Chapter 31: Chapter 31 Siberia (Edited)
The body of Crossbones disappeared without a trace, and with no victim to be found, Clark no longer had to explain to the police why he killed someone.
However, the police's operation to issue a warrant for a dead man seemed somewhat ludicrous.
Moreover, Crossbones was extremely cautious in his actions. Not to mention that Clark had never seen his true face, even those small-time thugs only followed him shouting and cheering after being defeated by him, and they didn't even see the moment Crossbones was shot dead before they disappeared without a trace.
The situation was exactly the same as last time; Clark only needed to coordinate his story with Nalan Qing, and that would be it.
So, this matter was settled!
After coming to this conclusion, Clark finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he was accused of murder, and it would be a lie to say he wasn't worried at all.
The one who was truly not worried at all was Hank Pym; this old man had seen it all. Seeing Clark no longer fretting over the murder, he immediately changed the subject: "Actually, the main reason I came to you this time is to discuss another matter."
"What is it?"
"Digging up Captain America."
"What did you say!?"
Hank Pym waved his hand to calm Clark down, then calmly explained: "Based on the information you provided last time, we can almost lock down the target area in the northern part of Siberia. Moreover, he was discovered by oil workers at that time, so our search focus should be on several places that might be developed for oil in the next decade or so, narrowing down the range once again."
Seeing Hank Pym pulling out a map, ready to give a lengthy explanation, Clark couldn't help but interrupt: "What puzzles me is that you would actually be interested in Captain America."
"No! What interests me is not Captain America." Hank Pym seriously denied: "What truly interests me is the plane he crash-landed."
"According to the intelligence I have, Stark found the Tesseract while searching for Captain America, which means that the plane might have carried the device for the Tesseract!"
Hank Pym looked at Clark and slowly concluded: "If we find that device, it could be of immense help to my research."
...
No matter which world, those with money and power always have their way.
Want to go somewhere? Just go! On the second day after Hank Pym proposed to Clark to go to Russia to dig up Captain America, a team of three had already arrived in Siberia.
The division of labor among the three was very clear.
Hank Pym was responsible for logistics, providing, adjusting, maintaining, and repairing all equipment, fully in charge.
Hope was in charge of the daily meals, snacks, etc.
Clark's job was the simplest: just to wear a thick down jacket, face the heavy snow, and search for traces of Captain America with a cold life detector in the barren frozen soil.
Atop an unnamed mountain in Siberia, an European-style attic with excellent insulation stood out conspicuously in the white snow, reminiscent of the castle from "Frozen," standing out from the crowd. Paired with the darkness before dawn over the frozen soil, it was strikingly unique. Inside the attic, the three were having breakfast prepared by Hope.
During the meal, Clark strongly condemned the capitalist practice of Hank Pym and his daughter enjoying themselves in the warm house, letting him face the cold wind alone.
Three days passed, then another three days, almost a month had gone by! Now that they had become a community with a shared fate, Hank Pym and his daughter took Clark's dissatisfaction seriously.
To this end, Hank Pym even offered to switch roles: "How about I go out to search for Captain America today, and you stay home to work on the equipment? What do you think?"
Clark looked at the equipment Hank Pym was adjusting in the corner and sighed helplessly, without responding.
With Clark's current grasp of quantum mechanics, he could at most skillfully use the equipment Hank Pym made, but to start researching on his own seemed to require a few more years.
Seeing Clark's helpless expression, Hope felt somewhat sorry: "How about I go with you later to search? It's better to have company."
"Let's not," Clark shook his head. "I was just complaining. I can't really let a young girl accompany me out in the cold, right? Besides, today we can finish searching the last area nearby, I can handle it myself."
Saying this, Clark finished the remaining milk in his cup and then turned to Hank Pym: "After we finish searching this area, where are we going next?"
"Home." Hank Pym decisively said: "You two have missed a month of classes because of this, and searching will become extremely difficult as winter approaches."
"Anyway, according to the future you saw, it's still more than ten years before Steve emerges. There's no rush in this year or two. We can continue searching after the spring thaw tomorrow."
Clark nodded in understanding and then asked: "Can we take this house with us when we leave?"
"Of course!" Hank Pym said as a matter of course: "My Pym particles won't be defeated by the cold weather!"
Standing up, Clark put on his thick down jacket: "Whatever works, it's getting late. I'm heading out, just wish me luck." After saying that, he opened the door and stepped into the icy wilderness outside.
"Burn my calories!…"
Although the BGM playing in the system was "Calorie," to Clark's ears, it seemed to blend into "Let It Go" and "Yi Jian Mei."
Facing the vast expanse of the world, for the first few days, Clark could still enjoy the free ice and snow world with a leisurely pace, but as time went on, everything became dull. What remained were the bone-chilling wind, monotonous scenery, and the thick snow that made it difficult to move.
This was also why Hank Pym insisted on placing the house on the mountain top. Although this meant he had to endure a difficult climb "home" each time, only by doing so could Clark ensure he wouldn't get lost.
"Beep beep beep!…"
After walking all morning, just as Clark was about to find a wind-sheltered spot to bite into a compressed biscuit to replenish his energy, his life detector suddenly beeped.
Hearing this long-lost sound, Clark's spirits immediately lifted. He gave up the idea of eating, took out the life detector to confirm the direction, and went straight towards the source of the signal.
After a month of painstaking search, perseverance finally paid off! Captain America, I've finally found you!