Eunuch, do you really know these martial arts?

Inside the vertical emergency maintenance well, there is near-absolute darkness and bone-chilling cold.

"Stay close! Watch your step!"

Jiang Nian's voice echoed inside the narrow well shaft.

With one hand gripping Han Dong, he used his other hand and feet to precisely and swiftly grab the metal ladder steps, and sprinted down.

The ghost followed closely behind.

Lingque brought up the rear. She not only had to keep up with the speed, but also had to look up at the sky from time to time to guard against possible pursuers or collapses.

"it's useless."

Han Dong, who was being carried by Jiang Nian, made intermittent, hoarse sounds.

"Once the ice burial is activated, the core melting will trigger a chain reaction, causing the entire ice layer to collapse. You... won't be able to escape!"

"Shut up!"

The ghost let out a low growl.

If Han Dong hadn't been able to provide information about the tunnel exit, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill this madman who treated human life like dirt right here.

The vibrations from the well walls grew increasingly noticeable, and fine ice crystals and rock fragments fell in a soft rustling sound.

A muffled, thunderous explosion could be faintly heard overhead.

Clearly, the base's self-destruct program is progressing step by step, and the wave of destruction is spreading both upwards and downwards along the structure.

"Boost!"

Sensing the rapidly approaching destructive energy fluctuations above, Jiang Nian urged them on in a deep voice. His divine sense was suppressed in this extreme environment, but he could still clearly hear the heart-palpitating roar of structural rupture and uncontrolled energy.

decline!

It keeps declining!

The darkness seemed endless!

Only the sounds of rapid breathing, the rustling of clothes against the well wall, and the slight groaning of the metal steps underfoot due to their weight lingered in my ears.

Time seemed to stretch out in the darkness, each second feeling like a race against death.

suddenly!

“Crunch—Boom!!!”

A deafening roar, far louder than any previous sound, suddenly came from above!
The entire vertical shaft began to shake violently!
"pay close attention!"

Jiang Nian roared, digging his five fingers deep into the ice-covered well wall to forcefully steady himself.

At the same time, he pressed Han Dong firmly against the ladder.

The ghost and the sparrow immediately clung tightly to the fixed points around them.

"Crash-!"

Large amounts of ice, gravel, and twisted metal fragments cascaded down from above like a waterfall!

It was mixed with scorching hot air currents and a pungent smell of smoke!

The core area of ​​the base has completely collapsed!
A destructive torrent is rushing downwards along every path!

"Down! We're almost at the bottom of the well!"

Despite the violent tremors and the interference of falling objects, Jiang Nian used his extraordinary perception to detect changes in the space not far below.

The three of them rushed down to their destination without regard for anything else.

After descending another twenty meters, Jiang Nian's feet finally touched solid ground.

"We've reached the bottom!"

He let out a low growl and threw Han Dong to the ground. Ghost and Sparrow followed closely behind, landing back to back. The three of them quickly scanned their surroundings with tactical spotlights.

This is a small circular platform, which appears to be a buffer zone at the bottom of the well.

On one side of the platform is a dark, two-meter-diameter opening from which the cold wind howls.

The edge of the cave entrance is covered with ancient ice, but traces of human excavation are visible, and a rusty, simple track extends into the dark depths of the cave.

This is the ancient underground tunnel!

"Go in!" Jiang Nian didn't hesitate, picked up Han Dong again, and was the first to crawl into the cave.

The tunnel was wider than expected, enough for people to bend over and walk through.

Beneath our feet lay an uneven ice surface, with the rusty track offering some guidance.

The tunnel walls were made of crystal-clear, millennia-old ice. When the beams of tactical spotlights shone on them, they reflected a hazy, blue glow.

But no one was in the mood to appreciate this spectacular sight!
From the direction of the vertical shaft behind them, an even more terrifying sound of collapse and scorching heat waves came, clearly indicating that destruction had spread there.

"run!"

No commands are required.

The three of them ran wildly forward along the tunnel.

The tunnel is not straight, but has a certain slope and winds downwards.

The temperature drops further here.

The ice underfoot was extremely slippery!
Even with their skills, they had to lower their center of gravity and carefully control their speed.

How much longer is left in the countdown?

As Lingque ran, she asked breathlessly, her voice slightly distorted behind her mask.

"It can't be calculated precisely, but it won't take more than three minutes!"

The ghost judged based on the speed and distance of the previous explosion.

three minutes!
We must find an exit before the collapse of the entire base triggers a larger-scale structural collapse of the ice layer!

