167: Ice Abyss Mystery

The wind and snow blew against the broken window, and shards of ice flew into the driver's seat.

Chen Wang didn't move; his hands were still on the steering wheel, his eyes fixed on the twelve motorcycles ahead.

The engines were still running, exhaust pipes puffing out gray smoke, and someone was about to get off the bikes.

He looked down beneath the seat.

His fingers felt a loose metal plate, which he gently pried open to reveal a red button.

This was a switch he had welded on himself three months ago; it bypassed the main control console and connected directly to the backup nuclear reactor underneath the wuling war chariot.

He didn't press it.

Not yet.

He stood up and, aided by the green light filtering through the crack in the medical pod door, bent over and walked to the entrance.

Su Ling immediately raised her hand to stop him, her muzzle lifting slightly.

Chen Wang nodded, signaling that he was going to save someone.

Su Ling hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside.

He crouched down, opened the small first-aid kit outside the medical pod, and took out two adrenaline shots.

The syringes were cold, and the liquid inside sloshed gently.

He reached through the crack in the door, felt for the artery in Su Wan's neck, found the right spot, and injected the first dose.

The second injection followed immediately.

Su Wan's body shuddered, and the metal on her neck stopped spreading.

Her breathing became a bit more steady.

Star Pupil leaned in the corner, clutching the mechanical parrot, eyes closed, her lips moving slightly.

The green mist on the floor was still creeping, but much slower.

The ripples began to distort, as if the signal was being interfered with.

Chen Wang retreated to the driver's cabin and tapped Su Ling on the shoulder.

The two of them squeezed into the space between the driver's seat and the passenger seat.

He lowered his voice and said, "Do you remember the Ice Abyss drift that Old Zhou taught us?"

Su Ling's eyes flashed.

Old Zhou had said that places where the ice layer cracked would reflect sound and could disrupt tracking signals.

You couldn't run straight in that kind of terrain; you had to make sharp turns to shake off the enemy.

He had even drawn a route map, filled with reminders.

She understood what Chen Wang meant.

She didn't speak, but quietly signaled "three" with her fingers on her leg.

Three minutes at most, then they would have to act.

Chen Wang nodded, suddenly reached out, and ripped off the temperature sensor wire on the steering wheel.

The wire made a slight crackling sound, and sparks flew from the broken end.

He stuffed the wire end into the gap of the passenger side vent, so that people outside could see the exposed copper wires.

This was a ruse.

The vehicle wasn't actually broken. He just wanted people to think it was.

After doing this, he lowered his head, quietly reached his right hand under the seat, and pressed the red button.

No sound.

No vibration.

But a hundred meters deep under the ice, inside the chassis of the wuling war chariot, a small nuclear reactor began to start up.

Energy traveled up through hidden pipes, bypassing the locked main engine and connecting directly to the bottom-layer circuitry of the propulsion system.

An old copper pipe under the driver's seat began to heat up.

The heat was minimal, almost imperceptible, but it was steadily rising.

Lin Wei was lying on the floor, her ear pressed against the floorboards.

She felt a slight temperature difference.

She didn't move or speak, just reached into her tool bag and quietly unplugged the last data cable from the main control console.

Amy Chen sat in the corner, her fingers still tapping on her leg.

The rhythm was like a countdown. But her eyes had changed.

She had seen Chen Wang's actions and also noticed the slightly heating copper pipe.

She didn't tell anyone.

Star Pupil opened her eyes and looked at the mechanical parrot.

The bird's beak was still moving, continuing to announce the countdown: "Purification Protocol... start countdown... 03:56:41..."

But she heard another sound.

Energy was flowing underground.

It wasn't coming from the main control console.

It was a different frequency, steadier, deeper, like a heartbeat.

She closed her eyes and tried to sense it.

This frequency didn't conflict with her brainwaves, nor was it in sync, but it existed, and it was getting stronger.

The traitor was tied up in the back of the vehicle, hands cuffed behind his back, face down.

He heard the countdown and also smelled the scent of rust in the air—that was the smell of metal cooling after being at a high temperature.

