Chapter 406 Cave and Shuttle (5800, Second Update)

Ever since Ketalen entered the Qingqiu Domain, this veteran Tarin captain had been in a state of shock.

--I have seen beauty that humans cannot imagine, I have seen space battleships burning fiercely beside large star clusters, I have watched the spiritual energy pulse flashing in the darkness beside the giant space station of the old Enterprise Alliance. The vastness of the universe and the splendor of the nebula can only be understood by intelligent beings who have sailed the stars for decades.

Perhaps in terms of spiritual energy, he would admit the power of Earthlings, but in terms of aerospace and interstellar engineering, Ketalen was still very confident.

However, in just over ten days, this confidence was shattered.

The first shock was the performance of the spacecraft.

The Far Reach was indeed a spacecraft supervised and manufactured by the Tarin, but its specific engine performance and inscribed magic circle were not very clear. According to the actual operation situation now, although the overall design of the Far Reach is relatively immature, its intra-planetary system navigation speed is already very good—and this is not the limit of the Earthlings. Ketalen is very clear that this is because the Earthlings designed this type of spacecraft for the first time, resulting in a conservative design.

In comparison, he still remembers the result of the first interstellar spacecraft of the Tarin navigating in the planetary system—they spent a full half year just to go to the adjacent gas giant.

The starting point of the Earthlings is already close to the current level of the Tarin.

Secondly, it is the essence of the Qingqiu Domain.

Even the Earthlings can analyze it through familiarity, that the Qingqiu planetary system is not in this star cluster, or even in the entire observable universe. Could Ketalen, an old captain, not see it?

This place is simply located in another universe!

Beyond imagination, beyond common sense... No wonder these Earthlings don't leave their home star system. It turns out they have colonized other universes! Ketalen's vague sense of superiority of the Earth civilization as an 'interstellar civilization' completely disappeared, leaving only incredulity.

Of course, these are just pure perceptual stimuli and not direct.

What really shocked Ketalen was Qingqiu Four in front of him.

Artificial transformation of a planet is something that would take a long time and countless wealth, even in the golden age of the Enterprise Alliance. It would require the joint efforts of hundreds of millions of professionals, an entire engineering fleet, thousands of project integration teams, and tens of thousands of supporting enterprises and interstellar factories… In short, it would require a great civilization to complete it.

However, according to the conversation between those Earthling spiritual energy users, it would only take a few 'Dragon Kings' and 'Immortal Heavenly Immortals' to complete all of this, which is a few Grade Five spiritual energy users and one α-grade spiritual energy user.

Is it simpler? No, it's more difficult.

A Grade Five spiritual energy user can control a planet, and an α-grade spiritual energy user is enough to establish a stable interstellar civilization.

Such an existence can single-handedly take care of basic construction and technological research, and its very existence is the greatest deterrent to national defense. He alone is comparable to an entire civilization.

And these levels of powerhouses, according to the tone of those Earthlings, can be dispatched to do the hard work of planetary transformation... Perhaps it is not considered hard labor, but an α-grade spiritual energy user being dispatched for this kind of thing itself...

This shock is even more terrifying than the fact that the ancient and prosperous Earth civilization could easily transform planets.

"It seems that my choice to befriend Earth civilization was correct..."

Thinking so with some relief, under Ketalen's gaze, Su Zhou, Liu Wuxin and Tang Yuan had already taken the exploration shuttle, turned into a stream of light, broke through the thin atmosphere of Qingqiu Four, and landed towards the North Pole.

Soon, accompanied by a burst of retro-propulsion jets and someone's Lan Armor (armor of storms) power, the exploration shuttle slowed down its landing speed and slowly landed on a solid ice sheet.

The ground temperature is about minus one hundred and ten degrees Celsius, a temperature at which ordinary people would die immediately if exposed to the outside world without wearing a spacesuit.

But whether it was Liu Wuxin or Tang Yuan, they walked directly out of the spindle-shaped exploration shuttle wearing only a thin protective suit, without any discomfort. Not to mention Su Zhou who directly went out with his physical body.

As soon as he landed, Tang Yuan controlled several drones to explore in all directions, while Liu Wuxin squatted down. He observed the ice surface and tapped the ground, shaking his head and said: "Is there really life in this kind of place? Even if there is, is it an ice sprite or a snow woman? An ice ghost or an elemental life?"

"You really lack emotional life, Brother Liu. Will people no longer be important to you if this continues?"

