379: Chapter 380 Bone-Deep Corrosion: Can This Air Be Packaged Up?

Base D-3, the following day, daytime.

Lin Qi was recovering his Dao Source in the command center, Instructor Su Qing was redeploying defenses outside, and Zhang Wei was rushing work in the workshop.

All three were very busy.

Shi Gu emerged from the Region 2 dormitory bare-chested and began stretching in the courtyard.

Base D-3's high-concentration essence environment allowed his fourth-turn Physique to recover quickly; most of the discomfort from last night had subsided.

Abyssal Fang crouched at his feet, staring at the patrolling A-07 in the distance.

Shi Gu took a breath; it truly felt comfortable.

"No wonder Lin Qi won't let anyone sell the air here."

He muttered to himself.

"If this was released, rich people would be clamoring to move in."

Ji Mie flowed over from a corner of the wall, condensing into a semi-humanoid shape.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Thinking about money."

Shi Gu was very frank.

"Bottling and selling the air here... one bottle would be worth at least a hundred thousand."

"Were you this fond of money when you were in the Church?"

"The Church provided food and lodging, but they didn't pay us."

Shi Gu crouched down and rubbed Abyssal Fang's head.

"Now, even though this boss doesn't pay either, he gave us this 'air salary' logic."

"This air is indeed worth that price."

Ji Mie's outer membrane fluctuated slightly.

"You adapted quite quickly."

"What's there to not adapt to?" Shi Gu stood up and rotated his shoulders.

"Following the High Priest, I could be sent to my death at any moment. Following Lin Qi, at least I don't have to worry about being used as cannon fodder."

"You saw it last night too; the Prophet himself stepped onto the field. He had us all retreat underground while he stayed above."

"If it were Ku Ye or Cang Yan, they would've definitely made us hold the line to buy time while they escaped themselves."

Abyssal Fang's ears perked up, and he turned to look at the east side of the base.

Shi Gu and Ji Mie became alert simultaneously.

Three seconds later, a Silent Leopard ran out from behind a low wall on the east side.

In terms of Law perception, that thing completely did not exist.

There were no energy fluctuations, no Law aura, and even the sound of its footsteps was completely absorbed by its material properties.

Without seeing it with one's own eyes, it was impossible to detect.

The leopard glided silently across the courtyard and disappeared into a southern alleyway.

The hair on Shi Gu's neck stood up.

"That's the third one. The fatty built another one last night."

Ji Mie stared in the direction the leopard had vanished.

"If such a thing were used for assassination..."

"Forget about it."

Shi Gu shook his head.

"You think Lin Qi doesn't know? This thing is only for guarding the home; it will never be leaked to the outside."

The two stood in the courtyard, watching the Law Creatures patrol along random paths.

With eighteen regular models plus three Silent Leopards, at least one unit passed through every corner of the core area every forty-five seconds.

No Church stronghold could achieve this density of defense.

"He's leaving tomorrow."

Shi Gu spoke.

"Mm."

"Do you think Eternal Frost can hold out?"

Ji Mie thought for a moment.

"Eternal Frost is stronger than both Ku Ye and Cang Yan. The Ice Fortress has been maintained for thirty years, and Frost Thorn is also at the half-step Law level."

"So what?"

Shi Gu interrupted him.

"Ku Ye's century-old Rotten Wood Forest was formatted by him in twenty minutes."

"Cang Yan's faith channel was also just a matter of one shovel swing."

"Abyssal Fang's spatial folding plus his half-step Law life-saving methods were blown up by him along with the channel."

"You mean Eternal Frost won't be able to hold out either."

"I mean, I can't think of anything in this world that can stop him."

Shi Gu glanced toward the command center.

"Even the Prophet's projection was forced back by him."

Ji Mie was silent for a long time.

"There is one."

"What?"

"The Prophet's true body—the complete, descended true body."

Shi Gu's expression stiffened for a moment.

"That's why he has to take out Eternal Frost and destroy the Container within seven days."

"Once that thing fully descends... whether this world will even still exist is a question."

The courtyard fell silent.

Abyssal Fang sneezed, and Shi Gu gave him a playful kick.

"Alright, let's stop scaring ourselves. Let's go to the cafeteria and see what there is to eat."

"You know how to cook?"

"I was a cook in the Church for six years, believe it or not."

