Sky-cracking Rider

Chapter 1223 1192: The "White City" of Antarctica

Many knight novels have clichéd plots where an evil dragon abducts a princess, and the cultural circle of the Slan Dynasty on Cangqiong Star is no exception.

The Slan Dynasty has a princess, and Chen Fei's group includes an evil dragon, but a female evil dragon kidnapping a princess is simply too much.

"Look at you being so scared! That's what happens when you have a girlfriend!"

Her Royal Highness the Princess covered her mouth and giggled, her maids and shadow guards all pretended not to hear anything, as if they had heard nothing at all, only those close to Her Highness knew that there was actually a bit of rebellion hidden in her personality.

On regular days, to maintain the royal image, she must always keep up the appearance of being virtuous and dignified, but with the younger Chen brother, she could let her guard down and joke without worries—a rare opportunity—and without worrying about suddenly breaking character and shocking the dynasty's citizens.

Heseman Brown and Dang Wei Jun exchanged a glance, never having imagined that Her Royal Highness the Princess of the Slan Dynasty could be like this.

Chen Fei resolved that after returning to Blue Star, he would try not to come back to Cangqiong Star, as nothing good ever happened when he encountered Princess Lin Ziyu, best to avoid her altogether.

On Socotra Island, looking at the "Stargate" appearing once again, Monk Miyoshi, overseeing the projection site, also saw Princess Lin Ziyu of the Slan Dynasty on the other side of the "Stargate".

The opponent didn't come over—if they did, it would be a diplomatic incident. Of course, if they didn't report it, it wouldn't count, so there was some freedom in gauging the limits.

They just couldn't understand what was so enjoyable about the warm winds on Socotra Island; even the monk got tanned.

Fifteen minutes later, the "Stargate" projected onto Socotra Island disappeared, and the second coordinate of Cangqiong Star was successfully calculated.

If it weren't for the "planetary-level compute node" with the Gold Element Giant Dragon Core as its nucleus, the sheer amount of calculation would have made Chen Fei's hair stand on end. Even a conventional supercomputing cluster, at full load, would take a very long time. The Neanderthals back then also spent a considerable amount of time and energy just to glean some coordinates on Blue Star.

Supercomputers have always been heavy energy consumers and don't change with technology upgrades or improved computing power; they consume large amounts of energy every second, typically requiring dedicated power from an energy tower. Ordinary grid or crystal energy networks simply cannot support such energy extraction.

The planned location of the third "Stargate" was not on the Morning Star Continent, but in the icy wilderness of Antarctica. Cangqiong Star also has an Antarctica, much larger than the one on Blue Star. At the beginning of unifying the entire planet, the Slan Dynasty set up a secret base there, under the guise of a research station, but in reality, it's an apocalypse base capable of housing a hundred thousand people.

With the Psi Skill "Space Transmission" of S-Class Space Ability User Heseman Brown, they first transferred from the Morning Star Continent to Chongyang Continent, then to Mirei Continent, before finally moving to Antarctica, flying on a small transport airship for over an hour to reach the destination amidst a vast expanse of snowy mountains.

The outdoor temperature was approximately minus 108 degrees Celsius. Without proper insulation measures, frostbite would occur in just three or four seconds, severe frostbite in a minute, and a total loss of warmth in five minutes, leaving even immortals helpless.

The small transport flying ship unfurled a protective barrier, beating back the cold wind and snowflakes, landing on a sliding terrace that extended from within the mountain, which then retracted back into the mountain with the terrace.

The cave entrance where the terrace was slowly closed, and from the outside, it still looked like rugged rock, highly concealed.

Even though there were thick layers of rock and artificial insulation separating the outside cold, the brief exposure to the air outdoors caused convection, causing the temperature in the internal space of the terrace to drop rapidly, with large areas of white frost quickly forming on the walls and floor, and a shimmering ice shell appearing on the exterior of the small flying ship.

Not until the entrance fully sealed did the rate of temperature drop slow, yet the cold was still biting, making one shiver with goosebumps.

Heseman Brown, following behind Dang Wei Jun out of the flying ship's hatch, immediately shrank his neck, exhaling heavy clouds of white mist.

"It's so cold!"

He was from the northern region on Blue Star, compared to the First Sovereign's northeastern area, but not even there did temperatures drop to minus hundred degrees Celsius. Occasionally, only the center of Blue Star's Antarctica might see such extreme low temperatures, where taking a leak might freeze your member off.

Wearing the single-soldier tactical armor, Dang Wei Jun was immune to both cold and heat, this kind of low temperature was nothing, and the "Dragon King" heavy assault-type single-soldier armor could adapt to even lower temperatures.

The current room temperature was minus 28 degrees Celsius, but the heat from inside the mountain continued to flow steadily, gradually offsetting the streaming cold, soon raising it back to above freezing, and areas covered with thick white frost would turn into a wet patch of water stains.

Shadow Guard Lize Jina pressed her earpiece, contacting the person in charge of this base, while waiting for reliable guides to come for contact.

