"What does this mean?" Looking at the gazes of the people in front of him, if it weren't for the fact that they still looked human, Jiang Hai might have even wondered if he had stumbled into some Resident Evil world. Why were their looks so strange?
"Oh, I'm not sure either. I'll go ask right away." Louis Cazade probably felt that the atmosphere was a bit off as well, so after a brief thought, he said a word to Jiang Hai and then nodded to Jidard Mode behind him.
Seeing Louis Cazade nod, Jidard Mode immediately took out a smartphone. However, her phone was different from ordinary smartphones; its system was an internal US CIA system that no one could hack, not even Wallis Shelley. It also looked extremely high-tech.
Essentially, the phone was a very thin, transparent piece of glass. When it wasn't turned on, others couldn't see it, though they could see it themselves. Jiang Hai had always been interested in such black technology, but he felt this one was just average because he himself didn't lack such tech.
Don't forget, he was a shareholder of Google Company, even though his home's smart system wasn't finished yet.
Before he left, those two guys from Google had also given Jiang Hai a new wristband that was linked to his glasses.
When he wanted to make a call, he didn't need to take out a phone anymore; he could look directly with his eyes, and the wristband would project a phone screen image. He could operate it right there—it could be projected into the air, onto his arm, or onto a table, etc. The technological effect looked extremely powerful, so he wasn't envious of the transparent phone.
"Alright, these are your rooms. Each room has its own bathroom where you can shower, but shower time is only from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM every day. At other times, there's only cold water; after all, we don't have much hot water here. The kitchen is over there, and dinner is at 5:30 PM. If you have any requests, remember to tell the chef in advance, and they will try their best to meet them, but they have the final say on the extent. There's a public bath here, and at the bar over there, you can buy alcohol as long as someone is there. Beer is free, but imported spirits cost money. You cannot enter the research lab, but the observation deck is fine. Any other questions?" At this time, Vistan Karl led Jiang Hai and the others to a row of rooms and spoke to them. After hearing there were no questions, Jiang Hai and the others received their respective room keys.
They opened the doors and each entered their own rooms. However, when he saw Azalina, Wallis Shelley, and Galina Vasikaya all move into Jiang Hai's room, he couldn't help but curl his lip, then sighed helplessly and turned to leave. It was clear his current mood wasn't very good.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Seeing the man walk away looking unhappy, Jiang Hai frowned and asked with some confusion.
"Cough, it seems we've broken the rules here." Hearing Jiang Hai's words, Jidard Mode's face turned inexplicably red. She then showed the documents in her hand to Jiang Hai. Upon seeing them, Jiang Hai couldn't help but be stunned, and then his expression became somewhat strange.
Because what was written in the documents seemed a bit ridiculous... To be honest, the things written there were quite hard for Jiang Hai himself to accept.
Because the geographical conditions in Antarctica were somewhat special, it was only accessible for three months out of the year. For the other nine months, it was inaccessible. Therefore, supply ships and the like would deliver enough supplies for these people to live on for nine months during those three months, and then leave the people at these research stations here for nine months.
During that time, they couldn't contact their families, and naturally, there was no entertainment to speak of. Since daylight hours in the Antarctic winter were very short, electricity usage was strictly rationed. Everyone lived and stayed together all day without electricity or anything to do, and they almost couldn't go outside. In such circumstances, Americans—or Westerners in general—who were already quite indulgent...
...would have somewhat heavy needs in that department. It was just like in ancient China: everyone went to bed early and had no nightlife. In such a situation, besides—cough, cough—unmentionable acts, there was nothing else to do.
So, at Antarctic research stations, there was an unwritten rule that made this place an existence independent of the rest of the world.
Here, the way to vent was to find a partner, what the people here called an "Ice Wife" or an "Ice Husband."
Many of these people were married, but they didn't care about that. Each person would use at least 120 condoms a year, not to mention the times they didn't use them. Therefore, the Antarctic research station would conduct physical exams for these people every year, the most important part of which was checking for diseases like AIDS.
Although these research stations tried to recruit at a one-to-one ratio as much as possible, not many women were willing to come. So, the recruitment ratio was basically around 2:1. Thus, in the research station, women were the undisputed queens; they had the right to choose their partners, while the men were more or less frustrated.
This time, seeing four beauties in Jiang Hai's group, those men were quite excited. However, seeing Azalina and the others move into Jiang Hai's room, they knew they didn't have a chance, which was why Dr. Karl sighed helplessly.
"It seems things are really messy here!" After finishing the documents, Jiang Hai curled his lip and handed the phone back to Jidard Mode. He knew those guys hadn't been up to any good just now.
"Don't go out easily tonight, and don't cause unnecessary trouble. We'll leave tomorrow morning as soon as we get our supplies," Louis Cazade said at this point, then walked into his room.
Jidard Mode thought for a moment and followed him in. See? They definitely had an affair going on.
As for Jiang Hai and the others, they also went back to their room. After resting for a while, they went to the cafeteria for dinner. In the cafeteria, many people naturally focused their attention on them. However, they weren't stupid; they probably knew they couldn't afford to provoke these people, and since they were already "taken," no one came over to cause trouble for Jiang Hai's group, they just watched from a distance.
Of course, the main reason was that these people had only recently arrived. It was currently summer, so they could naturally go back and forth via supply ships, meaning their current needs weren't that high.
After dinner, Jiang Hai and the others went back to rest. The night passed without incident, and early the next morning, they left the place.
But before leaving, they naturally had to get their supplies.
The CIA was quite reliable, especially with the support of Jiang Hai's funding.
The research station here had already prepared the items they needed: six massive snowmobiles. These snowmobiles could seat four people, but currently, each only carried two because they also had to carry supplies and such.
There were a lot of supplies: windproof tents, specially made pots, alcohol blocks, medical kits, items similar to hand warmers, entrenching shovels, pickaxes, hammers, and so on. All these tools were provided, but most of it was food.
There was no shortage of water in Antarctica. Seawater doesn't freeze easily, but water vapor freezes and turns into snow, so all the ice and snow in Antarctica is fresh water. That wasn't an issue. The main thing was food: specially made jerky, chocolate bars, compressed biscuits... Although these things tasted poor, in Antarctica, they were life-saving items.
And the last and most important thing was fuel: gasoline.
Jiang Hai's snowmobiles were hybrid electric-gasoline vehicles. There was a solar panel on the snowmobiles; during the day, they could run on that electricity. If there wasn't enough power, or if it was cloudy for a long time, or if they had to travel at night, they could use gasoline.
Because gasoline is a blended liquid, its freezing point—commonly referred to as the solidification point—is different.
Generally speaking, the freezing point of gasoline in China is between minus 35 and 45 degrees. In some extremely cold places, it might reach 50 to 60 degrees. However, the Antarctic research station is consistently at minus 60 or 70 degrees, or even colder.
So their gasoline's freezing point was minus 80 degrees, which was considered the lowest temperature.
Minus 80 was enough to handle most situations. Of course, if it reached below minus 80, there was no point in going out; not everyone would seek death at such a time.
As for Jiang Hai, since he had paid for it anyway, they weren't polite. They loaded over a dozen bags of these supplies and more than twenty barrels of gasoline before leaving the research station, avoiding the somewhat lingering gazes of those guys.
Once outside, Jiang Hai and the others were naturally fully equipped. Even Little Yellow and Little White wore their custom-made clothes and specially made snow goggles, sitting on the back of Jiang Hai's snowmobile, looking quite majestic.
Then Jiang Hai and the others drove the six snowmobiles, speeding toward the interior of Antarctica.
Although Louis Cazade had never been there personally, he was very clear about the route and location, so following his navigation was correct. Although snowmobiles couldn't run like real motorcycles, they weren't slower than cars here and were quite fast, reaching speeds of about 80 kilometers per hour. But despite being fast, these snowmobiles were almost silent, because Antarctica was full of snow-capped mountains and glaciers, and one wrong move could cause an avalanche. (To be continued.)
Crossing Mountains and Valleys
"Let's camp here tonight. Ahead is a plain, and it looks like we won't be able to get out today!" Strong winds mixed with snowflakes continuously blew against Jiang Hai and the others. Louis Cazade, while gesturing with his electronic map, spoke to Jiang Hai beside him. Jiang Hai also glanced at the endless plain in the distance and nodded lightly.
Then the two separated, jumping down from the snowy slope in front of them, entering the two small camps behind them from left and right. This was where they stayed, with two tents on each side, one large and one small, which looked quite decent.
As the saying goes, one should not harbor harmful intentions, but one must guard against them. Although they came together, Jiang Hai and Louis Cazade advanced in two separate groups and did not mix together.
