Chapter 2

After the proposal, the ceremony moved to the next agenda item.

This wasn't just an awards stage.

It was also the official signing event between Chloe and the Antarctic Scientific Research Team.

From here on out, she would guide a team of scientists across Antarctica to study the polar night and shoot a documentary.

The signing went smoothly.

A month later, Chloe and Derek arrived to meet the expedition crew.

However, the moment Chloe caught sight of one particular member, her brow furrowed.

"Mark Davis? What are you doing here?"

Mark let out a cold smirk. "I'm part of the research team. Why shouldn't I be here? I'm going to Antarctica to find the truth!"

"Chloe, for a whole year you've been telling everyone Nathan abandoned you when danger hit. You keep claiming he's alive, but I've waited an entire year and he hasn't shown up once!"

"You say he's hiding from you because of guilt, but why would he hide from me?"

Watching them clash, I breathed a soft sigh.

Mark was my closest friend and the youngest researcher on the Antarctic team.

When I went on that fateful trek, he had asked me to collect some scientific samples for his research.

I managed to gather them, but I ended up buried under the permafrost forever.

After my death, he was the only one who truly cared about finding me.

He had approached Chloe multiple times demanding answers about my whereabouts.

Every time, Chloe had thrown him out, even filing harassment complaints against him.

He had nearly lost his spot on the scientific team because of it.

Derek stepped forward, chiming in with cool disdain:

"Mark, the route Chloe and I took last time was far too dangerous. Even we nearly died in that avalanche."

"That's why I drew up a brand new route for this trip. We won't be retracing our old steps."

Hearing that, Mark exploded. "You two are just covering up what really happened! Nathan died because of you!"

Chloe cut him off icily. "You might be an expert in scientific research, but when it comes to extreme survival, we're the professionals!"

"If Nathan had just listened to Derek back then, we never would've run into that avalanche."

"Even he couldn't handle it, so what makes you think you know better?"

A spark of fury flared in my chest.

Derek had basically been my rookie apprentice, with barely a year of outdoor experience under his belt. If Chloe hadn't begged me to take him along, I never would've agreed.

The route he planned seemed short and easy on paper, but in reality, it was a suicide run.

It required cutting through mountain passes teeming with wolf packs and wading across treacherous, icy glacial rivers.

One misstep anywhere along that path, and people would die.

The route I mapped out back then was vastly safer.

If it hadn't been for that freak, unexpected avalanche, nothing would have gone wrong.

Chloe refused to trust my ten years of wilderness survival expertise, choosing instead to put her blind faith in Derek, a total novice.

It was utterly laughable.

Seeing the tension boil over, Professor White quickly pulled Mark back.

"Don't worry, everyone. Leave the professional work to the professionals."

"We will stick strictly to the planned itinerary."