Chapter 148: Taking Back the Ice Pop!

That feeling must be akin to a chef watching guests devour every dish he prepared. After finishing breakfast, Chu Xiao exchanged gestures with the polar bear before leaping gracefully onto its thick, snow-white back.

The polar bear let out a long, deep roar, as if signaling to Chu Xiao that they were ready to depart. With that, the massive beast broke into a furious sprint, making the surrounding mountains tremble with every stride. Down the slope, another avalanche was triggered. Further along their return route, two of Hades's new-model combat robots lay in wait.

It turned out that Hades had dispatched the machines to track them the entire way. Every move Chu Xiao made was monitored by Hades, who sought an opportune moment to ambush him. The giant bear let out another roaring cry. While Chu Xiao initially wondered if the creature was frightened, a second polar bear soon appeared bounding across the snow.

Judging by their interaction, they were a mated pair—this one male, the other female. The big bear had been calling for its companion rather than fleeing in fear. Clearly, the magnificent creature had come to regard Chu Xiao and his companions as friends, willing to risk its life to save them. The bear lowered its massive frame, signaling for Chu Xiao and the others to dismount.

However, how could Chu Xiao possibly stand by and watch? Once Wang Lulu and the others were safely down, Chu Xiao remained poised on the bear's back, ready to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with the beast. The robots charged toward them, and a ferocious brawl erupted almost instantly. Seizing the right moment, Chu Xiao leaped directly onto the head of the nearest machine.

He drew the dagger from his waist and drove it forcefully into the robot's skull, but this time, he found no embedded control chip. Hades must have relocated it; it was not where it used to be. Hades was truly cunning, changing the chip's location to throw them off!

Abruptly, the robot whipped its head violently, flinging Chu Xiao through the air. He crashed heavily onto the hard-packed snow. A surge of heat rushed up his throat, and he spat a mouthful of bright red blood. Terrified, Wang Lulu rushed over to check on him.

"Brother Xiao, are you alright? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, Lulu, don't worry about me. Hades is truly crafty—he's moved the chip to a different spot!"

Chu Xiao stared at the towering machine, temporarily at a loss for what to do. Both polar bears were already covered in bloody wounds from fighting Hades's automated killers. If they couldn't figure out a solution soon, not only would the bears perish here, but Chu Xiao and his team would also share their fate.

"Brother Xiao, look! Why is that robot's eye glowing?"

Wang Lulu had noticed something unusual about this particular machine compared to the previous ones. Her observation instantly caught Chu Xiao's attention. Why was its eye emitting a faint, steady light—the very same signature aura radiated by psychic energy?

Realizing the truth, Hades had concealed the chip inside the robot's optical sensor. Armed with this crucial knowledge, Chu Xiao pushed himself up from the ground, gripped his dagger, and sprinted toward the combat machine. He stepped onto a protruding boulder and vaulted onto the robot's broad shoulder.

The machine thrashed wildly, trying to dislodge him, while Chu Xiao clung desperately to its metallic ear. Soon, the robot was forced to divide its attention between fending off the charging polar bears and dealing with Chu Xiao. Spotting his chance, Chu Xiao leaped onto the robot's brow and slashed downward with his dagger.

With a swift, practiced motion, he pried the chip free. Defeating even a single robot had required immense effort. Seeing their companion drenched in blood had fully aroused the polar bears' fighting spirit; with a furious roar, they charged back into the fray.

Even with two bears attacking in tandem, taking down the machine proved difficult, and they were quickly overwhelmed. Chu Xiao leaped back onto the robot's frame, drove his blade straight into its remaining optical sensor, and gouged out the second chip. Deprived of its core, the machine went limp like scrap metal, and the polar bears quickly battered it into a motionless heap.

Exhausted by the fierce battle, the two bears collapsed onto the snow to rest. Wang Lulu produced medical supplies and moved to treat the female bear, but the animal bristled with hostility, refusing to let her near. Realizing this, Wang Lulu asked Chu Xiao to tend to the female while she treated the male.