"Don't you too?!"

"But I'm only twenty years old, I have plenty of time, and you're almost thirty."

Su Zhou took a deep breath of the alien planet's air. The feeling of thin air made him feel like he was on the summit of a 6,000-meter-high mountain. When exhaling, he casually complained about Liu Wuxin, and then stepped forward: "Let's go, the direction I sensed is still to the north."

"Tang Yuan, have you discovered anything?"

During the walk, Su Zhou would ask this question every once in a while, and Tang Yuan's answer was always: "Not yet, Minister."

However, after more than ten minutes, Tang Yuan's expression couldn't help but startled, and then he looked up at Su Zhou: "Minister, I found something strange, it should be a creature."

"Good job!" Praising him, Su Zhou opened his proxy terminal, retrieved the drone's camera view, and then he was also slightly stunned.

"Is that a squirrel?"

He said with some doubt, and then enlarged the image on the proxy terminal—a fluffy big tail, a small body, a lively way of moving... Taking a closer look, Su Zhou realized that the other party was not a squirrel: "No, it's a fox."

"Fox?"

Liu Wuxin also opened the proxy terminal and accepted the live broadcast permission forwarded by Tang Yuan. He also looked at it seriously and said somewhat uncertainly: "It does look like a fox."

"But why are there foxes here? This is theoretically a restricted area for life, right?"

Liu Wuxin is a biology expert. He is very curious about what kind of life forms will be bred in the extreme ecological environment of Qingqiu Four's polar region. He had previously made many guesses, but none of them were related to foxes.

"Don't forget that this is Qingqiu. It's not strange for a fox to have a subspecies that is adapted to the ice environment."

Su Zhou narrowed his eyes. He looked at the direction where the drone discovered the fox and decisively ordered: "Go in that direction."

"Let's go over and take a look."

……

The little fox is called Xiao Wu (Little Fifth), because it is the fifth ice fox of this generation.

Its mother died in childbirth when she gave birth to its younger brother or sister. Its body was returned to the Sacred Lake in a grand sacrifice, to be divided and eaten by algae and fish.

Although it was a little sad, at least it didn't die outside and require other foxes to retrieve it.

Following its second grandfather, running back to the entrance of the cave, Xiao Wu's tired ears and tail could no longer move, but they were indeed the fastest. The other foxes who were still admiring the starry sky in various places were still working hard to return.

The entrance of the cave is located below the side of an ice hill. The passage of the cave entrance presents a zigzag shape like '<', followed by an 'L'-shaped underground cave corridor.

Along the way, on both sides of the corridor, there are a large number of complex reliefs and murals, inscribed with many complex pictures and strange creatures. It's just that the light in the underground is too dim, and plus they have been tired of seeing them for so many years, neither the big foxes nor the little foxes paid attention to these, but quickly entered the deepest part of the cave.

That is a huge, completely unnatural, and obviously man-made semicircular underground cavity.

The underground cavity is divided into two parts. Most of it is a flat rock ground, and there are black holes in the surrounding circular walls. Behind the holes are independent small caves, which are the areas where the ice foxes usually live. The large cave is used for eating and gatherings.

The other part is sparkling, and the shallow golden light released from the bottom illuminates the entire underground cavity.

That is part of the Sacred Lake.

The lake water is warm, even rising with humid water vapor, which makes the entire underground cave warm. In this hot lake, there are even strange fish swimming in the deep purple algae.

Xiao Wu looked at the Sacred Lake, and a fox corpse was reflected in its ice-blue pupils. It seemed to be the corpse of its little grandfather. Speaking of which, its little grandfather had been feeling unwell for the past few days, and its fur couldn't be straightened. It's normal for it to die now.

Sad? There is nothing to be sad about. After all, a fox's head can't think about so many things. And someone's death means that a new member can be born. It always has to cycle.

"Goo-ao~"

Xiao Wu heard its second grandfather shout in the center of the cavity. This was a rare signal, because if you want to find other foxes, just go into the cave.

Making a sound means calling for the elders.

Suddenly, accompanied by rustling sounds, one after another ice foxes with silvery-white fur, big ears, and fluffy long tails poked their heads out of their caves and looked at the big fox who was still shouting in the center of the cavity. They looked at each other, seemingly curious or doubtful.

And in this atmosphere, an old fox walked out of the cave closest to the Sacred Lake, which was also the largest.

