Long-term salvation

New Jersey came over with a smile and kissed Rhodes on the side of his cheek under the suddenly horrified gaze of the soldiers from the Army Without Borders who were driving over.

After getting on the bus, Rod discovered that there was another middle-aged man sitting inside. This officer of the Army Without Borders, with a sub-Slavic appearance, was wearing a thick winter uniform and a stern expression. The end of the epaulette on his right shoulder was adorned with a red star, and inside the red star was a golden hammer and sickle, which represented his "origin".

"Gleb Morozov, Lieutenant Colonel." Lieutenant Colonel Gleb smiled and extended his hand to shake Rhodes's. He said with a hint of helplessness, "Although I used to serve in the Far Eastern Military District, there is still a difference between the North Pole and the South Pole... Well, at least you think there is no difference."

"I will carefully review the files of each base commander and assign them to appropriate positions. You are definitely qualified to be the commander of Midnight Base, just like your deputies, Major Peris Hernandez and Major Li Qianjin."

Rhodes shrugged and took the hot cocoa handed to him by the lieutenant colonel. After thanking him, he took a sip and sighed with satisfaction.

The vehicle started, making a creaking sound as it pressed against the broken ice, and the helpless look on Lieutenant Colonel Gleb's face also shook. After cautiously greeting the ship girl next to Rhodes, the lieutenant colonel sighed and continued:

"But the key is that Major Perris is from the United States' Alaska base, and Major Li is from the Aurora Republic's Northeastern region... The three of us were quite embarrassed when we found out."

"It can't be helped. There are only a few experienced officers who understand base operations, flight support, and equipment maintenance in such extreme cold and harsh weather. Where can I find so many people? If you can pull a general from the Far East Military Region, that would be fine. I wouldn't mind."

Rhodes spread his hands, almost making the lieutenant colonel opposite him suffocate.

Holding the still-scalding hot cocoa, Rhodes turned his head to look out the window. In the hazy mist, he saw two M6 Polar AS passing by the airport terminal. The mechas saluted after noticing the convoy.

In the light snow, the tall metal giant stood silently until the convoy disappeared from the camera's capture range.

"What a heavy trust," Rhodes said with emotion. He wrapped his coat around him and looked at the lieutenant colonel sitting across from him. "I've never met them, and they've never met me... But even so, people are still willing to put their trust and their lives in my hands."

"Trust is relative, Boss, and you will trust us too."

Lieutenant Colonel Gleb spoke quietly, his eyes gleaming with the confidence and enthusiasm he had once lost - after leaving the corrupt and muddled former Soviet/Russian army, the lieutenant colonel found his treasure again in this desolate land.

In the blizzards that are almost the same as those in their homeland, he and his companions, who have been dubbed the Army Without Borders, took root here with the belief of saving human civilization, burying their youth and lives in the frozen soil of Antarctica.

After saying that, the lieutenant colonel seemed a little embarrassed. He coughed a few times and said with a smile:

"The base is planning a dinner party today. It's a way to boost morale before the upcoming snowstorm, though the food won't be particularly varied."

"It's my honor, Lieutenant Colonel—but before that, please accompany me to visit here." Rhodes nodded. He remembered the airport facilities he had observed before landing, and asked again:

"How's the construction progress of the entire base, including the airport? I see quite a few Labor robots still active."

"The base construction is basically complete. What remains is the expansion of infrastructure to ensure the living conditions of the personnel. The airport is currently still mainly used by various types of helicopters and civilian propeller aircraft. Once the temperature-controlled hangar is completed, multi-purpose fighter jets and transport aircraft will be stationed there... although I don't think it's necessary."

Lieutenant Colonel Gleb said as he pulled out a folded plan from his pocket and handed it to Rhodes. It listed the construction and maintenance costs of the base. The figures on it made him feel painful, but it also raised a lot of questions:

"According to the patterns of most otherworldly disasters, the denser the population, the more likely it is for otherworldly rifts and creations to appear. And in Antarctica... even if the population of the Polar Day Base could reach nearly 10,000 in the future, with strict and meticulous management and a high standard of living guaranteed, no disasters will occur."

"So, 'just maintain a monitoring and experimental base here', right?" Rhodes raised an eyebrow, and he saw the answer in the lieutenant colonel's eyes.

The atmosphere in the car suddenly froze, like water spilled outdoors in Antarctica.