Once the injuries were dressed, the male bear recovered enough to stand, signaling to Wang Lulu and the others that it was time to resume their journey. Chu Xiao retrieved the chips from the dirt, tucked them safely into his pocket, and climbed back onto the polar bear's back. They set off once more, soon reaching the outer boundary of the polar wilderness.

Here, the polar bears came to a halt, unable to venture any further south. After Chu Xiao and his team dismounted, Wang Lulu emptied her pack of the remaining dried fish and fed them to the beasts as a parting gift. The polar bear emitted one final, resonant roar before turning and vanishing into the deep expanse of the Arctic wastes.

Their vehicles were less than two kilometers away, and they expected to reach them before nightfall. Chu Xiao instructed the surviving soldiers to secure their packs and march toward the convoy. By the time they arrived at the rendezvous point, night had already fallen. Without pausing to rest, Chu Xiao ordered the men to prepare for immediate departure so they could deliver the Ice Fruit to Ren Boyuan without delay.

Curiosity gnawed at Chu Xiao. Could such a tiny, unassuming fruit truly alter human genes and grant immense power? He stared blankly at the frost-covered fruit in his hand. Noticing his abstraction, Wang Lulu walked over to examine it as well.

To their eyes, however, it looked like nothing more than an ordinary piece of fruit; no hidden mysteries could be discerned on its surface. Chu Xiao returned the Ice Fruit to his pack, stood up, and signaled for the group to begin the final leg of their journey. Everyone felt a lingering sense of excitement.

Yet Chu Xiao remained heavy-hearted. They had set out with fifty-six men, but only thirty-one were returning. Those fallen soldiers would remain forever in the frozen north, their bodies unrecovered, unable to be brought back home.

He imagined how devastated their families would be upon hearing the news that their sons and husbands would never return. The thought overwhelmed Chu Xiao with sorrow, and his eyes instantly grew misty.

"Brother Xiao, I know what is making you so sad," Wang Lulu comforted him gently along the way. "These men won't blame you. They died for the glory of Kyushu, and their families will find solace in that."

Her words gradually calmed Chu Xiao's turbulent emotions. At last, their vehicles arrived in Pearl City, where Ren Boyuan had been waiting anxiously at the entrance. Seeing Chu Xiao return filled him with irrepressible excitement.

He could hardly wait to lay eyes on the legendary Ice Fruit. As Chu Xiao stepped out of the vehicle, Ren Boyuan strode forward in long, eager strides. Expecting a warm welcome, Chu Xiao opened his arms for an embrace.

Instead, Ren Boyuan bypassed him entirely and lunged straight for the backpack. Chu Xiao froze in utter embarrassment, stunned that Ren Boyuan would slight him so completely in front of so many people. But when Ren Boyuan unzipped the pack and caught sight of the Ice Fruit, his eyes locked onto it unblinkingly.

"Magnificent! This is the legendary Ice Fruit! It's real, there's no mistake! I've searched for decades, and today I've finally laid eyes on the real thing!"

Words failed to capture the intensity of Ren Boyuan's joy. Chu Xiao had never seen the elderly scientist behave this way. Right now, Ren Boyuan looked like a madman, completely oblivious to everyone around him, utterly consumed by the sacred object of his lifelong obsession.

"Dr. Ren, you'll have plenty of time to examine it later. Let's go inside first and discuss our next steps."

"Ah, yes, quite right! My apologies, I lost my composure at the sight of the fruit."

Awakened from his trance by Chu Xiao's words, Ren Boyuan realized his breach of etiquette. He bowed apologetically to the representatives of the three nations and to Chu Xiao. None of them held it against him, understanding that this represented the culmination of his life's ambition, a dream finally realized.

Ren Boyuan invited everyone inside. A hot meal had already been prepared, and Chu Xiao instructed his exhausted soldiers to go in and eat. They had endured unimaginable hardships and barely known a proper meal in days.