Chapter 3602: The End of the World

The sky-filling media reports and the online public praise left Helena and the entire Nordic government delighted; no one expected that seizing this opportunity would amplify their influence to such an extent.

Online, besides applauding Helena's decisiveness and bravery this time, many people also reviewed her series of actions since her ascension, looking back at her journey, and found that this young and beautiful empress had left a solid footprint every step of the way.

Beautiful, composed, efficient, and just, Helena nearly possessed all the virtues a royal family desires, and her prestige naturally rose with the tide.

The mastermind behind all this, Ye Chen, had at this moment silently landed in the southernmost port city of Argentina, called Ushuaia, the End of the World.

After Ye Chen and the three beauties landed together at Ushuaia Airport, the four of them cleared customs smoothly as Nordic citizens.

The staff of the Nordic research vessel were already waiting outside the airport at this time.

The message he received was that several Nordic meteorologists wanted to temporarily board their vessel to sail to the Antarctic continent, where they would install a batch of climate detection equipment before returning by ship.

He said this because the Nordic research station itself is not a year-round station; if someone were to say they wanted to stay here for the winter right away, to these researchers it would almost be tantamount to suicide, so they might discuss it upon receiving the news, and even if Ye Chen wanted to resolve the issue with psychological suggestion, he would not have time.

Ye Chen's Nordic identity was named Jimmy Lewis; he and the three beauties had just cleared customs when, at the exit, he saw a middle-aged man holding a sign with the English words "Jimmy Lewis," so he walked up and said, "Hello, I am Jimmy Lewis."

Seeing that the arriving meteorology expert was of Asian appearance, and all four people were Asian, the man was momentarily surprised and stammered, "Are you Mr. Lewis? Then… these three should be the other three experts in your team, right?"

Since the Nordic countries are not immigrant nations, Asian tourists are common, but Asian immigrants are rare, and the meteorology department is not like the power sector where Asians have a strong advantage, so the arrival of four Asian meteorologists at once seemed truly unbelievable to this pickup staff member.

Ye Chen smiled and said, "That's correct, the four of us are the ones boarding the ship; may I ask when our vessel will depart?"

The man came to his senses and explained, "Mr. Lewis, our research vessel is currently docked at Ushuaia Port awaiting fuel and supplies; the original departure time was set for seven o'clock in the morning three days from now, but due to recent strong winds and waves in the Drake Passage, we may need to wait here two more days until the seas calm before we can set sail."

Adding to this, he quickly said, "By the way, Mr. Lewis, you four can come with me to the dock to board the ship shortly; we have prepared four cabins for you, the research vessel has a large tonnage and better hardware facilities, and since this voyage is mainly about transporting people, there are few aboard, making it relatively quiet and comfortable."

Because reaching Antarctica requires passing through the Devil's Wind Belt, where winds and waves are nearly the strongest in the world, Antarctic research vessels from all countries use large-tonnage hulls capable of withstanding stronger seas, with displacements basically over ten thousand tons; such tonnage ships have ample internal space, carrying not only large amounts of fuel and research equipment but also accommodating at least over a hundred people; since few are coming this time, the cabins are naturally very spacious.

Ye Chen originally thought it would be better to first find a comfortable hotel in Ushuaia to stay for a few days, then go to the port to board the ship before departure.

But upon second thought, although Wu Feiyan's plane had never come to Ushuaia, always shuttling between Buenos Aires and places worldwide, this location is not far from Buenos Aires, essentially already within the territory of the Broken Qing Society; whether it was himself, Lin Wanan, or Yun Ruoyue and Song Ruoyu, they are all targets the Broken Qing Society urgently seeks, so drawing too much attention is unwise, and Asian faces are already rare here, let alone four Asian faces together, which would be even more conspicuous.

Thus, Ye Chen agreed to the suggestion; after collecting all their luggage, the four of them carried their bags and boarded the minibus he had driven here, heading straight for Ushuaia Port.

The four of them brought a total of ten suitcases, most of which were prepared by Lin Wanan with Helena's help; she knew Ye Chen, Yun Ruoyue, and Song Ruoyu would mostly spend their time cultivating, so for them time would pass like a snap of the fingers, whereas she herself would have to endure the severe cold of the polar night for several months, so her luggage naturally required more preparation.

In March, Ushuaia is in autumn, with relatively pleasant temperatures; on the road Ye Chen saw many backpackers, each carrying huge and professional packs, most of which used extremely bright colors, decorating the streets in a distinctive way.

Ye Chen curiously asked the middle-aged pickup man, "Are these backpackers all tourists heading to Antarctica?"

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "These backpackers are tourists who have just withdrawn from the Antarctic continent and the South Shetland Islands before winter arrives; the Antarctic tourism season runs from November to March each year, only these four months see commercial expedition cruise ships heading to Antarctica; after this season, all such ships cannot enter the Drake Passage; now it's late March, almost the last window for withdrawal; after these tourists return to Ushuaia, some will fly directly out of Argentina, while others will choose to stay and play in Argentina before leaving."

He then added, "As the most important gateway to the Antarctic continent, Ushuaia handles over ninety percent of Antarctic tourist transfers, so its tourism industry is highly developed, accounting for forty percent of the local gross product, with half the city's jobs dedicated to serving ships and tourists traveling to and from Antarctica, and at least one hundred thousand people depart from here to Antarctica each year."

He continued, smiling, "However, it is not currently the peak tourist season for this small town, because the Antarctic continent is about to enter winter polar night; ordinary tourists will gradually withdraw from Antarctica over the next half month, and many professional staff from summer research stations have already begun to leave; our team will also need to return from Antarctica by early April, so the time we have to handle the equipment may be only three days, at most no more than five."

Ye Chen asked him, "If the ship departs from Ushuaia, how many days will it take to reach our research station?"

The man thought for a moment and said, "If fast, possibly two and a half days; if slow, three and a half days."

Ye Chen then asked, "Are the other research stations around our station summer stations or year-round stations?"

The man replied, "The station we are going to is near the Antarctic interior; within a radius of several tens of kilometers, almost all are European stations, and all are summer stations, because in Antarctica, the further inland one goes, the harsher the environment becomes, so those year-round stations are mostly built on the Antarctic Peninsula and its surrounding islands."

Ye Chen felt somewhat relieved; before coming, he had checked the Antarctic winter climate, knowing that Antarctica's climate is strange: here, after entering polar night, it becomes so cold that even air currents are greatly restricted, so during polar night, the Antarctic continent rarely sees wind or snow, almost entirely consisting of extreme cold, clear, endless long nights, whereas summer in Antarctica brings strong winds and heavy snow.

The Antarctic winter night is that of minus eighty-plus degrees, with no wind and no snow, a sky full of stars and auroras coexisting, silent to the extreme.

In such an extremely cold yet clear environment, visibility certainly will not be poor; under the stars and auroras, visibility is at least several kilometers; if there were other countries' year-round stations nearby, a few people coming and going might not be very convenient, but if only the four of them remained within a radius of several tens of kilometers, everything would become much simpler.