Chapter 311 I Have a Friend The old man and the young one sparred verbally for a while before both fell silent and glared at each other. After a moment of silence, Chen Nuo picked up a bottle of wine from the table and poured himself a drink into a clean glass. The old man thought for a moment and clinked his glass against Chen Nuo’s. Bickering aside, there were serious matters to discuss. "I heard you’re heading to Antarctica?" "Yeah," Chen Nuo nodded, frowning. "Antarctica... you’re really not going?" "No," the Son of the Sun pondered for a moment, his expression suddenly turning strange. "Actually..." "Actually, I advised Vanel not to get involved with Antarctica. The Octopus Monster’s people won’t gain anything even if they go." Chen Nuo’s spirits instantly lifted! Such an old-timer, having lived for ages, clearly knew many secrets unknown even to Chen Nuo! After all, he was the most senior Controller. "Antarctica... is there a problem?" Chen Nuo asked cautiously. The old man suddenly grew impatient. "Why ask so many questions! Anyway, that Russian is dead set on going; he won’t listen to me. "It’s a shame; he’s a good lad. "If a bastard like you goes to Antarctica, I won’t mourn you! The world would be better off with one less annoying fellow like you!" Emmm... This old man clearly knew some well-kept secrets. Chen Nuo suddenly realized something! The old man and Vanel were from Noah’s Ark. Moreover, the old man was clearly one of the top combatants within Noah’s Ark! But in the Antarctic expedition he’d experienced in his past life, Vanel had participated, but the Son of the Sun hadn’t! With this in mind, Chen Nuo’s attitude became much more courteous. He took the initiative to pour the old man a glass of wine. "Can you really not tell me about Antarctica?" Chen Nuo grinned. "You are the most senior, the most legendary Controller, after all." The Son of the Sun rolled his eyes. "We cooperated in Brazil, and... don’t forget, in the end, it was my powers that teleported everyone out, and I almost died doing it. "Old man, from that perspective, you owe me your life, right?" This last point seemed to genuinely move the Son of the Sun. The old man hesitated, then finally sighed. "Alright... you’re right. I suppose I do owe you my life. I never like owing anyone anything." Chen Nuo’s heart thumped, and he instinctively sat up straighter. The singer on stage continued to writhe and sing a rather sultry song. Chen Nuo waved his hand, creating a silencing barrier around the two of them. The old man raised an eyebrow. He thought for a moment, then spoke slowly, "Whether it be the Octopus Monster organization or Noah’s Ark, everyone has been committed to searching for the whereabouts of the Mother on Earth. "The reasoning is simple... nowadays, Earth has been mostly developed by humans. If the Mother existed in densely populated areas, it would have been discovered by now. "So, everyone has been focusing on sparsely inhabited places. "Logical analysis and elimination suggest the Mother is most likely in such remote places. "But... Earth is only so big. How many such remote places can there be? "Excluding the oceans, of course—the Octopus Monster deploys a staggering number of detectors to seabeds worldwide annually and continuously searches the global ocean floor. "Deserts, the African savannas... snow-capped mountains, glaciers... "These places are continuously and closely monitored. "Naturally, Antarctica is no exception; it’s included. "The Octopus Monster even has a team stationed in Antarctica year-round, and they’ve been searching for years." Chen Nuo nodded. What the old man said made sense. "The Octopus Monster has long been paying attention to Antarctica. "So naturally, Noah’s Ark couldn’t have ignored it. "In fact, we at Noah’s Ark started watching Antarctica long before the Octopus Monster did. "It’s just that Noah’s Ark is a clandestine organization, while the Octopus Monster has gradually become more integrated with the mundane world and amassed vast resources. "We’re a ’secret society’ type of organization. We don’t assemble teams, hire armed personnel, and station them long-term in one place to search. "The Ark and the Octopus Monster have different methods." (More like your methods are too outdated and archaic, which is why you’re not as rich as the Octopus Monster.) Chen Nuo silently grumbled. "I once had an old friend..." Dıscover more novels at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁 Chen Nuo frowned at the old man’s words. "That friend was once a member of Noah’s Ark, with a rank comparable to mine. "I can’t disclose too much about the inner workings of the Ark to you. "However, what I can tell you is that my old friend went to Antarctica. As I said, given our limited manpower and the Ark’s unique structure, we can’t deploy large teams for long-term searches in one location like the Octopus Monster does. Instead, we use a patrol system. We periodically send experts to inspect and explore key suspicious areas. My friend, for instance, went to explore Antarctica. Then... he died." Chen Nuo’s heart lurched, his expression changing. "He died