Chapter 5
The backup ship, the Undertow, was smaller and more oppressive than the Ink Blade. The metal bulkheads shone coldly, and the hum of the engines seemed to hammer at the bones.
The Undercurrent vibrated slightly, completing another short jump. Wen Ling left the cabin, intending to go to the public lounge for some fresh air. In the cramped space, a gray-haired man in an engineer's uniform was servicing a portable environmental monitor.
Wen Ling recognized him. He was the oldest engineer on board the "Undercurrent", named Lao Chen.
"Your Highness." Old Chen saw him and nodded respectfully, but he didn't stop working.
"Engineer Chen," Wen Ling sat down in the seat next to him, his eyes fixed on the delicate parts. "How long will it take us to get to Huangquan Rust Port?"
"If nothing goes wrong, we'll arrive in just one more major jump and a dozen hours of conventional sailing." Old Chen said without looking up. "This junky ship is no match for the 'Ink Blade'. The journey will take a little longer."
"'Mo Ren'..." Wen Ling muttered the name and asked casually, "I heard that 'Mo Ren' was seriously damaged in the previous airport accident?"
Old Chen snorted, speaking with a technician's straightforwardness. "Damage? The berth pipes were ruptured, the coolant leaked, and the broken debris could have smashed through three decks! If the 'Ink Blade' had still been parked there, its core engine would have been scrapped! Minister Miao was really quick to react, letting us switch to a backup ship beforehand. Otherwise..."
Wen Ling's heart skipped a beat.
One step ahead?
He remembered clearly that the accident happened just as they arrived at the berth and he was already standing at the hatch of the Ink Blade. Had Miao Weizhen already decided to change ships before the accident?
Old Chen didn't notice Wen Ling's sudden change in expression as he continued to talk to himself, "...What a coincidence that the energy unit we were planning to use had a problem. I heard that unit had just undergone a comprehensive overhaul the day before yesterday, and the records show everything is normal. These guys in the Federation are becoming increasingly unreliable."
The scheduled unit... suddenly broke down after a complete overhaul...
Wen Ling felt a chill creep up his spine. Too many coincidences piled together were no longer coincidences.
He steadied himself and tried to sound calm, though with a hint of fear, "It was indeed dangerous at the time. The piece of metal almost hit me. It was thanks to Commander Miao that I was saved."
Old Chen finally stopped what he was doing and looked up at Wen Ling with a strange look in his eyes. He lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness, let me say something I shouldn't say... Given where you were standing, according to the normal evacuation route, you shouldn't have run in that direction. That emergency airtight door is rarely used and is located in a remote area. Why did Minister Miao take you there so decisively? It was as if... well, as if he knew that was the only safe route."
Lao Chen's words clicked into place like the last piece of a puzzle.
Changing ships in advance, accurately predicting unit failures, and being familiar with abnormal safety routes...
All these clues point to one fact:
Miao Weizhen knew in advance that the accident would happen. He even prepared a spare ship in advance to avoid major losses. When the accident happened, he accurately chose the only safe route.
Logically, as Sailiang's foreign affairs minister, Miao Weizhen's primary responsibility was to protect the traveling prince, so it was only natural for him to come to his rescue. But Lao Chen's words pierced his heart like a thorn—Miao Weizhen's reaction was so fast that it seemed like he had rehearsed it.
He needs more information.
The Dark Tide's database was open to him, the prince. Wen Ling, under the pretext of wanting to understand the latest developments at Huangquan Rust Port, reviewed the recent months' communications with the Federation, particularly those concerning security and technical issues. He possessed a photographic memory, one of his hidden assets.
While browsing a briefing on the Federation's new space station structural materials, a description caught his attention:
[…The alloy becomes brittle at extremely low temperatures, but its internal stress monitoring system is extremely sensitive, providing a warning 0.5-1 seconds before structural collapse…]
0.5-1 second warning.
Wen Ling's breathing paused slightly. He recalled the huge structure that had collapsed at the airport. It was part of the berth structure. If it was also equipped with similar stress monitoring...
A picture reconstructed in his mind: Miao Weizhen didn't foresee the danger out of thin air. He might have received a faint warning of the impending collapse of the structure through some unknown means! It was this precious half-second to one second that allowed him to react far beyond the ordinary and accurately choose the path to survival.
So, how did he receive this early warning that should have belonged to the internal system of the federal airport?
This question sent a chill down Wen Ling's spine. Miao Weizhen's relationship with the Federation was far deeper and more complex than he let on, or rather, far more profound than people in Sailiang believed. Not only did he mingle within the Federation's upper echelons, he might even have... infiltrated certain technical or security layers.
This explains why Miao Weizhen was able to react so quickly, but it also brings up a bigger mystery: since he could sense danger in advance, is it possible that... he knew in advance that this "accident" would happen?
This thought made Wen Ling restless. He left the data room and decided to walk around the ship to clear his mind. As he passed a compartment storing spare parts, he heard a hushed argument. It was between two low-ranking military attachés, who had apparently not noticed Wen Ling's approach.
"...It must be those bastards from the Federation! They just want to intimidate His Highness and us!"
"I don't think it's that simple. Do you remember the Minister's expression at that time? It was frighteningly cold. That wasn't surprise, it was... anger."
"anger?"
anger?
Wen Ling believed that during the days he had been traveling with Miao Weizhen, he had never seen such a vivid expression on that cold face.
