Colonial Suit

The frigid wind howled, carrying ice and snow. As far as the eye could see, the entire world was a blanket of white.

This was the Arctic region of the Relic Planet.

Due to the lack of stellar energy, the temperature here was extremely low. The icy gale reached speeds of one hundred and seventy meters per second, so even a tiny ice particle could accelerate to the danger of a bullet. At the same time, because the airflow was too fast, the gale also carried countless vacuum faults, commonly known as 'wind weasels,' which could easily cut through hundreds of millimeters of alloy. Low temperatures, gales, and a lack of life-sustaining food had gradually turned this place into a forbidden zone for life on the Relic Planet. No living creature had approached it for a thousand years.

But today, a line of figures slowly approached from the distant horizon.

They wore heavy hooded cloaks, with crucial parts equipped with Section 562 'Return Home' armor modules. Like ants, they traversed the wind and snow. Ice particles struck their bodies, occasionally scattering sparks. Their movement speed was very slow, almost every step requiring them to insert their feet into the ice layer to resist the gale's attack. Beneath the cloaks' hoods were cold, armored visors, like machines.

"Tss..." With a piercing screech, scorching steam suddenly erupted from one person's left shoulder, and the armor was instantly torn open by the gale, revealing the complex light path structure underneath. Before he could react, an invisible wind weasel burrowed into the damaged area and sliced off half of his body.

Blood sprayed out and was quickly dispersed by the gale. The headless corpse swayed and fell to the ground, never to move again.

The team continued to advance, no one glancing at him, as if nothing had happened.

This was the Arctic region of the Relic Planet, a forbidden zone for life.

From the moment the team stepped into this place, they had grown accustomed to death...

The gale howled. Three hours later, the team finally found a wind-sheltered ice rock to settle down. Lire climbed to the top of the ice rock and lifted the hood of her cloak. Instantly... fiery red hair danced in the gale, like a sudden burst of flames. Section 562 Return 'Home'

From her vantage point, she could see a vast ice sheet in the distance. This ice sheet was circular, hidden among the endless undulating ice plains, so abrupt and unique. There were no mountains on the ice sheet, only thick layers of ice and snow covering it, like ancient armor.

Frankly speaking, such an ice sheet was nothing special; it only indicated that there had once been a lake beneath it. But only Lire knew that this was her destination.

Descending from the ice rock, modified humans promptly brought towels and hot water. Lire wiped herself briefly; by the time she put it down, the towel had already turned into a block of ice. She paused for a moment, then asked in a low voice.

"How is Saliek?"

"Lord Prince is out of danger and is recovering. Preliminary estimates indicate that he will awaken in one hour and thirty-two minutes and recover seventy percent of his combat power." Another modified human replied. Hidden beneath his hood was an aged face, clearly a Sage.

Lire's kingdom did not have many Sages, so each Sage held an extremely important position in the kingdom. His presence here was enough to show how much Lire valued this mission.

But it was precisely because of his presence that Saliek's life was saved.

After all, Saliek's injuries were too severe. Not only had he crushed one of his own hearts, but he had also been repeatedly wounded by Lire, leaving little life force in his body. His cells were also on the verge of rioting. Most seriously, in addition to his physical injuries, Saliek also harbored a will to die, so even Lire's gift of a second heart could not compensate. If the Sage had not carried an emergency culture medium, it would have been questionable whether Saliek could have survived.

However, after emergency cultivation, Saliek had inadvertently benefited. He had expanded his bio-energy pool again. When he woke up, he would inevitably reach a new stage.

"Consider him lucky." After hearing the Sage's report, Lire said coldly, while glancing below the ice rock.

At this time, the modified humans had carved a spacious cave out of the ice rock and lit bonfires. Above the bonfires, large chunks of frozen meat rolled in marching pots, quickly emitting an enticing aroma. Because of habit, the Star Pirates' nutrient solution was not favored by the modified humans; they only used it as an emergency energy supplement. Their main means of energy acquisition remained primitive and crude. But even such a primitive campsite gave the modified humans a sense of home. A faint smile appeared on everyone's face.

They were all very ugly, having undergone more than one modification to gain power. So their facial muscles were distorted beyond recognition, and they were covered with scars of all sizes. If one only looked at their appearance, it would be enough to frighten children into crying. But when these smiles appeared on their faces, they were so innocent, like a group of children.

"So easily satisfied..." Lire lowered her head, her gaze becoming blurred. Unconsciously, her thoughts returned to that doomsday planet, that cold sewer...

