51: press on

The two red dots on the radar were retreating, their paths erratic. Chen Wang watched the screen, tapped the steering wheel twice, then gripped it tightly.

"They've split up." Lin Wei spoke a little faster than usual. "There's one tracked vehicle to the north, and three snowmobiles circling the ice hills to the west, not moving fast."

Su Ling had already loaded the bullets, and the feeding slot clicked shut. She didn't speak, just lowered the sniper rifle's bipod slightly, aiming the muzzle into the blizzard ahead.

"They're not trying to escape, they're trying to buy time." Chen Wang pressed the accelerator, and the vehicle slowly began to move. "One is drawing our attention north, three are flanking us from the west—but they have no commander, so they can't coordinate."

He pushed the joystick, and the wuling divine vehicle turned in place, its turret rotating, the main cannon aimed at the northern vehicle's path. As soon as the vehicle started, the cooling system whirred, and the temperature reached the warning line.

"How much longer can the shield last?" he asked.

"If we don't use high-power mode, thirty minutes is fine." Lin Wei turned off unused systems, redirecting energy to weapons and power. "But we leaked coolant during the last fight, so it will overheat if we fight for too long."

"We won't need to fight for too long." Chen Wang sped up, and the vehicle rushed out of the high ground, rolling over a pile of burnt wreckage. Metal fragments were caught by the tracks, clanging against the armor.

The northern vehicle, realizing it was being pursued, suddenly accelerated, white smoke spewing from its rear, likely from a short-term boost. But just as it rounded an ice slope, it was intercepted by the wuling divine vehicle.

"Target locked." Lin Wei pressed the button, and the main cannon automatically aimed at the target. "Distance eight hundred, angle stable."

"Fire."

The concussion shell flew out with a deep thud and exploded upon impact. The shockwave overturned the snow, blowing off the enemy vehicle's right track. The vehicle skidded, crashed into an ice block, got stuck, and couldn't reverse.

Su Ling didn't fire indiscriminately. She waited two seconds, confirmed the target was immobile, then fired. The armor-piercing round hit the engine connection, fire burst out, the cockpit glass shattered, and the entire smoking vehicle stopped moving.

"North cleared." She said, retracting her rifle, changing position, and looking west.

There, three snowmobiles were moving quickly along the ice hills, forming a wedge. One of them released smoke, and the grayish-white mist quickly spread, blocking thermal imaging.

"The interference is working." Lin Wei switched to sonic scanning, and a topographic map appeared on the screen. "The smoke is too thick, infrared can't see through it. However..." She amplified the sound data. "The engine sound of the rightmost one is off; it must have been damaged earlier."

"That's the weakness." Chen Wang turned the steering wheel, and the vehicle squeezed into the gap between the ice hills, its tracks grinding against the ground with a muffled sound. He didn't pursue directly but instead circled to the downwind side of the smoke, judging their position by the movement carried by the wind.

"Prepare the rocket pod," he told Lin Wei.

"Fully charged, six missiles ready." Lin Wei opened the fan-shaped attack diagram. "Low-altitude detonation, fifteen-meter kill radius, it can block their path."

"Don't fire them all." Chen Wang stared at the radar. "Wait until they get closer."

The three vehicles indeed wanted to converge. Unable to communicate, they drew closer and closer, finally approaching each other on a flat piece of ground. The moment they drove side-by-side, the wuling divine vehicle burst out from behind the ice hill, its turret rotating, and the rocket pod opening.

"Fire!"

Six missiles flew out in sequence, arcing through the air, and exploding three meters above the ice ahead. The ice cracked, and shattered ice flew everywhere. The outermost motorcycle flipped directly, its driver thrown several meters, not getting up again. The middle one barely stopped, its front wheel stuck in a crack, unable to move. The last one slammed on its brakes and reversed, but its tracks slipped, leaving it half-disabled.

"Finish them off," Chen Wang ordered.

Su Ling immediately aimed at the power core of the first disabled vehicle. A high-explosive round struck the engine, causing a large fire. The second one was about to break free when it was entangled by an electromagnetic grappling hook on its chassis and dragged back, then the wuling detonated a concussion shell at close range, completely destroying it.

