The system is four years ahead of schedule, but Weird is still a cub.

As "Iron Heart" began its rapid development, this steel city that moves on the sea has completely changed its appearance.

The once rusty outer shell is now covered by a smooth and tough "flesh-and-blood alloy";

On the city's outskirts, rows of defensive matrices composed of "bone spears and giant crossbows" and upgraded "electromagnetic steam cannons" exuded a chilling killing intent.
At the top of the city, dozens of towering "thunder-guiding sails" slowly rotate, drawing wind and electricity for the city.

Inside the city, the first batch of "Raider" warriors have completed all their training and are officially in service.

The three-dimensional ecological farm has entered its third harvest season, and the "armored tuna" has been successfully mass-produced, completely solving the problem of food and nutrition for everyone.

Inside the "Iron Heart Academy," the sound of children reading aloud could be heard.

Everything is thriving.

On this day, as usual, Shen Ge was on the top floor of the Central Council Hall, immersing his consciousness into the "Eye of the Prophet," which was integrated with the entire city, in an attempt to observe the boundless sea.

After months of continuous optimization and upgrades by Hephaestus and the Hermes biocomputer, the detection capabilities of the "Eye of the Prophet" are now vastly different from what they used to be.

It is no longer just a passive "sea chart", but more like a mysterious information scanning array covering a large area of ​​the sea.

"Hermes, retrieve all 'spatial distortion' records from the past year in area Alpha-001, also known as the 'Tomb of Hypnos' sea. Cross-compare all the data with our navigation log and the 'energy markers of the Ark Zero wreckage' that I provided."

This is the work that Shen Ge has been doing every day for months.

He firmly believed that with the deaths of the two Ghost King-level beings, the multiple ghost spaces would inevitably show signs of collapse, and that by following the cracks, one might be able to find the place where the Zero Ark sank.

[Command received, retrieving data...]

[Spatial distortion records, totaling 1478952...]

[Navigation log has been imported...]

The 'Zero Ark' energy marker has been designated as the highest priority...

[Initiating "triple cross-comparison," simulation and deduction in progress...]

The voice of "Hermes" echoed continuously in the control room.

[Warning: New "coordinate singularity" detected!]

A sea chart composed of countless strange energy fluctuations unfolded before Shen Ge's eyes.

The three lines of different colors represent the locations where "The Tomb of Hypnos" appeared, the location where "Iron Heart" was involved, and the location where "The City of Reflections" appeared—three seemingly unrelated "random" coordinates.

After Hermes performed a "dimensional folding" simulation, the "crack" was successfully located, thus pinpointing the location recorded by the detector provided by Shen Ge.

"Order to convene the highest-level emergency meeting of the ruling council!"

As Shen Ge relayed the order, within just ten minutes, officials from "Iron Heart" and staff related to "Eye of the Prophet" gathered in the central council chamber of the main control room.

When Shen Ge projected the new 3D sea chart of the "coordinate singularity" in front of everyone, Alai and the others immediately recognized the place that had left them with deep fear.

"Sir, should we... go back?" Alai asked.

Shen Ge nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone present: "Because that place is not only our original 'home,' but also where 'Pioneer' technology, which is older and more advanced than the 'Rusty Heart,' is buried. More importantly, there is something there that I must retrieve. Something that may be related to the ultimate fate of all of us."

"understand!"

"understand!"

Even though Alai was terrified of that terrifying island, he wouldn't question Shen Ge's orders. Back then, Shen Ge had managed to take them away from there all by himself. Now, with the "Iron Heart" back, he believed that even if they encountered that terrifying Ghost King again, they would still have the strength to fight!
Ten days later.

When "Iron Heart" arrived at the target sea area according to the coordinates given by the Eye of the Prophet, everyone was somewhat at a loss because of the empty sea in front of them.

There are no islands here, nor any signs of spatial distortion, only a calm, somewhat eerily blue expanse.

Shen Ge arrived at the deck of the command tower. He used his "mysterious eye" to "look" into the deep sea thousands of meters below and soon saw an "island" in the pitch black.

That was the island body abandoned by the "Demon King" who was nurtured on the island, and also the "main body" of the "Pioneer" underground base.

