Chapter 220

Watch your step! The ice is cracking!

Li Gang's shout pierced through the pervasive mist. The ice beneath his feet was spreading with spiderweb-like cracks at a visible speed, and murky meltwater gushed out along the cracks, bringing a long-lost damp warmth when it reached above his ankles.

As the captain of the third cleanup team at the official base, he and his team had been working in this area for three consecutive days. After a full year of polar night, the temperature finally began to rise slightly, slowly climbing from a constant -70°C to -5°C. Although it was still cold, it was enough to melt the ice layer that covered the city, which was tens of meters thick.

The team members wore lightweight, modified cold-weather manganese crystal suits, with the cuffs and trouser legs open for ventilation, and their helmets pushed back on their heads.

No one dared to be careless. Buried beneath the ice were the remnants of a city from the early days of the polar night a year ago, as well as countless traces of battle. The uneven melting rate of the ice caused ice fissures and the hidden risk of collapse, making them even more difficult to guard against than low-level monsters.

"Captain, we've found something over here!" A team member's shout drew everyone's attention.

Beneath a sloping ice surface, melted ice water washed away a patch of black metal debris. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that it was the base of the outer defensive tower that was destroyed when resisting the Ice Soul Beast. The twisted manganese crystal support still bore traces of pale blue ice energy, which were caused by the Ice Soul Beast's ice spikes.

As the ice continued to melt, more remnants gradually came into view: a broken laser gun barrel, a shattered heating core shell, and half a monster's skeleton. The frost on the surface of the bones was melting rapidly, dripping with water droplets that smelled fishy.

Li Gang crouched down and used an entrenching tool to clear away the ice fragments around the remains, discovering that several relatively intact manganese crystal modules were pressed under these twisted metal components.

"Clean carefully; these modules can be recycled." He instructed his team to secure the modules with ropes to prevent the ice from collapsing suddenly and causing secondary damage.

A year after the Ice Soul Beast attack, the base established a residue recycling system. The regenerated brick technology provided by Su Jing gave these ruin materials new value—broken manganese crystals and discarded metal components, after being crushed, can be mixed with melted ice cement slurry and cold-resistant vine fibers to make sturdy recycled building materials, saving nearly 30% of the demon core energy compared to brand-new materials.

In an open area not far away, dozens of displaced people were working with robots to dig drainage ditches.

As the meltwater accumulated, it began to backflow into some of the low-lying insulated cellar entrances. Chen Lan, holding her toddler who could already walk unsteadily, stood in a slightly higher, safer area, holding a small entrenching tool in her hand, occasionally helping to clear the broken ice from the edge of the channel.

Little Bao was wearing a mini version of a winter coat, his little face flushed with a healthy rosy glow from the long-awaited warmth. He pointed curiously at the distant ruins of tall buildings and asked in his childish voice, "Mommy, what are those black things?"

“That was the old house.” Chen Lan patted her son’s head, her eyes filled with emotion. When the polar night began, Xiao Bao was still an infant and almost didn’t survive the attack by the Ice Soul Beast, but now he can chase after the spots of light by the meltwater.

Her gaze fell on the temporary monitoring station not far away, where the electronic screen displayed the temperature in real time: -3℃, with a line of small print next to it that read "24-hour temperature rise: 4℃".

This number warmed the hearts of everyone who had endured the long polar night; they had finally seen signs of the ice and snow melting.

Inside the monitoring station, several researchers are intently watching the data curves on the screen.

The person in charge, Lao Zhou, pushed up his glasses, which were a little blurry from the cold, and tapped his fingers quickly on the control panel: "The ice thickness in the eastern area has dropped to 5 meters, the pH value of the meltwater is normal, and there are no pollutants exceeding the standard."

His young assistant suddenly exclaimed, "Professor Zhou, the temperature has risen again! It's -1℃ now, and the intensity of solar radiation is increasing!"

Old Zhou immediately rushed to the radiation monitor, his eyes flashing with elation as he looked at the fluctuating numbers: "The dark barrier of the polar night is receding! This means that the alternation of day and night may be about to return."

He immediately picked up the communicator and reported: "Captain Wang Peng, this is the monitoring station. The current surface temperature is -1℃, and the solar radiation has begun to recover. It is expected that the temperature will drop below 0℃ within 24 hours. Please organize the reinforcement of the foundation of the insulation cellar as soon as possible to prevent the frozen soil from melting and causing a collapse."

