Fortunately, the situation Lorena had been worried about didn't happen this time—just like how Murder on the Orient Express doesn't get a sequel. After leaving the fog-shrouded skies of the Fog Capital, the airship headed straight south toward Tierra del Fuego.
Having left behind the perpetually overcast skies, many people—including Mary—were seeing a clear blue sky for the first time, and they couldn't help but marvel at it. However, they didn't have much time to dwell on the scenery. Very quickly, Mary was plunged into intense studying.
Professor Pamar, though an academic, wasn't some socially clueless fool. While he still didn't fully understand the relationship between Duanmu Huai and Mary, he knew one thing clearly: this expedition was only possible thanks to Duanmu Huai's funding, and Duanmu Huai's reason for funding it was Mary.
Given that, there was no way he would just ignore Mary—only an idiot would offend their sponsor.
Those professors in movies and TV who act all righteous and defiant toward the wealthy are complete fools. So what if you're a genius? No matter how brilliant you are, you can't print your own research funding. Without money, even an IQ of 320 is useless.
Professor Pamar was no such fool. After boarding the airship, he immediately instructed his students to treat Mary politely. Of course, he didn't even need to say much—fields like geological archaeology, where people spend 365 days a year out in the field, are overwhelmingly male. Women are rare. In Pamar's research group, Mary was currently the only girl, so the men were naturally excited and wouldn't dare act improperly.
Then, Professor Pamar began giving Mary private lessons.
It couldn't be helped—his specialty was geological archaeology, whereas Mary's focus leaned more toward textual analysis. She didn't have much background in geology. Naturally, Pamar didn't want an incompetent student under him, so he taught her diligently.
The result shocked him.
In geological archaeology, both geology and archaeology are equally important. Mary didn't have deep experience in geology, so Pamar had expected it to be difficult. But to his surprise, she seemed to have a natural talent for it. Often, just by observing a layer of rock or traces in the soil, she could roughly estimate its age—and she was usually very close.
This thrilled Professor Pamar, who now believed Mary had great potential in geological archaeology. After all, knowledge can be learned later, but talent and intuition are innate.
In many cases, these intangible qualities determine whether someone can reach the peak of their profession.
For example, when doctors perform sutures, some will have a feeling—perhaps tightening it slightly will yield better results. Most doctors simply follow procedures. But those with intuition often achieve faster and better healing outcomes.
Or in scientific research, when faced with multiple possible directions, some people just feel that one path is more promising and choose it—while others can only guess randomly. More often than not, the ones with intuition are the ones who succeed.
This phenomenon exists across all fields—a kind of instinct, intuition, or gut feeling. To an ordinary person, a plant might just be a weed, but someone else might sense something unusual, dig it up, and discover a new species.
Talent, inspiration, instinct, intuition—whatever you call it, people with this "sense" learn and research far more efficiently.
Though not a top-tier scholar himself, Pamar envied this talent. Now that he'd discovered Mary had it, he was highly motivated and devoted himself to teaching her.
Of course, if Duanmu Huai knew about this, he wouldn't be surprised at all. After all, Mary possessed the Golden Eyes that could perceive all things. Even if you placed an unfamiliar ancient artifact in front of her, she could probably estimate its era just through her Golden Eyes…
Of course, with proper knowledge, her understanding would be even deeper.
Mary herself wasn't some arrogant noble girl. She understood that being personally tutored by such a distinguished professor was a rare opportunity. After all, they were on an airship—otherwise, in the Royal Academy, such a busy professor would either be leading research projects or answering students' questions. There'd be no time for private tutoring.
So Mary studied diligently, not relaxing in the slightest.
Time passed day by day. After a week, the Full Moon and Stars successfully reached Tierra del Fuego and rendezvoused with the icebreaker Orion, finally beginning the last leg of their journey to Antarctica.
Captain Lake of the Orion was well-known in this field, an experienced captain who had led expeditions to Antarctica hundreds of times. He was highly familiar with the climate and ocean currents. After loading all necessary equipment at Tierra del Fuego, the Orion departed the port and continued southward.
Duanmu Huai also found the captain and began his own inquiries.
"I have to say, your luck is pretty good."
Captain Lake was quite talkative, maintaining a cheerful demeanor even when speaking with Duanmu Huai.
"The weather's been calm lately—a rare window. Before you, only one expedition team had that kind of luck."
"You mean someone got there before us?"
Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow and stared at him. The captain nodded.
"Of course. I remember they were also a European expedition team. They came to me first, asking me to take them to Antarctica immediately. But the weather wasn't good at the time, and I wasn't willing to risk my crew. So they hired another ship. Funny thing is, not long after they left port, the weather cleared up. If I'd known, I might've taken the job myself."
"Do you know which research station they went to?"
By the 20th century, Antarctica was no longer like the 19th century where anyone could go freely. It had been designated as shared by the world, and many countries had established research stations. These stations were usually unmanned and only activated during summer. Once the window period ended, everyone would leave—after all, staying there without supplies or communication was basically like being on another planet.
Typically, expeditions stayed at their own country's station. For example, Duanmu Huai's team would be stationed at Queen Elizabeth Station before continuing deeper exploration.
But what about that other team?
