294: Chapter 294 The Bomb Was Triggered

The metallic passage was filled with the iron-like scent of coolant. Chen Xiaodao moved forward against the base of the wall, his steps as light as if he were walking on thin ice.

The figure ahead had already turned into the maintenance hatch, tucking a black compass into his robes and placing his right hand on the door handle.

Just then—

"Clang!"

A dull explosion erupted from the direction of the seventh assembly line.

The man in black whipped his head around, and his two accomplices, who had just crawled out from under the guide rails, stood up straight at the same time. Their eyes met, and their expressions changed instantly.

"Who touched the third guide rail?!" the one on the left growled, his voice trembling with suppressed fear.

The one in the middle immediately lunged for the control panel, his fingers frantically tapping on the rune keys. The screen lit up with a red glow and began counting down: "9:58... 9:57..."

"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

The alarm blared in short bursts, and rotating red lights on the factory ceiling turned the entire space blood-red.

"Fuck!" The man on the right kicked over a toolbox by his feet. "An unplanned trigger! This thing wasn't supposed to start now!"

"Shut up!" The middle one was still desperately pressing the reset button. "The Interference Spikes were activated by the vibration. The circuits are streaming; I can't cut it off now!"

"Didn't we agree to move at the Third Quarter of the Hour of the Dragon?!" the one on the left gritted his teeth. "The wind hasn't even turned south yet, it's seventeen minutes early! We're exposed!"

"Enough talk!" The middle one stared at the screen. "Nine minutes and fifty-two seconds... either run now or dismantle the spikes. You choose."

No one moved.

They all knew that dismantling the spikes was suicide. Once those runes began to resonate, interrupting them midway would immediately detonate the entire Energy Guide Rail.

The air froze.

In that instant, Chen Xiaodao moved.

He didn't wait for them to finish their discussion, nor did he consider whether there was a mastermind behind the scenes.

Time was up.

He raised his left hand, and the fragment of the Transmission Talisman turned to ash in his palm—that noise just now had already alerted all the hidden nodes. Sending another signal would only attract more enemies.

He kicked off the wall with his right foot, charging out of the shadows like an arrow from a bow.

"You touched the wrong thing," he said, his voice not loud, but piercing like an icicle to the ear.

The three assassins drew their blades simultaneously.

As the one closest to him turned, Chen Xiaodao had already leaped into the air. He used the man's head as a stepping stone, his long sword unsheathed by half an inch. Sword Intent swept past the man's throat like a frosty wind, just three inches away.

"I said—stop!"

The man jerked his head back, dropping his welding torch, which hit the floor with a shower of sparks. He retreated two steps, his shoulder hitting the wall, his face drenched in cold sweat.

"You... you're from the Chen family?!" he gasped.

"Save the talk." Chen Xiaodao landed, his sword tip pointing diagonally at the ground as his gaze swept over the three. "Who touched the mechanism?"

"Not me!" the man on the right immediately shifted the blame. "I was installing spikes at the fifth section; I wasn't even near the third guide rail!"

"I was far away too!" The man on the left pressed his hand against the dagger at his waist, his eyes darting around. "You must have accidentally shaken the mounting bracket loose yourself!"

"Bullshit!" the middle one roared. "I saw you kick the metal box with my own eyes! It was you!"

"Are you fucking blind?" the one on the right shot back. "That was debris falling from the ventilation duct! What's that got to do with me?!"

"All of you, shut up!" Chen Xiaodao suddenly shouted. His Sword Intent surged, making the three of them shudder in unison.

"Now is not the time for arguing," he sneered. "The spikes you installed have already begun charging. Nine minutes and forty seconds... is that enough for you to escape the factory area?"

The three looked at each other; no one spoke.

They knew very well—if this production line exploded, the shockwave would spread along the Energy Guide Network, paralyzing half of the Technology Workshop. No matter how well-trained they were, they couldn't outrun the speed of a psionic detonation.

"What do you want?" the man in the middle gritted his teeth. "Kill us? You still won't be able to save the production line."

