After the Five Spirit Orb completed its spirit gathering, the twenty-four hours had nearly elapsed.
The berserker possession effect of the God of War, Lu Bu, ended, and Bai Ye returned to his normal state. Simultaneously, Bai Ye finally reached the boundary of this supernatural region.
"This time, I should have found the right place!"
Bai Ye stepped across the region's boundary. As the surrounding light dissipated, he then...
"Achoo!"
As Bai Ye emerged from the radiance, a chilling aura immediately assailed him. He couldn't help but cover his nose and sneeze.
Before Bai Ye lay a vast expanse of glaciers, with wind and snow whipping around, and gusts of cold instantly sweeping in.
Even with Bai Ye's current physique, he could feel the invasion of the cold, causing him to shiver involuntarily.
However, a look of joy spread across Bai Ye's face; glaciers were the right sign!
He hadn't come to the wrong place. This should be the location for his coming-of-age ceremony.
"So then..." Bai Ye said, exhaling warmth into his hands, "The first thing is to find the scientific expedition team's base. I remember its location shouldn't be too far from the region's boundary!"
Musing to himself, Bai Ye rubbed his hands together and continued to advance.
The icy, snowy environment made one suspect this was a doomsday zone, as the place seemed incapable of sustaining any life.
But Bai Ye knew it was, in fact, a technological zone.
A wealthy magnate named Viland owned a private satellite. One day, this satellite discovered pyramid-shaped temple ruins deep within the Antarctic glaciers. Coincidentally, Viland was a magnate who loved adventure and possessed an explorer's spirit.
Thus, Viland spared no expense in assembling a scientific expedition team to journey into the depths of the Antarctic glaciers to explore the pyramid ruins. And that's when the terrible events began.
Within the pyramid ruins resided a terrifying alien creature known as the Xenomorph, a nearly perfect combat-form organic being. They had been imprisoned here by ancient human gods for at least two thousand years and would likely have remained so, were it not for the appearance of the expedition team. The team's entry into the ruins awakened the dormant Xenomorphs, and these creatures began to lay eggs, breeding in vast numbers. Furthermore, these beings were extremely aggressive, possessing a killer instinct that drove them to slay all other species.
Meanwhile...
A spacecraft also descended upon this icy terrain. Three Predators were also intending to enter the ruins.
They were the ancient humans of this region. The pyramid ruins were built by their ancestors. When their technological civilization reached its peak, they constructed spacecraft and began exploring the universe, departing from this world.
However, two thousand years later, these ancient humans still clung to tradition. Every ancient human aspiring to become a true warrior had to complete their coming-of-age ceremony, which involved returning to their ancestral land to hunt the Xenomorphs imprisoned there.
Life or death!
Complete the hunt, or die within the ruins.
Therefore, while the environment of these glaciers bore no resemblance to what one might call "technological," it was, in reality, a technological zone.
Of course, if one insisted on calling it a doomsday zone, Bai Ye felt it wouldn't be entirely wrong. If those Xenomorphs were to escape the ruins, it would undoubtedly be a catastrophic disaster for humanity, as they would slaughter all other species, including humans.
However, Bai Ye did not know the ultimate outcome.
Perhaps in that world, the Xenomorphs ultimately emerged victorious, transforming the world into a doomsday under their ravages.
Or, perhaps humanity or the Predators achieved victory, and peace prevailed. Though the Predators were also brutal, they lacked the innate killer instinct of the Xenomorphs.
But the specific state of that world was not important. What mattered was that this region had become part of a world battlefield.
Lost in thought, Bai Ye stopped, as a building appeared before him.
The structure resembled an oversized shipping container, square-shaped, with a silvery-white exterior.
"Is it a monitoring station?"
Bai Ye surmised that it wasn't the main base of the scientific expedition team, which would have been much larger. Thus, it was likely just a monitoring station the team had set up here.
Bai Ye glanced at the sky; the wind and snow seemed to have intensified.
This infernal weather made traveling rather arduous, with extremely low visibility. Moreover, it was terribly cold. If not for his body being modified by the T-virus and continuously strengthened by the Five Spirit Orb, Bai Ye felt he would have long since frozen into an ice popsicle. But even if he could endure it, Bai Ye felt it would be better to find some warm clothing and then continue his journey after the snowstorm subsided.
With this thought, Bai Ye walked into the building and pushed the door open.
And then...
Bai Ye was stunned!
What was going on?
The monitoring station was brightly lit and occupied by quite a few people, perhaps four or five. Most were wrapped in blankets, sitting at tables or resting on the floor.
As Bai Ye opened the door, many gazes turned towards him, but only for a fleeting moment before they retracted, and the individuals resumed their activities, as if Bai Ye's arrival was commonplace and nothing to be surprised about.
Bai Ye, utterly bewildered, wondered why so many people were gathered in this desolate place.
After all, this was a glacier, devoid of human habitation. There was also no possibility of a neutral zone. Therefore, even if one was randomly assigned to this region upon entering the world battlefield, they would try their best to leave as soon as possible, let alone gather here.
"Could it be that the forbidden zone has already been claimed?"
This thought crossed Bai Ye's mind.
If the forbidden zone opened and everyone within the region was teleported into it...
Bai Ye shook his head; that didn't make sense either. If that were the case, people would be gathered within the forbidden zone, not outside it. And after the battles within the forbidden zone concluded, they would be teleported back to their original locations, not gathered together.
"Hi, would you like a cup of cocoa?"
At that moment, a voice sounded from behind Bai Ye.
Bai Ye turned to see a woman of petite stature, about 1.6 meters tall, bundled in thick cotton clothing, making her appear even smaller.
Simultaneously, the woman held two cups emitting steam, filled with cocoa.
The woman smiled, raised the cups, and gestured towards Bai Ye.
Bai Ye reached out and took a cup, saying, "Thank you."
The woman took a sip of cocoa and said, "My name is Jin Sha, what's yours?"
Bai Ye replied, "Bai Ye."
Jin Sha nodded and asked, "Are you here for Regice too?"
Bai Ye blinked in surprise, "What's that?"
Jin Sha clarified, "The Ice God Pillar, Regice!"