in Antarctica?" "Of course not," the old man said softly. "If he’d died in Antarctica, Noah’s Ark would have known long ago that Antarctica was problematic! "The issue is... he didn’t die in Antarctica. He returned safely. "Furthermore, his report to Noah’s Ark stated: ’Normal, no anomalies.’" "And then what?" Chen Nuo asked slowly. "Then... more than three years later, he left Noah’s Ark and defected." Chen Nuo truly hadn’t expected that. "Defected? I thought members of your organization had unwavering convictions..." The Son of the Sun looked grim. "He... That bastard fell in love with some young woman from the Octopus Monster Company, damn it!" Chen Nuo really didn’t know what to say. "That fellow... how should I put it? He was a decent man, and a good friend of mine. "His defection infuriated many within Noah’s Ark. But being a secret society, our only recourse was to lay low. "At the time, we were worried his defection would expose many of our internal secrets to the Octopus Monster. "We even made contingency plans, bracing for a fierce onslaught from the Octopus Monster. "However... nothing happened! "My friend defected from Noah’s Ark, married that woman from the Octopus Monster Company, and yet, astoundingly, he never revealed any of the Ark’s secrets. "I even suspect the Octopus Monster Company never knew he was once part of Noah’s Ark." Chen Nuo exhaled. "So... his defection couldn’t really have been just for love, right?" "It’s not that simple." The old man, suddenly very irritable, lit another cigarette and took several deep drags. "Many years later, my friend died. "I was quite surprised when I heard because he was very powerful—he was a Controller. "It’s hard for me to imagine how a Controller could die, especially since he wasn’t old at the time. "You should understand, Controllers rarely die from illness. "We can precisely control our bodies, even down to the cellular level. Human diseases rarely pose a fatal threat to Controllers... "Hey, kid, why do you look so pale?" Chen Nuo mentally cursed but shook his head. "It’s nothing. You continue." "So I investigated his cause of death and discovered something I couldn’t comprehend. "The Octopus Monster, it turned out, never knew he was a Controller. "In other words, he joined the Octopus Monster as an ordinary Ability User, married, and lived an unremarkable life there for many years, keeping a low profile. "His wife, however, was far more capable. She rose to the Octopus Monster’s core management and joined their Council of Elders quite early on." Chen Nuo mused, "Maybe... he was tired of that life and wanted something simpler." "That’s what I thought at the time," the old man curled his lip, "until one day, I suddenly received a letter from him. "Mm, the letter was dated just a few days before his death." Chen Nuo took a deep breath. "He mailed you a letter before he died? Secretly?" "Yes, secretly. He was my good friend. Despite his defection, he never did anything to harm Noah’s Ark, so I still considered him a friend. He sent the letter through certain channels to a secret residence of mine, one I only occasionally use. "He knew about that place." "The contents of the letter..." The old man glanced at Chen Nuo and said in a low voice, "I won’t tell you the exact wording. "Broadly speaking, he told me two things. "First, he warned me never to go to Antarctica. He said it was best to avoid it for my entire life, that going there meant death! And... he put it very strangely: he said Controllers, *especially*, must never go to Antarctica." Chen Nuo’s brow furrowed tightly. "...And the second thing?" The old man glanced at Chen Nuo. "The second thing doesn’t concern you. You don’t need to know." Chen Nuo was momentarily stunned. "...Alright." The Son of the Sun had already stood up. "Alright, I’ve satisfied your curiosity! Consider this information repayment for saving my life in Brazil. We’re even." Chen Nuo smiled. "You call the shots." The old man stared at Chen Nuo. "I’m on vacation, kid! Don’t bother me again! You’re a magnet for trouble, and I swear you bring bad luck wherever you go. Things always go south around you. "I just want to enjoy my vacation in peace!" Chen Nuo recalled the two young women who had gone upstairs with room keys earlier and chuckled. "Okay, old man, watch your back." The Son of the Sun flipped Chen Nuo the bird before turning to leave. "Wait, one last question," Chen Nuo suddenly remembered something. "?" The Son of the Sun turned back to look at Chen Nuo. "Your friend... how did he die?" "While it’s none of your business, it’s not a major secret. I can tell you," the old man sighed before revealing the answer. "A... peculiar type of brain cancer. One that could even kill a Controller. "Such a tragedy. I suppose because we’re immune to most diseases, Nature simply evolved a more potent one to kill us... Perhaps that explanation better fits the natural order." With that said, the Son of the Sun truly left, departing so hastily he didn’t even notice Chen Nuo’s reaction to his answer. Chen Nuo stood rooted to the spot, his expression drastically altered!! Brain cancer...!!!!!!