53: ambush in the canyon

Chen Wang stared at the yellowish liquid oozing from the edge of the metal plate, his fingers sliding across the kindling system interface.

He didn't look in the direction Zhao Tiezhu had left, but instead zoomed out the map, looking at the canyon entrance ahead, which was covered by wind and snow.

The ice walls on both sides were very steep, and the bottom was narrow, only wide enough for two vehicles to pass.

He opened the terrain analysis and marked three dangerous areas.

"They want us to fight in the open," he said, his voice steady, "Then we'll let them come in themselves."

Su Ling put away her sniper rifle and picked up the tactical tablet from the back seat.

She zoomed in on the left rock wall and discovered several overhanging ice platforms carved out by the wind, which looked unstable.

"If we blow up the ice above, the falling ice chunks can block the entire road," she said, circling three key points with a stylus, "As long as the explosion is precise, light vehicles will be crushed directly."

Lin Wei accessed the probe data and pulled up the inventory list.

"We have seven sets of detonators left, and enough scrap metal to make six directional bombs," she said, quickly building a model, "The fuses will be connected to vibration sensors, plus heat source identification, so they'll only trigger on moving objects."

Chen Wang nodded and activated the engineering module.

The hatch at the bottom of the vehicle opened, and two maintenance robots slowly drove out.

They crawled along the outer edge of the canyon, avoiding angles where they might be seen, until they reached the first planting point—a crack at the turn.

The mechanical arm dug through the ice, placed the first bomb inside, and hid the wires along the crevice.

"Position One is ready," Lin Wei said, watching the signal return, "I've set the trigger weight to over fifty kilograms to prevent small animals from accidentally triggering it."

Su Ling shouldered her pack and checked the ropes and buckles.

She circled to the left slope, found a climbable spot, and used her ice axe and telescopic pole to climb up.

Wind and snow lashed against her goggles, so she advanced by feel until she reached the target location.

There was a large hanging icicle there, already cracked at the base.

She installed the cluster bomb at the base of the icicle and secured it with a titanium alloy clamp.

The lead was connected to a micro remote control, and then linked to the vehicle name main control via an encrypted signal.

She stepped back two paces and used her sniper scope to simulate the impact point after the explosion, confirming that the collapsing ice would block two-thirds of the road.

"Three o'clock position complete," she pressed the communication button, "The second trap is ready."

Inside the vehicle, Lin Wei was adjusting the program when she suddenly noticed the energy readings were off.

She pulled up the list of parts recovered from the last battle and stopped at a black fragment—this was a discarded energy module dismantled from an Annihilation Beast core.

It couldn't provide power, but the residual particles had once interfered with the enemy's Shield.

"If I connect this to the bomb circuit..." she muttered to herself, starting to dismantle the casing, "Releasing a bit of residual energy during the explosion, even for just a fraction of a second, could cause the Shield to fail."

Chen Wang looked back at her.

"Like that time fighting the black tide?"

"Shorter, faster," she had already started welding, "Like a prick. But no matter how hard their armor is, once the Shield breaks, the main cannon can punch right through."

Chen Wang didn't speak; he turned to check all the detonation devices.

The signal was normal, the delay was less than 0.3 seconds, and both remote and automatic modes were ready.

He pulled up the canyon model and marked the route the enemy was most likely to take: the entrance, the turn, and the narrowest section.

The three blast points would be activated sequentially to create continuous damage.

"The lead car will be blown to a stop, the middle will be thrown into chaos, and the last one will definitely reverse," he said, "They won't be able to see behind them while reversing, making it the perfect time for the main cannon to finish them off."

He ordered the vehicle name to enter stealth mode, causing the body to darken and its outline to blur.

The vehicle moved slowly along the shaded right side, finally pulling into a natural cave.

It was obscured by ice and rocks, with collapsed concrete slabs above, making heat signals difficult to detect.

The engine was shut off, and non-essential systems were powered down.

Inside the vehicle, only the console emitted a faint glow.

Lin Wei tested the program one last time, confirming that the energy fragment and the six bombs were successfully pulse-synchronized.

"Once triggered, follow the sequence," she said, "The interference lasts 1.2 seconds, enough for the main cannon to charge."

Su Ling had already climbed to the high ground, hiding in a groove on the ice platform.

She set up her rifle, removed the optical components, and switched to mechanical sights to avoid signal leakage.

Her line of sight covered the entire canyon floor, clearly seeing the locations of the three traps.

Chen Wang stood by the vehicle, checking the detonation sequence one last time.

He opened the manual mode of the kindling system and locked the control locally.

All remote signals were cut off to prevent interception by others.

"What if they bring hostages in?" Lin Wei asked quietly.

"They won't," Chen Wang said, "Zhao Tiezhu wants to intimidate, not negotiate. He needs people to see his 'victory,' so the hostages are still outside waiting to serve as props."

"But he left too calmly just now," Lin Wei frowned, "Doesn't look like he's coming back."

"That's why he isn't acting alone," Chen Wang looked deep into the canyon, "He's putting on a show for the people behind him. As long as they want results, he has to come back."

The wind and snow were still falling, and the canyon was very quiet.

The vehicle name was hidden in the shadows of the cave, its surface frosted over, blending in with the surrounding ice and rocks.

On the console, the status lights for all six bombs turned green, waiting for commands.

Su Ling's hand rested near the trigger, her body heat transferring through her gloves to the metal.

She adjusted her breathing, slowing her heartbeat.

The muzzle was aimed at the entrance curve, the center point for the first bomb.

Lin Wei sat in the operator's seat, her hand hovering over the control panel.

The modified detonation program was ready, and the indicator light for the energy fragment flickered slightly, like a small light about to go out.

Chen Wang stood at the rear of the vehicle, looking at the path covered by snow.

He raised his wrist and wiped the ice off the pocket watch.

The words on the copper case were still legible: Come back alive.

He gently closed the watch cover and put it back in his pocket.

He walked back to the driver's seat but didn't sit down; he just placed his hand in the center of the steering wheel.

The kindling system interface appeared in front of him, all parameters static.

He entered the final command, setting the main cannon charge to manual trigger.

"Wait for them to come in," he said, "They won't even have time to escape."

Su Ling's eyes never left the target.

She saw a set of tire tracks in the snow in the distance, slowly extending toward the canyon entrance.

The marks were shallow, looking like a probe, or perhaps left intentionally.

Lin Wei's terminal suddenly vibrated.

She looked down and saw that the sensor of one of the bombs had detected a weak heat source, about 800 meters from the entrance, moving very slowly.

"They're here," she said.

Chen Wang didn't respond.

He turned off the interior lights, leaving only the lowest brightness on the console.

The vehicle name was completely silent; the sound of tracks pressing into the snow had long since vanished.

The entire canyon was left with only the sound of wind blowing over the ice.

Su Ling's fingers tightened slightly.

She saw the tire tracks continuing forward, less than 500 meters from the entrance.

A modified pickup truck appeared in the snow, with an iron cage welded to the roof, and the figure inside was motionless.

Lin Wei's hand hovered over the detonation button, her breathing shallowing.

The six green lights on the console were lit, and the frequency of the energy fragment began to rise slowly.

Chen Wang stared at the distance numbers on the screen: 300 meters, 250 meters, 200...