camp.
Liu Yue hadn't considered climbing the mountain herself, because there was no need. If she had wanted to try it, she wouldn't have brought her ski gear, because after climbing up, she definitely wouldn't have the energy to ski anymore.
However, she booked herself an ice climbing trip for the afternoon, and when she arrived at the summit by helicopter, the tour operator was scouting for confirmed ice walls.
By the way, this is Liu Yue’s first time skiing on powder snow.
Antarctica is blanketed in fresh powder snow, a beloved destination for skiers and snowboarders. Liu Yue used to feel her skills weren't up to par, and she felt more secure on the beginner slopes. Now, she's even brave enough to ski on powder snow.
Hehe, there is no need to fight for the powder snow in Antarctica. She can ski for as long as she wants and wherever she wants. This is a truly niche ski resort that is restricted by high barriers to entry!
The snow here was light and fine, and Liu Yue felt like she was floating on clouds as she slid down on her skis. There was no sense of obstruction on her path, only a smooth, lightning-fast flow.
Liu Yue was a little excited, but this snowy slope was indeed a bit difficult for her. She lost control of her center of gravity for a moment and realized she was about to fall.
Liu Yue, who was experienced in falls, tried to curl herself up into a ball and rolled a few times in the snow. The Antarctic snow was so thick and soft that her fall didn't hurt much.
Liu Yue sat in the snow and smiled to herself for no apparent reason.
The advantage of backcountry skiing is that there are always new surprises. There are no real snow trails here, but from another perspective, it's an unknown adventure. And Antarctica is full of snow-capped mountains that can give her endless freshness.
She worked up a sweat on the mountain and had a blast. After returning to the camp, she enjoyed a hot pot.
Liu Yue was just about to take out her cell phone to take a picture when she suddenly realized it had stopped working - she had put it in her pocket and it shut down automatically because the temperature was too low. Fortunately, Ren Zhen had prepared a specially protected backup phone.
After dinner, Liu Yue didn't care what time it was. After all, it was mid-day, there was no night at all, so there was no problem with not being able to see clearly.
She asked the guide, "Can we go ice climbing now?"
"Of course, if you're ready."
Of course Liu Yue was prepared, and her equipment was very complete.
During her stay in Punta Arenas, Liu Yue spent her time learning about Antarctica. This included not only the precautions for arriving but also the basic theory of ice climbing, which now omitted some of the practical teaching.
The guide drove an off-road vehicle and brought her to the bottom of the ice wall. It looked very steep, but ice climbing is a dangerous sport. After searching around, this was the relatively safest and most suitable place for beginners.
Although ice climbers are usually tied with safety ropes, Zhang Cheng also prepared an air cushion for her. While tying the safety rope, Ren Zhen carefully checked her helmet, ice axe, and crampons.
These were all customized before departure, and the price is not expensive, only about 100,000 yuan.
Regardless of whether this is a one-time thing or not, compared to Clo's daily thoughts about building a safe house, Liu Yue's hobby seems cheap and cost-effective.
Liu Yue, who was trying ice climbing for the first time, bravely went up under the protection of her coach and bodyguards.
The guide and people accompanying her sighed: "This is the first time I've seen so many people surrounding someone while ice climbing."
Ice climbing is dangerous, but not that dangerous. As long as you take the right precautions and master the correct techniques, even children can do it.
"Don't you think about her identity?" The person next to him shrugged. "Believe it or not, if the pain could be transferred, everyone here would be willing to bear it for her."
Of course the guide believed it, because he was no exception. The travel agency had made it clear to him that the mood of the big client determined the final payment he would receive, and her assistant was really generous with her tips.
There is also the filming crew carrying cameras to shoot - if you ask them whether they like the weather in Antarctica, they will definitely hate it, but if you ask them whether they like the compensation given by Liu Yue, shaking their heads for even a second is disrespectful to money.
There was no way, she had given too much. Following her from the rainforest to Antarctica was nothing. Even if she wanted to go to outer space, they would find a way to get her on a spaceship.
