Sure enough, at this meeting, all personnel were present. Besides some professors, there were also students they might bring, altogether numbering several dozen people. Including crew members and foundation staff, there were at least a hundred people in total.
The people from the NDP Foundation also expressed their eagerness and stated that they would not overly interfere with the expedition plans. Equipment would be shipped to the school in advance for inspection, demonstrating their sincerity. The school had no reason to refuse, thus the expedition team heading to the South Pole was officially established.
In the meeting, many details were discussed, mainly raised by Professor Dale with the foundation staff providing answers, mostly concerning equipment and supply security. For veteran expeditioners like Professor Dale, he understands the importance of supply security. If not pressed for time, he even considered leading a fleet to pre-set provisions, exemplifying extreme caution.
Meanwhile, engineering professor Frank showcased his latest research achievement—a super drill designed specifically for underground and rock wall exploration, reportedly capable of penetrating all currently known geological conditions.
Professors of biology and physics mainly demonstrated their academic prowess. Unsurprisingly, Dexter was chosen, a decision made by the NDP Foundation, reflecting Nya's character of preferring Black men, as he himself has many Black avatars.
As discussions continued, they moved on to the topic of animals.
Professor Dale spoke up: "We need to bring a dog and several cats; the dog is primarily for night guard duties and pathfinding, while cats are for catching mice in the cabin, which is a sailor's tradition. Additionally, I'd like to bring a bird to transmit messages, as we shouldn't rely too heavily on radio equipment. I hope the foundation can ensure supplies for our animal partners as well."
It was clear that Professor Dale had a prepared speech because many couldn't understand why animals were needed for expeditions. However, years of exploration experience taught Professor Dale the importance of having animals on the team.
First, dogs—almost every expedition team worldwide brings guard dogs. On one hand, they venture into remote wilderness where wild animals might be present; large dogs can help fend off wolves and black bears. On the other hand, dogs have keen senses, assisting exploration teams in finding their way back to the camp.
As for cats, they are rarely taken on land expeditions but necessary at sea, as cabins can have rats. Severe rat infestations might even lead to food shortages for the entire ship. Moreover, sailors face high psychological pressure, and cats can soothe emotions. During the Age of Sail, this became a tradition.
Regarding birds, many ships have parrots as mascots. Some train frigate birds for surveying sea conditions, island discovery, and occasionally, pigeons are brought along for entertainment, though they can't reliably transmit messages on long voyages.
Unexpectedly, the foundation people agreed readily, much to Professor Dale's surprise. Often, sponsors demand budget cuts, with animals being cut first, forcing Professor Dale to elaborate on why bringing cats and dogs was essential.
Dr. Henry gave Professor Dale a knowing glance. Clearly, the foundation knew these cats were rather unique. Without them, they wouldn't be pleased.
"Please don't worry," said the foundation staff, "The budget for this expedition is very substantial. We can meet all the expedition team's needs. This is just an initial exploration; there's no need for excessive pressure. Even determining the surrounding terrain is sufficient."
The professors exchanged glances, sensing something amiss. Considering what the foundation provided, they requested very little. This wasn't good because it implied significant danger, even in merely surveying the surroundings; otherwise, they wouldn't speak in such a tone.
The seasoned professors present, not the impulsive young ones who rush eagerly upon hearing of unlimited budget, knew there's no free lunch. The more provided by the other side, the more essential survival needs where they are, making survival harder.
Though they said nothing outright, alarm bells rang in their minds, urging them to carefully ponder the details, striving for perfection, using the unlimited budget to increase their survival odds to the utmost.
After the meeting with the foundation ended, the professors held a small meeting, mainly discussing that the foundation must have ulterior motives. Henceforth, their fate lay in the hands of destiny. Everyone proposed survival plans, then combined them to select the best one.
Each returned to study, reconvening the next day, but differences emerged in approach. Some favored full-force assault, loading all equipment to the maximum, swift in and out; Frank exemplified this group. Others preferred caution, establishing bases every hundred meters, inching forward; naturally, Professor Dale led this group.
However, both remained calm, avoiding arguments, understanding each other's reasoning. Frank's idea was that given survival difficulty, one shouldn't survive too long. Charge in, gather as much data as possible. Even if little is obtained, the foundation couldn't fault their effort, since at least they showed willingness.
Professor Dale thought, didn't the foundation say there's an unlimited budget? Then let's plan with an unlimited budget, setting up a temporary base every two hundred meters, and we won't believe there will be any problems. If we run out of supplies, we'll use the ship to transport; if there's no ship, we'll use a plane; if the plane can't make it, we'll just have people carry things over. This place can't be so formidable—just bring in tens of thousands of people, and they won't be able to make waves.
