Eunuch, do you really know these martial arts?

Jiang Nian moved close to the wall, gripping the dagger in reverse, his gaze sweeping over the fork in the road and the ventilation ducts.

"The energy compartment is located at the second sealed door on the right ahead."

Qin Lao pulled up the structural diagram, "The standard design is a double-layered isolation door, but the modified ship may have changes."

"There is only one life signal, near the energy core control console."

Old Qin paused for a moment, then said, "But strangely, the signal is very weak."

Jiang Nian frowned: "A person being controlled?"

"possible."

Yang Zhan's voice broke in.

"The organization's technology can remotely regulate the human body's state. If the operator of the energy pod is under deep control, he may no longer be considered a normal person."

Yang Zhan said in a serious tone, "To deal with this kind of person, hitting vital points is useless. You either need to destroy their central nervous system instantly or completely paralyze their ability to move."

"understood."

Jiang Nian quickened his pace.

At the end of the passage, a heavy alloy door stood tightly shut.

The control panel by the door was glowing with a faint blue light.

Jiang Nian raised his pistol and aimed at the control panel.

"Wait!" Elder Qin exclaimed urgently, "Forced destruction might trigger a trigger!"

"boom!"

The bullet shattered the panel, sending sparks flying.

The alarm didn't go off.

The door wasn't opened.

"It seems there's a backup system," Old Qin quickly analyzed. "It automatically locks up after the panel is damaged."

Jiang took two steps back and stared at the sealed door.

It is about 20 centimeters thick and made of special alloy.

Even a master-level force might not be able to break through it.

Are there any other entrances?

“Ventilation ducts.” Old Qin pulled up the blueprints. “But the energy compartment’s ventilation system is separate; you can’t go in.”

Where is the maintenance access?

"Yes." Old Qin zoomed in on an area. "Above the door, there's an emergency access hatch, usually secured with bolts. But it's quite high up, about 3.5 meters from the ground."

Jiang Nian looked up.

There is a square metal plate on the ceiling, and the edges do indeed reflect the light of bolts.

On the left side of Jiang Nian's belt is a multi-functional tool set.

Jiang Nian propped up the cover with one hand and crawled in sideways.

Inside is a narrow vertical passage that extends upwards for about two meters before turning horizontal.

The passageway was pitch black.

Jiang Nian turned on the helmet's dim light.

The pipe walls were covered in dust, indicating that it had not been maintained for a long time.

He crawled forward, the diving suit hissing softly against the metal surface.

Ten meters later, a grille appeared ahead.

Through the grille, you can see the view below.

The enormous cylindrical container occupied most of the compartment, its surface covered with a complex network of pipes and instruments.

The container emitted a low hum, and a faint blue light shone through the observation window, illuminating the entire space.

In front of the control panel, a man in a dark blue uniform stood motionless with his back to the grille.

"It's him," Old Qin said in a low voice.

Jiang Nian carefully observed through the grille.

The man's posture was extremely standard, even to the point of being stiff.

Arms hang naturally, fingers slightly curled.

But the strangest thing is that his breathing rhythm is extremely even.

Yang Zhan confirmed, "His physiological rhythms are completely controlled by external signals; he is now a living robot."

Jiang Nian stared at the figure's back, calculating the distance.

The distance from the grille to the ground is approximately four meters.

The control console is about three meters below the grille.

After landing, you need to cross a distance of two meters to get close.

Throughout the process, the other party has at least two opportunities to react.

"Old Qin, is it possible to interfere with the signal controlling him?" Jiang Nian asked.

"I'll give it a try." Old Qin quickly operated the machine. "Found it! I can create anti-phase interference, but the effect only lasts for three seconds."

"enough."

Old Qin took a deep breath, "Begin!"

The man below suddenly jolted!
Right now, Jiang Nian kicked open the grille and jumped down!
The man had already turned around.

His right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing straight for Jiang Nian's throat!
Jiang Nian dodged to the side, and with a swift upward thrust of his dagger, slashed at the opponent's wrist.

But the man neither dodged nor avoided, and his wrist slammed head-on into the blade!
"Qiang!"

A metallic clanging sound!
The dagger failed to cut through the skin, leaving only a white mark.

"What?!" Jiang Nian's pupils shrank.

"Strengthen the exoskeleton!"

Old Qin exclaimed in surprise, "He has implanted armor under his uniform!"

The man clenched his left fist and slammed it towards Jiang Nian's face.

The force of the punch was fierce!

Jiang Hou leaned back, his fist grazing the tip of his nose.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, he kicked the other man in the side of his knee.

Joints are often weak points in armor.

"boom!"

It hit the target squarely.

The man swayed, but did not fall.

Instead, he used the momentum to turn around and delivered an elbow strike to Jiang Nian's temple!

Jiang Nian raised his hand to block.

"Boom!"

Arms are numb.

