Across the glacier, a vast expanse of ice reflecting dazzling white light glides along slowly. Snow from the mountains behind continuously pushes it forward, and its pace is deceivingly fast: it advances several hundred metres each year.

  Despite this forward advance, the glacier as a whole is retreating. The pace of its forward movement is gradually failing to keep up with the rate of thermal melting, a phenomenon inextricably linked to global warming. In perhaps a few decades, the entire ice tongue may withdraw completely from the valley, and this splendid scenic spot will simply vanish. Yet none of the three people present is contemplating such a distant future; they are merely engaged in their own activities.

  With great gusto, Charlie starts to talk about this icy place — its discovery date, historical development, source, elevation, and so on. The other two listen more out of politeness than interest. The only statistic that holds their attention is the number of visitor fatalities: "Over thirty visitors have lost their lives here since records began, all for violating safety protocols. We're lucky we won't be joining them." This briefly catches Min's attention, but for the most part, he just glances around while nodding slightly to show he's listening.

  The scene triggers a memory, and Min recalls a joke: "Hey, did you know? According to geology, ice is actually a type of rock."

  "Cool, yeah." Charlie responds.

  "Which means, basically, we all have lava flowing through our veins!"

  Charlie bursts into laughter. Even Xi P chimes in cheerfully: "So I'm surrounded by aliens with lava flowing through them? How terrifying."

  Fortunately, Charlie doesn't hear that.

  Min glances around and notices a dark mark on the distant ice. It wouldn't normally stand out, but it's easily visible against the vast expanse of white. After staring for several seconds without identifying it, and being reluctant to walk closer for a better look, he asks Charlie, "What's that?"

  Charlie pulls his binoculars out and follows Min's pointing finger.

  "Ah... ha! This is fascinating. You should take a look yourself." His tone is unusually excited as he hands the binoculars to Min.

  Min takes them and instantly understands Charlie's excitement — it's a bird and its nest! The material of the nest appears to have been gathered from the surrounding canyon, piled directly onto the ice. The bird's species is too distant to identify. Judging by the way it cocks its head towards them, it seems alert. This single nest doesn't make the ice tongue feel much more alive, yet Min feels an indescribable thrill, like stumbling upon hidden treasure.

  "Tenacious life." Min murmurs, mimicking the tone of nature documentaries. He hands the binoculars to Xi P, gesturing for him to observe the scene.

  Min is certain Xi P shares this feeling, for when he focuses on the dark spot, the fabric on his head suddenly arches upwards — he must have pricked up his ears instinctively.

  "Perhaps in the future, we won't only discover life on Earth-like planets. Maybe even a world of nothing but permafrost and snowfields will harbour a rich and diverse biosphere." This is Min's genuine reflection. Though Charlie isn't in this line of work, he nods vigorously in agreement.

  ***

  Leaving the ice tongue proves slightly problematic — the landing gear has stuck to the ice. After spending ages hammering at the bottom with onboard tools, the trio finally break the ice enough for the plane to move again.

  After take-off, Min quietly asks Xi P about his earlier perception of the temperature of the ice surface. Xi P's answer is unsurprising: "Cold at first, but moving around and breaking the ice warmed me."

  This gives Min the clearest indication of how warm their fur is. He even ponders the future viability of an alien fur business for a few minutes.

  The flight remains uneventful until Charlie activates the speakers: "Bad news — brace yourselves. We might be running low on fuel."

  "What?" Min gasps.

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  "It could be a problem with the fuel injector, or maybe just plain wear and tear. Right now, I have to use higher power just to maintain altitude. If this keeps up, we'll likely run out of fuel before we reach the airport."

  "...There's no mid-air refuelling service here, is there?"

  "Of course not. That means we have to land. I won't call it an 'emergency landing'. I can guarantee it'll be a smooth touchdown."

  'Will there be extra compensation?' Min almost asks, but then thinks better of it. It feels pointless to ask now. He takes a deep breath and sighs: "Ugh…"

  Charlie's warning makes Min notice the engine's unusual sound too. The noise is unsettling, as if the plane could crash at any moment, especially considering they're nearly a hundred metres up.

  Just as Charlie predicted, the fuel tank soon runs dry, yet the airport remains a considerable distance away. An emergency landing is now unavoidable, but there's one critical question: how can a gyrocopter be landed safely in a dense rainforest filled with trees?

