From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

I nodded and took out the map to look at it again.

It seems this map cannot be completely trusted, as it was drawn based on satellite imagery.

Moreover, satellite maps are static, showing past terrain data, while the climate and terrain of uninhabited areas change rapidly.

A single night of wind and snow, or a drop in temperature, can alter the surface structure of an entire glacier.

The road conditions we see are completely different from the safe routes marked on satellite maps.

I looked up at the vast, endless heart of the glacier. The three vehicles were as tiny as three small boats on a vast ocean, drifting in the boundless white wilderness.

Behind us lay the perilous terrain we had already overcome, and ahead lay an endless icy ravine.

But here we are, with no way out.

We had no choice but to grit our teeth and keep pushing forward.

But recalling what just happened still sends chills down my spine.

A mere half-step could have meant plunging the car and its inhabitants into a bottomless icy ravine.

In the heart of a glacier in this uninhabited area, once you fall in, there is absolutely no possibility of rescue.

If you fall, there will be no trace of your body.

I was on edge the whole time, and my hands were already soaked with cold sweat. When the cold wind of the plateau blew on them, they became even colder and stiffer.

I took a deep breath of the cold air, suppressing the lingering fear in my heart, and turned to look at Su Wan beside me.

Her gaze was fixed on the milky white icy fog outside the window, then she glanced down at the hand-drawn map we had relied on all the way, her brows furrowed slightly, and she said in a deep voice:

"We can no longer rely entirely on maps. Wang Ge's hand-drawn satellite locations can only serve as a very rough reference now."

"The entire glacial landscape is changing dynamically every day. We have now entered the active layer of the glacier, and any airflow will change the old path."

I nodded in deep agreement; that's what I thought too.

We had a relatively smooth journey thanks to this hand-drawn map, which made me subconsciously dependent on it. I habitually checked the coordinates and ignored the real-time road conditions in front of me.

The car accident that nearly resulted in death was ultimately my fault.

In dire circumstances, any sliver of hope or distraction can be fatal.

Looking at the thick white fog before me, I said in a deep voice, "From now on, everyone must be on high alert. We must rely on the actual road conditions and see for ourselves. Maps are only for reference."

Su Wan immediately chimed in, "That's right. The thick polar ice layer, combined with the dense ice fog over a wide area, is a natural barrier to shortwave signals, making it easy to lose contact."

My heart skipped a beat. Without hesitation, I immediately picked up the car radio and tried to call from behind:

"Luo Peng, did you hear the reply?"

There was no response from the walkie-talkie, only a piercing crackling of electrical static.

I didn't give up and called twice more, but all I heard on the channel was still a jumble of static.

At that moment, my heart sank completely, and my face instantly became serious.

"Oh no, the signal is really down."

Su Wan remained calm, having already anticipated this outcome. She said indifferently, "This is a normal phenomenon in polar glaciers. The refraction of ice layers, combined with the obstruction of ice crystals, will cut off short-range shortwave communications."

I couldn't help but gasp, a bone-chilling cold instantly shooting from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

This means that from this moment on, the three of us in three cars are completely cut off from internal communication.

The entire vast Purogangri Glacier was cut off from all external support, and even the teammates who had been with them day and night had lost their means of communication.

The thick white fog obscured visibility up to 100 meters, and even the outlines of vehicles five meters away were blurred.

The originally orderly line of cars was instantly cut off by the thick fog, and they could no longer be seen from each other.

If anyone loses their speed and deviates from the route, they will be completely separated and left without help.

I frowned, looking at the thick fog before me. Fine ice crystals stung my face, cold and sharp.

All around was a vast expanse of white, the boundary between heaven and earth completely disappeared, making it impossible to distinguish where the ice surface ended, where the fog began, and where the icy ravines and abysses lay...

An extreme sense of bewilderment and despair spread wildly throughout my body.

I let out a heavy sigh, my voice tinged with helplessness: "Nobody knows when this fog will clear. In this awful weather, we dare not drive forward rashly; there's a high chance we won't be able to make it."

Su Wan continued, "Judging from the current airflow and ice crystal concentration, this fog won't dissipate anytime soon. Moreover, we can't stay here for long; the longer we remain in the heart of the glacier, the more variables there will be and the greater the danger."

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from behind.

Luo Peng groped his way through the thick fog, his face full of anxiety, and called out from afar:

"I've been calling you on the walkie-talkie, why haven't you responded at all?"

Su Wan and I exchanged a solemn glance.

I said in a deep voice, "The walkie-talkie signal is blocked by the ice fog. I called you several times just now, but you didn't respond."

"Holy crap!"

Luo Peng's eyes widened instantly. "What do we do now! The fog is getting thicker and thicker. I can barely see the back of Sister Wan's car, but I can't see yours at all! We're completely out of contact!"

His panic wasn't just being dramatic; it was the instinctive reaction of a normal person facing a desperate situation.

I was just as anxious, but I had to force myself to stay calm.

Su Wan had already analyzed the situation clearly: this place was not a place to stay for long. The fog would not dissipate anytime soon, so the choice was between waiting to die in place and taking the risk of moving forward, with the latter still offering a glimmer of hope.

But in this situation, leaving is not an option, and staying is not an option either.

I forced myself to calm down, and then quickly asked Su Wan, "I remember the principle behind fog formation is that water vapor encounters warm currents, evaporates into water vapor, and then condenses upon cooling, right?"

Su Wan was slightly taken aback, then nodded gently: "The principle is correct; this is the cause of conventional fog."

My eyes suddenly lit up, and I instantly grasped the key clue, deducing from the white fog:

"In other words, there must be a warm current in the area we are in now!"

Su Wan nodded calmly in agreement: "That makes sense."

Luo Peng, standing to the side, was completely bewildered, scratching his head in confusion: "No, no, you two, stop playing games! It's tens of degrees below zero here, freezing you to the bone, where would any warm current come from?"

"Yes," I nodded quickly and said, "I remember Brother Wang telling me that there are many hot springs of all sizes in the no-man's-land."

"Think about it, there's no sunlight here, no way to raise the temperature, so it's impossible for a thick fog to appear out of thin air. The only explanation is that there's a warm hot spring underground; the evaporated water vapor cools and turns into fog, thus forming this ice fog!"

"Huh? Hot springs?!"

Luo Peng's eyes widened again, his face filled with disbelief, and he subconsciously looked around at the vast white snowfield.

"Brother Lin, were you hallucinating from being too scared? This place is all ice as far as the eye can see, it doesn't look like there's a hot spring at all!"

"It's precisely because of the underground hot springs that we can't see the source! Where there's fog, there's water vapor; where there's water vapor, there's warm current. The only possibility is an underground spring!"

Su Wan chimed in at the opportune moment, "Your reasoning is entirely sound, but it's not 100% certain. The terrain of the no-man's-land is bizarre, concealing countless unknowns. We can't draw conclusions based solely on the fog."

I understand her concerns; in dire circumstances, any subjective assumptions can be fatal.