Steel torrents pioneering a different world

Chapter 135 Getting Closer with the Elves! Breaking Through the Mountain! The Divine Messenger is Mighty! (10,000-word Extra Chapter, Please Subscribe and Vote!)

Su Mingjin walked through the passage and found Gong Pengfei.

The latter was frowning, staring blankly at a monitor screen.

The screen displayed historical surveillance footage of the female elf captive.

"What's the status of the female elf's intelligence gathering? Have they obtained any important information?"

Su Mingjin got straight to the point, her voice devoid of any discernible emotion.

Gong Pengfei snapped out of his daze, looked at Su Mingjin, and pointed nervously at the female elf on the screen, a hint of helplessness on his face.

"President Su, progress is slow but steady." He carefully chose his words. "However, she is now very willing to eat the food we provide, and her murderous intent has decreased considerably. We are currently observing and measuring her brainwave responses through the artistic works we can provide, analyzing her inner changes. We have discovered that elves are creatures with rich emotions and are easily satisfied with their feelings!"

Looking at the data handed over by Gong Pengfei, Su Mingjin discovered that the female elf had experienced some mental fluctuations while watching certain specific scenes.

For example, when playing family animations, it detects a richer and more sophisticated range of fluctuations than humans.

Playing a slaughterhouse animation evokes strong emotions.

Feelings can include joy, happiness, fear, unease, and anxiety.

Compared to humans, elves' emotions are sometimes simpler and more straightforward.

However, although Su Mingjin knew that this information was a prerequisite for understanding the elves, she had not grasped the more important and urgent key information!
"Only this much progress in ten days?" Su Mingjin frowned. "Gong Pengfei, the troops are patient, but if we don't have enough intelligence in the future, our soldiers could easily lose their lives."

"The main issue is the principle of our interrogation of prisoners." Gong Pengfei sighed and laid out the situation. "The message from General Li said that the higher-ups believe these are intelligent beings and are likely to have great value for united front work. We should take the initiative and proceed in a gentle, gradual, and steady manner."

Su Mingjin was slightly taken aback, then fell silent.

"The higher-ups' requirements mean we can't use harsh methods or interrogation techniques, as that would mess things up. Now that we've finally managed to soften her stance and reduce her hostility, a sudden change in her style would bring our efforts to obtain crucial information to a standstill."

"Key information? Those face trees?" Su Mingjin inquired.

“That’s right.” Gong Pengfei nodded, his expression even more depressed. “The face tree is the other party’s totem worship, spiritual and religious belief, and even related to the other party’s social structure.”

“When we suggested showing the burning tree with human faces, she displayed a strong murderous intent! Later, when we showed some animations, she was like a wooden figure, muttering prayers that we couldn’t understand, completely unresponsive.”

Su Mingjin rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on: "Have you gotten the results of the analysis on the face tree yet?"

The strange trees were identified as being related to magical interference, which drew great attention.

After destroying some of the "face trees" in the forest, the troops used equipment to cut down a considerable amount of material.

But they didn't come up with anything particularly good.

"The scientists analyzing the materials and plants are still stumped. The structures of the trees we've collected are extremely strange, exhibiting many contradictory characteristics. Scientists have made very little progress in cutting and studying them. To gather intelligence, we'd probably need a complete tree with a human face that still contains magical energy!"

"This is troublesome!" Su Mingjin took out a cigarette and offered one to the other person. "Thank you for your hard work!"

Gong Pengfei expressed his gratitude, saying, "We're so timid and hesitant; we're really useless!"

To this day, human knowledge of the elves remains at a very superficial level.

All I know is that the red-leaved, white-barked tree with human faces painted on its trunk is an object of worship for the elves. They use the tree with human faces and various other materials to make all kinds of weapons or to cast spells.

Apart from that, they were completely clueless about everything else.

Su Mingjin rubbed her temples and paced back and forth a couple of times.

"Alright, since the higher-ups aren't in a hurry, let's take it slow. Anyway, we're in the lead. What can a prisoner do? Even if the elves behind her can cast forbidden magic spells, it will take time. Without a sudden attack, they simply can't withstand our saturation of Truth attacks!"

