Having dealt with these civilian matters, Jason finally returned to official business...

The deceased were gone, but the living had to carry on; humanity’s progress would not halt out of grief.

Scientific and industrial endeavors had to resume, with mining as the absolute top priority.

Over the course of a month, the airborne bases hovering around The Ark gradually descended. According to the strategic plan finalized at the council meeting, a new primary mining outpost was to be established in the Arctic region of Nyx.

Naturally, everyone had learned their lesson. The engineering division first expended massive effort surveying the terrain to ensure there were no subterranean cavities lurking beneath the ice.

The Federation couldn’t afford another catastrophic loss.

After a month of intensive geological surveys, they finally had their answer. Using advanced industrial drills modeled after classic oil rigs, they bored down over 10,000 meters and found absolutely no traces of subterranean voids. In other words, the bedrock here was solid, there was zero risk of a cave-in!

Theoretically, this made perfect sense. The Arctic region lacked tectonic friction, volcanic activity, and geothermal vents. Without a heat source, the acidic black swarms couldn’t survive underground, meaning they couldn’t carve out their massive hives.

Now, the colony could finally mine the Arctic with peace of mind...

Although the surface temperature in this desolate wasteland was brutally low, consistently hovering below -200 degrees Celsius, and the rate of mechanical failure skyrocketed in such conditions, it just meant they had to build additional repair bays...

As long as the ground was stable and the ore was plentiful, it was worth it!

The original outpost near the dormant volcano was largely decommissioned. The heavy excavators were shut down, and the remaining factories simply processed the existing stockpiles, transporting the refined metals to the Arctic via heavy dropships.

Soon after, transport shuttles took off one after another, ferrying a massive portion of the ground crew to their new posts in the Arctic.

It was a steady stream of good news...

The demanding work and fast-paced lifestyle gradually washed away the lingering sorrow in people’s hearts. The colony returned to a state of peace and began a new Chapter.

Humans are inherently adaptable creatures, and time heals all wounds. Given that the average human lifespan was now extending well past a century, even the deepest grief could eventually be soothed by the passage of time.

A month later, the classified reports regarding the reptilian natives were finally declassified and released to the public, instantly sparking a massive wave of discussion across the colony.

Everyone was captivated by the novelty of it all, passionately debating the indigenous civilization and the bizarre subterranean ecosystem!

This was humanity’s first true, close-quarters contact with extraterrestrial intelligent life!

The Federation assembled a specialized diplomatic team to establish "peaceful and friendly" communication with the natives.

Today was the day the expedition team officially deployed!

"Is everyone prepped and ready?" Jason asked loudly over the comms, a surge of pure excitement rising in his chest as he surveyed the heavily armed, fully outfitted crowd standing on the surface of Nyx.

"Ready, Captain!"

The collective response was a potent mix of excitement, trepidation, nervousness, and overwhelming anticipation, all blending into a fierce desire to explore the unknown!

"Then... let’s move out!"

Wearing a specially modified suit of powered armor, Jason signaled with his right hand and leaped down into the cavern entrance first.

The expedition team consisted of over forty personnel. It included the original eight Marines from Sergeant Will’s fireteam, along with a handpicked roster of senior biologists, sociologists, geologists, medics, and journalists.

They planned to use this diplomatic mission to conduct a comprehensive survey of the underground ecosystem.

Naturally, the rest of the team was composed of heavily armed Federation Marines!

After all, the subterranean world was crawling with lethal apex predators, and no one knew exactly how an alien civilization might react to their arrival...

The team also brought ample supplies of daily necessities and potential trade goods.

The mechanized strength of their powered armor meant load-bearing was a trivial issue. They could easily carry enough supplies to sustain the forty-man team underground for an extended period.

Their standard acrylic visors had been entirely replaced with a new, nano-synthetic compound.

While this new material lacked the sheer kinetic impact resistance of military-grade plexiglass, its chemical resistance to hyper-corrosive acids was vastly superior. They no longer had to worry about the black swarms melting their faces off.

Furthermore, the threat of the black swarm had been effectively neutralized. The biochemical division had successfully synthesized the active compound from the natives’ pungent herbs, creating a chemical repellent that kept the bugs at bay.