Everyone quite agreed with Professor Dale's plan. Whatever else, at least it sounds very reassuring. Plainly put, the scariest thing about horror films is that the environment is too vast with too few people. Silent Hill needs to be silent; if you bring an entire army there, no horror film can be shot.
Given the unlimited budget, why send just a few people on an adventure? We should organize a global expedition to the South Pole; everyone goes together. If there really are monsters, each person can stomp one flat.
But obviously, such an extreme plan couldn't be submitted as is—there's too much sheep-shearing intent, and if it angers the foundation, that wouldn't be good. So the professors of politics and economics optimized it.
It's no wonder Mi Da produces talents; the optimized plan turned out so well that even Shiller couldn't find any faults with it. On the surface, it seems like a very ordinary Antarctic expedition procedure. The first fleet contains three ships; the needed supplies aren't excessive. The tricky part is the plane, which needs to be assembled with parts onsite.
However, the key lies in realizing the subsequent support. They plan to send a ship every half month. This doesn't sound excessive, but the type of ship and supplies onboard weren't clearly specified—just that it would be dispatched according to the expedition team's current conditions. So if they ask for a freighter, you have to send one, right?
Superficially, once at the South Pole, everything falls under the foundation's control. But in reality, the expedition team gains speech power because they'll decide what can be found, whether it can be brought back, and whether further exploration is possible.
The foundation has invested so much; they need to see some results. So they can only strive to meet the expedition team's needs. But Nya certainly considered this too; he just doesn't care. He can create such a large organization, so obviously money isn't the issue. He needs those things from Antarctica more than currency from human society.
The final plan was looked over by Shiller and Bat Cat, and they found no issues, so everyone started packing. It was quite a grandiose sorting job. Henry wanted to move the whole library onto the ship and shove all related data onto Professor Dale, even secretly slipping him an old seal.
Shiller didn't hold out too much hope for this thing. The old seal is targeted—it can't deal with everything just by using one—and that thing from the South Pole probably isn't an Outer God. Otherwise, Nya's avatar wouldn't need humans to go. But bringing it along can serve as psychological comfort.
Besides arming humans, of course, they had to arm cats and dogs. Dr. Henry prepared a set of cotton clothing, casual wear, and even sportswear for Shiller. The most absurd thing was the cotton clothing even covered the tail. Dr. Henry said while trying it on Shiller, "Your tail just recovered recently. If it's not kept warm well, it'll hurt in cold temperatures."
Shiller was annoyed and kept scratching the ground; he could somewhat understand why cats dislike wearing clothes, or say for furry creatures, their fur is their clothing. Adding another layer felt like something constantly rubbing against their fur, which was incredibly uncomfortable.
But Dr. Henry was very persistent on this issue, even giving Shiller a wool scarf and almost wanting to wrap his muzzle, along with paw covers, the upper parts made of cashmere and the lower parts with rubber pads, just to prevent frostbite.
Shiller wasn't keen on wearing them, but the other cats were rather thrilled, spinning around in front of the mirror after donning their clothes. Even Bat Cat was intrigued; no one had ever tried to dress him before.
Including the Kents, as farmers, they had cats and dogs aplenty and knew well the personalities of cats and dogs. They understood that cats won't be easily handled, and Kansas State was not cold—even dogs needed shearing in summer, so clothing wasn't a necessity and naturally wasn't considered.
Peter liked clothing because of the color coordination. Dr. Henry took his red-green Christmas sweater, tailored it into a cat outfit, and even sewed a small tie at the collar. Peter adored the outfit, wearing it and refusing to take it off.
Little Superman shared Shiller's dislike for the feeling of fabric against the skin, but he still loved to show off. He wore a white cashmere sweater and squeezed with Peter in front of the mirror, complaining about needing a pair of black-rimmed glasses.
Constantine was entirely indifferent; among cat personalities, he was a typical lazy cat. He didn't care how someone held or rubbed him, as long as he got his meals on time and could sip tea, he could nap all day.
Shiller looked disdainfully at the down jacket in front of him; the style was decent, but the color wasn't too appealing—not only was it patterned, but it was leopard print. Yet soon, he heard Dr. Henry say, "I heard cats like bright and complex patterns. White fur makes cats ostracized, but if you wear something like a leopard, cats will adore you, right?"
Shiller sighed, leapt quietly onto Dr. Henry's lap, allowing him to dress him in the jacket and put on the scarf.