Chapter 581: A surprise from Earth
Military technology often advanced far faster during war than in peacetime, especially in an era when humanity had stockpiled cutting-edge technology for years and then added entirely new technological breakthroughs.
Even before the Dark Tide, designs similar to equipment seen only in human science-fiction films had already existed in the laboratories of the major powers, at least at the simulation stage. In theory, all of them were feasible.
Why, then, had human soldiers usually carried the same familiar equipment? The answer, of course, was cost.
If a set of equipment could raise a soldier's combat capability to one and a half times, or even two or three times, that of an ordinary soldier, that was naturally excellent. But if producing that set cost as much as dozens of ordinary sets, it simply was not economical.
Under the pressure of an apocalypse, however, the word "cost" lost almost all significance. Everything served a single ultimate purpose: victory!
The armed forces of the major nations were now replacing their equipment more frequently than ever, and the divisions dispatched to the Otherworld on this expedition naturally carried the latest models.
Evolvers' equipment was mostly tailored to the individual, and they rarely wore fully enclosed helmets. Ordinary soldiers' gear actually looked more high-tech.
Ordinary soldiers had more comprehensive protection: Holographic Tactical Helmets, fitted military uniforms beneath composite bulletproof plates, and close-fitting backpacks containing air filtration and storage units, spare ammunition, and other equipment. Altogether, they looked a little like soldiers from a science-fiction film.
The complete set of individual equipment weighed around fifteen to thirty kilograms. Given the physical conditioning of these elite human soldiers, that was an easy load to carry, ensuring that prolonged combat would not drain too much of their stamina.
Naturally, this equipment was