400: Chapter 397 We meet again.

Lu Jianchuan did not hesitate.

He raised both hands, the two silver-gray bracelets glinting coldly in the dim light. His wrists crossed, snapping together in front of his chest—

Silvery-white biomass armor surged from the bracelets, instantly covering his entire body. The streamlined silver skeleton lit up in the gloom of the ice cave like a cold lamp.

He took a step forward, shielding the group from the three hovering mosquitoes.

The people from the Research Station exchanged glances without a word. The elder one waved his hand slightly, and everyone began to retreat slowly—facing the three mosquitoes, their eyes locked onto them, moving backward step by step toward the cave entrance.

One must never turn their back to flee. This was common sense when facing any predator in the wild. The moment one's back was turned would be the signal for the attack to begin.

The tentacles of the three mosquitoes quivered slightly, as if sensing something. They hovered there, not attacking immediately, but their buzzing grew increasingly frantic.

Then, they moved.

They didn't pounce all at once but divided the labor—two charged straight at Lu Jianchuan, while the third circled to the side, attempting to bypass him and pursue the retreating people.

Lu Jianchuan stepped out and slammed a punch into the mosquito directly in front of him!

That punch sent the creature flying backward, crashing against the ice wall with a dull thud. Its body slid down limply, tentacles still twitching, but it was clearly severely injured.

The other one had already lunged before him. It didn't use its tentacles to stab; instead, it opened its mouthparts—no, it sprayed.

A blast of frigid air erupted from the center of the cluster of tentacles, instantly condensing into a layer of white ice crust on Lu Jianchuan! The ice spread rapidly, from his chest to his arms, and from his arms to his waist and abdomen, nearly sealing his entire upper body.

Lu Jianchuan glanced down at the layer of ice.

The energy circuits within Lu Jianchuan's body suddenly surged.

Explosive Combustion Form.

Dark red energy conduits lit up on the armor's surface as high temperatures surged from within. The spreading ice crystals on his shoulder guards instantly melted and evaporated into a cloud of white mist. He smashed a fist into the mouthparts of the mosquito behind him, sending it flying backward.

He needed high temperatures, but he couldn't use them recklessly—they were beneath the ice, with an ice sheet of unknown thickness overhead. If he truly melted this place, everyone would be buried here.

Thus, he concentrated the heat only on the frozen areas.

Before the shattered ice could refreeze, his body temperature had already risen. It wasn't a violent combustion but a precise, controlled warmth—just enough to instantly melt any encroaching frost without threatening the surrounding ice walls.

The second mosquito sprayed another blast of cold air.

As soon as the white mist touched Lu Jianchuan's body, it turned into water vapor and hissed as it evaporated.

Lu Jianchuan threw a punch.

The mosquito was slammed into the water, kicking up a large splash. It struggled to fly, but its wings were shredded, leaving it only able to flounder on the water's surface.

The third one—the one that had circled to the side—was nearly upon the retreating crowd.

Lu Jianchuan wanted to give chase, but the distance was too great; he wouldn't make it in time.

Just then—

Squelch.

A sharp wooden spike shot out from the darkness, precisely skewering the mosquito's body. The creature didn't even have time to cry out before being pinned to the ice wall.

The moment the wooden spike pierced its body, it began to grow wildly. Tiny branches spread from the spike, wrapping the mosquito into a cocoon in the blink of an eye. The creature struggled twice inside before falling still.

Lu Jianchuan whipped his head around.

In the darkness, a figure stepped out from behind an ice pillar.

She had long silvery-white hair and pale eyes, wearing a thick coat obtained from who-knows-where that looked entirely out of place in this world of ice and snow. Her right hand had just pulled back from a still-growing branch, her fingertips still stained with a bit of woody residue.

Cynthia.

She glanced down at her right hand and gave it a light shake, letting the residue fall from her fingertips. Then, she pulled a pair of gloves from her pocket and put them on unhurriedly.

Once they were on, she looked up at Lu Jianchuan.

“Long time no see.”

Lu Jianchuan looked at Cynthia as she emerged from the shadows; her dark coat seemed quite out of place in this world of ice and snow.

“Long time no see,” he said.