This guy's strength is definitely more than three times that of an ordinary person!
"We can't fight head-on!"

Jiang Nian quickly scanned the other person's entire body.

The neck is protected by armor.

There is also reinforcement at the joints.

Eye……

Yes, eyes!

No matter how strong the armor is, the visual sensors will always be exposed!

Jiang Nian feinted an attack, then thrust his dagger toward his opponent's chest.

The man raised his hand to block.

It's now!

Jiang Nian pulled a flashbang from his waist with his left hand and threw it at the opponent's feet!
"Close your eyes!"

He closed his eyes and turned his head beforehand.

"boom!"

A blinding white light instantly filled the cabin!
Even with his eyes closed, Jiang Nian could feel a burning sensation on his retina.

While the other person covered their eyes with both hands and staggered.

He strode forward, thrusting his dagger straight into the gap in the armor on the opponent's neck!

But just as the blade was about to pierce through, the man suddenly let go, his empty eyes staring straight at Jiang Nian.

"Visual impairment has been switched to infrared mode." A cold, electronic voice came from the man's throat. "Target locked."

He spread his arms, and ten-centimeter-long metal claws popped out from his knuckles!

"A transforming weapon!" Old Qin gasped. "This isn't human anymore, it's a fighting machine!"

The sharp claws swung down!

Jiang Nian retreated hastily, his combat uniform being torn in three places on his chest.

The lining of the deep-sea suit was exposed, and it almost injured my skin.

"His attack pattern has changed!" Yang Zhan exclaimed urgently. "Now it's completely programmed combat, without any superfluous human movements!"

indeed.

Every attack a man makes is precise, concise, and deadly.

There were no tests, no feints.

Jiang Nian fought and retreated, and was soon forced into a corner.

Behind me was the cold bulkhead.

out on a limb.

The claws swung down again!

This time, they're targeting the neck!

Can't avoid it!
In a flash, Jiang Nian made a crazy decision.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, charging headlong into the opponent's arms against the sharp claws!
"puff!"

A sharp pain shot through my left shoulder.

The claws pierced through his combat suit and dug into his muscles, but this also brought him to extremely close range.

The man clearly hadn't anticipated this action, causing a momentary delay in the program.

Jiang Nian thrust his right dagger upwards, piercing through the gap in his jawbone and penetrating the cranial cavity!

"Click!"

A clear cracking sound. The man's body lurched backward, crashing to the ground.

He walked to the control panel. "What do we do now?"

Old Qin quickly instructed: "Look at the main screen, it shows the reactor status. We need to safely shut it down, but maintain basic power supply, otherwise the entire ship will lose power."

Old Qin suddenly shouted, "Something's wrong with this reactor! Look at the third line of data, the coolant flow is abnormal!"

Jiang Nian looked at the screen.

Amidst the dense data stream, one line is flashing a warning: Coolant flow rate is below critical value.

"What do you mean?"

"That means the reactor could overheat and melt down at any moment!" Old Qin's voice tightened. "The designers of this ship tampered with it; once the energy compartment is compromised, the meltdown procedure will be automatically triggered!"

"Can it be stopped?"

"You need to manually inject the spare coolant. See that green handle on the left side of the console?"

Jiang Nian turned her head.

On the side of the console, there is indeed an inconspicuous green handle with the label "Emergency Cooling Injection" next to it.

“Pull it down.”

Jiang Nian gripped the handle and pulled hard.

"Click."

The handle remained completely still.

“It’s locked.” He frowned.

Jiang Nian squatted down.

A palm-sized keypad is embedded at the base of the handle.

"Can it be cracked?"

"No, the lock is physically secure; you can only enter the password manually."

Time passed by minute by minute.

With every second that passes, the danger of the reactor overheating increases by one point.

"Jiang Nian, listen to me."

Yang Zhan's voice suddenly rang out, "Check the operator you just dealt with to see if he has a password card or a note."

Jiang Nian immediately turned around and squatted down next to the body to search for it.

The uniform pockets were empty.

There was no device on his wrist.

But when he turned the body over, he noticed something unusual about the tip of the other person's left index finger.

The skin color is slightly darker than the other fingers.

He picked up the hand and examined it closely.

"Fingerprint password?" Jiang Nian asked.

"Take a picture of the design and send it to me!"

Jiang Nian pointed the helmet camera at his finger and took several pictures.

A few seconds later, an excited voice came from Old Qin's end: "Decoded!"

"Verification passed."

Jiang Nian gripped the handle again and pulled it down forcefully.

A deep rumble came from the direction of the reactor.

On the console screen, the coolant flow rate began to recover rapidly.

"The reactor temperature dropped."

Old Qin breathed a sigh of relief. "The meltdown process has been aborted. It's safe to shut it down now."

The hum of the reactor gradually subsided, and the eerie blue light dimmed.

The cabin lighting switched to emergency mode, dimming the light by half.

