"And what about the second option?" Staley asked.

Ademili replied, "The second path is to climb Mount Tulash and pass through the Storm Fortress. Down the mountain is the Emerald Field, a natural glacial tundra, and our green capital Gegnaia is on the west side of the glacial tundra. ”

"What's the difference between the two paths?" Zero asked directly to the point, there must be a huge difference between the two paths, otherwise Artemiri wouldn't have asked what she and Staley meant.

"Going through the Hall of the Dead through the old tunnel will save you a lot of time, and it will be easier to walk without being affected by the cold weather brought about by the high altitude. But the problem is in the Hall of the Dead, a place where we have sent troops to sweep it. But in a team of 300 people, no more than 10 people came back. The Hall of the Dead has been overrun by the Ice Corpse Demons, and with our numbers, even if we have the two captains and other powerful subordinates, we will have to pay a price to pass. Ademili said.

"Ice Corpse?" Obviously, neither Zero nor Starley had ever heard of such a monster.

Ademili explained, "These monsters evolved from the corpses of the base staff, and in the beginning they were just living corpses. A small number of the living dead left the base and roamed the Emerald Fields, only to be annihilated when we discovered them. This is how we discovered the existence of the Hall of the Dead, and based on the traces of the living dead, we found the Hall of the Dead and fought the living dead inside. However, the reconnaissance team at that time only had about fifteen people, and this number was quickly overwhelmed by the living dead. ”

"After confirming that the Scout team was completely destroyed, we sent another team to the Hall of the Dead. There, our soldiers found the living dead eating up the bodies of the previous scouts. And in the absence of food, the living dead began to kill each other. The team did not dare to stay and quickly withdrew, and when we assembled a team of three hundred people to exterminate the living dead, we found that they had changed in the Hall of the Dead. "Based on the accounts of the survivors at the time, we know that the living dead have evolved. I don't know if it was because they devoured the corpses of our scouts, or if the living dead killed each other and caused their genes to mutate. In short, they have evolved into a different kind of monster. They become more agile and fast enough to dodge attacks from high-energy beams. They become stronger, greatly increasing their defense in both liliang and defense. The most notable change is that they are sensitive to both the elements ice and darkness, and are therefore able to release a substance of shadow ice mist. In the Shadow Ice Mist, the field of vision will be greatly restricted, and not only that, but the spiritual perception and exploration instruments will also be greatly affected. In addition, ultra-low temperature ice mist particles have an effect on velocity, and will continuously consume energy from the organisms in the ice mist. This is a kind of existence similar to the home field, but this home field is supported by the ice corpse demons. ”

"In addition, a Deep Frost Lord has spawned in the Ice Corpse Demon. This Corpse Demon King has a deep cold aura, which is similar to the Shadow Ice Mist, but the negative effects are far greater than the Shadow Ice Mist. In addition, we only know that it can unleash Cold Flame and Ice Spike Hell, which are high-level ice abilities. As for whether the Chill Lord has other abilities, we don't know. "So if we were to pass through the Hall of the Dead, we would save time on the journey, but we would have to face an army of monsters consisting of a cold lord and more than three hundred corpses. Even if they can pass by then, I am afraid that only a handful of people can come out. ”

"And what about the other way? Is Storm Fortress an old base?" Staley asked.

Ademili shook her head and said, "No, Storm Fortress is a defensive fortress built by us in Gegenia. ”

Because Mount Tulash is followed by the Emerald Field, which is already within the range of the green capital of Gegnaia, Gegnaia will build a defensive fortress on Mount Tulash. The Storm Fortress is located on the road down Mount Tulash and can be said to be the main road of transportation. Without Gegenia's permission, any creature that tries to force its way through will have to be put to the test of the Storm Fortress unless the north has wings.

When it was first designed, Stormkeep was a steel fortress that was both offensive and defensive. In the fortress defense plan adopted by the green capital, the storm fortress will be stationed for a long time with 200 fish-man swordsmen, 100 fish-man spear commanders, 10 captains, two deputy commanders, and one commander. In addition to individual equipment, the weapons equipped with are also equipped with a heavy artillery weapon "wind cannon" independently developed by Ludu.

