"This..."
After hearing Ye Feng's words, not only Old Bailey but also Ling and Lei Jian, who were standing next to Ye Feng, looked at him with puzzled eyes.
Normally, explorers would inquire about the location of supply stations, the supplies they held, and their prices. Yet, Ye Feng was surprisingly interested in the history of the supply station?
"Young man, your question is very interesting!"
Old Bailey chuckled, "I've lived here for decades, and I truly don't know who established this supply station. There are some strange rumors, but no one has ever confirmed them!"
"Tell me then~!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng's interest was immediately piqued.
As he spoke, Ye Feng also handed over a plump little bread.
"You're a discerning young man!"
Old Bailey took it with a smile, then chuckled mysteriously. "Young man, do you know what the very first explorers who came to this Frozen Snow Region were after?"
"Don't know~"
Ye Feng lazily waved his hand. He didn't want to fall into Old Bailey's trap and let him lead the conversation.
After all, many street fortune-tellers did the same thing...
"Uh..."
Old Bailey was slightly surprised by Ye Feng's reaction. He continued, "The initial explorers who came to this Frozen Snow Region weren't here for exploration; they were waiting for the rabbits!"
"Waiting for the rabbits?"
Ye Feng frowned, lost in thought.
"That's right!"
Old Bailey nodded. "In the early days of the Frozen Snow Region, every so often, various supplies would drop from the sky, as if someone was conducting aerial drops at specific times and locations!"
"In the world after the Great Cataclysm, survival supplies were extremely scarce. Although the Frozen Snow Region had such a fortunate occurrence, the news didn't spread widely!"
"Everyone kept it to themselves, coming here periodically to obtain supplies. But secrets don't stay hidden forever."
"Over time, the news eventually leaked, attracting many explorers, civilians, and people from major factions... countless bloody incidents occurred within the Frozen Snow Region..."
"Later, for reasons unknown, the regularly dropped supplies suddenly decreased, and then there were almost none... though sometimes strange things would still fall... After a while, nothing fell anymore..."
Old Bailey recounted, slowly speaking after a period of recollection.
"Strange things? Is this one of those strange things you're referring to?"
As he spoke, Ye Feng took out the heating lamp he had previously obtained from the looter.
"Yes!"
Old Bailey nodded. "It's said that the first heating lamp was discovered by an explorer among the supplies that fell from the sky!"
"And the supply station? Was it built by explorers?"
After a pause, Ye Feng asked his initial question again.
"I'm not entirely sure of the specifics, but it's said to have been built by people from several large human survivor bases. The more substantial comprehensive supply stations in the Frozen Snow Region are now operated by them, and their prices are quite high!"
"Especially the supply stations deep within the Frozen Snow Region, which are almost monopolized by them. They also frequently send expedition teams into the heart of the Frozen Snow Region..."
As he spoke, Old Bailey took a sip of his homemade rum.
"This..."
Ye Feng looked at Old Bailey, who was squinting, and remained noncommittal.
Although Old Bailey's account was plausible, Ye Feng felt something was off. The man seemed to be deliberately avoiding crucial information.
Most importantly, what the other party said completely contradicted Ye Feng's own deductions!
According to his calculations, these supply stations were unlikely to have been built by explorers. He had observed the mountain where the supply station was located; the rocks were exceptionally strong, impervious even to explosives, and difficult for large engineering machinery to handle...
These supply stations, with their vast internal spaces, were more like... pre-established shelters... and the regularly dropped supplies were likely airdrops...
As for the transport vehicles... Ye Feng surmised they were likely the suspended cable car cabins he had seen in the past few days.
Outside the supply station, there was also a clear path leading to the mountaintop, resembling an escape route...
What Ye Feng couldn't figure out was the method of supply transport: how did that cable car cabin appear out of nowhere, how was it suspended in the air, and how were the "coordinates" for the airdrops confirmed...
"They were discovered!"
Suddenly, a somewhat aged voice rang out.
Ye Feng followed the sound and saw that the speaker was an old man sitting at a table not far from them.
"Huh? It's him?"
Ye Feng was somewhat surprised, as this was the old man with white hair and eyebrows whom he had seen several times but didn't know the name of.
"Discovered? Are you referring to the supply stations?"
Ye Feng stood up, walked to the old man's side, and sat down.
"That's right!"
The old man with white hair and eyebrows looked at Ye Feng with deep eyes. "Almost everyone believes that the supply stations in the Frozen Snow Region were painstakingly built by explorers, but in reality, they were discovered!"
"These supply stations were there from the beginning, and they were simply found by the explorers who gathered in the vicinity!"
The old man paused and added.
"Gathered?"
Ye Feng glanced at Old Bailey by the counter. "The fixed locations for supply drops were near the supply stations, and then explorers stumbled upon the supply stations while searching?"
"Yes, although various supplies would fall in other places within the Frozen Snow Region, the most supplies fell near the supply stations!"
"Especially some rare items, like various treasure chests!"
"And within these supply stations, in addition to many precious items, there were once people living here..."
As he reached the end, the old man with white hair and eyebrows looked somewhat sad.
"I see~"
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng immediately understood. The old man's account matched the information he had deduced from Chen Jindong's notebook.
"Young man, what are you looking for?"
Suddenly, the old man with white hair and eyebrows lowered his voice and spoke suggestively.
"Looking for what?"
Ye Feng was a little confused and didn't react for a moment.
"Nothing!"
The old man with white hair and eyebrows replied faintly, then stood up and left.
"Ye Feng, what are you thinking about, so seriously?"
Just then, Liu Laotou, who had finished dinner and gone to purchase supplies, returned.
He was now carrying large bags and packages, along with several heating lamps.
"Wait, heating lamps~! The first one... fell from the sky... could the coordinates be..."
A flash of inspiration struck Ye Feng. He immediately took out the heating lamp and a screwdriver and began to dismantle it...
...
The next day,
The sun was shining brightly.
Ye Feng and his group walked through the icy snow.
"Ye Feng, what are you tinkering with?"
Last night, Ye Feng had dismantled the heating lamp into parts, tinkered with them, and was now observing a blackish component.
"Oh, I'm studying the working principle of a positioning device~"
Ye Feng replied while fiddling with the core component of the heating lamp in his hand.
Positioning device?
"Big brother, there are many ice wolves over there, and they seem to be running towards us. There are more over there too..."
Just as Ling was wondering what a positioning device was, a small voice suddenly rang out.
...