Siberia

Crossbones's corpse was gone, and with the victim gone, Li Congxin naturally had no need to explain to the police why he had killed someone.

However, the police issuing a warrant for a dead man still felt pretty damn strange no matter how he looked at it.

Besides, Crossbones had been extremely cautious. Not only had Li Congxin never seen his true face, even the small-time thugs had merely followed him and cheered after being beaten into submission. They had not even seen the moment Crossbones was shot dead before they vanished without a trace.

Things were exactly the same as last time. No matter what Li Congxin said, as long as he coordinated his statement with Nalan Qing, everything would be fine.

So, that was that!

Once this was confirmed, Li Congxin finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, he had committed murder. Claiming he was not worried at all would have been an outright lie.

The one who truly had not been worried at all was Old Pi. The old man had weathered every kind of storm. Seeing that Li Congxin had stopped dwelling on the murder, he immediately changed the subject. "Actually, I came to find you this time mainly to discuss something else."

"What is it?"

"Digging up Captain America."

"What did you say!?"

Old Pi waved his hand again, signaling Li Congxin to calm down, then explained in a composed voice, "Based on the information you provided last time, the target area can basically be narrowed down to northern Siberia. Since he was discovered by oil workers back then, our search should focus on places with oil deposits that might be developed over the next several decades. That narrows the area down even further."

Seeing Old Pi pull out a map, clearly preparing for a lengthy explanation, Li Congxin interrupted him. "What I'm wondering is, why are you interested in Captain America?"

"No! It isn't Captain America I'm interested in." Old Pi denied it solemnly. "What truly interests me is the plane he crash-landed."

"According to the information I have, Stark recovered the Tesseract while searching for Captain America. That means the plane back then might well have been carrying equipment designed to contain the Tesseract!"

Old Pi looked at Li Congxin and slowly delivered his conclusion. "If we find that equipment, it might provide unimaginable help with my research."

It was the same in every world: the rich and powerful were monsters.

If they wanted to go somewhere, they went!

The day after Old Pi suggested that they go to Russia to dig up Captain America, the three of them had already arrived in Siberia.

The three had a clear division of labor.

Old Pi was responsible for military supplies. He handled all the equipment, including providing, testing, maintaining, and repairing it.

Hope was responsible for logistics, including the three of them's daily meals, tea, snacks, and so on.

Li Congxin's job was the simplest. He only had to put on a thick down jacket, brave the heavy snow, and carry a freezing-cold life detector through the barren permafrost in search of Captain America's whereabouts.

Atop an unnamed mountain in Siberia stood a European-style attic with excellent insulation. Against the endless white of the frozen wilderness, it was especially conspicuous. Combined with the darkness before dawn over the permafrost, it looked just like the castle from Frozen—the one with the "Let It Go" song. It stood head and shoulders above everything around it!

Inside the attic, the three of them were currently gathered around the dining table, enjoying the breakfast Hope had made herself.

During the meal, Li Congxin strongly condemned the capitalistic behavior of Old Pi and his daughter, who hid in their warm house and enjoyed the fruits of his labor while sending him out alone to brave the northern winds.

Three days, then another three days. Three more days after that, and then another three days. It had been almost a month!

By now, everyone had become part of the same community of fate, so Old Pi and Hope took Li Congxin's complaints fairly seriously.

Because of this, Old Pi even offered to swap jobs with him. "How about I go search for Captain America today while you stay home and work on the equipment? What do you think?"

Li Congxin glanced at the equipment in the corner that Old Pi had only half-finished adjusting, then sighed helplessly without replying.

With Li Congxin's current grasp of quantum mechanics, at most he could skillfully use the various devices Old Pi had built. As for having him conduct research himself, it seemed he would need to wait a few more years before that was possible.

Seeing Li Congxin's helpless expression, Hope said sympathetically from the side, "How about I go search with you later? At least the two of us can keep each other company."

"Forget it." Li Congxin shook his head. "I was only complaining. I can't really make a young girl go out and freeze with me, can I? Besides, we can finish searching the last area nearby today. I can handle it myself."

As he spoke, Li Congxin drained the remaining milk from his cup, then turned to Old Pi and asked, "Where are we going next after we finish searching this area?"

"Home." Old Pi replied decisively, "The two of you have already put off a month of classes over this, and searching will become exceptionally difficult once winter arrives."

"Besides, according to the future you saw, there are still more than ten years before Steve emerges. There's no need to rush this year. We can continue searching after spring next year."

Li Congxin nodded in understanding, then asked, "Can we take this house with us when we leave?"

"Of course!" Old Pi said matter-of-factly. "My Pym Particles won't be defeated by cold weather!"

Li Congxin stood and put on his thick down jacket. "Whatever works. It's getting late, so I'll set out now. You two just need to wish me luck." With that, he pushed open the door and walked into the icy wilderness outside.

"Burn My Calories!..."

Although the BGM playing in the system was "Calories," in Li Congxin's ears, it sounded as if it had transformed into "Let It Go" and "Yi Jian Mei."

Facing the vast world before him, Li Congxin had initially been able to stroll and stop with the attitude of touring a free ice-and-snow wonderland. But as time passed, everything became dull and tasteless. All that remained were the bone-chilling winds, monotonous scenery, and heavy snow that made every step difficult.

That was also why Old Pi had insisted on placing the house on the mountaintop. Although this meant enduring a grueling climb every time he "went home," only this way could Li Congxin ensure that he would not get lost.

"Beep beep beep!..."

After walking for the entire morning, just as Li Congxin was preparing to find a wind-sheltered spot and take a bite of compressed biscuit to replenish his strength, the life detector in his hand suddenly began to sound.

Hearing that long-awaited noise, Li Congxin's spirits jolted. He immediately abandoned the idea of eating, checked the direction on the life detector, and headed straight toward the signal.

After a month of painstaking searching, his efforts had finally paid off!

Captain America, I've finally found you!

Thanks to the book friend "I'll Never Let You Down in This Life" for the 100 Qidian coins!