Every day when they set up camp, they would arrange their snowmobiles in two rows, placing them in the middle as a warning line. Jiang Hai was on the right, Louis Cazade on the right, with both sides keeping to themselves and not interfering with each other. They ate their own supplies, distrustful but together. This journey had lasted for three days so far.
Yes, it had been three days since Jiang Hai and the others set out from that Research Station.
During these three days, Jiang Hai and the others had been advancing toward their goal. Since there were no places to rest here, aside from setting up camp, they spent the rest of their time speeding on their motorcycles.
Calculating based on running thirteen hours a day, at 80 kilometers per hour, that's over a thousand kilometers a day. Of course, this wasn't a straight line. The Antarctic terrain isn't completely flat; there are many snow valleys, glaciers, and snow mountains. Sometimes Jiang Hai and the others had to jump over them, sometimes they had to go around them, all of which took time.
But even so, after three days, Jiang Hai and the others had advanced about four-fifths of the way. Crossing the plain ahead should bring them near the mountain where the High-Altitude Landing Plan crashed, which was their target location.
Entering the tent, Jiang Hai saw his people also busy.
Wallis Shelley was fiddling with her electronic devices. These things were crucial for ensuring Jiang Hai could get out if he ever fell out with Louis Cazade, so she had to be careful.
Bell Lester was there cleaning his gun. They had been running all these days, but his face showed little fatigue. After all, he was formerly from Delta Force. Although he had never been to Antarctica, he must have undergone plenty of such training.
Connorsen Peters was doing push-ups there. For him, keeping fit was essential to protect Jiang Hai.
Azalina and Galina were gathered around a pot, boiling melted snow water. Beside them, there was a penguin with only fat and skin left, and of course, many feathers were still on the skin.
Penguins indeed have feathers, not animal fur. However, these feathers are small and scale-like, providing decent but not excellent insulation. Their main functions are waterproofing and reducing underwater resistance.
As Jiang Hai and the others ventured deeper into Antarctica, there was almost no water around, only ice and snow everywhere, with occasional water holes. Under such conditions, most creatures found it difficult to survive here.
So, the many seabirds that were originally on the outskirts of Antarctica, such as Skuas, had completely disappeared here.
In these three days, the Seals Jiang Hai saw were few and far between. The only creatures in relatively large numbers were Penguins.
Having seen many Penguins, Jiang Hai had learned some of their habits.
To be honest, Penguins have many supporters both domestically and internationally, but in reality, these creatures are quite low in character. They are sneaky, often stealing things or attacking humans or other creatures.
Although they live together, their social relationships are extremely chaotic. Penguins in Antarctica are all lechers and wantons.
Although they appear to be monogamous, once separated, they both engage in that activity wildly. Even Seals have been corrupted by Penguins. Originally, Seals caught Penguins to eat them, but now Seals sometimes catch Penguins to 'play' with them. What they play goes without saying; although they are different species, getting in is the main thing.
So basically, penguin parents take turns incubating eggs. When the female incubates, the male goes out to find food and then goes wild, ahem. When the male incubates, the female goes out to find food and then goes wild, ahem. That's reality... And most Penguins, while raising their own chicks, also break other Penguins' eggs and bite other penguin chicks to death. Jiang Hai had witnessed all this firsthand, so Penguins are really low creatures.
As for these creatures, Jiang Hai had mentioned before that they are quite unpalatable. But once, when Little Yellow and Little White went out to play, they caught a penguin. Out of curiosity, Jiang Hai cooked it to try. He found that if you only eat the lean meat, the taste is actually okay, just a bit too fishy. But that's easy to fix; Jiang Hai had brought wine and ginger, which are good for removing fishiness. Penguin meat cooked with these tasted pretty good, with a flavor similar to beef or lamb.
Of course, the fat is inedible, and the skin, claws, and head cannot be eaten either. But in such weather, having a bite of fresh meat is a nice treat. Jiang Hai and the others had been eating this way for two days.
Soon, Azalina and Galina prepared the pot of penguin meat with the fishiness removed. After quietly discarding the broth, they boiled another pot of water, cut the penguin meat, dried vegetables they brought, and dried meat, and threw them into the pot. As the water boiled again, the smell of meat soup filled the tent.
Smelling this, the others also turned their attention. Once the meat soup was ready, Azalina served everyone a large bowl, including Little Yellow and Little White. With compressed biscuits, Jiang Hai and the others started eating.
"We should be almost there, right?" Azalina asked Jiang Hai while eating.
"Hmm, almost." Nodding, according to Louis Cazade, they should arrive tomorrow.
"Then we need to be careful too!" Hearing what Jiang Hai said, Galina also looked at Azalina and spoke.
"Don't worry, they won't dare to mess with us before discovering anything." Hearing her, Jiang Hai smiled and said. He was telling the truth; as a privileged class, he really had nothing to fear.
"Better safe than sorry, boss." At this moment, Bell smiled beside him, still supporting Galina's view.
"Alright, better safe than sorry." Hearing Bell say this too, Jiang Hai nodded. Being careful wouldn't hurt.
Soon, everyone devoured the food in front of them. Then Bell and Connorsen Peters returned to their tent, and Little Yellow and Little White sensibly ran outside the tent. They would keep watch nearby and come back to sleep during the day tomorrow. Compared to humans keeping watch, they were actually more diligent.
Afterward, only Jiang Hai and the three girls remained in the tent. Of course, in the vast Antarctic, Jiang Hai wasn't crazy enough to try making babies in the tent, but rubbing, hugging, and cuddling were inevitable, and they were more accustomed to this.
Changing into sleepwear, Jiang Hai hugged the three girls and drifted into dreamland. The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Azalina boiled another pot of water. After everyone washed up, they checked the wind direction. After all, it was summer, and although the wind was about level seven, they could still travel.
Putting on their gear and packing up, Jiang Hai and the others rode their snowmobiles, leaped over the snowy peak ahead, and headed toward the plain. Their speed was not slow, and they soon rushed onto the plain.
But as the old saying goes, the mountain you see from afar may kill your horse. You can't judge distance based on the scenery on the plain.
So even though the mountain didn't seem far, Jiang Hai and the others ran from dawn until dusk before reaching the place. Upon arrival, both Louis Cazade and Jiang Hai breathed a sigh of relief. That whole day, they only rested when eating at noon and had been running non-stop, finally arriving.
"According to the records, the entrance to that Underground City is on the mountainside. Should we go tonight or wait until tomorrow?" After reaching this snowy peak, Louis Cazade looked at Jiang Hai and said in a muffled voice.
"If I said wait until tomorrow, would you believe me?" Glancing at Louis Cazade, Jiang Hai smiled and said. To be honest, having come this far, it was impossible for Jiang Hai not to want to go directly.
"Heh, not really. Then let's spend the night in the cave at the entrance!" Hearing Jiang Hai's words, Louis Cazade also laughed. As he said, he didn't believe Jiang Hai wouldn't sneak up. In that case, rather than following after finding out Jiang Hai sneaked, it was better to go in together. He was really curious about what Jiang Hai was here for.
"Then let's go!" Since it was decided, Jiang Hai didn't say more. With a wave, his people rode their motorcycles one by one toward the mountainside. Although the uphill speed was much slower, fortunately, the mountain was very low.
It was only about three thousand meters high, with the mountainside at around one thousand meters. Although the higher they went, the stronger and colder the wind became, everyone managed to endure. Finally, before it got completely dark, Jiang Hai and the others reached the mountainside!
And what greeted their eyes was a huge cave! (To be continued.)
Aryan Underground City
"Is this the place?" Jiang Hai swallowed hard, looking at the massive cave before him, and asked in a low voice.
"Yes, this is it!" Hearing Jiang Hai's words, Louis Cazard glanced at his GPS and confirmed, swallowing hard himself, for the cave entrance before them was truly striking.
The discovery of this cave was quite accidental. During a high-altitude US airdrop operation, a plane crashed into this snowy mountain, falling not far from the mountainside.
The plane was an R-4D. Perhaps the name isn't familiar to everyone, as this aircraft was also developed during World War II, but it belonged to the Army's inventory and didn't appear very often, as the US Army didn't deploy many at the time.
The Navy had more, and their version of this plane was called the C-47. After the US entered the war, they deployed many such planes all over the world. The British called this plane the Dakota, the Chinese called it the Meiling, and other Europeans during wartime called them Albatrosses. Over eighty percent of US airborne operations during World War II used this type of aircraft, so it's no exaggeration to say that this plane changed the course of the war.