She stopped in her tracks, and suddenly an idea popped into her head.

"What if we take her back to the modern world, let her see what skyscrapers and the information overload are like, and completely sever her connection with any of those damn gods? So she won't even have anywhere to worship Wi-Fi, would that work?"

“This…” Gong Pengfei paused for a moment, then nodded. “It’s a solution, but the other party might have the ability to communicate remotely via magic. Bringing the female elf there is simple, but bringing her back later, or using her to contact the elf behind the other party, could easily expose clues about the modern world.”

Su Mingjin paused for a moment, then sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect the risk to be so great! You go ahead and do your work."

After Su Mingjin finished speaking, she turned and left, leaving Gong Pengfei alone in front of the screen.

In the surveillance footage, the female elf was relaxed, engrossed in watching the animated film "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality" featuring Han Laomo receiving the infant.

Gong Pengfei bit his lip, and his eyes gradually changed.

He's so skilled in interrogation and psychology, I really don't want him to fail!
-

The prisoner-of-war camp a few kilometers away.

Annie had no idea that the man who often called her Gong Pengfei was racking his brains trying to get her to talk.

The days leading up to her capture felt like more than a decade to her.

Every minute and every second at the beginning was torture.

She huddled in the corner of the cold alloy room, terrified by the legendary brutal interrogations and horrific defilement rituals of the southern people.

She really didn't want to unite with those evil gods' servants and give birth to evil bloodlines.

She should have died, but at only 210 years old, she was still a minor in the elven tribe and had never given birth to a child.

Despite being a minor, her survival instinct was extremely strong!

That is why, even as a member of a long-lived race, she was extremely afraid of death!

Then, she spent many days in agony.

Then nothing happened.

Over this period of time, she tried many methods, such as casting mind magic, manipulating the primal desires of foolish humans, and trying to turn them into her slaves.

And then they were all almost done!
After being fitted with an evil magical artifact, she lost most of her magical power.

As soon as she uses her mental power to probe, the metal ring around her neck releases a pain that freezes her mind, interrupting her spellcasting.

Anise spent several days in anxiety, and only after seeing that the other party did not harm her did she gradually get over the initial stress reaction.

Until they provided themselves with food and drink.

At first, many of the foods that were delivered did not suit her taste.

Later, more and more foods suited her taste, including a golden fruit with a strange and strong aroma but a sweet and soft texture that she couldn't resist.

Gradually, her taut string relaxed.

These days, she's also been drawn to the large tablet that can play magical images.

At first, she thought it was a magical device that could capture souls, but after using it for a while, she discovered that it was all in language. There was even a remote control for how to use the magical device.

Thinking of sacrificing herself for righteousness, she finally decided to test the evil god's servant's sweet-coated bullets, and then used her sinful little hands to operate the remote control switch of the magic device.

At this moment——

Annie sat cross-legged on the soft floor mat, holding a remote control in one hand and a piece of durian with its shell and seeds removed in the other, staring intently at the "magical image" on the wall.

On the screen, a cat is trying every stupid trick in the book to catch a mouse.

"Pfft."

Annie couldn't help but laugh out loud, then peeked furtively outside and breathed a sigh of relief when she found no one watching.

"Servants of the evil god, you dare to attempt to corrupt my noble soul with such a foolish magical artifact! Hmph!!!"

Then, she widened her eyes and continued watching.

At first, she watched it with the resolve to die.

She firmly believed that these images were some kind of vicious spiritual pollution, a means by which barbarians defiled her noble soul.

She kept her eyes closed and ears covered for a long time, silently reciting prayers to fight against the strange corrosiveness.

She's extremely vigilant!
However, after looking at them for a while, and secretly glancing at them a few times... I found that these things seemed harmless.

Once she approached the idea of ​​investigating the other party's information with a death wish, and began to look at those works, she was unable to look away from the research.

The other party seemed to have no malicious intent; they simply wanted her to see these things and their information.

Eight hours a day, without fail.

It contains funny, scary, and some boring broadcasts with unclear purpose.

