289: Chapter 289: What he painted might be Antarctica tens of millions of years ago.

"Antarctica?"

"Big Brother, what kind of international joke are you making? Atlantis is in the Atlantic Ocean; Plato recorded it himself."

"Antarctica is miles and miles away from the Strait of Gibraltar, right?"

"How is that possible? Did you get it wrong, Big Brother?"

"Antarctica is an ice sheet; where would a civilization come from?"

"Wait, if it's Antarctica, then what does 'sinking' mean? Did it get frozen over?"

"..."

The viewers immediately spotted the loophole and did not agree with this.

Even Xiaoyu was stunned for two and a half seconds before shaking her head and saying, "Ant—Antarctica?"

She subconsciously glanced out the window. Outside was the moonlight of Gusu, but in her mind, she saw that vast white continent covered in ice and snow.

"Big Brother, are you serious? That place, Antarctica, doesn't even have people. How could there be a civilization there?"

"Penguin civilization?"

Jiang Zhe was amused by Xiaoyu's 'penguin civilization' and smiled.

Inside Qingfeng Temple, Zheng Ming couldn't help but shrug, glancing at Jiang Zhe. "He said Antarctica? What kind of international joke is he making?"

"Plato clearly said it was outside the Pillars of Hercules, which is in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Strait of Gibraltar!"

"How far is Antarctica from there? Thousands of kilometers. This isn't just a matter of error; it simply doesn't match up at all!"

Jin Xianmeng felt a bit confused and completely disagreed with this claim. "Brother Zheng is right. Geographically speaking, the distance between Antarctica and the location described by Plato is indeed too far. Moreover, Antarctica is a continent, not an island. Even if the ice sheet melted, underneath is land, not the kind that sinks to the bottom of the sea."

"If Atlantis were in Antarctica, then how do you explain what Plato said about it sinking to the bottom of the sea?"

In the faculty residential area of the University of History in Kyoto.

Professor Liu Guangyi was the first to react, shaking his head repeatedly. "It can't be Antarctica; the distance between them is too far!"

He looked around and saw a globe by the bookcase behind him. Pointing at the globe, he said, "Plato explicitly stated it was outside the Pillars of Hercules, which is in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Strait of Gibraltar. Antarctica is in the south, dozens of latitudes away. Furthermore, Antarctica is a continent covered by an ice sheet, not an island that sank to the bottom of the sea. This simply doesn't add up!"

Professor Chen Runzhi pondered and said, "But everything Little Jiang said before made a lot of sense. He wouldn't just mention Antarctica for no reason, would he?"

Qian Mingyi waved his hand. "No, I'm afraid he really is wrong this time. Antarctica and Atlantis just can't be connected."

Professor Wang Shouren, however, said, "Perhaps he has some other evidence?"

The three old men looked at the screen in unison.

On the big screen, seeing Xiaoyu's eager expression, Jiang Zhe smiled slightly and didn't rush to refute her.

He picked up the tablet, swiped his finger across the screen a few times, and then handed it to Xiaoyu. "Impossible? Then take a look at this."

Xiaoyu took the tablet; on the screen was a yellowed, ancient map. Leaning in to look closely at the screen, it was a hand-drawn map; although the lines were rough, the outlines were clearly visible.

On the left was a curved continent, on the right was another continent, and below them was a landmass covered in ice and snow.

While Xiaoyu was looking at the map, Jiang Zhe's gentle voice came through. "What you are looking at now is a map discovered in 1929 at the Topkapi Palace in Turkey."

"It was drawn on gazelle skin by the Ottoman Empire naval commander Piri Reis, and people later called it the Piri Reis Map."

"The map you are looking at now only has one-third preserved, but even that third is enough to be shocking."

Xiaoyu looked at the screen, her brows furrowed. "Hmm? What's so shocking about it?"

Jiang Zhe pointed to the map. "Look, on the left is South America, and on the right is Africa."

"Now, open a modern map and compare it."

Xiaoyu operated the tablet, opened another window, and pulled up a modern world map. She compared and browsed through them; the outline of South America on the left of the Piri Reis Map was strikingly similar to the modern map, and the outline of Africa on the right was exactly the same.

But what stunned her the most was the bottom of the map. On the modern map, below South America and Africa, is the vast Southern Ocean, and further down is Antarctica, the continent covered by a white ice sheet. And on the Piri Reis Map, in that same position, there was also a landmass.

What made Xiaoyu frown was—this was a continent not covered by ice and snow. A continent with clear mountain ranges, rivers, and even vegetation.

Xiaoyu's pupils contracted slightly. "Hmm?" She noticed something unusual, but still didn't quite understand. "What is this?"

At this moment, the viewers were also curious. "What is that landmass below on this map?" "It can't be Antarctica, right?" "But Antarctica is covered in ice and snow, how could it be drawn?" "How old is this map? Discovered in 1929, but it must have been drawn much earlier, right?"

"Piri Reis was a 16th-century Turkish naval commander, during the mid-Ming Dynasty of our country. When he drew this map, Antarctica hadn't been discovered yet!" "That's right, Antarctica was only officially discovered in 1818!" "How could a person from the 16th century draw the outline of Antarctica?" "Why is it an ice-free Antarctica?" "..."

