Chapter 62: Above the Glacier

He Yunfei responded modestly: "I am not much of a writer. I just feel that writing science fiction allows me to temporarily escape reality."

Dorje nodded and said, "I can understand that. I also love being immersed in this beautiful nature. What kind of topics do you usually write about?"

Prompted by the question, He Yunfei let his imagination run wild and began recounting his grandiose daydreams: "I write about how to pilot the Earth to cruise through outer space, how to awaken the instincts of the earth and turn the deserts of Xinjiang into fertile granaries, and, say, how to turn Mount Everest into an antenna connecting the Earth with extraterrestrial civilizations..."

Dorje's face lit up with wonder, and he couldn't help praising: "Captain, how can your mind hold so many bizarre and whimsical ideas? I could never think of anything like that."

Yunfei smiled slightly at him, a trace of envy flashing in his eyes, and said, "Brother, I really envy you people living on the snowy plateau—your minds are pure and your lives aren't so complicated."

Banma Dorje cast his gaze once more toward the rolling mountains outside the window, his eyes filled with devout reverence for the sacred mountains, and slowly said, "If you write about these sacred mountains, you will be blessed with peace and good fortune for a lifetime!!"

Hearing this, He Yunfei felt a stir in his heart. He thought to himself that since the Himalayas were the place closest to the sun and the moon, they must harbor mysterious revelations bestowed upon humanity by the gods; he truly ought to craft a good story about the ice sheet. A title flashed instantly through his mind—*The Dragon-Herding Ice Peak*. Smiling inwardly, he turned his head and caught sight of a vintage, last-century old-school military canteen hanging from Banma Dorje. Out of curiosity, he asked, "Brother Dorje, is that water in your canteen?"

Banma Dorje lifted the canteen, shook it, and replied in Mandarin tinged with a distinct Tibetan accent, "No, it's highland barley wine."

"Oh, that's the Tibetans' favorite!" A smile appeared on Yunfei's face.

Dorje scratched his head with a hint of shyness: "Of course! Barley wine is wonderful. It's a specialty of our plateau, and I'm especially fond of it." He paused, then added, "It's freezing up there by the glacier, and drinking a bit of barley wine warms you up." With that, he generously and heartily handed the canteen to He Yunfei, saying, "Here, Captain, you have a taste too! We call this 'aerial refuel'—it feels fantastic!"

Normally, drinking alcohol was strictly prohibited during a mission, let alone while executing one in mid-air. He Yunfei initially intended to decline Dorje's kind offer politely, but the image of his grandmother at home suddenly flashed into his mind, causing him to change his words right at the tip of his tongue: "Alright, just a sip."

As the fiery barley wine slid down his throat, for some unknown reason, an inexplicable sorrow suddenly surged in He Yunfei's heart.

"Captain, how do you Han people observe the sun?" Banma Dorje asked abruptly.

"As early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, more than 2,500 years ago, the ancients were already using an ancient timing instrument called a *tu gui* to observe the sun and determine the winter and summer solstices," Yunfei replied.

"How is it done specifically?" Banma Dorje pressed further.

Yunfei explained patiently, "The method is actually quite simple. You erect a pole vertically on flat ground, then carefully observe the shadow cast by the sun. Based on the movement pattern and the changes in the length of the shadow, you can determine the season and the exact time..."

Dorje nodded and said, "We Tibetan people also have the habit of observing the sun. We count from the moment in the morning when the lines of our palms can be clearly distinguished, until the same time the next morning when the palm lines can once again be distinctly told, as a complete solar day. One solar day equals 21,600 breaths, which is 60 *louke* [traditional Chinese time units]. Converted to modern clock time, it is precisely 24 hours."

While the two were talking, the aircraft had already flown into the aviation restricted zone near Qamdo. Fortunately, having been notified in advance, the Air Force asked for their secret code and cleared them to enter the airspace.

Overlooking from the air, Ratu Township in Baxoi County, Qamdo, tightly hugged Lake Ratu, which was the source of the Parlung Tsangpo. The meltwater from ice and snow flowed into Lake Ratu, along whose shores grew dense primitive forests, interspersed with many Tibetan villages preserving their original appearances. One could even clearly see the entire glacier cluster, including the Mexi, Yalong, Ruojiao, Dongga, Xiongjia, and Niuma Glaciers, among which the Yalong Glacier was particularly magnificent and awe-inspiring.

Although the ground beneath remained a boundless snowy wilderness, He Yunfei knew in his heart that right down below was the large neutrino experimental station led by Su Chunyang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Built on the frozen plateau at an altitude of over 4,500 meters, this experimental station resembled a colossal Rubik's cube, standing firmly upon the snowy plateau. With its unique posture of two opposite corners touching and one independent corner pointing upward, it gleamed with a golden radiance, shining brilliantly like a dazzling pearl that instantly captured one's gaze and delivered a powerful visual impact.

