In the eighth year, the genius scientist in the limelight, the famous navigator Steve? Count Hoffmann (Zhang Yuan) bought the largest steamship of the entire era, the "Royal Knight"!

At the same time, he announced an ambitious Antarctic exploration plan to all the citizens of Boulder City, which caused a sensation in the entire Boulder City for a while!

For the common people, in addition to war, discovering a new place to live was the best way to cross classes.

The recently discovered island is a small island called "Momero", which is about 2.2 square kilometers in size. Such a small island did not really have much use, there were no mineral deposits and no fresh water resources, but the government gave the discoverer a large bounty, and the captain was canonized a baron for this merit.

Now, the purpose of the "Royal Knight" is to expand the territory, although the road is a little far away and dangerous, but Zhang Yuan's reputation is here!

In the past few years, the so-called "telegraph" has long been known to everyone, and the fame of the inventor of the telegraph has also spread all over the world.

The young earl had money, the "Royal Knight", and was able to bring enough security.

"What do you think?"

"Of course you have to do it!"

"But...... Antarctica is too far away! ”

"Afraid of what? Such a large fleet, a 10,000-ton giant ship, even if it encounters a big storm, it is nothing. "You can hear this kind of discussion everywhere in the streets and alleys. Some veteran sailors took the opportunity to boast triumphantly about their ocean experiences.

Under the instigation of interests, there are naturally countless people who have signed up, and the whole screening process still adheres to the principle of preferring shortage to excess, as long as it is good, do not abuse the number of people.

However, there are still some people in the industry who persuade Zhang Yuan not to carry out such dangerous activities. Planets have arcs, and electromagnetic waves cannot penetrate the ground, and if they run too far, even telegraphs cannot be communicated.

The old butler sighed: "...... On the other hand, Lord Earl, the closer seas have been explored several times. We have to go to very far away places, and even if there is no danger in between, if there is no big gain, it will damage your prestige. ”

“…… If the exploration fails, the sailor's wages will still be paid, and there will be no income, only expenses, and you will go bankrupt. ”

The southernmost city, "Rootstock", is still quite a distance away from Antarctica, and there is no supply in the middle, which is a huge test for the ship's material reserves and the psychological state of the sailors.

"Yes, because of this, no one has completed such an expedition, so I have to do it."

Zhang Yuan refused all exhortations and insisted on starting a new voyage.

Prestige, he doesn't care at all; Money, he doesn't care. The most difficult thing to let go of is his sister Anna, but recently found a reliable husband for his sister, and there is nothing to worry about.

Just like that, the 10,000-ton giant ship "Royal Knight" let out a whining sound and disappeared into the distant sky.

……

Year 9......

The fleet returned exhausted after a lot of hardship.

The Royal Knight returned to Boulder City, and this time the expedition ended in complete failure, and there was no continent in the expected Antarctic region, not even a large island to use.

The temperature in Antarctica is colder than expected, around zero degrees Celsius, and even the glaciers are sparse. If it weren't for the navigator's experience enough, there was even the possibility of hitting an iceberg.

The first moment all the sailors stepped off the ship, they seemed to be paralyzed, prostrate on the ground, kissing the ground under their feet.

A year is a nightmare journey!

The last one to come down was Zhang Yuan, who was slightly tired, he rubbed his temples and sighed deeply, the so-called hero is not easy to be.

Failure is not terrible, the most terrible thing is the discussion in public opinion. This failure made the secretly ridiculed and jealous all have a real hammer. There are also some down-and-out aristocrats in the circle who say that his skull is broken, and if he has no money, he has to discover the New World.

Zhang Yuan clearly knows what kind of creature human beings are, just like he really found the New World, he is the real hero. If he can't find it, he's a bear and a big fool!

He looked at the gray sky, at the sailors kissing the ground beneath his feet, at the destitute people in the streets, exploited by the capitalists, and at the slaves who sold their children.

Humanity needs a new continent, humanity needs!

Urgently needed!

If you can't find a new path, you're dying a slow death!

Twelfth year......

After three years of silence, Zhang Yuan made a comeback in an attempt to explore the more distant Arctic, this time mobilizing more people than before.

He even sold off the remaining shares of the communications company!

The money earned is sprinkled out like flowing water, and there will be brave men under the heavy reward, some people admire Zhang Yuan's belief and come to defect with a trace of fantasy, but more people think that this is a fool's behavior. The sailors are still full, and there is definitely no shortage of courageous people in this era.

Thirteenth ......

The fleet returned, and the second expedition still failed.

The temperature in the Arctic is more moderate than in the Antarctic, but the so-called New World has not yet been discovered. This is also the most troublesome point, the planet's oceans are too big, and the land is too small, and it is as difficult to discover a new continent as looking for a needle in a haystack.

In addition to the use of telescopes, people are only able to use a creature called the "sea bat", which is able to smell fresh water and is often used to explore the surrounding islands. However, the sea bat's search capabilities are also limited, and it can only explore an area of up to 20 kilometers.

Dejected, everyone disembarked from the ship, the sailors lost almost a quarter, and there was an incident of infighting, in which a large number of sailors organized to return, resulting in internal riots. Zhang Yuan even has to pay a large amount of money for this, if a person dies, the money will always be compensated, no matter whether you succeed or fail.

The overwhelming discussion and ridicule came to the face, the first ridicule still carried a trace of hypocrisy, but the second time, he simply took off the veil of hypocrisy on his face. Even her younger sister, Anna, began to disapprove of such exploration.

"It's too dangerous, brother...... It's too dangerous. Don't go any further. ”

Zhang Yuan recalled the journey of the past few years, which was hard and tiring, but he found nothing and sighed deeply.

He wasn't the one who failed.

It is the whole world, the whole ...... that fails. Civilization!

It's just that these people don't know it yet.

……