Chapter 514
Marionette
"The platform is about to crash. Do you want to take it with you, or let me try to get it out of here?"
Jiang Nian's voice echoed in the small office, as cold as the icy sea outside.
Manager Wang's hands trembled as he held the silver briefcase, cold sweat beading on his forehead, glistening faintly in the stark white emergency lights.
His gaze shifted back and forth between Jiang Nian and the increasingly close gunshots outside the window.
"Who exactly are you?" Manager Wang's voice trembled. "Sent by the organization? Or by Dawn?"
“I’m here to stop you.” Jiang Nian stepped forward. “Give me the box. Time is running out.”
"No way!" Manager Wang suddenly hugged the box tightly, stumbling backward and hitting his desk. "Do you know what's inside? This is the complete algorithm for anchor points! With it, we can accurately pinpoint the coordinates of the Ruins!"
Jiang Nian glanced at his watch.
"Old Qin, what's the status of node five?"
"Core temperature has reached 90% of the critical value!" Old Qin's voice roared urgently in the headset. "At most eight minutes left! And it's not just node five, other nodes are also starting to cascade overload!"
"Chain overload?"
"The explosives you placed have disrupted the energy balance! The energy systems of all six nodes on the platform are interconnected; if one malfunctions, the others will also go out of control!"
The office door was suddenly slammed shut by a heavy object!
"Bang! Bang!"
The metal door panel dented inward, and the latch began to deform.
"They're here!" Manager Wang's face turned ashen.
Without further hesitation, Jiang Nian swiftly grabbed Manager Wang's wrist with his left hand and snatched the box with his right. His movements were as fast as lightning.
Just as Manager Wang was about to shout, Jiang Nian covered his mouth.
"Keep quiet if you want to live." Jiang Nian stared into his eyes. "Listen, the platform is about to explode. The only way to survive now is to come with me. I will take the box with me, but not to the organization, nor to Dawn."
He paused. "It's for those who can make it disappear."
The banging stopped outside the door.
"They're cutting the door!" Manager Wang whispered, his eyes filled with fear.
Jiang Nian looked around the office. Apart from the main entrance, there was only one observation window, outside which was a vertical drop of thirty meters, below which lay the icy sea and floating ice.
Is there an emergency exit?
"There's a maintenance shaft behind the filing cabinet," Supervisor Wang pointed to a metal cabinet in the corner. "It leads directly to the ground floor warehouse, but that's where Node Five is located!"
“Perfect.” Jiang Nian opened the filing cabinet, revealing a sealed cover about one meter square on the back.
The cover slid open, revealing a dark, gaping shaft. Cold air rushed up from below, carrying the smells of engine oil and ozone.
"You go first," Jiang Nian said, giving Manager Wang a push.
"Then close your eyes."
Manager Wang gritted his teeth, grabbed the ladder, and climbed down.
Jiang Nian followed closely behind and closed the cover with his other hand.
The office door was cut open the instant the cover closed.
Three men in black combat suits rushed in, saw that the room was empty, and the leader kicked the table hard.
"Search them! They can't have gone far!"
The shaft was about twenty meters deep, with another sealed door at the bottom. When the two landed, Manager Wang's legs went weak and he almost fell, but Jiang Nian caught him.
"Where is this?" Manager Wang asked, panting.
"Next to the ground floor warehouse," Jiang Nian said, gauging the direction. "It's only one door away from the control room of node five."
Sure enough, at the end of the passage ahead, a glaring red warning light illuminated the gray metal door: "Warning: Node overload, entry prohibited."
The thermometer by the door showed that the indoor temperature was 87 degrees Celsius and was still rising rapidly.
"Are you crazy?" Manager Wang grabbed Jiang Nian. "It's about to catch fire inside!"
"The data terminal is in the control room, right?" Jiang Nian asked. "The raw data for all core algorithms must be downloaded directly from the terminal; we can't rely solely on backups in the briefcase."
Manager Wang's eyes widened: "How did you know...?"
"Just a guess." Jiang Nian shoved the suitcase back at him. "The organization won't put all its eggs in one basket. The suitcase contains the encrypted algorithm, but the original data and debugging records are definitely still on the local server."
He stared at Supervisor Wang: "I need the complete data. All of it."
"Impossible! Downloading takes time, at least ten minutes!"
"Then let's hurry."
Jiang Nian swiped her card to open the door.
A wave of heat hit us.
Inside the control room of node five, the central equipment was glowing red, and the protective shields on its surface were beginning to soften and deform. The surrounding air was distorted by the high temperature, and visibility became blurred.
"Where is the terminal?" Jiang Nian asked.
"Over there!" Manager Wang pointed to a separate control panel in the corner of the room, which was connected to three large screens.
