10: Chapter 10 Entropy Breathing: The Key to the Antarctic Ice Cave

The wind in the Antarctic Ice Cave pelted shards of ice against his helmet. Chen Wu crouched at the edge of the ice, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the wristband of his protective suit—it was still stained with the lubricant from Zhao Qiming’s mechanical remains. Five meters beneath the ice, Zhao Qiming’s upper body was embedded in thousand-year-old profound ice. The light in his mechanical eye had long since died out, and a laser-burned crack remained on his metal chest. That was three days ago, while searching for the bronze tripod beneath the ice cap, they were ambushed by an unknown force. Zhao Qiming had pushed him to the safety zone and tanked a particle cannon shot himself.

"Three points short." Chen Wu stared at the crimson System prompt on his retina, his Adam's apple bobbing.

[Exchange Conditions for "Basic Breathing Technique"]

9 million Popularity Points (Current: 9,876,543/9 million)

♦ Sin Value ≥ 500 (Current: 497/500)

Watch the deduction video of the "Blood Scripture" fragments (3/3)

He knew the source of the Sin Value better than anyone—the System's annotation was "Unfinished obsession, unkept promise." For three days, he had dreamed countless times of Zhao Qiming smiling and patting his shoulder: "Xiao Wu, when we get back this time, I'll take Xiaotang to that hot pot place you recommended. She's always wanted to try spicy food." But in reality, Zhao Xiaotang's mechanical prosthetic eye was still lying in his backpack, stuffed into his hands by Zhao Qiming before he died: "If I don't make it, help me give it to her... tell her her brother is sorry."

The ice suddenly vibrated, and a holographic projection popped out from his wristband. The face of the white-coated scientist, Professor Li, was full of terror: "Mr. Chen! We just monitored that once you exchange for the Basic Breathing Technique, the Antarctic magnetic field will collapse within 30 seconds—the ancient virus vault beneath the ice cap will be detonated, and sea levels will rise by three meters!"

Chen Wu looked up at the dome of the ice cave. Through the translucent ice shell, he could see the aurora dancing, like the neon lights Zhao Qiming loved most during his life. He interrupted Professor Li: "Brother Li, do you remember what Qiming said?"

Professor Li froze for a moment: "He said... 'If one day Xiao Wu tries to do something stupid, help me stop him'?"

"No, the other one." Chen Wu reached out and tapped the ice. The mechanical remains beneath the ice gave a dull echo. "He said, 'The living must live as light for the dead.'"

Before he finished speaking, the dome suddenly exploded.

Twelve red beams tore through the ice cave, the aiming point of the Damocles Space-Based Weapon pointing directly at the center of Chen Wu's forehead. As shards of ice fell like rain, a quantum ice crystal condensed into steps in front of him. A young girl in a baseball cap stepped down the ice crystals, and a swarm of nanobots spelled out a faint blue formula above her head:

ΔS = k_B lnΩ

"The mathematical expression of the Law of Increasing Entropy." The girl took off her hat, revealing a mechanical prosthetic eye identical to Zhao Qiming's. "Chen Wu, I am Zhao Xiaotang."

Chen Wu's breath hitched. He had seen the blueprints for these eyes—Zhao Qiming had spent half a year's salary to customize them, saying he wanted his sister to "look like a normal person."

"My brother's log said you would exchange for the breathing technique here." Zhao Xiaotang took a USB drive from her pocket. "He told me to tell you that the breathing technique can reverse entropy increase, but the price is—" Her fingertip traced her mechanical collarbone, "Your body will become an 'Entropy Leak.' The disorder of the Universe will surge into you until you are crushed into a singularity."

The red light of the space-based weapon grew brighter, and Professor Li's scream came through the earpiece: "Chen Wu! The weapon is charged to 80%!"

Chen Wu suddenly laughed. He reached for the "Exchange" button on his retina, his knuckles turning white from the force: "I couldn't even protect his body. What do I care about a singularity?"

Zhao Xiaotang tried to rush forward to stop him, but a blue light suddenly exploded from behind Chen Wu—the "Planetary Shield (Trial Version)" gifted by the Kepler Council of Elders activated, blocking the twelve lasers outside. The energy wave vibrated, cracking the ice.

"Sin Value +3 (From the completion of guilt toward Zhao Qiming)"

The moment the System prompt popped up, Chen Wu pressed "Exchange."

The moment his consciousness was pulled into darkness, Chen Wu heard countless voices echoing in his ears—

It was the chanting of Sumerian priests; the cuneiform characters on the clay tablets were slowly writhing, forming a map of Qi circulation, each line corresponding to the body's Acupoints;

It was Galileo's heavy breathing; he was lying at the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and in his telescope, a supernova was erupting in the Kepler-452b galaxy, with a familiar Qi fluctuation hidden within the light;

It was the sound of crying after the Hiroshima atomic bombing; a little girl crouched in the ruins picking up broken glass, and the fluctuation reflected in the glass was exactly the same as the seventh level of the Basic Breathing Technique. She looked up and smiled, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth: "Mister, I see the light."