"The energy system has been switched to backup batteries."

Mr. Qin confirmed, "The basic power supply can last for another eight hours. That's enough."

Jiang Nian wiped away his sweat; the wound on his left shoulder had started bleeding again.

“There’s one left.” Old Qin pulled up the lifeline map. “The weapons control room is at the stern, about sixty meters from where you are now.”

"Does that guy know the energy bay has been breached?"

“He definitely knows,” Yang Zhan said. “The entire ship’s power is switched off; he can tell as long as he’s not blind. Now he has two choices: either hold the weapons control room or take the initiative to attack.”

Which one do you think he will choose?

“If they were ordinary soldiers, they would defend to the death.” Yang Zhan paused, “But if they were deep-seated controllers of the organization…”

The words have not yet been spoken!

A piercing alarm suddenly blared throughout the entire ship!

This is not the previous intrusion alert.

It's a higher frequency, sharper sound!
"It's an independent self-destruct system!" General Zhao roared. "The weapons control room has independent access!"

Jiang Nian rushed towards the door.

"Wait!" Bai Yongxu shouted. "Jiang Nian, your mission is complete! Evacuate immediately! This ship will be gone in five minutes!"

"The last enemy!"

"Let him sink with the ship!" Yang Zhan said decisively. "You're injured now, there's no need to take the risk! The Sea Dragon Squad is already waiting for you at the rendezvous point, hurry up!"

Jiang Nian looked at the end of the passage.

The weapons control room is over there.

Stern of the ship.

Sixty meters.

If you sprint at full speed, you can get there in thirty seconds.

However, once the self-destruct sequence is activated, there may be other defense mechanisms inside the ship.

"Jiang Nian!" Bai Yongxu's voice was unusually tinged with anger. "This is an order! Evacuate immediately!"

Jiang Nian gritted his teeth, turned around, and rushed toward the nearest emergency exit.

"Where is the emergency escape pod?" he asked as he ran.

"Twenty meters ahead, turn left. There's a sign for an escape hatch." Old Qin quickly pulled up the blueprints. "Go inside and activate the automatic ejection. The escape hatch will take you to the surface."

Inside the passageway, red emergency lights began to flash.

Jiang Nian rushed to the escape pod door.

The door is sealed; the valve needs to be turned manually.

He gripped the wheel with both hands and spun it with force.

"crunch-"

The door opened.

Inside is a spherical capsule that can only accommodate one person.

Jiang Nian crawled inside and closed the hatch.

The escape pod shook and detached from the ship.

Through the observation window, one can see the transport ship slowly sinking.

Lights were flashing at the stern.

The direction of the weapons control room.

Suddenly, a figure jumped out of the weapons control room window through the observation window!

He was wearing the same dark blue uniform, but with some kind of propulsion device on his back, and swam quickly in the seawater, heading straight for the escape pod!
The other party held a strangely shaped weapon in their hand, the muzzle of which was gathering blue light.

"It's an energy weapon!" Old Qin exclaimed urgently, "The escape pod's armor won't stop it!"

"Change course!" Yang Zhan ordered. "Sharp right turn!"

Jiang Nian pushed the control lever hard.

The escape pod traced an arc in the seawater.

But the other party's tracking system was clearly very advanced, and it also changed direction.

The distance is getting closer.

“There’s no other way.” Jiang Nian took a deep breath. “Elder Qin, remove the jammer restrictions from my device.”

"what?!"

“I need to actively release a marker signal,” Jiang Nian said calmly, “to attract his attention, even if only for a few seconds.”

"You'll be exposed!"

“We’ve been exposed.” Jiang Nian looked at the face getting closer and closer outside the window. “This ship has gone missing, the organization definitely knows it was me. The important thing now is to survive.”

Old Qin was silent for a second.

"Interference restrictions lifted. But be aware, the synchronization rate will rise rapidly!"

"clear."

Almost simultaneously, the pursuers' movements visibly paused.

"It works!" Old Qin stared at the data. "His attention was distracted! Now's the chance!"

Jiang Nian pushed the control stick hard, and the escape pod rose at full speed.

It was still twenty meters from the sea surface.

But the pursuers had already reacted, and the energy weapon was aimed again.

Blue light shot out!

The energy beam grazed the hull, melting a deep groove in the external armor.

The alarm light came on: "The hull is damaged and the seal has been compromised."

Seawater began to seep in, making a hissing sound.

"Quickly!" Bai Yongxu clenched his fist in the command center.

The sea is right above us!

The pursuer caught up, grabbed the external handrail of the escape pod with one hand, and raised the energy weapon with the other, aiming it at the observation window!

Jiang Nian could see the cold expression on his face.

"Go to hell," the other person mouthed.

The muzzle of the gun gleamed brightly.

At that very moment, a massive explosion came from below!
"boom!"

The transport ship's self-destruct procedure has been activated. (End of Chapter)