During a US airborne operation, an R4D crashed here. There were nine people on board, and initially all nine survived. However, three of them discovered this cave and wanted to explore it alone, but were subsequently killed. Of course, this incident was not reported; otherwise, it would be strange for three people to die inexplicably when the heavily burned pilot, covered in flames, had survived. Later, these survivors managed to wait for rescuers thanks to two cans of peanut butter hidden by a comrade, and thus the cave was discovered by the Americans. However, after entering, the Americans found that it was merely a military base, containing many empty buildings and documents, but no people.
It seemed the rumors that the Nazis had fled here were incorrect.
Later, they emptied the research materials from the base, and the Cold War with the Soviet Union began. That's how things unfolded.
However, this time, it was Jiang Hai and his team who arrived. Looking at the cave entrance, they didn't rush in, as no one knew what the situation inside was like. Jiang Hai held back the somewhat restless Little Yellow and Little White, exchanged glances with Louis Cazard, and neither of them rushed in. Instead, they set up camp right there, deciding to deal with any matters after the night passed.
Since the cave was right in front of them, Jiang Hai wasn't in a hurry, and Louis Cazard was even less so.
Just like the previous nights, six motorcycles were lined up, blocking the middle, and Jiang Hai and his team set up their tents and went to sleep.
Although Jiang Hai had many dreams that night—as the saying goes, what you think about by day, you dream about by night—he was truly curious about this place, but he didn't bring anyone to explore it alone. The next morning, after Jiang Hai and Louis Cazard's team finished packing, they walked into the cave!
"This cave was clearly excavated by humans, but it must have been a very long time ago." Jiang Hai and his team were very orderly; after all, there were more than just one or two people with military knowledge here. The two dogs, Little Yellow and Little White, led the way, carrying flashlights and headlamps to scout ahead. Jiang Hai had great confidence in his two dogs; with their skill and strength, they were far from being harmed by ordinary traps. If there was any unexpected situation, they could hold their own, or even wait for Jiang Hai and the others to arrive. At the very least, they could retreat, which Jiang Hai was confident about.
Next were Connorsen Peters and Isaac Williams from the other side. These two were at the front, followed by Wallis Shelley and Giddard Maude. Jiang Hai, Galina, and Bell were on the left, while Louis Cazard and Keyes Leslie were on the right.
Azalina and Habakkuk Hall brought up the rear, keeping watch for any external threats.
Each person had two flashlights, one on their head and one strapped to their gun, illuminating the dark parts of the cave as if it were daylight. The further they walked, the deeper the cave seemed.
"It's clear the Third Reich was truly powerful back then. If they had really unified Europe and the Soviet Union, I imagine the world's current landscape would be completely different." Louis Cazard looked at the surrounding walls, thinking about how someone could have carved such a cave here in Antarctica seventy years ago. He found it somewhat unbelievable, at least he could hardly imagine it.
"The problem is, they lost. Actually, the world isn't so bad now, is it?" Hearing Louis Cazard's words, Jiang Hai smiled. He didn't care about history or which empire was the strongest; he only cared about himself.
You could call him selfish, shameless, or unpatriotic. In fact, the only thing Jiang Hai loved was himself, and beyond that, the people connected to him. Only after those people would he consider things like nation or ethnicity.
This was the worldview of an ordinary person; you couldn't bind him with some high moral standard because he simply didn't care. He was no longer a hot-blooded teenager of seventeen or eighteen; his blood had long since run cold... "Alright, though I don't want to admit it, you're right." Shrugging, Louis Cazard also said in a low voice.
"Woof, woof..." Just then, a few dog barks echoed from a distance, neither urgent nor slow. Jiang Hai secretly nodded after hearing them. This was his secret signal with Little Yellow and Little White: if they encountered an enemy they couldn't defeat, they would quietly retreat; if they were discovered, they would bark frantically; if there was no danger and they had reached the end, they would bark slowly a few times to alert Jiang Hai and the others. Now, the two dogs were just barking slowly, so Jiang Hai knew there would be no problem.
He quickened his pace and walked further inside. As they turned a corner in the cave, a massive metal door appeared before Jiang Hai, and he and the others couldn't help but stop, staring at the door in shock.
This enormous door was truly massive, about seven or eight meters high, made of pure metal. In the cave, it appeared eerie and somewhat intimidating. In the center of the door, a large swastika symbol stood erect.
However, perhaps due to its age, much of the paint on the swastika had fallen off, vaguely revealing black underneath, but overall it was still dusty gray.
Little Yellow and Little White were standing in front of the door at this moment. Seeing Jiang Hai and the others arrive, they stopped barking and sniffed around.
"What do we do now?" Jiang Hai walked up to the door, lightly patted the metal, hearing a clanking sound, then turned to Louis Cazard and asked.
"The documents said this door has a mechanism to open it. Let me see, it should be over here." Hearing Jiang Hai's words, Louis Cazard thought for a moment and began searching around. Sure enough, he soon found a protruding stone, and upon closer inspection, a very hidden circular shape was visible on its surface. This was the mechanism to open the door. Seeing this, Louis Cazard couldn't help but press his right hand onto it... But unfortunately, the expected activation of the mechanism and the opening of the door didn't occur. Perhaps it was rusted shut due to age, or frozen. In any case, Louis Cazard's face turned red from effort, but the door remained motionless... "Let me try!" Seeing that his superior couldn't do it, Habakkuk Hall also went over, but unfortunately, it was still useless. Then Keyes Leslie and Isaac Williams also tried, but none of them succeeded.
Seeing their struggles, Jiang Hai couldn't bear it anymore. He walked over and gestured for Isaac Williams to step aside.
To be honest, the three CIA agents weren't particularly impressed with Jiang Hai. In their eyes, apart from being rich, Jiang Hai had no other abilities. The real people to watch out for in this team were Bell from Delta Force and Azalina. Of course, Connorsen Peters should be especially watched during close combat, as his close-quarters abilities were considerable.
If they were to rank the danger level of Jiang Hai's team, Azalina, the former agent and assassin, would be first; Bell, the Delta Force soldier king, second; Galina Vasilyevna third; Connorsen Peters fourth; Wallis Shelley fifth. Jiang Hai? What? Not Jiang Hai! Little White sixth, Little Yellow seventh, Jiang Hai eighth... If Jiang Hai knew what they were thinking, he'd probably crush them. However, precisely because Jiang Hai was wealthy, Isaac didn't say anything, merely stepping aside. He actually wanted to see Jiang Hai make a fool of himself.
To his disappointment, the moment Jiang Hai's hand touched the stone, he felt that it was likely rusted shut. For an ordinary person, it would be impossible to push, but unfortunately, he was no ordinary person.
Gritting his teeth, Jiang Hai's strength, eight times that of an ordinary person, instantly erupted. His hand forcefully pushed the rusted mechanism inward by an inch, then with another burst of strength, another inch. This second inch of force was enough to forcibly open a crack in the massive door before them. Although the crack wasn't large, it was enough for one person to squeeze through.
"Phew! Let's go!" Seeing the door stuck there, Jiang Hai released his hand and let out a breath, saying.
And seeing Jiang Hai open the door so easily, Louis Cazard and the others were all stunned. (To be continued.)
Exploring the Underground City
"What, born with supernatural strength?" Louis Cazade and his group were a bit stunned to see Jiang Hai open the heavy door. Habakuk Hall, in particular, stared at Jiang Hai with a look of astonishment; he could never have imagined that Jiang Hai possessed such supernatural power.
They had seen it clearly just now; Jiang Hai hadn't used any tricks. He simply used pure strength to push that switch in. To them, how was that possible? It was too savage!
Hearing his words, Jiang Hai just smiled, then signaled for the two dogs to go in first. After waiting a moment and hearing the dogs' unhurried barking, the people on Jiang Hai's side walked in as well. After Jiang Hai and his group entered, Louis Cazade and his team followed immediately. However, once inside the gate, Jiang Hai and his group couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
Because after walking in, you would find that, actually, there was nothing here.
It was just a very large hall—very large. Throughout the entire hall, there were many tables and chairs, but now, although these tables and chairs were covered in a fair amount of dust, they were frozen solid and had not decayed.
In the center of the hall, there was a podium-like platform, and hanging above it was a red background with a black swastika, representing who owned this territory. The entire space appeared gray and hazy, as if it could never be cleaned.
Other than that, there was nothing else here; it really looked quite ordinary.
"Boss, there is a layout map over here." Just at this moment, Bell, who was in the distance, looked around and then said to Jiang Hai.
Hearing Bell's words, Jiang Hai and the others exchanged a glance, then walked over to take a look.
The internal layout map here was carved into a huge piece of stone, which fortunately would not be destroyed by the passage of time.
The layout map on the stone was carved deeply and clearly. Where Jiang Hai and his group were currently standing was likely the main hall.
