The base's primary task is to conduct exploration in the North Sea.
They brought a small, detachable exploration vessel. It took the team two whole days to carve a long enough channel through the ice to launch the exploration vessel into the water.
The exploration vessel was equipped with the kingdom's most advanced sonar detection system at the time.
"Sonar activated! Depth set to 300 meters, scan range 5 kilometers!" the captain shouted into the communicator.
"Received!" In the base command center, the technician in charge of sonar signal analysis stared intently at the screen.
The sonar signal, like an invisible net, was cast into the deep, cold seabed. Soon, feedback began to appear on the screen.
"Report! A dense school of fish signal detected 20 meters underwater! The scale... it's extremely large! Preliminary estimate is at least tens of thousands!"
"Large biological signal detected at a depth of 80 meters underwater! Length...exceeding 15 meters!"
"My God... Commander, come quick!" the technician suddenly exclaimed, his voice trembling.
Chen Yan rushed over and saw a huge, red signal dot slowly moving at the bottom of the sonar screen, in the area representing a depth of 300 meters.
The length of that dot of light occupied nearly one-tenth of the screen's width. According to the system's calculations, the underwater creature's length, conservatively estimated, exceeded thirty meters!
"What...what is this?" Chen Yan gasped. The largest blue whale ever recorded was only thirty-three meters long. This unknown ocean harbored such a terrifying behemoth!
The exploration lasted a week, and the results were more astonishing than the last.
They discovered that this frigid seawater seemed to contain a special type of microorganism, similar to a "growth hormone." The organisms here were generally much larger than their counterparts elsewhere.
Using a specially designed deep-sea cage, they conducted their first exploratory fishing operation. After only fifty meters of descent, the cage was brimming with all sorts of strangely shaped fish and crustaceans when pulled up.
There is a fish called the "Blackblade Fish" that is completely black and has teeth as sharp as blades.
There are "armored snails" whose shells are harder than steel and can only be broken open with a hammer.
There is another type of shrimp that is over half a meter long and has a pair of huge, blue claws, which they named the "Blue Claw Lobster".
Chen Yan immediately ordered that these samples be subjected to rigorous testing to analyze whether they contained toxins harmful to the human body or excessive radiation.
The test results were encouraging—these seafood products were not only completely non-toxic, but their protein content and trace element levels far exceeded those of any food currently available in the kingdom!
When the first batch of carefully processed and vacuum-packed samples of Beihai seafood, along with the chilling sonar detection report, were urgently transported back to Chengtian Capital by transport plane and placed on Lin Feng's desk.
The king, who had single-handedly created the kingdom, revealed a long-lost, genuine smile.
He picked up the sonar screenshot that marked the thirty-meter-tall behemoth and tapped it lightly with his finger.
"A brand new, rich granary full of challenges and opportunities."
He stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and looked down at his increasingly prosperous city. "Pass on my orders: accelerate the progress of the 'Icebreaker' project by fifty percent. At the same time, establish the 'Beihai Development Bureau,' with Li Yuanchao concurrently serving as the director and Chen Yan as the deputy director."
"I want to build a brand new city on the shores of Beihai within a year, a comprehensive port city that can accommodate 100,000 people and integrate fishing, seafood processing, and scientific research and exploration!"
"Let's name this city 'Beiwang City'."
Lin Feng's voice echoed in the empty office, filled with unquestionable authority and boundless aspirations for the future.
A magnificent era of conquering the frigid seas has officially begun.
Lin Feng's order acted like a strong wind, injecting boundless energy into the already booming northern project. The entire kingdom's resources began to flow towards this grand plan called "Northern City."
Li Yuanchao, the Minister of Construction and the newly appointed Director of the Beihai Development Bureau, simply moved his office directly to the forefront of the "icebreaker" path.
He and a group of top engineers lived and worked in temporary prefabricated houses, working day and night to optimize the construction plan.
