Magic? My Iron Torrent will sweep it all away!

After everyone boarded the vehicle, the surface commuter bus slowly started moving.

The vehicle first entered a wide ramp that extended upwards, with silver-white alloy plates paved on both sides and rows of stable lights overhead.

As the altitude increased, the surrounding air seemed to change as well.

Soon, the view ahead opened up.

A sixteen-lane underground industrial artery appeared before everyone.

Eight lanes extend outwards, and eight lanes lead into the city, separated by a thick median strip.

Vehicles come and go on the road in an endless stream, with heavy transport vehicles, engineering robot vehicles, material tractors, personnel commuter vehicles and unmanned transport platforms moving forward in an orderly manner without any chaos.

A convoy was driving past them.

Each transport vehicle is secured with massive silver-gray alloy components, some of which are ring-shaped frames, and others are heavy load-bearing plates.

Some were completely covered by protective shields, making it impossible to see what was being transported inside.

"Are these all being sent to the planetary engine construction site?" Lin Mo asked.

Chen Jianguo nodded.

"Some of the parts were produced by a small, all-purpose factory in Tianyong City."

"The small, all-purpose factory is mainly responsible for high-frequency supply parts, standard connectors, repair components, and some special cables. It has a fast manufacturing speed and can adjust production at any time according to engineering needs."

"The real large-scale load-bearing structures, giant energy pipelines, and engine main modules are produced by the massive, multi-functional factory on the surface, which spans hundreds of kilometers."

"Once they are manufactured, they are delivered directly to various construction sites via the ground logistics network, where engineering robots then complete the hoisting and assembly."

Looking out the window at the endless stream of cars, Zhao Gang sighed.

"In the past, the material scheduling alone was a major headache when building a large power plant."

"Now, with 10,000 planetary engines running simultaneously, the industrial system behind them is still able to remain stable."

Chen Jianguo laughed and said:

"In the past, we relied on manual labor to carry things on our shoulders. Now, we have multi-functional factories that manufacture equipment, equipment that manufactures equipment, robots that are responsible for execution, and people that are responsible for design and decision-making."

"The changes are happening so fast that many veteran engineers still feel like they're dreaming."

The vehicle continued on its way.

Soon after, an extremely large underground gate appeared ahead, its opening wide open.

A long-awaited ray of natural light shone in from outside.

Although the sunlight is still somewhat dim due to the winter of the Blue Star core, for those who have lived underground for a long time, that light still has a power that makes them instinctively yearn for it.

The moment the vehicle drove out of the gate, Fendona's gaze instinctively moved closer to the car window.

What comes into view is a huge World Tree.

It grows between Tianyong City and Tianxiong City, its thick trunk resembling a mountain peak piercing the sky, its branches and leaves extending from the high sky, creating a vast green dome.

Lin Mo still remembered that when the demon god Kog'Maw knocked down this World Tree, its roots broke and its trunk fell over.

However, thanks to the rescue efforts of the elven mages and the Great Xia, it survived and sprouted anew.

Now, the tree canopy has spread out again.

Emerald green specks of light drifted slowly down from the branches and leaves, like a never-ending rain of fireflies.

The air under the trees was incredibly clear, and in the distance you could even see patches of hardy crops, artificial wetlands, and newly cultivated small forest belts.

Apart from the alloy support ring around the roots used for fixation and protection, it is almost impossible to tell that it had suffered such terrible damage.

Beneath the World Tree lies a slowly expanding surface city.

Neat rows of silver-white insulated houses stand with insulated roofs and plants adapted to low-temperature environments planted along the streets.

Several driverless buses shuttled through the city, and children, wearing thick coats, ran and chased each other in the safe area covered by the World Tree.

Further away are patrol robots, anti-aircraft turrets, missile interception positions, and heavy mech maintenance platforms.

Humans have returned to the surface, but the threat of the demons remains.

"Are there many people living on the surface now?" Fendona asked.

Chen Jianguo replied:

"It's still gradually increasing."

"The World Tree has a limited coverage area, so surface cities should prioritize housing military personnel, engineers, medical personnel, and some long-term stationed families. Defense facilities also need maintenance."

"However, ordinary residents are no longer subject to quota restrictions when they want to come up to the surface. As long as they complete the safety check and wear a positioning device, they can take the commuter bus up."

"Many underground city residents bring their children up here on their days off to bask in the sun, look at the trees, and stroll through the surface park."

Grom looked at the children running under the trees with a hint of envy in his eyes.

"We centaurs used to live on the grasslands, where we could see the sun at dawn and the stars at night."

"Later, the demons came, and many children almost forgot what the grass looked like."

Upon hearing this, Fendona's eyes dimmed slightly.

After the vehicles left the surface city, the roads became wider.

On both sides are cleared icefield industrial zones, and in the distance you can see giant material warehouses, unmanned mining sites, mobile energy stations and temporary construction camps.

The highway was still crowded with transport vehicles, and a large number of engineering robots moved along the dedicated lanes, their mechanical feet making a neat metallic vibration sound as they stepped on the ground.

We drove for about another thirty kilometers.

Fendona suddenly raised her hand and pointed forward.

"Look!"

Everyone instinctively looked in the direction she was pointing.

At first, all that could be seen in the distance was a dark shadow at the edge of the ice field.

But as the vehicle drew closer, the dark shadow became clearer and larger.

That's not a mountain at all.

It was a super project consisting of steel, alloy framework, energy pipelines, giant platforms and countless mechanical equipment.

It lies across the ice field, its base so wide that its boundaries are almost invisible, with construction roads extending around it.

Countless transport vehicles shuttle back and forth around the project site. From a high altitude, they probably look like a group of ants carrying a steel continent.

At the heart of the project, a massive framework, reaching a height of two thousand meters, is rising from the ground.

Its surface is not yet fully covered with armor, and the internal interlocking load-bearing structure, giant diversion pipes, and layers of upward-extending construction platforms can be clearly seen.

Hundreds of aerial engineering robots, like tiny metal insects, clung to the steel frame, working tirelessly.

The clouds slowly swept past its waist.

Fendona stared, her mouth agape, completely mesmerized.

Thorin pressed his face so close to the car window that his beard was almost flattened.

"This...this is your planetary engine?"

Chen Jianguo gazed ahead, his eyes filled with pride.

"right."

"The base of this engine is 30 kilometers in diameter, and the main body is currently 2,000 meters high."

"Once fully completed, its total height will reach 10,000 meters!"

"Ten thousand meters?" Grom's eyes widened.

"That's higher than the highest mountain in Terra, isn't it?"