Chapter 90
The wheels of Gu Kaizhi's jeep were practically sparking as it sped up to almost maximum speed as it approached the group.
The mutant in the passenger seat roared at the man, "Quick! Captain Lin, we need to find somewhere to hide as soon as possible! That cold air froze Xiao Ou; we didn't even have time to rescue him!!"
Everyone tensed.
How powerful must this cold wave be, that even mutants can't resist?
Luo Yonghui looked at Gu Kaizhi's team's car; the entire roof of the car opposite was covered with a thick layer of ice.
Liu Haining had already sensed the change in temperature and hurriedly helped the professors, who were ordinary people, put on their clothes. "Quick, quick, professors, put on your clothes quickly, don't catch a cold!"
Professor Shen immediately realized the crux of the matter, "It's over! The reason those mutated beasts rushed towards the edge of the pit was probably to escape this natural disaster!!"
Everyone's expression changed.
Lin Yuan immediately asked Gu Kaizhi, "How far away is the cold air from us now?"
"Less than one kilometer."
Everyone's expression changed drastically.
This was even closer than when they first discovered the herd of beasts; they simply didn't have time to prepare!
The people at the southern base were all ashen-faced. They had just recovered from the fear of the beasts passing by and hadn't even had a chance to catch their breath before they had to face the blizzard that could freeze bones.
They don't have a car yet.
Thinking about this, the frustration on her face almost spilled out.
Some people even couldn't help but wonder, could it be that the coming winter will also be like this?
If that's the case, it's better not to struggle at all.
For a moment, everyone felt a sense of despair.
Looking at Li Qi, whose breathing had gradually calmed down after Dong Mingyu's treatment, Huang Xianming suddenly thought of the abnormal behavior of the mutated beast horde and said, "Could this pit lead to other places?"
After all, with such a big commotion just now, there was no movement at the bottom of the pit.
Tang Mao then said, "Why don't we try and see?"
Professor Shen: "Madam is taking a risk. Putting aside everything else, if she encounters the beasts inside, it will be a dead end for her as well."
Professor Liang put his hands in his pockets and said calmly, "So it's a choice between freezing to death or being eaten by a mutated beast and becoming its excrement."
Professor Shen: ...
Just as everyone was arguing, Jiang Zhi suddenly said, "You can go in!"
She paused for a moment, then said, "Chirp came from there."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt an overwhelming sense of joy, as if they had been given a chance to escape a desperate situation.
Professor Shen's eyes widened suddenly, his gaze towards Jiang Zhi and the white eagle filled with surprise: "Comrade Jiang, do you mean that beneath this sinkhole, there really is a connection to another space?"
Jiang Zhi nodded: "I don't know exactly what it's like over there, but I can sense from Qiu Qiu that the environment there should be pretty good."
She paused for a moment, then voiced her guess: "But there's something I need to remind everyone—if we decide to proceed, we need to act quickly. I can sense that the passage to that side is slowly closing, and if we delay any longer, it might be too late."
Lin Yuan thought for two seconds and asked, "Is it enough to just jump down?"
Jiang Zhi shook her head: "No, we must jump precisely into the range of the blue light. Otherwise... to be honest, I can't say for sure what will happen next."
Within her field of vision.
The blue light was shrinking as the mutated beast horde departed.
Jiang Zhi knew very well that this blue light was the so-called interdimensional portal.
As for the cockroaches, stones, and other things they had tentatively thrown down earlier...
Jiang Zhi had a vague intuition that the space they had fallen into was not the same space that these beasts and birds had entered today.
The crowd looked somewhat bewildered.
Blue light?
Jiangzhi had previously discussed the issue of light when watching Dou Niang's videos.
But they didn't see it.
Lin Yuan immediately understood.
That blue light was probably only visible to Jiang Zhi.
"Where in the sinkhole is that blue light located?"
Jiang Zhi: "Now it's about 7 or 8 meters from the edge, and the area is about 100*100, and it's still shrinking. If you want to jump, it's best to jump more than 9 meters away for safety."
Upon hearing this, Captain Qian, who was in charge of security at the Southern Base, slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Then what are we waiting for?! Since Comrade Xiao Jiang has said so, we'll definitely have no problem going in!"
As soon as he finished speaking, many people from the southern base echoed, "That's right! If Comrade Xiao Jiang says there's no problem, then there's definitely no problem."
Having witnessed Jiang Zhi's clean and efficient actions firsthand, the people at the Southern Base now had complete faith in her.
It's practically hitting the target exactly where you point it.