Besides the main hall, there were also rest areas, living quarters, planting zones, data rooms, armories...
Rather than calling this an underground fortress, it was more appropriate to describe it as an underground city.
When the Germans built this place, it seemed they really intended for it to be lived in. It wasn't just for stationing troops; there were also civilians, scientists, and the like. It looked like the Führer was truly preparing to move the elite of the Third Reich here.
"There is almost no important data left here; basically, all the important data has been taken away by the Federal people." Looking at the map, Louis Cazade said to Jiang Hai. Indeed, there was really no data left to speak of in here.
Whether it was regarding weapons or civilian life, the Americans would not have left anything behind.
"Let's go take a look!" However, the pity was that Jiang Hai didn't want weapons, nor did he want anything related to civilian life. What he wanted was information about that totem. If it wasn't here, it would be troublesome for him to get it from the Americans.
What they wanted was, in all likelihood, something like Jiang Hai's planting methods, and in that case, he would have to give up.
Having prepared for the worst-case scenario, the first step for Jiang Hai and his group was to head to the data room.
According to what was written on it, the data room was behind the planting zone. To get to the data room, they had to go to the planting zone first.
Jiang Hai and his group headed towards the planting zone first. After passing through a gate and a long corridor, the scene of the planting zone appeared before them. Looking at the planting zone in front of them, Jiang Hai and his group couldn't help but feel a bit surprised.
Because this planting zone was truly large; at a glance, it was genuinely not small. And most importantly, this was just one planting zone. According to what was written on the map, there were nearly twenty such planting zones.
According to Jiang Hai's estimation, this place was around 500 acres, which was two square kilometers in size. Twenty of these would mean forty square kilometers. One had to admit that these Germans were indeed formidable to be able to create so much space in this icy, snowy place of Antarctica. In fact, looking at it today, seventy years later, it was absolutely a massive project, but seventy years ago, the Germans had quietly created such a thing; it was truly terrifying.
"The soil here is so fertile!" Connerson Peters, who had been hanging around the fields with Harriman Fells these past few days, squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, and couldn't help but say with some surprise. This was underground, not on the surface, so while the temperature was low, it didn't reach the level of the surface.
The water vapor hadn't completely frozen into ice. As for that soil, although he didn't know where it had been transported from, in Jiang Hai's view, the soil here was not even inferior to the soil in his hometown in the Northeast.
If you squeezed the soil here gently, it would form a clump, and it wasn't like mud. This was real soil, because if you shook it again, it would fall apart. This was completely different from loess or sandy soil; this was black soil, the most suitable for farming.
"This soil has been here since it was transported over, over seventy years ago, and no one has touched it. It would be strange if it weren't fertile." Hearing Connerson Peters' words, Louis Cazade also looked at the soil and then said with a smile.
Following that, Jiang Hai and the others stopped dwelling on the issue of the soil and continued walking inside. One had to admit that the Germans back then were really full of ideas; the planting zones further back were actually quite different.
Some were smaller, individually fenced off; these were likely for raising chickens or pigs. There were also some water pits, which were likely used for raising fish. As for the land Jiang Hai had seen at the beginning, it was likely for growing wheat. Everyone knew that foreigners liked to eat bread and didn't eat rice, so their main food staple was wheat.
After walking past these planting zones, Jiang Hai and his group arrived at the data room from a distance.
However, upon walking in, they discovered that it was much, much, much messier than the outside... Everywhere there was dust and smashed tables and chairs. On the floor, there were also many papers and the like, appearing chaotic and disorganized. Because when the Americans found this place, February was already almost over, and they had to rush to transport the important things inside back before February ended.
And the data room was naturally the top priority, so in their haste, they took the materials they deemed most important and left. Some less important materials were left scattered here; to them, these things were just so-so.
After Jiang Hai walked into the data room, he casually picked up a document, patted the dust off the paper, and looked at it carefully. However, after reading a few lines, he threw the paper away, because what was written on it was actually a poem, a poem praising the Nazis and the Führer. Jiang Hai had nothing to say about this other than a chuckle; he wasn't here to find this stuff.
"Mr. Jiang, what are you looking for? Do you need our help?" Seeing Jiang Hai bend down again to pick up a piece of paper, Louis Cazade couldn't help but ask Jiang Hai with a smile, but Jiang Hai shook his head.
Just kidding; how could he possibly tell him what he was looking for? So he refused flatly.
Seeing that Jiang Hai wouldn't tell him, Louis Cazade shrugged indifferently. Since he had decided that way, then he would just listen to him. Then, he took his people and began to casually rummage around and look through the data room, while simultaneously sighing that Germany back then had still been very powerful. If they hadn't been courting their own destruction, perhaps the world order today would be different.
Actually, one shouldn't criticize from the sidelines, but looking at it now, the biggest problem with Germany's strategy back then was attacking Soviet Russia before finishing off Britain and unifying Europe. They hadn't even finished dealing with Soviet Russia before attacking Africa. After all, there were too few Germans, so the initial elite troops were quickly used up, logistics couldn't keep up, and the momentum couldn't be maintained, which was when the troubles slowly began.
But in fact, some scholars have claimed that Germany back then had no choice, because when World War I ended, Germany's economy had already been ruined by Europe. After Hitler came to power, although the economy recovered somewhat, the national character was still very poor. They needed to occupy more land, more living space, to stimulate their national self-esteem and powerful fighting spirit.
In common parlance, it was just drawing a big pie to make the citizens proud and stimulate their fighting spirit; that was all.
When attacking Europe, they actually started off quite well, but when they attacked Britain, they encountered some trouble.
The world's strongest nation back then was not so easy to fight. Britain was an island nation; yes, it wasn't connected to the European continent. To fight Britain, one needed to cross the sea, but while Germany's army was invincible, what did their navy have to compete with Britain, the world's number one? So after the Dunkirk evacuation, Germany was actually already powerless to attack Britain.
Bombing London was just a gesture to dampen their spirit of resistance. As long as the British didn't surrender, the Germans really didn't have many options. But the domestic economy needed constant victories to be stimulated, so the Germans had to give up on Britain and turn to attack Soviet Russia. But Soviet Russia was a place of extreme cold; it could be called a land of bitter chill.
In the summer, everything was easy to manage, but in the winter, it was over. At that time, Germany's main tactic wasn't just pushing forward, but using Blitzkrieg, with mechanized units advancing. However, once winter arrived, the gasoline would freeze. Your tanks and such would need several hours just to start up. In such a situation, a bicycle or a horse would run dozens of times faster than a tank. How could you fight?
So when winter arrived, Germany was helpless. Originally, Operation Typhoon had gone well, and they had occupied a fair amount of territory, but they were blocked by the severe cold and couldn't advance. Then the problem they had when fighting Britain came back again.
You couldn't achieve victory, so you couldn't stimulate the nation's enthusiasm, and you couldn't keep the economy from collapsing. So they had to open a third front... All of this was a matter of necessity. The Germany of that time was more like an ancient nomadic tribe; they had to sustain the war through war. Once they couldn't sustain it, they were finished. This was also the main reason for their failure.
Of course, Italy being soft-footed, and the island nation not pinning down Soviet Russia but instead provoking the United States, was also a factor.
With all these points added together, it led to the downfall of the Third Reich... (To be continued.)
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#955found it! (3rd update today)
Chapter 966: Found It! (Three updates today)
How Germany lost was irrelevant to Jiang Hai; his primary focus right now was the item he needed to find.
Jiang Hai picked up every piece of paper on the ground and casually flipped through them. Perhaps seeing his actions, the people around him also started moving. Connerston Peters, Azalina, and Wallace Shelley followed suit, picking up papers, while only Bell Leicester and Galina remained vigilant against the CIA personnel.
As the saying goes, many hands make light work. Before long, Jiang Hai had nearly a hundred pieces of paper in his hands, which he began examining one by one.
The more he looked, the more disappointed he became, yet his hope also grew stronger. These hundred papers were mostly poems, records of local customs and geography, or anecdotes. Jiang Hai was certain that Europe did not have the Chinese Dragon, so among the anecdotes written here, there should be a record of the existence of that dragon-shaped emblem.
After all, these records even included the Nànzì symbol.
Heading Home!
Since they had already made up their minds, things became much simpler.
Early the next morning, Jiang Hai and his team went in again, primarily to search for any overlooked documents. After confirming that nothing was left behind, they headed back, while Luis Cazard and his team also collected some soil samples.
Although Jiang Hai was puzzled as to why they needed the samples, he couldn't very well object since they requested them.
With everything prepared, on the third day after reaching the cave, Jiang Hai and his group departed, heading back to the research station they had started from. The return journey took them five days.
