Chapter 103: "Moving Heat Sources" and "Towering Structures"

February 14th.

Five days after the space gate opened, the Engineering Department, having worked tirelessly overnight, finally gave the frontline base a rough outline. 

Aside from a few semi-open areas lacking air filtration systems, structures such as barracks, the biological center, the maintenance workshop, underground hangars, and the command building were now fully operational.

With the arrival of supplies in the base's warehouse, the daily living needs of four thousand people could be sustained for up to two years.

The factory, equipped with 3D printers and robotic arms, could utilize local resources to continuously produce building materials, weapons, ammunition, and armored vehicles for the base.

As the base expanded, the Engineering Department also extended the coverage of the camouflaging canopy to ensure the base remained concealed.

At this moment, Lima City was on the sunny side of the planet, roughly around the afternoon.

In the command building, inside a private office:

Swish—

The automatic door opened and closed.

Samuel Young entered the office from the hallway, hung his black coat on the rack by the door, and walked towards the leather office chair not far away, unbuttoning his shirt and rolling up his sleeves as he did so.

He sat down and awakened the standby computer, lighting up two holographic screens. With a few touches, he brought up various images and video files, most of which were captured by the newly assembled Ernio 006.

Due to high temperatures and thick cloud cover, the aerial images taken by Ernio 006 from orbit were somewhat blurred, failing to reveal much detail.

However, even these blurred images showed that frequent volcanic activity was worsening the environment, and North America's heat signatures were the most intense, with many "giant mobile heat sources" among them.

Additionally, with an average temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, 90% of the Antarctic ice cap had melted, causing the sea level to rise by nearly 60 meters.

This rise had submerged most coastal lands, with only a few high-altitude areas, such as Lima City, where the space gate was located, escaping the flood. Lima City was about 154 meters above the original sea level, compared to Los Angeles, which was only about 1 meter above sea level.

But through continued high-altitude imaging by Ernio 006, Samuel and Atlas discovered a steel city on the remaining ice cap, protected by massive walls over 200 meters high.

Taking advantage of a break in the clouds, Ernio 006 captured long-distance images, successfully observing the entirety of the steel city.

The streets and areas were somewhat orderly, but most buildings were massive skyscrapers that combined residential and workspaces, or they were light and heavy industrial factories. There were no flashy art centers or exhibition halls; everything seemed to be focused on survival and construction.

This steel city represented humanity's determination to cling to hope, even in such harsh conditions.

However, the appearance of this steel city also indicated that humanity in the Zero-Six universe had no further retreat. If even the last of the ice caps melted away, humanity in the Zero-Six universe would face extinction.

"…"

As he read this, Samuel couldn't help but furrow his brow.

The combination of carbon dioxide, ammonia, high temperatures, the melting of glaciers leading to a dramatic rise in sea levels, the destruction of over 90% of coastal cities, the "giant mobile heat sources" in North America's interior, and the architectural style of the Antarctic city, especially the towering 200-meter-high walls, all reminded Samuel of a movie he rewatched several times each year before crossing over—*Pacific Rim*.

In the movie, an alien race known as the Precursors possessed advanced bio-genetic and hyperspace technology, allowing them to link other planets with their homeworld by establishing "wormholes."

They used samples from various planets, combined with their own genes, to experiment and create massive monsters weighing between 2,000 and 7,000 tons.

Whenever the Precursors found a new planet and linked it to their homeworld via a wormhole, their first step was reconnaissance.

If the environment was similar to their homeworld, they would send monsters through the wormhole to begin an invasion. The monsters' waste and blood would severely pollute the ecosystem, gradually transforming the planet into a suitable colony for the Precursors.

If the planet had a high oxygen level, the Precursors would patiently wait until the local civilization severely polluted and damaged the planet before sending in monsters to attack, just as they did with Earth in the movie.

According to the plot, the first monster crossed through the wormhole located in the Pacific Ocean in mid-2013, destroying cities like San Francisco and San Jose on the U.S. West Coast before being killed by a tactical nuke.

