Rebirth: Super Banking System Chapter 2456 - 2294: Greece Referendum

The following day.

In the early hours.

When they awoke, the group discovered that the icebreaker had reached the zone filled with ice floes. Ice chunks bumped against the vessel occasionally, yet it stayed steady without a shake.

Reinforced structure with exceptional toughness.

Besides that.

Even after repeated impacts over time, not a single tremor reached the passengers. Several folks gathered on the deck, munching snacks while taking in the sights, and Tang Qing mingled among them.

Even if the scenery started feeling repetitive.

Furthermore.

The previous evening.

He had slipped away via teleportation, hopping wildly across the floating ice. Tang Nian’er captured the footage once more, naming it: Check out these ice floes.

In the same way.

No images of the vessel or individuals appeared, just the natural landscape.

All of a sudden.

A flood of remarks poured in.

Including.

A few speculated if Tang Nian’er had truly shot the video in the polar areas, but replies remained few. The aurora could seem plausible, yet this was the drifting ice ocean.

For the most part.

Hardly anyone dares to explore such remote spots, especially not young women.

…

Before long.

Across the waves.

A bunch of adventurers began gliding on surfboards through the ice chunks, showing no fear of crashes since the smart controls would dodge them, even during mishaps.

Splash!

Tumbling into the sea.

Nothing serious.

Under the surface.

A huge underwater craft lingered nearby, and a Tianpeng drone hovered above the ship, guaranteeing protection. Right now, the participants savored the rush of racing over the water.

Snapping pictures.

Filming clips.

Sharing in chats.

That said.

They limited shares to relatives or tight-knit buddies to avoid it spreading far.

…

Over the next few days.

Floating ice.

Starting scattered, then growing thicker in number.

Eventually.

It formed an enormous frozen expanse, rendering sea-powered boards useless, though Tang Qing introduced an alternative—ice-powered boards.

Aboard the vessel.

Plenty of snow machines were available, plus scores of sled dogs. Yet, next to these old-school options, trying out Tang Qing’s advanced gadgets proved far more exciting.

Over the frozen ground.

Dozens zipped along on powered boards, etching paths through the icy plain. The biting chill froze their breaths onto their faces.

But that failed to cool their spirits.

Trailing them.

“Crack!”

“Sizzle!”

“Bang!”

The icebreaker kept smashing through the frozen layers. The noises of breaking, scraping, and colliding close by would drive anyone mad with irritation.

As a result.

Usually, when the ship moves forward, people choose to step off and enjoy activities, and it pauses for eating times since it can’t push much deeper anyway.

At present.

We’ve made it to the frozen field.

Still.

The ship’s top ice-crushing depth stands at just 1.4 meters, which might sound slim, but it ranks highly among similar vessels. Remember, these machines have their limits.

Typically.

Icebreakers use momentum from their engines to split the ice.

For deeper layers.

The angled bow lets the ship ride up on the ice, relying on its enormous mass to smash and snap the barrier in front.

And even denser ones.

Impossible to pass.

Can’t split open.

Unable to smash.

Huaxia’s biggest icebreaker handles ongoing breaks up to 1.2 meters of ice (factoring in 0.2 meters of snow), while the global best hits only 2.8 meters.

Thus.

On this voyage, the icebreaker manages the initial stretch. The rest demands leaving the ship for alternative rides, but luckily, they planned well.

This expedition rates as mere leisure travel.

…

January 11th.

Dawn.

Across the endless ice plain, the giant icebreaker came to a halt, its path marked by a trail of scattered floes, blocked by a solid thick ice wall further on.

Right then.

The vessel could go no farther.

Afloat.

Heavy lifting equipment craned containers down to the ice sheet, emptied their loads, then lifted the empty ones back aboard.

Quickly.

The space in front of the ship turned into a storage zone.

Engineering gear.

Provisions.

Rides.

And sled dogs yapping ‘Wangwang’.

“Let’s go!”

Ge Feng called out, sending the fleet into motion, close to thirty machines in total. Over the ice, the rides featured tracks and kept things light.

Leading the way.

A reconnaissance vehicle took point, with ten-meter probes sticking out on each side to spot weak ice or potential drops.

Surely.

Even facing a hole, it wouldn’t matter.

Since.

Every ride sported X-shaped steel bars underneath, spreading out wide, like adding a bridge span over the ice for added safety.

Inside the rides.

Cozy like springtime.

Warm drinks.

Climate control.

The harsh freeze outdoors left the interiors untouched. They were here for fun, though, and after covering tens of kilometers, they kicked off some races.

Shortly after.

A team of dashing sled dogs burst onto the scene across the ice.

Thrilling!

After all those days.

Confined to the ship.

Moreover.

Once they hit the icefield, folks dove into powered board fun, sidelining the dogs, but back in their natural turf, the animals burst with joy they couldn’t contain.

…

Right around now.

In Europe.

Greece.

Burdened by debts in the hundreds of billions of Euros, facing a year of calls to exit the union, and starved for funds with no lenders in sight, Greek leaders decided to smash the barriers.

They floated a scheme.

—-Skip repayment.

In a flash.

Greece gave it full backing.

Hah!

Keep scolding us.

Deny extra funds. We simply won’t pay back, let’s see if you keep acting tough! This idea stunned the European Union at first, then sparked fury.

Dodging payment?

You’re hallucinating.

You scoundrel.

A debt of hundreds of billions in Euros doesn’t vanish with a dodge. They figured Greece lacked the spine.

“Exactly.”

“Greece is all talk.”

“…”

Opinions slammed and then mocked, convinced Greece was posturing, intimidating for more cash, as if anyone would accept such nonsense.

Yet.

These barbs riled up Greece.

What?

Claim we’re just pretending?

Alright.

We’ll prove our resolve. The very next day, throngs of Greeks flooded the streets, as the leader boldly dropped a bombshell.

—-Public vote!

This year.

He felt drained too, unable to settle the bills, aiming to cut perks, but citizens resisted, demanding fresh loans while EU nations balked.

Stuck.

He’d been pushed to the edge as well.

Public vote.

Seen as a pressure tactic.

Come that time.

Should the outcome push against repayment, EU penalties would follow, leading to pleas of hardship, finger-pointing, and calls for help—you have to bail us out.

He figured.

The EU would step in.

Failing that.

Prolonging it.

Greece couldn’t cover salaries anymore. Note that in the Eurozone, Greece can’t mint its own currency. This crisis made nations wary of lending.

Paychecks.

Perks.

Retirement funds.

…

Fixed costs untouched.

Taxes?

Insufficient to cover them, given Greece’s flawed tax setup rife with dodging, so borrowing was their only path.

These days.

It’s barely hanging on.

Public vote.

Serving as their final push against the EU. The leader trusted the EU wouldn’t allow Greece to fall apart, since the debt mess involved everyone.

To avoid downfall.

Provide aid.

In this clash.

Greece was bound to prevail, as for the EU ignoring Greece and shoving it out, the leader saw the odds below one percent, virtually unthinkable.