84: The peninsula yearns to revitalize its homeland, while the shadows of the deep sea lurk with new dangers.

Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Peninsula Returns to Peace and Rebuilds Homes, Deep-Sea Shadows Conceal New Dangers

The smoke of battle at the Busan Base cleared, and the golden light of the rising sun bathed the land of the Korean Peninsula.

The rescued survivors gathered spontaneously, carrying shovels and pushing carts, weaving through the broken walls and ruins. The engineering units of the Far East Expeditionary Force brought advanced construction machinery; excavators roared as they cleared debris, and transport trucks fully loaded with food and medicine shuttled through the streets. In the temporary tents set up by the medical teams, the steady breathing of the wounded could be heard as they gradually stabilized.

Chen Hao stood before the temporary command tent, a gratified smile appearing on his face as he watched the bustling reconstruction scene before him. The map sent by the elderly man not only marked the location of the Busan Base but also indicated hidden supply warehouses and survivor settlements across the peninsula. The expeditionary force split into several routes, following the map's guidance to wipe out the last few remnants of the Skeleton Serpent who were putting up a desperate struggle, gathering the scattered survivors together.

"Commander-in-Chief Chen!" A representative of the Korean survivors approached, holding a silk banner embroidered with "Iron-Blooded Savior," leading a group of elders and fellow villagers with reddened eyes. "We thought we would never see the light again in our lives. It was you, it was the Huaxia Dawn Army that gave us a new life!"

Chen Hao solemnly accepted the banner and said in a heavy voice, "We are all compatriots connected by blood; looking out for one another is our duty. From now on, the Dawn Army will help you rebuild your homes and train self-defense forces. We will never let anyone bully you again!"

Warm applause erupted from the crowd, and many people were moved to tears.

Over the next month, changes on the peninsula occurred daily. Destroyed bridges were rebuilt, abandoned farmland was planted with crops, and the Dawn Army's military engineering units assisted survivors in repairing several small factories to produce farm tools and simple weapons. A new settlement centered around the Busan Base rose from the ground and was named "Qiming City," symbolizing the dawn of a new day.

One day, while Chen Hao was inspecting the construction site of Qiming City's defensive fortifications, a signalman ran over hurriedly and handed him an encrypted telegram: "Commander-in-Chief, an urgent telegram from the Central Hub Base!"

Chen Hao took the telegram, glanced at it, and his brows furrowed instantly.

The telegram was sent by Lin Zhou himself and contained only a few words: The East Sea Barrier Base radar detected an unknown escape pod signal with a trajectory pointing deep into the Pacific Ocean, suspected to be remnants of the Skeleton Serpent. Additionally, deep-sea detection satellites captured abnormal energy fluctuations at coordinates highly overlapping with the escape pod's destination.

"As expected, some fish slipped through the net," Chen Hao muttered to himself, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

He immediately ordered the carrier-borne fighter jet formations to take off and conduct long-range reconnaissance on the abnormal coordinates deep in the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, he handed over the peninsula's defense to the newly formed Qiming City Self-Defense Force and led the main force of the Far East Expeditionary Force back to Huaxia.

In an underwater base deep in the Pacific Ocean, the door of an escape pod slowly opened.

Ishii's deputy crawled out of the pod in a wretched state, covered in blood, with the empty sleeve of his left arm fluttering in the wind. In the base's main control room, a man wearing a black robe stood with his back to him, looking at the screen showing images of Qiming City.

"My Lord, your subordinate has fortunately fulfilled the mission and brought back the core data of the Busan Base," the deputy knelt on the ground, his voice hoarse.

The black-robed man slowly turned around, revealing a pale face devoid of expression, save for a pair of eyes as deep and unfathomable as a cold pool. He was the supreme head of the Serpent Skeleton Research Institute, code-named "Candle Dragon."

"Ishii failed, and the Busan Base is gone," Candle Dragon's voice was bone-chillingly cold. "But it doesn't matter; those were merely discarded pieces."

He raised his hand and pointed to a 3D map on the screen, which was marked with dozens of red dots deep in the Pacific Ocean.

"Look, this is our true foundation." A sinister smile curled at the corners of Candle Dragon's mouth. "Those little brats from Huaxia think they've won just because they destroyed a mobile platform and wiped out a few outposts? How naive."

The deputy looked up at the red dots on the map, a flash of fanaticism in his eyes: "My Lord, do you mean..."

"Initiate the 'Abyss Project,'" Candle Dragon said word by word. "Release the deep-sea Mutants and cut off Huaxia's maritime routes. Furthermore, let the pieces planted in Qiming City and the Five Great Bases begin their actions."

The deputy shuddered violently, an expression of disbelief on his face: "My Lord, the Mutants for the Abyss Project are not yet fully controllable, and the planted pieces... isn't it too early to act now?"

"Early?" Candle Dragon sneered. "The five lines of defense established by Lin Zhou are like nails driven into our hearts. If we don't act now and wait until their wings are fully grown, we truly won't have another chance."

He walked to the control console and pressed a red button.

A massive door deep within the base slowly opened, and cold seawater flooded into the chamber. One by one, deep-sea monsters with sizes far exceeding Level 7 Mutants slowly opened their crimson eyes. Their bodies were covered in thick shells, the antennae atop their heads flickered with an eerie blue light, and their gaping maws were filled with sharp fangs.

These were the ultimate killing machines bred by the Serpent Skeleton Research Institute using deep-sea genes—Abyssal Behemoths.

Meanwhile, in a grain warehouse in Qiming City, a seemingly honest porter quietly implanted a microchip into the warehouse's control system.

In the Scientific Research Zone of the Central Hub Base, a newly recruited Technician took advantage of the night to sneak into the weapons research and development lab.

At the radar station of the East Sea Barrier Base, a duty officer tampered slightly with the monitoring screen.

Undercurrents surged quietly beneath the calm surface of the water.

The Far East Expeditionary Force led by Chen Hao was on its way back to Huaxia. Reconnaissance reports from the carrier-borne fighter jets showed that energy fluctuations at the abnormal coordinates deep in the Pacific Ocean were intensifying rapidly.

Standing on the bridge, Chen Hao looked at the turbulent sea, a faint sense of unease rising in his heart.

He always felt that something terrifying was slowly awakening beneath the deep sea.

And far away at the Central Hub Base, Lin Zhou also stood on the command tower, gazing at the eastern horizon. In his hand, he tightly gripped the report from the deep-sea detection satellite, his brows tightly furrowed.