231: The Secret of Geothermal Flowers

The engine was still running, and the vehicle was parked where steam was rising.

Chen Wang did not let go of the steering wheel, his eyes fixed ahead.

Heat rose from the cracks in the ground, hitting the underside of the vehicle with a crackling sound.

"Temperature is normal," Lin Wei said from behind. "It's seventeen degrees higher outside than it was a moment ago."

Su Ling stood at the door, holding a partially disassembled sniper rifle in her hands.

She was not wearing a coat, and her hands were steady.

"It's not fake," Chen Wang said in a low voice.

He took the metal rod left by Old Zhou off the exhaust pipe; it was already burning hot.

It was a crude method, but the most accurate.

Geothermal heat does not lie.

Amy sat in front of the console, her fingers tapping on the control keys.

The line on the screen jumped.

"There is a life signal," she said. "There are many microorganisms, three hundred times more than in a typical extreme cold zone."

"Where is it coming from?" Chen Wang asked.

"Underground," Amy said, pointing to a red dot on the map. "Right beneath us."

The lights in the vehicle flickered.

Star Pupil leaned in the corner, the mechanical parrot perched on her knees, its head tilted, its eyes blinking on and off.

"It's back," Star Pupil said.

Chen Wang turned to look at her.

On the road just now, this bird had suddenly started singing military songs, its voice stiff, as if controlled by someone.

They had cut the audio wires, but the sound was coming from inside it.

"Don't touch it," Lin Wei said, walking over with pliers in her hand. "I'll take it apart."

She took the mechanical parrot away and placed it on the table.

A screwdriver unscrewed the bottom casing, and a burnt smell drifted out.

The chip was new, not the original one.

"It's been replaced," Lin Wei said. "It was installed remotely; they probably tampered with it during the seventh maintenance."

Chen Wang did not speak.

He knew who had done it.

The Empire's mark was still left on the ice wall: the eagle emblem, broken chains, and claws grasping a gear.

They had left a tracker, not just to find their location.

It was to hack into the system.

"Continue collection," he said.

Lin Wei nodded and opened the ecological module.

A silver tube extended from the bottom of the vehicle, slowly approaching the hot spring vent.

Yellow liquid flowed out, carrying a sulfurous smell.

The filtration system started, and data began to jump on the screen.

Su Wan was wearing a protective suit, crouching by the pool.

She used a sampler to scrape the water film, her movements slow.

A drop of water splashed onto her glove and immediately began to smoke.

"It's corrosive," she said, standing up and walking back. "But the DNA is the same as primitive thermophilic bacteria; it's not man-made."

"Is it usable?" Chen Wang asked.

"Yes," Su Wan said, placing the sample into a canister. "As long as it doesn't touch skin, it's fine."

A prompt came from Lin Wei's side: "First round of filtration complete. Methane purity is 92%. Storage tank charging has started."

Chen Wang looked at the energy bar.

The green progress bar slowly rose from 11%.

At this rate, it would last three months.

The flight module could also be used once.

"Worth it," Amy said. "More cost-effective than raiding for oil."

As soon as she finished speaking, the ground began to tremble.

It wasn't big, but a continuous shaking, as if something was moving underneath.

The vehicle swayed; the alarm didn't go off, but all the screens flickered.

"The vent has widened," Lin Wei said, looking at the display. "Pressure is rising, and the temperature has exceeded two hundred degrees."

Chen Wang immediately pressed the button to retract the pipe.

At the same time, he activated the chassis heat Shield.

High-temperature steam rushed up, hitting the vehicle and making a hissing sound.

"Stabilized," Lin Wei said, adjusting the parameters. "Condensation activated, processing now."

The pipe was reconnected.

Methane continued to flow into the tank.

The progress bar jumped to 15%.

The steam outside became thicker.

The cracks in the ground widened, and several small vents erupted one after another.

Hot spring water overflowed, forming puddles on the ice.

There was a faint ring of light around the edges.

"What is that?" Su Ling walked to the window.

Chen Wang got out of the vehicle and put on his hood.

He approached a puddle and crouched down to look.

The light came from the rocks.

A type of moss grew against the rock face, its roots anchored near the heat source, pulsing slowly like breathing.

The color was a pale green with a hint of blue, its brightness changing with the steam.

He reached out and touched it.

The moss did not react.

But he felt a vibration—the same rhythm as before.

"Connect to the network," he shouted to those inside the vehicle. "Record the frequency."

Lin Wei connected the detector.

The data showed that the pulsation occurred every 4.7 seconds, perfectly synchronized with the eruptions.

"It's not a coincidence," she said. "They are responding to geological activity."

Chen Wang returned to the vehicle.

Just as he closed the door, the mechanical parrot suddenly moved.

Its head turned in one direction, and its beak opened.

It was the military song again.

The melody was accurate, the volume at its maximum, making the table hum with vibration.

"Cut the power!" Su Ling lunged to pull the wires.

It was useless.

The mechanical parrot had its own power supply; the circuits were independent.