She even became addicted to one of the videos depicting mortals cultivating magic.

At first, when she heard the translator explain that the man inside ultimately aimed to become a god, Anise was filled with anger at the elves' devotion to their faith.

How dare mortals covet the realm of the gods?

What arrogance! What blasphemy!
But... this story is damn brilliant.

The man named Han Li had an ordinary face and a very wicked way of doing things, but he grew stronger step by step through his intelligence and caution, and repeatedly turned the tables on his enemies in desperate situations.

This indomitable will even stirred the blood of a young, underage female elf.

Gradually, she even began to look forward to the magical images played on the magic device every day.

Today, after the "Tom and Jerry" episode ended, the screen switched to images of a steel torrent sweeping across the land, giant warships firing in the starry sky, and then footage of strange races being wiped out.

These images that once terrified her soul no longer stir much emotion within her.

Anise glanced at the countdown timer spinning on the screen; it was the countdown to her favorite show.

She licked the lingering sweetness of durian from her lips, her eyes shining as she stared at the blacked-out screen.

coming!

The "magical video" she's been waiting for is about to begin!

Sure enough, accompanied by the opening sequence that had been played countless times, the increasingly handsome man appeared on screen.

The human man was not outstanding at first; his appearance was considered disabled among the elven race.

However, the other party in the video is becoming more and more powerful, and is becoming more and more fascinating to Annis.

With every gesture, the other party released countless rays of light of various colors, increasingly resembling the image of a legendary grand mage, or even a god.

Magic had been in a slump for many years, resulting in incomplete bloodline memories for Annie, who was born with the magic. She did not have complete fragmented memories of the ancient archmage in her mind.

She received her memories later through the tentacles of the Mother Goddess and those sacred trees.

Those great mages, those gods, once possessed the power to summon wind and rain, unleashing truly world-destroying forbidden magic. With a single thought, the earth would crack, volcanoes would erupt, and slumbering forests would awaken, transforming into the Mother Goddess's most loyal ancient war trees.

But what about now...?

As the magical tides recede, the ancient and sacred elves find themselves with increasingly weaker powers.

Many powerful spells even require the sacrifice of noble elves, or the lives and souls of countless wild beasts and spiritual creatures, to be barely activated.

The glorious Elf race, which once descended from the heavens and ruled the ancient continent, has now been driven to the barren frozen lands of the north by those greedy, despicable, fickle, cunning, and ungrateful evil humans.

They spend their days fighting for their meager living space against the monsters in the caves, bloodthirsty beasts, and those damned servants of the cold god.

Hey.

Annie let out a long sigh in her heart.

That sigh seemed to drain all the strength from her body.

Involuntarily, a glimpse of a hopeless future appeared in her mind, a scene that the Mother Goddess had once shown to all her people through her divine power.

In an instant, a fear originating from the depths of her soul seized her, and her body tensed uncontrollably.

She seemed to see the scene she had seen before all over again.

Seeing those ancient trees that depended on them for survival being pushed down and cut down in swathes by a steel monster that emitted a piercing shriek.

Countless creatures in the forest were slaughtered, their corpses hung on cold iron hooks, transported to houses made of some unknown material, and then, on a long, flowing steel conveyor belt, disemboweled and precisely dismembered...

What an efficient, ruthless, and suffocating scene that was!
That was an evil scene that froze her soul, a scene she could not even imagine.

The corpses of countless races were treated as food.

From scales and hair to flesh and bones, even organs and excrement were not spared.

Everything was sorted and recycled by those humans who terrified her.

That was a scene straight out of hell.

Anise had never witnessed such bloodshed firsthand, but in the "magical images" she had watched over the past ten days, she saw countless fragments of similar images.

These magical images also made her realize what kind of terrifying monsters the race she had come into contact with were.

In a dull film, she heard a translated word—"industry".

She didn't understand what it was, but she knew it must be the name of a being far more terrifying and evil than the God of Cold.

Those humans were followers of this evil god of "industry"!

That evil god called "Industry" is terrifying, cruel, and generous.

