LOGINWith the Japanese snow tractors providing cover, the radars and other recon equipment never caught Barlin.As they collapsed on the rogue convoy, armed forces promptly moved to encircle the vehicles, and yelled for the rogue researchers to get off and surrender.At first, they weren't going to do it since Barlin had bent their minds with the intention to keep them eternally loyal to him, but Barlin didn't know Japanese and had to relay orders through Kohei and Heiji's translations.In other words, they were ultimately loyal to Kohei.So, when Kohei told them on the radio to surrender unconditionally and got off his snow tractor, his hands raised, the others followed suit. The armed forces promptly moved in to restrain each of them, with Goro running over, clearly looking pained as he demanded, "Why did you all do this?! After all that we did to make sure you all had the finest equipment and conditions for your explorations?!"Kohei retorted fearlessly, "No one did any harm. They
Kohei had zero arguments or misgivings despite Barlin's demands.Bowling his head, he said, "It's my honor to die to serve you, my lord! Don't worry, I will keep your secret even in the pain of death!"Barlin nodded in satisfaction and told him, "Alright, cover my retreat as you suggested!""Yes, my lord!" Kohei replied, and promptly barked into his walkie, "Everyone fall in line! Cover me!"At his order, the other vehicles moved into a single line behind their snow tractor, even as the Americans kept closing in.Kohei then nodded at Barlin. "My lord, the closer they are, the bigger the radar blind spot. Let them close in further and you'll be able to get away!"Barlin nodded and sighed. "This really cost me more than what I bargained for, losing both the Griffin Winter Manor and my search of the continent."Meanwhile, the Americans were closing in.Despite their vehicles being military-grade, few were designed to traverse polar terrain. Even at full speed, they struggled to ke
Barlin was naturally delighted. If they went with Kohei's plan, he at least wouldn't be hunted down or killed… Even if it meant losing the Griffin Winter Manor.He would then find somewhere to lie low and think of a way to leave the South Pole once this nonsense blew over.And if he couldn't leave before winter ended, he could just find someplace quiet, dig a hole deeper than what they had managed before.Barlin initially considered infiltrating an unoccupied research station to take temporary shelter, but soon remembered that even those were littered with cameras and such.He didn't understand modern technology, so what if he unknowingly walked right into a trap?Therefore, digging a hole in the ice became the best solution he could think of.The Antarctic ice sheet was thousands of feet thick, but despite the freezing climate, he would feel much better avoiding the blizzard and gales.Moreover, igloos had always been an excellent choice for protection in polar regions. Althoug
Being Barlin's most loyal servant, Kohei didn't show contempt or disappointment towards Barlin's self-doubt.Instead, he gave it to him straight, "That depends on whether they find you and decide to attack you, my lord."That only left Barlin fuming—talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place!If he had to attack, that meant wiping out the combined forces of the Americans and the Japanese. It was possible, but only if he avoided the initial firearms and artillery volley, closing the distance for a melee.But he wasn't dealing with the defenseless Japanese research crew now, but the Americans' regular military force.That means every moment of their operations would be communicated in real-time through satellite feeds, observed by high command.It was just different from how things were a century ago—back then, he could simply wipe out a full-fledged legion, and no one would be the wiser as dead men tell no tales. However, that wasn't the case now. He could still kil
Barlin's convoy never noticed anything, even when the Americans were just a couple of miles away and closing in, but Barlin himself was sharp enough to sense them.Hearing the rumble and feeling the vibration of diesel engines, he paled and cried out, "Incoming! At least… eight cars!""Really?" Kohei was baffled. "Looks quiet to me, my lord."Barlin gritted his teeth grimly. "Oh, you will see them too soon enough. I have a bad feeling about this… It's like a viper has its eyes on me.""What?!" Kohei blurted in shock. "Wait, they could have locked on to us already?!""Locked on…?" Barline repeated, frowning. "As in, they know where we are?!"Kohei nodded. "Yes! This is basically a civilian vehicle so radar lock is easy. Once locked, we're not getting away." Barlin promptly bellowed, "Then move! Turn south and go as fast as you can! Shake them off!"The driver did as told, spinning the wheel to turn the tractor around as the rest of the convoy followed at top speed.However, th
It would still take at least five days for Barlin to return to the Griffin Winter Manor.On the other hand, the second transport fleet the Americans sent had already arrived, camping at the only path between Barlin's convoy and the Japanese research base.This time, they weren't airdropping personally but multiple M1128 Strykers and the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), along with supporting recon vehicles. The Strykers were equipped with miniguns, grenade launchers, and a 105mm tank gun barrel capable of covering anything the HIMARS couldn't hit. In addition, the reconnaissance vehicles were equipped with high-power, high-precision radar capable of detecting and locking onto mobile targets from dozens of miles away for precision strikes. After landing safely, these vehicles immediately took cover behind a hill, with their radars operating at full power as they waited in ambush for the Japanese convoy. Goro and the Japanese negotiating team would arrive on th
At this moment, at Shangri-La.The auction was already over, but Charlie didn’t leave immediately. He originally prepared a whole Rejuvenating Pill for the three VIPs tonight, half of which was to be given to his grandfather, Jeremiah. The other half would be divided into two, to be given to Old Mast
“Never mind.” Charlie pointed at the stack of documents relating to the cargo ship, which was lying in front of Andre. He hissed through gritted teeth, “That cargo ship will be yours if I can’t turn things around tonight!”Andre laughed and said excitedly, “Okay! Mr. Wade, you really are easygoing! I
The Acker family watched Quinn’s private plane take off, and then they turned around and returned to the mansion reluctantly.All of the members of the Acker family were, without exception, both fond and grateful toward Quinn. After Quinn had left, Lady Acker burst into tears, choked up, and said to
Andre had tossed caution to the wind, no longer caring if he would be implicated as well. He feared that Charlie would actually promote Gopher. With the Gopher’s style of conduct, he would surely get rid of Andre the moment he got the chance. Andre would rather expose this incident than let Gopher