Cynthia glanced up at him and gave only a soft “Mm” in response. Her gloved fingers twitched as she ensured they were fitted properly, then she lowered her hand, her gaze falling upon the dealt-with mosquitoes.

The people from the Research Station behind them were still rooted to the spot, holding the Professor who was sealed in ice, unsure whether to leave or stay.

Lu Jianchuan turned to them: “The Professor needs to be taken back immediately.”

Only then did they snap out of it, nodding repeatedly.

“Yes, yes, we must take him back at once,” the elder one urged, and the group began moving the frozen body toward the cave entrance. After a few steps, they stopped and looked back at Lu Jianchuan.

Lu Jianchuan said, “Go on ahead, I'll follow shortly.”

“Alright.” They nodded, then looked at Cynthia. “Is that... is that lady coming too?”

Cynthia shook her head.

“No,” her voice was faint. “I'm going further in. To see what's inside.”

Lu Jianchuan glanced at her, then back at the people from the station.

“Can you take the Professor back yourselves?”

The elder Researcher nodded: “No problem. We can take the Professor back. You go ahead.” He paused, glancing at Cynthia. “Go with that lady—the one who saved us. It's a good chance to see what the Professor actually discovered.”

Lu Jianchuan nodded.

“Alright.”

The people from the station carried the Professor, retreating step by step toward the entrance. The sound of their footsteps gradually faded, finally disappearing completely into the darkness of the passage.

Lu Jianchuan turned to Cynthia.

“Together?”

Cynthia didn't answer, simply stepping toward the depths.

Lu Jianchuan followed.

The two walked side by side into the interior, their lights illuminating the ice walls ahead. The ancient creatures sealed within the ice on both sides flickered in and out of the light and shadow like a sleeping museum.

Cynthia suddenly spoke.

“If those who study ancient life saw this,” her voice echoed in the cavernous ice cave, “they would surely be very happy.”

Lu Jianchuan glanced at her sideways.

“Yeah,” he said. “I wonder what's going on here. And those mosquitoes that can cause freezing.”

He raised his hand and pressed the bracelet—the silvery-white armor receded like a tide, revealing his casual clothes underneath. He pulled a tube of nutrient solution from his backpack, unscrewed the cap, and tilted his head back to drink it.

The cool liquid slid down his throat. He set aside the empty tube and exhaled a puff of white mist.

“The next part will probably be tough,” he said. “I feel like more than one of those lives here.”

Cynthia looked into the darkness ahead.

“It's obvious they live in colonies,” she said. “Eating their prey after freezing them into ice sculptures. I just don't know how they eat.”

She paused.

“Whatever, let's just keep going.”

Lu Jianchuan nodded, and the two continued forward.

The passage grew deeper, and the ice layers on both sides became thicker. After walking for an unknown amount of time, the path suddenly ended—a solid wall of ice blocked their way, smooth and transparent, sealing away creatures from countless millennia ago.

Cynthia stopped and looked up.

“Perhaps it's somewhere else.”

Before she could finish—

Crack.

A faint cracking sound came from beneath their feet.

Lu Jianchuan looked down and saw several tiny cracks appearing on the ice surface. In the center of the cracks, something long and thin was burrowing out—

It was mouthparts.

Several of them.

Tentacle-like, glowing with a faint blue light.

“It's below—”

Before he could finish, the ice surface shattered violently!

Lu Jianchuan and Cynthia fell simultaneously. Below was darkness, ice shards, and countless unfurling tentacles—

In mid-air, Lu Jianchuan raised both hands, his two silver-gray bracelets crossing and snapping together!

Silvery-white armor instantly covered his body without the slightest pause—the energy circuits within him flared at the same moment, dark red energy conduits lighting up on the armor's surface as thrusters on his back and legs fired simultaneously!

Explosive Combustion Form. Directly.

He turned in the air, grabbing Cynthia's arm, and the thrust from his nozzles propelled them diagonally toward the nearest ice wall.

He threw a punch!

His high-temperature fist blasted a large crater into the ice wall. Using the momentum, he clung to the edge and swung Cynthia onto a small ice platform that was barely large enough to stand on.

Below, on the shattered ice, three or four mosquitoes with tentacled mouthparts were spiraling upward, their buzzing echoing through the cavernous ice cave.