I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield

Chapter 530: Chapter 429: Stargate, New Journey

Qin Tian sat in the cockpit of the flying device, flipping through the Ice Extreme Pass files. The more he read, the more he couldn’t help but twitch his eyebrows, finally unable to resist complaining in his heart:

“What kind of Guardian Envoy is this, how is it different from a village chief?”

The title of Guardian Envoy sounds impressive, but the actual situation is unbearable.

The entire Ice Extreme Pass, including the garrison, administrative personnel, and a few pioneer settlers, has a total population of less than ten thousand; the residential area consists of temporary barracks, with no decent settlements, and coupled with the perpetual ice and snow of Mingwang Planet, all one can see is a vast expanse of white, harsher than the most remote villages.

However, when he turned to the territorial map, Qin Tian’s mood slightly improved—the area under the nominal jurisdiction of Ice Extreme Pass was larger than the two largest provinces combined in his previous life. The boundary line extended in a long arc on the map, giving it the stance of a “regional prince.”

But scrolling down to the supplementary notes, the expectation he had just raised sank again: 99% of this vast territory is uncharted wilderness, not only lacking any infrastructure but also harboring countless unknown dangerous creatures and extreme weather, completely out of Ice Extreme Pass’s actual control. The so-called “jurisdiction” is currently just a concept on paper, and all development work must start from scratch.

“People, what I lack most now is people.”

After reading the file, Qin Tian rubbed his brow, realizing this was the only thought left in his mind.

With a vast territory but no people, it cannot be defended or developed; with a poor environment, no people mean it cannot be improved.

With less than ten thousand people at Ice Extreme Pass, responsible for defense, administration, exploration, and construction, it’s like a drop in the ocean—no matter how strong his personal strength, able to fight a hundred, it’s impossible to manage such a vast land single-handedly.

He knew very well that Mingwang Planet’s extreme environment is the biggest “roadblock,” and without sufficient survival guarantees, it simply cannot attract an external population.

And without clearing the dangers hidden within the territory, even if someone is willing to come, they won’t stay.

Improving the living environment, clearing regional threats, attracting population migration… a series of urgent problems lie ahead, each not easy to solve.

But looking at that vast undeveloped territory on the map, Qin Tian’s heart not only didn’t shrink back; instead, a long-lost zeal surged up.

This feeling of starting from scratch and building up the territory step by step was reminiscent of scenes from playing “Empire Age” in his previous life, starting from a small village, gradually developing the economy, training the army, and expanding the territory—the desire to control everything and grow step-by-step rising continuously in his heart.

“The more difficult the start, the more fun it is to play.”

Qin Tian closed the information interface, looking at the stargate getting closer outside the porthole, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

The challenges at Ice Extreme Pass are many, but they also mean limitless possibilities—as long as he can solve the current predicament, the future potential of this territory will far exceed external imagination.

…

The star gate hub of Donghuang state is located in the outer space of the royal star, a giant space station suspended in orbit.

When Qin Tian’s flying device arrived, he could see from afar that the surface of the space station was covered with complex energy patterns. Dozens of star gates of various sizes are arranged like a beehive, each guarded by soldiers, with interstellar ships docking in order, a scene of busy yet orderly activity.

Under the guidance of staff, Qin Tian completed a second identity verification confirmation, completely matching the stargate authorization system before being taken to a small star gate.

This star gate has a diameter of about five meters, made of special dark purple metal, with flowing light blue energy radiance on its surface, the entire structure suspended in mid air, without any support below, yet steady as a rock.

“General Qin, please stand in the recognition zone directly in front of the stargate,” the guard soldier gestured, pointing at a circular marking line in front of the star gate, “The transmission process takes about three seconds, during which there will be slight energy fluctuations, which is normal.”

Qin Tian nodded and stepped into the recognition zone. He could clearly feel the spatial energy emitted from the star gate—similar in some ways to the power of void he controlled, but more inclined towards stable transmission attributes.

As the soldier pressed the start button on the control console, the star gate core suddenly lit up, the light blue energy radiance swirling rapidly, followed by a strong silver brilliance erupting from the center of the star gate, enveloping Qin Tian like a tide.

He felt a white flash before his eyes, his body wrapped in a gentle yet irresistible force, the surrounding space slightly distorted, a brief buzzing sound echoed in his ears.

This sensation disappeared in an instant—within three seconds, the silver brilliance contracted quickly, the star gate returned to its previous calm, and Qin Tian, who was standing in the recognition zone, had vanished without a trace.

In front of the control console, the soldier looked at the “Transmission Successful” prompt on the screen and nodded, saying, “Confirm the target has arrived at the Mingwang Planet transit star gate, transmission task complete.”

…

The silver brilliance dissipated, and Qin Tian’s figure appeared inside the Mingwang Planet transit station.

Just as he steadied his footing, a bone-chilling cold rushed towards him, as if he had instantly plunged into an icy pit for centuries—the icy air swept across his skin, bringing a piercing sting, even breathing, he could feel the cold air drilling down his throat, as if his lungs might freeze at any moment.

However, this bit of cold was nothing to him, his qi and blood slightly stirred, instantly dispelling the cold that had invaded his body.

With his physique, even in an environment of minus two hundred degrees, he could remain unharmed, but for ordinary people, without special thermal equipment, they might not last even a second, instantly freezing into a statue of ice. Even Tier One and Tier Two spiritualists, in such extreme cold, would find their spiritual energy operations obstructed, making long-term survival impossible.

“General Qin!”

A voice came through, Qin Tian looked up to see a soldier dressed in a white thermal suit walking briskly towards him.

The soldier came to a stop in front of him, standing at attention and offering a standard military salute, “I am Luo Xiang, the liaison soldier stationed at the Ice Extreme Pass transit station, ordered by superiors to escort you to Ice Extreme Pass.”

Qin Tian raised his hand in return, “Thanks for your hard work.”

Following the soldier out of the transit station, Qin Tian glanced around, seeing the entire scenery covered in white—the sky was a hazy grayish white, the ground was thick with icy snow, distant ice mountains stood dagger-like, piercing into the sky with sharp peaks, the cold wind whipping up snow floss, turning the world into a misty white haze, even affecting visibility.

The temperature here was lower than inside the transit station; the cold in the air seemed almost tangible, one could clearly see the exhaled white breath instantly crystallize into tiny ice crystals.

“General Qin, this way please.”

The soldier gestured forward, and dozens of specially designed flying devices were parked in the snow.

These flying devices were different from what Qin Tian had seen before, with an ice-blue body and a metallic shell exuding a faint chill, featuring simple and robust lines with no unnecessary decoration.

“The extreme cold environment of Mingwang Planet greatly damages metals; conventional flying device shells become brittle in low temperatures, not only prone to falling apart but unable to withstand sudden ice and snow storms,” the soldier voluntarily explained,

“These flying device shells are made from special metals like cold iron and ice steel, capable of withstanding temperatures as low as minus two hundred degrees, and also able to resist medium-strength storms.”

Qin Tian nodded in understanding and followed the soldier aboard one of the flying devices.

With the cabin door closed, the internal temperature quickly rose, the flying device’s engine emitted a low hum, and it ascended steadily.

Through the porthole, he could see the glacier below receding rapidly, the distant ice mountains in the gray sky like sleeping giant beasts.

His journey to Ice Extreme Pass began amidst this expanse of white.

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