Chapter 224: Chapter 224

Chapter 224: Ice Dome Research Base and the Arachnid Demons’ Specialties

Li Ye did not recall the fleet but instead kept it deployed in the surrounding sea area.

As for the fleet’s food, freshwater, and material supplies, the Tomorrow handled all resupply.

The Engineer dispatched Goblin Survey Vehicles to begin exploring for oil and natural gas fields within the region.

“So, are we heading deeper into the Polar Continent next, Alliance Leader?” Fang Yong asked.

Li Ye shook his head slightly.

For the time being, he had no such plan.

The Tomorrow Alliance needed to first establish a foothold in this Level 2 Zone.

The coastline must also be guarded against unforeseen events.

In the following days, he made a special trip to meet Whiteman.

“Bishop Whiteman, you mentioned that the Titan Throne has established a research base in the Polar Continent—where exactly is it located?”

Whiteman gave a faint smile.

He told Li Ye that the current Level 2 Zone they were in was called the Tundra Zone, and the research base he had visited before was located within it.

Hearing that, Li Ye was instantly delighted.

“I’d like to pay a visit to that research base—may I trouble you to guide me there?” he said.

The two boarded the Black Hawk Helicopter parked on the deck.

Before setting out for the Polar Continent, Li Ye had specifically asked the Engineer to help retrofit Tomorrow’s vehicles and firearms for frost resistance. After a week of effort, the modifications had been completed.

Before departure, Li Ye had reminded his companions and Lin Wu to stay cautious, promising that he would return soon if nothing unexpected occurred.

With Whiteman indicating the direction of the research base, the Black Hawk Helicopter took off.

The weather in the Polar Continent was bitterly cold.

Before Li Ye even closed the cabin door, the howling wind had rushed inside. The air he exhaled instantly froze into fine ice crystals, lingering in the cabin like a veil of mist.

An hour later, Whiteman spoke softly.

“We’ve arrived. Prepare to land.”

Li Ye, who had been dozing off, came to and looked ahead, spotting a towering mountain peak.

When he turned toward Whiteman with a questioning look, the latter nodded lightly.

The Titan Throne’s Level 3 Research Base—“Ice Dome.”

The entire main structure of the base was hidden within the mountain itself.

Thick rock layers and several kilometers of permafrost served as natural defenses, allowing it to withstand the Polar Continent’s most extreme blizzards and subzero temperatures.

After stepping off the helicopter, Whiteman chuckled and led Li Ye to a seemingly ordinary ice fissure.

“This is the entrance to the research base. Follow me inside.”

The two entered the fissure, while the pilot stayed behind to await further orders.

After walking several dozen meters into the icy crevice, Li Ye discovered that it was in fact an inclined tunnel stretching hundreds of meters long.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed surveillance cameras hidden above their heads.

When he looked up at one, it moved slightly—as if signaling acknowledgment.

“The people of the Titan Throne already know we’re here and are ready to receive us. An old friend of mine works here,” Whiteman reminded him. “If a monster were to intrude, it would be eliminated by the weapons hidden in the fissure.”

A few minutes later, they reached the end of the crevice.

There stood a massive mechanical gate.

Whiteman spread his arms and shouted toward it.

“Oleg! It’s me! Aren’t you coming out to greet your old pal?”

As if in response, the heavy gate slowly opened, revealing a burly silhouette.

It was a Western man in his fifties—tall, broad, and bear-like in stature. He wore a slightly faded white cold-weather suit and an ear-flap hat atop his head.

The two old friends embraced.

“Oleg, research staff of Ice Dome Base, Tier-7,” Whiteman introduced.

Before Li Ye could say anything, Oleg turned toward him.

“Hey, who’s this kid, Whiteman?”

Upon learning that Li Ye was the lord of a Level 3 City Alliance, Oleg’s expression immediately became serious—then somewhat excited.

“Can you tell me the scale of your City Alliance?” he asked eagerly, rubbing his hands together.

After Li Ye’s explanation, Oleg nodded in satisfaction.

“Not bad! That’ll do nicely! We’ve got plenty of work here waiting for someone to take on!”

“Work? What kind of work?” Li Ye was surprised.

Oleg waved him forward.

“Come on in—we’ll talk as we walk.”

Through Oleg’s explanation, Li Ye soon understood what this “work” entailed.