The wind-operated cannon is a kind of heavy artillery that uses air compression jishu combined with physical shells to achieve long-range strikes, with a firing distance of up to 2,000 meters and a firing frequency of 10 rounds per minute; the wind-operated cannon has two firing modes: direct fire and projectile, the speed of the shells in the direct fire mode can reach 2,500 meters per second, and one cannon can bombard the entire mountain; the projectile mode can accurately control the bombardment landing point, and the coverage of the shell explosion is increased by about 20 percent, which is a sharp weapon for positional attack.

It can be said that the entire Storm Fortress is very well equipped. It stands like an impregnable wall on Mount Tulash, and as long as it exists, it will be a barrier that will be difficult to cross in the new era of lack of aerial flight.

However, during the construction of the Storm Fortress, an incident occurred that prevented the fortress from being completed according to Jihua, let alone garrisoning.

"Halfway through the construction of the fortress, an abyss-level mutant beast attacked us. It was Icewing Marrog, and although we tried our best to stop it, the abyss-level mutant beast was not at all able to repel Liliang, who didn't even have a regular army at the time. After being attacked by the ice wings, all the workers and soldiers involved in the construction were killed, and even the Storm Fortress, which was still being completed, suffered great damage. Eventually, our Storm Fortress became a lair of this monster. There was a hint of helplessness in Atemiri's tone.

How tricky the abyss-level mutant beast is, Zero has experienced it himself. Just under the base of his own company, there was once an abyss lord Anji Gullit. In order to eradicate this mutant beast that day, Zero can be said to have wasted all his strength. And at that time, it was still while Anji Gullit was in a weak period to get his wish, if it was in its heyday, it was a question of whether everyone present at that time could return it with their whole body.

Abyssal-level mutant beasts have often evolved intelligence, and they are intelligent, cunning, and cruel. After occupying a place as a nest, it will also demarcate the area around the nest as its own territory. Other creatures cannot live in its territory without its permission. At that time, Anji Gulit allowed a variety of creatures above the base to exist, but he used these creatures as food for his young son after he was born.

Every Abyssal Mutant is anything but easy to match, even if there is only one in number, but it is comparable to an army. After hearing that Stormkeep was being used as a lair by an abyssal mutant, Zero couldn't understand why Ademili chose this route. Compared to Icewing Marrog, the Chill Lord and the Ice Corpse Demon in the Hall of the Dead are much cuter. Obviously, passing through the Hall of the Dead is less stressful than Storm Keep, even if it's just as dangerous.

Seeing zero doubts, Ademili explained, "Although the Storm Fortress is occupied by ice wings, it is only in the summer of the year that Malrog awakens from its slumber and haunts its lair. It's still a month before it wakes up, and we're perfectly safe to get through Storm Keep. But the Hall of the Dead is different, the Ice Corpse Demons will never close their eyes, and the dead will forever wander the hall and attack all life that enters the base. ”

I see, there seems to be no need for a choice. As long as you're not stupid, you'll choose Stormkeep over Hall of the Dead. Starley Haha laughed.

For this, Zero Nature will not be willing to give up the difficulty. Although he was very interested in the Hall of the Dead, he knew that now was not the right time, and he had no right to drag everyone into a dangerous situation for his own selfishness. So the route to the Storm Fortress was determined to-morrow, and seeing that it was getting dark, Ademilius took her leave and went back to her tent to rest.

Zero also returned to his tent, which was very warm, thanks to the thermostat of the marching tent. Developed by Asgard, this marching tent has a self-regulating temperature function, which not only insulates radiation from the wild, but also keeps the temperature in the tent moderate.

The freshly hunted bear skin lay flat on the ground, and Leah slept on her side. She was covered with a marching blanket and seemed to be asleep. Zero knew she wasn't sleeping, because Leah's breathing had increased a little when he came in, and it was clear that she was still awake.

Zero came to her side and lay down, gently stroked Leah's hair with his hand and said, "Can't you sleep?"

Leah turned around and got into Zero's arms, wrapped her hands tightly around Zero's waist and said with a smile, "I didn't see you come back, how could I sleep." ”

"Actually, you don't have to accompany me to this kind of place to suffer. Zero lightly kissed the girl's forehead and said lightly.

