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

The "activated" drilling platform abruptly ceased its frenzied deformation and attacks.

Most of the stitched-together giant monster connected by "energy tubes" collapsed like a puppet that had lost its strings, turning back into piles of scrap metal and rotting flesh.

The rest were also dealt with by the "Raiders" legion.

Shen Ge walked out of the control room, which had been reduced to ruins, and came to the "conservation area" again.

After losing power from the platform, the life support system indicator lights in the dozens of hibernation pods turned red, signifying "low energy," and emitted a piercing alarm.

Shen Ge was very curious: "Cradle" had clearly betrayed them, so why did they still firmly adhere to the order to protect "Spark"?

"Hephaestus, activate the highest-level engineering plan. Move the entire conservation area back to the Iron Heart. The subsequent research is your responsibility."

Hephaestus's voice crackled through the communicator: "Yes, sir! Construction Team 2, get the construction machinery moving, quick!"

The post-war inventory of spoils was arranged by the logistics department, so Shen Ge didn't need to worry about it. He was just very interested in these "sparks".

I'm very curious whether they are people from the old era or "new people" of this era.

……

The Iron Heart slowly approached the drilling platform. Then, under the control of the program personally written by Hephaestus, "Armed Spawning" was activated, and hundreds of giant cutting arms made of living alloy "grew" out from the hull of the Iron Heart.

"Cutting begins! Synchronization rate... 100%!"

With a hundred arms moving in unison, a beam of blazing energy cuts down along the base of the "conservation zone" module, sparks flying everywhere.

After several hours of precise cutting, the massive module containing the hibernation pod and core life support system was completely detached from the platform base.

Immediately afterwards, four "anti-gravity generators" specifically designed for transporting hibernation pods, found in the "Cradle" warehouse, were activated simultaneously and began their work.

With the help of numerous engineering vessels, this enormous "cradle" carrying the "spark" of humanity was smoothly transported and embedded into a huge cabin in the center of the "Iron Heart" that had been emptied and remodeled for this purpose.

With the final "click" of the connection, the pipeline from the "Iron Heart" main energy system was seamlessly linked to the life support system of the "Conservation Zone".

The flashing red alarm on the hibernation pod finally turned green again.

Shen Ge entrusted the subsequent research work to Hephaestus and Ellie.

The cleanup work lasted for several days. Ironheart not only harvested a large number of high-level bizarre corpses—enough fuel to power the "Forge" for several years—but more importantly, Hephaestus successfully restored a portion of the partially destroyed processor remnants from the shattered processor wreckage of the "Cradle" using "Hermes."

"Hunting Log"

This log meticulously records information about every powerful and eerie creature lured and hunted by the "Cradle" over thousands of years.

"This is... the 'Hunting Log' we recovered from the 'Cradle's' processor! It records in detail all the data of every high-level monster it has hunted over the past thousands of years. Species, habits, weaknesses, monster energy characteristics, and degree of corruption are all clearly marked."

Through this research archive, Hephaestus gained new ideas for upgrading the Iron Heart.

"Based on reverse engineering of the platform's 'trap' and 'hunting' technologies, I have drafted a preliminary plan for a new round of weapon upgrades for 'Iron Heart'."

He projected the plan onto the screen:

"First: Add a [weird sonar guide] to the outer shell, which can simulate most of the weird cries recorded in the logs and actively 'fish' out the weird for hunting."

"Second: Combine the 'Armed Spawning' system with the [Energy Trap] technology learned from the platform. In the future, our cutting arms will not only be able to kill enemies, but also 'grow' 'energy nets' and 'force field generators' that can temporarily paralyze or imprison enemies!"

“Third, and most importantly!” Hephaestus pointed to a corner of the laboratory, where the [Clock of Order] was surrounded by a newly constructed massive matrix composed of dozens of high-level “monstrous hearts” captured from the platform.

"Although we cannot yet crack the core of the 'Clock' and can only utilize some of its capabilities, unable to fully install it onto the 'Iron Heart,' we can use these high-level, bizarre hearts as 'disposable batteries' to construct a temporary and independent 'bioenergy supply matrix' for it!"

