18:10
The lab lights flicker, as if someone's toggling a switch from afar.
I look up to see Shen Yan and Qi Si have noticed the anomaly too.
"What's going on?" Qi Si asks.
Shen Yan strides to the control panel, where lines of code are scrolling rapidly on the screen.
"The system has detected an abnormal signal," he says in a low voice.
I join him by the screen, watching the cascading code.
"An abnormal signal?" I ask.
"Yes," Shen Yan replies, "someone's trying to access our system."
18:15
Qi Si steps up beside us, eyeing the screen.
"Someone's monitoring us?" he asks.
"Or worse," Shen Yan says, "someone's trying to take control."
I glance at the screen, a sense of unease rising in my chest.
"What do we do?" I ask.
"We need to find the source of the signal," Shen Yan replies.
"How?" Qi Si asks.
"By tracing it back through the system." Shen Yan begins to work the control panel, his fingers flying over the keyboard.
"I'll help," Qi Si says, moving to assist Shen Yan at the console.
18:20
I stand by, watching them work.
The code on the screen scrolls faster and faster, as if racing against time.
"Got it!" Shen Yan suddenly says.
A map appears on the screen, with a blinking red dot.
"The signal's coming from the other end of Antarctica," Qi Si says.
"The other end?" I ask.
"Yes," Shen Yan replies, "from another secret base."
18:25
We decide to head to that secret base.
Shen Yan grabs a cold-weather suit, and Qi Si checks our gear.
I pick up the journal, thinking:
"Is the truth really at the other base?"
We put on our cold-weather gear and step out of the lab.
On the ice shelf outside, the icebreaker's lights flicker in the distance.
"How do we get there?" I ask.
"By boat," Shen Yan replies.
"Can the boat make it that far?" Qi Si asks.
"It has to," Shen Yan says.
18:30
We board the icebreaker, where the captain is already waiting in the cockpit.
Shen Yan hands him the map, and the captain glances at it before nodding.
"We'll do our best," he says.
We head back to the cabin, where Shen Yan begins to prep the navigation.
Qi Si checks the gear, and I sit by the window, watching the icebergs outside.
"What is the truth, really?" I mutter to myself.
"Maybe we'll only find the answer once we get there," Shen Yan says.
18:35
The ship sets sail, and the waves grow more turbulent.
I step out onto the deck, the salty sea wind tousling my hair.
Shen Yan and Qi Si join me, and we stand side by side, gazing at the horizon.
"No matter what the truth is, we have to face it," Qi Si says.
"Even if it disappoints us," Shen Yan adds.
I take a deep breath; the sea wind cuts across my face like a knife.
"The truth, whatever it is, is worth seeking," I say.
18:40
The ship's PA system crackles to life:
"Attention, passengers. We are now entering the Southern Ocean. Please remain calm and follow all safety instructions."
I look at the waves, thinking:
"Antarctica, here we come."
Chapter 25, end.