"Hmm… I think it was the German Georg Station. Oh, I'll need to contact them after we arrive to confirm everything's alright. This damned weather really messes with communication…"
That was Antarctica—if something went wrong and a blizzard cut off communications, people could die there without anyone ever knowing.
The journey to Antarctica was far from smooth. Stormy seas battered the ship, and temperatures kept dropping. Of course, this was nothing for Duanmu Huai.
Lorena, however, had a big problem—she got seasick!
It was the first time Duanmu Huai realized Lorena suffered from seasickness. Thinking about it, she had traveled everywhere with him and used all kinds of transportation—except ships.
Now, the usually energetic priestess looked like a corpse, lying in the cabin with a pale, lifeless face.
"Umm… Miss Lorena, are you okay?"
Seeing her ghastly complexion and vacant eyes, as if her soul had left her body, Mary asked nervously. Lorena turned her head weakly toward her.
"Ugh… I didn't expect being on a ship would feel this awful… The first few days were fine, but suddenly everything started spinning, and I feel dizzy… Mary, don't you feel sick?"
"Uh… I'm fine?"
Mary answered a bit guiltily. She didn't know why, but she wasn't seasick at all.
"Looks like… I just haven't trained enough…"
As she spoke, Lorena struggled to get out of bed.
"I'll go run a hundred laps on deck now—that should fix it… ughhh…!!"
"Miss Lorena, pull yourself together!!!"
While Lorena was suffering miserably in the cabin, the Orion passed through the final currents and arrived at Antarctica—the ancient land covered entirely in ice and snow, rarely touched by humans.
"Boom!!"
The icebreaker slammed into thick ice. The violent impact shook the ship as massive chunks of ice cracked apart, and the vessel pushed forward once more.
Inside the cabin, Captain Lake let out a breath and looked at Duanmu Huai.
"Well, sir, it seems everything's going smoothly so far."
"Good. That's the best outcome."
Duanmu Huai nodded, then left the cabin. On the deck, Professor Pamar stood gazing at the blue sky.
"Beautiful…"
The old professor sighed, then turned to Duanmu Huai.
"Heh, the real sky really is something. Honestly, after spending so long at the Academy, I'd almost forgotten what color the sky truly is… In fact, many students are seeing blue skies for the first time."
"I understand."
Duanmu Huai nodded. He had seen their reactions when they first left the Fog Capital—even Mary had been shocked. It was natural. Since birth, they had lived under a dim sky. Unless they left the country, they'd never know what the real sky looked like.
Perhaps, in their minds, the sky had always been that gray.
But Duanmu Huai wasn't here to chat.
"Professor, now that we've reached Antarctica, there's something I need to make clear."
He stepped beside Pamar and spoke calmly.
"What is it?"
"You've probably noticed—we didn't come here just to see penguins, nor purely for geological archaeology. In truth, we have more important matters. Joining your expedition was simply for convenience. But soon, we may need to attend to our own business. So if you find us gone, don't worry—just focus on your work."
"Th-this…"
Pamar frowned. Antarctica was dangerous, and solo actions were generally forbidden. If they disappeared without explanation, he might assume they were missing and try to search for them.
But what did Duanmu Huai mean?
"Do you know why I chose to fund you?"
"I… honestly don't."
Pamar had wondered the same. He wasn't the best in the Academy—there were more famous and capable professors, as well as more obedient ones. Why him?
"I read one of your papers—'Phased Excavation Recommendations in Geological Archaeology'. You argued that even when encountering extremely important ruins, one shouldn't rush to excavate, but instead start from the surroundings and proceed step by step. Correct?"
"That's right."
Pamar nodded, puzzled.
"Then let me ask you—if before you appeared ruins capable of overturning the entire world and human history, offering knowledge and experience beyond imagination, even guaranteeing you eternal fame—would you still stick to your method? Or would you try to get ahead at any cost?"
"…I don't know."
After a moment of thought, Pamar shook his head with a bitter smile.
"I've had some achievements in my life, but I've never encountered ruins like that. I can't guarantee I'd stay rational under such temptation. But I believe archaeological work should proceed cautiously…"
"Good."
Duanmu Huai nodded.
Humans always end up in trouble because they want shortcuts.
Humans suddenly wanting to ascend to higher dimensions.
Humans suddenly wanting all the knowledge of the universe.
Or discovering ancient ruins and immediately excavating them without thinking.
It was like horror movies—finding a sealed place covered in blood and warnings, and still opening the door.
If you insist on opening it, who's to blame?
Yourself.
The same applied to most incidents involving ancient gods and ruins.
Archaeologists uncover an Old One's site and think: "Wow, such advanced beings existed—we must follow their path!"
And then they rush in.
But if those beings had succeeded, would humans even be here now?
If they disappeared, it means they failed.
Players in the game understood this well—they always asked how a civilization destroyed itself.
Like detectives examining a corpse, they instinctively analyzed the cause of death.
Duanmu Huai returned to the present and looked at Pamar.
"In any case, I think highly of you. Do your best. If we're lucky, I'll tell you something interesting when I return."
"Mr. Duanmu, just what are you—"
Before Pamar could finish, Captain Lake emerged from the cabin and interrupted them.
"Hey, you two, you'd better come take a look!"
(End of Chapter)