Maid Fei Dani clasped her hands around a short wand-shaped alchemical artifact, the crystals embedded in it glowed faintly, rapidly raising the temperature within a ten-foot radius to a pleasant 20 degrees Celsius, with the boundary of the surrounding chill distinctly swirling without being able to penetrate this range.

Her Royal Highness the Princess finally sauntered out, standing in her casual attire within the constant temperature barrier maintained by an alchemical artifact, completely unaffected by the cold.

"The external temperature here ranges from minus 80 to 100 degrees Celsius, and at its lowest can even reach minus 140 degrees Celsius. It's almost unlikely for any intelligent species to come here, with the nearest settlement being at least 1,200 kilometers away."

Princess Lin Ziyu was well-versed with this secret permanent base in Antarctica, as it also served as an important royal family refuge.

Inside the nearly hollowed-out mountain, nearly ten thousand people lived, including men, women, and children. The Slan Royal Family had merged several intelligent species settlements in Antarctica into one and settled them here. All were of the Feathered Tribe, living an isolated life, adapting to the harsh cold, and relying on supply materials, which ensured their prolonged loyalty.

The base lacked no energy, sustained by the Target Tower Low Temperature Nuclear Fusion Energy Tower and supplemented by abundant geothermal resources. The inhabitants even had access to inexhaustible hot springs.

As the Feathered Tribe guide led the way deeper, the view suddenly opened up. In the icy interior of Antarctica, the inside of the mountain was not only brilliantly lit, resembling a town in broad daylight, but also housed plantations, where lush green plants thrived, maintaining a temperature of about 25 degrees Celsius.

Princess Lin Ziyu's personal maid, Fei Dani, had long put away the alchemical artifact used to maintain the surrounding temperature, having only used it briefly when stepping out of the airship.

An elderly Feathered Tribe member, with white hair and beard, approached Princess Lin Ziyu, then knelt partially, placing his hand on his chest, lowering his head, and respectfully said, "Your Highness, welcome to White City in Antarctica."

"White City" was the name of this secret permanent base in Antarctica.

Princess Lin Ziyu nodded and said, "Rise, hello, Knight City Lord, how have you been?"

Situated inside the mountains, White City was nearly closed off, with no strangers entering or exiting. Apart from regular external vigilance, only a few important places housed armed guards, so even with the City Lord's welcome, no security personnel were arranged this time.

"Thanks to Your Highness, I am well."

The agile Feathered Tribe elder, Knight, stood up swiftly. Despite his aged appearance, he was still robust and continued, "The young ones just caught a Cold Abyss Beast near the Southeast 331 Unfrozen Spring. Perhaps Your Highness could have a taste."

Although Cangqiong Star's Antarctic continent was frigid, it was not lacking in geothermal resources, with hot springs and caves unaffected by ice and snow, and volcanic craters continuously spewing smoke and lava, providing resources for survival here.

Even among the ice and snow, resilient algae and various lower plants strive to absorb the necessary substances for survival without being impacted by the harsh cold of over minus 100 degrees Celsius, creating a unique ecosystem where each molecule has its unique way of survival.

The naming of Southeast 331 Unfrozen Spring refers to a hot spring located 331 kilometers southeast from the permanent secret base "White City." Such a name serves as a guide to return to the base when lost, with the unfrozen hot spring also being the richest area for flora and fauna resources on the Antarctic continent. The Cold Abyss Beast is one of the rare large predators amid this icy expanse, and the predominant hunting-skilled Feathered Tribe regards the Cold Abyss Beast as a prized prey.

Even though self-sufficiency through planting and breeding is achievable within White City, along with the Slan Royal Family's regular supplies, survival resources would never be scarce, yet the Feathered Tribe residing here still occasionally venture out hunting.

"It seems we are in for a treat."

Princess Lin Ziyu looked at Chen Fei and introduced, "Creatures living in cold environments are rich in fat. The Cold Abyss Beast's meat is particularly tender, whether stewed or grilled, it's deliciously flavorful. Even for me, it's rare to have a chance to taste it."

Though geothermally sustained ecological resources provide some support, compared to other continents, Antarctica remains a barren land, and as a top predator in the ecological chain, the Cold Abyss Beast is consistently rare and skilled at moving deep within the ice and snow, making it challenging for the Feathered Tribe in "White City" to successfully hunt one.

"Then I'll have to try it."

Chen Fei followed the princess with peace of mind, taking advantage of the food and drinks, as if on an outing. Sharing a glance with Mr. Brown, both harbored a keen interest in the meat of the Cold Abyss Beast.

Setting up the "Stargate" could be accomplished in just over ten minutes, and the rest of the time could be spent enjoying the scenery and indulging in food and entertainment.

Just then, a dozen or so Feathered Tribe youths, shedding ice pebbles from their bodies, emerged from a tunnel, raising their railgun combat rifles high, shouting at the vast space of the town within the mountain's interior.

"We've hunted a Cold Abyss Beast today, everyone come and join us!"

The peaceful and tranquil Feathered Tribe town suddenly became lively, with people flapping their wings, taking off from various corners, flying towards the youths of the Feathered Tribe.

City Lord Knight smiled and said, "Ha, they've returned!"