Among the three people who had touched this garment, Liu Hui was certain it wasn't himself who had planted the location tracker—that left only Hu Xian'er and Li Lian.

Between those two, Liu Hui placed absolute trust in Hu Xian'er, as she had no conceivable reason to betray him. Given their immortal love spanning millennia, Liu Hui simply could not believe Hu Xian'er would ever commit such an act of self-sabotage.

This narrowed the possibilities, making his secretary, Li Lian, the most likely person to have betrayed him.

Li Lian was the one who had retrieved this heavy coat from the car and handed it to him. Liu Hui instantly recalled what she had said that morning, warning him to be careful and prioritize his safety while flying overhead. In retrospect, Li Lian's words now sounded strangely loaded. Liu Hui was now almost certain Li Lian was the culprit; the tracking device must have been placed on him by her.

Li Lian had served as Liu Hui's secretary for years, earning his profound confidence. He occasionally entrusted her with conveying directives to the various companies and departments under the Starry Sky Group. Consequently, anything Li Lian said within the company carried significant weight; everyone assumed she was relaying Liu Hui’s actual commands.

Now, Liu Hui was stranded on the Antarctic continent, completely cut off from the outside world. If Li Lian were to issue arbitrary orders within the company while those staff members were unaware of her true intentions—and if they rashly acted on her false commands—it would undoubtedly plunge the Starry Sky Group into catastrophic peril.

The realization caused Liu Hui a surge of frustration over his own impulsive excursion, which had culminated in such a massive crisis. His recent life had been almost too smooth, allowing his vigilance to slacken gradually until he fell right into someone else's trap, marooned on the desolate Antarctic landmass.

Yet, who could have possibly predicted that this quiet, seemingly diligent, and entirely unremarkable secretary by Liu Hui's side, who had performed her duties faithfully for so many years without any hint of deviation, would ultimately turn against him?

Because Liu Hui rarely operated alone, he carried no communication devices whatsoever. Furthermore, the area where he was hidden was undoubtedly enveloped by an electromagnetic barrier imposed by the US military, rendering any communication tools useless even if he possessed them.

Liu Hui’s most pressing concern now was devising a way to return to the "City of Stars" as swiftly as possible. If his calculations were correct, the "City of Stars" was facing an immense threat, one that only his timely appearance could resolve.

Thus, Liu Hui focused entirely on finding a rapid route back to the "City of Stars," but for the moment, he was surrounded by the US military in this area of extreme cold. His immediate priority had to be escaping the Antarctic continent itself.

In his possession, Liu Hui held a laser weapon, the very device he had used earlier to successfully down two US F-15 fighters while airborne. However, now that he was on the ground, employing the laser weapon against the high-flying US jets presented a far greater challenge.

Those American fighter jets maintained an altitude above a thousand meters. Without the aid of radar synchronization, Liu Hui couldn't lock onto the US aircraft, let alone shoot them all down. His success in the air earlier was purely due to the extremely close proximity between him and the targets.

If Liu Hui were to swing his laser weapon like a club to knock down a single US plane, the others would instantly scatter. Moreover, if the US military realized he possessed such a weapon, the situation would rapidly worsen.

The US fighters circled persistently overhead because they had successfully locked onto Liu Hui’s location. But constrained by their nature as high-altitude fighters, they were unable to descend to engage him directly. They were currently awaiting their ground forces; once those troops arrived, they planned to capture Liu Hui in one sweep, thereby seizing control of the entire Starry Sky Group.

The US military’s plan was structurally sound, but they remained ignorant that Liu Hui was far from defenseless. It could be said that the entire ascent of the Starry Sky Group was paved with Liu Hui's own history of bloody conflict. It was precisely because Liu Hui's hands were stained with blood that the Starry Sky Group had expanded to its current massive scale.

Liu Hui’s true terrifying nature had remained concealed from outsiders because he had always masked himself flawlessly, leading the world to perceive him as just an ordinary man. This is why the US military had set such a trap for him. Though they were baffled by how Liu Hui transitioned from the sky to the ground and the loss of two of their aircraft, they remained confident in capturing him, attributing the earlier events to mere coincidence. Only when the US military engaged Liu Hui directly would they discover the true extent of his fearsomeness.

The US military's operations had proceeded smoothly until Liu Hui unexpectedly altered his flight path upon sighting the Antarctic mainland, descending instead into this remote stretch of glacial terrain. This shift rendered several of their follow-up arrangements obsolete, forcing them to improvise, mobilizing personnel to this unfamiliar location to execute the apprehension.

