Chapter 33 33: Amundsen–Scott Station

— — — — — — The stronger the plot armor of those with "main character luck," the easier things turned out for everyone currently on the same side as them in the group. So while people might complain about it now and then, the group was more than happy to let the "main character buff" do its thing. --- After leaving the Arafura Sea and flying for a few more hours, Veyron finally arrived at the Antarctic continent. (Antarctica is the fifth-largest continent, being about 40% larger than Europe.) "...There probably won't be any enemies left here for the girls besides the cold itself, huh?" Looking over the Antarctic map Merlin pulled up, Veyron couldn't help but be surprised. "Seems like the extreme cold has a way bigger effect on the undead than we expected," Merlin nodded in agreement. On the map she projected, the entire continent only had a few hundred red dots—markers representing active undead. But besides those red dots, there were countless blue ones. Those were undead too, just ones that had gone into hibernation due to the extreme cold. Veyron clicked his tongue. First, the group had it easy getting together and escaping from Tokonosu City. Then, they got handed a fully-stocked military base with no annoying U.S. forces or anything left to worry about. And now, the clearing work in Antarctica had already been prepared in advance... It was obvious—this world's will was doing everything it could to protect the last seeds of humanity. The only thing bugging him was... if even main heroines like Busujima Saeko and Miyamoto Rei were being protected like this, then what the hell happened to Takashi Komuro, the male lead? How did he just drop off the map? Doesn't this world need a man or something? ... "Stick to the plan?" Merlin asked. "The number of active undead is way lower than we expected. Let's go with our first plan—the one we discussed on the way here." "Clean up the ones still moving first," Veyron said after a short pause. "As for the hibernating ones, we can deal with those after we pick a base and get a proper setup." "Got it~" Merlin chirped, tapping her staff on the map. The blue dots representing hibernating undead vanished, leaving only the red ones. The map then zoomed in based on their current viewpoint. Following the minimap, Veyron flew toward the closest red dot. Once he reached the target, Veyron didn't waste time on flashy moves. From high in the sky, he sent out a flying slash toward the zombie he'd already locked onto with Observation Haki, then moved straight to the next target. Five... ten... fifteen... twenty... In just under two days, all the red dots on Merlin's minimap had been wiped clean. When she switched the map to show the blue dots again, there was now a clear "vacuum zone"—a ring where the red dots used to be. 『Ordinary Person: Done. Clean sweep.』 Back in an area still bathed in sunlight, soaking in the warmth and fully recharging thanks to his photosynthesis trait, Veyron opened up the group chat and reported his progress. 『Earth's Cancer: !!』 『Earth's Cancer: I know you said there were way fewer undead in Antarctica than we thought, but to clear it this fast...』 『Earth's Cancer: Damn, that's fast!』 『Ordinary Person: How about your side? Did they decide which one yet?』 By "which one," he meant—which research station. Compared to a bunch of survivors with no Antarctic experience trying to build a survival base from scratch, everyone in the group agreed it was better to just repurpose one of the existing Antarctica research stations built by actual experts. So while Veyron was busy clearing out the undead, Merlin had already compiled a list of research stations that could be quickly fixed up and used. She'd sent that list back to Tokonosu City for the survivors to choose from. 『Earth's Cancer: They picked the Amundsen–Scott Station.』 『Ordinary Person: Whoa~』 『Ordinary Person: I figured they'd go for something like McMurdo Station.』 Amundsen–Scott and McMurdo were both U.S.-run Antarctic research stations. The one they picked—Amundsen–Scott Station—was located at the South Pole, literally the southernmost point on Earth. It could support up to 200 researchers and 50 winter residents. It had everything from workspaces and entertainment facilities to medical support. It even had a greenhouse for growing vegetables and flowers. And yes, internet access was still a thing. All in all, a solid pick. But there's that old saying: "Compare yourself to others, and you'll never be happy. Compare your things to others, and nothing will ever be good enough." McMurdo Station was the biggest research facility in Antarctica. It had over 200 buildings, including several three-story ones, a full-scale airstrip for large aircraft, a huge desalination plant, and a complete repair facility... It was the main hub for all U.S. Antarctic research and the logistics base for every other American station on the continent. Its infrastructure was better than a lot of small cities. 『Lady Avalon: Maybe they were a bit shocked by that intel we sent over?』 『Lady Avalon: Anyway, it doesn't really matter which one they choose. With our help—moving supplies and setting up the basics—they don't need to worry about survival logistics.』 『Ordinary Person: Makes sense.』 "Wait...," Veyron muttered, "Chika being on the other side of the planet, we have to talk through the group chat, but you—" He glanced at Merlin perched on his shoulder, "—you're literally right next to me." "Obviously! It's more dramatic this way~☆" She even winked at him when he turned to look. . . .