Now, the vehicle has stopped at the gate of the base. Rhodes opened the door and walked out, looking up - the main facilities of the base built of reinforced concrete were like a giant snake entwined in the flying snow. The layers of snow piled on top of it were cleared away one by one, leaving only some grayish white at the corners.

The heavy door slowly opened, and warm air gushed out, quickly turning the surrounding snow into melted ice.

Standing in front of the gate, Rhodes did not go in immediately. Instead, he turned to Lieutenant Colonel Gleb and said:

"Our enemy here is 'time'."

"..."

"Beneath the ancient ice lies dark secrets never before known to humanity. The extreme cold here traps them and hinders 'humanity', including the Organization. But this is no reason to stay away from this place. We need to discover those secrets, then contain, control, and protect them."

Rhodes extended his hand and shook hands with Lieutenant Colonel Gleb, his words carrying an unprecedented seriousness:

"You are isolated here without any help. If any form of war breaks out here, it will be difficult for the Army Without Borders from other regions to come to your aid, including me."

Aperture Technology's portal technology is still immature, and it requires lunar rock powder to open - this is not as simple as going to Antarctica.

"If Midnight Base falls, the pollution in the other world could spread... You understand what I mean, Lieutenant Colonel."

Lieutenant Colonel Gleb, a former Soviet, knew exactly what was going to happen. He simply adjusted his military cap and sighed as he spoke:

"...Time, if only we could control time."

"Those who play with time will be played by time, my friend."

Chapter 467: Happy Times Before the Snowstorm

The door slowly closed, blocking the extreme cold outside.

As soon as he entered the main facilities of the Midnight Sun Base, Rhodes saw soldiers standing upright on both sides of the corridor. They were wearing thick military coats specially made for Antarctica. The young faces from all over the world were tense - Rhodes could almost hear the heartbeats in their chests - accompanied by a shout from Major Li Qianjin, one of the deputy commanders of the base, the soldiers saluted at the same time, and the crisp sound of heels colliding spread along the direction of the corridor and spread deeper, turning into the clanging of swords.

Rhodes returned the greeting seriously, put down his hand, and said with emotion:

"Thank you for your hard work."

"Hoo-ha!" / "Hoo-ha!" / "Serve the people!"

Rhodes: “???”

Soldiers: “???”

Lieutenant Colonel Gleb pursed his lips together so tightly, trying to suppress a smile that his entire face was distorted, like a sturdy brown bear that had only seen honey.

After an awkward silence, Rhode coughed lightly, looked at Major Li, who looked like he was ready to find someone to promote, and said with a smile:

"Let us in now. There's no need for all this formality, Major Li."

"It's a rare opportunity to come here, so a welcome ceremony is very important..." Major Li muttered. He quickly walked up to Rhodes, saluted, and after receiving the latter's return salute, he continued:

"Welcome to our guidance, Supreme Commander Rhodes."

"I thought you were going to call me 'Boss,'" Rhodes said, smiling as he shook hands with the man from Jilin Province in the Aurora Republic. After urging New Jersey to follow, he, accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel Gleb and Major Li, asked, "Has the military rank system within the Army Without Borders not been reorganized yet?"

Due to the influx of so many soldiers from different countries, the ranks and command levels within the Army Without Borders became chaotic. Those soldiers who directly dealt with events in the other world were fine, but the mobile forces, which were larger in number and basically equivalent to regular troops, would take some time to deal with.

Of course, language was also a major issue. Currently, the Army Without Borders primarily spoke English and Russian, and Rhode wondered if he could get an intelligent AI into the system and build a voice translation network—even something like MOSS would be fine!

Now the only way to encourage learning is to allow soldiers who "learn one more language" to be promoted faster and receive better rations and allowances. As officers and communications technicians, they must master at least three languages ​​- at least to the extent that they can hear military terminology and command troops in non-complex operations.

"Your rank was finalized first. As for the others... based on the last video conference with the base leaders, I'm afraid it will take some time to discuss and plan. After all, the Army Without Borders won't be limited to its current size in the future, and there won't be just two or three large bases."

Lieutenant Colonel Gleb was a little puzzled when talking about this. For a middle or low-level officer like him, being able to participate in discussions at this level of organizational structure design was something he had never imagined in the past.