  As it turns out, it is possible with the experience of an old hand. Charlie quickly spots a relatively open clearing and performs an extreme landing manoeuvre. The rotor blades nearly graze the trees at the far edge of the clearing as the aircraft comes to a halt. The impact from the steep descent is substantial — certainly not what one would call "smooth". Thankfully, none of the three people on board is injured.

  After the emergency landing, Charlie's first action is to pull out his phone and dial the emergency services to request firefighting support. However, as Charlie is explaining their situation, Min suddenly realises there is a serious problem.

  ***

  It takes considerable effort for Min to persuade both Xi P and Charlie. He convinces Charlie to leave alone, explaining that they would rather walk through the rainforest themselves to enjoy the scenery up close. He also persuades Xi P to abandon his plans to join the search and rescue team. While not entirely certain, the fire service might demand proof of Xi P's identity, which would cause complications.

  While traversing the rainforest sounds perilous, it all depends on the type of rainforest. Here, there are no ferocious beasts, no venomous snakes, and even disease-carrying insects are scarce. Without exaggeration, the most dangerous creatures in the entire rainforest might be a few parrots — considering they mostly feed on nuts...

  'Ah, wait — the most dangerous things might actually be this terrifying upright ape and the giant alien fox beside him.'

  This area remains largely undeveloped, with the nearest forest trail over two kilometres away. Though this temperate rainforest pales in density compared to equatorial ones, navigating it is not without its challenges, especially given Xi P's floor-length cloak trailing along the ground.

  Just as they step a little farther from the clearing, Xi P pulls his cloak up. With his head finally free, his first instinct is to lift and swivel his ears constantly, as if to relieve the discomfort of having them pressed down. Min watches with utter agitation — why can't he just sneak a touch?

  The ground is incredibly damp; stepping on it almost makes water seep out. The dense vegetation severely hampers directional sense, and Min relies entirely on GPS to avoid getting lost. Though the air is fresh, he has no desire to linger in this place, where tangled branches and uneven ground make movement difficult. After advancing only about half a kilometre, Min is already struggling to continue. He finds a fallen tree trunk and sits down to rest. In contrast, Xi P clearly benefits from his past physical training. Aside from feeling a bit warm, he feels perfectly fine.

  "We're in the jungle after all." Min says slowly after taking several deep breaths. He remembers how Xi P hadn't wanted to choose the rainforest. And now they're here and trekking straight through untouched thickets, deeper than originally planned.

  This remark triggers something in Xi P. He leaps up in shock and frantically rummages through Min's backpack without responding to Min's questions. Soon, he pulls out a tissue and presses it firmly against his nose.

  Only after doing this does he take a deep breath through the tissue and answers Min's earlier query: "Microbes."

  "But you've been breathing in here for ages already!"

  "I could have bumped my head on something. Or suddenly gotten water falling down on me."

  As he stands still, observing the rainforest filled with subtle alien elements, Xi P recalls something else. Gathering his thoughts, he speaks slowly: "Our scientists have theorised about different types of life-bearing planets."

  "In their theories, planets with diverse climates like Lierus's and Earth's are far fewer in number than those with a single climate."

  "Most habitable planets likely possess only a single climate. Rainforest planets are a classic example in these theories."

  "So what are you getting at?" Min wonders why Xi P is bringing this up.

  "…Planets with similar climates tend to develop similar lifeforms. I'm wondering — if I had landed on a rainforest planet covered in dense forest, what would that be like?"

  "You'd get oxygen poisoning and pass out. If those plants were performing photosynthesis." Min replies, feeling thoroughly annoyed with this rainforest.

  "Excessive oxygen is true a problematic, but it's certainly easier to handle than insufficient oxygen." Xi P responds, "Beyond rainforests, there are life-bearing planets with frozen lakes — those should be fascinating too…"

  Min finds himself increasingly baffled by Xi P's train of thought as he continues. It is unclear what chord in his heart this natural environment struck, but Xi P launches into a lengthy monologue about his speculations on alien ecosystems. Only after he finally quietens down does Min counter: "Why don't you consider this: you're currently in an alien rainforest. Instead of pondering the differences between rainforests on other planets, why not start investigating what interesting things exist within the rainforest right here?"