The evil god's servants, humans, wield powers that only gods possess. She witnessed firsthand in the images how the undead calamities that had once baffled the elven kingdom, forcing them to rely on the lives of noble elves to fill the void, were easily crushed by the human torrent of steel.

The skeletons and otherworldly beings that blotted out the sky were reduced to ashes by a flame that fell from the sky.

Afterwards, the expressionless human in the video summarized in a calm tone that the elves could understand.

"...The biological pollution in the target area has been eliminated. This operation is expected to effectively improve the local soil quality and provide high-quality natural fertilizer for subsequent agricultural reclamation, allowing crops to grow rapidly!"

fertilizer……

At the thought of this, Annie's jaw began to chatter, and a chill ran from her tailbone straight to the top of her head.

A cataclysmic disaster that could make all the northern races tremble was, in the mouths of these humans, merely... fertilizer!
Hahaha……

She was talking to herself like a madwoman.

"Does my people have a future?"

Thinking about the future of her people, the future of the forest, and the future of the world, Annie's interest in watching cartoons diminished considerably.

"Great Mother Goddess, can you give me some divine guidance?" Anise closed her eyes, turning away from the cartoon and praying instead.

Then, God did not reply!

The prisoners were being monitored remotely from several hundred meters away.

Psychologist Tang Huanzhu poured chilled coconut milk and espresso together, stirred it gently with a long spoon, and then added just the right amount of iced milk.

A fresh coconut latte with a sweet and refreshing aroma is ready.

Suck it~
She squinted her eyes contentedly, savoring the double pleasure brought by caffeine and sugar.

"Oh, our princess was so cute just now, haha, she started praying again?"

A lazy voice came from next to me from my colleague Yue Na.

Tang Huanzhu looked up and gazed at the large surveillance screen that occupied the entire wall.

In the scene, the elf Anise has her eyes closed and her hands clasped in front of her chest in a devout posture, yet her beautiful face carries a hint of barely perceptible despair.

The green hair began to emit a faint green glow once again, as if it were breathing.

"Ha, it really is." Tang Huanzhu tapped the control panel, tagged the behavior, and saved it to the observation log. "This is her first prayer in the past two days. Compared with before, the frequency is much higher, and the change is very obvious."

"Yes, both the frequency and duration have been significantly reduced."

Yue Na yawned and said lazily.

When Gong Pengfei went to deliver food and communicated with the other party, her hostile brainwave readings were at their highest!

Now, after various forms of feeding, the animal's level has dropped below a safe threshold.

"When Xiaomi gave her fruit this morning, her hostility almost disappeared to the point of being imperceptible. I estimate that it won't be long before we can communicate again."

"Make a note of this and await Team Leader Gong's decision!"

Tang Huanzhu swiped her finger across the screen to view the latest compiled data.

After a period of research, information about the Elf race is being refined.

For example, her physiological reports show that the female elf's metabolism and daily routine are vastly different from those of humans.

For example, due to food issues, the other person may only have solid excretions once every three to five days, and their urination will be similar to that of humans.

The elf's craving for sweets is even greater than that of a human girl who loves milk tea the most.

Green vegetables, on the other hand, are not considered as a staple food as in other fantasy novels.

The other person occasionally eats some meat, but not much.

"Heh, even the noblest and most elegant races can't resist sugar and carbohydrates," Yue Na laughed. "Seriously, when can I get close to her? I really want to communicate with her! I wonder if an elf's lips are incredibly soft!"

"I also want to ask if she uses magic to maintain her hair. The shine of her hair is unreal. It's been more than ten days since she washed it and it's still so smooth."

"Maybe you can give it a try when you can dismantle a mech with your bare hands."

“Once we understand her body and complete the genetic modification, we can also possess her abilities,” Tang Huanzhu joked, then her expression turned professional again. “Unfortunately, she’s a thoroughly dangerous individual.”

Men love beautiful women, and women love beautiful women too.

The elf Anise possesses extraordinary beauty, the kind that captivates both men and women.

The monitoring team members felt quite pleased to have been given this job.