However, as the monsters' attacks became more frequent and the intervals between them shortened, humanity realized that the radiation and destruction caused by nukes, along with the monsters' toxic blood, were worsening the ecological crisis. This led to the formation of the "Pan Pacific Defense Corps" (PPDC) by various governments and military forces.

Subsequently, the Defense Corps initiated the project to create giant mechas, known as "Jaeger" mechas, as a replacement for nuclear weapons to combat the monsters.

The Jaeger project was effective in the early stages of the war, but the resources consumed were enormous. Meanwhile, the Precursors' speed of upgrading and breeding monsters far outpaced humanity's ability to build and improve Jaegers.

By the movie's timeline in 2024, governments chose to cut funding to the Defense Corps and instead built walls in an attempt to defend against the monsters' invasions.

The result was that the walls were useless against the monsters.

Meanwhile, the abandoned Defense Corps gathered the remaining operational Jaegers and obtained critical intelligence that "monster DNA is needed to pass through the wormhole," leading to a final assault on the wormhole located on the Pacific Ocean floor.

In the end, a Jaeger named "Gipsy Danger" successfully crossed the wormhole. Before the pilots escaped, they used an overloaded nuclear reactor to destroy the wormhole, along with launching a nuclear strike on the Precursors' homeworld.

But the apocalyptic scene on the Zero-Six Earth indicated that the Defense Corps' final assault had failed. Humanity was forced to continue using nukes to deal with the monsters, drastically reducing their living space, and they had to retreat to their last stronghold, Antarctica.

As for why the monsters hadn't yet breached Antarctica, Samuel believed the Precursors feared that humanity might choose to "go down together," willing to sacrifice their entire species by launching a suicidal nuclear assault on the wormhole.

They didn't dare gamble, nor could they risk it, because humanity certainly had the will to do so.

On the contrary, if humanity was given a small chance to survive and breathe, then emotions like complacency, conservatism, radicalism, and recklessness would spread among them.

Coupled with some well-timed infiltration and manipulation, it's likely that the Antarctic stronghold would be destroyed by internal conflict among humans, or by some naive leader hoping to reach a "peaceful coexistence" agreement with the Precursors.

This way, humanity would crumble without a fight.

But this was just Samuel's hypothesis.

And a hypothesis alone was not enough to support precise strikes and well-prepared military operations. Therefore, just over ten minutes ago, Samuel had dispatched two reconnaissance teams. One was sent to the cloud-covered North American continent, and the other to the human stronghold in Antarctica.

Only by gathering detailed intelligence could they "prescribe the right remedy."

In the underground hangar of the frontline base:

The structure here was similar to the transport hub area of the ruins base. Although smaller in scale, it was equally spacious and bright, with vertical landing platforms equipped with elevators, rail transport for increased efficiency, and numerous busy logistics personnel.

At this moment, a train emerged from an underground tunnel into the hangar, finally stopping between platforms 12 and 14.

The doors opened.

Forty elite members of the ARS First Reconnaissance Company, known as Hunters, dressed in their specialized stealth gear, stepped out of the carriages.

After two years of updates and improvements, the stealth gear appeared relatively unchanged in appearance. Still, it retained the advantages of being compact, lightweight, and agile while allowing Hunters to maintain stealth even in extreme environments and carry out reconnaissance missions.

The gear was comparable to the orbital drop troops' (ODST) individual equipment and the advanced Hazardous Environment Suit (HEV) used by the vanguard forces, almost akin to powered armor. Naturally, the cost of such gear was equally significant.

However, among these Hunters, there was an "outlier" standing over two meters tall.

"…"

The Hunter with the helmet display reading "Aya Brea / Rank: Second Lieutenant" glanced at the "outlier," pondering how the lack of stealth gear might make the individual prone to exposure and slow in action.

Yet, she had witnessed the combat prowess of her boss's descendants, particularly Saint Gilles and Ryan.