The last one was still struggling. The driver took off his helmet, his face bloody, and reached for his gun. Su Ling didn't give him a chance. A shot pierced his wrist, and the gun dropped. He tried to crawl, but the next shot hit the ice beside his foot, forcing him to stop.

"Should we leave any alive?" Lin Wei asked.

"No." Chen Wang pushed the control stick, and the vehicle slowly approached. "These kinds of people won't surrender; they'll only pretend to surrender to ambush us."

Su Ling's fifth shot pierced the outer casing of the energy core, causing the reactor inside to go out of control, and the entire vehicle exploded with a blue flash. A fireball shot into the sky, illuminating the snowy ground.

The blizzard continued, and the wuling divine vehicle stood in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by scrap metal. Its tracks were covered with ice shards and charred metal, and its cannon was still raised, not yet cooled.

Lin Wei began exporting combat data, and the system ran a self-check. Shield loss was 23%, main cannon charging efficiency dropped by 7%, and a crack warning appeared on the front left suspension.

"It needs repairs," she said, sliding her finger across the screen. "At least ten minutes of downtime, otherwise it might fall apart during the next jump."

"No." Chen Wang looked into the distance. "The fact that they dared to come means someone directed them. We can't wait here."

Su Ling finished checking the last bullet belt and stuffed the empty bag into her pack. She looked up ahead; in the blizzard, a long, deep rift was vaguely visible, like a crack in the earth.

"There's something at the mouth of the valley," she said.

"Not in the valley yet," Chen Wang corrected. "It's near the entrance."

"I see a reflection." Su Ling's tone was calm, her hand already on the trigger. "Metal reflections, several of them, arranged very neatly, like parked vehicles."

Lin Wei immediately adjusted the long-range scan and zoomed in. The image was blurry, but indeed several static heat sources were visible, distributed on the high ground on both sides of the canyon entrance.

"At least six large vehicles." She frowned. "They're not moving, and they're not powered on, like they're in ambush."

"Or waiting for us to pass." Chen Wang turned off the main cannon's automatic mode, switching to manual. "Zhao Tiezhu likes to do this—first send a small team to their death, then come out himself to pick up the spoils."

"How do you know it's him?" Lin Wei asked.

"Only he's that reckless." Chen Wang unbuttoned his cuff. "And he knows there's an abandoned fuel depot nearby, enough for him for a week."

Su Ling removed her sniper scope and replaced it with a wide-angle observation scope. She watched for a few seconds, then suddenly said, "The modified pickup truck in the middle has an iron cage welded to its roof."

"Is there someone inside?"

"Can't see clearly. But there's blood on the cage, and it's fresh."

Chen Wang was silent for two seconds, then re-fastened his seatbelt.

"Then we definitely can't leave," he said. "He's not here to fight; he's here to make a statement."

Lin Wei quickly checked weapon status and reallocated ammunition. The shield maintained minimum operation, ensuring it could withstand a surprise attack for at least three seconds. The main cannon was set to single shot to prevent overheating from continuous firing.

The wuling divine vehicle continued forward, its tracks pressing over debris with a muffled sound. The blizzard ahead intensified, and the canyon became clearer.

Suddenly, a partially damaged communicator on the right chimed. After some static, a hoarse voice came through:

"...Codename 'Tiezhu'... respond if you receive... you are surrounded... lay down your weapons... you can still..."

Before the sentence finished, the signal cut out.

Su Ling raised her gun, and an armor-piercing round shot through the device, sparks flying.

"They can't even finish their act," she said.

Chen Wang's lips twitched, but he didn't smile.

The vehicle continued forward, still eight hundred meters from the canyon entrance. In the blizzard, the other vehicles remained motionless.

Until the wuling rolled over a collapsed patch of ice, its track hitting a loose metal plate with a crisp clang.

Lin Wei suddenly looked up: "That sound isn't right."

Chen Wang immediately slammed on the brakes.

The next second, the snowfield ahead violently vibrated, and a metal grappling hook burst out of the snow, heading straight for the cockpit!