Yunfei couldn't help pondering to himself: no wonder people called it the "Coordinate Pyramid"! It truly looked like an aerospace coordinate tower deliberately set up on Earth by aliens—mysterious and spectacular.

Looking out into the distance, within a vast area of several square kilometers, besides the giant cube-shaped experimental station, there were also seven spherical building complexes crafted from special materials, distributed in an orderly fashion around the experimental station. These spheres possessed silver-white exteriors that, under the sunlight, exuded an otherworldly temperament, as if they came from some mysterious alternate world.

Not long after arriving in Kunming, He Yunfei had been invited by Professor Su Chunyang to visit the frozen experimental station to exchange views and discuss matters related to the deployment of multi-functional intelligent geomagnetic detectors and space-time mirrors.

He was well aware that all the experiments here were still in the secret trial-running stage, and every single link was subjected to extremely strict monitoring, allowing for not the slightest margin of error.

Puzzled, Banma Dorje couldn't help asking, "Why was the experimental station built in this place?"

He Yunfei explained, "I heard Professor Su say that the altitude here is high, the environment is relatively pristine, and it belongs to an uninhabited zone. This way, even if communication with outer space is generated during the experiment, the special properties of the ice layer can be utilized to effectively reduce the interference and radioactive hazards produced by the experiment."

Dorje pondered for a moment and threw out another question: "When detecting special minerals, wouldn't other methods work just as well?"

After brief thought, He Yunfei said, "Personally, I feel that when detecting special minerals, combining detectors with human labor might be even better. That way, complementary advantages can be achieved, improving the accuracy and efficiency of detection..."

Just as the CX flight vehicle soared over the giant cube resembling a coordinate pyramid, another large manned aircraft was slowly landing on the plaza in front of the frozen experimental station.

Lin Yizhou, president of the Southwest Academy of Sciences; Ding Bannian, a glacier expert; Zhao Xinru, a biologist; Jimei Qingyuan; along with Wu Xiong and a group of assistants and logistics personnel, stepped calmly down the spiral staircase one by one.

Except for President Lin Yizhou, who had visited before, everyone else was setting foot for the very first time in this magnificent building that looked as mysterious as an alien base. Raising their heads in unison, they gazed at the miraculous cube standing among the frozen snow-capped ridges—it was imposing and magnificent, and its strong visual impact left everyone deeply awestruck.

Filled with profound emotion, Zhao Xinru said to Ding Bannian, "Old Ding, look at this big magic cube! Rather than calling it a scientific experimental building, I think it looks more like an exquisite art palace."

"Why do you say that?" Ding Bannian raised his head, his full head of silver hair glinting in the sunlight, and asked with a puzzled expression.

Zhao Xinru was deeply moved, pointing at the experimental station and saying, "Look, doesn't the design of its upper half look very much like the transparent pyramid in front of the Louvre in France, only on a much larger scale?"

"Are you referring to the light-transmitting pyramid designed by the Chinese-American master architect I. M. Pei?" Ding Bannian pursued.

Professor Zhao nodded with a smile, her eyes revealing appreciation for this unique design.

Ding Bannian scrutinized the cubic building—composed of opposing upper and lower apexes—once again. It indeed possessed distinct angles, and was tall and transparent, shining with a charming brilliance under the sunlight. Yet in his eyes, it looked more like a geographical coordinate guiding UFOs to land, so he remarked, "This is clearly an aviation coordinate in a world of ice and snow."

Lin Yizhou walked over, picking up the conversation: "Old Ding, it's precisely because this frozen experimental station looks particularly like a navigational marker set up by aliens on Earth that everyone gave it another name: the 'Coordinate Pyramid'."

Zhao Xinru suddenly turned worried and asked, "President Lin, with the opposing voices being so strong right now, do you think this experiment should still go on? Could it trigger serious consequences?"

With a stern expression, Lin Yizhou looked up at the experimental station once again and said firmly, "If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch its cubs? Science itself requires a spirit of adventure, but it must follow scientific methods and principles!!"

"Hahaha..." Seemingly inspired by Lin Yizhou's words, a wave of heroic spirit surged in everyone's hearts. Bolstering their courage one after another, they stepped into this scientific experimental station filled with mysterious temptation.

The spacious hall of the experimental station resembled a large space city. The design was both modern and artistic, permeated with a dreamlike atmosphere that made one feel as if they had been transported to a future world, palpably sensing a breath of the future rushing toward them.

The group did not see Su Chunyang in the hall; instead, his assistant Zhou Huifang came out to greet them. She informed everyone that Su Chunyang was currently talking with Shen Xingyun.

Lin Yizhou was rather surprised, not expecting Shen Xingyun to arrive even faster than they had by plane, so he said, "It's certainly grand enough here. Let them chat first; let's take a tour around the place first."

Inside the laboratory, Su Chunyang and Shen Xingyun were standing in front of a console, talking in low voices while facing a simulated space-time projected by a three-dimensional laser array.

Shen Xingyun asked, "Professor Su, I wonder if you have received the request submitted by our observatory?"