"I don't need to save it." Chen Xiaodao slowly raised his sword. "I just need you to stay still."

"You, alone, against the three of us?" the man on the right scoffed. "You think you're Chen Wuwang?"

"I'm not." Chen Xiaodao's lips curled. "But I'm even less afraid of death than you are."

As the words fell, he took a step forward with his left foot, slightly raising his sword blade.

The three immediately formed a triangular formation, blades facing outward.

"Don't force me to cut you down one by one," his voice grew cold. "Final order—crouch on the ground, hands behind your heads."

"In your dreams!" the man on the left suddenly lunged, throwing a short blade straight at Chen Xiaodao's face.

Chen Xiaodao tilted his head. The blade grazed his cheek, leaving a thin line of blood.

Instead of dodging, he charged forward. The hilt of his sword slammed into the opponent's wrist with a crisp crack, and the man fell to the ground screaming.

"The first one," he whispered.

The remaining two turned pale.

"Are you crazy?!" the middle one yelled. "Don't you know this bomb is connected to the backup System? If you kill us now, there are three more teams outside waiting for a signal!"

"I know," Chen Xiaodao narrowed his eyes. "That's why I won't let you send any signal."

"You can't stop us!" The man on the right backed away. "As long as one person escapes, the entire Eastern Wilderness will know your production line is made of paper!"

"Then let's try." Chen Xiaodao pointed his sword tip at him. "Let's see if your legs are faster, or my sword."

The man gritted his teeth and suddenly reached into his robes.

It wasn't a weapon.

It was a black chip.

"Don't you dare!" Chen Xiaodao barked.

The chip was already crushed.

"Too late," the man sneered. "The beacon has been sent. Within ten breaths, the external support team will initiate the second wave."

Chen Xiaodao's pupils constricted.

A second later, he no longer hesitated.

His long sword slid three inches out of its scabbard, and Sword Intent poured out like a waterfall.

"Then—I'll disable one first."

His figure flashed, lunging straight for the man in the middle who was still pressing the control panel.

The man reacted quickly, rolling to the side, but his shoulder was still slashed by the Sword Qi. His black clothes tore, and blood splattered.

"Fuck!" He scrambled to his feet, his left hand still deathly gripped onto the control panel.

On the screen, the time jumped to: "8:12... 8:11..."

"Forget the panel!" the man on the right roared. "Go!"

"No!" the middle one screamed. "Calibration isn't finished! The backup System will misinterpret it as a total line collapse and detonate all nodes directly!"

"Then you stay here and wait to die?!" The man on the right had already rushed toward the exit of the maintenance passage.

"Stop!" The middle one grew frantic. "If you don't finish the evacuation protocol, the support team won't retract the command! You'll kill everyone!"

"What the hell do I care?!" The man didn't even look back. "If the mission fails, the organization will naturally deal with you."

Before he could finish, a sword light slashed across.

He instinctively raised his blade to block, and with a clang, sparks flew everywhere.

Chen Xiaodao landed, sword tip pointing to the ground.

"I said," he panted, the line of blood still trickling down his face. "Don't move."

"You..." The hand the man used to hold his blade was shaking.

"The three of you." Chen Xiaodao looked around. "There are only two paths now—either crouch down obediently while I deal with the spikes, or I'll cripple you all first and drag you one by one to shut you up."

"You... you don't dare kill us." The middle one gritted his teeth. "If you kill us, no one will know how to stop the bomb."

"I don't need to stop it." Chen Xiaodao sneered. "I just need you to be unable to move."

He suddenly looked up toward the seventh assembly line.

That welded spike was glowing, the runes on its surface slowly rotating like a heart about to wake up.

Red light flickered, reflected in his eyes.

The time jumped to: "7:43... 7:42..."

He took a deep breath, slowly raising his sword tip.

"Final five breaths," he said in a low voice. "Crouch down, or—I'll help you."

The three stood frozen in place, sweat sliding down from their temples.

Outside the passage, the morning mist had not yet dissipated.