After taking the first step, Liu Yue is constantly moving forward.
She used her ice axe to find a foothold, then lifted her foot and dug her crampons into the ice. Next, she had to get out her ice screw—just a name, it was actually a fixed anchor point—to which she would hang her safety line.
These are all the technical movements of ice climbing. They are not complicated at all, but they test your physical fitness and patience.
After completing this set of movements again, Liu Yue suddenly felt a little dazed.
What December was it now? She couldn't remember exactly. But last December, she must have been lying on her bed in the dorm, envying others' colorful social media.
After binding the system, she also took a nine-square grid of exquisite food and a photo album of exquisite makeup. These things once made her feel as happy as if she was in the clouds, but at this moment, the two ice picks in her hands gave her a real feeling of exploring the world.
Liu Yue wondered what kind of automatic encouragement mode of the brain was.
She was clearly exhausted and wanted to give up, but there was a voice telling her to hold on a little longer. Why was there such clichéd chicken soup in her head? Why did her hands and feet refuse to obey her and continue to climb?
It was not until she actually climbed to the top of the ice wall that Liu Yue realized that the moisture on her face was not water overflowing from her brain, but her tears.
How can one describe how strong the wind in Antarctica is? It almost blew her silly.
At this moment, she couldn't tell whether she was crying tears of joy for successfully reaching the summit, or whether they were simply physiological tears blown out by the wind.
Her slight fear of heights had long been cured through repeated skydiving and bungee jumping. Now, when she looked down and overlooked this world of ice and snow, her heart was filled with great ambition.
It’s great to have money. If she didn’t have enough money, she might never come to Antarctica in her life.
If she hadn't come to Antarctica, she wouldn't have been able to ride a thrilling snowmobile and experience the speed and passion on the glacier; she wouldn't have been able to see the purest blue lake in the world after climbing over one hill after another and walking on the ice trough with crampons.
Most of the Antarctic's snow-capped mountains don't have names, and neither do the lakes. Liu Yue had wanted to give it a name, but she didn't expect it to be universally recognized. She'd just call it in her head, since she wasn't sure if she'd still be able to find it next time she came.
But after thinking for a long time, she still regretted that she didn't have enough words. She couldn't think of anything except a dry "Blue Lake".
Forget it, a rough name is easier to keep, so let’s call it Blue Lake!
Liu Yue took many photos of the Blue Lake that she named, and also used it as the background picture for WeChat Sports.
She hadn't posted these photos on her Moments yet, but He Zhiyuan soon discovered them.
Liu Yue was still curious: "It's not even time for the WeChat Sports notification yet, how did you know I changed?"
"I pay close attention to your WeChat Sports." He Zhiyuan replied, "If your step count increases quickly, I know you're playing. If you don't move much, I know you're resting and I can chat with you."
So that's how it is. After thinking about it carefully, Liu Yue realized that He Zhiyuan always found the right time to chat with her. It almost never happened when she was too busy to check her phone or too lazy to reply to messages.
But she still had to complain: "Don't you have to work every day?"
He Zhiyuan: "As long as you are willing, you can find time to watch it."
Well, he was emphasizing in disguise that he was very thoughtful. Liu Yue smiled and sent him a few more pictures of the Blue Lake. By the way, she raised her phone with this background and asked Ren Zhen to take a photo.
Then she called Lucas - her cat also had a phone specifically for video chatting with her, and the sitter would answer the call.
Lucas's face appeared on the screen, but because Liu Yue turned the screen toward the camera, he couldn't see Liu Yue's kitten meowing. He just had this cute photo with Liu Yue in front of the Blue Lake.
This is a great idea, thanks to Zhiyuan He for the inspiration. From now on, no matter where she goes, she can take a photo with Lucas!
She also took Lucas to see the emperor penguins, who are the only penguins that breed during the Antarctic winter. So, when other penguins were still hatching in December, the emperor penguin chicks had already learned to walk and waddle on the ice.