That was a very old fox. Its fur had begun to thin, mottled patterns appeared on its body, and its clear sapphire-like eyes had long been cloudy. Even walking was a bit difficult.

But even so, all the foxes bowed their heads in awe when they saw the elder appear.

Because the elder is not only the blood relative of all the foxes present, but also the fox who can preside over sacrifices, repair caves, and has the strongest power.

And it even has six tails that ordinary ice foxes can't even imagine!

After the elder appeared, Xiao Wu discovered that its second grandfather patted it with its tail, so it followed the big fox forward and stretched out its tail to contact the elder who was already prepared.

[You saw the 'moving stars'?]

Although emotionally excited, the elder's spiritual energy band was very gentle, a gentleness that only the strong can show when facing the weak. In an instant, the two foxes seemed to be immersed in the sea, as if they could hardly breathe.

After a while, they responded.

--Yes, we saw it.

[Very good, child, very good… But, did you notice which star field those moving stars flew from?]

After sending out this spiritual energy band, Xiao Wu could sense that the elder's heart was worried... It wanted to be happy, but more importantly, it felt lost and worried.

It seemed that the direction it flew from was of particular significance.

But obviously, the complexity of this question was too much for the fox's brain to handle. Xiao Wu noticed that its second grandfather obviously stalled. It didn't know what direction was, let alone what a star field was.

On the other hand, the little fox itself, because it had counted the stars before, could clearly remember which side the moving stars came from.

--It's just, it's just from that pitch-black place, flying towards the bright and shiny place, and then, the moving star cracked open, and a little star fell down!

Trying its best to express its thoughts, Xiao Wu's two tails swept back and forth, but they were pressed down by the elder's six tails, which were still very strong even though they were somewhat sparse.

The little fox could feel that a gentle force swept across its mind, reading some of its memories.

[...It is, it is from that side...]

Then, Xiao Wu saw that the usually calm elder actually conveyed thoughts of shock and awe, as well as unsuppressed surprise: [It's here, it's here, it's finally here, they're here...]

The old fox spun around excitedly in place, as if chasing its own tail.

But soon, it calmed down.

[Children, very good... Next, your hunting share can be doubled. Xiao Wu, you can eat two more fish.]

The simple message was sent out, and in the joyful tail-patting celebration of the two foxes, one big and one small, the old fox dragged its staggering steps back to its cave.

The cave where only the elders of the past can live is actually very simple. Except that the four walls are not gray rock, but some kind of gray-silver hard material, it is no different from the place where ordinary ice foxes live.

Only the totem poles made of ice fox skulls piled up in the corner of the cave can prove the extraordinary nature of this place.

Tiantie (Sky Iron). A special metal alloy. The old fox knows this, but doesn't know what the word means, but this does not prevent it from bowing its head to the totem poles made of ice fox skulls and connecting its forehead with the totem poles.

[Ancestors... the moving star from the other side has arrived... the legend has been fulfilled.]

It said so eagerly: [The Immortals and Gods from beyond the sky are about to descend and lead us away from this icy hell... Ancestors, are the Immortals and Gods really coming?]

And long after the old fox's pious inquiry.

Little by little, sky-blue spiritual light began to appear on the totem poles, and then, following the patterns on the skulls, it condensed into a cloud of lightly burning sky-blue ice fox phantom in the center of all the totem poles.

"Fortunately, it is a streamer from the direction of the Two World Teleportation Gate, not from Qingqiu Star... Huff, although it is not necessarily a good thing, but things have come to this point, we can only believe this."

As if there were layers of overlapping sounds mixed together, the light flame ice fox composed of spiritual light and the old fox looked at each other, and then lovingly rubbed the other with its head: "Thank you for your hard work."

"But, I still need you, all of you, to go in the direction where the flying star fell, to find the 'people' who came on the meteor."

Saying so, the light flame fox also seemed to hesitate, but still shook its head: "Then, lead them to me."

"This is the only request."

……

On the ice field, Su Zhou squatted down slightly, watching with great interest a little fox that had taken the initiative to come to them before they even went to find it.

It has to be said that the appearance of the ice fox is definitely top-notch. Whether it is its nimble big ears, its even more nimble fluffy tail, or its smooth and smooth silvery-white fur, people can't help but want to wear them around their necks.

Cute? No, no, no, it is too superficial to describe this feeling as cute. Touching the other party's spine, Su Zhou felt a sense of inexplicable peace of mind.

"Do you want to take me there?"