Unfortunately, beneath her beautiful appearance lies extraordinary strength. Despite her slender physique, her muscles and explosive power far surpass those of the strongest male humans.

In a hand-to-hand combat, it's impossible to say who will emerge victorious.

Fortunately, humans have guns, stun guns, and tiny sprites, making it easy to subdue their opponents.

"Has the brainwave data been transmitted back?"

"Yes, it's been sent back. Her collar's battery is almost dead and needs to be replaced."

"Then let me make a note that the soldiers should also carry the Purification Mantra and shielding helmets recently."

"it is good!"

In the week immediately following his capture, the victim displayed a strong desire to escape, making several attempts to break free and even attempting to use mind magic to control others.

The electrified collar around her neck is a tool specially developed by humans to prevent the other party from releasing magic.

After a period of research, biologists have confirmed that the pineal gland inside the elf's brain is the key to the resonant magical particles.

When the other party releases magic, the brainwave response is extremely intense, which resonates with the ubiquitous magical particles in this world, and then becomes a mental interference wave that can interfere with reality.

The magical electric shock ring is installed against the elf's neck. If the sensors and chip inside detect an increase in the elf's brainwaves, it can release a microcurrent to interfere with the elf's thinking. The electric shock wave can also be released remotely!
The current is not high, only slightly stronger than the ignition device of a lighter, and it continues several times.

However, don't underestimate these weak electric shock interferences.

They can easily generate a weak electric current without destroying the target's physical body, interrupting the opponent's coherent thought process and preventing them from releasing magic.

Unfortunately, this is the most restrictive measure they've ever implemented.

Other forms of torture, such as the Ten Great Tortures, were not carried out.

If it were an eagle, or a research team led by Xiao Rizi, that female elf would probably either be impregnated or have her body cut into countless pieces, with her bones ground into powder and consumed by the powerful and wealthy.

The desert pharaohs and mummies would definitely have something to say about this!
-

Another world, 173 kilometers from the headquarters.

The biting wind, whipping up ice crystals, swept across the wasteland with a mournful sound.

Zhao Chong tightened the collar of his protective suit, then picked up a piece of chewing gum and put it in his mouth!
"Captain, look! Something's happened!"

Sun Dezhu, who was acting as a drone pilot and scout, suddenly pointed to a small screen that had been split off from the tactical tablet.

Those were live images transmitted by a drone, showing a group of creatures that looked like woolly mammoths but were smaller, migrating from south to north.

At this moment, they are less than seventeen kilometers away from here.

Seeing that these woolly mammoths were not heading towards them, but were indeed migrating northward, Zhao Chong was completely baffled.

"How did these guys get here? Aren't they afraid the undead scourge will wipe them out?"

“Let Chief Jinhe see these strange creatures.”

"it is good!"

When Jinhe, who was organizing the supplies, saw these, he immediately became nervous: "They're hairy behemoths! Zhou, they're very fierce, they can overturn the wooden carts!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhou chuckled and said, "It's alright. If it dares to come, we'll have an extra meal. We haven't tasted the meat of this thing yet."

Jinhe opened his mouth, but seeing the nonchalant expression on Xiao Zhou's face, he ultimately swallowed his words.

These divine messengers were incredibly powerful, repeatedly overturning his limited understanding.

"Chief Jinhe, why are these hairy giants heading north?"

"These hairy behemoths are probably nearing the end of their lives. For countless years, they have followed the instructions of the ancient gods, and as they approach death, they will migrate northwards on their own initiative, eventually merging with the permafrost!"

"It's a god again!"

"No wonder we often see so many groups of organisms."

"Since they weren't attacking us, let's just skip them. Everyone, it's time to set off!"

Zhao Chong looked at Jin He, who was walking over carrying a bone knife, and asked in somewhat broken native language, "Chief Jin He, are you ready?"

"Alright! Alright!" Jinhe grinned, revealing a set of rotten teeth stained yellow from the cheap food. He excitedly patted the bulging leather bag at his waist. "I specially brought some food this time, spicy fish! Grilled, it tastes good, very good!"