"In this way, you can temporarily activate the bell to release the power of the rule of [Silence] without consuming your own demonic energy. This may become our most powerful trump card!"

Uh.

Shen Ge wanted to say that he hadn't fallen to the point of relying on the [Clock of Order]'s abilities, but seeing Hephaestus's excited expression, he didn't pour cold water on him. Instead, he raised his hand and patted Hephaestus's shoulder.

"Well done." A qualified boss not only needs to make promises but also needs to provide appropriate encouragement to employees.

“My lord, there is one last discovery,” Hephaestus said excitedly.

At the end of the log, a coordinate was repeatedly marked with the highest level of danger symbol, which Hephaestus then presented on the nautical chart.

"My lord, according to the log, that place is the 'Pioneer Deep-Sea Ecosystem,' which lies submerged beneath a 10,000-meter-deep icy sea and still maintains a complete ecosystem. It is the powerful and eerie 'nest' of this icy sea, and also their... 'cradle.'"

He pointed to the energy source flickering beside the ecosystem on the screen: "Meanwhile, the log also vaguely mentions that at the center of this icy sea, there exists a mysterious energy source that attracts and terrifies all the strange and bizarre. 'Cradle,' name it—"

"Heart of Winter".

The Cradle of "Leviathan": The Site of the First Ecosphere

Based on the coordinates, the main destination, the far north, is only slightly off course, adding about two weeks to the journey.

Shen Ge can afford to waste this little bit of time.

"Iron Heart" changes course and heads toward the coordinates indicated by "Cradle".

Two weeks later, "Iron Heart" sailed into a strange sea area.

The sea surface was no longer filled with flowing seawater, but was covered by a layer of ice several meters thick.

"Hermes, activate 'icebreaker' mode," Hephaestus ordered from the bridge.

"Instruction received."

The living alloy at the bow of the "Iron Heart" ship began to creep and deform, and a huge "hot-melting cutting blade" that was hundreds of meters long quickly "grew" from the front end.

"boom--"

"Crack!"

The solid ice sheet was torn open with ease, like a fragile biscuit. The massive body of "Iron Heart" slowly entered the icy land.

Two days later, after arriving at the coordinates, Ark One was separated, "Iron Heart" remained in place, and Ark One began to "dive".

As the depth increases, the external environment also undergoes drastic changes.
-
At 500 meters, the last ray of sunlight was completely swallowed up, and the world was plunged into darkness. Only the light emanating from Ark One itself, like a moving sea monster, illuminated the limited area around it.
-
At 1500 meters, the water pressure reaches a terrifying level, enough to instantly crush a conventional submarine into a pancake.

The living alloy hull of Ark One began to emit a slight "creaking" sound under high pressure. The Phantom Shield was boosted to medium power, constantly resisting the invisible pressure from all directions. The rate of energy consumption began to rise steadily.
-
3000 meters, when Ark No. 1 descended to this depth.

"Sir! The sonar system has detected... a large-scale biological cluster!" a guard in charge of monitoring reported.

In the darkness outside the illumination range of Ark One, thousands of eerie blue lights quietly lit up and rapidly surrounded this enormous "luminous object."

Soon everyone saw their true form: a creature about two or three meters long, with an appearance highly similar to a deep-sea lanternfish.

Their mouthparts are more ferocious, their bodies are semi-transparent, and obvious strange energy fluctuations can be detected on their bodies.

They are not scary in themselves, but when thousands of them gather together, the lanterns on their heads flash in sync at an eerie frequency, reflecting their mouths full of sharp teeth, making them look extremely disgusting.

"Conventional weapons are too inefficient at clearing the area; I request permission to use a wide-area concussion grenade!" Roca requested.

"No need."

Shen Ge thought of the enormous ancient bell stored on Ark No. 1, powered by an independent energy matrix, and a hint of experimental interest flashed in his eyes.

“The shells are too wasteful. Hephaestus, activate the new equipment and let’s see its ‘cost-effectiveness’,” Shen Ge said.

"Yes, sir!" Hephaestus had been itching to get started for a long time.

After a series of actions, he pressed the start button, and a stream of guiding energy flowed from the core of Ark One into the bio-energy matrix of the [Clock of Order].