This wasn't due to any accident, but simply because of the wind direction. Unlike the Northern Hemisphere, where a south wind brings warmth, in the Southern Hemisphere, a north wind is warm because the equator—the warmest place on Earth—lies to their north.
It was currently summer in Antarctica, which meant the wind was blowing from the south. Although it was still extremely cold, hovering around minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius.
On the way there, Jiang Hai and his team had the wind at their backs, allowing them to travel quickly, but the return trip was against the wind, naturally slowing their pace.
Furthermore, they occasionally had to evade storms. After all, winter was approaching; the Antarctic summer lasts only three months, and the weather rapidly deteriorates as March nears. Fortunately, the journey was uneventful, though slow. Five days later, Jiang Hai and his team arrived back at the research station. After taking a long shower, returning the snowmobiles, and getting a good night's sleep, they boarded the ship heading back to Tierra del Fuego the following morning.
After more than twenty hours of rough travel, they finally returned to Tierra del Fuego. The moment they stepped ashore, Luis Cazard and the others breathed a collective sigh of relief. Floating on the sea was indeed uncomfortable, but the main thing was that their mission was complete.
From Tierra del Fuego, they flew back to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. After landing, Jiang Hai and his group headed straight for the hotel the CIA had prepared. As soon as they stepped inside, Luis Cazard happily let out a whistle.
'Haha, I'm a little excited! We finally don't have to stay in that frozen wasteland anymore. Aren't you happy?' Luis Cazard asked Jiang Hai excitedly. For him, getting out of that dreadful place called Antarctica was truly marvelous.
'It was alright, but this trip was practically a waste,' Jiang Hai said indifferently, shrugging his shoulders. What he had actually obtained, only he and Wallis Shelley knew. Hearing Jiang Hai's comment, Luis Cazard chuckled.
'I don't know what you expected to find in Antarctica, but honestly, buddy, if there was anything of value, Federal scholars would have carted it off long ago. Why would it be left there for you seventy years later?' Luis Cazard said with a laugh. In his view, Jiang Hai finding nothing was the expected outcome; if Jiang Hai had actually acquired something, that would have been problematic.
'Want to go out and have some fun tonight?' Seeing that Jiang Hai didn't seem particularly cheered up by his words, Luis Cazard—operating on the principle of pleasing all wealthy patrons—leaned closer and whispered the suggestion, raising an eyebrow at Jiang Hai.
The 'fun' he referred to was obviously a trip to the Boca district, and Jiang Hai was well aware of what could be found there. While the experience that previous night had been strange, it didn't mean he was a pervert. He had no intention of engaging in activities involving young girls; that was simply immoral! Therefore, upon hearing Luis Cazard's suggestion, Jiang Hai gently shook his head.
'Not tonight. I need a proper rest, and tomorrow I'm heading back to Winthrop,' Jiang Hai told Luis Cazard calmly. Hearing that Jiang Hai declined, Luis Cazard didn't press the issue; that kind of entertainment couldn't be forced. After chatting with Jiang Hai for a bit longer, he left with his subordinates.
Jiang Hai also gave Bell and Connors Peters time off, telling them they were free to go out if they wanted to.
The two indeed went out, but instead of going to the Boca district, they found a place nearby.
Although the government designated the Boca district as the legal area for such entertainment, there were plenty of unofficial, hidden establishments nearby.
These places were not government-protected and did not pay taxes, so they were naturally cheaper, but the quality wasn't necessarily inferior.
Bell and Connors found two women nearby and spent the night. As for Jiang Hai, he slept soundly, cuddling his three girls. Whether they engaged in any 'activities' before sleeping was unknown to anyone, even the CIA agents, because their wiretaps and surveillance devices could not escape Azalea's notice.
'Boss, is that it? Is the job just done?' While Jiang Hai and his group were sleeping soundly, in a club in the Boca district, Habakkuk Hall, the CIA's demolitions expert, poured a whiskey down his throat and looked at Luis Cazard. To be frank, in their opinion, the mission had been nothing but a long stretch of suffering only to return empty-handed.
Combat junkies like them felt somewhat disgruntled, but they wouldn't dare show off in front of Jiang Hai.
Since Jiang Hai wasn't present now, it didn't stop them from asking.
'This is the best possible outcome. What, were you seriously planning to get into a shootout with those people? Frankly, based on everything we saw on this trip, Jiang Hai and his crew are not to be trifled with.' Luis Cazard squinted, took a sip of his drink, and chuckled. Throughout the journey, he had constantly been updating his mental assessment of Jiang Hai's strength.
From the humans to the dogs, Jiang Hai's entire entourage was highly capable. If a real fight had broken out, their elite team might not have been able to handle them. Those guys were superior in every aspect: equipment, individual skill, tactics, and physique.
'Alright, this must be the easiest mission I've ever completed!' Hearing Luis Cazard's explanation, the others dropped the matter. Just as Luis Cazard knew, in America, you absolutely do not mess with the wealthy.
While they didn't fully understand the nuances, they knew that Jiang Hai was definitely a rich man.
Seeing his subordinates so compliant, Luis Cazard smiled. To be honest, he had secretly hoped Jiang Hai would make some kind of move. If Jiang Hai acted, he would reveal a weakness, and a weakness would provide an opening.
Luis Cazard was certainly not a good person; telling a secret agent he was virtuous was practically a joke.
Did anyone truly believe he spent all that time with Jiang Hai without trying to uncover his secrets? Don't be ridiculous!
Frankly, this was only possible because it was Jiang Hai; an ordinary rich person wouldn't dare travel abroad with them so casually.
They were not good people, and if they couldn't uncover Jiang Hai's secrets and his team had proven weak, they might have even resorted to kidnapping. Such things weren't unheard of.
Thank goodness, then, that Jiang Hai and his people were strong enough. When the potential gain didn't outweigh the risk, these men decided that keeping their jobs was the priority. Jiang Hai was definitely not someone easy to handle!
But things were fine now. If Jiang Hai simply returned to the US and dropped his curiosity, the mission would be considered complete for them. While they hadn't struck it rich, a little extra money was still welcome. And of course, they still had the soil samples they brought back; if that dirt turned out to be genuinely valuable, they would be set for life.
Jiang Hai didn't give Luis Cazard any more opportunities to cozy up to him. The next morning, Jiang Hai and his group boarded the private plane he had chartered, flying directly from Buenos Aires to Boston.
Flying from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere was quite exhausting. Buenos Aires didn't have direct commercial flights to Boston, which was why Jiang Hai had chartered a plane, as previously mentioned. Getting off the plane and dealing with customs was also quite a hassle.
However, after clearing customs and reaching the parking lot, Edward Anderson and Robbins Garcia had been waiting for them for quite a while.
They were there to pick up Jiang Hai and his entourage, and also to give him a brief report on the recent harvests. Therefore, Galina, Bell, and the others sensibly got into the second vehicle, while Jiang Hai and Azalea got into the first F750. As the engines roared to life, the two behemoths drove out of the airport, and Edward Anderson and Robbins Garcia began briefing Jiang Hai on the latest developments.
As time passed, Antarctica was getting colder, having entered winter.
However, Winthrop was getting progressively warmer. After entering February, the daytime temperature in Winthrop had already climbed above freezing. Though still chilly, the snow was no longer freezing solid during the day.
As the sun shone on the pasture, large patches of snow melted into water, but the temperature would drop back down to around minus five degrees Celsius at night.
The melted snow would then freeze into sheets of ice. However, Jiang Hai's ranch had one major advantage: the ocean monsoon.
The sea never freezes, and the sea breeze carried warm air onto the pasture, allowing the grass to awaken earlier than expected.
According to Robbins Garcia, they had recently started driving the cattle to spend extended periods on the pasture, as the herd could break up the ice, and the newly sprouted grass shoots contained rich nutrients.
'Boss, we need to prepare to get fish fry and grass seeds soon!' Edward Anderson said, smiling back at Jiang Hai. Given the generous salary Jiang Hai paid him, he naturally wanted to repay him, and stocking the fish fry was the absolute top priority!
Purchasing Fish Fry Again
"Hi, Mr. Jiang, Edward, you're here!" From afar, Annewa, nicknamed Iron Bull, shouted loudly at Jiang Hai. Hearing his voice, Jiang Hai turned the steering wheel and drove in the direction he was calling from.
Before long, the car stopped about five or six meters away from him. Then, Jiang Hai and Edward Anderson got out together. As soon as they stepped out, Annewa walked over with a big laugh.
Counting up to today, Jiang Hai had been back for three days. During these three days, Jiang Hai first stayed at home to properly comfort his women, especially Qi Jie and Qi Ya, who had already returned.