Seeing his boastful expression, Zhao Chong smiled and pointed to the passenger seat of the armored vehicle.

"Get on the bus, we'll provide plenty of food."

Jinhe climbed onto the steel behemoth with some trepidation.

Although he had boarded the vehicles many times, these vehicles gave him countless moments of awe.

Each time, he would touch the cold metal interior of the car with the curiosity of a curious child, his eyes filled with wonder and awe.

Before them, a tactical tablet lit up, displaying a high-definition map with several red lines marking the planned route. Next to it were several areas marked with indigenous symbols, which were the danger zones marked by the Golden River.

"We'll continue along yesterday's route, paving the way and clearing land all the way north." Zhao Chong pointed to a red line on the screen. "This time we'll pass a glacier. The drones have scouted it and found a lot of large fish that are confirmed to be safe to eat. That should be enough for our lunch."

"it is good!"

Xiao Zhou, in the driver's seat, responded and turned to smile at Jin He: "Fellow villager, hold on tight!"

Before he finished speaking, he stepped on the gas.

The thirteen-ton armored vehicle roared to life, its eight massive tires grinding through the frozen ground as it surged forward with unparalleled momentum.

Above the armored vehicle, a soldier hiding in the armor plating held a heavy machine gun in one hand and used the other to scan the surroundings with equipment, checking for any possible undead Old Silver Coins.

Those undead skeletons are too damn tolerant; their troops are frequently attacked by the enemy.

Although it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot each time, the undead were easily crushed.

However, some unlucky souls have been scratched and nearly had their throats bitten by undead skeletons.

Behind it, a steel torrent of more than twenty military trucks and defensive artillery vehicles followed closely.

In the middle of the convoy, military excavators and pavers were surrounded, like a fat king being protected by knights!
This steel force is going to fill in the impassable frozen ground to ensure safe road traffic to headquarters.

If we're going to proceed cautiously, we'll definitely build roads all the way from headquarters.

So, humans discovered a savage tribe and are eager to break through the sea entrance!
Regardless of cost, the overweight special military construction equipment is first disassembled and then transported by helicopter. They are all used to support the construction of basic roads.

The team's ultimate goal is naturally the far north.

Like them, there was also a massive steel torrent of troops that came out from headquarters.

However, the construction troops coming out of headquarters are larger and more dynamic.

At this moment!

At an altitude of 3,500 meters, several Wing Loong drones hovered like ghosts. They were the eyes of the sky, monitoring everything on the horizon, and also had the function of signal relay and transmission.

At an altitude of 500 meters, several small drones responsible for communication relay and close-range reconnaissance buzzed, creating an invisible sky net.

Along the way, you can see wind-powered communication equipment and various types of barbed wire.

This is the result of their five-day expedition into the far north.

To create a safe passage and clear away any lurking spirits in the vicinity, thus providing a safe environment for the construction team.

Petroleum, the lifeblood of industry.

The University of Tokyo will absolutely not give up on, and is urgently seeking, industrial raw materials.

The weather is nice today, just a cloudy day with no sun in sight.

Zhao Chong gazed at the desolate scenery rushing past the window, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

Once they can control that ocean of oil, the base's development will no longer be hampered by energy constraints, and they will truly have the capital to establish a firm foothold in this alien world.

The vehicles drove steadily on the road, and as time passed, the convoy gradually drew closer.

Zhao Chong's gaze was fixed on an area in front of him on the map.

It was a long and narrow canyon, six kilometers long, but thankfully no more than fifteen meters wide and less than fifty meters deep at its deepest point. This canyon happened to be a necessary passage in their path.

Vehicles cannot pass through; only special operations can be used.

This canyon is called "the scar of the giant beast" by the Jinhe tribe. When the Jinhe people arrive here, they have to take a detour and cross several mountains, which takes a lot of time.

When the modern troops arrived here, they immediately prepared to blast the mountain and pave the road!
"The bridge-building vehicle moves forward, and the construction team prepares to begin work."

"The remaining vehicles deploy for defense, heavy firepower units deploy, magic detection power activated, signal enhancement relay equipment begins to be set up, and the air defense system is activated."