As Jiang Nian ran, he extended his divine sense forward to its maximum extent.

The tunnel seemed endless, going down, down...

A shadow fell over him.

Is this tunnel truly a path to survival?
Or is it another dead end?
Han Dong seemed to have regained some strength and let out a strange chuckle: "Heh... I told you there was no escaping it. This tunnel was left from early exploration, and at the end lies an even thicker layer of ice and despair."

"You talk too much."

Jiang Nian's voice was icy, and with a slight tightening of her fingers, Han Dong immediately experienced another painful spasm, rendering him speechless.

But Han Dong's words were like a poisonous thorn, piercing everyone's hearts.

What if the tunnel really is a dead end!
Just then, Jiang Nian's probing divine sense suddenly touched upon something unusual!
"There's something going on ahead!"

He hissed, "Speed ​​up a bit more."

After running forward for about 100 meters, the tunnel began to widen and a fork in the road appeared!
One continues downwards, while the other slopes slightly upwards.

"Which way?" the ghost asked urgently.

Jiang Nian stopped at the fork in the road and carefully sensed the aura of the two passages with his divine sense.

The downward path was even colder, with more ancient and solid ice layers, as if leading to an abyss below.

The upward path, though still cold, seemed to have an extremely faint sense of air movement.

And... a faint, rhythmic, low humming sound, different from the vibration of the ice layer, could be heard.

Is that the sound of flowing water?!
How could there be liquid water flowing beneath the ice sheet?
unless……

"up!"

Jiang Nian made a decision instantly, "There might be an underground river or an area close to bedrock over there!"

Without hesitation, the three rushed into the upward-sloping fork in the road.

This tunnel is even more difficult to traverse, with a steep slope and slippery ice surface, requiring the use of both hands and feet to climb.

But the faint sense of air movement and the indistinct sound of flowing water gave them immense hope. The sound of collapse behind them clung to them like a leech.

The entire tunnel was groaning, and obvious cracks began to appear in the ice at the top, with large icicles teetering on the verge of collapse.

"Hurry up!"

The ghost kept urging them on.

After crawling for about five minutes, a loud rush of water suddenly came from ahead!

And the air has become much more humid!

"We've arrived!" Jiang Nian's spirits lifted.

They rushed out of the tunnel and a bright new world opened up before them!
This is a huge natural ice cave, with countless enormous icicles hanging from the ceiling like inverted swords.

In the center of the ice cave, a wide underground river flows continuously.

The river water was dark and exuded a bone-chilling cold. The current was rapid, and the water crashed against the ice wall with a deafening roar.

On the opposite bank of the underground river, on the rock wall of the ice cave, there is a clearly man-made circular passage entrance!
The passageway entrance is fitted with a heavy metal gate that is rusted but structurally intact. At this moment, the gate is not completely closed, leaving a gap about half a meter wide!

That rhythmic, low hum came from the darkness behind the gate!
what is that?
Backup generator?
still is……

But there's no time to investigate further now!

"Cross the river!"

Jiang Nian's gaze was fixed on the passageway on the opposite bank.

However, this underground river is more than ten meters wide, with a rapid current, and the dark water is bottomless, emanating a terrifying chill that can instantly freeze blood.

Large and small ice blocks floated on the river, colliding with each other and making cracking sounds.

There are no bridges, no roads.

"How are we going to cross?" Lingque looked at the surging river, her face turning pale.

The river water is definitely below zero degrees Celsius, but it hasn't completely frozen due to pressure and flow. If someone were to fall in, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Hold on tight!" Jiang Nian shouted, tossing Han Dong to Youhun. "Youhun, take him! Lingque, get on my back!"

The ghost instantly understood Jiang Nian's intention, and without hesitation took Han Dong and carried him on its shoulder.

Lingque immediately climbed onto Jiang Nian's back and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

Jiang Nian took a deep breath, and his master-level internal energy surged at an unprecedented speed, his blood and qi surging, bringing him to his peak condition!

The next moment, he moved!
With a powerful push off the ground, his body shot out like a cannonball, heading straight for a floating block of ice!

"boom!"

With a light tap of his toes on the ice, and a slight release of his inner force, the ice block sank sharply downwards, and Jiang Nian used this recoil to leap into the air once more!
The ghost carried Han Dong and lay down beside Jiang Nian, trying to lighten the burden as much as possible.

The sparrow kept its eyes tightly closed, feeling the whistling wind and the roaring water in its ears.

"Crack!"

