Chapter 6

The Undercurrent shuddered slightly and exited hyperspace. Outside the porthole, the rusty red planet Saiming slowly rotated, and Cangling Island, home to Huangquan Rust Port, resembled a dim scar. The atmosphere on the bridge was solemn. Miao Weizhen stood in front of the main screen, listening to an urgent report—energy outages were intensifying, and an outpost had lost contact.

Wen Ling stood a little further away, watching Miao Weizhen's cold and hard profile. Even in an emergency, he still stood straight, but his overly pale face was slightly furrowed.

"Prepare to dock with the port control tower. Engineer Susie, please go to the front cabin and stand by." Miao Weizhen gave the order in a clear and cold voice.

Everyone followed the order and left, leaving only the two of them on the bridge. Wen Ling was about to step forward to inquire about the situation when the ship suddenly shook violently!

"Warning! Encountering abnormal gravitational turbulence!" The AI's synthesized voice sounded rapidly.

Wen Ling was caught off guard, lost his balance, and stumbled forward. He subconsciously tried to grab something, but his wrist was suddenly grabbed by a cold and powerful hand, and a strong pulling force pulled him back.

Wen Ling's back collided with a hard chest, and through the thin fabric, he could feel the taut muscles beneath. A few strands of his long golden hair brushed against his neck, carrying the faint, refreshing scent of plant detergent. To steady both of them, Miao Weizhen's other hand had to hold onto Wen Ling's waist. Through his formal attire, he could feel the warmth and momentary stiffness of Wen Ling's body in his palm.

The gravitational turbulence quickly passed and the ship returned to stability.

"Excuse me, Your Highness." Miao Weizhen immediately loosened his grip, took a half step back, and his voice returned to its usual coldness, as if the brief moment of support had never happened. But his white-gloved hand, hanging by his side, curled up slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Wen Ling also stood up quickly, straightened her slightly messy clothes and long hair, and there was a barely noticeable heat in her ears.

"Thank you," Wen Ling whispered, his voice slightly deeper than usual. He raised his eyes and looked at Miao Weizhen, but found that he had turned back to the main screen, leaving him with only a cold and distant profile, as if the forced contact just now was just to deal with an ordinary incident.

Wen Ling said no more, but stood quietly beside him, a step away, as they stared out the porthole at the rusty harbor approaching. The touch of the previous moment still lingered on her wrists and waist, cold but carrying a presence that could not be ignored.

Miao Weizhen's attention seemed completely focused on the screen, but out of the corner of his eye, he could clearly catch a glint of dazzling gold beside him, and the vibrant breath of life emanating from the young man, which was incompatible with his cold surroundings. It felt strange and... disturbing. He needed to focus more on dealing with the impending crisis, not on this unexpected incident.

The Undercurrent docked smoothly at berth number three at the Yellow Springs Rust Harbor. The hatch opened, and a nauseating, overpowering odor of rust, ozone, and some kind of decaying organic matter filled the air.

The port was even more dilapidated than Wen Ling had imagined. Thick layers of rust coated the massive metal structures, conveyor belts creaked with a grinding noise, and dim lights flickered amidst the thick steam, outlining the busy yet numbed figures of workers. This place didn't resemble a modern mining base, but more like a vast, slowly decaying mechanical gut.

Miao Weizhen was obviously very familiar with this place. He ignored the terrible environment around him and walked straight towards the port manager who came to greet him - a fat middle-aged man who kept wiping his sweat.

"Mr. Minister! You're finally here!" The person in charge practically leaped over, his tone filled with panic. "The energy readings in Area 9 are extremely unstable. Our people don't dare to get close! We've already...three exploration teams have lost contact!"

"Engineer Su." Miao Weizhen ignored the crying of the person in charge and looked directly at the silver-haired girl following behind him.

Susie had long since put away her distractions on board. The instrument screen on her wrist rapidly scrolled through data, her amber eyes gleaming with expertise. "The energy field's resonant frequency is abnormal, with strong biodegradation characteristics... This doesn't seem like a typical mining accident or equipment malfunction."

Her brow furrowed, "I need to get closer to the core area for further analysis."

"Arrange a guard team to escort Engineer Su to the edge of District 9 to establish a temporary monitoring point." Miao Weizhen gave the order, clear and decisive. He turned to look at Wen Ling, his tone calm but unquestionable: "Your Highness, the port office area is relatively safe. Please..."