Zhao Chong's orders were clearly transmitted to every vehicle via radio.

"understand!"

Accompanied by the heavy creaking of tracks, a massive military bridge-laying vehicle slowly drove out of the convoy and stopped at the edge of the canyon.

The robotic arm unfolded, emitting a sickening metallic scraping sound, and a folded alloy bridge deck, propelled by hydraulic rods, extended precisely and steadily toward the opposite bank.

The entire process took only a dozen minutes, and a sturdy bridge capable of supporting heavy trucks was built across the chasm.

Jinhe, who was gnawing on a duck neck in the passenger seat, was once again dumbfounded, his mouth agape enough to fit a fist.

He had imagined that the divine messengers would fill the place with giant trees or rocks, but he never thought that they could conjure a bridge out of thin air.

As the road opened, the convoy passed through the "sky road" erected by temporary bridge-building vehicles in an orderly manner. Then, it turned around and the huge steel convoy rushed towards a rugged mountain slope to the north.

"Aren't we going to move forward?" Jinhe asked, clinging to the car window, his face full of confusion.

"We must carve through mountains and level roads!"

"Opening up the mountain?"

Since we already have that magical bridge that can appear out of thin air, why bother provoking that stone mountain that looks like it's not to be trifled with?

Opening up mountains is so difficult!

Xiao Zhou, sitting in the driver's seat, seemed to read his mind and grinned, "Fellow villager, that bridge is a treasure, very precious. It's reusable; using it to deal with these little ditches and bumps is too wasteful."

Jinhe nodded as if he understood, but in his heart he was thinking: This is what you call a small ditch or a small ridge?
In their tribe, this "scar of the giant beast" had been a formidable barrier that had swallowed up many hunting teams.

Once, the tribe's warriors went south to hunt wild animals, but were chased by a horde of beasts. Unable to pass quickly, they were all wiped out.

His grandfather had also used the terrain to hunt sheep, and they had a deep memory of this terrain.

As they spoke, the demolition engineers got out of the vehicle with their precision instruments and began surveying the rocky slope.

They used infrared and acoustic detectors to mark each point, calculating the optimal blasting angle and explosive dosage to ensure that rocks rolled precisely into the canyon instead of flying everywhere.

The remaining soldiers quickly dispersed, forming a circular defensive line around the convoy, with the heavy machine guns and automatic turrets pointing outwards, alert for any disturbance.

Zhao Chong leaned against the front of the car and took out another piece of chewing gum, which he chewed.

Watching each unit operate in an orderly manner, I felt that everything was under control.

Just then, a call with a static-like sound came through the communicator.

"Report to the captain! Engineer Bian from the geology team has made a major discovery!"

Zhao Chong raised an eyebrow and immediately switched to the geology team's encrypted channel: "Speak."

On the other end of the channel came Bian Huan's signature hoarse voice, which was now distorted with excitement and even trembled slightly.

"Captain! We've won! We're probably going to win big again this time!"

Bian Huan's voice was so loud that the communicator was distorted: "The rock strata cross-section of this canyon... is too perfect! It's a typical structure where sedimentary layers are intruded by igneous rocks! I'd bet my entire retirement savings that there are definitely high-grade associated rare mineral veins nearby!"

Zhao Chong's heart skipped a beat.

Oil is the blood, and rare minerals are the bones! They are the bones that support more advanced industrial systems!

The far north is truly a land of treasures!

He glanced into the distance and saw that the usually serious and rigid fellow was now like a child, lying on the rock wall, carefully tapping off a sample with a small hammer, then holding it high up to examine it in the sunlight, his face filled with undisguised ecstasy.

Zhao Chong took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and ordered in a deep voice, "Be careful, Lao Bian. Return to the team immediately after collecting the samples. We'll discuss the detailed report after we set up camp tonight."

"Okay, got it!" Bian Huan's voice was full of enthusiasm.

An hour and a half later, a dozen or so engineers had drilled hundreds of deep holes into the rocky slope, densely packed like an anthill hollowed out.

