bioinnovel Chapter 434 The Rat Emerges from its Hole!
Chapter 434 The Rat Emerges from its Hole!
Qin Xiao's phone was answered on the second ring.
"sister in law."
"Qingcheng International Security Department, all personnel online. The three coordinates of the main line of the Jinghai underground water network in the east, south and north sections are to be sealed off immediately."
Nie Qingcheng spoke steadily, each word clear: "Reason for transfer: suspected underground pipeline leak, environmental inspection. A two-kilometer cordon is in place; no unauthorized personnel are permitted to approach."
"Received, coordinates sent."
Zhang Yan has already transmitted the precise coordinates of the three red dots to Qin Xiao's terminal.
Nie Qingcheng hung up the phone and looked at Zhang Yan.
"What is that?"
Zhang Yan stared at the thermal characteristic data on the panel.
The energy structure of the three signals was unlike any of the Ruins Relatives he had ever seen; the frequencies were very mixed, like a semi-finished product that had been artificially catalyzed.
"It's not natural," he said. "There are remnants of a battering ram in its energy structure."
Nie Qingcheng's expression remained unchanged. "Light the lamp."
Zhang Yan nodded.
Last time in the Sahara basement, when the door-breaking hammer of the lamp collided with the Heart of Heaven, it generated an extremely high-frequency resonance, which directly cracked the door.
The residual traces of that energy were unique, and Zhang Yan's system had already recorded them.
These three things lurking underground in Jinghai now carry the same energy signature.
"It was made by the one who opened the door," Zhang Yan said. "It was catalyzed with fragments of a door-breaking hammer. It's not a real family member; it's a forgery."
"How long have you been lying low?"
Zhang Yan reviewed the data.
The temperature curves of the three signals were stable, without the fluctuations that occur immediately upon arrival, indicating that they had been dormant for at least three days.
In other words, when he went to Duanyun Valley to mine, these things were already under his feet.
If it weren't for the high-quality Wind Spirit Jade given by the Wind Spirit Beast, and if it weren't for the new Sky-Gazing Anchor's built-in sensing function, he would never have discovered it.
"What are they waiting for?" Nie Qingcheng asked.
Zhang Yan enlarged the map.
The lines connecting the three coordinates form a triangle, with the center point located underground at the main substation in the old city of Jinghai.
"The substation," Zhang Yan said. "They're going to rush out and attack the substation. The whole city will lose power, creating chaos."
Nie Qingcheng picked up her phone and made a second call to Qin Xiao.
"Add one more point: the security level of the Jinghai main substation will be raised to the highest level."
"clear."
hang up.
Zhang Yan walked towards the locker and took out the Xuanxie's control chip and the Thousand Machine Arm.
"I'll go now."
"Wait a minute," Nie Qingcheng called out to him.
She pointed to two newly completed sky-observation anchors on the workbench. "Bring one."
Zhang Yan glanced at her.
"The delay field of the Sky Anchor is used in combat," Nie Qingcheng said, "for localized deceleration. You mentioned it above, 1:85."
Her idea was to cover the target with a delayed field, slowing down the opponent's movements by 85 times.
Zhang Yan picked up a celestial anchor and put it into his inner bag.
The eastern entrance to the underground water network is located in a maintenance well in the eastern part of the city.
Qin Xiao's containment team was still on its way, but Zhang Yan had already arrived.
The streets were deserted at three in the morning.
Zhang Yan lifted the well cover, summoned the Black Scorpion, and rode it down the pipe to cut in.
The system tracks the three red dots in real time.
The nearest one is at a fork in the main pipeline in the eastern section, at a depth of 52 meters.
The black scorpion's mechanical legs moved silently along the tube wall, while its stinger was retracted behind it, ready to strike.
The pipe has an inner diameter of just over two meters, which is just enough for the black scorpion to pass through.
Seven minutes later, the Black Scorpion stopped.
Eighty meters ahead, a black substance was attached to the pipe wall.
It's not big, about the size of a person curled up.
Its surface resembles solidified asphalt, almost invisible in the darkness of the pipe.
However, the system's thermal signature is clear—a non-human, high-dimensional heat source, energy level B-.
Weaker than a real family member. A counterfeit.
Zhang Yan got off the black scorpion's back.
He held the celestial anchor in his hand, pressing his thumb against the trigger point.