First, the underground kingdom of the Arachnid Demon Civilization in the Polar Continent had already drawn the Titan Throne’s attention. Several research bases across the continent were now investigating it. However, they lacked sufficient Mobile Cities and had begun recruiting external assistance.

Second, humanity had decided to launch a continent-level project called the Underground Hive Network. As the name implied, it involved constructing multiple underground cities connected through transport tunnels beneath the continent, to provide shelter for human forces gathered from the wastelands. The Tundra Zone, where the Tomorrow Alliance was currently based, was part of this plan.

Third, multiple Monstrous Civilizations from other continents were now heading for the Polar Continent via sea routes. The human side intended to block them from landing—and, if necessary, annihilate them.

As he had done many times before when reading intelligence, Li Ye quickly absorbed all this information.

He was just about to ask further when Oleg handed him a bottle of liquor.

“Drink first,” Oleg said, nodding toward him. “It’s freezing here. A drink will warm you up.”

Li Ye turned to Whiteman and saw that Oleg had already shoved a bottle into his hands too.

He didn’t bother refusing—he simply uncapped it and took a long swig.

The warmth spread through his body at once, though his head grew a little dizzy.

After a pause to gather his thoughts, he spoke again.

“Mr. Oleg, you said several Monstrous Civilizations are coming by sea—what exactly is going on?”

Oleg began to explain.

Over the past week, the Emperor Beast Jörmungandr had remained active everywhere, continuously causing earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions.

Entire continents were being thrown into chaos.

Both the surviving human forces and Mobile Cities in the wastelands, as well as the Monstrous Civilizations ruling them, were being forced to migrate in search of refuge.

Oleg emphasized that the majority of them were between Level 1 and Level 3.

Level 4 and higher Mobile Cities and Monstrous Civilizations were largely unaffected.

For the Level 1–3 refugees, the only option was to flee as far as possible—to other continents or across the oceans—away from Jörmungandr.

He also told Li Ye that the Southern Continent had been affected as well, suffering frequent earthquakes and tsunamis.

However, the scale there was not as devastating as that of the Donghua Continent or the Oceanic Continent.

At the mention of the Oceanic Continent, the bear-like man shrugged.

“Oh, that continent’s gone—it’s now the Oceanic Archipelago.”

Li Ye’s expression turned grim.

He was well aware of the Level 3 Monstrous Civilizations in the Southern Continent—

Werewolves, Ghouls, Frankenstein Monsters, Gargoyles, Hyenafolk, and Giants.

If any of those landed on the Polar Continent, chaos would surely follow.

He turned to Oleg again.

“Tell me, Mr. Oleg—are we humans going to strike indiscriminately at all those Monstrous Civilizations fleeing from the Southern Continent?”

Oleg merely shrugged.

He told Li Ye that humanity was far too overwhelmed at present to manage it all.

“Young man, don’t think that humanity’s world-class organizations have that many high-level Mobile Cities to call upon.”

He paused mid-sentence.

For the human side right now, the Tomorrow Alliance—which had “just so happened” to arrive at the Polar Continent—was exactly the manpower they desperately needed.

“Exploring the Arachnid Demon Civilization’s underground kingdom, constructing underground cities, blocking the Monstrous Civilizations coming by sea,” Oleg said, counting on his fingers, “—these are all things your alliance can handle.”

Li Ye didn’t rush to agree.

Of course, he was willing to contribute for the sake of his fellow humans and was glad to serve a world-class organization—but not without proper compensation.

“Before agreeing, I need to think carefully about what I want,” he thought.

Just then, a calm voice came from nearby.

“Oleg, are you sneaking alcohol again?”

Upon hearing that, Oleg’s face changed instantly, and his expression became that of a child caught red-handed.

Li Ye turned toward the voice and saw a person.

It was an elderly woman of East Asian appearance, around her sixties.

Her lab coat was old but meticulously clean and neatly pressed without a single wrinkle. Her hair, streaked with white, was tied into a bun behind her head. The wrinkles on her face looked like lines etched by time and sand, and paired with her calm expression, she exuded a quiet authority.

“This is Professor Lin Mei, chief supervisor of the Ice Dome Research Base, Tier-4,” Whiteman introduced softly.

Li Ye stepped forward to shake her hand and briefly introduced himself.

As they shook hands, Lin Mei looked at Oleg and sighed lightly.

“You had stomach surgery at headquarters just a few months ago, and now you’re drinking again?”

Oleg scratched his head apologetically.