The two rushed over, their skin burning from the heat. Manager Wang quickly typed in the password, his fingers flying across the keyboard.
"Too slow! The terminal is overheating, and the processor has throttled!"
"accelerate."
Suddenly, the entire room shook violently!
The metal supports on the ceiling began to bend, emitting a piercing groan. A fireproof panel fell, crashing down at their feet and shattering into pieces.
"The structure is about to collapse!" Manager Wang screamed.
"Continue downloading." Jiang Nian drew his short blade and scanned his surroundings.
He had attached three pieces of explosives to the equipment, and the indicator light had changed from yellow to flashing red.
"Mr. Qin, is it possible to remotely speed up the download?"
"I'm trying to bypass the protection protocol!"
"You have twenty seconds."
Jiang Nian walked to the door and listened intently.
Footsteps echoed in the passageway, very light, but very quick.
More than one person.
“They caught up with us,” he said in a low voice.
"What do we do?" Manager Wang's voice trembled with tears. "The download is only 33% complete!"
"continue."
Jiang Nian turned off the lights in the control room, leaving only the faint glow of the terminal screen. He slipped into the shadows beside the door, gripping his short blade in reverse.
The footsteps stopped outside the door.
"The heat source indicates there are two people inside," a voice with altered pronunciation said.
“Wang Mingyuan and that infiltrator,” another voice said. “It’s too hot; we can’t stay here long.”
"Break down the door."
The sound of the cutter rang out again.
The door panel began to glow red and melt. A few seconds later, a hole the size of a basketball was cut out. A gloved hand reached in and fumbled for the lock.
Jiang Nian made a move.
The short blade shot out like a venomous snake, piercing the wrist of that hand with pinpoint accuracy!
A suppressed scream came from outside the door. Jiang Nian seized the opportunity to grab the other person's arm, pulled him sharply, and slammed him against the door, while simultaneously kicking the entrance to the hole.
"boom!"
The metal door was kicked so hard that it bulged outwards, knocking down people outside.
"He's inside! Open fire!"
Gunshots rang out, bullets piercing the doorway and entering the control room, striking the equipment and sending sparks flying. Jiang Nian had already rolled to the side and fired a shot.
"boom!"
A muffled groan came from outside the door, and someone collapsed to the ground.
But the other two had already retreated to a safe distance and started using more powerful weapons.
"Use breaching bombs!"
Jiang Nian's pupils contracted, and he rushed towards Manager Wang, shoving him down behind the control panel. "Boom!"
The entire door was blown away, and the shockwave, carrying metal fragments, swept across the room. Sparks flew from the control panel screen, and the progress bar was stuck at forty-one percent.
"No!" Manager Wang stared at the screen in despair, "The data stream has been interrupted!"
Two black figures rushed in through the smoke and dust. They wore fully enclosed helmets, obscuring their faces, but their movements were extremely professional; one provided suppressive fire, while the other advanced rapidly.
Jiang Nian raised his hand to retaliate, and the bullet hit the opponent's reinforced armor, leaving only a shallow white mark.
“It’s no use,” the one who charged forward said coldly. “Our armor is specially made and can withstand 12.7mm armor-piercing rounds.”
He raised his gun and pointed it at Jiang Nian: "Hand over the box."
“You can have the box.” Jiang Nian slowly stood up. “But the data must be destroyed.”
"Data?" The other person paused for a moment, "What data?"
Jiang Nian stared at him, then suddenly laughed: "So you guys didn't know."
"Know what?"
“The algorithm in the briefcase is encrypted. Without the original data and debugging records, it is impossible to decrypt,” Jiang Nian said. “The original data is in this terminal.”
He pointed to the console behind him, which was still sparking: "But now, it's broken."
The two intruders exchanged a glance.
“He’s stalling for time,” another said. “The platform is about to crash; we need to finish this quickly.”
"agree."
The two opened fire simultaneously.
Jiang Nian grabbed Supervisor Wang and rolled away to avoid them. Bullets followed their trajectory, carving a series of bullet holes in the floor and equipment.
"The progress bar is moving!" Manager Wang suddenly shouted.
"Old Qin?"
"I'm remotely repairing the data stream!" Old Qin's voice was filled with gritted teeth, "But they've locked the server, so I have to pry it open bit by bit!"
"how long?"
"At least three more minutes!"
Jiang Nian glanced at the time: 4:21.
Less than five minutes remain before the expected meltdown.
"Listen," he said to Supervisor Wang, "I'll distract them. You keep an eye on the download. Once it's finished, use the green access card to activate the emergency escape pod, understand?"
"how about you?"
"I have my own way."
Before Supervisor Wang could answer, Jiang Nian suddenly rushed out from behind the cover and charged straight at the nearest intruder.