He knew the vehicle could still move.

But he smiled. His mouth cracked open, and blood flowed down again.

On the motorcycle at the very front, the rider finally got off.

He wore a black helmet, a fully enclosed face mask, and a cold-weather cloak over his body.

He stood in the snow, not moving forward, just raised his hand and made a gesture.

The other eleven people turned off their engines simultaneously.

The engine noise ceased.

The wind and snow became the only sound.

They no longer puffed smoke, and they no longer moved. They were waiting for orders.

Chen Wang stared at the man, his hand still pressed on the button under the seat. He didn't let go.

Su Ling leaned against the passenger seat, her gun between her legs, her ear pressed against the communicator.

It was full of static, but she heard a very short pulse signal—coming from under the vehicle, not from outside.

She knew the power was up.

But she didn't move.

No one moved.

The green mist in the medical pod suddenly stopped. The thin line clung to the floor, no longer advancing.

The ripples began to shrink, as if pulled back by something.

Star Pupil opened her eyes abruptly, her breathing tightening.

"They are pulling me," she whispered, "trying to drag me in."

Chen Wang looked back at her. Then he took a magnetic sheet from the toolbox and stuck it to the back of the dashboard.

This was something he had hidden beforehand to block signals.

He didn't turn on the device or connect any wires. He just let it be.

Su Ling slowly raised her hand and gestured a "two" in front of her chest.

It meant: two breakthrough points, one at the bottom of the vehicle, one at the medical pod.

Chen Wang nodded.

He looked out the window again. The leading rider was still in place, but his hand had been lowered.

His helmet turned toward the medical pod, as if observing.

Chen Wang suddenly spoke, his voice very low: "Wait for him to come in."

Su Ling understood.

The other side wouldn't wait forever. They needed to confirm if the target was under control.

Once they discovered that Star Pupil was still resisting, they would force their way in.

That would be their chance.

Her fingers moved to the edge of her holster; she didn't draw, just prepared.

Lin Wei quietly moved to the door of the energy storage, holding insulated pliers in her hand.

She knew the valve had been manually locked, but she wanted to ensure no one could open it from the outside.

Amy Chen stood up, walked to the traitor's side, crouched down, and stared into his eyes.

"You say you aren't a traitor," she said softly, "Then tell me, how did they know about Su Wan's mark?"

The man didn't answer, just smiled.

Amy Chen reached out and tore off a piece of fabric from the inside of his collar.

There was a code on it, very small, almost invisible.

She recognized this format.

It was an internal label from the Imperial Logistics System.

She stuffed the fabric into her pocket, turned around, walked back to the corner, sat down, and continued tapping her leg.

The rhythm didn't change.

The countdown was still running.

"Purification Protocol... start countdown... 03:55:12..."

Star Pupil hugged the mechanical parrot tighter, her teeth chattering.

She felt something pulling at her inside her brain, like hooks, one by one inserting into her nerves.

She didn't want to go in.

She remembered the faces of those girls.

She remembered how they looked when they cried.

She couldn't sleep.

She bit her lip, the taste of blood keeping her awake for a moment.

Chen Wang looked back at her, his eyes firm.

He didn't speak, just reached into his chest, and took out that copper pocket watch.

The watch case was cracked, and the gears were exposed.

He gently pressed the crown, and the watch cover popped open.

The time was stopped at 3:17.

It was the time of his father's last mission.

He placed the watch on the passenger side dashboard, facing the direction of the medical pod.

This was a mark.

It was also an anchor point.

As long as the vehicle was still there, as long as this watch was still ticking, they wouldn't be lost.

Su Ling saw the watch, her eyes flickering slightly.

She knew what this meant.

Ready.

The rider outside finally moved.

He raised his hand, pointing toward the medical pod.

The eleven people behind him simultaneously took off their helmets, revealing their faces.

They were wearing uniform black combat suits, with the Imperial emblem on their chests.

They began to walk forward.

Their steps were very slow, making almost no sound as they trod on the snow.

Chen Wang's fingers slowly tightened.