Within the matrix, the hearts of those dozens of high-level monster tumors lit up simultaneously, and the immense monster energy instantly activated the dormant ancient bell.

"when--"

The bells rang out from the seabed.

A ripple swept across the sea area spanning tens of kilometers in an instant.

In an instant, the thousands upon thousands of lantern-shaped eerie fish that were still flashing seemed to have their main switch turned on, and all the lanterns on their heads went out at the same moment!

Their aggressive, psychic reactions vanished, leaving them like a school of disoriented fish, aimlessly and confusedly floundering in the dark depths of the ocean.

"Raiders, move out," Shen Ge said.

Now is the day of harvest.

A large number of bizarre corpses were thrown into the specially designed containment device of Ark No. 1 and then launched toward the "Iron Heart" above the sea.

It seems that Ark One is not here to find a base for the underwater ecosystem, but rather to "buy goods".

After clearing away this first wave of "harassment," Ark No. 1 continued its descent.

As the numbers on the depth gauge slowly climbed to -8000 meters, a new problem arose.

"Warning! A giant underwater trench has been detected ahead. Sonar signal... has been swallowed!"

Hermes' alarm sounded, and on its 3D map, a massive, dark rift appeared below, seemingly tearing apart the entire seabed. Any probe signals that entered this rift disappeared without a trace, like stones sinking into the sea.

And in that bottomless shadow, a biological signal, several times larger than Ark One, quietly lit up!

Before Ark One could take any evasive action, the unexpected had already happened!

A terrifying tentacle, several kilometers long, suddenly shot out from the trench below, its speed exceeding even the limits of dynamic vision, and wrapped itself around the middle of the No. 1 Ark's hull.

"boom--!"

The massive hull of Ark One was violently pulled downwards by that enormous force, and the sinking speed instantly changed from steady to an out-of-control descent!
The ship's interior shook violently, countless unsecured objects were flung into the air, and piercing alarms blared in every corner.

【warn! 】

[Energy shield overload! Structural integrity is decreasing! The hull is expected to tear apart in 3 minutes!]

Faced with this sudden attack, conventional weapons became meaningless.

Shen Ge's eerie eyes looked down into the trench, while simultaneously preparing to open his own eerie domain to sever the enormous tentacle.

However, at that moment, Hephaestus's maniacal and confident shout rang out in the command room: "Sir, please wait! This level of 'power' type opponent is the best test subject for our 'new toy'!"

He knew very well that once Shen Ge was ready to make a move, there would probably be no trace of the other party left, and he would miss out on a top-quality experimental subject!

"Okay." Shen Ge nodded.

Hephaestus activated a series of buttons on the control panel, then pressed a red button that was locked by the box.

"Activate—[Spatial Imprisonment Field]!"

The next second, four energy towers hidden around the hull of Ark No. 1, filled with the technological style of the Pioneers, stretched out at the same time, and the eerie crystals on the top of the towers emitted an extremely dazzling blue light!
A massive cubic force field instantly unfolded, like a "spatial cage" that appeared out of thin air, enveloping both Ark No. 1 and the enormous dark tentacle within it!
The dragging force, strong enough to tear the ship apart, was strangely frozen for a second under the interference of this force that could distort space itself!

but!

[WARNING! Energy reserves are being urgently drawn! 90%... 80%... 70%]

To maintain this incredible force field, the energy consumption is almost equivalent to burning the core life of Ark One. The green bar on the screen, representing energy reserves, is decreasing at a terrifying rate visible to the naked eye.

[Energy reserves 55%...50%...45%...]

Hephaestus's voice, transmitted through the control panel, directly overshadowed the alarm, echoing clearly in every corner of Ark One:
"All units, cease attacks on the tentacles. Engineering Department, activate all external cutting arms. All artillery units, heed my command—concentrate fire on our entangled hull!"

"what?"

This command made everyone, including Kyle and Roca, think they had misheard. Attack themselves? That was tantamount to self-harm!

Hephaestus glanced at Shen Ge, but the other party did not react.

"Execute the order!" Hephaestus, having received Shen Ge's affirmation, firmly repeated the command he had just given. (End of Chapter)