380: Chapter 380 Undercurrents

The image dissipated.

Chen Mo stuffed the recording pen into his pocket.

East Port Pier, there's a boat.

"The water level is rising!" Su Qingxue shouted from behind.

Chen Mo accelerated.

Rounding the corner, a vertical iron grate appeared ahead.

The current had already submerged his calves.

He stood up and hooked his hands into the gaps of the grate.

Liquid metal seeped from his palms, the high temperature instantly melting through the rusted joints.

He pushed upward with both arms, shoved the grate aside, and vaulted out.

The three of them exited the pipe one after another.

Before them lay a massive sedimentation tank.

Murky river water surged in through a breach in the wall, forming a giant whirlpool as the water level rose rapidly.

Chen Mo looked up; a maintenance steel cable hung from the edge of a metal walkway to his upper right.

"Swim over." He leaped into the bone-chilling river water.

Nightingale and Su Qingxue followed close behind.

The whirlpool's suction was incredibly strong.

A chunk of concrete was swept along by the current, hurtling toward Nightingale's back.

Chen Mo turned in the water, grabbed Nightingale's tactical vest with his left hand, and yanked her back.

The chunk grazed Nightingale's cheek before crashing into the water.

The three swam to the tank wall. Chen Mo grabbed the steel cable and climbed up, pulling the two of them onto the metal walkway one by one.

Below, the ventilation outlet had been completely submerged.

Chen Mo sprinted along the walkway. At the end was a coded isolation door labeled "Main Sewage Pipe No. 4."

The keypad was smashed, and the cables were severed.

He pressed his palm against the metal lock casing. Liquid metal seeped from between his fingers into the lock cylinder, forcing a circuit connection.

The lock clicked, and the door opened.

Behind the door was a wide cylindrical tunnel.

The water at their feet converged into a small stream, rushing into the darkness.

The communicator was filled with nothing but static.

Chen Mo switched off the communication and raised his flashlight.

At the end of the light beam, dozens of brass shell casings floated on the water's surface.

The tunnel walls were riddled with bullet holes, with bloodstains snaking down into the water.

There had been a firefight ahead.

He turned off the flashlight and advanced against the wall.

Su Qingxue and Nightingale followed with their guns raised.

Light and the sound of rushing water appeared ahead.

The tunnel broke off, forming an underground waterfall with a three-meter drop.

Below the waterfall was a spacious karst cave.

Chen Mo crouched at the edge and looked down.

In the center of the cave, an assault boat was parked on a shoal.

Six bodies in hazmat suits lay nearby.

Standing beside the boat was a tall man in a black trench coat.

The man had his back to him, holding a Silver Metal Case identical to the one in the main control room.

He glanced at his watch and tossed the case onto the assault boat.

Chen Mo raised his gun, centering the crosshairs on the man's back.

The man didn't turn around, but his voice echoed through the cave.

It wasn't an electronically synthesized voice, but a magnetic male one.

"You're three minutes faster than I expected, Chen Mo."

He slowly turned around.

Moonlight spilled through a crack in the cave ceiling, illuminating his face.

Behind Chen Mo, Su Qingxue gasped, her muzzle dipping slightly.

That face was exactly the same as Chen Mo's current appearance.

The only difference was the eyepatch over the man's left eye, printed with a dark gold hourglass.

"Round one, over."

The man raised his right hand, clad in a white glove, with the Solid Gold Pawn lying in his palm.

He tossed the chess piece toward the water.

The golden light shattered the moon's reflection and sank into the darkness.

"Give my regards to your father."

The man stepped onto the assault boat and yanked the engine cord.

The motor roared as the assault boat cut through the water, shooting into the Underground River connecting to the open sea.

Chen Mo's muzzle remained steady as a rock.

His gaze pierced through the mist, locking onto that receding figure.

He pulled the trigger.

The bullet struck the Underground River, exploding into a plume of water in the assault boat's wake.

"Pursue."

Chen Mo ejected the empty magazine, and a new one clicked into the gun.