The journey downward was surprisingly uneventful, and the expedition advanced in strict tactical formation. Aside from a few awestruck scientists who had never ventured into the deep caverns before, the rest of the team remained calm and focused.

Compared to the prospect of meeting indigenous sentients and uncovering the secrets of a hidden civilization, the local cave bugs were hardly worth mentioning.

Finally, after a grueling three-day trek, the team reached the approximate coordinates of the indigenous village...

"Captain! I’ve got a signal! It’s the beacon ping from the smartphone!" a communications technician suddenly shouted in surprise.

The cavern network was a twisted, labyrinthine nightmare. Sergeant Will’s fireteam only had vague memories of their frantic escape route, making it incredibly difficult to retrace their exact steps. The team had only been able to follow a general vector.

However, before the Marines had evacuated a month ago, they had gifted the lizardmen a Federation smartphone with an active GPS beacon. Now, the expedition’s tracking devices had finally locked onto that localized signal, meaning the native village was right around the corner!

"Can you pinpoint the source?" Jason’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept his voice steady.

"Right this way, down this tunnel," the technician confirmed, pointing his gauntlet.

After hiking for another hour, the ambient temperature began to rise rapidly, soon hitting nearly 30 degrees Celsius. Suddenly, a dull red glow illuminated the tunnel walls, and they spotted patches of the dark, dormant swarms—they had reached the geothermal zone!

"This is it! This is the caldera! The native village is just ahead!" one of the original Marines shouted over the local channel, his voice trembling with excitement.

Everyone swallowed hard. Hearts hammered against ribs as a restless, eager energy swept through the formation.

At a historic moment like this, even the most stoic veterans couldn’t maintain their composure. Nervousness, apprehension, burning curiosity... a chaotic storm of emotions gripped the team.

Jason crouched down and swept his tactical light over the dirt, spotting a distinct, three-toed footprint.

"Sergeant Will, Private Leo, take the point. The natives might recognize your armor profiles. And remember... absolutely no one discharges a weapon or raises their voice without my explicit command. Is that understood?"

"Crystal clear, sir!"

This was an elite expeditionary force; discipline was absolute. For a mission this delicate and historic, a reckless hothead would never have made the cut.

The formation advanced in total silence, rounding two more bends before they suddenly spotted a thick, woven vine resting unnaturally across the cavern floor. It was partially buried in the loose dirt, and the surrounding earth looked recently disturbed.

"Hold up. Watch your step, it’s a trap! They rig pitfalls at every major intersection leading to the village!" Sergeant Will quickly warned over the comms.

He carefully skirted the edge of the trap, crouched down, and gave the tripwire a hard yank. The false floor instantly gave way, collapsing into a deep pit.

"Kha?"

A few lizardmen cautiously peeked their heads around the far corner.

Hearing the mechanical crash of the trap triggering, they thought they had caught a fresh meal and eagerly rushed out from the opposite tunnel. But when they laid eyes on the towering, metal-clad Federation giants standing perfectly unharmed on the other side, they froze in sheer terror.

The lizardmen were utterly paralyzed. It took them a few seconds to process that the "gods" hadn’t fallen into the pit. Panic set in, and they frantically scrambled back into the dark, shrieking at the top of their lungs, "Ya-ha-ma-ta-gai!"

"Ya-ha-ma-ta-gai!"

"It’s alive!"

"They actually possess a spoken language!"

Many of the Senior Scientists, laying eyes on a living reptilian native for the very first time, practically vibrated with excitement. Their eyes gleamed behind their visors with a ravenous hunger like starving wolves staring at a fresh piece of meat.

However, adhering to Jason’s strict orders, no one dared to make a sudden move. They held their ground, completely still.

"Sergeant Will, I don’t think they recognized you!" someone whispered over the comms.

"...They might be from a different hunting party. A village that size has to have multiple packs and leaders, right?"

According to the Federation’s newly compiled translation matrix, "Ya-ha-ma-ta-gai" roughly translated to "Enemy! Danger!" Upon seeing the heavily armed humans, the scouts had bolted back to sound the alarm.

Protocol dictated that the strongest warriors of the tribe would now step out to defend their home.

Sure enough, less than three minutes later, a massive horde of armed lizardmen poured out of the tunnels, forming a defensive line before the expedition team...