138: A Dream of Cliff Mountain, the System Returns

Chapter 1: A Dream at Yashan, the System Returns

Violent jolts accompanied by the salty, fishy sea breeze poured into his nostrils, and cold seawater splashed onto his cheeks with a bone-chilling coldness.

Lin Zhou snapped his eyes open, his chest heaving violently as the lingering sensation of suffocation and the roar of explosions still echoed in his mind—it was the flames of the Abyssal Mothership's engine disintegrating, the final image of him using himself as a catalyst to blow apart the Dark Matter Link.

He thought he had long since been shattered into pieces, his soul scattered, forever vanished into the high skies of the Northern Frontier.

But what met his eyes was not the Star Core Stone Tower of the underground palace, nor the roaring Star Core Magnetic Storm Cannon, nor the sky-blotting Abyssal Fleet, but a dim and oppressive sky. The sea waves churned with inky foam, and beside him was a dilapidated Southern Song Dynasty sea vessel. The planks were cracked, the masts and sails were broken, and blood-stained soldiers in tattered armor could be seen everywhere. The air was thick with the smell of blood, seawater, and a lingering sense of despair.

In his ears were the tearful, youthful cries and the hoarse roars of a general.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, you're awake!"

"Protect the Emperor! Quick, protect the Emperor! The Yuan Army's fast boats are catching up!"

"Chancellor Lu, the bottom of the ship is leaking; we can't hold on much longer!"

Your Majesty? Chancellor Lu? Yuan Army?

A sharp pain shot through Lin Zhou's brain as massive memory fragments flooded in like a tide, forcibly merging with his consciousness—Zhao Bing, the last emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty, only eight years old; the second year of Xiangxing, the Battle of Yashan, where the Southern Song navy was completely wiped out, and Lu Xiufu carrying the Emperor into the sea, ending the Great Song's reign of over three hundred years.

And he, Lin Zhou, the red alert Commander who had guarded the Eternal Kingdom in the apocalypse and ultimately burned himself out, had actually been reborn into this little emperor who was about to jump into the sea for his country.

The body was the frail form of an eight-year-old child, with thin limbs and a cold body, requiring effort even to sit up. Yet, deep within his soul, the instinct for ruthless decisiveness and strategic command tempered through a thousand trials in the apocalypse remained undiminished.

He struggled to lift his hand, looking at his tender palm. Incredulity surged in the depths of his eyes, which then turned into a bottomless calm.

Yashan, the swan song of the Southern Song Dynasty, the bloody turning point where the Han Heritage sank.

In his previous life, he guarded human civilization in the abyss of the apocalypse; in this life, he was to guard the Huaxia Lineage at the dead end of Yashan.

Just then, a cold, mechanical, yet incredibly familiar electronic voice boomed in his Sea of Consciousness. Unlike the basic red alert command system of his previous life, this voice carried a more complete data stream, a larger infrastructure library, and a more comprehensive array of unit types and tech trees, like a slumbering dragon suddenly awakening.

[Ding—Host soul binding successful, Ultimate red alert Global Command System activated]

[Host: Lin Zhou (Physical Body: Zhao Bing, Emperor Xiangxing of the Southern Song Dynasty, age 8)]

[Current Era: 1279 AD, Second Year of Xiangxing of the Southern Song Dynasty, the finale of the Battle of Yashan]

[Current Situation: The remaining Southern Song navy is surrounded by the Yuan Army, the flagship is leaking, and total annihilation is imminent. The historical node 'Lu Xiufu carrying the Emperor into the sea' will be triggered in ten minutes]

[System Version: Apocalyptic Evolution Edition - Global red alert system (Infrastructure completion, all unit types unlocked, cross-era tech tree, resource conversion, maritime colonization, and global expansion modules are all open)]

[Initial Permissions: Island Colony Base Core, Basic Resource Converter, Junior Shipyard, Conscript Barracks, Freshwater Purification Module, Basic defense tower]

[Initial Resources: Steel ×10,000, Fuel ×5,000, Ore ×8,000, Energy Core ×1, Special Supplies: Emergency Construction Drone ×3]

[Emergency Directive Issued: Escape the Yashan battlefield, occupy a nearby unclaimed island, establish the first red alert forward base, survive and complete preliminary infrastructure. Reward: Tech Points ×100, unlock Junior Tank Factory]

The system!

A complete and even more powerful red alert system than in his previous life!

Lin Zhou's heart suddenly constricted. Images of him relying on the red alert system to struggle for survival in the apocalypse, establishing settlements, and fighting off tide-like hordes and the abyss flashed by. Now, this world-destroying modern warfare system had descended upon the thirteenth century, where cold weapons reigned supreme.

Steel torrents, magnetic storm weapons, air force formations, maritime fleets, infrastructure capacity, resource self-sufficiency... this was not just a life-saving straw for gasping in the apocalypse; it was a supreme weapon to sweep across the world and reshape the universe.

"Your Majesty, how are you?"

A middle-aged man in cyan official robes, his face covered in dust but his eyes resolute, walked over quickly. It was Lu Xiufu. He looked at the little emperor who had opened his eyes, his own eyes filled with sorrow and determination. He reached out to pick Lin Zhou up. "Things have come to this; I cannot allow Your Majesty to be humiliated by the Yuan people. Today, I shall go to the Yellow Springs with Your Majesty to preserve the integrity of the Great Song!"

The surrounding soldiers wept one after another. The remnants, holding broken blades with hollow eyes, were already prepared to die for their country.

The trajectory of history was about to play out at this very moment.

Lin Zhou suddenly raised his small hand and gripped Lu Xiufu's sleeve tightly. His child-like voice carried a steadiness and coldness that did not match his age, shattering the despair filling the ship word by word.