To the naked eye, they were merely a blur, and only through the helmet's dynamic capture feature could she barely track their movements.

This level of combat power was enough to determine the outcome of a thousand-man battle, and the "outlier" before her was another one of her boss's descendants—Magnus.

Her family had served Atlas since her grandfather's generation, assisting the boss in various "physical means" of commercial competition.

Thus, when the boss's descendants displayed extraordinary combat abilities, she and her comrades not only felt exhilarated and relieved that these "demons" and "nightmares" were on their side but also confirmed that their boss possessed even greater individual power.

In the process of exploring different universes, as long as the boss was commanding from the rear, she and her comrades could face the unknown without hesitation, believing that even if they

 fell in battle, the boss would avenge them in the most "terrifying" and "bloody" manner.

At this moment.

The forty members split into two groups.

Magnus and his team headed to Platform 12, while Brea's group went to Platform 14, each boarding one of the two Silver Gull transport aircraft.

The ground crew, having completed their checks, signaled and stepped back to a safe distance.

Then, the lift platform carrying the two Silver Gulls rose to the pressurization chamber through the first hatch of the hangar roof. After completing the pressurization process, they passed through the second hatch to reach the surface.

Once the lift platform stabilized, the four pilots maneuvered the Silver Gulls to avoid the canopy, activated the optical camouflage stealth mode, and instantly disappeared from sight.

Shortly afterward.

Inside the cabin.

Brea merely shook off the slight dizziness in her head, while her teammates showed no significant adverse reactions, indicating they were well accustomed to this kind of overload flying.

"Attention, everyone!" Suddenly, Arthur Morgan's voice came over the communication channel. "One last reminder: Lieutenant Brea's A-Team is responsible for reconnaissance in North America. Given the extremely harsh environment and the suspected presence of large extraterrestrial creatures and alien races in the mission area, A-Team's Silver Gull will serve as a mobile base throughout the mission, providing transport and extraction services.

Lieutenant Payne's B-Team, along with special investigator Magnus, will head directly to Antarctica aboard the other Silver Gull to find an opportunity to infiltrate the steel city.

The company has provided you with the Investigation Department's exclusive operational attire. If conditions allow, try to blend in with the crowd to gather intelligence, which will help us better understand the situation on the Zero-Six Earth and gather detailed information about the alien races.

Alright, A-Team is about to re-enter the atmosphere. Good luck, everyone. See you back at the base. Morgan out."

Hearing Morgan's reminder, Brea couldn't help but take a deep breath, patiently waiting for the Silver Gull to complete its orbital adjustment.

Boom! Boom!

Soon, the two nuclear fusion engines began to increase their output power.

Unlike the "crash landing" approach used by drop pods, the pilots skillfully maneuvered the Silver Gull like skipping a stone across the water, gradually descending into the atmosphere layer by layer.

This approach effectively avoided the plasma fireball caused by high-speed friction and the communications blackout area, preventing any visible "meteor" traces and ensuring the Silver Gull remained hidden.

It didn't take long before the vibrations subsided, the flight became much smoother, and the speed began to slow down.

"Lieutenant Brea, we've reached the stratosphere and will stabilize in the troposphere about 8,000 meters above ground in roughly one minute. We'll also pass through a dense cirrus cloud region. We're initiating visual sharing now."

At that moment, a small floating window appeared on Brea's helmet screen, displaying the external view.

"Visual sharing complete, Lieutenant Brea. If you spot any locations worth investigating, please mark them and notify us immediately."

"Understood," Brea responded over the communication channel.

Through the pilot's perspective, she and her teammates first saw thick clouds glowing with red light and heard the "tap-tap" sounds of small particles striking the cabin walls.

As the Silver Gull carried them through the cirrus cloud region, everything became "clearer."

However, beneath the thick clouds, scalding lava rivers had replaced the former waterways, and the skyscrapers that once symbolized human civilization had long since crumbled. Yet, towering structures, resembling fungal colonies, now dominated the land that once was.

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