These two girls had been given a good lesson by Qi Li while at home, so they were full of anger.
Now that they saw Jiang Hai, they were furious, and they had spent the last few days giving Jiang Hai a good lesson.
Of course, what they called a lesson was dealing with Jiang Hai in bed; they were determined to get pregnant before Qi Li did.
Unfortunately, there was no news yet. For the past few nights, Jiang Hai had been occupied by them, and he hadn't been idle during the day either. After being busy for three days, he was finally able to leave the house.
After all, although his women could be a bit demanding at times, they knew the difference between what was important and what wasn't when it came to the manor's business. Buying fish fry was a major event, so they couldn't help but put aside their plans to deal with Jiang Hai for the time being.
So today, Jiang Hai came to the port in Boston with Edward Anderson. As for Azalina, who had originally wanted to come along, Jiang Hai didn't let her. He wanted to experience life without women following him around; it was truly too exhausting.
With confidence in Jiang Hai's own strength and the fact that this was Boston, Azalina didn't force Jiang Hai to take them. Since they weren't allowed to follow, they were happy to stay at home, while Jiang Hai and Edward Anderson drove off.
After arriving at the pier, Annewa, who had already been notified, appeared immediately. It was clear that he had been waiting for a long time. Come to think of it, Annewa was quite different from before.
When Jiang Hai first bought fish fry from him a few years ago, this guy could only be considered a lower-middle-tier merchant here.
After all, there were plenty of people with larger territories and more varieties than him. Plus, he was a black man. Although there were many good black people in America, basically white people and even yellow race people were not that trusting of black people.
If it weren't for Edward Anderson's recommendation, Jiang Hai probably wouldn't have come to buy fish fry from him.
Furthermore, most importantly, Americans didn't like to farm fish fry; they preferred to catch them in the deep sea, so fish fry didn't sell well. But as the saying goes, one should look at a person with new eyes after three days of separation, and Jiang Hai hadn't seen him for nearly two years.
After selling fish fry to Jiang Hai, his business was still like that—half-dead—in the first year. But in the second year, everything changed. When Jiang Hai's seafood hit the market, everyone felt the benefits of Jiang Hai's seafood, so many people were inquiring about where Jiang Hai sourced his fish, because they knew that Jiang Hai also bought his fish fry.
After asking around, they found Annewa, and his business suddenly boomed. Because the fish fry he sold were of good quality, the price wasn't expensive, and most importantly, it was possible to raise them into the kind of fish Jiang Hai had, everyone was tempted.
Over this past year, Annewa's fish fry business had grown larger and larger. He had also taken out loans from the bank to expand his original fish fry business fivefold, but it was still in short supply. A large number of people came to buy. Although the fish raised might not match Jiang Hai's fish, he was still very good at doing business, and the quality was there. So even if they couldn't raise fish like Jiang Hai's, people were still willing to do business with him. In this one year, he had leapt into the top ten fish fry merchants in Boston, and there was even a sense that he might surpass them; it was quite an achievement.
However, as the saying goes, when drinking water, don't forget those who dug the well. Although business was just business to Americans, he was still very grateful to Jiang Hai and the others. After receiving Edward Anderson's call about selecting fish fry, the fish for Jiang Hai were all personally selected by him. Of course, they weren't the ones he farmed, but rather the best quality, largest broodstock he had traveled far and wide to select.
Today, Jiang Hai came to check the broodstock and, at the same time, sign the contract and choose the fish species to purchase.
"Hi, Iron Bull, I've heard that your business here is getting bigger and bigger!" Looking at the approaching Annewa, Jiang Hai said with a smile. Then, not minding the fishy smell on him, he hugged him. Annewa was also very happy about this. You have to know that even the best-tempered black people can have some quirks. When he made friends, he basically only made friends with equals, because friends had to tolerate everything about them, such as their skin color, their dress, their hobbies, and including the smell on their bodies.
Jiang Hai didn't mind the fishy smell on him and hugged him, which made him very grateful. He also genuinely treated Jiang Hai as a friend. The smile on his face grew wider, and those two rows of big white teeth were exposed.
"Hi, Jiang, my friend, this is all thanks to you. Come, come, let's go into the fish shed to talk." After saying this to Jiang Hai, he smilingly led Jiang Hai into the fish shed in the distance. Once inside, Jiang Hai discovered that this fish shed was actually built on the sea, the same as when he came last time, but the scale was much larger than the last time.
"I have ten fish sheds like this now, but the best broodstock you want is all here." Seeing the curiosity in Jiang Hai's eyes, Annewa said with a smile. Then he led Jiang Hai and Edward Anderson to a huge net cage, started the machine next to it, and slowly lifted the net cage up. Then some tiny fish fry were pulled up to the water surface by the net cage, and he scooped up a handful to show the fish fry in his hand to Jiang Hai.
"At the end of last November, Brother Edward told me the types of fish fry you wanted this year. This is what I specially found. Take a look." Handing the fish fry in his hand to Jiang Hai and Edward Anderson, Annewa said.
Because of the one successful farming experience, Edward Anderson had also gained confidence in this body of water. Regardless of how this mysterious body of water was formed, it had nothing to do with him. He only knew that this body of water could make a lot of money, and that was enough. He would also honestly work for Jiang Hai in the coming days; that was the most important thing.
So in November last year, the increasingly confident Edward Anderson told Annewa to get some good fish fry. If Jiang Hai and the others were going to buy, they would buy this high-quality kind. Actually, logically speaking, american red fish could be considered a pretty good fish, but Jiang Hai no longer looked down on them; he wanted better fish.
Now, what Jiang Hai and Edward Anderson had in their hands was the better fish: white pomfret!
Some people might say, pomfret, basically everyone has eaten it, that thing isn't expensive in China, would it sell for a high price in America?
In fact, those who say this basically don't know much about pomfret. Pomfret, also commonly known as mirror fish, has many varieties. The worst is the silver pomfret, followed by golden pomfret, red pomfret (freshwater white pomfret), knife pomfret, black pomfret, grey pomfret, spiny pomfret, spotted scat, snowflake pomfret (South American pomfret), striped scat, and so on. The price difference between different types of pomfret is quite large.
Among them, the relatively common golden pomfret has a very low price and is considered a mid-to-low-grade seafood product, but white pomfret is different.
White pomfret is divided into two types: freshwater white pomfret and white pomfret. This kind of fish is mainly distributed in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean; it does not exist in the Atlantic Ocean.
In China, it is very common for adult fish of this kind to sell for over 100 rmb per jin. However, since Jiang Hai raises them here, it is naturally impossible for him to sell them so cheaply. He sells them by the kilogram. The initial set price is 50 USD per kilogram, which is 10 USD more expensive than american red fish, and most importantly, this kind of fish grows fast.
Looking at the fish fry in front of him, Edward Anderson picked one out, gutted it, smelled it, and ate a small piece of meat to determine whether these broodstock had been given medication or had any diseases.
After the inspection, he nodded gently, indicating that there were no problems with these fish.
Seeing that Edward Anderson had approved, Jiang Hai didn't say much; he threw the small fish in his hand back into the net cage and nodded at Annewa. Seeing that Jiang Hai approved of the quality, Annewa breathed a sigh of relief; the first type of fish was considered ordered.
Then he led Jiang Hai and the others to continue walking backward. The second net cage was the tuna he specially selected, which is the so-called bonito.
However, unlike the general Pacific bonito, which is the so-called small tuna that doesn't grow big, this kind of bonito can be considered a giant bonito. Jiang Hai only follows the elite route; if it were ordinary small tuna, he would be too lazy to raise them.
According to the prices published by the International Aquatic Association, the general bonito, which can only grow to a maximum of 40-50 cm, currently has an international selling price of 1600 USD per ton, which is equivalent to 1.6 USD per kilogram. Jiang Hai naturally could not raise this kind of fish.
So what he raises is large tuna. It doesn't count as the bonito type. The scientific name is albacore tuna, which can grow up to about 1.5 meters. It is considered small in the tuna family, but the price of this thing is not small at all.
In China, good quality ones sell for about 200 rmb per jin, which is 400 rmb per kilogram. Converted to USD, it is about 60+ USD. Jiang Hai's fish is expected to sell at a wholesale price of 100 USD per kilogram, which is quite fair. (To be continued.)
Purchasing Fish Fry
After inspecting the two types of fish fry, Jiang Hai nodded; overall, he was quite satisfied with both.
"That settles it. Let's discuss the price for these two types of fish," Jiang Hai said, smiling at Antoine.
