25: Echoes of History and Subglacial Probes

The "deep space gate" project, "Nightingale," the "key," "Enemies from Jupiter"... This desperate message from decades ago crashed into Sun Zheng's heart like a massive boulder, setting off a storm of emotions.

He played the audio repeatedly, trying to extract more clues from the static and broken sentences. However, aside from a suffocating sense of urgency and unfinished warnings, there was nothing else. Aerospace records from that era on Earth had likely been destroyed long ago; the Moon had instead become the sole witness to this buried past.

"Combat Laboratory, analyze the audio background noise and try to isolate any possible electromagnetic signals or image fragments. Simultaneously, search global databases for any information on the 'deep space gate' project," Sun Zheng ordered. He needed more pieces of the puzzle.

"Understood, Commander."

While historical mysteries were important, immediate survival and development were more pressing. The massive mineral vein at the North Pole and the unidentified metallic reactions beneath the ice were tangible resources and potential threats.

The fact that the light energy resonance array attracted space debris also served as a reminder to Sun Zheng. The array's glow was like a lighthouse in the dark universe; it could guide its own people, but it could also attract uninvited guests. He had to heighten security.

He added a radar scanning station at Forward Base Alpha, expanding the alert range to the entire lunar orbit. At the same time, he adjusted the operating mode of the light energy resonance array to make the energy fluctuations more restrained, avoiding full power output unless absolutely necessary.

A few days later, the in-depth analysis of the audio yielded no breakthroughs. The "deep space gate" project left no trace on Earth's public networks, as if it had been completely erased. Sun Zheng could only mark the matter as "Top Secret" for now and lower its priority.

Now, the focus returned to the North Pole.

The advance team conducted a more detailed survey of the North Pole ice cap. The metallic reactions beneath the ice covered a vast area, nearly the entire North Pole Basin. The signal sources varied in depth, with the shallowest only dozens of meters from the surface. The arrangement of these metallic structures did not appear natural, yet they were completely different in style from Scrin or known human architecture.

"Commander, we tried sampling with small drilling robots, but the ice layer is too hard, and there's unknown energy interference. Drilling efficiency is very low," an Engineer reported.

Sun Zheng looked at the vast sub-ice anomaly zone on the 3D scan, contemplating for a moment. Blind drilling was inefficient and risky. He needed a pair of "eyes" that could see through the ice.

"Stop drilling. Prioritize deploying 'geological perspective scanners' on the ice surface where the signal is strongest." Sun Zheng pulled up the Combat Laboratory's research and development list. This was a technology utilizing deep-penetrating seismic waves and gravity field analysis, capable of non-destructively detecting underground structures.

"Research the 'geological perspective scanner,' high priority."

With resources invested, research progressed rapidly. Meanwhile, the restoration and expansion of the main base did not stop. The second War Factory was completed, doubling armor production capacity. More prism towers were erected, making the base's defense perimeter more solid.

Sun Zheng also took some time to enter homeworld space again. Under the continuous nourishment of the light energy resonance array, the glow of the glimmer keystone fragment seemed to brighten slightly, and its warm energy became more active. He tried to establish a deep mental connection with the keystone, but aside from sensing vague intentions of "guarding" and "waiting," he still couldn't get clearer information.

"It seems more energy is needed, or... a certain catalyst." Sun Zheng was not discouraged. At least the direction was correct.

A week later, the "geological perspective scanner" was successfully developed. This was a large, vehicle-mounted device that required a mobile engineering vehicle to transport it to the target location for operations.

Sun Zheng dispatched an elite escort team to accompany the engineering vehicle carrying the scanner to the designated position at the North Pole.

Deployment took several hours. When the scanner finally started up, emitting specific frequency detection waves into the ice, a 3D model of the sub-ice world began to slowly take shape on the Command Center's large screen.

Initially, the image was very blurry, but as data accumulated, details gradually became clear.

Beneath the ice was not the expected mineral vein or a single building. It was a... massive, structurally complex metallic ruin!

Broken domes, fractured passages, twisted skeletons... countless giant metallic structures were scattered under the ice field, stretching to the edge of the field of view. Its scale far exceeded that of the Ancient Ruins-01 on the far side of the Moon! This looked more like the ruins of an entire city submerged beneath the frozen surface!

"This... is a city?" Sun Zheng looked at the screen in shock. A prehistoric giant city was actually buried at the lunar North Pole?

But even more startling discoveries followed. The scanner detected several extremely weak but rhythmic energy signal sources deep within the ruins. These signal frequencies... had some similarity to the Scrin units encountered before, yet were older and purer?

Simultaneously, the scanner captured some massive non-metallic structures, like the fossilized shells of some biological creatures, intertwined with the metallic ruins.

This wasn't a simple ruin. Was it an ancient battlefield? The origin of the Scrin? Or... the site of another unknown civilization's downfall?

The secrets hidden under the North Pole ice cap were more shocking and dangerous than Sun Zheng had imagined.