Chapter 519
The Final Plan: Robbery
"This is troublesome," Bayonet said in a low voice. "Old Knife knows you."
Before he finished speaking, Old Dao at the other end of the hall suddenly turned his head, his gaze piercing through the distance of dozens of meters, and precisely locked onto Jiang Nian.
Their eyes met in mid-air.
Old Dao's eyes first showed confusion, then shock, and finally turned into icy killing intent. He moved his lips and said something into the communicator in his collar.
"We've been discovered," Jiang Nian said in a low voice. "Prepare Plan B."
"What Plan B?"
"By force."
Bayonet paused for a moment, then laughed: "I like this."
Almost simultaneously, the hall's alarm system emitted a piercing shriek! Red warning lights began to spin, and all the researchers stood up in alarm.
"Attention all personnel! Base is now on Level 3 alert! Non-combat personnel, please evacuate to the safe zone immediately!" The voice over the loudspeaker was as cold and hard as iron.
Inside the glass room, the short-haired woman had already drawn her twin knives. The blades were dark red with fine serrations along the edges, gleaming dangerously under the light.
Old Dao charged straight at Jiang Nian, his movements so fast they left afterimages.
"Scatter!" Jiang Nian roared, charging towards Lao Dao himself.
The two met in the middle of the passage.
Old Dao unleashed a punch, the force of which was fierce, aimed directly at Jiang Nian's face. Jiang Nian dodged to the side, simultaneously drawing his resonant blade. The blade glowed with blue light and emitted a deep hum.
"It's really you."
Old Knife's voice was squeezed out through clenched teeth, "You're lucky the Greenland platform didn't kill you."
“You’re not dead either.” Jiang Nian swung his sword horizontally. “It seems that the stab didn’t go deep enough.”
Old Knife took a half step back and drew his tactical knife from his waist to parry. The two weapons clashed, sparks flying. The high-frequency vibrations of the resonant blade transmitted to the knife, making Old Knife's arm go numb.
"A new toy?" Old Knife stared at the glowing knife. "The organization's technology?"
"Improved version".
Jiang Nian attacked again, his swordsmanship swift and ruthless. Old Dao could only defend, retreating step by step. The wound under his ribs clearly affected his performance, his movements a fraction slower than on the platform.
But on the other side, bayonets aren't so easy to use.
The short-haired woman had already latched onto him. Her two curved blades moved with impenetrable speed, each strike aimed straight for vital points. The bayonet user used standard military hand-to-hand combat techniques, steady and methodical, but was clearly at a disadvantage.
"Not bad swordsmanship," the woman's voice was cold, "but too slow."
With a feint, she fooled the bayonet's defense and slashed at his throat with her right blade. The bayonet retreated hastily, but a gash was still cut open on his left shoulder, and blood instantly stained his white coat.
"Damn it!" Bayonet cursed, pulling two miniature stun grenades from his waist.
"Don't use it!" Jiang Nian roared, "It will trigger the fire alarm system!"
too late.
The stun grenade struck the ground, exploding in a blinding white light and with an extremely high decibel noise. Researchers throughout the hall screamed and covered their ears, and the bulletproof glass of the glass room cracked.
To make matters worse, the automatic fire suppression system on the ceiling was triggered, and high-pressure water mist poured down from the nozzles.
Visibility dropped sharply to less than five meters in the mist.
"Now's the time!" Jiang Nian forced Lao Dao back with a single slash and rushed towards the glass room.
The storage module is inside, but the door has an electronic lock and requires an access card.
"Bayonets! Cover me!"
"understand!"
Ignoring his wounds, Bayonet pulled out plastic explosives from his backpack and stuck them to the side of the glass room. "Three seconds! Take cover!"
Jiang Nian flashed to the console.
The explosion was quieter than expected, but it was very effective. The bulletproof glass was blasted open with a hole half a meter in diameter, and the edges cracked radially.
Jiang Nian rolled over and crawled inside, grabbing the storage module.
The module was cold to the touch, with several burn marks on the surface, but the core was intact. He quickly checked the interface and confirmed it was the one from the Greenland platform.
"got it!"
"Retreat!" The bayonet fought as he retreated, blood gushing from the wound on his shoulder.
But Old Knife and the short-haired woman had already reorganized their offensive. To make matters worse, at least ten fully armed guards, all dressed in reinforced combat uniforms and carrying assault rifles, poured into the entrance of the hall.
"Put down the module!" the leader roared. "Or we'll kill you on sight!"
Jiang Nian stuffed the module into his tactical vest and raised the resonant blade: "Want to give it a try?"
"Fire!"
Bullets rained down on them.
Jiang Nian rolled to dodge, the resonant blade dancing in front of him like a curtain of light. The high-frequency vibration field actually deflected most of the bullets, with only a few grazing his arm and leaving bloodstains.
