She scooped the Cotton Candy back into her arms and leaned quietly against the back of her chair.
The scenery outside the car window gradually changed from the open coastal highway to dense coniferous forests.
The branches of fir and spruce trees drooped low under the weight of the snow.
Occasionally, chunks of snow would fall from above, making a dull thud as they hit the ground.
Twenty minutes later.
The Raptor emerged from the forest path, and the outline of Emerald Lake came into view.
The frozen lake surface was a bluish-gray of varying shades, and the grass along the lake was covered with a thick layer of snow.
In the distance, Su Wei's two-story wooden house stood quietly amidst the snow.
But Emily's attention was drawn to the huge building next to the cabin.
Exhibition hall.
Even from hundreds of meters away, the sheer size of that building is awe-inspiring.
The exterior walls are covered with silver-gray R60 insulation panels, which reflect a cold, hard luster under the leaden sky.
On the rooftop, the wind turbine blades of the wind-solar hybrid microgrid system are slowly turning.
On the front of the building, an industrial-grade windproof door, which is not yet fully installed, is half-open.
Several pieces of scaffolding steel pipes that hadn't been cleared away were still piled up around the door frame.
Su Wei parked the Raptor directly in front of the exhibition hall.
He turned off the engine and removed the key.
The bear head carving and two white wolf teeth hanging on the keychain swayed gently.
Su Wei opened the car door and jumped out of the driver's seat.
The soles of the boots made a crisp, cracking sound as they stepped on the frozen ground.
He walked around the front of the car, went to the passenger side, and opened the door.
Emily sat in her seat, clutching Cotton Candy, and looked up at him.
The little fox's blue eyes shone brightly in the cool light, and its fluffy tail draped over Emily's arm.
Su Wei took half a step back, making room for people to get out of the car.
He gestured with his right hand towards the exhibition hall, making an inviting gesture.
Welcome to my exhibition hall.
"It might bring a pleasant surprise."
Emily hugged the Cotton Candy tightly, then jumped off the pickup truck in her Doc Martens boots.
She pulled her silver-white down jacket tighter and followed Su Wei toward the enormous building.
Chapter 198 The Postponed Review Period: The Final Piece of the Puzzle Leading to the Top-Tier Hunting Grounds
The windproof door of the exhibition hall was pushed open by Su Wei with one hand.
The hinges made a heavy metallic scraping sound, and the cold air from outside rushed in, only to be blocked by the indoor heating at the threshold.
The indoor temperature is kept constant at 15 degrees Celsius.
This temperature felt exceptionally warm compared to the -20 degree Celsius outdoors.
When Emily stepped inside, her glasses were fogged up.
She didn't have a free hand to wipe her glasses.
Cotton Candy was nestled in her arms. The little one was very sensitive to temperature changes; the moment she entered the room, she poked her head out from the collar of her down jacket, pricked up her ears, and her nose twitched rapidly.
Su Wei didn't turn around; his work boots trod the polished cement floor with steady steps.
Under the illumination of two industrial spotlights, the layout of the first-floor lobby comes into view.
What comes into view is the basalt fireplace that runs through the two floors right in the center.
It has a diameter of over two meters, a rough surface, and is embedded with mineral crystals.
Two steel hooks were pre-installed above the fireplace, intended for Roosevelt's antlers.
In front of the fireplace, a reinforced area enclosed by red warning tape is reserved for a 600-kilogram brown bear specimen.
Both places are empty.
The fog on her glasses cleared, and Emily looked around, remaining silent for a few seconds.
There is a semi-open exhibition area entrance on each of the left and right sides of the first floor.
The sound of flowing water came from the right, while a salty, fishy smell wafted from the left.
Apart from that, the entire hall was empty, and even the fireplace had never been lit.
"This is your club?"
Emily's tone was flat, but every word carried a calm skepticism.
She stood beside the empty, reinforced ground, clutching Cotton Candy.
"An empty building, two pre-installed hooks, and a pile of unopened industrial equipment."
She turned around to face Su Wei.
"You told the state government and the Hunters' Guild that you wanted to build a top-notch Wilderness Club here."
"And then what you took out, is this?"
Su Wei leaned against the stone wall beside the fireplace, arms crossed, not in a hurry to refute.
Everything Emily said was true.
This is the foundation.
Su Wei's answer consisted of only four words.
He straightened up by the fireplace, turned and walked towards the entrance to the exhibition area on the right, tossing out a sentence without looking back.
"Come with me."
Emily frowned slightly, but still followed.
Cotton Candy's nose kept twitching.
The little guy struggled to poke half his body out of Emily's arms, placing his front paws on her forearm, his blue pupils suddenly dilating.
It smelled the water.
It's not the chlorine smell of tap water, but the smell of a wild stream with minerals and moss.
The entrance to the exhibition area on the right has no door.
Su Wei stepped aside and made a gesture.
Emily walked in, clutching the Cotton Candy.
Then she stopped.
The twelve-meter-long Moss River Valley, illuminated by a cold light source, exudes an eerie tranquility.
Clear water meanders between weathered rocks.
The water temperature was locked at four degrees Celsius, and extremely fine mist floated on the surface.
The pebbles were covered with a layer of living polar star moss, and tiny water droplets clung to the surface of the emerald green moss.
A section of dead cedar wood lies across the middle of the river, forming a miniature waterfall.
The sound of water hitting the wood, mixed with the low murmur of the deep pool's backwater, created a reassuring sound.
Emily stopped at the edge of the valley, her breathing slowing.
She looked down at the stream flowing indoors, her golden eyelashes trembling slightly.
A true polar stream requires precise control over water temperature, pH, and microbial community.
If any step goes wrong, the moss won't survive more than three days.
But the moss here is alive.
This is not a replica, but a living polar star moss that is actually photosynthesizing.
"This water..."
Emily crouched down, freeing one hand, and touched the water's surface with her fingertips.
Four degrees.
The exact four degrees Celsius, the same as the water temperature of the natural streams on Kodiak Island.
She withdrew her fingers, the wet fingertips gleaming coldly under the light.
How did you do that?
Su Wei did not answer directly. He stood on the other side of the valley, his hands in the pockets of his jacket.
"There's one more."