A piece of floating ice that was using the ice for support suddenly shattered because it could not withstand the force!
Despite the danger, Jiang Nian remained calm and twisted his body in mid-air. He then used his other foot to hook onto the edge of another rapidly drifting ice block, gaining another foothold and continuing to rush forward!
Ten meters is a distance that can be covered in the blink of an eye under normal circumstances.

But now it's like an insurmountable chasm!
Finally, just as his strength was about to be exhausted, Jiang Nian carried the two of them across the last stretch of the river like a large bird, and landed steadily on the ice on the opposite bank!

"We succeeded!" Ling Que jumped off Jiang Nian's back, her voice trembling with relief.

The ghost put Han Dong down and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

at this time!

“Rumble——!!!”

A deafening roar, as if the earth were collapsing, came from the direction of the tunnel they had come from!
The entire enormous ice cave shook violently, and icicles from the ceiling fell like raindrops, crashing onto the ice surface and into the river, splashing up ice shards everywhere!

A visible shockwave, carrying ice, snow, and debris, gushed out of the tunnel entrance!

The massive ice collapse triggered by the complete destruction of the base has arrived!
"Get in the passage!" Jiang Nian grabbed Han Dong and rushed towards the half-open metal gate.

The three filed in and rushed into the darkness behind the gate.

Just as Lingque stepped into the passage, Jiang Nian turned around and slammed his palms against the inside of the heavy metal gate!

"boom!!"

A tremendous internal force erupted, like an invisible giant hammer, slamming hard against the gate!

"Creak—Bang!!"

The heavy gate, which had been sealed for who knows how long, slammed shut with a deafening metallic twisting sound after Jiang Nian's all-out attack!

The rust at the hinges shattered under the immense force, and the entire gate closed tightly, completely isolating the outside world from the devastating ice collapse!

The loud bang of the gate closing echoed through the passage before gradually subsiding.

The passage fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the heavy breathing of a few people and the rhythmic, low humming that came from deeper within the passage.

For now... we're safe.

The beams of light from tactical spotlights swept across the passageway.

This appears to be a passageway to some kind of abandoned mine or military facility; the walls are rough rock, and the ground is covered in dust.

The deep humming sound seemed to come from some kind of old machine that was still running.

Jiang Nian left Han Dong in the corner and slowly sat down against the cold rock wall. The continuous high-intensity bursts and the final slam of the door had taken a huge toll on him, and his meridians were once again throbbing with pain.

Ghost and Sparrow collapsed to the ground, trying to recover their strength and check their equipment and injuries.

"Where are we?" Lingque asked softly, looking into the depths of the passage.

Jiang Nian shook his head.

The passage was long and winding upwards, and the source of the buzzing sound was even deeper inside.

"I don't know. But the fact that this channel is still operational means there is energy, and it's very likely that there's an exit."

He looked at Han Dong, who was huddled in the corner, his face pale and his eyes vacant.

"Now it's your turn to speak. Where does this passage lead? What was that sound?"

Han Dong raised his head, his face devoid of its previous fervor, replaced only by utter dejection and a trace of fear.

He knew he had lost all his chips.

“This is an old, abandoned underwater listening station…” he said in a hoarse voice. “That tunnel was dug by them to listen to underwater signals.”

"And that voice?"

The ghost pointed to the depths of the passage.

“It’s the backup diesel generator for the listening station,” Han Dong gasped. “It’s been decades… and it’s still running automatically.”

Abandoned listening station?
Backup generator?
Everyone suddenly realized. No wonder there were no markings on the structural diagram. This was a relic from another era, which happened to be adjacent to the organization's base. It might even have been discovered and secretly used by the organization as a hidden emergency passage.

"Where is the exit?" Jiang Nian asked the most crucial question.

"Continue upwards along the main passage, and at the end there is a vertical elevator shaft..."

Hope is right in front of us!
After resting for about five minutes, the three of them got up again.

Jiang Nian brought up Han Dong again, and along the long-abandoned listening station corridor, steadily moved towards the source of that deep humming sound, which was also towards the hope of life.

They walked for about half an hour, and the passage began to slope noticeably upwards.

Finally, they arrived at a relatively spacious equipment room where an old-fashioned diesel generator, covered in oil stains but still rumbling, was running.

At the end of the equipment room was a vertical shaft with rusty metal staircases on the walls, extending upwards and disappearing into the darkness.

At the wellhead.

A faint, natural light shone through!

It's the ground!
They really found the exit! (End of Chapter)