38: Violently dismantle the reactor! Awaken the sleeping lord?

[Environmental Radiation Level: 12 Sv/h]

[Warning: Entered the core periphery.]

"What a great place."

Jiang Ran hovered in mid-air, the searchlight beam on his faceplate sweeping across precision equipment covered in rust and barnacles.

In his eyes, how was this a ruin? This was clearly a gold mine waiting to be excavated.

"zero, mark high-value targets."

"I want those good things that can withstand thousands of degrees of high temperature and intense neutron flux."

[Scan complete.]

[Target A: Zirconium alloy cooling tubes (located at the core periphery).]

[Target B: High-purity graphite control rod assembly (located at the top drive mechanism).]

[Target C: Heavy lead-boron composite shielding wall (located on the outside of the reactor).]

In his holographic vision, green highlight boxes emerged one after another in the darkness.

"Let's get to work."

Jiang Ran didn't waste any words, his back engines firing.

Like a nimble engineering mecha, he charged directly toward the control rod drive mechanism at the top of the reactor.

"Zzz—!"

The High-frequency Molecular Vibration Blade on his right arm lit up again.

Only this time, it wasn't used for killing enemies, but for performing the most violent "surgery."

That special alloy steel, originally indestructible and impervious even to armor-piercing rounds, was as fragile as tofu under the cutting force of the high-frequency vibration waves.

The cut was as smooth as a mirror, with bubbles billowing out.

Clang!

A three-meter-long, pitch-black High-purity graphite control rod assembly was forcibly cut off by Jiang Ran.

This thing was the "brake pad" for controlling the chain reaction in a future Lv4 reactor.

With it, Jiang Ran wouldn't have to worry about his ship turning into an uncontrollable nuclear bomb.

"Move to cargo bay."

Jiang Ran activated the magnetic towline on the back of his powered armor, hanging the several-hundred-kilogram assembly behind him.

Next were the zirconium alloy tubes. This silver-gray metal tubing was the absolute crown jewel of the nuclear industry—heat-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and neutron-transparent.

Like harvesting crops, Jiang Ran brandished his vibration blade, neatly severing the rows of cooling tubes and bundling them up.

Finally, the main event.

Jiang Ran landed outside the reactor, in front of that massive lead-boron shielding wall.

This was the final line of defense used to block radiation, half a meter thick and weighing several tons.

"Cutting this thing is too much effort."

Jiang Ran retracted the vibration blade and suddenly hooked his hands into the cracks at the edge of the shielding wall.

"Abyssal Walker mode, full power."

"Lift!"

[Power Output: 120% (Overclocked)]

With a low growl, the hydraulic joints of the powered armor groaned under the unbearable load.

The engines on his back jetted out blinding blue flames, blowing the surrounding silt into a churn.

The muscles all over Jiang Ran's body bulged.

Combined with the terrifying power of the exoskeleton, he actually managed to "tear" that giant lead plate embedded in the concrete right out!

Rumble—

The massive lead plate fell away; even underwater, one could feel the heavy sensation of the earth trembling.

"Done."

Jiang Ran looked at the mountain of top-tier industrial materials behind him and clapped his hands in satisfaction.

This was simply the highest realm of "zero-dollar shopping."

"Drag these things out and have the black iron lower the towline."

Dragging the massive lead plate like a giant ant carrying its spoils, Jiang Ran swam toward the exit.

"With these, I can build an iron stomach for the black iron that won't burn out no matter how hot it gets."

However, just as he was returning fully loaded,

And was about to swim out of the factory breach, zero, who had been on guard, suddenly issued a sharp alarm.

[Warning! Ultra-low frequency vibration signal detected!]

[Source: Directly below... deep within the reactor's base.]

[Energy Level Reaction: ??? (Extremely Dangerous)]

Jiang Ran stopped abruptly and looked back at the bottomless black hole at the base of the reactor.

That violent dismantling just now... seemed to have woken something up?

"Rumble..."

The vibration from deep underground didn't last long, subsiding after only a few seconds, as if a giant had rolled over and fallen back into a deep sleep.

But Jiang Ran hovered in the murky red water, instinctively holding his breath.

As an "Abyssal Walker," his perception of biological magnetic fields and dangerous auras far exceeded that of ordinary people.

In that instant just now,

He felt an unprecedented, terrifying gaze pierce through the foundation cracks hundreds of meters below his feet.

That gaze was cold, ancient, and carried a pressure that made the soul tremble. It was more than ten times stronger than the museum tentacle monster from before.

[Warning: Target heat source is re-entering a dormant state.]

[Inference: That is a super-giant mutant of "Lord-class" or higher.]

[It seems to be guarding something at the bottom of the reactor...]

"Guarding what?"

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes. Could there be a Spark hidden here too?

Or was this monster itself the "ultimate weapon" hatched in this nuclear radiation breeding ground?

At this moment, two choices lay before him: one was to strike while the iron was hot, dig this big guy out and kill it to see if it dropped better gear.

The second was to quit while he was ahead and evacuate with his haul of supplies.

Jiang Ran glanced behind him at the mountain of special steel and zirconium alloy tubes, then at the remaining fuel displayed on his faceplate: 12%.

"No need to gamble my life now."

Jiang Ran made the most rational decision.

The black iron was still Lv3, and energy was tight.

If he really provoked the monster underground, a fight would likely drain his last drop of fuel; even if he won, it would be a pyrrhic victory.

"Greed is a good thing, but stupidity is not."

Jiang Ran turned decisively, grabbed the multi-ton lead-boron shielding wall, and activated his thrusters.

"zero, lower the towline. We're leaving."

...Ten minutes later.

The heavy crane on the aft deck of the black iron ghost creaked and groaned as it hoisted the final bundle of zirconium alloy pipes onto the ship.

The entire aft deck was already piled high with this industrial junk looted from the nuclear power plant.

Though it looked like a scrap yard, the value of this pile in the old era would have been enough to buy a city.

Jiang Ran took off his powered armor, which was still dripping with red radioactive water, and stepped out of the airlock.

"Are you okay?"

Su Qingyu met him immediately, scanning him with a Geiger counter.

Only after confirming the radiation levels were within a safe range did she breathe a sigh of relief.

"Returning fully loaded."

Jiang Ran pointed to the deck piled high outside the window, a satisfied smile touching the corners of his mouth:

"With these things, plus that crystal core,"

"I might be able to hand-craft the world's smallest, but also most violent, nuclear reactor."

He walked to the command console and took one last deep look at the three massive cooling towers looming in the red mist in the distance.

That monster sleeping underground, and this sea of death dyed red.

"Sleep well,"

Jiang Ran murmured to himself. "When I've finished the upgrade and installed a new heart... I'll come back to 'catch up' with you."

"Set sail."

With the command given, the black iron ghost, laden with nuclear materials, slowly turned its prow.

The roar of the massive engines broke the deathly silence of Red Bay.

Like an abyssal knight who had completed his plunder, it carried its spoils and sailed toward the vast deep sea without looking back.