He planned to use these two species to replace the Red Drum. He would still raise the remaining species—Grouper, Giant Grouper, and Atlantic Salmon—and would also increase the stocking of lobsters, tiger prawns, and King Crabs. Additionally, Jiang Hai intended to introduce some Geoduck clams. Anything that could turn a profit, he was willing to try raising.
"No need to rush that. Since the Albacore Tuna cannot be bred normally, the quantity cannot be fully guaranteed. However, I have secured some other fish fry that might interest you, Mr. Jiang," Antoine said, smiling back at Jiang Hai. He was telling the truth; species like Pomfret and Red Drum were cheap and easy to breed.
But tuna swim constantly throughout their lives; they never stop because their gills have degenerated.
Therefore, breeding this type of fish is possible, but genuinely difficult, making it impossible to guarantee large quantities.
For instance, in the Pomfret net pen, there were 100,000 fry, all thriving happily. But the Albacore Tuna pen only held 2,000 fry, and a dozen or so had died recently, simply because these fish require such vast movement areas.
To compensate for this limitation, he had specifically acquired several other valuable fish species for Jiang Hai to inspect.
"Oh? Let's take a look then!" Jiang Hai's eyebrows lifted upon hearing this, and he walked over.
Hearing Jiang Hai, Antoine led him to the front of several net pens located further back.
Using the electric equipment once more, they raised the underwater net pen, and rows of small fish fry appeared before Jiang Hai.
"What is this…?" Jiang Hai asked, looking at the unfamiliar fry with confusion.
"This is Sablefish," Edward Anderson spoke up before Antoine could answer Jiang Hai's question.
"Sablefish? Is this a type of cod?" Jiang Hai asked, puzzled by the small, elongated creatures in front of him.
"Although it's called Sablefish, it's not actually a cod. It belongs to the Anoplopomatidae family. This species is native to the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, and the primary markets are Russia and Japan. I hear it's also selling quite well in your homeland recently, Mr. Jiang," Antoine explained with a smile. Jiang Hai looked at the fish, and a thought flashed through his mind—he seemed to recall seeing this fish in Japanese cartoons before.
He immediately pulled out his phone and sent Qi Li a WeChat message, asking if she knew about this fish.
Qi Li quickly messaged him back, confirming that she knew the fish. It was considered a valuable species in China. Cod is cod, and Sablefish is Sablefish; although they differ by one character, the price gap is significant. Retail prices for this fish exceed 110 RMB per half-kilogram (jin), and wholesale is around 80 to 90 RMB per half-kilogram. Converting that to kilograms and USD, it's about $35 per kilogram. Hearing this figure, Jiang Hai nodded. It certainly wasn't cheap. He estimated he could sell this fish for $60 per kilogram, because while others mostly caught small ones, he could raise them to full size.
"Can this be supplied in sufficient quantity?" Jiang Hai asked Antoine, pointing at the Sablefish.
"That is certainly no problem," Antoine said, patting his chest. This fish was already being farmed in Asia, but because it lives at depths of around 2,000 meters, traditional net pens cannot be used for farming. While raising them is possible, mass production is highly unlikely. Therefore, even farmed Sablefish are sold as wild-caught.
However, he had already secured the broodstock, so quantity would not be an issue, and quality would definitely be guaranteed.
"And there's this one, the Humpback Grouper. I hear this fish also has a great market in China." Seeing that Jiang Hai was pleased with the Sablefish, Antoine smiled and raised another net pen, revealing small white fish covered in black spots.
Jiang Hai's interest was piqued by this fish because he recognized it. Its scientific name was Humpback Grouper, but its common name was Mouse Grouper.
Yes, if you watched Hong Kong movies, many seafood restaurants featured this very thing as their top delicacy.
So he immediately took a photo and asked Qi Li again. Edward Anderson knew a lot, but he was a bit clueless about the exact market price of these expensive seafood items, as he hadn't dealt with them before. The most marketable fish in the West was cod.
Cod was nutritious and reasonably priced. In fact, the luxury fish market was mostly driven by Asia.
Westerners generally didn't eat much fish. If you look at many Western restaurants, their fish dishes often feature only cod.
It was just divided into common cod, haddock, Pacific cod, and so on. But if you went to a Chinese restaurant, you would realize what the price of fish *should* be, including tuna. Previously, hardly anyone in the Atlantic truly ate tuna.
Catching tuna was traditionally a display of prowess—for example, going out alone and catching a tuna to prove oneself as a successful fisherman. It was only after Japan, which was the world's second-largest economy at the time, popularized eating it that this fish became valuable. Even now, the biggest market for tuna remains Japanese sushi restaurants.
Soon after, Qi Li sent another message. Humpback Grouper, or Mouse Grouper, also had a strong market. The retail price in some domestic hotels was 980 RMB per half-kilogram, though this was just the hotel selling price, which had already declined in recent years.
Qi Li had just checked with her procurement department: the wholesale purchase price for Mouse Grouper was 260 RMB per half-kilogram, equating to 520 RMB per kilogram. Hearing Qi Li's quote, Jiang Hai calculated internally. He was always a shrewd businessman. Although the price was nearly $100 per kilogram, Jiang Hai decided to mark it up by forty percent, calculating $140 per kilogram.
His eyes lit up at the thought. Based purely on unit price, this might be the most valuable item currently in his fishery! Seeing Jiang Hai's satisfaction with this fish, Antoine immediately pulled up the adjacent net pen.
"This is Haddock. No need for an introduction; we know it well." Looking at the newly raised net pen, Jiang Hai easily identified the species: Haddock, the aristocrat among cod. However, even this fish couldn't command too high a price.
Because this fish cannot be kept alive; once brought onto the boat, its head must be removed. The retail price in the US is about ten dollars per pound—that's for fresh fish, not frozen. Even if Jiang Hai sold it fresh, he estimated it would fetch about $40 per kilogram, similar to the Red Drum. Therefore, he didn't plan to raise many of this species.
"No, no, no. I know this fish wouldn't catch your eye, so I wasn't planning to introduce this species to you, Mr. Jiang. I want to show you this one," Antoine immediately shook his head upon hearing Jiang Hai's words, then pointed to a small net pen right beside the Haddock's—a very small pen. Jiang Hai was surprised by the fish inside.
The fish had slender bodies. Although they were only fry, it was obvious that the adults would be elongated. Their color was strikingly vibrant—a shade of red, slightly tinted pink.
"Is this Coral Trout?" Jiang Hai silently clicked his tongue. He knew this fish; specifically, he had eaten it before.
He had eaten it once while carrying out a mission in the Imperial Capital (Beijing). Honestly, the taste was average—not exceptionally good, but certainly not bad. However, in Jiang Hai's opinion, the flavor was slightly inferior to his own Giant Grouper.
Especially after learning its name, Coral Trout, Jiang Hai muttered internally, 'Coral Trout? Is there a Red Star Grouper?' He figured the name must have originated in Hong Kong.
Despite his personal opinion on the taste, no one could shake its price. Jiang Hai had secretly inquired before: top-grade wild-caught specimens from China's Dongsha Islands sold for over 800 RMB per half-kilogram; second-grade, reddish-black ones known as 'Ao Dong' (Australian Coral Trout), sold for over 700 RMB per half-kilogram; and third-grade, slightly pink, farmed ones were around 600 RMB. All these prices were per half-kilogram.
The fry in front of Jiang Hai were naturally farmed, but Jiang Hai was confident he could raise them to the quality of wild-caught fish. In that case, 800 RMB per half-kilogram meant 1,600 RMB per kilogram, converting to over two hundred, nearly three hundred US dollars.
He decided he would sell them for $300. $300 per kilogram of fish—Jiang Hai involuntarily gasped at the thought.
$300 per kilogram. Under Jiang Hai's care, this fish could probably reach one kilogram in a year. If he bought one million fry, that would be one million kilograms. That means a value of $300 million? What if he bought ten million fry? $3 billion?
His eyebrows unconsciously twitched at the thought. It seemed, perhaps, suddenly, his interest in Bluefin Tuna had waned significantly. Bluefin Tuna takes several years to grow to a substantial size.
If he spent that same amount of time raising Coral Trout instead, perhaps, just perhaps, he might earn even more than raising Bluefin.
Moreover, he had nowhere to purchase Bluefin fry; he could only rely on the Bluefin Tuna already in his fishery to slowly breed. With this thought, Jiang Hai narrowed his eyes. He needed to calculate carefully. He had originally only intended to buy Pomfret and Albacore Tuna, but now his resolve was shaken... (To be continued.)
So many varieties!
Having seen so many fish, to be honest, Jiang Hai was very tempted, extremely tempted. It was impossible for him to say he didn't want these things.
But the problem was, he could have them, but how many was the question.