Finally, the lieutenant colonel ended the topic in a more relaxed tone:

"I wouldn't mind a promotion to something like colonel or brigadier general. It sounds good."

Following the two officers, Rhodes, with New Jersey holding his arm, walked through the winding corridors. After greeting the base personnel who came over to join in the fun, he came to a large cafeteria.

Banners had already been hung in the cafeteria, with words like "BIGBOSS!", "Welcome to the Midnight Base", "BOSS, we love you!" written in various languages. Some workers with East Asian faces were waving signs with sentences in a very Western style... How come this group of people didn't fight each other normally?

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Rhode had no choice but to quickly ask them to remove everything. Then he took the wine glass handed to him by Lieutenant Colonel Gleb and said with a smile in front of the soldiers, workers and other personnel who gradually quieted down:

"It seems that I need to ask the freighter to send more drinks next time - again, for the sake of work and liver, drink less! Let's start our party before the blizzard comes!"

The atmosphere in the restaurant suddenly became lively. This was the first dinner party after the completion of the basic construction of the Polar Day Base. Except for those who were resting after their shifts, those in key positions and those on duty, most people gathered here.

In reality, due to capacity and the use of labor, the entire base currently only has about 3,000 people. However, Rhodes's plan calls for the construction of forward bases and transfer hubs further into the Antarctic hinterland, which will require the Polar Day Base to provide even greater logistical support.

Amid the noisy sounds, Rod took New Jersey's hand and disappeared into the cheerful crowd. He planned to look for the professors from Miskatonic University who had arrived here earlier.

After asking several base personnel who looked like technicians, Rhodes found them and Dr. Serizawa of the Kogito Foundation in the food area, which was filled with a large variety of food, mainly meat and fish.

The three professors surrounded the waiter, trying to get him to give them two more vegetables, but Dr. Serizawa was obviously more interested in the tofu next to them.

"It looks like you've adjusted to life here, professors."

Rod walked over, holding New Jersey's slender waist. His voice startled Professor William Dale. He turned around with a look of surprise on his face:

"Mr. Rhodes! I thought you wanted to chat with the base leaders for a while longer. Do you want to hear about our research results now?"

"If you don't mind."

Rhodes whispered a few words in New Jersey's ear, and the ship girl nodded and prepared to get some beef patties or Antarctic krill paste.

"There are indeed quite a few anomalous signal points in Antarctica," said Professor William Dale of the Department of Geology. He paused for half a second, his face filled with frustration. "And they're constantly changing, disappearing and reappearing, and the signal frequency is also uncertain. Long-term observations of the ice and rock layers are essential... This is a massive undertaking, Mr. Rod."

Hearing this, Rhodes didn't have much of a solution. He couldn't just go to Madagascar and catch four penguins to do the work, right?

Hearing Professor William muttering about having a few students forced to work after graduation, Rhodes helplessly turned his gaze to Professor Rick from the Biology Department, who had been planning to say something.

After considering his words for a while, Professor Rick came over and whispered:

"We've found an ancient 'body' trapped in the ice... A helicopter has been dispatched from the excavation site and will arrive before the snowstorm, if they can make it."

Corpse?

Rhode's eyebrows raised slightly. Just as he was about to say something, he saw a pop-up prompt from the system:

Side Quest: The Thing (2011)

Mission Description: Go to the Norwegian Station to resolve the supernatural incidents and completely eliminate the risk of infection spreading.

Taking a deep breath, Rhodes lowered his voice and threatened Professor Rick fiercely:

"When you get back, don't tell Vice President Armitage anything like 'Everywhere I go, trouble breaks out' or 'Nowhere I go is safe'... Professor Lake, you don't want your allowance and research funding to be in jeopardy, do you?"

Chapter 468: Santa Claus in Antarctica Likes to Drive F15C

Midnight Base, Airport.

Several snowplows and dozens of workers were quickly clearing the runway. The indicator lights on both sides had been turned on, and the bright yellow lights kept flashing in the light snow, like the eyes of a beast in the dark night.

An F15C fighter jet stopped at the edge of the runway and the canopy slowly lowered.

"Tower, notify the ground crew on the runway to evacuate. I'm preparing to depart," Rhodes said over the comms channel. He exhaled slowly and placed the [Shiting Box] on his lap. Glancing down at Alona, ​​who was fiddling with a map, Rhodes's lips curled up slightly, and he continued, "Major Peris Hernandez, don't forget my instructions."