"I don't believe it."

"You don't have to, but you're coming with me to tend the fire."

"There must be some heat in that liquid membrane of yours, right?"

Ji Mie glanced at him.

"There is, but I'm not acting as a stove."

"We're temporary workers; be a bit flexible."

The two men and the dog walked toward the cafeteria.

In the workshop, Zhang Wei finished welding the frame of the fourth leopard and was using a carving knife to etch Law Circuits.

This was the most mentally taxing part of the manufacturing process; the precision of the circuits directly determined the leopard's performance.

His Alchemist talent was useful here, as his fingertips could perceive the minute textures on the alloy surface.

But after working for over ten consecutive hours, even his talent was reaching its limit.

His hands began to shake.

Zhang Wei put down the carving knife and shook out his wrists, pulling out a notebook and flipping to the latest page.

Recorded there was the manufacturing progress of the Silent Leopards; he expected to finish by 3:00 PM tomorrow.

The Boss was leaving early tomorrow morning, so he had to deliver everything before the departure.

Taking a deep breath, he picked up the carving knife again.

His hand was still shaking; he muttered a curse and gulped down some mineral water.

"Young Master Zhang."

A voice came from the door, and Zhang Wei's hand jerked, nearly causing a mis-carving.

He turned to see Instructor Su Qing standing at the entrance.

"Sister Su, can you make some noise when you walk?"

Instructor Su Qing ignored him, walked to the workbench, and glanced at the progress.

"The fourth one?"

"Just started etching the circuits. It's too delicate; my hands are shaking."

"Have you eaten?"

"Haven't had time."

Instructor Su Qing produced a lunchbox from behind her and placed it on an empty spot on the workbench.

"Shi Gu made it. The taste is average, but it's edible."

Zhang Wei was somewhat surprised.

"That bald guy knows how to cook?"

"He said he was a cook in the Church for six years."

"...Damn, that's one hell of a resume."

He opened the lunchbox to find a bowl of fried rice; it didn't look like much, but it was packed with ingredients. After a couple of bites, he found the taste was decent and ate a few more. Instructor Su Qing didn't leave, leaning against the workbench as she watched him finish.

"Sister Su, is something up?"

"Your hands."

Zhang Wei lifted his right hand and looked at it; his fingertips were still trembling.

"It's fine, I just need to rest for a bit."

"You've been working for eighteen hours straight."

"I know, but the Boss is leaving tomorrow. I can't be missing any of the five leopards."

"Can you guarantee the precision of the circuits you etch with shaking hands?"

Zhang Wei's movements stopped.

"If the precision isn't enough, the shielding effect will be compromised. A leopard like that would be a gap in the defensive perimeter."

Instructor Su Qing's tone was flat.

"After the Boss leaves, I need a hundred percent reliable defense line."

"Go sleep for four hours. Continue when you wake up; there's enough time."

Zhang Wei wanted to argue, but meeting Instructor Su Qing's eyes, he didn't speak.

He finished the remaining fried rice in the lunchbox and put down his chopsticks.

"Four hours."

"I'll have A-03 wake you at the door in four hours."

Zhang Wei walked to a cot in the corner of the workshop and lay down; within two minutes, he was snoring.

Instructor Su Qing glanced at him, packed up the lunchbox, and left quietly.

In the afternoon, Lin Qi's Dao Source had recovered to forty percent.

He withdrew from meditation for a moment and rescanned the crystal data.

He had repeatedly analyzed the information on the six seam points; he had memorized every node's depth, angle, rock formation structure, and energy conduction direction.

Seam Number Two was the best entry point.

But there was still a problem.

After breaking into the core area, the first barrier was Eternal Frost's Absolute Zero Domain.

Information from Shi Gu stated that Eternal Frost's core Law was Absolute Zero; within the Domain, the molecular motion of all matter was forced to slow down, and a person's blood would freeze within three seconds of entry.

The Domain required continuous energy; once the faith channel was cut, it could only be maintained for ten minutes at most.

But his faith channel was still intact.

Using formatting to dismantle the channel was too costly; he couldn't take the old path.

He would bypass the channel and go straight for the man himself.

Lin Qi deduced the tactics in his mind.

Cut in from Seam Number Two, use Protective Aura to counter the Absolute Zero, and strike Eternal Frost directly with the entrenching tool infused with Dao Source. The battle had to be resolved before the Dao Source was exhausted.

