Countdown
As it turned out, they couldn't finish the job quickly even without turning on the lights.
The three stood in front of the huge stone.
Gu Yan crossed his arms: "This is not good. Perhaps the fastest way is to take a roundabout route."
Ella Zero crossed her arms: "Impossible, there's only one way out, unless..."
Yang Guang didn't understand why she hesitated so much when answering the question: "Unless what?"
“Unless you can get through here.” Ella Zero stepped forward and kicked the unmoving stone. The two noticed a hole, no bigger than a fist, where Ella Zero was pointing.
"You don't want us to crawl through, do you?"
Why not?
It was the same metal mesh structure, similar to the passage they had just entered through. If it wasn't a passage leading to the outside, it was most likely the former control room—a dead end.
"Then we'll have to find a way to clear away these waste rocks." Gu Yan estimated the amount of explosives needed.
Yang Guang looked at him suspiciously: "What are you planning to use to fry?"
When Gu Yan's undisguised gaze fell upon him, he knew nothing good was coming.
"Wait, my stuff is for emergencies."
Following his train of thought, Gu Yan asked, "Isn't it urgent now?"
"..."
Yang Guang worked diligently as an assistant, only regretting that he had honestly told Gu Yan about his rations from the beginning. Suddenly remembering something, he turned around and said to the "supervisor":
"Aren't you going to stand further away? How far are you prepared to be blasted?"
Ella Zero then turned her back and walked away into the distance.
Yang Guang seized the opportunity to exchange information with Gu Yan: "Don't you find it strange? It's like she's lived here before."
"She has always been on missions for the royal family, so it's not surprising that she's been here."
"That's strange, how can it not be strange? Didn't you notice that Uncle Qiao's little girlfriend doesn't recognize her?"
Gu Yan pondered for a moment: "How long has she been at the outpost? Seventeen years. This only proves that Ella didn't go into the neon cocoon seventeen years ago. There is still insufficient evidence to draw other conclusions."
Yang Guang seemed convinced, but then changed the subject: "What did you just call her?"
Gu Yan rolled her eyes at him.
Yang Guang pretended not to see it and continued, "I already told you that something is wrong. There must be something missing between us."
"Everyone says not to talk about people behind their backs, but you do it to their face."
Yang Guang turned around to look at Ella Zero's back as she continued to check everything, and gestured with his chin toward Gu Yan: "She's facing away from us."
"..." Gu Yan ignored him and buried himself in laying the fuse.
"I just feel that you're not wary of her enough," Yang Guang said in a low voice. "What do you know about her? She's already revealed almost everything about herself."
Gu Yan continued what he was doing: "I know what I'm doing, don't worry about me."
"Oh." Yang Guang's voice sounded a bit sarcastic.
In case a similar situation arises again, Gu Yan made sure to have backups, but the lead wire was never long enough.
"Too long is also not good. If you don't control the length well, there will be a second collapse. You have to get through before that happens."
Their worries were not unfounded, but none of the things they were worried about came to pass, which relieved them.
Gu Yan followed the marks Ella Zero had mentioned along the stone wall, Yang Guang shook the low-battery flashlight, stuffed it into his large pants pocket, and pulled a fully charged one out of his waist pack.
"Is this the place?"
Ai La Zero looked around using the light source. The humidity was even higher here, indicating that they were clearly approaching the central tower. The air was filled with a damp, musty smell, much better than the stench at the entrance, but Yang Guang still wasn't used to it.
Gu Yan raised the lamp in Yang Guang's hand and shone it overhead.
"The air isn't as stuffy as it was before; there must be some ventilation here."
"The control room door is not ventilated."
Ella lowered her eyelashes, and the light shone on her long lashes, casting a shadow on her cheek.
Gu Yan didn't see her movements clearly, but he heard a faint rumbling sound. When he turned around, he saw that the stone wall behind Ella Zero had cracked open, exposing the security door inside to the humid air.