The Sky Anchor does not need to be placed in a fixed position. It can still release a delayed field by holding it in your hand. However, the field radius will be reduced to 30 meters and the duration will be reduced to 90 seconds.
enough.
Zhang Yan activated.
A dark blue light emanated from his palm, silently covering the pipe in front of him.
Delayed field startup.
The air in the pipes stagnated.
Water droplets seeped from the pipe wall, hovering almost still in mid-air, falling as slowly as jelly flowing.
The black mass moved.
It sensed something was wrong. Its body began to swell and deform, attempting to detach from the tube wall.
However, its movements are slowed down in the delayed field.
85 times.
Zhang Yan watched as it slowly extended a limb.
The front of the limbs struggled to unfold in the delayed field, like a flower opening in slow motion.
He stepped forward.
Within the delayed field, he was the only one moving at normal speed.
The holder of the Heart of the Celestial Craftsman is not affected by the delay field of their own location; this is a rule written into the design during manufacturing.
Zhang Yan walked up to the black substance.
Its "eyes"—if the two dark red dots on the tube wall could be considered eyes—were turning toward him very slowly.
Zhang Yan raised his hand and placed the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship on it.
Full-power purification.
The black substance began to disintegrate from the point of contact, like ice being branded by a red-hot iron.
It tried to struggle, but the delayed field slowed down every one of its reactions to a ridiculous pace.
three seconds.
First, clear it.
The integrity of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart remains unchanged. The energy within the counterfeit is too low to be systematically recorded.
Zhang Yan withdrew his hand, mounted the Black Scorpion, and moved towards the southern section of the pipeline.
The second one is at the southern fork, at a depth of 61 meters.
The same process.
Activate the Sky Anchor, step forward, press it against your face to purify, and in four seconds, it will be cleared.
The third one is a bit further away, at the bottom of a reservoir on the northern branch line.
This one is only slightly larger than the previous two, and its energy level is barely at B.
When Zhang Yan arrived, it had already detached from the wall.
Outside of the delayed field, its reaction speed should not be slow.
Unfortunately, it was inside the stadium.
The moment Zhang Yan activated the Sky-Observing Anchor, it was about to rush upwards towards the pipeline—in the direction of the substation.
Its body was frozen in mid-air, its limbs outstretched, in a pathetic state.
Zhang Yan walked to its base and looked up at the black substance that seemed frozen in time.
The spirit of divine craftsmanship shines forth.
Five seconds.
Once purified, the black matter began to disintegrate from its core, and the fragments drifted slowly toward the ground in the delayed field.
Zhang Yan and the others' fragments all fell away.
All that remained on the ground was a pool of ashes and a metal fragment the size of a thumb.
Metal fragments.
Zhang Yan squatted down and picked it up.
It was neither a fragment of the Sky-Gazing Anchor nor a remnant of a breaching hammer.
This is a communicator, miniature in size, with symbols engraved on its casing that Zhang Yan has never seen before.
The communicator lit up.
A sound came out.
A female voice. Very calm.
"Zhang Yan, do you think you've won by locking in time?"
Lighting.
Zhang Yan held the communicator up in front of him.
"I don't need to win," he said. "I just need you to stay out."
There was a two-second silence on the communicator.
"You'll soon find out that the door isn't the only battlefield."
The signal is lost.
Zhang Yan put the communicator in his pocket, mounted the Black Scorpion, and returned to the ground.
My phone vibrated as I emerged from the well. (Nie Qingcheng)
"All three have been cleared," Zhang Yan said.
"I heard it. Qin Xiao intercepted the communication signal." Nie Qingcheng's voice was cold. "What did Deng Yin's last sentence mean?"
"I'm not sure." Zhang Yan looked at the sky at four in the morning. "But since she said it, it wasn't just empty talk."
"Come back," Nie Qingcheng said. "We'll continue building the remaining Sky-Observation Anchors tomorrow, and deploy them the day after. You need to sleep now."
Zhang Yan grunted in agreement and got into the car.
Back at the villa, Nie Qingcheng was waiting for him at the door.
She looked him up and down to make sure he wasn't injured, then handed him a cup of warm milk.
It's the cup that was on the worktable before, which I reheated.
Zhang Yan finished his milk and went upstairs.
Before lying down, he glanced at the communicator connected to the lamp.
The system performed reverse tracking of the communication signals.
The signal source was not in Central Asia, not in the Sahara, not in any of the locations he had anticipated.
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, at a coordinate without any landmarks.