201: Challenges came one after another

Star Pupil's hand was still pressed against the armor, her brows furrowing tighter and tighter. She whispered, "It recognizes us."

Chen Wang jumped down from the roof of the vehicle and walked over to the pile of supplies. He opened the ammunition crates and counted them one by one. Four rockets remained, the electromagnetic cannon had power, and there were enough machine gun bullets. He then took out the medical kit, checked the bandages and hemostatic powder, and confirmed they weren't damp.

"Ammunition, fuel, medical kit—all set," he said.

Su Ling stood beside the turret, took off her gloves, and picked up a crossbow bolt. She examined the arrowhead, wiped it with a cloth, and tucked it into her right boot. She placed another one in the quick-draw holster on her waist. She pulled down her pants to cover the tail of the bolt.

"We're going to do something big this time," she said.

Lin Wei was crouching by the power compartment, holding the control terminal, her fingers sliding across the screen. The system showed that the folding array was normal, the energy core was fully charged, and the anti-electromagnetic layer was stable. She looked up at the metal plate overhead; all three layers of the structure were locked.

"The space folding device is ready, and the energy core is fully charged," she said.

Amy Chen had been leaning against an ammunition crate writing a list, and hearing this, she prepared to stand up and check. But as soon as she stood up, the alarm light on the garage ceiling suddenly turned red.

A sharp buzzing sound rang out.

Everyone stopped what they were doing.

The kindling system's holographic screen popped up automatically, showing a deep blue ripple on the map, approaching rapidly from the northwest. Its edges were irregular, and it was moving much faster than a normal black tide. Estimated time of contact: eighteen minutes.

"It's not on the predicted path," Lin Wei said, staring at the screen. "It has changed direction."

Chen Wang walked to the main control console and pulled up the topographical map and airflow data. The wind speed had changed, the clouds had thickened, and the vanguard of the black tide had entered the valley ahead of schedule. Their position was right on its path.

"It's not a natural deviation," he said. "It's coming for us."

Su Ling climbed onto the turret and held onto the electromagnetic cannon mount. She looked down at the sight, then glanced at the camera feed. The snowy landscape outside was quiet, but the distant horizon was pitch black, as if stained with ink.

"It will be invisible soon," she said.

Lin Wei walked over, holding the terminal. "The folding cabin can still hold, but if the black tide brings a high-energy particle stream, the Shield might not withstand two attacks."

"It doesn't need to withstand two," Chen Wang said. "We aren't going out to fight it head-on."

He walked toward the driver's seat and took his tactical gloves off the hook. They were black, with thickened backs and non-slip textures on the palms. He put them on one by one and fastened the wrist straps.

"Let's move out," he said. "We'll set an ambush at the north entrance of the cliff. The terrain there is narrow, so they won't be able to spread out."

Lin Wei immediately pulled up the routes. Three paths lit up on the screen. The first was the shortest but passed through an ice crevasse zone; the second was further, but the ground was stable; the third passed through an abandoned radar station and had cover.

"Take the third one," she said. "The radar station is on high ground, so we can see ahead."

Su Ling nodded: "I can stand on the tower top and take out the vanguard."

Chen Wang looked at the map, his finger tracing the route. "We have enough fuel for a round trip and some maneuvering. But we must withdraw immediately after the fight; we can't stay long."

Lin Wei entered the commands, and the system began to warm up. The energy core hummed, and the chassis vibrated gently. The kindling interface popped up with notifications: [Flight module standby] [Shield system activated] [Weapon group online].

"All systems online," she said.

Chen Wang took one last look at the supply area. Spare conduits were on the wall, the first aid kit was hanging behind the door, and the toolbox was locked. Everything was fine; nothing had been missed.

He walked up the steps to the driver's seat and stopped at the entrance.

"Board the vehicle," he said.

Su Ling slid down from the turret, opened the side door, and climbed into the combat compartment. She sat in the firing position, fastened her seatbelt, and placed her fingers on the firing button. The screen displayed a weapon synchronization rate of 98%.

Lin Wei hugged the terminal and went around to the side of the power compartment, plugging the interface into the bottom slot. A green progress bar began to move. She patted the armor to confirm it was connected, then climbed into the technical compartment via the side ladder. The seat automatically adjusted its angle, and she fastened her shoulder straps and opened the monitoring panel.