"Wow, if this place also needs to be blown up, then we probably won't be able to escape before the collapse," Yang Guang said sarcastically.
Ella Zero pulled out the chip, roughly measured its position with the distance from her thumb to her middle finger, and punched through the metal cover of the control panel.
Gu Yan sensed Yang Guang's helpless sigh. The two exchanged a glance, and Yang Guang shrugged, speechless.
The control panel and chip were successfully connected, but the signal reception of the holographic screen was interfered with, and the reception was poor from time to time.
"No problem. You guys follow this route to the entrance and wait there. Once the power is cut off, go inside and wait for me. I'll cover your retreat."
"Wait a minute." Yang Guang glanced at Gu Yan, who had one hand in his pocket and was still confirming the route from the control room to the entrance of the central tower.
Ella paused to wait for him to finish, half her face in shadow, the corners of her lips slightly turned down—just like Aunt Jiang's when she was discussing decisions. It was as if she were facing a crucial choice, or waiting for a vital answer.
"Do we need two people to wait at the entrance?"
Ella Zero shook her head: "One person is enough for the control room."
Gu Yan frowned and looked at Yang Guang, wondering what he was up to.
“I think the control room only needs two people. This is the key area, and we have to make sure it’s foolproof.”
Ella Zero seemed not to understand the hidden meaning in his words: "I can ensure everything goes perfectly on my own, and besides, I think an easier job like waiting at the entrance is more popular than being in the control room?"
"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Yang Guang looked at Gu Yan and sneered. "Then I'll tell you. I prefer to be in control rather than let the lambs go to the wolves, so Gu Yan and I will go to the control room. Do you understand?"
“It’s sad, I thought we were in cahoots,” Ella Zero said softly, seemingly acquiescing to Yang Guang’s decision. She paused as she quietly walked past Gu Yan, but ultimately said nothing.
"The person has been gone for a long time, what are you still looking at at the door for?"
It was said that there were two people in the control room, and Yang Guang seemed to be only keeping watch at the door. Gu Yan checked the small windows on the control room display screen one by one and operated according to the code left by Ella Zero. So far, there was nothing unusual.
"I told you, you weren't prepared enough. She suddenly appeared and wiped us all out. Do you have any backup plans?" Yang Guang stretched out his palm and made a harvesting gesture.
Ella Zero was not visible on the control room's monitor screen, but the widespread flashing indicated that something unusual had occurred.
"Ready, the numbers will start jumping in a bit, then we'll start running."
“OK, I’m good at parkour.” Yang Guang whistled.
A small window appeared on the screen.
[Should I turn off the main power?]
Gu Yan pressed the Y key without hesitation.
[Backup power is about to start.]
[Countdown: 00:04:59...]
"What?"
Yang Guang cursed, "She tricked us! Let's go!"
The route has been confirmed and there are no obstacles along the way. The good news is that this journey will not take more than five minutes.
A sliver of light gradually appeared in the darkness, and a figure could be seen in the hazy shadows.
It's Ella Zero.
The two charged forward in silence. The cold air filled their lungs, making them feel like they were about to burst; neither of them had the energy to speak, they just wanted to get inside first.
Ella Zero heard the noise, calmly turned around, her lips moved slightly, but she ultimately said nothing.
But her actions said it all.
The emergency braking system activated, and Gu Yan could see the patch of light at Ella's feet. She was using the backup battery to activate the safety gate.
There's still time.
Aila Zero suddenly looked up, and their eyes met. Gu Yan pulled out a Type 26 pistol and aimed it at Aila Zero's forehead.
Seeing his action, Ella Zero was not surprised. Instead, she raised her right hand provocatively and scratched her fingers lightly twice, as if saying goodbye to him.
A gunshot rang out, followed by a flash of light and the sound of metal striking metal. The precision material of the gate became the best shield for Ayra Zero, keeping them isolated from the outside world.
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