To combat permafrost, they applied for the latest "rapid-setting antifreeze concrete" technology from the Royal Academy of Sciences.
This type of concrete incorporates a special chemical catalyst during mixing, which allows it to solidify rapidly at extremely low temperatures and release a large amount of heat, thereby melting the surrounding frozen soil and bonding firmly with the frozen soil layer to form an incredibly strong foundation.
To expedite the process, the project adopted a modular construction approach.
Many parts of the road, such as the beams of the bridges and the pipes of the culverts, were prefabricated in the factories of Chengtian City in the rear, and then transported to the front line for assembly in specially made heavy transport vehicles, like building blocks.
Tens of thousands of workers worked in three shifts, 24 hours a day. Huge searchlights illuminated the entire construction site as if it were daytime, and the roar of the machines and the shouts of the workers created a magnificent symphony on the silent ice field.
In just three months, the “Icebreaker” road, a steel dragon stretching over 1,500 kilometers and traversing countless glaciers, permafrost, and mountains, was miraculously completed.
When the first heavy truck loaded with supplies set off from Chengtian City and arrived smoothly at the "Watchers" forward base along the flat and wide asphalt road, all the builders present cheered loudly.
Many weathered men touched the solid road surface and shed hot tears.
This road was paved with their sweat, wisdom, and even lives.
At the end of the road lies the site chosen for Beiwangcheng.
Wei Chengye, a top engineer of the old era, is now the chief designer of Beiwang City, ushering in the most glorious moment of his career.
"His Majesty demands that this city not only be sturdy, able to withstand temperatures as low as minus fifty degrees Celsius and gales of level twelve, but also efficient, with all functional zones designed around the core of 'fisheries.' Furthermore... it must be livable." Wei Chengye stood before a massive model, explaining his design philosophy to a group of young engineers and planners.
"Therefore, my core idea is 'one core, one port, and three zones'."
He picked up the baton and pointed it at the sand table.
"The 'core' refers to the city's energy core. We will build a large energy station on the west side of the city, utilizing abundant wind and tidal energy. It will provide the entire city with stable and inexpensive electricity. At the same time, we will also build a backup thermal power plant fueled by coal to ensure that the city's heating will not be interrupted under any extreme circumstances."
"'One Port' refers to our fishing port. This will be the largest and most advanced port in the entire Northern Hemisphere. It will have deep-water berths capable of simultaneously accommodating fifty large deep-sea fishing vessels, as well as a fully enclosed, temperature-controlled unloading area. Fishing boats can sail directly into the area to prevent their catch from freezing during unloading."
“The ‘three zones’ are the processing zone, the warehousing and logistics zone, and the living zone, which are all centered around the port.”
"In the processing area, state-of-the-art automated production lines will be introduced to clean, cut, quick-freeze, and package the catch. Our goal is that the entire process, from a fish leaving the fishing boat to becoming a standardized frozen product and entering the warehouse, will take no more than one hour."
"In the warehousing and logistics zone, a giant cold storage facility capable of storing millions of tons of goods will be built. At the same time, this is also the end point of the 'Icebreaker's Path, where hundreds of refrigerated transport vehicles will depart every day, transporting fresh seafood to every corner of the kingdom."
"Finally, there's the residential area." Wei Chengye's tone softened. "Our workers, fishermen, and scientists are the heroes of this city, and they deserve the best life. The residential area will be built entirely indoors, forming a huge, temperature-controlled 'urban complex.' Inside, there will be comfortable apartments, schools, hospitals, shopping malls, cinemas, and even an indoor ecological park filled with subtropical plants. I want everyone who comes to Beiwang City to feel the warmth of spring when they return home after a hard day's work outdoors."
This magnificent yet humane design scheme won high praise from Lin Feng.
With a single command, the construction of Beiwang City commenced in full swing.
This time, those who joined the construction effort included not only professional engineering corps, but also a large number of ordinary people recruited from all over the kingdom who were eager to change their destiny with their own hands.