“Sorry, Professor Lin. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Lin Mei shook her head slightly—it was clear she had heard that promise many times before.

Then she turned to Li Ye, her eyes brightening a little.

“A Level 3 City Alliance? Perfect, we’re short on manpower.”

Before Li Ye could speak, she added,

“Don’t worry, we won’t make you work for nothing. Think of your asking price first—we’ll review it and report to the higher-ups.”

Li Ye blinked, momentarily taken aback.

This little old lady was far more straightforward and decisive than he had expected.

Still, that was good—it saved him a lot of trouble.

After a few minutes of thought, he presented his conditions.

First, one copy of a Level 3 City Structure Blueprint.

Second, a complete collection of books on Nuclear Technology, Nuclear Power Plant Operations, Mobile Warrior Piloting, and Aircraft Carrier Piloting.

Third, Level 4 Nuclear Power Plant Blueprint, Level 4 Nuclear Bomb Blueprint, Level 4 Mobile Warrior Blueprint, Level 4 Nuclear Reactor Blueprint, plus several dozen random Level 3 Blueprints.

After hearing Li Ye’s proposal, Lin Mei shook her head slightly.

“Your vision is impressive, but your demands are quite excessive.”

After rounds of negotiation, Lin Mei only agreed to the first and second requests.

“The Level 4 Blueprints you’re asking for are indeed vital for a Level 4 City’s core development,” she explained seriously. “But their drop rate is extremely low. Even humanity’s Three Major Organizations don’t have many of them, and they’re tightly regulated. If you don’t mind, I can help you apply for a production license.”

Li Ye shook his head lightly.

For Mobile Cities, “building is always better than buying”—that was an eternal truth.

“Professor Lin, may I take it to mean that as long as the Tomorrow Alliance contributes enough, we’ll be able to earn these blueprints as rewards from the Three Major Organizations?” he asked.

Lin Mei paused, then nodded gently.

“That’s a fair way to put it.”

With the agreement reached, the Tomorrow Alliance was, in effect, officially recruited. Its affiliated Engineer would now be tasked with assisting in underground city construction.

“I should warn you,” Lin Mei added, “those nuclear technology books you requested won’t be easy to obtain. Before anything else, the Three Major Organizations will need to conduct a review of the Tomorrow Alliance.”

“That’s nothing to worry about, Professor Lin,” Whiteman said. “The higher-ups already have Tomorrow Alliance on record and regard it quite highly.”

“Oh? In that case, the review should be easy to pass.”

The group walked and talked as Lin Mei led Li Ye on a brief tour of the Ice Dome Research Base.

The base’s structure was composed of interconnected circular modules made of high-strength, cold-resistant steel.

These modules were strung together like pearls along the hollow rock walls of the mountain, connected by suspended metal corridors.

At the center lay the main control chamber, surrounded by laboratories, energy stations, farmland zones, breeding zones, and residential quarters for personnel.

The walls of the base were covered with embedded display screens, constantly monitoring various types of data from across the Polar Continent.

Among all the feeds, the most numerous were those tracking the Arachnid Demons.

Through the screens, Li Ye got his first clear look at these Level 3 monsters.

Each Arachnid Demon measured about fifty to sixty meters long. Their heads bore three pairs of irregularly arranged compound eyes, beneath which hung two pairs of constantly clacking mandibles lined with spiral-patterned crystalline teeth.

Their abdomens housed a specialized spinning organ system capable of producing various types of silk according to need.

For example, load-bearing silk with tensile strength a hundred times that of steel of equal mass.

Magnetic silk designed specifically to disrupt enemy vehicles and Mobile Cities.

Shape-memory metal silk that could sense heat and contract to strangle prey.

Acidic silk—a sticky, corrosive thread that could melt through armor.

Explosive silk—highly flammable and prone to detonation.

And camouflage silk, used to conceal their bodies by blending into the environment.

As he watched, Li Ye unconsciously slowed his steps, his eyes showing a hint of intrigue.

It was clear these specialized silks were evolutionary adaptations of the Arachnid Demons themselves.

The others stopped as well.

“Amazing creatures, aren’t they?” Oleg said. “Their Monstrous Civilization doesn’t even use vehicles or Mobile Cities.”

“Then how do they fight?” Li Ye asked. “Are individual Arachnid Demons that powerful?”

“Of course. A weak Monstrous Civilization couldn’t survive in the wastelands.”