Star Pupil closed her eyes, her fingers pressing against her temples.

She was shielding herself from mental interference, but she was soon sweating.

"It's decoding," she said. "Someone is sending commands using the frequency."

Lin Wei picked up her tools and disassembled the chip again.

This time, she cut three wires, forcibly stopping the sound.

The singing stopped.

The cabin quieted down.

There was only the sound of machinery running.

"Is it cleared?" Chen Wang asked.

"For now," Lin Wei said, soaking the chip in shielding fluid. "But it can still start, unless I know how it's triggered."

No one spoke.

They all understood what this meant.

The Empire could not only track them but also control their equipment, and even influence Star Pupil through the mental channel.

They could not delay any longer.

"Speed up the collection," Chen Wang said. "Take as much as you can."

Lin Wei restarted the program.

The storage tank progress jumped to 23%.

Amy suddenly looked up. "There's movement."

She pulled up the acoustic graph.

A scratching sound came from the distant ice layer, getting closer and closer, and moving fast.

"A wolf pack," Su Ling said, climbing onto the roof of the vehicle. "Thirty-seven of them, gathering."

"Are they coming for us?" Lin Wei asked.

"No," Amy said, looking at the data. "Their target is the hot spring area. The frequency has changed."

She zoomed in on the waveform.

The rhythm of the wolves' footsteps was perfectly consistent with the pulsing of the moss.

"Symbiosis," Su Wan said. "They can hear this signal."

Chen Wang looked out the window.

The moss was getting brighter, and the steam was erupting faster.

The wolf pack appeared on the horizon, gray-white figures emerging from the mist, heading straight for the center of the oasis.

"Shield charging at 80%," he said. "Preheat the main gun."

Su Ling entered the sniper pod, and the barrel extended from the concealed opening.

She locked onto the path of the first three wolves.

Amy activated the acoustic countermeasure.

High-frequency noise emitted from the roof of the vehicle, interfering with their hearing.

The wolves' footsteps faltered for a moment, but they quickly resumed their formation.

"It's useless," she said. "They rely on vibration, not sound."

Lin Wei was still processing the chip remains.

She used a probe to extract the last piece of code and input it into the decryption program.

Several characters popped up on the screen: B-7 - Ω - 9.

"B-7," Star Pupil suddenly opened her eyes. "It's the same channel we received before."

"Encryption level?" Chen Wang asked.

"Highest," Lin Wei's expression changed. "This isn't ordinary communication; it's a command frequency."

Outside the vehicle, the first wolf walked into the hot spring area.

It didn't attack; it lowered its head to sniff the ground and tapped the glowing moss with its front paw.

The other wolves approached one after another, standing in a circle around the vent.

What were they waiting for?

Chen Wang stared at the screen.

Energy progress was at 31%.

Still not enough.

"Continue," he said. "Can't stop."

Su Wan sealed the sample into the medical pod's cryogenic cabinet.

She casually activated the antibody program to prevent infection.

Amy kept tapping the keys.

She was calculating the wolf pack's attack route, and the model kept jumping.

Star Pupil leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes to rest.

She was rebuilding her mental defenses to prevent the next intrusion.

Sweat slid down her forehead.

Lin Wei's computer suddenly sounded an alarm.

"The last command has been restored," she said. "The target isn't us."

"Who is it?"

"The entire area," she said, pointing to the map. "It's waking up some kind of mechanism."

Chen Wang looked out the window.

The moss's brightness had reached its peak.

Every piece was pulsing in a unified rhythm.

The underground vibration grew stronger.

The entire wolf pack lay down, ears pressed to the ground, as if waiting for orders.

The main gun finished preheating, and the light changed from yellow to green.

Chen Wang's hand rested on the firing button.

Energy progress was at 44%.

He couldn't leave.

And he couldn't fire.

The pipe under the vehicle was still working.

Methane continued to flow in.

Just a little more, just a little more.

In the distance, a wolf raised its head and howled at the sky.

All the wolves stood up at the same time.

The moss flashed brightly.

New data popped up on Lin Wei's screen: Geothermal anomaly, energy is about to break the critical threshold.

"It's going to blow," she said.

Chen Wang pressed the communication button: "Everyone, secure your positions."

Su Ling tightened her seatbelt.

Amy turned off non-essential systems.

Su Wan confirmed the medical pod was sealed.

Star Pupil opened her eyes.

"They aren't here to attack," she said. "They are here to welcome."

Welcome what?

Chen Wang looked at that glowing patch of ground.

The roots were pulsing violently.

The rocks cracked open.

Steam erupted every two seconds.

A deeper roar came from underground.

It didn't sound like a machine, nor like an animal.

It was like something was waking up from the depths.

Lin Wei's alarm sounded again.

"Large biological signal detected," her voice had changed. "The number... is more than one."

Chen Wang grabbed his binoculars.

In the hot mist, the wolf pack cleared a path.

The ground split open.

A deeper light rose from the bottom of the crack.