But bayonets weren't so lucky.
A bullet struck his right leg, and he groaned as he collapsed to his knees. Another bullet hit his abdomen; the bulletproof plate stopped it, but the impact made him cough up blood.
"bayonet!"
"Leave me alone!" Bayonet gritted his teeth and pulled out two more stun grenades. "Let's go!"
"no!"
"That's an order!" Bayonet roared. "The module is more important than my life! Move out!"
He threw the stun grenade at the guards and detonated the last piece of explosives on his body.
The explosion and bright light threw the guards into disarray.
Jiang Nian gritted his teeth, turned around, and rushed towards the emergency exit on the other side of the hall. Lao Dao tried to chase after him, but Ci Dao used his last bit of strength to pounce on him and grab his leg.
"Get out of the way!" Old Dao plunged his knife into the back of the bayonet.
He didn't let go of the bayonet, but instead laughed: "Let's die together, you bastard."
He pressed a button on a device in his pocket.
An even more violent explosion erupted from the center of the hall. This time it wasn't a stun grenade, but real explosives. Bayonet detonated all the explosives on his body.
The shockwave sent Jiang Nian flying, crashing into the wall. He scrambled to his feet and looked back; the hall was now a sea of fire, billowing with thick smoke, obscuring the figure of the bayonet.
The final sound of a bayonet was heard through the headset, followed by static, and then the communication was lost.
Jiang Nian clenched her fist, her nails digging into her palm.
But he did not stay.
He turned around, slammed open the emergency exit door, and rushed into the passageway.
……
The second basement level is the interrogation room.
When Hailong No. 4 heard the explosion, it had just taken care of the two guards at the entrance.
"What's going on?" Grey Goose asked as he dragged the unconscious guard into a corner.
"Something's happened to Jiang Nian." Hailong No. 4's face was grim. "Accelerate!"
In the interrogation room, Supervisor Wang was tied to a chair, his face bruised, but he was still conscious. When he saw the four men rushing in, he was initially terrified, then recognized the equipment from the Hailong No. 4.
"You...you are..."
"People from the base." Hailong No. 4 quickly cut the rope. "Can you leave?"
"His leg was broken."
“Rock, carry him.” Hailong No. 4 said to the strongest member of the team. “Grey Goose, Hound, clear the way. We have to go and meet Jiang Nian.”
"Isn't the plan to withdraw after getting the module?" the hound asked.
"Bayonet's communications have been cut off." Hailong No. 4's voice was low. "Jiang Nian can't hold on alone."
The five men quickly left the interrogation room.
The sound of hurried footsteps filled the passageway; more guards were on their way. They had just rounded a corner when they were confronted by a group of six.
"There it is!"
Gunshots rang out.
The Greyhound reacted the fastest, rolling behind a pipe and firing back at the same time. The Hound slashed in from the side, its dagger slicing open a guard's throat.
But the enemy outnumbered them and had overwhelming firepower. "Take the other side!" Hailong No. 4 shouted, throwing out a smoke grenade.
Thick smoke filled the air, obscuring their vision. The five seized the opportunity to rush into another passage, but this path led to a dead end with only a sealed door at the end.
"There's no way out!" Yan Shi said, panting heavily as he carried Manager Wang on his back.
Hailong No. 4 checked the control panel next to the door: "Requires an access card, level four or above."
“I have one.” Manager Wang pulled a blood-stained card from his pocket. “Old Dao missed this one during the body search. It’s a senior engineer card for the platform, so it should be universal.”
Stick the card on.
The panel lights up green, but displays: "Insufficient permissions, level 2 authorization required."
"Damn it," Hailong No. 4 cursed.
The footsteps behind him grew closer. The smoke was dissipating; the guards would catch up soon.
“Blow it up,” said the grey goose.
"No, this is the second basement level, the structure is unstable. Explosives could cause a collapse."
"What should I do?"
Just then, the door suddenly opened from the inside.
A man in his thirties, wearing a researcher's white lab coat and glasses, stood at the door, holding a tablet computer. He froze when he saw the five fully armed men.
The muzzle of Hailong No. 4 was raised instantly.
"No, don't shoot!" The researcher raised his hands. "I... I just heard an explosion and wanted to see what was going on..."
"Who are you?" Hailong No. 4 asked.
"Li Ming, a junior researcher at the database center," the man's voice trembled, "You...you are intruders?"
Hailong No. 4 did not answer, but stared at the access card on his chest.
"Can I borrow your card?" He ripped the card off and stuck it on the panel.
"Verification successful".
The door opened fully, revealing a staircase leading upwards.
"Thanks." Hailong No. 4 tossed the card back. "I suggest you find a place to hide. It's going to get even more chaotic here soon."
