Tong Wenshi was still pacing in circles as he said worriedly, "I haven't paid attention to exactly how many people we have at those three Antarctic research stations. This old man wasn't in charge of that before, either.
"But I can say for certain that there are at least a hundred people across the three stations. One of them is even a summer station. I don't know whether the people there are all right..."
"As for the number of people at other countries' research stations, I have absolutely no idea, but I reckon there must be at least a thousand."
Zhang Tianyuan said, "We only need to know roughly how many of our own people are there. As for other countries' research stations, we can't take on that much for now."
"Just bringing back the people at our three research stations will be hard enough."
Tong Wenshi added, "If we could send some supplies to the other research stations, that would be good too. We can't just watch them freeze to death on the Antarctica Continent."
Zhang Tianyuan nodded. "That should be doable. Now, the last question?"
Tong Wenshi thought back for a long time. "Whether any other countries' senior officials fled to Antarctica when the virus broke out-I really don't know."
"Social order was collapsing everywhere at the time. Even if senior officials really did flee to Antarctica, we had no time to pay attention."
Zhang Tianyuan frowned. "Then how likely do you think it is?"
Tong Wenshi said, "It's certainly possible, and the chances aren't small. It just depends on which country's senior officials we're talking about."
Zhang Tianyuan turned his gaze to the world map on the table. "Countries in South America and Oceania are closest to Antarctica. They're the most likely."
The busiest region in Antarctica was none other than the Antarctica Peninsula (image included).
This jutting peninsula was only 970 kilometers from the southernmost tip of South America. Whether by helicopter or by sea, reaching Antarctica was easy.
Precisely because transportation was convenient, many countries had established research stations here.
Their own country included.
For that same reason, senior officials from South American countries were the most likely to have fled to Antarctica for refuge.
Tong Wenshi leaned over too. "Those countries are indeed possibilities."
He pointed at North America on the map:
"Travel between North America and South America is also very convenient. They might well have gone to Antarctica along with them."
Zhang Tianyuan thought this was highly likely.
"President Tong, our country in this spacetime has a research station on the Antarctica Peninsula, right?"
Tong Wenshi said, "Yes. Our earliest station, No. 1 Research Station, is on the Antarctica Peninsula. It's the most convenient place to establish a research station."
He pointed at the Antarctica Peninsula.
"Although I don't usually follow Antarctic research, I can say for certain that other major powers have research stations here."
"Then let's go to the Antarctica Peninsula first. We can rescue our compatriots at No. 1 Station and check on other countries' research stations along the way."
Zhang Tianyuan considered that this should help him carry out his work abroad in Legend World. It would count as killing two birds with one stone.
His progress in Legend World certainly would not stop at his own country's borders.
There were still so many suffering countries and suffering people around the world. Their Mutual Aid Society ought to let the rain and dew fall on everyone equally.
As it happened, things at home were moving in a positive direction. It was time for him to go out and take a look, too.
This business in Antarctica was a good opportunity.
They might even pick up a few senior officials from other countries. That way, the Mutual Aid Society would have official recognition when entering those countries to provide disaster relief.
Zhang Tianyuan shared his thoughts with Tong Wenshi, who agreed. The two then began discussing the Antarctic rescue plan.
Only when the space station passed overhead again did Zhang Tianyuan and Tong Wenshi stop to speak with the astronauts. After exchanging some information, the call between Earth and space ended smoothly once again.
After that, the three astronauts were like babies crying for their mothers. Whenever they passed over the country without hearing a voice from the ground, they would become frightened and uneasy.
To reassure them, the communications team specifically brought out a backup set of equipment dedicated to receiving the space station's broadcasts.
Whenever the space station passed overhead, a psychologist would chat with the three people up there for a few minutes, or ten-odd minutes, both to relieve their boredom and to address their psychological problems.
Meanwhile, Zhang Tianyuan took Tong Wenshi back and forth across the Imperial Capital, using remote-controlled vehicles to storm office buildings one after another and retrieve all kinds of classified documents.
Along the way, the two also obtained the complete roster of Antarctic research personnel.
When the virus broke out, it had happened to be summer in Antarctica, a good time for scientific research.
So, at the country's two year-round stations and one summer station,
there had been a full 166 people in total.
They also obtained the latitude and longitude of their own country's research stations and those of other countries, along with practical knowledge of the routes.
Once all this was done, it was time for the monthly communication with the "2012" world.
Tong Wenshi returned to the grasslands by helicopter and began overseeing the camp's move south.
Zhang Tianyuan packed up, instructed Bai Xu and Yin Hongda to continue clearing the Imperial Capital, and then returned to the shelter in "2012" with a batch of new documents and several intelligence personnel.
Just like last time, Zhang Tianyuan and his party drew everyone's attention the moment they appeared in the shelter.
They had only just finished disinfection when Zhang Tianyuan received a phone call from the senior leadership of "2012," greeting him.
Zhang Tianyuan wasted no time either. After exchanging greetings, he got straight to the point.
"I have some new information to share with you."
"Please go ahead, President Zhang."
"While we were in No. 2 Spacetime this time, we unexpectedly received a distress signal from the International Space Station. Although it's been over a year since the apocalypse, three astronauts are still alive aboard the station."
The other side showed no surprise at this, instead immediately asking:
"Do you mean you want to bring them down, President Zhang? What do you need us to do?"
"At the very least, we need a professional spaceflight team that can use the equipment over there to restore satellite operations and monitoring. Only then can we help the three astronauts return to Earth.
"But as for exactly how to do it, you'll need to go over there, learn the basic situation, and then make a judgment. To be honest, the people in No. 2 Spacetime can't offer much help with this anymore."
"We understand. This is only a small matter for us."
The senior leadership of "2012" thought nothing of it.
It was merely a matter of sending one more spaceflight team.
They had already mobilized five hundred thousand people. Adding a few more would hardly make a difference.
"Mm-hmm. Then let me thank you on behalf of those three astronauts in No. 2 Spacetime."
Zhang Tianyuan poured a glass of water and took a sip before continuing:
"Also, President Tong and I suspect that quite a few researchers are still alive at the Antarctic research stations in No. 2 Spacetime. Not just ours, but other countries' too."
He paused. "And most importantly, we suspect that senior officials from North America and South America may be taking refuge there..."