The kingdom offered extremely generous benefits: in addition to high salaries, it promised that any builder who worked in Northview City for three years would receive their own apartment and become a permanent resident of Northview City.
This news drove countless people crazy.
One of Zhao Laosi's distant cousins, Liu Ergou, is an example.
He used to work on a farm in Chengtian City. Although he had enough to eat and wear, he always felt that life lacked passion. When he heard about the job openings in Beiwang City, he was the first to sign up.
"Fourth Brother, do you think I can do it? I'm just a farmer, I don't have any special skills." Before leaving, Liu Ergou came to say goodbye to Zhao Laosi, feeling a little uneasy.
"Don't be afraid!" Zhao Laosi patted him on the shoulder, encouraging him: "They need people for everything over there! If you don't have a skill, you can learn it! I heard that the Construction Bureau has set up a lot of training courses, electricians, welders, excavator operators, they guarantee you'll learn!"
"You're strong and smart, kid. Go there and do a good job, you'll definitely make something of yourself! In the future, you'll find a wife and settle down over there. We brothers, one guarding the south gate and the other looking towards the north sea, how prestigious would that be!"
Encouraged by Zhao Laosi, Liu Ergou, filled with hope for the future, boarded the train heading north.
He wasn't the only one. Thousands upon thousands of young people like Liu Ergou came from all corners of the kingdom to this cold but hopeful land.
They brought labor, vitality, and an infinite yearning for the future.
The construction speed of Beiwangcheng exceeded everyone's expectations.
The foundations were driven into the ground with a roar, and the steel-framed buildings rose one after another like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
The massive prefabricated walls were precisely hoisted into place by tower cranes. The outline of a city was unfolding across the ice field at a visible pace.
At the same time, the exploration and development of Beihai has never stopped.
Chen Yan's exploration force has been expanded into a "North Sea Fleet" with ten armed exploration vessels.
Their task was no longer simply to collect samples, but to create a detailed "resource distribution map" covering a 1,000-kilometer stretch of coastal waters.
They discovered the migration routes of giant "god crab" groups, found deep-sea trenches teeming with "snowflake fish," and even discovered a fluorescent and extremely delicious "lantern shrimp" near some hydrothermal vents.
Every new discovery thrills the entire kingdom.
These rare seafood products from the far north are continuously transported to the rear via the "icebreaker" route.
They were first sent to the Food Research Institute of the Kingdom Academy of Sciences. Scientists analyzed their nutritional components and developed the best cooking and preservation methods.
Then, these seafood products will be provided as welfare, with priority given to the military, researchers, and families with multiple children like Zhao Laosi's.
Zhao Laosi's dining table became the most enviable place in the entire villa area.
"Today we're having this 'Frozen Sea Salmon.' They say it's best eaten raw, dipped in our homemade soy sauce and wasabi. Mmm, the taste is absolutely amazing!"
"Juan'er, stew that 'jade snail' and add plenty of ginger slices to nourish the children."
"Lili, go check if those blue-clawed lobsters are cooked yet. Don't overcook them."
Every day after get off work, Zhao Laosi's favorite thing to do was to study the new seafood delivered by the logistics department, and then direct his three wives to prepare a big "seafood feast".
His three sons were also well-fed and chubby, each with a robust and healthy appearance, and were significantly stronger than other children of the same age.
"Honey, do you think we can eat all these good things from the sea?" Sun Li asked with some concern as she looked at the table full of plates.
"Can't finish it? You underestimate our Emperor!" Zhao Laosi said, taking a sip of wine, his face flushed. "I heard from our leader that what we've developed so far is just a drop in the ocean! There are many more giants in the deep sea that we've never even seen before! Our kingdom's best days are yet to come!"
He wasn't bragging.
A week later, news that shocked the entire kingdom's leadership came from the North Sea.
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