"I'll go with you." Wen Ling interrupted him, his deep green eyes looking particularly firm in the dim light, "Cang Lingzhou is my territory, I can't stay out of what happens here." He needed a reasonable reason to stay and observe closely, rather than being excluded from the core.

Miao Weizhen looked at him for two seconds with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Okay." He finally nodded, "But please follow closely and don't act on your own."

They were riding in an old ground transport vehicle, traveling along a bumpy and rugged mine track. The closer they got to Area 9, the more pronounced the energy turbulence in the air became, and the onboard instruments periodically issued shrill alarms. The surroundings also became more eerie. Unusual marks, as if corroded by strong acid, began to appear on the metal structures, and even some strange, moss-like fungi, emitting a faint phosphorescent glow, began to grow.

As Susie recorded the data, she muttered to herself, "The mixed effect of biology and energy... this is so unusual."

Suddenly, the transport truck braked suddenly.

The road ahead was blocked by a pile of twisted metal wreckage that seemed to have been crushed by a huge force.

"Minister, the road is blocked!" the driver shouted.

At this moment, a subtle, creepy rustling sound came from the shadows to the side. Several guards immediately raised their weapons and pointed them in that direction vigilantly.

In the darkness, several "people" slowly emerged. They wore tattered miners' uniforms, but their movements were stiff, their eyes hollow, and their skin an unhealthy gray, faintly stained with phosphorescent bacteria similar to the surrounding environment.

They seemed to have lost the ability to speak, making only meaningless hoarse sounds as they staggered towards the transport vehicle.

"It's the miners we lost contact with earlier!" the guard captain exclaimed, "What happened to them...what happened to them?"

"Energy pollution! They've been assimilated by the abnormal energy field!" Susie warned sternly, "Be careful, they might be aggressive!"

Before he could finish his words, one of the contaminated miners suddenly accelerated and pounced on the nearest guard with an agility that defied common sense! His fingernails had turned black and long, with a corrosive stench.

"Bang!"

A precise burst of gunfire sent the miner falling to the ground. A tiny hole appeared on his forehead, but no blood flowed, only a wisp of black smoke emerged.

The person who fired the shot was Miao Weizhen. He had gotten out of the car at some point, holding a simple yet powerful pulse pistol in his hand. His face was stern, his eyes expressionless.

"Clear the road, shoot non-lethally, and try to control it." He ordered, his voice still clear and cold in the chaos.

Wen Ling stood beside the car, watching the unimaginable scene unfold before him. Miners contaminated by energy, strange biodegradation phenomena... this was definitely not a simple industrial accident. He watched Miao Weizhen calmly command and decisively fire his weapon. The image of the diplomat, toasting and socializing in the Federation, gradually faded, replaced by the image of a man who was decisive and ruthless in the face of crisis.

The guards engaged in a brief skirmish with the contaminated miners. Their movements were stiff, yet their strength was immense, and they seemed insensitive to pain. Miao Weizhen's shooting was extremely accurate, always managing to disrupt their mobility without taking their lives.

In the chaos, a knocked-down miner suddenly jumped up from the ground and rushed towards Susie who was recording data! Susie was unable to react in time and screamed.

Wen Ling, who was closest to her, almost instinctively moved sideways to block her and stretched out his hand to block.

However, another figure was faster——

Miao Weizhen took a step forward, pulled Wen Ling back with one hand, and shook the wrist of the gun in his other hand, and hit the miner's neck with the butt of the gun, knocking him unconscious.

The movements are smooth and flowing, with a sense of sharpness that comes from years of practice.

Wen Ling stumbled as he pulled her, her back slamming into his arms again, a more solid contact than before on the bridge. This time, he could even feel the steady and powerful beating of the other's heart in his chest, in contrast to his own somewhat disordered heartbeat.

"I warned you not to act on your own." Miao Weizhen's voice sounded above his head, and then he let go of his hand.

Wen Ling steadied herself, took a deep breath, and suppressed the throbbing in her heart. "I just wanted to help."

Miao Weizhen glanced at him, said nothing more, and turned back to continue directing the cleanup work.

Susie was still in shock and patted her chest: "Thank you, both of you! But Minister, your skills... don't look like those of a civilian."

Miao Weizhen didn't respond to her teasing. He just looked at the cleared road ahead with a deep look in his eyes: "It seems that we are in trouble. Real trouble."