"Be careful of the body being transported back, right?" Major Perris's voice was clear and loud, carrying the pride of a scion of the world's most powerful nation and a fiery passion to save human civilization. "We've accelerated the dinner, mobilized the soldiers, and prepared the researchers to take up their posts. You can only drink one sip of the wine, but there's plenty of hangover soup, boss."

"Be careful. The strange and changeable creatures of the other world would surprise even me."

"...The fact that you simply 'conjured' up a fighter jet is enough to astonish us, Boss. However, seeing is believing—this Aurora Mandarin is a bit difficult to pronounce. I'll have to ask Major Li to teach me more next time."

These words made Rhodes smile even more. Without saying anything else, he gave a thumbs up to the ground crew next to the fighter plane.

As the fighter plane began to taxi, Rhodes straightened the collar of his anti-G suit and said to New Jersey standing at the hangar door on the communication channel:

"Look after them for me, New Jersey."

"You're such a pushover... Why don't you stay here and let me go to that Norwegian research station?" the ship girl's words were filled with complaints. The great battleship still missed the brief moment when she and Rhodes rushed towards the evil god's phantom. Because of this, her cheeks were puffed up, and her beautiful face was flushed by the cold wind, but it was more like annoyance. "I still want to fight with you, just like before."

"You can't fly a fighter in bad weather. Rushing there will only delay... ahem. As for fighting, there will always be a chance."

Rod helplessly tried to comfort the restless ship girl, and at the same time sorted out the fragmented memories in his mind - compared with the losses at the Norwegian station, he was more worried about the alien spacecraft buried deep under the polar ice nearby, and the "corpse" that was about to be transported to the Midnight Base.

The system didn't describe the corpse in the side quest, so it probably had little to do with the Thing, but Rhodes still sincerely hoped it wasn't some serious thing.

However, if his plan to leave New Jersey as a backup base for the Midnight Sun didn't come into play... then his kidneys would suffer on the return journey.

Throwing aside the distracting thoughts in his mind, Rhode pushed the throttle forward, causing the fighter's engine to roar.

At the far end of the world, a blizzard stretched across the right side of the fighter plane like a swirling gray-white wall, slowly but inexorably pressing in. The light in the cockpit began to dim, and darkness swept in with an increasingly fierce howling wind.

The blizzard did not last long and its impact was not widespread, but it was deadly enough—any blizzard in Antarctica is fatal to humans—the low temperature had begun to spread inside the fuselage of the F15C fighter, and only the bright tail flame illuminated everyone's opportunities and worries.

Rhodes had no intention of rushing headlong into the blizzard recklessly. He would fly the fighter plane in an arc along its forward direction in order to avoid the sharp edge of nature's wrath as much as possible.

Everything is back on track, leaving only the determination to move forward!

Hundreds of kilometers away.

Everything has become chaotic, leaving only fear and confusion.

Kate Lloyd walked out of the laboratory of the Norwegian research station tiredly. Her mind was blank. Based on her research on the monster that killed a research station staff member last night, the characteristics of this monster made her spine chill - it could devour and absorb other species, imitate cells, and then completely become the victim's appearance.

To make matters worse, the blizzard had arrived early. Even if it passed quickly, it would still mean that the entire research station would have to stay with this terrifying monster for at least two days!

After the blizzard, how many real humans will be left? And based on the speed of this thing's assimilation, once it is released into human society...

Just imagining it made Kate feel desperate.

Walking towards the lounge where everyone was gathered in a daze, the paleontologist from Columbia University just wanted to tell others the news as soon as possible, but when she passed the bathroom, she noticed that the door was open and there was something on the table.

Walking in, Kate discovered it was a pool of blood-stained, gleaming dental fillings.

Suddenly, an unprecedented fear gripped Kate's heart, making her subconsciously want to throw away the things in her hands - but after taking a few deep breaths, she gritted her teeth, wrapped up the things, and almost rushed into the lounge, shouting to everyone inside:

"No one can leave here!"

"...We couldn't leave in the first place, Kate. The blizzard arrived early, and even the helicopter couldn't take off."

Adam Finch whispered. He was the one who introduced Kate to the team, and he witnessed the monster's horrifying assimilation characteristics with her yesterday!