"Chancellor Lu, no jumping into the sea."

Lu Xiufu paused, thinking the child was afraid of death, and the sorrow in his eyes deepened: "Your Majesty, the Yuan Army is brutal. If you fall into their hands, life will be worse than death. Our Great Song imperial family must die with dignity!"

"Dignity is not about jumping into the sea to feed the fish; it is about gripping a sword to slay the enemy, reclaiming our rivers and mountains, and allowing the Han Heritage to stand tall once more under heaven." Lin Zhou shook off his hand and, relying on the control within his soul, forced his body to sit upright. His gaze swept over the dense Yuan Army fast boats outside, the Song soldiers' corpses floating on the sea, and the vast South Sea behind them. "Pass down my decree: abandon the large ships, board the small fast boats, and break through to the south. The target is the uninhabited desert islands to the southwest. The entire army is to follow orders. Anyone who dares to speak of jumping into the sea shall be executed."

The entire ship was shocked.

Whether it was Lu Xiufu or the personal guards and remaining soldiers, they all stared dumbfoundedly at this little emperor who was usually timid and prone to crying. At this moment, his eyes were as sharp as blades and his tone as majestic as a sovereign's, without a hint of a child's cowardice; instead, he seemed like a commander who had been through a hundred battles.

"Your Majesty, this..." Lu Xiufu was stunned. "The southwest is full of barren islands with no food or water. With the Yuan Army in pursuit, how can we survive?"

"I will handle the matter of survival." Lin Zhou offered no further explanation. In his Sea of Consciousness, he had already pulled up the island construction panel of the red alert system. A 3D holographic island planning map unfolded in his mind, and the Emergency Construction Drones were already on standby. Once they reached the target waters, infrastructure could be grounded in an instant. "Right now, the only task is to survive, break through, land, and establish a foundation."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ship's hull jolted violently. A Yuan Army fast boat had crashed into the side, and the shouts of Yuan soldiers and the clashing of sabers suddenly drew near. Several Song soldiers instantly fell in a pool of blood.

"The Yuan Army is boarding!"

"Protect the Emperor! Quick, protect the Emperor!"

Chaos erupted instantly. Lu Xiufu's expression changed drastically. He could no longer afford to think and picked up Lin Zhou, shouting orders: "Follow His Majesty's decree! Abandon the large ships, board the fast boats, and break through to the south! Fight to the death to cover the rear and protect His Majesty's breakthrough!"

The remaining Song soldiers instantly felt a strange surge of fighting spirit. The little emperor's sudden decisiveness was like a spark lit in the darkness, causing this group of desperate warriors to grip their weapons once more.

Dozens of remaining small fast boats sailed out from the flanks of the large ship. Lu Xiufu personally sat at the bow with a sword, and dozens of personal guards rowed like flying, speeding toward the vast sea to the southwest. The flagship behind them was soon swallowed by the Yuan Army. The shouts and explosions gradually faded, leaving only a trail of bloody waves.

Lin Zhou lay at the bow of the fast boat. The sea breeze made his cheeks sting, but he didn't care at all. He kept the system panel locked in his Sea of Consciousness, calculating the route, distance, and island coordinates, while simultaneously pulling up the initial construction list.

Junior Island Base Core: Once grounded, it can generate a basic protective barrier to block cold weapon attacks;

Basic Freshwater Purification Module: Can convert seawater into drinking water, solving the primary survival problem;

Barracks: Within 24 hours, it can produce red alert Conscripts equipped with modern light weapons, crushing cold weapon armies;

Small Shipyard: Can quickly build red alert High-Speed Patrol Boats to control the surrounding waters;

Resource Converter: Can convert the island's rocks, soil, and seawater into the steel, ore, and fuel needed for red alert infrastructure.

All of this required only a foothold, an island belonging to him.

The fast boat sped across the sea for nearly an hour, leaving the Yuan Army pursuers far behind. Finally, a lush, green, uninhabited desert island appeared on the horizon. The island was not large, with gentle terrain, sandy beaches, woodlands, and traces of freshwater sources, perfectly matching the construction conditions for an initial red alert base.

"Your Majesty, it's that island!" a guard whispered.

Lin Zhou looked up, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

The desperate situation at Yashan ended here.

Starting from this nameless island, he would use the red alert system as his foundation and his apocalyptic title as his will to forge a Great Wall of Steel, train a modern mighty army, pacify the seas, stabilize the four directions, overthrow the Mongol Yuan, restore Huaxia, and ultimately plant the flag of red alert on every inch of land across the globe.

[Ding—Safe landing area detected. Activate Emergency Construction Drones to deploy the Junior Island Base Core?]

Lin Zhou mentally recited two words, his voice resolute.

"Deploy."

Three miniature drones flew out from his Sea of Consciousness, turning into three streams of light that landed in the center of the island's beach. With a flash of blue light, massive infrastructure modules instantly expanded. metal bases took root in the sand, and an energy barrier enveloped a hundred-meter radius. The Barracks, water purifier, Resource Converter, and defense towers took shape at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Upon the beach, a steel base belonging to red alert suddenly appeared in the world.

Lu Xiufu and all the Song soldiers looked at the scene before them, which defied all logic, in stunned silence. Thinking it was a deity descending to earth, they all knelt on the ground, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"

Lin Zhou stepped off the fast boat onto the soft sand. Facing the sea breeze, he looked toward the vast South Sea and the distant Central Plains. From his small, tender body, a kingly aura that spanned the apocalypse and the ages erupted.

"From this day forth, this island shall be named Fuxing."