A piece of meat of an unidentifiable part, a pair of indifferent eyes, a dirty blanket, a wind-sheltered hut.

In fact, wasn't she also easily satisfied? At that time, that was all she had, wasn't it?

Even after evolving to her current state, enjoying emperor-like treatment, Lire still felt that it could not compare to the warmth of that time. No matter how many people surrounded her, she would still feel lonely.

Was it because that was her home? Or because... there... there had once been a pair of shoulders to rely on?

Or perhaps, there was a feeling... called happiness?

Unconsciously, Lire felt a little cold and tightened her cloak again. Then she raised her head and coldly instructed the Sage.

"We can only rest for one hour. Then we will set off. Tell everyone to try to replenish high-calorie foods and check their equipment and instruments. We won't get any more rest after this. Prepare for continuous combat."

"Yes, my Lord." The Sage bowed his head in response. At the end, he glanced at the camp, and said regretfully, "If only we hadn't abandoned those equipment. With only the remaining equipment, I'm afraid we won't be able to support high-intensity operations."

"That is unavoidable," Lire replied, her tone as cold as the nearby ice rock.

"I don't want to be discovered by those guys hovering overhead. Although the magnetic field here is enough to shield holographic scans, and the chaotic binary rules make them hesitant, we can't underestimate anyone. Remember..." Lire turned her head and stared into the Sage's eyes. "We are the forgotten, the orphans of the universe. If we want to survive, we can't rely on anyone. Do you think they will really support us when they discover that we have opened up a new channel?"

"Naive," Lire sneered coldly. "The only thing we can gain is betrayal."

Saying that, she ignored the Sage and turned to walk towards the cave.

The cold wind howled... stirring up patches of ice crystals, so cold and cruel...

The rest was short. One hour only allowed everyone to eat a hot meal and warm their bodies a little. But in this extremely cold Arctic, this warmth would quickly disappear with the wind and snow. They would once again rely on their own energy and armor systems to maintain life.

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Taking one last look at Saliek in the middle of the team, Lire tightened her cloak and walked out of the cave in everyone's gaze. Behind her, all the modified humans silently lowered their armored visors and followed without saying a word.

The wind and snow submerged the sky and the earth. They trudged with difficulty, gradually approaching the ice sheet. Three hours later, Lire finally arrived at her destination, the very center of the ice sheet.

Looking around from here, everything was completely white, with visibility less than a hundred meters. Lire nodded in satisfaction, finally revealing a trace of a smile.

"Do you know what's beneath this ice sheet?" she asked softly, her voice clearly reaching the Sage's ears.

The Sage hurriedly bent down to examine it, and then took out an instrument to test it for a while. Then he shook his head. "I'm sorry, my Lord, I can't answer you. All the results show that under our feet is a solid ice layer thousands of meters thick. It is estimated to be the product of the freezing of some ancient lake. And after testing, I found that the molecular structure of this ice layer is very special, and its hardness may be stronger than the alloy armor of a warship. In addition to the environment here, I think it will be difficult for us to excavate without alarming those adults above."

"What's more, I still can't find anything unusual below. I don't even know where the passage you mentioned is," the Sage finally said. "Maybe we need more time to search."

"No need," Lire waved her hand and said lightly. "Any search is a meaningless act. To tell you the truth, the thickness of the ice layer under our feet is definitely more than a thousand meters, but at least ten kilometers or more. It's like a plug, plugging the belly button of this planet."

"And what we need to do is to penetrate this ice layer and enter the planet's umbilical cord."

"What?" The Sage was startled. An ice layer more than ten kilometers thick, how could such a plug be removed?

If it were a normal situation, it would be fine, but now there are two motherships hovering overhead. Any large-scale energy mobilization will attract their attention. In this way, it is almost impossible for them to carry out high-intensity operations. How can they do all this?

The Sage didn't ask how Lire knew the specific data of this ice layer, but he knew that this would be an insurmountable barrier.

Unless, they can ignore the monitoring of the motherships above.

"Don't worry," Lire was very optimistic, revealing a faint smile. "I will solve all this. I guarantee that no one will find us."

Saying that, she closed her eyes and stood in the wind and snow. Her fiery red hair flew open, spreading like flames...

These flames merged into the wind and snow and seeped into the earth. Silently, Lire's thoughts touched an indescribable place. That was what Lire had noticed from the beginning.

"I'm coming..." she said softly, like a call from a wanderer returning home. "Take me... home..."

Boom... The ice sheet trembled, and spider-like cracks appeared with Lire as the center, spreading rapidly...rq!!!