With the target confirmed, the next step was for "Iron Heart" to begin deep-sea salvage operations.

Because the Zero Ark, which Shen Ge cared about most, was buried below, Hephaestus personally took charge of this salvage operation.

"Immediately activate the 'Iron Heart' transformation protocol. All non-combat personnel shall temporarily enter the highest level of internal security zone. All warriors involved in this operation must wear my newly designed 'Deep Dive Pressure Suit'." Hephaestus's order was calm and clear.

"Kyle, Roca, your 'Raiders' First Squad will be the first wave, responsible for clearing out all deep-sea anomalies in the operational area."

"Alai, Ellie, you two will be in charge of directing the engineering robots to carry out the first phase of the 'digging' work."

"First squad, attack!" Kyle's voice came through the communicator.

Ten black "Raider" armored vehicles, modified for deep-sea pressure resistance, were ejected from the gate at the bottom of the "Iron Heart." Their thrusters spewed out blue airflow, and they began to quickly clear away the unsuspecting deep-sea monsters.

Immediately afterwards, hundreds of "engineering robots" resembling giant crabs, under the remote control of the engineering department, wielded huge mechanical clamps and high-pressure water jets to begin the first phase of excavation and clearing of the hundreds of meters thick seabed silt burying the "Pioneer" research base.

However, the excavation work was fraught with unimaginable difficulties from the very beginning.

Thousands of meters below the surface, the seabed silt, under terrifying water pressure, becomes as viscous and heavy as semi-solidified asphalt.

The water jets from the engineering robot's high-pressure water jets can only barely carve out shallow trenches on the surface, which are quickly covered again by the surrounding silt.

Each grab of the enormous mechanical clamp felt like sinking into a sticky quagmire.

Hephaestus stared at the infuriatingly slow excavation progress on the screen, sweating profusely with anxiety: "At this rate, it will take at least two or three months just to clear the outer layer."

Three months is an unbearable time cost for an operational platform like theirs, which is deep behind enemy lines and isolated and without support.

Any unexpected event could wipe them out completely.

However, an "accident" even more troublesome than the silt came faster than anyone anticipated. "Warning! High-density biosignal cluster detected, rapidly approaching from all directions!"

A sharp warning sound echoed throughout the command center.

On the radar screen of the "Prophet's Eye," countless red dots that had detected the eerie power were swarming towards their brightly lit "uninvited guests" from the deeper darkness, like a school of piranhas drawn by the smell of blood!

"Kyle! Roca!"

Hephaestus's voice came through the control center: "Activate the 'Meat Grinder' contingency plan. Let our neighbors witness the hospitality of the 'Iron Heart'."

"Roger that! We've been waiting for this moment!" came the excited and battle-ready voices of the two brothers from the communicator.

The deep-sea platform that "Iron Heart" was deployed to instantly transformed from a quiet engineering base into an armed fortress!
The muzzles of the "bone spear crossbows" and "electromagnetic steam cannons" that had retracted during the dive slowly re-emerged from beneath the heavy armor plates, their deep muzzles aimed at the surrounding darkness.

The hundreds of enormous tentacles beneath the city, originally used for propulsion and fixation, with their drill bits and fixing claws at the top, rapidly deformed and reassembled into incredibly sharp "hunting tentacles"!
At that moment, countless black shadows, like a tidal wave, rushed into the range of the searchlight!

It was a strange creature from the deep sea, resembling a combination of a giant leech and a centipede, entirely black with countless segments and mouthparts.

Most of them are between three and five meters in size, belonging to the second or third tier, but their numbers are too numerous to count!

Like an endless swarm of bloodthirsty locusts, they swarmed towards the "Iron Heart's" energy shield!

"Fire!"

Roca gave the order!
"boom--"

"boom!"

The "bone spear giant crossbow" fired first.

One after another, ten-meter-long, ferocious bone spears, reinforced with "flesh-blood alloy," were accelerated by powerful electromagnetic forces, leaving long, bubble-like trails as they shot into the black beast tide!
Wherever the bone spear passed, the fragile carapaces of those strange creatures were easily pierced and torn apart, as if they were made of paper.