The opponent was clearly caught off guard by his attack and hesitated for a moment. In that instant, Jiang Nian was already close in, his short blade slicing through the gap in the opponent's neck armor.
The second intruder had somehow appeared on the flank and parried the attack. The two worked in perfect coordination, attacking Jiang Nian from both sides.
“Not bad,” said the first intruder, “but not enough.”
The two attacked relentlessly, each strike aimed straight for vital points. Jiang Nian fought and retreated, gradually being forced to the center of the room, close to the device that was now glowing red.
The temperature was rising so high that even the air was scorching our lungs. The lining of our combat suits started sounding an alarm, indicating that the external temperature had exceeded the limits of human endurance.
"Sixty-five percent!" Manager Wang shouted.
One of the intruders suddenly changed tactics, no longer attacking Jiang Nian, but instead throwing a magnetic bomb that flew straight to the control console!
Jiang Nian tried to intercept, but was held back by another.
The bomb landed precisely on the side of the terminal, and the red light began to flash.
Manager Wang screamed and lunged at the bomb, trying to tear it down.
"Don't move!" Jiang Nian roared.
But it's too late.
The bomb exploded, not in a blast, but by releasing a powerful electromagnetic pulse. The terminal screen went black instantly, and all indicator lights went out simultaneously.
Download progress interrupted.
"No!" Manager Wang slumped to the ground, staring at the smoking terminal. "It's over, everything's over!"
The two intruders stopped their attack and looked at the terminal.
"The data is ruined," the first person said. "The mission is half-failed."
"And the briefcase." The second one looked at Jiang Nian. "Hand over the briefcase, and we might let you die a quick death."
“You can have the box,” he said slowly, “but you have to tell me what Dawn needs the anchor point algorithm for.”
The two remained silent.
"It's not to stop the organization, is it?" Jiang Nian continued, "If you really wanted to stop it, you could just blow up the platform. You want the algorithm, which means you also want to find the Ruins of Return."
“You know too much.” The first intruder raised his gun.
"Let me guess." Jiang Nian leaned against the overheated equipment, breathing heavily. "Dawn isn't anti-organization, but rather another faction within the organization. Internal strife? Or is someone trying to monopolize the secrets of the Void?"
The second intruder's hand trembled slightly.
Although the movement was small, Jiang Nian caught it.
"So Dawn is a traitor," he concluded. "The opposition within the organization wants to seize control of Guixu before the mainstream faction does."
"Shut up!" The first intruder pulled the trigger.
Jiang Nian was prepared and rolled to the side. The bullet struck the equipment, penetrating the already softened protective shield.
The device emitted a sharp alarm, and the red on its surface suddenly turned a blinding white.
"It's going to explode!" Manager Wang screamed.
"Go!" Without hesitation, the two intruders turned and rushed towards the door.
But Jiang Nian was faster than them.
Instead of running outside, he rushed to the control panel and pulled the storage module out of the charred terminal.
"Are you crazy?!" Manager Wang exclaimed, his eyes wide. "That thing is already burned!"
"Not necessarily." Jiang Nian stuffed the storage module into his tactical vest. "Old Qin, can it be repaired?"
"I'll try!" Old Qin's voice was urgent, "But you must leave immediately! The countdown to the meltdown of Node Five is three minutes!"
Jiang Nian pulled Manager Wang up and rushed towards the door.
Inside the passage, the two intruders had run more than thirty meters and were retreating towards the shaft.
The tremors became increasingly violent.
Metal fragments and insulation materials kept falling from above, and the passageway began to deform. One by one, the emergency lights went out, and darkness poured in from both ends.
"The shaft is blocked!" the intruder running ahead suddenly shouted.
When Jiang Nian arrived, he saw that the ladder in the shaft was twisted and deformed, and the cover plate above was pressed down by the fallen pipe, leaving only a narrow gap.
"Get out of the way." The first intruder raised his gun and fired repeatedly at the cover.
The bullet pierced the metal, but the cover only wobbled and didn't open.
"Use explosives!" the second one said.
"No! The structure is already unstable; the explosives will bury us all!"
"What should I do?"
The three were briefly at an impasse.
Jiang Nian glanced at the time: 4:23.
"Are there any other routes?" he asked Manager Wang.
Manager Wang's face turned pale, and he shook his head: "This is the only emergency exit..."
Before the words were even finished, the entire passageway suddenly tilted!
Everyone lost their balance and fell to the ground.
The sound of metal twisting came from all directions, like the howl of a giant beast.
"The platform is collapsing!" Old Qin roared into his earpiece. "The foundation piles can't hold it up! Jiang Nian, you must leave there immediately!"
"How do I leave?" Jiang Nian got up and looked around. (End of Chapter)