HLM -Chapter 1331 Overlooking a City

It took over half an hour to drive from the airport around the city to the location of the BACH. By the time they stopped on the mountain road, the day had fully brightened.

The sun appeared hazily in the east, its light gentle. Despite it being the middle of winter, the air outside wasn’t particularly cold.

Father Bo took the princess from Eva’s arms and said, “Not too cold. Don’t make my granddaughter uncomfortable.”

The princess, being passed back and forth, looked utterly confused.

After getting out of the car, Wang Bo stood on the mountainside and looked down. Reykjavik bathed in the morning sun unfolded beneath him, unobstructed and clean, as if freshly washed.

The rising sun cast crimson light on the mountains, the land, and the western sea.

The sunlight painted the northern and eastern mountains in soft red hues, while the vast ocean turned a richer, deeper blue.

Starting from the foot of the mountains, houses stretched out in neat rows all the way to the city center. There weren’t any towering skyscrapers in the city.

Looking around, Wang Bo noticed that most of the houses were small and exquisite, their roofs painted in various colors—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple. It looked a bit chaotic, but since the area was spacious and the houses not densely packed, the visual richness was pleasing rather than overwhelming.

Seeing him examining the city carefully, Morrison came over to explain, “Look, that’s the Parliament House, that’s City Hall, and there’s the University of Reykjavik. If you look further, that’s the National Museum and the Cathedral…”

Wang Bo tried to see, but he couldn’t distinguish which buildings were the Parliament or the Cathedral.

Morrison continued enthusiastically, “The Parliament House is impressive, isn’t it? Built between 1880 and 1881, it has stood for over 130 years. Mainly constructed of basalt, it’s truly magnificent.”

Father Bo, enjoying their conversation, moved closer to listen. Although he had studied English, his age and lack of higher education meant he wasn’t very proficient.

Unable to understand them, Eva kindly translated for him.

After understanding Morrison’s explanation, Father Bo looked at the so-called magnificent building and said, “Feels about like our county government building, though ours is granite.”

Wang Bo had a professional habit: whenever he saw a scene or building, he wanted to learn from it.

Hearing Morrison proudly introduce the Parliament House, he told Eva, “When we return, let’s rebuild our government building—this time, we’ll make it unique.”

Rebuilding the government was necessary. With more staff, a three-story building was no longer sufficient.

The BACH cabin was hidden in a spacious beech forest halfway up the mountain—secluded and quiet.

Bartier called it a BACH, but it was actually a small villa with two floors built along the slope, containing eight rooms in total. The structure was entirely wooden, painted white, both striking and cute.

Wang Bo opened the door and stepped inside. Everything was spotless. The living room had a circle of sofas, a home theater, a billiard table, and a fireplace in the north corner.

Seeing Wang Bo notice the fireplace, Morrison quickly said, “You probably won’t need to light it. The house has sufficient heating, so it shouldn’t ever be cold.”

Noticing the warm air inside, Wang Bo asked curiously, “This is halfway up the mountain, yet it has heating? Did the government actually lay heating pipes up here?”

Morrison explained, “Iceland has abundant geothermal resources. Our predecessors established a geothermal heating system in Reykjavik back in 1928. Through continued drilling and expansion, 370 miles of hot water pipes now run throughout the city. There happens to be a geothermal heating point on this mountain, so a pipeline was extended here—hence, the villa’s high cost.”

Wang Bo, unaware of the house price, asked, “This place is expensive?”

“Yes, 40 million!” Morrison sighed.

Eva was shocked, “40 million?!”

Wang Bo said, “The unit must be Icelandic Krona.”

The Icelandic Krona is the local currency, roughly 1:100 compared to New Zealand dollars. So the house was only about 500,000 NZD—not particularly expensive.

But housing in Iceland is generally cheap, and a mountain villa like this is more aesthetic than practical. Morrison considered 40 million Krona quite expensive.

Seeing Morrison nod, Eva relaxed, and Wang Bo chuckled, “You didn’t really think it was 40 million NZD, did you?”

Eva replied, “You don’t think President Bartier is incapable of that, do you?”

Wang Bo had to nod—indeed, a domineering CEO really doesn’t consider money an obstacle.

Morrison helped them bring in their luggage, introduced the rooms and furniture, and was about to leave.

Before leaving, Wang Bo asked, “Are volcanic eruptions and earthquakes frequent here? How severe are they?”

Morrison looked surprised: “You’re from New Zealand. Both New Zealand and Iceland are known as lands of earthquakes. I assumed you wouldn’t care.”

“But we care about volcanoes,” Wang Bo said. “I read that there are eruptions every day here. We’re not on an active volcano, are we?”

The Ice Knife itself was formed by a submarine volcanic eruption; volcanic and seismic activity was indeed very active.

Morrison shrugged, “Unfortunately, we are on a volcano. Many volcanoes lie beneath Mount Snæfell.”

Eva smiled, “Then tell us they’re dormant, or my husband will panic.”

Morrison looked completely unfazed, “Why panic? We can’t control it; we’re not God. All we can do is face it. Since you chose to come to Iceland, you should expect this.”

Wang Bo thought about it and realized he was right.

Morrison left the car for them. Eva asked how they’d get down the mountain. He laughed heartily, “I’ll run down! I love exercise! Yo-ho, let’s go!”

Zhuang Ding, thinking he was being challenged, hurriedly ran after him. Wang Bo stopped him and, along with Little Wang, ushered them back into the villa. “You’re not allowed to go out alone. You can only leave with us, understood?”

Little Wang obediently sat down, while Zhuang Ding’s eyes darted around, clearly plotting mischief.

The kitchen fridge only contained some sausages, meats, and seafood—no spices or vegetables. Wang Bo decided to take advantage of the daylight to go buy groceries.

He left his parents to watch the children and, with Eva and Dale, drove out.

Eva, reluctant to leave the baby behind, became excited as soon as they left the cabin. She pumped her fists, “Wow, the air feels so fresh!”

Morrison had left a Toyota pickup truck—Wang Bo specifically asked for this vehicle because a regular car couldn’t accommodate Little Wang, Zhuang Ding, and the other little creatures.

They drove down the road, but just as they descended the mountain, a police motorcycle suddenly appeared, signaling them to stop.