He stepped onto the edge of the three-meter cliff, his black trench coat flapping in the damp air.

Chen Mo leaped down the three-meter waterfall.

The current of the Underground River instantly enveloped him.

He crashed into the murky water, the massive impact dragging him toward the riverbed.

He held his breath and tightened his core.

The current pushed him, tumbling him through the darkness.

He opened his eyes.

Fifty meters ahead, the assault boat's wake carved through white foam.

The engine's roar penetrated the layers of water.

The distance was widening.

The man on the assault boat steered with one hand.

He turned and raised an assault rifle with his left hand, aiming directly at the water surface behind him.

The muzzle flashed repeatedly.

Bullets tore through the water, trailing a dozen straight lines of bubbles beneath the surface.

Chen Mo rolled to the left and kicked off the rock wall with his right leg, using the momentum to change direction.

Two bullets grazed his shoulder and embedded themselves in the riverbed silt.

He broke the surface and raised his gun with his right hand.

Distance: sixty meters.

The water surface was choppy.

The light was dim.

He didn't fire; instead, he holstered his gun, paddled with both hands, and swam toward the shoal on the right.

From above, the sounds of heavy objects hitting the water echoed in succession.

Nightingale and Su Qingxue jumped into the Underground River.

Nightingale's entry was textbook, with almost no splash. She swam with alternating strokes, quickly closing in on Chen Mo.

Su Qingxue clutched the Kraft Paper Bag tightly, swimming with one hand, her speed clearly lagging behind.

Chen Mo stepped onto the gravel of the riverbed, the water reaching his thighs.

He walked to the shore, stripped off his soaked tactical vest, and threw it to the ground.

Nightingale came ashore, her short blade unsheathed as she flicked off the water droplets.

"He got away," Nightingale said.

The waterway curved ahead, and the engine sound had already vanished.

Chen Mo's gaze swept over the direction of the current, then he walked toward where Su Qingxue was coming ashore.

Su Qingxue had just crawled onto the shoal, hands on her knees, panting heavily.

Water droplets dripped from the tips of her hair.

"Give it to me," Chen Mo said, stopping in front of her.

Su Qingxue straightened up and hid the Kraft Paper Bag behind her back.

She took half a step back, her soles crunching on the gravel.

"This is my mother's keepsake," she said, raising her voice.

"It's evidence," Chen Mo said, reaching out.

"On what basis do you decide it's evidence? These are just a few photos, and the people in them are directly related to me."

"The opponent placing it under the bomb was a provocation." Chen Mo stepped closer, closing the distance to half a meter.

"I need to find out for myself! Those people at the Bureau won't give me the files on a twenty-year-old cold case. This is my only lead!" Su Qingxue's voice was hoarse.

Chen Mo raised his right hand and gripped her left wrist.

His thumb pressed against her radius, and his index and middle fingers tightened instantly.

"Let go!" Su Qingxue gritted her teeth, pushing her right hand against Chen Mo's shoulder.

Chen Mo twisted his wrist, countering and pinning her left arm.

Su Qingxue groaned in pain, her fingers forced open.

The Kraft Paper Bag fell.

Chen Mo caught it with his left hand.

He released Su Qingxue.

She rubbed her reddened wrist, her chest heaving.

"You're emotionally overloaded," Chen Mo said, stuffing the bag into the inner pocket of his trench coat.

"You saw that man's face! He looks exactly like you; this is your personal business too!" Su Qingxue stared intently at his face.

"Plastic surgery technology was already widespread twenty years ago." Chen Mo turned and walked deeper into the tunnel.

"Your heart rate is fifteen percent faster than usual," Nightingale said, walking to Su Qingxue's side and stating the fact.

"Shut up." Su Qingxue followed Chen Mo.

On both sides of the tunnel, man-made excavation marks replaced the natural rock walls.

Ahead, a faint yellow light permeated the darkness.

Chen Mo slowed his pace, drew his gun, and advanced against the left rock wall.

Nightingale moved toward the right with her blade.

The three of them advanced in a pincer formation.

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