Leah shook her head: "No, if I want to stay in the comfort of my home and wait for you to return, I would rather go to battle with you so that I can be with you all the time." Rest assured, I will not be a burden to you. I'm not as capable as Sister Bissy, but I'm sure I'll be able to do something for you!"

Zero sighed: "You've done well enough, don't force yourself too much." Besides, there's nothing tiring or cumbersome, whether it's you or Bessie. You are all important to me, and it is my job to protect you. ”

Leah laughed happily at Zero. She squeezed a little more into Zero's warm chest, and said softly, "Zero, after this expedition to the west." I want to have a baby for you, do you think it's okay?"

"Kid?"

"yes, don't you like it?" Leah looked up, expectant.

"No, that's not what I meant. What I want to say is, one is too little, how can you have ten or eight. Zero Haha laughed.

Leah immediately blushed and pretended to be angry: "You treat me as a sow, how can I give birth to so much." ”

"Okay, okay, let's give birth to two. One boy, one girl. Men like me, women like you, that's it. Zero patted the pink back of the person in his arms and coaxed.

Leah nodded, "That's pretty much it." ”

Xuan Ji whispered again: "If you like a lot of children, at most I will work harder." ”

Zero pinched the tip of Leah's nose and said, "Don't think about it so far beforehand, go to sleep, we have to climb the mountain tomorrow." ”

"Well, I'll listen to you. Leah said obediently, and she just snuggled up to Zero and closed her eyes. After a while, the sound of even breathing sounded, but he had already fallen asleep.

The smile on Zero's face faded away, and he looked at Leah and sighed softly.

Having offspring is a top priority in the new era. The cruel living environment forces human beings to fight the threat of death by speeding up the birth cycle and increasing the number of babies born. As long as future generations continue to live, then no matter how cruel the reality is, there will always be hope.

In fact, as far as Zero knows, there are some shili men in the wilderness, usually with a group of wives and concubines in the house. The only task of the wives is to produce as many offspring as possible, and although they are reduced to tools of production, they have no complaints about it. The reason why this is so is because of the cruelty of this era.

The appearance of the capable ones distinguishes them from ordinary humans. But the capable are evolving, and the ordinary people in the wilderness are not standing still. Mutated tissues that can resist strong radiation are in fact a type of evolution, but this is a kind of evolution that tends to be pathological. Perhaps, after several or even dozens of generations of evolution, the genes of the mutated tissue will tend to stabilize, and even optimize to something like skin tissue to attach to ordinary people, so that they can survive even when exposed to radiation.

As for the other evolution, it is manifested in women.

Perhaps out of a strong need for reproduction, women's genes are also quietly changing. Their body tissues are constantly adapting to the needs of the times, and now a 13-year-old girl has the basic requirements to produce offspring. The growth period has been shortened from 300 days in the old era to 150 days, which is half the growth period, which means that there are more offspring that can be born.

However, this also poses a serious problem, which is that the chance of a newborn child dying is very high. Of the almost ten babies born at the same time, only two or three survive.

Hearing that Leah wanted to have children for herself, Zero felt a lot of emotion in her heart. Leah's physical fitness is perfectly suitable for childbearing, and with the physique she has now strengthened, the baby she will give birth to will be very healthy. No matter how you look at it, this is a very reasonable and physiological demand of a woman. The problem is that Zero, as a clone of a super-life, knows that he has infinite possibilities for evolution.

Because of this, he also knew that evolution must come before fertility in terms of genetic priority. In other words, all the energy in his body is always ready for the needs of evolution, and it is an instinct that is too strong to be reversed. Zero can leave sperm in Leah's body like any other normal man, but it is unknown whether the sperm contains the substance that binds to the egg to form an embryo.

Because under the judgment of instinct priority, I am afraid that this kind of substance that should exist in the [essence] will also be eliminated as soon as possible, and it will be converted into pure energy for zero use.

So, Zero wasn't sure if he would be able to get Leah or Beonise to conceive his own child. It's just that everything is always relative, and although instinct will put evolution as the first priority, Zero still has a hundred thousand DNA memory sets. Theoretically, if Zero is able to master these 100,000 memories with ease, then he can completely make up for the defects caused by instinct.

It's just that for him now, although he is sitting on a huge gold mine, he still lacks a key to open the gold mine.