What the hell is the "kill line" when you're in America?

Chapter 231 The Heart of the Magic Array

"Rich," Leon said in a low voice.

A hissing sound came from the walkie-talkie, followed by Richie's reply: "Here."

"I discovered a secret archive room containing a large number of confidential documents, and I have already taken the key parts."

"receive."

Price didn't stay on this level; he continued downwards. The passage was at least another 120 meters.

Richie was silent for two seconds. "You have to keep chasing after them."

"His target is 220 feet underground. A draft indicates the estimated contact time is 4:30 AM." Li Ang glanced at his watch. "It's 2:19 AM now, two hours to go."

"I'll bring my men and go down with you."

"No," Li Ang sheathed his dagger, "the passage is too narrow; we can't deploy firepower. You guard the entrance. If anyone else tries to enter, no matter who they are, stop them."

"Understood." Richie paused. "Contact me every thirty minutes."

Thirty minutes.

The stairs continued downwards, the flashlight beam only illuminating the corner twenty meters away. Price's boot prints remained in the dust, the spacing steady; there was no running.

Li Ang took the first step.

The steps were steeper and narrower than at the entrance, allowing only one person to pass at a time. The pipes on the walls gradually decreased, and by the third corner, the cables disappeared completely, leaving only rough rock walls.

The construction methods here have also changed. While the top layer is still concrete, this section looks as if it was directly drilled out of the natural granite by machinery, with rough chisel marks and traces of blasting visible.

The temperature was dropping steadily, and our breath was condensing into white mist.

The mental energy tracked Price, and the distance between them continued to close. Price's heartbeat quickened slightly, but his pace remained unchanged.

Li Ang's heart was also racing, but for a different reason.

The fire in his dantian began to pulsate, echoing the pulse emanating from deep beneath his feet, their frequencies growing ever closer. As they passed the fifth corner, the two frequencies briefly overlapped.

Instantly, the hairs on his body stood on end.

In that instant of overlap, the echo from the rocks beneath his feet surged directly into his dantian.

Project Echoes.

He suddenly understood the meaning of the name.

The stairs ended at the sixth corner, leading to a horizontal passage. The passage was narrower than the one above, and the top was very close to head level, forcing Li Ang to duck slightly. The flashlight beam illuminated a straight corridor forty meters ahead, ending at a half-open fire door.

Price's boot prints become denser and his stride shorter here. The swirling marks on the ground suggest he hesitated at the doorway.

An electronic panel was embedded in the rock wall next to the door frame; the screen was shattered, the casing pried open, and the wiring short-circuited. Price had broken the access control system by brute force.

Li Ang squeezed through the fire door.

Behind the door lies a huge natural cave. The cave ceiling is high, the space is open, and the rock walls are covered with grayish-white sediments. Half of the cave floor is a flat concrete floor, while the other half retains the original rock formations.

At the junction of the two types of ground, several steel support pillars stood, each topped with an off-center light fixture. Thick cables ran along the pillars, converging at a diesel generator mounted against the wall.

The generator's indicator light was on, and a faint amount of hot air was being expelled from the exhaust pipe. Someone had started it not long ago.

Li Ang turned off the flashlight.

The cave wasn't completely dark. There was light on the rocky floor on the south side.

The source of the light was peculiar; it was neither electricity nor fire. The light seeped from the patterns on the rock's surface, appearing as a deep blue and dark gold.

The mixed colors flowed slowly along the patterned lines on the ground.

tines.

Li Ang's pupils suddenly contracted.

The lines on the rock surface are extremely precise, beyond human capability, and the precision of the edges surpasses all mechanical processing. Countless lines intertwine in a complex way, covering a large circular area on the south side of the cave.

He recognized the structure.

I've seen it in the world of cultivation, read about it in ancient texts, and glimpsed it in photographs of lost ancient ruins.

Magic circle.

This is no ordinary spirit-gathering array, but a legendary "Dao Foundation Array" used by ancient cultivators to communicate with the laws of heaven and earth. Only top sects with a history of ten thousand years could possess such an array.

But the magic circle in front of us is carved into a natural cave in the heart of the mountains in northwestern America, and it has existed for who knows how many years.

In the center of the magic circle, a black stone is embedded in the rock strata, with only the top, about the size of a fist, visible. The patterns on the stone's surface seamlessly connect with the lines of the magic circle, and a bluish-gold light is spreading outwards from the connection point.

Fragments of the Dao Foundation.

The fire in his dantian went completely out of control, the black flames suddenly expanding and resonating violently with the cyan-gold energy in the cave. Li Ang felt a sharp pain in his temples, and a low buzzing sound exploded in his mind.

His legs became heavy and he could hardly move. Half of his mental energy was swept away by the dramatic change in his dantian, and his perception range shrank from 500 meters to less than 200 meters.

In the few seconds that the resonance suppressed a signal, a signal emerged from the southeast corner of the cave.

Price.

It is less than ten meters from the edge of the magic circle.

He squatted beside a pile of equipment, with a military laptop and two silver metal boxes in front of him. One box was open, and the "black box" inside was connected to the computer. The other box contained six metal probes.

Li Ang's mental power penetrated the interference, allowing him to sense Price's state. Price was calm and extremely focused.

Price was inserting probes one by one into the nodes at the edge of the magic circle. He had already inserted four and was holding the fifth.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

Li Ang gripped the M4 tightly, suppressing the surging emotions within him, and aimed the gun at Price.

"Put down what you're holding."

The sound echoed in the cave.

Price stopped moving. He didn't turn around; his fingers were still gripping the fifth probe.

"You're faster than I expected," Price's voice came from ahead, his tone steady. "I thought the thirty-five men I left behind could at least hold out until three o'clock."

"They're all dead."

"I know." Price finally turned around. The side beam of the flashlight illuminated half of his face. He was in his early fifties, with high cheekbones, deep-set eyes, and short gray hair clinging to his scalp. He wore a black tactical jacket, with three magazines and a Glock pistol clipped to his vest, but he didn't touch the weapons.

His gaze passed over Li Ang's shoulder and landed on his face: "You came alone?"

"That's enough."

Price said, "Do you know what's beneath your feet?"

"Dao Foundation Array".

These two words caused Price's pupils to contract for a moment, his heart to race, and he was clearly very surprised.

"Interesting." Price slowly rose, without putting down the probe. "You actually recognize it. The Alliance has studied it for three hundred years, coming up with seventeen names, none of which were correct. Yet you've revealed its essence in just two words."

"Put down the probe." Li Ang's gun barrel remained motionless.

"You won't shoot," Price said.

"Give it a try."

"You won't shoot," Price repeated, "because you're unsure whether a stray bullet will hit the array pattern, and even less certain what the consequences of damaging the array pattern will be."

Li Ang's finger was on the trigger.

Price, observing his reaction, nodded: "You do recognize it."

"I'll say it one last time," Li Ang said, his voice dropping a half-tone.

"Then I'll tell you something too." Price held up the probes, the metal rods gleaming coldly in the lapis lazuli light. "Six probes, four in place. The array is now charging itself; pulling them out is more dangerous than inserting them. You only have two choices:

"First, let me complete the process and activate it according to the standard; second, kill me, and then gamble on what will happen after this incomprehensible magic circle goes out of control."

The fire in his dantian suddenly leaped.

Li Ang sensed that the four nodes at the edge of the magic circle, pierced by probes, were rapidly transferring energy to the central fragment. The cyan-gold light was at least 20% brighter than when he had entered.