When these images faded, the cultivation guide on his retina had finished loading:

[Three Principles of Scientific Breathing]

① Alveolar expansion follows Poiseuille's Law: Q = πr⁴ΔP/(8ηL) — When inhaling, the alveolar radius must be controlled to expand to 3.2 mm, with an error not exceeding 0.1;

② Switch cellular respiration to the Krebs cycle quantum state — Need to guide ATP molecules into a superposition state while activating 1.2×10¹⁴ mitochondria;

③ Synchronize brainwaves: theta waves (4-8Hz) and gamma waves (>30Hz) — Need to focus consciousness on the "Third Eye Chakra," excluding all stray thoughts.

When Chen Wu opened his eyes, he found himself floating in the center of the ice cave. His protective suit had disappeared at some point, and his skin was in direct contact with the minus seventy-degree air, yet he didn't feel cold—because every cell was burning hot, as if countless little suns were incinerating within his body.

He inhaled according to the guide. His alveoli expanded to exactly 3.2 mm in an instant, and a slight swelling pain came from his chest, as if someone were pricking him with needles wrapped in cotton. Immediately after, the Krebs cycle started, and ATP molecules danced a quantum dance in his cells. He could clearly feel the blood flowing through every vessel, carrying golden energy like an electric current.

The most painful part was the brainwave synchronization. The steadiness of the theta waves and the activity of the gamma waves collided in his mind like two saws sawing at his temples. Chen Wu gritted his teeth, remembering Zhao Qiming's words: "Xiao Wu, when it hurts, just count the stars. Didn't you love looking at the starry sky most?"

He didn't know how many he had counted when a "ding" suddenly sounded in his mind—the two types of waves had overlapped.

When the first wisp of "Qi" followed the Governor Vessel to the coccyx, Chen Wu felt a tearing sensation at his Dantian. He looked down and saw a rotating Klein Bottle appearing under his skin, its mouth connected to his esophagus and its bottom to his spine, as if turning his entire body into a perpetual motion machine.

"What is that?" Zhao Xiaotang's voice came from the distance.

Chen Wu looked up. The dome of the ice cave had become transparent at some point, and the Antarctic ice cap was fully visible—a holographic projection of the Fuxi Innate Sixty-Four Hexagrams was slowly emerging on the ice. Each hexagram corresponded to an Acupoint in his body: the Qian hexagram at the crown of his head, the Kun hexagram at the soles of his feet, and the Kan and Li hexagrams at his chest, like a giant net connecting him to the entire ice cap.

The comments in the livestream room exploded instantly:

[MIT Quantum Physics Lab]: Zero-point energy fluctuation detected! Intensity equivalent to ten nuclear power plants!

[President of the Zhou Yi Association]: These are the Innate Hexagrams! The Innate Hexagrams lost for three thousand years! Every line corresponds to the laws governing the Universe's operation!

[Kepler Council of Elders]: God, he turned the human body into a micro-model of the Universe!

Chen Wu had no time to read the comments. When the Qi finished its last meridian and returned to the Dantian, the Klein Bottle suddenly emitted a strong light. He heard a "hum" from within his body—like an ancient bell tolling, or the echo of the Big Bang.

"First circulation completed." The System's prompt sounded with a hint of surprise. "Host's Physique upgraded to 'Quantum Level,' cell activity +120%."

During the seventh circulation, just as Chen Wu was about to guide the Qi into the lung meridian, his chest suddenly felt tight.

A mouthful of black blood sprayed onto the ice, instantly freezing into crystals that shimmered with a faint blue light. A System prompt popped up: [Thermodynamic Waste (Entropy-Increasing Substance), cannot be cleared by conventional means].

He looked down at his arm. Black liquid seeped from his capillaries, crawling over his skin like insects. Wherever it passed, the skin aged rapidly, turning into withered bark. Then, a tearing sensation came from his lungs—he could clearly feel his lung cells collapsing, their density increasing as if they were turning into a black hole.

"Schwarzschild radius forming." The System's prompt sounded cold. "Host's lung density has reached neutron star levels; respiratory function lost."

Chen Wu's vision began to darken, and Professor Li's sobbing voice came through the earpiece: "Chen Wu! Your vital signs have disappeared! 1 second... 2 seconds... 11 seconds!"

In the moment his consciousness blurred, he heard a familiar voice—

"Xiao Wu, remember when I taught you Tai Chi when you were a kid?"

The ice suddenly cracked, and a bronze tripod flew out from below. The body of the tripod was covered in densely packed formulas. Chen Fusheng's afterimage stood by the tripod, holding half a Taiji Jade Pendant. His hair was still black, just as in Chen Wu's memory, and he wore a faded white Zhongshan suit.

"Dad?" Chen Wu's tears fell. "Didn't you go missing on Kepler-452b?"

"I never left." Chen Fusheng walked over with a smile, his finger brushing the black blood on his face. "Back then, I went to Kepler-452b to find this—" He held up the Taiji Jade Pendant, which was carved with half a Yin and Yang fish. "The bronze tripod was left behind by the martial civilization of Kepler-452b. They said it's the key to reversing entropy increase."