Wang Peng responded urgently from the other end of the communicator: "Received! We have dispatched teams of ability users to various areas. Earth-type ability users are reinforcing the foundations, and water-type ability users are assisting in channeling the meltwater."

Additionally, suspected survivor remains have been discovered in the northwest area of ​​the ruins; please send someone to assess the environmental safety.

Half an hour later, Li Gang's cleanup team received a mission to go to the Northwest Debris Area.

As the ice layer continues to melt, more urban relics are revealed: leaning high-rise buildings are reduced to half-walls, window glass has long been shattered, and melting ice water forms curtains of water between the floors.

The streets were once covered with thick mud and limbs, and occasionally you could see vehicles frozen in ice, with twisted and deformed doors and human skeletons still inside.

The billboards on the street corner are now just rusted metal frames, but the faded lettering still hints at the bustling activity before the polar night.

"Captain, look here!" The team members discovered a basement entrance encased in thick ice beneath the ruins of a collapsed shopping mall.

Most of the ice had melted, revealing a sturdy alloy door with obvious impact marks, but it remained intact.

Li Gang signaled to his team members to use a laser cutter to open the alloy door. A musty smell permeated the room, and although the air was polluted, there was no deadly chill.

The basement was filled with various supplies: bags of compressed biscuits, sealed drinking water, and several boxes of unopened winter clothing. It was clearly a temporary shelter set up by someone during the early stages of the polar night.

Several frozen corpses were huddled in the corner, their faces still showing expressions of terror. The ice covering their bodies had just melted, and their clothes were wet and clung to their skin.

"They must have run out of fuel at the beginning of the polar night and couldn't hold out until the base could provide assistance." Li Gang sighed, signaled the team members to register the supplies, and then contacted the logistics team to come and receive them.

Just then, a slight tremor suddenly came from the ground, and ripples appeared in the small puddles formed by the melting water.

"Oh no, the basement is collapsing!" a team member shouted, and everyone immediately retreated. Just as they ran out of the basement, a loud "boom" came from behind them, and half of the collapsed wall slid down the melting ice slope, completely burying the basement entrance.

"That was close!" Li Gang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. The melting permafrost had made the originally solid foundation extremely unstable, and collapse could happen at any moment.

At the same time, the base's insulated cellar area is also facing severe challenges.

Earth-type ability users are using their abilities to embed recycled bricks around the foundation of the insulated cellar, reinforcing the loose frozen soil.

"Quick! The foundation here is sinking!" a superhuman shouted. The ground beneath his feet had already shown obvious signs of sinking, and meltwater was constantly seeping in through the cracks in the foundation, causing the frozen soil to thaw rapidly.

Several water-based ability users immediately stepped forward and used their abilities to freeze the seeping meltwater into ice, temporarily stabilizing the foundation, but this was ultimately only a temporary measure.

Wang Peng stood on high ground, watching the bustling crowd and the increasingly visible remnants of the ruins, his brow furrowed. Reports from various areas kept coming through the communicator: "A small-scale mudslide has occurred in the southern remnant area; meltwater carrying debris has blocked the drainage ditches."

"A large number of intact heating element fragments have been found at the eastern recycling point, and recycling and repair are being organized." "The latest data from the monitoring station shows that the current temperature is 2°C, and it is expected to reach 10°C in the afternoon."

The rapid rise in temperature exceeded everyone's expectations, bringing hope while also triggering a new crisis.

Just as Wang Peng ordered the dispatch of an engineering team to the south to dredge the drainage ditches, he received a new urgent report: "Captain, Xiao Bao is missing! Chen Lan said he ran off with a group of children to the northern resettlement area!"

Wang Peng's heart jumped into his throat. The northern ruins area was the core area of ​​the Ice Soul Beast attack. Underneath the ruins were not only a large number of uncleared monster skeletons, but also many unexploded energy devices, which were extremely dangerous.

He immediately led a small team to the north, and from afar he saw several children chasing and playing among the ruins. Xiao Bao was squatting next to a huge Ice Soul Beast skeleton, curiously touching the ice energy crystals on the skeleton.

"Danger! Get out of there!" Wang Peng shouted as he rushed over.

As soon as he finished speaking, the ice around Xiao Bao suddenly collapsed, and his small body fell down instantly. Chen Lan arrived just in time and let out a heart-wrenching scream upon seeing this.

Wang Peng leaped down and, with his third-tier enhanced ability, caught Xiao Bao steadily. Just then, the remaining foundation above suddenly loosened, and several huge boulders crashed down on them.

"Get out of the way!" A team member activated his special ability, conjuring an energy shield to block the falling rocks.

