Chapter 215: Chapter 163: Exploring the Arctic.
"Warriors, the task of exploring the Arctic has been entrusted to you! I will forever remember each of your voices and smiling faces, and I believe the whole world will too, because the Arctic, being the pole of the whole world, is accessible to all corners of the Earth via the North Arctic Ocean. Therefore, exploring the Arctic is not just for Russia, but for the entire world!"
A white man dressed in formal attire, his face stern, was bidding farewell to the New Human Squadron.
These New Humans, having been freed from their genetic shackles, mostly had a stature of over two meters and seventy-eight centimeters, making them giants among normal-sized humans.
Yet their massive bodies did not appear clumsy; on the contrary, they had the agility and speed of cheetahs.
In their hands, the New Humans held exceedingly exaggerated and terrifying personal combat weapons,
including the huge Double-Barreled Fire God Cannon, the over two-meter-long Super Sniper Rifle, the latest Nano-Alloy Armor, and a variety of top-notch Reconnaissance Drones and Mechanical Equipment.
Beyond that, there were specially modified Heavy Armored tanks that could adapt to the frigid temperatures.
With such an arsenal at their disposal, a New Human Squadron, if used in the wars of the past, could stand against at least a thousand ordinary soldiers.
But against Mutated Creatures, even the most formidable weaponry seemed very feeble.
After all, one could not apply conventional logic to Mutated Creatures.
The Invincible Fierce Tiger alone had once rendered a top-tier, reinforced squadron with thousands of fully-armed soldiers helpless, ultimately fighting its way out of the encirclement.
Therefore, even as the white ruler spoke with flowery rhetoric, it could not ease the heaviness in their hearts.
As for the talk of fighting for humanity, it was nothing but empty words.
If it weren't for the fact that these rulers held leverage over them, it's likely that no one would choose to undertake the perilous mission of exploring the Arctic.
The group of scholars behind them, who had once conducted extensive research on and had a deep understanding of the Arctic, were also somewhat forcibly brought into the team.
Among them, aside from Tiffany and Divina, there were several scholars who had been to the Arctic for research right before the great cataclysm.
Considering that less than a year had passed since that cataclysm, even if the Arctic had undergone major changes, the terrain and topography should still retain certain features.
With the guidance of these research scholars, the exploration activity would be easier to carry out and proceed with to some extent.
After listening to the farewell and impassioned words of the white ruler, the members of the expedition team also reluctantly mustered their morale, raising their hands in a perfunctory shout, "For the sake of humanity we fight!"
In reality, everyone felt sick to their stomach at these hypocritical words.
Yet in the era where Mutated Creatures roamed rampant, fighting for humanity had become a belief in the hearts of many and provided a placebo for them as they headed toward the battlefield where death was certain.
"Hurrah!"
After the final trumpet call sounded, a New Human Squadron of over thirty individuals set off toward the Arctic.
Besides the New Human Squadron of over thirty individuals, there was an entire Heavy Armored Group trailing as a follow-up force.
The firepower of the Heavy Armored Group was also astounding.
Icy Zone-optimized custom tanks numbering over eighty, specialty trucks for transporting supplies over fifty, armed helicopters over thirty, Sixth Generation Supersonic Speed fighters over twenty, and so on.
And countless small drones, special single-soldier missiles, and large-caliber sniper rifles akin to sniping cannons.
These would be humanity's greatest confidence and assets when combating Mutated Creatures.
As the expedition team set off slowly, Tiffany and Divina also snuggled up to each other, sitting in a Heavy Armored tank.
The two no longer had the cheerful laughter they once did when entering the Arctic; instead, they held each other's hands tightly, their pretty eyes filled with irrepressible dejection and negativity.
They even felt as if everything that had happened over the past year was like a dream.
A year ago, they were carefree students, living a beautiful life on campus; but a year later, they were almost reduced to refugees.
Their homes had become ruins, and all their accumulated wealth had vanished into thin air.
The paper currency they once had became literally worthless paper, and in today's world, only US Dollars and Variant Species Flesh were hard currency!
As for themselves, once youthful and attractive during peacetime, their fair and beautiful faces now bore a hint of hardship due to the difficult times of the past year.
Yet they were relatively fortunate; they were still of some use to the officials, so nobody troubled them, and their families were arranged in temporary housing.
But their former female classmates, to survive, many groveled and ingratiated themselves with the powerful, becoming trophies to be played with.
The male classmates, for survival, for their families to be cared for by the authorities, many went to the front lines to become cannon fodder, while others toiled day and night in rebuilding their homes, all for a day's meals.
Under the terrifying changes of this new world, all were suffering!
As Tiffany and Divina sat in the Heavy Armored tank, they knew in their hearts that the chances of their surviving and returning were not great.
Perhaps those leading the New Human Squadron, who verbally promised to protect their personal safety,
would use them as human shields when truly facing life-threatening dangers—that wouldn't be surprising!
This was not a joke, but a bloody reality!
When the will to survive was strong, whether humans or beasts, what they could do often far exceeded one's imagination.