215: Chapter 215 Chen Tiezhu Improves the Antidote Pill, Chen Xiaodao Captures the Traitor

The morning mist had not yet dispersed, and water droplets condensed on the bluestone slabs of the Alchemy Workshop's outer courtyard.

Chen Wuwang stood before the steps, a corner of his cloak whipped up by the wind; the blue light of his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flickered slightly, with data streams scrolling silently.

He did not move, nor did he speak.

But everyone in the Alchemy Workshop knew—the storm had already pressed to the doorstep.

Sounds of metal scraping drifted from the workshop, mingled with the humming of high-temperature furnaces.

Chen Tiezhu crouched before the emergency workshop's console, his forehead covered in sweat, holding a spirit energy conduit as thin as a hair, welding runic circuits onto the nozzle of a miniature Medicine Cauldron.

"Try again." He gritted his teeth. "Pressurize to seventy percent this time, don't be afraid of an explosion!"

The apprentice's hands trembled violently, but he still pressed the start button.

Boom!

With a muffled thud, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the Medicine Cauldron, but it did not burst.

A puff of pale golden smoke sprayed from the exhaust vent, forming a spiral trajectory in the air.

"It's a success!" The apprentice jumped up. "The structure is stable!"

Chen Tiezhu wiped his face, staring at the molecular spectrum on the light screen: "The toxin chimeric layer has been broken, and the slow-release chain fracture rate is over ninety-six percent... The Source-Tracing Antidote is ready for use."

He threw open the protective cover, removed ten dark red pills from the cooling tank, and quickly sealed them into a specially made medicine case.

The surface of the case was engraved with a Triple Spirit Array, which glowed with blue light upon contact.

"Let's go!" He grabbed the medicine case and rushed out of the workshop. "To the main storage area!"

Outside, Chen Wuwang was still standing there, fixed in place like a nail.

Chen Tiezhu strode over, panting heavily as he handed over the medicine case: "The first batch of ten; each can purify three hundred catties of medicinal materials. At the current rate of spread, it's enough to save eighty percent of the strategic reserves."

Chen Wuwang took the medicine case, swiped his fingertip across the Spirit Array, and the verification passed.

He looked up toward the depths of the Alchemy Workshop: "How is the A-7 storage tank?"

"It's sealed and intact; the toxicity hasn't spread." Chen Tiezhu wiped away sweat. "But I must go inside myself to perform the final treatment, otherwise the residual molecules will backfire on the medicinal properties."

"You are not allowed to enter." Chen Wuwang's voice turned cold. "If you die, who will build the next generation of furnaces for me?"

"But we can't let the whole batch of pills go to waste!" Chen Tiezhu glared. "Those are life-saving pills prepared for the wounded on the front lines! I, Chen Tiezhu, can lose an arm or a leg, but I cannot watch my clansmen die because of my hesitation!"

The two looked at each other for a second.

Chen Wuwang suddenly laughed: "Hahahaha... Good! Go, but wear the 'Iron Spine' light armor and take three test-medicine Puppets to scout the path; I want you to come out alive."

Chen Tiezhu grinned and turned to leave.

Chen Wuwang watched his back, his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye pulling up real-time monitoring footage—the northwest corner of the Medicinal Field, ventilation ducts, underground power grid... red dots were pulsing at every node.

But what he cared about most was another line.

The data from the shadow log had finally finished running.

"Logistics administrator Old Zhao picked up an extra pair of insulated gloves last night." He muttered. "The position doesn't require that stuff, and he didn't report it after taking them... Interesting."

He pressed the communicator: "Xiao Dao."

The channel connected, and the humming sound of a mecha starting up came from the other side.

"Present." Chen Xiaodao's voice was crisp and decisive. "The sniffer mecha is in position, and the shockwave array is fully charged."

"Target identity confirmed: Old Zhao." Chen Wuwang said. "After his permissions were frozen, he had thirty-seven seconds of abnormal login records, attempting to access the underground pipe network blueprints. He is not in his dormitory or at his post now; his last signal disappeared in the west corridor side path."

"Escaped?" Chen Xiaodao sneered. "He thinks he can't be found just by crawling into old pipes?"

"He is familiar with the terrain and has set up anti-detection Spirit Arrays." Chen Wuwang said. "But you are not the kind of person who relies on eyes to find someone."

"I make a living by my Sword Intent." Chen Xiaodao's voice turned cold. "No matter how deep he hides, his breathing will disturb the air, and his heartbeat will vibrate the ground."