Each bone spear, like a skewer of meat, pinned seven or eight bizarre creatures together, their immense kinetic energy still undiminished, carrying their corpses as they plunged into the distant seabed silt!
Next up was the "electromagnetic steam gun".

After improvements by Ellie's team, the new generation of turrets no longer fires ordinary solid shells, but rather "plasma shells" that are coated with a high-voltage electric arc by an internal "bio-battery" the moment they leave the barrel!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Dozens of shells coated with blue plasma exploded in the densest part of the beast tide, and terrifying electric arcs formed "death grids" with radii of over 100 meters in the conductive seawater.

All the strange things shrouded in the electric grid were instantly charred into charcoal by the terrifying electric current, their bodies convulsing and emitting black smoke as they sank to the bottom of the sea.

The first wave of attacks was brutally decimated by the ferocious crossfire when they were still hundreds of meters away from the energy shield!
Just then, a dozen or so "heavy armored units," each over thirty meters tall and resembling ancient ammonite snails but with shells covered in sharp ramming horns and jet holes, charged out from behind the beast horde like heavy tanks!
They are the true main force of this bizarre tide!

They were met by Blades from the first squad of the "Raiders".

"First squad, spread out! Execute the 'harpoon' tactic!"

At Kyle's command, ten black "Predator" armored vehicles suddenly unleashed powerful thrust from their deep-sea thrusters.

Like a group of the most agile tiger sharks, they advanced instead of retreating, actively meeting the dozen or so "armored ammonite snails"!
Each "Raider" now carries a "chain-cutting spear" specifically designed to deal with large targets, consisting of a high-frequency vibrating blade and a cable launcher!
Kyle was the first to target the ammonite snail charging at the front.

"It's now!"

He piloted his mech at an incredible angle, skillfully avoiding a head-on collision, and then, with the thrusters fully engaged, he instantly pressed himself against the opponent's hard shell!

"laugh--!"

The "chain-cutting spear" in his hand pierced fiercely into the gap in the shell of the ammonite snail!

Immediately afterwards, he pressed the launch button.

Whoosh!
The tip of the cutting spear, carrying a tough alloy cable, pierced through the other side of the ammonite snail's body in an instant!

“Ron! Hold it back!” Kyle yelled into the comms.

Another "Raider" that had been waiting nearby precisely caught the spearhead of the cable and quickly secured the other end of the cable to a nearby underwater mountain!
The other groups of "Raiders" used the same method to trap the dozen or so rampaging "Armored Ammonite Snails" in place like giant flies entangled in a spider web within just a few dozen seconds using crisscrossing alloy cables!

The battle has turned into a one-sided massacre.

When the last stubborn deep-sea monster was cut into eight pieces by Kyle with his cutting spear, the once dark and desolate seabed had been completely transformed into a "monster graveyard" piled with limbs and remains.

"Reporting, sir!"

Kyle's voice came through the communicator, filled with the barely suppressed excitement of a young man who had just won a battle: "The threat... has been completely eliminated! Our side... suffered zero casualties!"

A cheer erupted inside the command center.

The tense expressions on Alai and the others' faces were finally replaced by immense pride and self-satisfaction.

They were no longer the helpless survivors who could only rely on Shen Ge for protection.

They, and the steel city they built with their own hands, now possess the weapons to stand alone against this insane world.
"Hephaestus."

Shen Ge's voice brought the joy that had just risen in the command center to a halt, and everyone turned to look at him, waiting for the next instructions.

"Calculate the level of the eerie energy fluctuations in this attack."

Hephaestus paused for a moment, not understanding what Shen Ge meant, but still immediately carried out the order. The "Hermes" bio-computer began to operate at high speed.

A few seconds later, a data result was presented to everyone.

Hephaestus's voice was somewhat hoarse: "The highest-ranking creature in this attack was only fourth-order, including the large deep-sea monsters that were cleared away by the raiders... none of them exceeded fifth-order."

None of them are above the fifth rank?
This result surprised everyone. Given the previous cultivation speed of the "Pioneer Experimental Base", there was no reason why they hadn't even produced a fifth-tier individual.

Could it be that the Ghost King absorbed all the ghostly energy? (End of Chapter)