LOGINThirty minutes later, the staff who reported the buoy inconsistency earlier returned to the conference room. "We've reached out to whom we can get, but thus far, every family confirmed that they had seen their relative on video call without any hint of impersonation or coercion."The minister sighed. "Oh, fantastic…"Having no casualties was a huge load off his shoulders, and he was certainly relishing in the relief of dodging a bullet.Putting his hands together, he exclaimed, "Alright! Since they're alive, let's find out more about what they are doing. Also, let's try to ask the Americans for assistance—ideally with eyes on the ground.""Yes! That would be wise!" Someone promptly exclaimed in approval. "I mean, they have hundreds of their own over there, so they have every reason to be concerned. Let's leave no stone unturned!"The minister nodded. In that case, let's report this to the Ministry of Defense too. Ask them to request assistance from the Americans!"-However, the
Hence, despite their usual nine-to-five routine, even the Japanese ministry officials were all working overtime.Within the closed-off conference room, they all fiercely debated what that buoy reading meant.The staff who noticed the issue first said, "I personally believe deliberate sabotage is involved. The crew and researchers are up to something behind our backs, using national equipment and resources to do something beyond national interests. It's sufficient grounds to suspect treason!"The minister of the Japanese Ministry of Science and Cultural Development was feeling a major headache.He could see the gravity of the situation, but since he was in charge, he was in denial.Nobody would want something like this grave to show up in their dossier, after all. What would they write in the report? How would they look to the public, if not directly removed from office? As such, he tried to play things down. "Let's all calm down for a moment, as we have no other evidence to prov
Otherwise, none of their vehicles would cover the 1,800-mile distance.The harsh cold also meant more fuel consumption to keep the heaters and other equipment on—either way, they were burning through whatever fuel they had left.After some final checks as the fuel truck joined the convoy formation, Kohei finally approached Barlin. "We can depart now, my lord."Barlin nodded. "Then let's go!"With that, four snow tractors and a single oil tanker departed in a U formation along the Antarctic Coast, heading southwest before turning northwest.The two-way trip would take sixteen days, and since Charlie had the fuel tanker bugged, he could track their movements in real time.Four days after Barlin's departure, Charlie called Heiji again. "Repair the buoy now.""Yes, sir. Right away, sir," Heiji promptly replied, and hung up.Hearing straight to the ship's fuel reservoir, he rewrote the microcontroller program for the buoy sensor system, and then returned to his cabin.Five minutes
Charlie thought about asking Nanako to inform the Japanese government directly, but soon decided against it since it would leave a clear paper trail.He didn't want Nanko to be exposed in case their enemies decided to track down the information.After thinking long and hard, he told Vera, Ruby, and Penny, "Let's work on the Japanese research crew. Do something that would expose them to their government.""Any specific ideas?" Vera asked. Charlie nodded. "They have been mind-bent to hide what they are doing from their families and the government. If I mind-bend any of them to leak the news, the elder might be able to tell… So I believe we should let their equipment do the talking instead.""Equipment?" Vera repeated. "As in, their vehicles and such?""Yes—to be specific, their research ship," Charlie replied, nodding again as he proceeded to explain, "The comms system on the ship is the only communication system they didn't sabotage, while they had already removed the trackers an
Knowing what Barlin was about to pull, Merlin promptly sent the processed media to Charlie, who watched it with Vera, Ruby, and Penny.Charlie flashed a lopsided grin as he murmured, "Guess our geezer is really taking a gamble on this one. He just might succeed and keep his plans hidden from both the Japanese and Americans if he takes control of the two hundred Americans in McMurdo Base. However, their large-scale search will inevitably cause a huge fuel shortage and equipment wear and tear. When summer comes and the researchers and tourists arrive, he's not hiding anything then!" "At that time, the governments in both countries will both be in for a nasty shock. Where did all their fuel reserves go? What is with that stupidly high number on their vehicle odometers? Even if they reset the odometers, the wear and tear on vehicle tracks, tires, engines, gearboxes, drive shafts—basically every part of their vehicles can't be hidden. "Frequent vehicle use will also rapidly deplete the
Noticing Barlin's shock, Kohei admitted, "It's a long journey, but that's just it—the Antarctic isn't a completely flat icy wilderness. There are hills and other steep inclines, as well as ice formations that will slow us down. Even if we travel non-stop, it will take at least eight days.""Eight days…"Barlin trailed off, and demanded, "But you said it's 800 miles as the crow flies. Then why don't we fly?"Kohei replied, "There's still 600 miles to cover through the sea, and without any place to land and refuel, the helicopter can't get that far even with auxiliary tanks."So the only way is to drive? Are there really no other options?""None that are ideal."Barlin fumed, but soon exclaimed, "The ship! What about the ship? Have the helicopter land on it, and sail to the nearest point to that American base, and fly over!"Kohei shook his head. "My lord, you told us before that we can't let the Japanese government find out about us. They will know we're lying if we move the ship
Charlie questioned him in return, “If you were an emperor in ancient times, would you dare to leave your country?”Isaac immediately thought of the meaning behind Charlie’s words, and he came to a realization as he said, “Young Master, I understand what you mean now. There must be many people eyeing
There were three glasses filled with plain water as well as a fruit knife on the tray.Albert carefully placed the tray in front of Charlie before he said respectfully, “Master Wade, the water and knife that you asked for are here.”Charlie nodded and smiled faintly. “Thank you for your hard work.”Alb
Zacheus ground his teeth and asked, “Then, what does he want before he will be willing to let Tom go?”Carmen hesitated for a moment before she said awkwardly, “Charlie said that he would let Tom work as a seaman on his ship for three years. Tom will not be allowed to leave the ship at all during the
As soon as Zacheus heard these words, he immediately felt extremely embarrassed over the other end of the line, and he had goosebumps all over his body.Immediately after that, Zacheus hurriedly denied, “Young Master Wade, you have misunderstood us. The relationship between your aunt and I is really







