Through questioning the shaman, Yang Lin quickly learned the secret of the map.
The map did not record the location of the North Pole, but rather a legend that circulated among the Inuit tribes.
In this legend, the North Pole was the domain of the Sea Goddess, and her palace was located there.
More than ten thousand years ago, their ancestors followed the footsteps of the Sea Goddess to this place and had lived here for generations.
They had not left even through immense geological changes and the passage of time.
Of course, these were not the main points. The key point was that the legend spoke of a vast lake within the Sea Goddess's palace, with an island called Giant Whale Island in the middle of the lake.
The location of this island was the end of the world, the true North Pole.
Upon hearing this so-called legend, Yang Lin found it utterly preposterous.
After all, the North Pole was a place verified by scientists, positioned using the most advanced scientific instruments.
How did the Inuit ancestors know about it?
And where did they hear that there was a lake at the very center of the North Pole, with an island in the middle of the lake?
Where would an island come from in the center of the Arctic Ocean?
The critical part was that his parents, who were advanced intellectuals, seemed to believe it, which was beyond ridiculous.
"Could it be that they went missing while searching for this so-called true North Pole?"
As soon as he said this, Yang Lin suddenly remembered something.
"Wait, I recall a theory from the scientific community a long time ago, suggesting that the Arctic Ocean was a massive freshwater lake 20 million years ago, and it was later plate tectonics that caused seawater from the Atlantic to flood into the Arctic Ocean."
"Looking at it this way, a part of the Inuit ancestors' legend might actually be true."
If he remembered correctly, this point was from the 2007 issue of the journal Nature. It carried authority.
In addition to this article from Nature, he also recalled a passage from the ancient Chinese literary masterpiece "Zhuangzi."
"North of Qionfa, there is a dark sea, a celestial pond. There is a fish, its width is several thousand li, none know its length; its name is Kun."
The dark sea, the celestial pond.
This clearly coincided with the legend of the Inuit ancestors.
The Kun mentioned later might not be an actual animal but the island named Giant Whale.
With this realization, Yang Lin suddenly felt that everything aligned.
He finally understood why his parents believed such absurd tales.
However, understanding was one thing, but he still couldn't comprehend why his parents, at their age, would undertake such a high-risk endeavor.
"Is it because I haven't given them a grandchild?"
After much thought, this was the only explanation Yang Lin could come up with.
"Never mind, I won't think about it anymore. I'll find them first."
With a general clue, Yang Lin didn't want to waste any more time. He immediately led the Inuit people towards the direction of the North Pole.
Before setting off, he didn't forget to take a handsome selfie.
With the addition of these Inuit people, Yang Lin's team became immense.
Both safety and comfort were greatly enhanced.
He didn't even need to worry about meals; the Inuit had their own cooking methods.
After another five hours of continuous travel, the North Pole indicated by the GPS system was within reach.
Before Yang Lin could get closer, a bright red five-star red flag appeared in his vision.
On this vast expanse of ice, the red flag was so striking.
He had never imagined he would see the five-star red flag, symbolizing the Dragon Country, here. A sense of emotion surged within him for no reason.
He knew without a doubt that the place where the five-star red flag stood was the North Pole.
And the people who left the five-star red flag could only be his parents, who were now missing.
Realizing this, Yang Lin immediately had the polar bear family of four stop.
He wanted to walk the last few hundred meters himself.
Rising from the sled, Yang Lin walked step by determined step towards where the five-star red flag fluttered.
He took ten minutes to cover a distance of a few hundred meters.
As he approached, the crisp sound of the flag flapping in the cold wind reached his ears clearly.
Standing proudly by the flag and taking out his GPS locator, the latitude reading instantly jumped to 90 degrees North.
This meant he had successfully reached the North Pole, the northernmost point of Planet Blue.
At this historically significant moment, amidst his excitement, he remembered to take out his phone and camera, which he had kept in his innermost layer of clothing.
After taking dozens of photos, he reluctantly put his phone and camera back.
"Phew! This trip was worth it. I finally understand why my parents were so insistent on coming here."
"This feeling is truly hard to describe in words."
"Such a magnificent planet, to be able to embrace it fully at the end of one's life would be truly without regret."
After a moment of reflection and self-pity, Yang Lin called out to his two brothers, Goudan and Gousheng.
"You two come here."
Hearing Yang Lin's call, the two brothers scurried over happily.
To them, this place was no different from any other part of the Arctic.
When the two brothers arrived, Yang Lin pointed to the five-star red flag in front of him and said:
"Go ask, and then remember the smell on it."
Hearing Yang Lin's instruction, Goudan and Gousheng immediately sniffed around the flag.
Even though smells would be difficult to preserve completely in this environment.
If it were ordinary dogs, they probably wouldn't have smelled anything.
But Goudan and Gousheng were clearly not ordinary.
After sniffing, they quickly found the clue Yang Lin was looking for from the faint residual scent.
"Park Director, I smell a familiar scent, it seems to be Old Park Director's."
"Yes, that's right, it's Old Park Director's. They also seem to be injured, I smell blood."
Yang Lin was excited when he heard the first sentence, but his heart sank when he heard the second.
"Injured? It seems their journey wasn't smooth either."
"Such harsh environment, and with injuries, no, I must find them quickly."
With concern, Yang Lin issued another command to the two brothers.
"Continue searching for the same scent in the surroundings and find out where they went."
"Understood, Park Director! Mission guaranteed to be completed."
The next second, the two brothers shot off in the same direction.
Seeing this, Yang Lin quickly had the four polar bears pull the sled and follow.
Although the Inuit behind him didn't know what was happening, they could only follow when Yang Lin left.
Soon, the only thing left in the area was the red flag fluttering on the icefield.