A 10,000-fold Increase System, Picking Up Garbage and Becoming a Technology Giant

On the Arctic ice sheet, a nearly circular area about three kilometers in diameter was slowly sinking. The ice had cracked open into massive fissures, revealing a deep darkness below. Even more bizarrely, the ice at the fissure edges wasn’t melting naturally; it appeared to have been cleanly cut by some kind of energy field, the cut surface smooth as a mirror.

”What kind of technology is this...” Director Li murmured.

”Spatial Cutting,” Chen Fan stared at the image. ”Using an energy field to directly ’excavate’ a chunk of space. Ice, seawater, rock... all vanished. This isn’t achievable by any engineering means we currently possess.”

The images continued streaming. Beneath the ice layer, a massive metallic structure was emerging.

It was shaped like a regular tetrahedron, each face covered in intricate geometric patterns. At the center of these patterns was the emblem of a triangle nested within three circles. At the apex of the tetrahedron, a circular platform was slowly rising.

On the platform, faint human figures could be seen.

”Magnify!” Chen Fan ordered.

The image zoomed in, resolution pushed to its limit.

Three people stood on the platform.

In the center was the Doctor, clad in a bulky white protective suit. On the left was David Cohen, held by two armed personnel, pale-faced but still standing.

On the right... was Lei Zhen.

Lei Zhen was not restrained, nor was he being escorted.

He wore a protective suit similar to the Doctor’s, standing at the Doctor’s side, his expression eerily calm.

”Captain Lei, he...” Lin Hao was horrified.

”He’s been controlled,” Chen Fan said, his voice low. ”Brain-Machine Interface, Mental Implantation, or worse—genetic-level Loyalty Modification.”

Director Zhao immediately patched into the military channel. ”Prepare for a North Pole assault operation! Objectives: rescue hostages, destroy the facility!”

”Wait,” Chen Fan stopped him. ”Look first.”

On the screen, the Doctor looked up at the sky—as if he knew the satellites were observing.

He raised a hand and made a gesture.

The next second, one face of the tetrahedron suddenly lit up with a blinding white light.

A beam of energy shot skyward, directly targeting star vault 1 satellite!

”Evade!” Chen Fan shouted.

But it was too late.

star vault 1’s live feed shook violently, then dissolved into static.

Data indicated the satellite had suffered a high-intensity electromagnetic pulse attack, all systems offline.

[star vault 1 lost contact. Stardome laser platforms have locked onto target. Engage?]

”Do not fire!” Chen Fan prevented it. ”David and Lei Zhen are on that platform. And...” He looked at the gradually dissipating energy beam. ”Their ability to instantly disable our satellite means their defense systems far exceed our estimates. A rash attack would only cause more losses.”

He forced himself to calm down. ”First, figure out their objective. Since the Doctor has shown himself publicly and demonstrated force, he must have something to say.”

Sure enough, one minute later, an encrypted communication request came in. Its origin was the Arctic facility.