Perhaps for others, these things couldn't be raised casually, after all, water quality, fish size, distribution, and so on, all needed to be considered. But Jiang Hai didn't need to do any of that; all he had to do was simply put these fish into the sea, ensuring the density wasn't too high. So, after exchanging glances with Edward Anderson, Jiang Hai whispered to him. Indeed, this was quite a troublesome matter, but fortunately, Edward Anderson and his team were quite experienced.
"Based on the current distribution and number of fish in our farm, if we buy fry, the upper limit should be 12 million large fish and 80 million small fish. You can decide the specifics!" After thinking for a moment, Edward Anderson said to Jiang Hai. Hearing his words, Jiang Hai also considered it. The so-called large fish were those that could grow to over a meter, like albacore tuna and giant groupers. If Jiang Hai wanted to raise cod, they would also fall into this category. As for the other fish, they were all small fish.
After all, whether it was leopard coral grouper, pomfret, sablefish, or humpback grouper, these fish would at most grow to one or two kilograms. Such fish were naturally considered small fish in the sea, because even an Atlantic cod could grow to two hundred jin and over two meters long, let alone a tuna with denser muscles.
"12 million large fish, 80 million small fish... Hmm, Iron Bull." After calculating in his mind, this was the upper limit the fishery could handle. Jiang Hai naturally wouldn't buy fish according to the upper limit, so after thinking it over, he decided that raising fish at about three-quarters saturation would be sufficient. After planning, Jiang Hai looked at Antoine.
"Yes, Mr. Jiang, go ahead." Hearing that Jiang Hai had almost finished his calculations, Antoine smiled and asked Jiang Hai.
"This year, I want 4 million albacore tuna, 2 million giant groupers, and 2 million Atlantic salmon. Can you get me other tuna species?" Looking at Antoine, Jiang Hai first decided on the large fish.
"That might be a bit difficult. As you know, these things swim all over the place, and there are only a few tuna farms worldwide. Even if there are, the quantity probably won't be large." After thinking for a moment, Antoine said to Jiang Hai.
"Get them if you can. Blackfin is fine, but yellowfin, bigeye, skipjack, and bluefin are preferred. Southern bluefin would also be good." After listening to Antoine, Jiang Hai thought for a moment; these were all things he needed.
"If you can really get them, I'll give you a limit of one million fish for these, and you can get as many others as you want." Jiang Hai said seriously to Antoine, who, after thinking about it, gritted his teeth. Even tuna fry were extremely expensive.
Other fish fry were sold by the ton, such as cod fry, but tuna fry were sold by the tail. At $6 per tail, one million tails would be $6 million, from which he could get at least nearly $500,000. No one would turn down money, right? So he nodded, indicating he understood.
Jiang Hai then turned his attention to the small fish. Tuna grow very slowly, taking about five years to mature. This was true even with the spiritual energy nurturing them in Jiang Hai's fishery; his spiritual energy could only make these animals grow larger, but it couldn't make them reach maturity directly. So, these five years of raising them were definitely necessary.
But after they mature, an albacore tuna weighs about forty kilograms. If Jiang Hai sells them at $100 per kilogram, one fish would be $40,000. Four million fish would be $40 billion. Of course, this money would be spread over five years, but even so, these fish would be worth nearly $8 billion a year. It's no exaggeration to call it a huge sum. And most importantly, he raises them every year, so only the first five years would have no harvest. After five years, his fish would be continuous.
Thinking of this, Jiang Hai felt a little excited.
Coupled with the giant grouper and salmon, which would yield harvests every year, Jiang Hai's fishery would only grow stronger.
Hearing Jiang Hai's words, Edward Anderson's hand couldn't help but tremble. He understood the prices Jiang Hai was calculating. If Jiang Hai truly succeeded in raising them, the annual income after five years would be over 50 billion. Two-tenths of a percent would be $100 million, and that $100 million would be split among the eight of them. Gulp, just thinking about it made his throat tighten; it was terrifying! And this was just for the large fish, what about the small fish?
"As for these small fish, eighty million tails... Hmm, let's start with pomfret. We're more confident with those. Thirty million pomfret, ten million sablefish, ten million humpback grouper, ten million leopard coral grouper. That's it!" After thinking for a moment, Jiang Hai waved his hand, deciding it was better to try raising them first, because these fish, strictly speaking, were not Atlantic species; they were Pacific species.
Jiang Hai wasn't entirely sure if they would be suitable for his area.
"Okay, no problem, I'll definitely pick the best for you, and I'll send you two million more haddock." Hearing Jiang Hai confirm the quantity, Antoine also smiled excitedly. He was going to make a huge profit from this deal.
Currently, not counting the final one million tuna fry, just what Jiang Hai ordered.
Albacore tuna fry were $6 per tail, giant grouper were $1.15 per tail, and four-year-old salmon were $5 per tail. These large fish totaled $46.3 million, and Antoine could at least pocket the change from that.
Jiang Hai never haggled over money; he believed in transactions with real money, so there was never any talk of getting something for nothing with him. If someone came to him to buy beef, he had beef, bring money, cash on delivery, no collateral, no selling later for a higher price. Jiang Hai didn't need it, he wouldn't give anyone special treatment, that's just how direct he was.
So it was the same when he bought things from others; it was simply about paying money, that simple.
Antoine, just with the money earned from these large fish fry, could pay off his bank loans. Of course, Americans don't have the habit of paying everything off at once, so he would probably use the money to expand his fish fry farm.
The prices for the small fish were actually higher, as the fish Jiang Hai wanted were not ordinary fish.
Pomfret were cheap, almost the same price as American redfish. Because Jiang Hai was calculating by tail, Antoine even gave him a discount, at 18 cents per tail. So, thirty million tails totaled $5.4 million. However, the other three types of fish were a bit more expensive.
He imported sablefish from Russia, selling for $2 per tail. A sablefish could grow to about 1 meter, with a maximum of 120 cm, though it was unlikely to reach that size. However, growing to 80 cm was not a problem, at which point it would weigh at least a dozen kilograms. At $60 per kilogram, a dozen kilograms would be nearly $1,000, which was decent.
Humpback grouper are similar to other groupers, capable of growing up to half a meter long, with 3.5 kilograms being the limit. Jiang Hai estimated it wouldn't be a problem. Each fry was $5, the same as a four-year-old salmon, but Jiang Hai could raise them to about 3 kilograms in a year. Jiang Hai sells them for $140 per kilogram, so 3 kilograms would be $420. What more is there to say about such a price for one fish?
Ten million tails, that's 4.2 billion. The money from these fish alone would account for two-thirds of Jiang Hai's fishery's total income this year.
Leopard coral grouper were even more expensive. Although they could be farmed, even the farmed fry cost $15 per tail. Of course, this price included shipping, otherwise, the fish wouldn't sell for such a high price.
Pomfret: $5.4 million; humpback grouper: $50 million; leopard coral grouper: $150 million. At $15 per tail for ten million tails, that's indeed quite a hefty sum. The small fish alone totaled $205.4 million. Adding the large fish, it's over $250 million. After calculating in his mind, it was fortunate that he didn't have to pay all this money at once, otherwise it would still sting a bit. After paying the deposit and signing the contract, the prices for the fish were pretty much settled.
Jiang Hai then planned to just get some tiger prawns, lobsters, and king crabs, and that would be it. Abalone and sea cucumbers had no market in the United States, and he had more than enough of those in his sea for his own consumption, so there was no need to farm them.
"Oh, by the way, Mr. Jiang, I heard you like shrimp. Are you interested in these shrimp?" As soon as he mentioned shellfish, Antoine suddenly slapped his forehead and excitedly said to Jiang Hai.
Hearing his words, Jiang Hai looked at him with some confusion. He saw Antoine retrieve two specially heated net cages from a distance and pulled out two things from inside. Jiang Hai recognized both of them: large shrimp and mantis shrimp. But the problem was, why were these two things so big? In Jiang Hai's experience, the largest shrimp he had ever seen, besides lobsters, were the Argentine red shrimp that had inexplicably appeared in his estate. But compared to the large shrimp and mantis shrimp in front of him, the Argentine red shrimp were nothing! Because at this moment, these two things in front of him were almost half a meter long, about the length of his forearm. Were these shrimp? Was he sure they weren't mutated creatures that had eaten some radioactive substances? Was he joking?
"Mr. Jiang, are you interested in these two things?" Seeing Jiang Hai's stunned expression, Antoine also laughed. To be honest, when he first saw these two giant beasts, he was also taken aback, but then he had a feeling that Jiang Hai would definitely be interested!
"Gulp... tell me!" Looking at the two things in front of him, Jiang Hai swallowed a mouthful of saliva and whispered. (To be continued.)