Touching the fox with his right hand, Su Zhou could see the little fox making a comfortable 'cooing' sound in its mouth. And beside it, there were two larger foxes also on his side, actively rubbing his left hand, looking very happy and joyful.

If it were the usual Su Zhou, he would definitely hold these foxes in his arms at this time and rub them hard, releasing all the 'fluff rubbing power'.

However, now, beneath the surface smile, his eyes were serious, and he was watching these seemingly familiar foxes closely.

--Multiple tails, foxes, Qingqiu…

With so many elements, could it be that these foxes are...

Just as Su Zhou was wondering in his heart, Liu Wuxin next to him lengthened his face.

"This is not fair!"

His muscles squirming all over, he said to Tang Yuan on the other side with such indignation: "Why can't I touch the foxes when I want to? Su Zhou can rub three at the same time?!"

Hearing this question, the pale-faced Tang Yuan turned his head and looked at Liu Wuxin.

This young man said very seriously: "Is there even a need to say it?"

"Because you're not as handsome as the Minister!"

"Really?"

His face distorted for a moment, Liu Wuxin looked at Su Zhou, who was still communicating with the foxes on the side, and couldn't help but touch his crew cut. He was forced to accept this fact: "But... okay, I admit that Su Zhou is indeed quite handsome, but obviously, I have more manliness, right?!"

Saying so, he also posed in a bodybuilding pose, unwilling to show weakness. Immediately, both his biceps and rhomboid muscles were clearly displayed.

But Tang Yuan shook his head: "Although the Minister doesn't look like a muscle man... but when he transforms into his true form and smashes the wreckage of the spaceship with his dragon body, he is really temperamental."

"And the muscles on the dragon body are also the Minister's muscles, right."

Hearing this, Liu Wuxin, who didn't have a true form, immediately wilted.

"True form is cheating!"

He said so indignantly, but saw Su Zhou suddenly stand up, and the three foxes who took the initiative to appear also began to run forward, seemingly leading the way.

"Wait, Su Zhou, are you going to follow them?"

In an instant, Liu Wuxin changed his previous appearance of wanting to touch the foxes. He called out to Su Zhou, frowned, and then analyzed in a clear tone: "Be careful--who knows what these alien foxes have prepared! Although they look cute, you don't know what their purpose is, or what they are saying... Maybe they are the bait for a trap?"

"I can understand them."

But Su Zhou answered this question as quickly as possible: "They want to invite us to be guests, and their tone is very sincere."

"But we should be careful and not follow them--a group of foxes leading people is very weird no matter when!"

"Come on, Brother Liu, I know you are careful, but there isn't even an Awakening-level person here, what are you afraid of."

Acting directly, Su Zhou took out the proxy terminal and expressed a 'need to extend the exploration time' request to the spaceship, and then turned his head and called out to Tang Yuan: "Let's go."

"Let's see what these cute foxes are up to."

Walking on the ice surface at over minus one hundred degrees is something that is either romantic or dangerous. Even ordinary fairy foxes would be greatly hindered in their actions--but the ice fox's silvery-white fur can absorb the surrounding extreme elements and turn them into its own use.

The romantic ice walk lasted for a while, and finally stopped in front of an ice hill. Su Zhou and others finally arrived at their destination.

A huge cave located in a sheltered area, with the inner passage in the shape of a slope.

"Goo-gah~"

The three leading foxes, the smallest of which, made such a sound, and then entered the cave. Then, the other two foxes also entered.

"Is this the entrance?"

Faced with this big pit that the foxes entered one after another, Tang Yuan looked at the extremely deep cave in front of him and couldn't help but reveal a surprised expression: "These foxes can actually dig out such a big unnatural cave? They are really amazing."

"It's getting weirder and weirder..." Liu Wuxin muttered to himself. He felt a sense of unease: "How could foxes dig such a big pit?!"

At this time, Su Zhou did not care about his teammate who liked to scare himself.

His eyes were very serious.

"Spaceshuttle."

While squatting down, Su Zhou observed the ice layer in detail.

And when he straightened up, he turned his head and said to Liu Wuxin and Tang Yuan briefly: "Below the ice layer, there is a shuttle through the void--that is, the 'cosmic transport tool' of the ancient Immortals and Gods era."

"I'm going down to take a look."

Without any hesitation, Su Zhou directly jumped into the air and jumped towards the bottom of the cave.

Asking for monthly tickets~