bioinnovel Chapter 399 The Lock Bearer!
Chapter 399 The Lock Bearer!
Nie Qingcheng got up at four in the morning.
Zhang Yan woke up at 3:30, but didn't move.
He listened to her getting things, packing insulated boxes, and writing notes in the kitchen, and only got out of bed after she finished.
There were two insulated bags and a handwritten list on the table.
The list contained thirty-one items, and the last line read: "I packed an extra one of the twenty-seventh item. Don't ask why."
Zhang Yan didn't ask. He picked up the insulated bag, and Nie Qingcheng leaned against the bedroom door watching him.
"Is the White Tiger repaired?"
"It's fixed. The conduction efficiency of the right forelimb has been restored to 99.3%."
"Still 0.7% short."
"It won't affect the battle."
Nie Qingcheng didn't respond to that. She walked over and pinched off the loose thread on Zhang Yan's coat collar.
"Ten days."
"Ten days."
"Contact us every twelve hours."
"It might break once it enters the permafrost layer."
Tell me before you cut it off.
Zhang Yan squeezed her hand.
Nie Qingcheng did not loosen her grip.
"That convoy will arrive above the sixth gate in two days. You'll take three days to get there." Her voice was flat. "You're a day late."
"I know."
"What are you planning to do?"
"Let's see what they do first. If they're reinforcing the door, I'll assist them immediately. If not—"
"If not?"
Zhang Yan slung the insulated bag over his shoulder.
"Then it isn't."
Nie Qingcheng released her grip.
"Let's go."
Zhang Yan glanced back as he left. Nie Qingcheng stood at the door, arms crossed, her expression calm.
She didn't tell him to be careful on the road.
They didn't say they'd be back soon either.
This will make him remember it more effectively than saying anything at all.
Qin Xiao's car was waiting at the entrance of the residential area. Zhang Yan got in the car, and Qin Xiao handed him a sealed bag.
"High-precision data from the military that penetrates radar. A three-dimensional model of the underground structure of the sixth gate."
Zhang Yan took it and opened it.
The data is more detailed than before.
The spherical cavity is about 300 meters in diameter, and its inner wall structure is the same height as the first gate of Shennongjia.
But there is one difference.
There is a natural fissure in the permafrost above the cavity, less than two meters wide, that extends from the ground to the top of the cavity.
Natural passage.
You can get in without drilling.
"That convoy." Zhang Yan closed the file. "They might already know about this rift."
Qin Xiao nodded. "Helios's geological exploration database is even more comprehensive than the military's. They definitely know it."
"Latest location".
"As of an hour ago, we were 32 kilometers from the coordinates of the sixth gate. We've slowed down; we might be waiting for something."
Zhang Yan leaned back in his chair.
What are you waiting for?
Waiting for a weather window? Waiting for further supplies? Or waiting for someone else?
He put the issue aside for the time being.
The plane took off from the military runway. Zhang Yan closed his eyes in his seat, but his mind was racing.
The Heavenly Craftsman's Heart currently has enough energy reserves to perform an emergency reinforcement of the sixth gate.
The reinforcement principle differs from the repair principle—it doesn't re-engrave runes or replace materials; it simply injects energy to support the weakening shielding layer.
It's like temporarily driving piles into a leaky dam.
The question is how much to pour.
If too little is poured in, the shielding efficiency will not reach 35%, and the reinforcement will be in vain.
If you overdo it, your Heavenly Craftsmanship reserves will be depleted, and when you return to repair the second break, you'll be left with no cards to play.
He must control it precisely within a certain range.
The system estimates that increasing the shielding efficiency of the sixth gate from 28% to 35% will require approximately 12% of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart's reserve energy. The Heavenly Craftsman's Heart is currently being slowly replenished after the Sealed Ruins, and is currently at approximately 67%.
Subtracting 12%, we have 55% remaining. Repairing the second fracture requires a continuous energy supply from the Vermilion Bird, while the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship is primarily responsible for frequency calibration and rune synchronization. 55% is sufficient, but there is no margin.
We cannot afford any more accidents.
The phone rang. Nie Qingcheng.
"I ate before I got to Vladivostok. This is the first insulated bag."
Zhang Yan opened the insulated bag. Two roujiamo (Chinese hamburgers). Hot.
He took a bite.
"tasty."
"nonsense."
The call ended.
Five hours later, the plane landed in Vladivostok.
Old Liu was waiting outside the helipad, with a heavy SUV parked next to him.
Same model as last time, but with new tires, and the trunk is full of supplies.
"The route is similar to last time. The first two hundred kilometers are on the highway, then we enter the wilderness." Old Liu handed over a key. "The tank is full of gas, and there are four spare tanks."
Zhang Yan took the keys. "Where's Zhao Hong?"
"He's waiting for you at the relay point ahead. The abandoned gas station at the end of the highway, the one you passed last time."
Zhang Yan got into the car, and Lao Liu knocked on the window.
"Mr. Zhang, things haven't been peaceful over there lately."
Zhang Yan looked at him.
Old Liu lowered his voice. "Our people here heard that there's an unidentified convoy operating to the north. The equipment is very heavy, unlike a typical expedition team. Local hunters have been retreating south these past few days."
"understood."
Zhang Yan started the SUV and drove it off the tarmac.
The phone vibrates. Encrypted information for stargazing.
"Regarding the gatekeepers, I went through all the files and found the last time they appeared in the records."
Zhang Yan typed with one hand: "When?"
"1943. During World War II. After that, there was no further trace."
The Helios Group was founded in 1947, in 1943. There was only a four-year difference between the two.
"If Helios is the gatekeeper's shell," the Stargazer continued, "then they've been hiding for eighty years. An organization that hasn't shown itself for eighty years suddenly sends someone to the Sixth Gate."
Zhang Yan awaited the next installment.
The last message from the stargazer arrived very slowly.
"Either the situation with the door has become so critical that they have no choice but to move it. Or—there's a problem inside."
Zhang Yan placed his phone on the passenger seat.
Outside the car window, the Siberian wilderness was unfolding. The sky was low, grayish-white, and stretched to the horizon.
Two possibilities.
If it's the first scenario, the gatekeepers are there to repair the gate. They have "locks" that are paired with the Heart of the Craftsman. With their cooperation, the efficiency of repairing the gate could potentially double.
If it's the second type.
An organization with internal problems, armed with forty-two men and deep drilling equipment, is heading for Earth's most vulnerable door.
He was also holding a "lock" that he didn't understand.
Zhang Yan stepped on the gas, and the car reached a speed of 120 km/h.
He had to get there before they made their move.
The system panel flickered. The shielding efficiency figure for the sixth door had been updated again.
27.9%.