The key variable was Frost Thorn.

A half-step Law-level ice ability user who coordinated perfectly with Eternal Frost. If both fought together, the Dao Source consumption would double, and three hours might not be enough.

Then he would compress it to two hours.

Deal with Frost Thorn first, then fight Eternal Frost, and finally destroy the Container—each stage within forty minutes.

Lin Qi opened his eyes and did one final mental review.

The plan had no loopholes, but the margin for error was very low; he couldn't afford any mistakes.

So he wouldn't make any.

He closed his eyes again to continue recovering his Dao Source.

In the Ice Rift Valley, two hundred meters underground, in the core control room, Eternal Frost sat on a high platform of ice crystals. A bronze mirror floated before him, displaying a complete energy distribution map of the Ice Rift Valley.

This underground Ice Fortress had been his life's work for thirty years. Cang Yan was dead, Ku Ye was dead, and Abyssal Fang was dead too.

After the Prophet had descended and then withdrawn, he had instead become calm.

What was meant to come would come; he knew that monster would definitely arrive.

"Master."

Frost Thorn walked in through a side door, wearing form-fitting deep blue battle armor, her white hair tied in a ponytail, her face showing signs of fatigue.

Over the past twenty-four hours, she had been responsible for overseeing the evacuation of the outer observation posts and had barely closed her eyes.

"All outer observation posts have been withdrawn. Posts thirty-seven through fifty-two in the east lost contact during the evacuation; they were likely swallowed by wild monsters."

Eternal Frost did not look up.

"It doesn't matter."

"Master, those sentries..."

"I said, it doesn't matter."

Eternal Frost's voice was dry.

"The outer perimeter has been abandoned, and all energy has been diverted to the core area. If the sentries are dead, they're dead."

Frost Thorn's hands clenched inside her sleeves.

Having followed Eternal Frost for twelve years, she knew him well. This man was calculating and shrewd, but he never said things didn't matter.

Saying it today meant the pressure had truly arrived.

"What's the progress on the Container?"

Eternal Frost asked.

"Eighty-seven point three, up two percentage points from yesterday."

Frost Thorn placed a recording crystal on the table.

"The Prophet's acceleration program is running normally, but the Container's vital signs are dropping. The side effects of forced maturation are greater than expected; at this rate, it might not hold out until one hundred percent."

"Getting to ninety-five is enough."

Eternal Frost interrupted her.

"Above ninety-five, the Prophet can forcibly activate the descent. A small deficit won't matter."

Frost Thorn said nothing more.

She knew her Master was gambling—gambling that the Container would reach ninety-five before that monster arrived, and gambling that the Prophet could descend before the battle began.

Gambling everything.

"To what extent has the ice layer been reinforced?"

"Two hundred meters at full capacity. Every layer has been infused with your Law energy, making the hardness forty times higher than natural glacial rock. Three Absolute Zero lockdown circles have been added to the core area's perimeter."

Eternal Frost scanned the positions of the lockdown circles on the bronze mirror; they were at depths of one hundred eighty, one hundred ninety, and two hundred meters respectively.

"What about the energy pipelines?"

Eternal Frost asked suddenly.

Frost Thorn was somewhat puzzled.

"The pipelines?"

"The energy pipelines from the outer to the middle layers—has the defensive reinforcement at the seams been done?"

Frost Thorn frowned.

"Master, those seams are all at depths of one hundred twenty to one hundred fifty meters, encased within two hundred meters of ice. How could anyone from the outside..."

"Reinforce them. Add a Law Lock to every seam."

"Master, that would require diverting energy from the core area to spread across six seams..."

"Do it."

There was no room for negotiation in Eternal Frost's tone.

Frost Thorn stood for two seconds, then turned and walked out of the control room.

Eternal Frost sat alone on the high platform, staring at the six seam nodes in the bronze mirror.

He didn't know how the enemy would come—a frontal assault on the surface, underground Stealth, or directly formatting the ice layers—he wasn't sure.

But there was one thing he was certain of.

That monster was already on his way.

His finger slid across the surface of the bronze mirror, zooming in on the location of Seam Number Two.

The point with the lowest energy density in the entire pipeline System.

He watched it for a long time, then reached out and added a red marker to the position of Seam Number Two.

Highest priority.