The five people rushed up the stairs.
Li Ming stood there blankly for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and followed.
……
Jiang Nian was running wildly through the passageway in Area A.
At least twenty guards were chasing him, bullets whizzing against the walls and ground, sending sparks and debris flying. He rounded a corner and ran into three more men.
There was no time to hesitate.
The resonant blade drew three streaks of blue light.
The first man's throat was slit, the second man's chest was pierced, and the third man's hand holding the gun was severed. Three seconds later, all three men fell.
But this delay allowed the pursuers to close the gap.
"He's here!"
Jiang Nian rushed into a nearby equipment room and locked the door behind him. The room was filled with various instruments and parts, and there was only one ventilation opening, which was too small to squeeze through.
A banging sound came from outside the door.
"Come out and surrender! You can't escape!"
Jiang Nian leaned against the wall, panting heavily. He checked the module; it was still there. He then looked at the resonant blade; it had forty percent of its energy remaining, enough for now.
But we're running low on bullets.
The pistol had only one magazine left, twelve rounds. There were at least fifteen people outside.
He heard someone outside the door giving instructions: "Group one, guard the door; Group two, flank from behind; Group three, prepare the explosives to breach the door."
There is no way out.
Jiang Nian took a deep breath and regulated his breathing. The marking system was slowly operating within his body, providing the last of its energy. He could feel the pale golden energy repairing his injured muscles and tissues, but very slowly.
The injury was too severe.
He had a deep, bone-revealing knife wound on his left arm and a bullet wound to his right rib; although the bulletproof plate wasn't penetrated, at least two ribs were broken. He also had multiple abrasions on his legs, and his combat uniform was soaked with blood.
"If Instructor Yang were here, he would definitely scold me for working too hard," he said with a wry smile.
The sounds outside the door stopped.
A few seconds later, a familiar voice rang out: "Jiang Nian, I know you're in there."
It's Lao Dao.
"Bayonet is dead," Old Knife continued. "He died a horrible death, blown to bits. Are you going down this path too?"
Jiang Nian did not answer.
"Hand over the module, and I might let you die a quick death." Old Knife's voice was calm. "Or, you can join us. Dawn needs combat power like yours."
"And then?" Jiang Nian finally spoke, "Help you open the Void?"
"The things in the Ruins of Return can change the world," Old Knife said. "The organization wants to monopolize it; we just want a share. Is that wrong?"
"What if what's inside could destroy the world?"
“Then someone needs to control it even more.” Old Dao paused. “Jiang Nian, don’t you understand? This world is rotten to the core. Guixu may be the only hope.”
"It could also be the end of the world."
There was silence for a few seconds outside the door.
“Then there’s nothing to talk about,” Old Knife said. “Break down the door.”
An explosion was heard.
The door was blown off, and smoke and dust filled the room. The guards rushed in, but the room was empty.
"The ventilation shaft!" someone shouted.
"It's too small, he can't squeeze in."
"Search! He must still be here..."
Before he could finish speaking, the ceiling suddenly collapsed!
Jiang Nian jumped down from the upper level of the ventilation duct, his resonant blade slashing down. Two guards were cut down before they could react, and a third raised his gun to fire, but Jiang Nian had already rolled behind the control panel.
Gunfire erupted.
Bullets riddled the control panel with holes. Taking advantage of the situation, Jiang Nian darted out from the side, slicing off the barrel of a guard's gun with one slash and stabbing him in the abdomen with the other.
But more guards poured in.
Old Dao also entered, carrying a strangely shaped longsword. The blade was dark red, similar to the short-haired woman's weapon, but longer and heavier.
“Let me do it,” he said to the guards.
The crowd dispersed and formed a circle.
Jiang Nian and Lao Dao faced off in the center of the room. Both were injured and bleeding, but their eyes were equally fierce.
"Last chance," Old Dao said.
"You talk too much nonsense."
The two moved at the same time.
The blades flashed like lightning, and the sounds of their clashes were as dense as rain. Old Dao's swordsmanship was expansive and powerful; Jiang Nian's resonant blade was light and swift, targeting vital points. In just ten seconds, the two exchanged more than thirty blows, neither gaining the upper hand.
However, Jiang Nian's physical strength is declining.
He had lost too much blood and his breathing became erratic. One of his parries was a beat too slow, and the old knife's blade grazed his shoulder, spraying blood everywhere.
"You can't hold on any longer," Old Dao sneered.
“You too.” Jiang Nian stared at the bandage under his ribs, where blood was seeping out again.
The two charged at each other again.
This time, Jiang Nian didn't fight head-on. At the last moment, he suddenly changed direction; instead of slashing at Old Dao, his resonant blade struck the power supply box beside him. (End of Chapter)