27: Phantom Attack and Time-Space Ripples

The discovery of the ruins beneath the Arctic ice weighed heavily on Sun Zheng's mind, but it also strengthened his resolve to improve his strength as quickly as possible. Only by being strong enough could he safely uncover those secrets.

In the Combat Laboratory, the development of the phantom tank reached its final stage. This tank, which integrated optical camouflage and electromagnetic cannon technology, was the essence of Allied Forces technology. Sun Zheng spent almost every day in the laboratory, scrutinizing every test data point.

At the same time, the "non-contact research" of the ice-covered ruins continued. Remote scans continuously provided new details, but there was still no progress in interpreting the geometric symbols and energy sources. The only certainty was that the ruins were eerily quiet, as if all stories had been completely frozen in the extreme cold.

A few days later, good news finally arrived.

[Technology Research Completed: phantom tank.]

[Unit Characteristics: Excellent optical camouflage, almost completely invisible when stationary; equipped with a long-range electromagnetic sniper cannon, strong lethality against armored units; relatively weak armor.]

[Production Requirements: $1500, requires Combat Laboratory.]

"Produce two immediately!" Sun Zheng ordered without hesitation. He desperately needed this unit capable of covert reconnaissance and precise strikes.

When the first phantom tank silently rolled out of the War Factory, Sun Zheng personally conducted tests. After the tank activated its camouflage, it was almost invisible even at close range, with only a slight distortion in the air. The electromagnetic cannon easily penetrated the scrapped armor plate used as a target on the test range with one shot, its power proving satisfactory.

"Excellent!" Sun Zheng nodded. With the phantom tank, reconnaissance and vigilance in the Arctic fringe areas would be more assured.

He immediately dispatched one phantom tank, four Rocket Troopers, and one Engineer to form the "arctic shadow" reconnaissance team to the North Pole, replacing some of the garrison forces, to conduct in-depth reconnaissance of the ice cap edge area.

Just as Sun Zheng turned his attention to the next objective—the development of the Chronosphere—there was new activity in the homeworld space.

It wasn't the glimmer keystone, but the space itself.

Since the space upgraded and had an Anchor Point set, Sun Zheng felt a closer connection to it. Now he could clearly perceive that the gray, misty boundary-like areas at the edge of the space were slowly, imperceptibly... expanding outwards.

Even more remarkably, when he concentrated on perceiving the Anchor Point next to the Combat Laboratory, he could "see" that the spatial structure around the Anchor Point seemed to become more "resilient" and "stable." He even had a vague premonition that attempting ultra-long-distance Chronosphere Teleportation now would have a slightly higher success rate than before.

"Is the homeworld space... growing on its own?" Sun Zheng understood in his heart. Was it due to continuously absorbing the energy converted by the light energy resonance array? Or did his frequent use promote its integration with the real world?

This growth was slow, but it was indeed happening. This meant that the potential of the homeworld space was far beyond its current storage and short-distance teleportation capabilities. Would it eventually become a true "demiplane," or even possess more powerful spacetime laws?

This discovery gave Sun Zheng more confidence in his future plans. Perhaps the development of the Chronosphere could draw inspiration from some characteristics of the homeworld space?

He immediately convened the top physicists and space theory experts from the Combat Laboratory, providing them with his perceived data on the stability of the homeworld space Anchor Point, hoping it would assist in these cutting-edge research efforts.

The experts' feedback was exhilarating. They stated that while these perceived data could not be directly observed with existing instruments, the described phenomena aligned with certain Chronosphere theories and conjectures, which would greatly inspire research into the energy stability and coordinate locking algorithms for the Chronosphere, potentially shortening development time.

It was truly a blessing in disguise. The pressure from the ice-covered ruins indirectly propelled breakthroughs in key base technologies.

Sun Zheng stood in the Command Center, looking at the gradually strengthening base outside the window, and also sensing the space slowly growing within him.

Internally, he had the homeworld space and the glimmer keystone; externally, he had Red Alert technology and the soon-to-be-unlocked Chronosphere power. Facing the frozen ancient secrets and the covetous Scrin, his hand was getting stronger.

"Commander, the 'arctic shadow' team has reached the designated position. The phantom tank has entered stealth mode and begun scanning reconnaissance of Area B-7," the communicator reported.

"Maintain concealment, report at all times." Sun Zheng collected his thoughts, his gaze turning towards the Arctic.