The engineers carefully inserted packets of TNT explosives into the holes and connected the detonation devices.

"Report! The last set of detonators has been set up!"

"Take a headcount to confirm that no one is left in the danger zone!"

"Confirmed!"

"Three, two, one, detonate!"

As the commander pressed the button, a dull hum of electricity flashed by.

All sounds are silent.

One second later, the earth began to tremble violently!
Boom—rumble!

The deafening roar seemed to tear the sky apart, and the stone mountain, which was more than forty meters high, was as if it had been gripped by an invisible giant hand and suddenly exploded from the inside!

Countless boulders, carrying destructive kinetic energy and billowing with dust, poured precisely toward the canyon.

Landslides and landslides!

Jinhe covered his ears tightly. Looking out through the bulletproof glass, he felt as if his soul was about to leave his body from the apocalyptic scene.

The power of the divine messenger is truly terrifying!

They once again demonstrated terrifying power that was beyond human comprehension.

This is a power that only gods possess!
"Why doesn't the divine messenger bless the women of their tribe and leave behind a strong enough bloodline?" Jinhe was completely puzzled.

"Could it be that they think the women in the tribe aren't pretty enough?" Thinking that the woman he had bestowed his favor upon was the most beautiful and strongest in the tribe, Jinhe gritted his teeth, wondering whether he should let her crawl into the beds of the divine envoys that night.

No one knew what absurd thoughts were in Chief Jinhe's mind; everyone's attention was focused ahead.

As the smoke and snow gradually subsided.

The high slope that had blocked the way had disappeared without a trace, replaced by a smooth road filled with boulders that led directly to the other side.

"This is terrifying..."

Jinhe's lips trembled as he uttered the word that Xiao Zhou had taught him.

He felt that only this word could barely describe even a fraction of his current feelings.

Before the dust had completely settled, several military excavators roared forward, their massive mechanical arms swinging as they began leveling the road surface.

After some time, the scars on the giant beast were healed, and a road tens of meters wide was created, allowing vehicles to pass easily.

The makeshift bridging vehicle was quickly retrieved, folded up, and returned to the appearance of an ordinary heavy truck, as if the seemingly insurmountable barrier had been just an illusion.

When it was mealtime, the soldiers ate their hot self-heating rations and grilled fish caught from the icy river, their morale high.

After the meal, the steel torrent started up again, easily crushing this once insurmountable "giant scar".

Ahead, the terrain gradually opens up, revealing an endless expanse of rugged, frozen plains.

Zhao Chong looked at the map, but his gaze seemed to pierce through the paper, reaching towards the more distant north.

Oil, rare mineral veins...

This abandoned land in the far north is slowly unveiling its mysterious and rich veil to them.

And this is just the beginning.

"Click."

With a crisp sound, Jinhe was gnawing on a dark red duck neck, his mouth full of oil, even the bones were crunching loudly.

In the past few days, he has been completely won over by this thing called "snacks".

As he chewed, he mumbled and tapped on the car window, pointing ahead to a desolate landscape half-hidden by wind and snow, riddled with countless craters.

"Zhou! Zhou! Look there! Right there!" Jin-he exclaimed excitedly, his face flushed. "The ancient battlefield from mythology!"

Xiao Zhou applied the brakes and brought the armored vehicle to a steady stop.

Zhao Chong picked up his binoculars and looked across the vast snowfield to an area more than ten kilometers away.

The land ahead presented an extremely unnatural form, with countless huge craters resembling the marks left by a meteorite impact, interconnected and stretching to the horizon.

A desolate and deathly atmosphere seemed to pierce through time and space, rushing towards us.

"All units are on alert around the perimeter."

Zhao Chong put down the binoculars, his voice regaining its usual calmness, but anyone could hear a suppressed undercurrent of emotion within it.

He picked up the communicator and issued new instructions.

"Attention all units, the ancient battlefield ruins mentioned by Chief Jinhe will be reached in ten kilometers ahead. There may be sleeping magical creatures and puppets there."

"The construction team will halt its advance and build temporary camps and a ring-shaped defensive line based on the existing location."

(End of this chapter)