23: Icefield Outpost and Resonant Light

Once the "Northern Light" expedition plan was launched, the entire base was like a wound-up clock, with every department operating at high speed.

The top priority was opening the long supply line from the main base to the North Pole. This was no simple task—the lunar North Pole was riddled with bottomless craters and steep ice cliffs, making the terrain far more complex than that around the base.

Sun Zheng dispatched a vanguard composed of Rocket Troopers and Engineers, riding in newly commissioned multifunction infantry vehicles equipped with engineering modules to conduct field surveys and build roads along the planned route. They had to find suitable locations along the way to establish small relay stations and defense points.

Meanwhile, the research focus of the Combat Laboratory shifted. The "light energy resonance array" was elevated to the highest priority. Scientists in the laboratory worked day and night calculating energy frequencies and designing the array structure. Sun Zheng even tried briefly taking the glimmer keystone fragment out of the homeworld space and placing it in a specialized energy field in the lab to accelerate research.

A few days later, news came from the vanguard: they had successfully established a simple outpost on a gentle plateau a quarter of the way from the main base—"Forward Base Alpha." This outpost featured a small Power Plant, Barracks, and the prototype of a simple mine, along with two Machine Gun Bunkers for basic defense. It became the first important supply point for the expeditionary force.

But bad news followed.

"Commander, the cosmic radiation in the North Pole region is much stronger than expected; our standard protective suits won't last long. Furthermore, a large-scale unknown metal reaction has been detected beneath the ice; the signal is very messy and doesn't look like a natural mineral vein." The report from the vanguard's Engineer carried a tone of concern.

The radiation issue was somewhat expected, but the metal reaction under the ice was a new development. Was it Ancient Ruins? Or... something left behind by the Scrin?

"Continue monitoring, and do not venture deep rashly. Prioritize the safety of Forward Base Alpha," Sun Zheng ordered. He realized the challenges of the North Pole might be even greater than imagined.

A few days later, the Combat Laboratory finally sent breakthrough good news!

[Technology Research Completed: light energy resonance array (Primary)]

[Effect: Efficiently converts solar energy into order light energy of a specific frequency to replenish energy for the glimmer keystone (fragment) and potentially trigger information feedback.]

[Construction Requirements: $5000, 500 Power, must be built in an area with ample sunlight.]

It was a success! Although the cost was high and the power consumption large, this was a key step toward establishing a closer connection with the ancient legacy!

Sun Zheng allocated the resources without hesitation. "Find the location with the best sunlight near Forward Base Alpha and build the first light energy resonance array!"

Once the order was given, massive construction components were transported to the front line via Heavy Transport Vehicles along the newly opened route. Since the North Pole had not yet been reached, this array was built halfway there, serving as both a test and an energy relay station.

Construction took over ten hours. When that silver building, composed of countless giant prisms and precision energy conduits and looking like a work of art, finally stood on the lunar wasteland and automatically adjusted its angle to face the sun, the entire base could feel a sense of sacred vastness through the remote footage.

The moment the array started, a condensed, almost invisible beam of pure light descended from the sky, accurately captured, refracted, and converted by the prisms before being injected into the energy pool at the center of the array.

Almost simultaneously, Sun Zheng felt a warm, pleasant, and slight vibration from the glimmer keystone fragment in the homeworld space in his arms! A stream of pure and peaceful energy was slowly flowing into the keystone through some mysterious connection!

[light energy resonance array operating normally. glimmer keystone (fragment) energy activity increased: 0.1%... 0.2%...]

Although the increase was slow, this was absolutely a milestone success! They had found a way to "charge" the ancient relic!

But just as Sun Zheng was excited by the breakthrough, the Engineer responsible for monitoring the array sent an emergency communication, his voice filled with terror:

"Commander! When the array was absorbing solar energy, it seemed... it seemed to have attracted something else!"

"Radar shows a high-speed moving small object diving straight toward the array from the direction of lunar orbit! The identification signal... it's not Scrin, and it's not ours! It's extremely fast, estimated to arrive in three minutes!"

Sun Zheng's heart sank!

It attracted something else? Friend or foe?

He immediately switched to the real-time footage of Forward Base Alpha, only to see the light energy resonance array still operating steadily, while in the distant pitch-black sky, a tiny point of light was rapidly enlarging at an incredible speed!

"All defensive units enter maximum combat readiness! Rocket Troopers, take to the air and intercept! Identify the other party's identity!"