"I'll give you a quarter of an hour." Chen Wuwang said. "Capture him alive."

"I guarantee I'll make him return on his knees."

The communication cut off.

Chen Wuwang looked up at the abandoned ventilation shaft under the distant cliff—it had been the entrance to an old mine thirty years ago and had long been sealed, but there were still crisscrossing secret passages beneath it.

He knew that the real contest was only just beginning.

The underground secret passage was damp and cold.

Old Zhao crouched and crawled through the narrow passage, clutching a black package tightly to his chest.

His face was covered in sweat, his breathing rapid, and he looked back from time to time.

Behind him was pitch black.

But he always felt like someone was following him.

"Impossible... my permissions are frozen, no one knows I took this path." He muttered to himself. "As long as I pass through the No. 3 junction, I can connect to the wild path on the north slope and leave the Eastern Wasteland..."

He quickened his pace.

Just after turning the corner, he suddenly stopped.

On the ground ahead, there was a trail of wet footprints, extending in his direction.

"Who?!" He abruptly drew a short dagger and stood against the wall.

No one answered.

Only the sound of dripping water.

Plop, plop, plop.

He gritted his teeth and continued walking forward, his heartbeat getting faster and faster.

Suddenly, a very slight sound of metal scraping came from overhead.

He looked up—

A silver light slashed down from the darkness!

"Meteor Sword Intent: Mist Breaker!"

The sword light was like a falling star hitting the earth, instantly tearing through the thick mist and heading straight for his throat.

Old Zhao rolled away in a panic, blocking horizontally with his short dagger.

Clang! Sparks flew everywhere.

He looked up and saw a young man standing three meters away, holding a Laser Sword, the blade still humming.

"Chen Xiaodao?!" His face turned pale. "How did you find me?!"

"You forgot to change your soles." Chen Xiaodao sneered. "The logistics team is issued soft-soled anti-slip boots, but you are wearing hard-soled work boots; the indentations left in the mud are two millimeters deeper."

Old Zhao's pupils constricted.

"Furthermore," Chen Xiaodao raised the tip of his sword, "the pair of insulated gloves you picked up has a hole worn in the right index finger—it's the mark left by your habit of picking at locks with your finger. I found the same shoe prints and glove fragments under your bed in the dormitory."

"...You dog, you even checked this!" Old Zhao roared, fiercely throwing a smoke bomb.

Boom! Black smoke instantly filled the air.

"Still want to run?" Chen Xiaodao closed his eyes, his Sword Intent perception fully activated.

He did not move, waiting only for that split-second flaw.

Sure enough—the air on the left side fluctuated!

"Meteor Sword Intent: Shadow Chaser!"

The sword light flashed again, like lightning splitting the air.

Pfft! The sword tip accurately nailed into Old Zhao's right shoulder blade, slamming his entire body to the ground.

"Ah—!" Old Zhao screamed, struggling to crawl.

Chen Xiaodao stepped on his back, saying coldly: "Don't move. Move again, and I'll nail your other leg through too."

Old Zhao collapsed on the ground, trembling all over.

"Mission accomplished." Chen Xiaodao pressed the communicator. "The person has been caught, alive."

"Bring him back to the outer courtyard of the Alchemy Workshop." Chen Wuwang's voice came through. "I want to ask him a few questions personally."

"Understood."

Chen Xiaodao sheathed his sword, lifted Old Zhao with one hand, and dragged him toward the exit.

The outer courtyard of the Alchemy Workshop.

The morning mist was gradually dispersing.

Chen Tiezhu stood on the left, holding the medicine case, his face weary but his eyes bright.

Chen Xiaodao walked over from the distance, escorting Old Zhao, with dust from the fight still on his shoulder.

Old Zhao lowered his head, blood flowing ceaselessly from his right shoulder, walking with a limp.

Chen Wuwang stood before the steps, watching them approach quietly.

Until the three stood still.

Chen Xiaodao pushed with one hand, and Old Zhao fell to his knees with a "bang," kicking up a cloud of dust.

"I've handed the person over to you." Chen Xiaodao took a step back, his sword sheathed.

Chen Wuwang looked down at Old Zhao, the blue light of his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye flickering slightly, scanning his heart rate, pupils, and body temperature data.

Old Zhao looked up, trembling, his lips quivering: "Family Head... I... I can explain..."

Chen Wuwang did not speak.

He only slowly raised a cold smirk at the corner of his mouth.

Then, he spoke softly; his voice was not loud, but it suppressed the sound of the wind in the entire area:

"Take him to the plaza."