Chen Wang stood outside the driver's door and looked back at the garage.

The lights were dim, and it was empty inside. The people from earlier were gone, leaving only scattered tools and uncollected wires. The logbook on the wall was still open, with the latest entry reading: "Test 198 completed, all systems passed."

He withdrew his gaze and stepped into the cockpit.

The seat sensed him and automatically tightened. The kindling interface appeared before his eyes, and all vehicle statuses were green. The SP value was 7320, enough to initiate a short-range flight.

He gripped the steering wheel, his fingers touching the familiar wear marks. This vehicle had been repaired many times, but no other vehicle had ever survived like this one.

The engine roared lowly, and the tracks vibrated slightly.

The garage door began to open, and the hydraulic rods emitted a dull thud. The gap in the door widened bit by bit, and the wind and snow from outside blew in, swirling the scraps of paper on the ground.

On the holographic screen, the distance to the black tide: twelve kilometers.

Contact in eight minutes.

Chen Wang pressed the communication button, and the channel connected.

"Su Ling."

"Here."

"Lin Wei."

"Signal stable."

He released the brake and lightly pressed the accelerator.

The war chariot moved forward half a meter, its tracks crushing the ice shards on the ground.

"Remember the mission objective," he said. "It's not to wipe them out, but to break the vanguard, slow them down, and buy time for the camp."

No one spoke, but all three moved their hands.

Su Ling's hand moved to the mode button, ready to fire in rapid succession at any time. Lin Wei turned off unnecessary systems, saving energy for the Shield and detection. Chen Wang checked the balance instrument to ensure it wouldn't tilt during flight.

When the door was two-thirds open, the wind and snow intensified.

Snowflakes hit the armor horizontally, making a crackling sound. The distant horizon was pitch black and pressing down. The temperature plummeted, and the instrument indicated it was minus seventy-six degrees outside.

The kindling system reminded: [Environmental threat level increased] [Recommendation: Activate stealth module].

Chen Wang did not choose it. The stealth module consumed power and prevented the use of the main cannon. They had to save their firepower for a critical moment.

He chose partial heating to keep the windshield from frosting over. White steam rose from the edges, and his field of vision slowly cleared.

The war chariot slowly drove out of the garage.

The tracks crushed the ice ridges on the threshold with a click.

It was all snow outside, and the road couldn't be seen. Chen Wang followed the navigation, the headlights illuminating ten meters ahead. The radar was constantly scanning, and there were currently no moving targets.

But the signal of the black tide was getting stronger and stronger.

The frequency that Star Pupil had sensed earlier now flashed in the system. It was like an echo, and also like it was listening to them.

Lin Wei saw the fluctuation. "It's not an attack signal," she said. "But it is recording our reactions."

"Ignore it," Chen Wang said. "Just watch the black tide."

The war chariot continued to move forward, heading toward the north entrance of the cliff.

Behind them, the garage door slowly closed. The last trace of light disappeared into the wind and snow.

Ahead, there was only darkness.

Chen Wang gripped the steering wheel tightly, his foot steady on the accelerator.

Five minutes left.

The war chariot entered the ruins of the radar station. Collapsed iron towers were stuck in the snow, and concrete blocks were everywhere. Chen Wang slowed down, avoiding soft spots. The left wing grazed a steel beam, making a scraping sound.

Su Ling suddenly spoke: "Is the tower top platform clear?"

Lin Wei looked at the 3D map: "The west side has a two-meter overhang, but the structure is fine. You can go up."

"That's enough," Su Ling said.

Chen Wang parked the vehicle at the entrance of the ruins and initiated the anchoring procedure. Four ground spikes drove into the frozen soil to prevent it from being blown over by the wind.

"I'm going up," Su Ling said, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Wait," Chen Wang said, pulling up the camera feed. "There's movement at the east corner of the wall."

The image zoomed in. The snow pile bulged slightly, as if something was pushing up from underneath.

The three of them didn't speak.

This wasn't the wind.

Nor was it an animal.

A crack opened in the surface of the snow.

An ice-made tentacle slowly stretched out, its surface marked with dark veins that pulsed like blood vessels. It stopped in the air for a few seconds, then turned toward the war chariot.

Chen Wang immediately turned off all external lights.

The inside of the vehicle was pitch black.

Only the faint glow of the kindling system shone on their faces.