Wang Peng quickly jumped out of the collapsed area with Xiao Bao in his arms and handed the child to Chen Lan.

Still shaken, Chen Lan hugged her son tightly, tears mingling with the melting rainwater streaming down her cheeks: "Thank you, Captain Wang, it's all my fault for not watching him properly."

Wang Peng shook his head, his gaze falling on the skeleton of the Ice Soul Beast.

The enormous skeleton looked particularly gruesome in the melting water, and the wounds inflicted by the ice-breaking cannons on the skull were still visible. The battle a year ago seemed like yesterday; countless people sacrificed their lives to protect the insulated cellar. Now, with the ice melting and the remains exposed, these relics are not only painful memories but also a glimmer of hope for survival—the ice-based energy crystals within the skeleton can be extracted to supplement the heating core, and the bones themselves can be processed into sturdy building materials.

"Notify the recovery team to prioritize the disposal of this Ice Soul Beast skeleton."

Wang Peng instructed into the communicator, "In addition, increase patrols in the residue area and prohibit minors from approaching."

In the afternoon, the temperature indeed climbed to 12°C, just as the monitoring station had predicted. Sunlight pierced through the thin clouds, shining on the damp ruins and reflecting a dazzling light.

People took off their heavy winter coats, wearing only light inner layers, and their faces showed long-lost smiles.

Some plant-based ability users began to try to cultivate cold-resistant plants around the ruins. Tender green vines climbed up the ruins, adding a touch of life to the gloomy city.

Inside the monitoring station, Lao Zhou looked at the latest data and excitedly slapped the table: "The temperature has reached 18℃! Moreover, according to radiation monitoring, the sun's trajectory is returning to normal, and the alternation of day and night is likely to be fully restored in the next few days!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the temperature curve on the screen jumped again, and within just one hour, the temperature rose by another 5°C, reaching 23°C.

"It's so hot!" Outside the monitoring station, someone started unbuttoning their clothes, a look of surprise on their face.

Having endured the polar night for a year, they had long since grown accustomed to the bitter cold, and the sudden warmth was somewhat difficult for their bodies to adjust to. Even more surprisingly, as the temperature rose, the meltwater beneath the remnants began to evaporate, forming a thin layer of mist, significantly increasing the humidity in the air, making breathing no longer as dry and stinging as before.

But the changes didn't stop there. As evening approached, the temperature began to plummet, dropping rapidly from 25°C in the afternoon to 5°C, and by nightfall, it had fallen to -8°C. People inside the insulated cellar had to put their winter clothing back on and turn on the heating elements to maintain the temperature.

Wang Peng received reports from multiple areas that some exposed meltwater had refreezed, causing drainage ditches that had been cleared during the day to become blocked, and some temporary buildings that had not been reinforced in time developed cracks due to excessive temperature differences.

"The temperature difference is too extreme!"

Li Gang complained over the communicator that his team members were cleaning up the debris under the scorching sun during the day, but at night they had to repair the frozen and cracked equipment in the freezing cold, and many of them had developed cold symptoms.

Wang Peng looked at the latest forecast sent by the monitoring station: "The highest temperature tomorrow is expected to be 30℃, and the lowest temperature is expected to be -10℃, with a temperature difference of 40℃ between day and night."

He knew this meant the polar night was over, but new challenges were just beginning.

The huge temperature difference poses a severe test to the stability of the building. The ice water that melts during the day freezes at night, which will exacerbate the collapse of the foundation.

At the same time, rapid temperature changes may also trigger new monster activities. Monsters that have adapted to the extreme cold environment may become even more ferocious after the temperature rises.

Late at night, the insulated cellar was completely silent.

Most people were already asleep, but Wang Peng and his research team were still holding a meeting to discuss solutions.

"We must develop building materials that can adapt to extreme temperature differences as soon as possible, and at the same time adjust the power settings of the heating element so that it operates at low power during the day and automatically increases power at night."

Old Zhou said, holding a thick report in his hand, "In addition, after the day and night cycle resumes, crop planting can also be put on the agenda. We can use the vacant land cleared from the remnant area to build greenhouses."

Wang Peng nodded, his gaze drifting out the window. Moonlight spilled onto the melting ice sheet, the outlines of the remaining remnants appearing and disappearing in the night. A year of polar night, countless sacrifices, had finally brought hope for the melting of ice and snow.

Although the future still presents many challenges such as extreme temperature differences, foundation collapse, and the threat of monsters, people are no longer as desperate as they were at the beginning of the polar night.