66: Chapter 66 Cheng'an Settlement

The red wasteland gradually receded, replaced by a level road.

On both sides of the road, drainage ditches were neatly planned, and at regular intervals stood small towers emitting a blue arc of light.

Captain Elara Vella stared intently through the firing port of the chimera troop carrier, her gaze locked onto that tower.

An inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up in her heart, yet she couldn't for the life of her remember where she had seen it before.

Just then, Gluck's voice came over, his tone lacking its usual lightheartedness and carrying a hint of strangeness, almost as if he were delivering a report.

"That is an Energy Induction Tower, a creation of Icarus."

He paused and continued to explain: "It can wirelessly distribute energy to supply large mining machines and other gathering and industrial production facilities. We built the road along its path; as long as we are near Icarus's facilities, the safety of this area is absolutely guaranteed."

As he spoke, Gluck pointed a finger toward the sky.

"You can't see it now, but there's actually its Satellite Power Distribution Station in the sky. At night, it casts down a pale blue light, illuminating the entire night—bright, but not blinding."

"As long as we build near Icarus's facilities, it is the safest place for mortals who currently have no way to defend themselves."

His tone shifted and grew heavier: "We still have no way to completely deal with the Ork spores."

"There are simply too many of them. As you know, Orks reproduce through spores. Whether they are alive or dead, they can only be disposed of by incineration, as they spread far too easily."

"Consuming massive amounts of Promethium to do this is simply not cost-effective; it's too wasteful."

Elena did not respond.

Her gaze remained locked onto that tower, and deep within her eyes, a flicker of a daze passed through that even she could not explain.

After a moment, Gluck stopped and said, "This is as far as we go. We'll have to walk the rest of the way."

"The chimera cannot enter the settlement. Their appearance would make people nervous—after all, our world has only just been pulled back from the brink of destruction."

Sister Superior Ludmilla nodded; she fully understood that kind of tension.

In the Imperium, the appearance of armored vehicles meant only three things to most citizens: suppression, massacre, or worse.

Gluck was the first to jump off the vehicle, followed closely by the three Sisters, who landed one by one.

The moment the door closed, the headlights of #0042 flashed.

Gluck reached out and patted the outer hull of the chimera, whispering something, after which the vehicle drove away on its own.

They had their own tasks: to continue patrolling the wilderness and incinerating newborn Ork Gretchin to prevent them from gathering into a Waaagh!.

After the chimera drove away, a city sunken deep into the ground, below the horizon, fully unfolded before their eyes.

The city was built around a lake, looking like a piece of folded gray cloth.

Modular housing units, based on hexagonal shapes, were tightly arranged and stacked up to twelve stories high, back-to-back and facing outward, forming a massive hive cluster.

The wall surfaces had a fine, grainy texture; no one knew exactly what material they were made of.

In the center of the city was a vast, circular lake.

In the very center of the lake, an Interstellar Logistics Tower was suspended. Its silver-gray spire pierced the heavens, and the launch gantry at its peak expanded in a ring, carrying Interstellar Logistics Vessels; the whole structure looked like a giant mushroom growing from the earth.

The geometric lines on the tower were sharp and simple, its metallic shell gleaming with a cold luster, while pale blue energy circuits flowed slowly across it.

From time to time, Interstellar Logistics Vessels would arrive from space, plunging into the central passage of the tower, and a moment later, blast back toward the sky with blue plasma exhaust, vanishing from sight.

It did not have the surging grandeur of the Equatorial Bus, yet it possessed the unique oppressive weight of an industrial megastructure.

On the tower's eaves, ten Interstellar Logistics Vessels roughly the size of frigates were docked, ready at any time to traverse the stars and undertake the heavy responsibility of cross-planetary resource transfer.

It was the hub of planetary logistics and, more importantly, a key node connecting interstellar factories; every seam was engraved with the weight and precision of interstellar industry, silently but powerfully maintaining the material cycle of the entire city.

Countless Logistics Drones, roughly the size of Thunderhawk gunships, swarmed out like bees from the tower's peak passage, shuttling between the central tower and the nine smaller Planetary Logistics Towers surrounding the lake.

Beneath those nine smaller towers, nine red conveyor belts were pulled from each, continuously transporting resources from the logistics towers to giant storage depots on the outskirts of the city via elevated tracks.

In the storage depots, these daily necessities—protein bars, water, tools—would be delivered by Delivery Drones to various supply stations.

But at this moment, all of them temporarily ignored those giant towers.

For the lake's surface was rippling slightly, gently embracing the surrounding gray modular buildings and cold metallic towers in its arms.

When the Interstellar Logistics Tower operated, its cold, pale blue energy circuits turned into a handful of flowing blue fire in the lake water, looking incredibly gentle.

On the lake's surface, fine ripples layered upon one another, spreading toward the shore and touching the bases of the modular housing before gently receding, as if carefully guarding the warmth of this settlement.

Occasionally, a Logistics Drone would sweep over the lake, the pale blue plasma light of its engines casting fleeting shadows on the water, reflecting the faint energy circuits visible at the bottom of the lake like the gentlest resonance between heaven and earth.

Deep within the lake, a faint blue light flowed slowly, spreading along the veins of the lakebed to echo the energy circuits of the central tower, pulsing silently and gently like the lifeblood of this artificial world.

Not far away, a little girl as chubby as a piglet broke free from her mother's embrace.

She stood on tiptoe, gazing at the blue lake, her small palm raised high as if trying to touch the soft blue light reflecting and refracting on the water.

The lake water reflected her round figure, interwoven with the blue light and the metallic towers, creating a scene that was both absurd and beautiful.

The heaviness of industry and the gentleness of nature embraced here; the suffering of the past and the hope of new life merged here.

This blue lake was the gentlest gift upon this former wasteland.

It silently spoke of stability and hope, making everyone who saw it stop in their tracks, intoxicated by this rare tranquility and clarity.

Although they had already known from the void that this world had oceans and lakes,

But when they truly saw this unpolluted, crystal-clear blue lake, they could no longer suppress the deep longing for life in their hearts.

The power packs on their power armor emitted the screech of overclocked operation as the three of them sprinted madly across the metal-paved road, throwing themselves recklessly toward that azure blue.

Gluck shrugged and looked up at the power distribution satellite above the city, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He knew the machine spirit of the Indomitable Truth was watching this place.

He spoke slowly within the machine spirit network, his tone carrying a hint of mockery: "Wasn't it you who mocked me once? Mocked me for being so moved that I shed tears when I saw this blue lake?"

"You also said Elena would never lose her composure. So now, how do you explain this?"

The next second, a tsundere and defiant voice came from the void: "Hmph!"