Chen Fusheng pressed the jade pendant into a notch on the tripod. A blue light suddenly shot out from the tripod, enveloping Chen Wu. He felt the pressure in his lungs vanish instantly, and ice crystals began to form on his body—not ordinary ice, but a Bose-Einstein condensate, like a layer of transparent armor that could even refract light into rainbows.

"Breathing frequency broke through Planck time!" The System's prompt was almost screaming. "Local entropy reversal successful!"

When Chen Wu opened his eyes, the entire ice cave had changed.

His body was covered in a layer of flowing ice crystals. Every breath brought a gust of cold wind. Ice pillars reversed around him, changing from a melted state back to their complete form, even growing ice flowers. Zhao Xiaotang stood opposite him, her eyes wide: "You... you made time flow backward?"

"It's not backward; it's reversing entropy increase." Chen Wu reached out and touched a nearby ice pillar, and the cracks on it vanished instantly. "Entropy is disorder. I absorb the surrounding disorder into my body and turn it into ordered energy."

In the livestream, audiences worldwide were screaming:

[NASA]: Antarctic magnetic field restored to normal! The virus vault beneath the ice cap did not leak!

[Black Market Rates]: 1 gram of Entropy-reducing substance is already being traded for 5 tons of gold!

[Ancient Martial Arts World]: Mr. Chen's breathing technique is ten dimensions higher than our Muscle Tendon Change Classic!

Footsteps came from outside the ice cave. An Elder of an ancient martial family held a complete version of the Blood Scripture and knelt on the ice: "Mr. Chen, we are willing to trade this Martial Forest treasure for the introductory insights of your breathing technique."

The Pentagon special envoy held an antimatter restraint device, his forehead dripping with sweat: "The President says that as long as you are willing to join the United States, this restraint device is yours, and we can even build a private lab for you."

The projection of a Kepler Star Apostle emerged from the Void Realm, with the advancement trial grounds of a martial civilization behind him: "Your Excellency Chen Wu, you have passed the Elementary trial. Next, you need to go to Mars to repair the star map of the bronze tripod—the key to the Second-Tier Breathing Technique is there."

Chen Wu ignored them. He walked to the edge of the ice, tapped the mechanical remains beneath the ice, and said softly, "Qiming, I did it."

A slight vibration suddenly came from beneath the ice. Inside Zhao Qiming's mechanical chest, a microchip lit up—it was a voice recording he had made before he died: "Xiao Wu, if I don't make it, help me take care of Xiaotang... and don't do anything stupid. You're meant for great things."

Chen Wu took the chip out and handed it to Zhao Xiaotang. She took it, her mechanical eye glowing blue: "My brother's log says that the star map of the bronze tripod is missing six pieces, located at Olympus Mons on Mars."

Chen Wu looked up at the sky outside the ice cap. The aurora was still dancing, like Zhao Qiming's smile. He reached out and touched the fragment of the bronze tripod on his chest, where a line of small words was carved—"Made in Kepler

Chen Wu looked up at the sky outside the ice cap. The aurora was still dancing, like Zhao Qiming's smile. He reached out and touched the fragment of the bronze tripod on his chest, where a line of small words was carved—"Made in Kepler-452b".

"Mars, huh?" He smiled. "Perfect. I wanted to go see it anyway."

As Chen Wu turned toward the exit of the ice cave, a new exchange interface popped up in the livestream:

[Pre-sale of "Second-Tier Breathing Technique"]

■ Need to complete "Mars Dust Storm Breathing Challenge" (Circulate Qi 10 times in a Level 12 dust storm)

■ Prerequisite task: Repair the bronze tripod star map (1/7)

■ Special Note: Watch the livestream for 100 hours to get a trial version

Zhao Xiaotang followed behind him, stepping on quantum ice crystals: "Chen Wu, you really don't fear becoming an Entropy Leak?"

Chen Wu stopped and looked at the distant ice cap, where the Innate Hexagrams were still glowing: "I do, but I'm more afraid of—" He pointed to his chest, "having regrets here."

The wind blew ice shards toward him, and his ice crystal protective suit made a crisp sound. In the distance, the ancient martial Elder was still kneeling, The Pentagon envoy was still waiting, and the projection of the Kepler Star Apostle was still flickering. But Chen Wu didn't care. He knew that from today on, he was no longer the kid who couldn't even protect his brother—he was the one who could reverse entropy increase, the one who could turn disorder into order, and the one who could protect everything important.

"Let's go," he said to Zhao Xiaotang. "To Mars."

The door to the ice cave closed behind them, and the aurora danced even more vibrably overhead. Chen Wu touched the Taiji Jade Pendant in his pocket, remembering his father's words: "Breathing techniques aren't power; they're keys."

What could that key open? The truth of the Universe? The secrets of Kepler-452b? Or Zhao Qiming's unfulfilled dream?

He didn't know, but he was willing to find out.

Because the living must live as light for the dead.