To be honest, when Liu Yue saw so many penguins huddled together, her first reaction was, there are so many crazy pets... This is like arriving at the real penguin factory.
Tencent, give me money!
Eight species of penguins live in Antarctica, but only emperor penguins are found near the pole. They are the largest penguin, reaching heights of up to 120cm. Emperor penguin chicks often appear in cute emojis.
Liu Yue is not impressed by the appearance of adult emperor penguins, but the chicks are really adorable. When she approaches the colony, the chicks will curiously walk away from her.
Not only could Liu Yue not touch them, she also had to retreat quickly. This was not something that would cost her any money - human touch would destroy the waterproof oil on their bodies, and in Antarctica, the consequences of hypothermia were very serious.
Moreover, the bacteria from her injury could be a deadly threat to penguins living in Antarctica who lack immunity.
The contents of the Antarctic Convention are very strict. She must keep a distance of at least five meters from the penguins, and cannot step on the fixed paths where the penguins walk when retreating. Even before getting off the plane, the clothes she wore and the boots on her feet were disinfected inside and out.
This is the last pure land on earth. Purity also means an extremely fragile ecology. Protecting the environment is the obligation of every tourist.
So, even though the emperor penguin chicks were not afraid of people at all and really wanted to come over to Liu Yue for a hug, she could only quickly step back and politely decline the chicks' enthusiasm.
Afterwards, she asked Ren Zhen, since there are not many tourists near the South Pole, why are the emperor penguins here so close to humans?
Ren Zhen told her that maybe the cubs mistook her for a penguin too.
They had confirmed it through eye contact—the penguin walked upright, so she also walked upright; the penguin had two flippers, so she had two feet; the penguin had two forelimbs, so she had two hands…
All signs indicate that she is the slightly odd-looking penguin! And because penguins live in groups, the chicks likely came toward her to bring her back into the group.
Oh, is that so?
Liu Yue had never thought about this before, but after hearing what Ren Zhen said, she suddenly felt that it made some sense...
She visited several emperor penguin colonies and, when the weather was best, took a flight to the Pole.
She had been waiting for this day for a long time. Even though she had to take a car and walk after getting off the plane, and she was exhausted, it could not extinguish her enthusiasm for exploring the "end of the world".
Because the Antarctic ice sheet is moving at a rate of about 10 meters per year, the position of the South Pole is constantly changing. The first thing Liu Yue saw was actually the ceremonial South Pole used for taking photos and checking in.
Staff at the research station remeasure and adjust the position of the South Pole every year and set up new landmarks.
Liu Yue took a photo with this year's landmark, and then, following the system's instructions, walked a few steps around the pole and asked Ren Zhen to take a photo of her there.
This was a new extreme that was changing in real time, and as she bent down to adjust her boots, she also picked up the fragments of snow.
System: "Congratulations, host. This fragment has been exchanged for 24 points."
"You guys really mess with my mentality," Liu Yue complained. "Last time it was a new low, and this time it's a new high."
The total was exactly one hundred, and she thought the points would be stuck at 99.
Liu Yue redeemed her second designated ticket for the turntable in the system mall and said, "I have a feeling that all the fragments should be collected."
System: "The host's intuition is indeed very accurate."
Liu Yue felt a little proud, of course.
When she first linked the system, she worried it might disappear at any moment. She only spent the mission amount, not a cent of the cashback, to remind herself that she was only completing the mission and must not develop a habit of spending lavishly. What if the system disappeared one day?
Now, Liu Yue could ask it directly: "Will you leave after staying for a year?"
System: "We have not received any notification from the Time Management Bureau regarding this matter."
Liu Yue nodded. The answer to the question wasn't important to her right now.
But she was still a little curious: "So what does your number 42937 mean? Is it just a random code?"
The system has no answer to this.
Liu Yue didn't ask any more questions. She walked around the South Pole landmark, achieved the fastest "around the world", and then left with satisfaction.
Let’s go, there are more unknown and exciting things waiting for her.
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