"Yeah, it's like...it wasn't supposed to happen like that."
The conversation came to an abrupt halt. The two military officers seemed to have noticed something and quickly left in silence.
Wen Ling stood there, her heart beating like a drum.
If Miao Weizhen had simply encountered an accident, his reaction would have been more solemn and fearful, rather than angry. Unless, of course, the accident disrupted some of his original plans or expectations.
Wen Ling's mood became solemn.
He realized he was caught in a more complicated situation: his enemies might be more than one, and the true position and purpose of his scheming protector remained shrouded in mystery. To what extent was Miao Weizhen colluding with the Federation? Was he protecting him for Sailiang's sake, or because of some secret agreement he had with Qu Beichen?
He had to be more careful. Whether it was the murderous intentions of unknown enemies within the Federation or Miao Weizhen's unfathomable schemes, he was walking on thin ice.
Just when Wen Ling was confused and uneasy, a crisp sound in the public rest area of "Undercurrent" that was out of tune with the current tense atmosphere attracted his attention.
"Oh my, the coffee machine in this place is so old-fashioned. The programming is as rigid as a federal bureaucrat!"
Wen Ling looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure squatting in front of the food synthesizer. Her neatly cropped silver hair was particularly eye-catching. She wore a non-standard dark blue engineer's jacket, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, revealing her sleek forearms, on which were faintly visible some strange geometric tattoos.
As if she noticed Wen Ling's gaze, she turned her head, revealing a face full of energy. Her eyes were a rare amber color, and were slightly narrowed with dissatisfaction.
"I say, Your Highness..." She tilted her head, her tone casual and almost rude, but not offensive. "Could you please use your noble hand to help me press this damn reset button? I need to perform a minor surgery on it."
Wen Ling was stunned for a moment. On this depressing ship, such a lively, even somewhat reckless presence was truly unexpected. He followed her instructions and stepped forward, reaching out to press the spot she had indicated.
"Yes, that's it! Thanks!" The young woman (who looked to be in her early twenties) immediately pulled a precision laser screwdriver from her tool bag and quickly disassembled the panel, chattering away as she worked. "My name is Susie, and I'm temporarily the 'guest' mechanic on this wreck. I've just been transferred from the 'Free Engineers Guild' to help out. My God, the circuit design of this antique is straight out of the last century..."
Her fingers danced across the intricate lines with a precision and efficiency that contrasted sharply with her casual tone.
Wen Ling watched her skillful movements and couldn't help but ask, "Miss Susie specializes in ship maintenance?"
"Maintenance? That's too boring." Susie said with a hint of pride, not even looking up. "My specialty is 'Non-standard Energy Field Resonance and Reverse Engineering of Ancient Civilization Relics.' Simply put, I specialize in dealing with those 'disobedient', bizarre energy sources and devices, like those buried beneath Huangquan Rust Harbor."
As she spoke, she had already completed the operation and snapped the panel shut. The food synthesizer emitted a light hum, and a row of new drink options scrolled smoothly across the screen.
"Done!" Susie clapped her hands and proudly chose a bubbling, oddly colored special drink for herself. Then, naturally, she also chose a hot drink with a refreshing herbal aroma for Wen Ling. "Here, please. It's a thank you for your little effort."
Wen Ling took the cup of hot drink. The warmth permeated the cup, and the light aroma seemed to relax his tense nerves a little. He looked at the girl who called herself Susie. She had an air of freedom and unrestrainedness.
"You seem to know a lot about Huangquan Rust Port?" Wen Ling asked. He wanted to learn about that land from different channels.
"I wouldn't say I understand it," Susie said, taking a sip of her suspiciously colored drink and narrowing her eyes in satisfaction. "I've only done a few explorations with the seniors from the guild. That place... is very interesting, but also very dangerous. On the surface, the Federation and you, Sailiang, are tinkering with the heavy metal mines, but deeper down, there's a lot of good stuff buried, as well as some... inexplicable things. This time the energy went out of control, it's probably because someone got careless and touched something they shouldn't have."
She spoke directly, with the purity of a technician, yet revealed key information.
"Things you shouldn't touch?" Wen Ling asked.
"Who knows? Perhaps it's some dormant ancient energy core, or perhaps an automated defense system left over from the last civilization..." Susie shrugged, curiosity glittering in her amber eyes. "That's why they need an expert like me! Otherwise, why do you think Minister Miao specifically loaned me from the guild? He never does business at a loss."
Did Miao Weizhen invite her here specially? Wen Ling's heart moved slightly.
This means that Miao Weizhen had already anticipated and prepared for possible abnormalities in Huangquan Rust Port.
At this moment, a peculiarly shaped instrument on Susie's wrist suddenly made a slight "beeping" sound. She looked down and raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, just mention it! The Minister has summoned me. I guess I'm almost there for a technical briefing." She finished her drink in two or three gulps, dropped the empty cup precisely into the recycling port, waved to Wen Ling, and smiled brightly. "See you later, Your Highness! I hope you'll have such good luck again when you get to Rust Port, and won't have to face Minister Miao's icy face all day!"
After saying that, she left the rest area like a gust of wind, leaving behind a faint and unique smell of motor oil and energy liquid.
Wen Ling held the cup of warm herbal tea and looked in the direction where Susie disappeared, feeling mixed emotions.
He took a sip of tea, and the refreshing taste spread in his mouth, bringing a moment of tranquility.
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