Liu Hui, being inherently cautious, had taken preemptive measures during his dialogue with the US forces. Not only had he modulated his voice, but he had also repeatedly used the plural pronoun "we" during the transmission, intending to sow confusion among the Americans—making them doubt if the pilot was truly Liu Hui alone, or if others were aboard. If Liu Hui could successfully exploit this ambiguity, he might well slip away from the Antarctic continent.

Holding the black tracking device, Liu Hui was contemplating how to leverage it for his advantage when he heard a distinct animal cry coming from not far ahead. He looked over and spotted two adult penguins nestled beneath a shard of ice rock, accompanied by several smaller chicks.

A spark ignited in Liu Hui’s mind; an immediate stratagem formed. He bolted forward, swiftly snatching one of the adult penguins, hoisting it upside down, and retreating into the ice cave. He then dashed deeper into the cavern, running He traversed the ice tunnel for nearly ten kilometers before finally setting the penguin down.

Liu Hui retrieved a small pouch from his spatial storage, placed the black tracking device inside, secured the pouch with a thin length of rope, and then looped this rope around the captured penguin’s body.

Only then did he set the penguin on the ground. The bird immediately glared at him in fury, letting out a barrage of indignant squawks.

Liu Hui chuckled. "Big penguin, don't be angry. By helping me, you help yourself. That way, in your next life, you won't be reborn as a Chinese person."

Liu Hui then departed the cave, leaving the penguin to pace restlessly, intent on returning to its mate and offspring.

Returning to his original hiding spot, Liu Hui noticed the light outside had faded significantly; dusk was approaching. It was currently the Antarctic polar night, though this location was on the continent's fringe, granting a slightly longer daylight period—but still only about five hours of usable light each day.

The US fighter jets continued their surveillance pattern in the sky. Though they couldn't discern precise ground details, they could track the signal emanating from the device. Liu Hui observed closely and noted that the planes' circling pattern had shifted; they were no longer orbiting him, but were now concentrating their flight path around the location where he had left the penguin.

Liu Hui finally exhaled in relief, realizing he had found the key. As long as the black tracker wasn't on his person, the US forces couldn't pinpoint his location.

Liu Hui decided to wait right there, anticipating the arrival of the US ground troops for his capture.

Half an hour later, the sky outside had completely darkened. The temperature began to plummet sharply, and the wind strength increased steadily, accompanied by a heavy snowfall. The environment rapidly devolved into a vicious ordeal.

Having reached the Foundation Establishment stage of cultivation, Liu Hui possessed formidable inner strength and was largely indifferent to the biting cold. Nevertheless, a decades-old habit compelled him to instinctively hunch his shoulders, drawing his body further into the thick clothing and clutching it tight, as if this gesture alone could generate more warmth.

Suddenly, Liu Hui heard the engines of the US fighter jets gradually receding into the distance. Their fuel reserves were clearly exhausted, compelling them to return to base.

Shortly after the fighter jets departed, Liu Hui detected the deep thrum of rotating propellers in the night sky. His eyesight was now extraordinarily keen; despite the absolute darkness, he discerned two large helicopters approaching from afar. As they drew nearer, Liu Hui confirmed they were two US CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters—the ground forces had finally arrived.

Liu Hui’s sudden self-immolation of his aircraft during the day had completely derailed the US contingency plan. The location he chose was still a considerable distance from the US base in Antarctica. Consequently, upon detecting this unexpected development, the Americans immediately altered their operational strategy, dispatching soldiers from their base into this severely compromised environment.

Guided by the tracking signal, the two CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters began searching for a suitable place to land. The onset of the Antarctic night brought weather conditions so extreme they were virtually prohibitive for human operations.

Under the combined assault of sub-zero temperatures, heavy snow, and gale-force winds, one of the US CH-47 Chinook helicopters suffered a mechanical failure during its descent. It slammed directly into an adjacent ice formation, immediately erupting in a violent explosion before crashing onto the ice sheet as a fireball. Not a single soldier inside survived.

The US mission had been thwarted before the main offensive could even commence, resulting in the immediate loss of half their deployed force.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ First update delivered. The second update will follow at seven-thirty this evening. Gratitude to the reader: Yuepiao Dashi 588 for the Origin Coin tip, and for supporting the three 6000-word update tickets he cast. .。 More at, address RH