Just as the viewers and countless teachers and experts were puzzled, Jiang Zhe's voice slowly came through. "Xiaoyu, this Piri Reis Map was drawn in 1513."

"And humanity officially discovered Antarctica for the first time in 1818, a full three hundred years before humanity discovered Antarctica."

He pointed to the bottom of the map on the screen. "Even weirder is that the Antarctica shown on the Piri Reis Map has no ice sheet." "The map depicts mountain ranges, rivers, and coastlines; these features can only be seen when there is no ice or snow covering them."

Hearing this, Xiaoyu's expression became even more confused. "But hasn't Antarctica always had ice?"

"No." Jiang Zhe shook his head gently. "According to geological research, the Antarctic continent became completely covered by an ice sheet starting approximately 15 million years ago." "Before that, Antarctica was indeed ice-free; in fact, the climate was mild, and there were even forests and animals."

He took the tablet from Xiaoyu, opened a paleontology website, and found an ancient creature with grayish-black skin that looked like a hippopotamus but had tusks in its mouth.

"Look, this is the Argentina and Chile region of South America, which belongs to a temperate climate." "Scientists have indeed discovered fossils of temperate plants and animals in Antarctica, such as the Lystrosaurus, which looks somewhat like a hippo. It is a reptile that lived 250 million years ago, and their fossils have been found in South Africa, South America, and Antarctica simultaneously."

He nodded slightly. "What does this indicate? It indicates that Antarctica previously belonged to a temperate zone; furthermore, it was once connected to other continents."

Xiaoyu stared at the ancient map and the hippo-like creature on the screen, unable to help but shake her head. "The Lystrosaurus isn't pretty; and the 1513 map depicts an ice-free Antarctica; Big Brother, the person who drew this map definitely wasn't looking at the Antarctica of 1513!"

Her brows furrowed slightly as she asked with great curiosity: "Big Brother, do you mean that when Piri Reis drew this map, he was referencing an even older map, perhaps so old that it dates back to when Antarctica hadn't been frozen over yet?"

Jiang Zhe nodded. "That's right!"

In the faculty residential area of the University of History in Kyoto, Professor Liu Guangyi suddenly stood up, his eyes widening. "Lystrosaurus, I know about this!"

He turned around and looked at his three old friends. "The Lystrosaurus is a reptile from the Permian to the Triassic period. Their fossils are distributed across Africa, South America, India, Australia, and Antarctica!"

"What does this indicate? It indicates that these continents were once connected, which is the supercontinent Gondwana!"

Speaking up to this point, he shook his head repeatedly. "But that was 250 million years ago; Gondwana began to break up in the Jurassic period, and Antarctica gradually drifted to its current position, then became covered by an ice sheet. Being covered in ice and snow is something that happened tens of millions of years ago."

His gaze fell on the big screen, his face full of confusion. "But the Piri Reis Map was drawn in 1513. By that time, Antarctica had long been covered by an ice sheet. How could he have drawn the outline of an ice-free Antarctica?" "Unless..."

Before he could finish, Old Qian took over the conversation on the spot. "Unless the person who drew this map wasn't using data from 1513."

Old Qian couldn't help but gasp. "Are you saying that Piri Reis referenced an even older map, from who knows how many tens of thousands of years ago?"

As he spoke, the four professors looked at each other, their faces filled with astonishment, a tingling sensation of scalp-numbing shock washing over them.

Drawn in 1513—was it a mistake? But the ancient map really is of Antarctica! Yet, why does it depict an Antarctica without ice and snow, when an ice-free Antarctica is something from tens of millions of years ago!

These matters were incomprehensible not only to the four professors but also to the history students and teachers in the livestream room with over twenty million viewers.

Especially Old Wang in Principal Fu's office, who shook his head repeatedly. "Unbelievable, simply unbelievable!"

After a long while, on the big screen, Xiaoyu finally regained her composure, squinting as she asked, "Big Brother, this still feels too bizarre."

"Even if the Piri Reis Map shows an ice-free Antarctica, that only proves that someone in ancient times knew the topography of Antarctica; it doesn't prove that it is Atlantis, right?"

Jiang Zhe smiled slightly. "That is true, but this is only one piece of evidence."

He operated the tablet and continued flipping through it. "Xiaoyu, you know about the indigenous peoples of the Americas, such as the Incas of Peru and the Aymara people of Bolivia; in their legends, they all say there is a white island in the south, and that on that island, there once existed a highly developed civilization."

The confusion on Xiaoyu's face vanished, and her beautiful eyes lit up. "A white island—doesn't that mean it's Antarctica? Antarctica is white!"

"Yes." Jiang Zhe felt thirsty, picked up the sugar-free drink on the table, took a sip, and then said, "And in their legends, that civilization came from the sea and later disappeared due to a great catastrophe."

"Xiaoyu, which civilization is this legend talking about?"

Xiaoyu and countless viewers suddenly had their eyes light up. Atlantis?