268: Chapter 268 Antimatter Annihilation Ray! Lv.5 Tech Tree Speed-Up

The 75th day, 8:00 AM.

Polaris had been traveling across the Rustwind Wasteland for six hours.

Within those six hours, the chassis Degradation system had swallowed all underground metal within a twelve-kilometer radius.

The balance climbed from 110,000 to 460,000.

Including what remained from before, the current total balance was 460,000.

The second batch of four nodes cost 200,000 each.

It was short by 340,000.

"Not short," Lu Chen said, looking at the scanned map on the panel.

He pointed his finger at a highlighted area.

"Fifteen kilometers away, eight degrees south-southwest, there is a pre-civilization underground military factory. Its metal reserves are three times that of all previous dense areas combined."

"Three times?" Zhou Yuan leaned over to look at the scan results.

"That was a heavy military industry hub of the Pre-Civilization Federation," Lu Chen said, zooming in on the map.

"It has a three-level underground structure with a total area exceeding two million square meters, burying complete armored vehicle production lines and ammunition manufacturing plants."

"How long to get there?"

"Half an hour at full speed."

The suspension chassis of Polaris pushed at full power.

The 3,200-meter-long wonder-class Mobile City slid across the ice at a speed of 30 km/h.

It arrived twenty-eight minutes later.

The chassis Degradation system locked onto the metal signal of the underground military factory.

Degradation initiated.

The balance began to skyrocket.

460,000.

520,000.

610,000.

730,000.

880,000.

1,070,000.

One and a half hours later.

The balance broke through one million.

"Unlock."

The second batch of four nodes.

Power Engine lv.5 node 2, Prototype Space Curvature Engine. 200,000. Confirmed.

Infrastructure Armor lv.5 node 2, Neutron Star Density Armor Membrane. 200,000. Confirmed.

Ecological Logistics lv.5 node 2, Matter Conversion Synthesis Instrument. 200,000. Confirmed.

Armament and Weaponry lv.5 node 2, Antimatter Annihilation Ray. 200,000. Confirmed.

The balance dropped from 1,070,000 to 270,000.

The four modifications started simultaneously.

The modification of the Prototype Space Curvature Engine caused the entire city to emit a strange, low-frequency hum.

That was the sound of space itself being bent.

Deep within the city's chassis, an engine operating on principles beyond the current civilization's cognition was taking shape.

It did not move by thrust, but by bending the space ahead, letting the city slide into a curvature bubble, using the movement of space itself to replace physical displacement.

Theoretical top speed: Incalculable.

"City Lord," Lin Wan's voice came from the console.

She was staring intently at the ecological panel.

"The Matter Conversion Synthesis Instrument is online."

"What does it do?" Zhao Tiezhu asked.

"It turns stone into bread," Lin Wan read the description on the technology tree, enunciating heavily. "Input any inorganic matter plus energy, output any organic matter. Stone turns into food, ice turns into clothes, sand turns into steel."

Zhao Tiezhu's mouth hung open for a long time without a sound.

The food crisis. The water crisis. The material crisis.

All were completely ended by this one node.

"City Lord," Lin Wan closed her record book, her eyes turning red.

She looked at Lu Chen's back.

"From a Cabbage to matter conversion. Seventy-five days."

"It's not over yet," Lu Chen said, showing no intention of stopping to get sentimental.

His gaze remained locked on the panel.

"Continue Degradation, continue unlocking."

The balance continued to rise under the support of the chassis Degradation.

270,000.

350,000.

480,000.

620,000.

2:00 PM.

The balance broke through 800,000.

The third batch of four nodes cost 500,000 each.

It was still short by 1,200,000.

"How much of the underground military factory is left?" Lu Chen asked.

"About thirty percent," Zhou Yuan said, checking the Degradation progress.

He pulled up the subsequent route.

"After we finish this, we'll head south. Scans show two more high-density areas twenty kilometers away."

"Keep going."

Polaris ate while it traveled.

8:00 PM, the balance broke through 1.5 million.

"Unlock."

The third batch of four nodes.

Power Engine lv.5 node 3, Anti-Gravity Generator. 500,000. Confirmed.

Infrastructure Armor lv.5 node 3, Photon Prism Fusion Energy Shield. 500,000. Confirmed.

Ecological Logistics lv.5 node 3, Gene Bank and Species Restoration Chamber. 500,000. Confirmed.

Armament and Weaponry lv.5 node 3, Orbital Airborne Mecha Strike Array. 500,000. Confirmed.

The balance dropped from 1.5 million to negative 500,000.

No, the balance wasn't enough; it was short by 500,000.

"City Lord," Lin Wan noticed the problem.

She pointed to the total.

"The balance isn't enough to unlock all four at once."

"Unlock two first," Lu Chen said, adjusting the plan.

He decisively cut the last two items.

"The Anti-Gravity Generator and the Photon Prism Fusion Energy Shield. These two are the core."

Two nodes cost 1 million; with a balance of 1.5 million, it was enough.

Power Engine lv.5 node 3, Anti-Gravity Generator. 500,000. Confirmed.

Infrastructure Armor lv.5 node 3, Photon Prism Fusion Energy Shield. 500,000. Confirmed.

The balance dropped to 500,000.

"Save the other two," Lu Chen said, watching the speed at which the balance continued to rise.

He offered a prediction.

"By tomorrow noon, both can be unlocked."

The modification of the Anti-Gravity Generator was completed an hour later.

Polaris's suspension height began to climb from fifty centimeters.

One meter. Ten meters. Fifty meters. One hundred meters.

The 3,200-meter-long steel city floated one hundred meters above the ice sheet.

"City Lord," Lin Xiao's communication cut in.

His voice was trembling, though not out of fear.

"I'm in front of the observation window on the fourth floor," Lin Xiao said, swallowing. "Looking down, the ice sheet is under my feet."

"Get used to it," Lu Chen replied. "We'll fly even higher in the future."

The Photon Prism Fusion Energy Shield went online forty minutes later.

A layer of pale blue, translucent light shield appeared around Polaris's shell.

Energy shield.

The faint blue light was particularly eye-catching in the minus sixty-degree polar night.

The 3,200-meter-long steel city floated above the ice sheet, enveloped in a layer of soft blue light.

"Cheng Zheng," Lu Chen pressed the communication button.

"Present," Cheng Zheng's voice revealed extreme shock and numbness.

"Did you see it?"

"I saw it," Cheng Zheng replied.

He looked at the surveillance screen.

"The Photon Prism Fusion Energy Shield. Theoretically, it can withstand any energy attack below the fusion level. Before this shield is broken, Polaris's physical structure will not suffer any damage."

"Correct."

"If the Iron Hoof Legion arrived now and saw this, they would probably just turn around and leave."

"The Iron Hoof Legion is already gone," Lu Chen reminded him.

"I know," Cheng Zheng paused. "I'm just thinking, what if another Iron Hoof Legion appears one day?"

"Then we'll fight them again," Lu Chen said, turning off the communication.

The balance continued to rise.

The chassis Degradation system was still working at an altitude of one hundred meters.

The 500-meter detection radius covered the entire range from the air to 500 meters underground.

Wherever Polaris flew, all underground metal was swept away.