If the situation weren't so urgent, Luo Yonghui would have loved to spit a spittle in their faces.
Jiang Zhi is their base, their squad!
They've barely started and they're already being so obsequious! How utterly vulgar!
While everyone subconsciously sided with Jiang Zhi, only Jiang Shan looked at his own daughter with a pang of heartache.
I can't quite put my finger on whether I feel more proud or more worried.
Jiang Zhi noticed her father's gaze, moved her lips towards him, and mouthed, "Dad, don't worry."
Jiang Shan smiled and gave her an encouraging thumbs up.
A touch of warmth touched my heart.
Lin Yuan did not make a decision immediately.
Instead, they were thinking about their next move.
The 9-meter radius is not a problem for the people at their Ancheng base, since they have vehicles and can just drive over it.
But the people at the southern base...
He turned to look at Tang Mao and Captain Qian, "Your people..."
Before Lin Yuan could finish speaking, Tang Mao said, "Only Professor Liang and a few medical students need help here; the others can handle it themselves."
Lin Yuan: "Let them get in the car."
Upon hearing this, Huang Xianming immediately said, "In that case, there's no time to lose! Everyone, get your equipment ready immediately. In three minutes, everyone will descend into the sinkhole!"
The personnel at Ancheng Base acted almost reflexively.
Just a few minutes later, the cold air in the wind grew stronger and stronger, feeling like knives cutting into my face.
As the temperature dropped, frost flowers slowly climbed onto the windows of the hotel where they had previously been stationed, and the bare window frames were wrapped in tiny strands of ice.
The chill intensified with each passing minute.
First, white frost appeared in the damp corners of the wall, like a layer of salt had been sprinkled on it.
Everyone had excellent mental fortitude and quickly packed their things.
Professor Yang and Professor Ning were shocked to learn that a deer had escaped and a spacecraft had been lost.
Her face contorted with heartache.
But at this point, there's no way to worry about those things.
Lin Yuan had the most important professors put into a jeep and said to the person in charge of the Southern Base, "Captain Qian, Captain Tang, we'll have some people lead the way. After you've all gone down, our people will cover the rear."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhi said, "I'll cover the rear."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu immediately replied, "My sister and I will go together!"
Upon hearing this, Tang Mao and I exchanged a glance, our eyes revealing a tacit understanding.
They all agreed that Ancheng Base was indeed a very suitable partner.
Lin Yuan gave the brother and sister a deep look, "Okay."
The snow and ice clouds behind us arrived as expected, and even through the mist in front of us, we could vaguely see the surging silvery white within the clouds.
And those shocking streaks of blue-purple lightning.
Each frenzied burst of lightning illuminated the thin layer of frost at the edge of the clouds, exuding a chilling aura.
Soon, all the personnel from Ancheng Base were on the vehicles.
"Hurry, hurry, get in the car and drive straight there! Forget about anything else!"
Trapped between a massive black hole ahead and a relentlessly closing in cold air from behind, the group was trapped in the middle, their meager space for survival being squeezed and swallowed up bit by bit.
The soldiers responsible for driving gritted their teeth—
Let's give it our all!
With a sudden slam on the gas pedal, the military pickup truck's engine emitted a low roar, and the tires rolled over the thin layer of ice on the ground, kicking up a spray of snow.
The first vehicle rushed towards the sinkhole at top speed!
Two more cars followed closely behind, their headlights piercing the morning mist and casting shimmering beams of light in the center of the giant crater.
At this moment, everyone was tense, and only the crunching sound of wheels rolling over broken ice carried the people in the vehicles into the unknown depths.
It's different from what they've tried before.
Shortly after the vehicle plunged into the deep pit, it was enveloped by a beam of light and then disappeared into the sinkhole.
This time, everyone at the Ancheng base truly saw the light that Jiang Zhi had once spoken of.
They had only one thought—
So this is what the light looks like...
As the vehicles entered, the hundred or so people from the southern base also began to run and leap in.
As the leader, Tang Mao naturally became the first to try something new.
He retreated more than ten meters.
He then took a deep breath, quickened his pace, and leaped into the air—
His body traced a short arc in the air before leaping directly into the range of the blue light.
This time, everyone standing on the edge of the pit could see it very clearly.
The so-called blue light surged up with a "whoosh" and swallowed the person whole in the blink of an eye, leaving not even a trace.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Standing at the back, Captain Qian shouted, "You little bastards! Jump up! Are you waiting for me to kick you?!"
Everyone immediately set off.
Er Shun watched as they were being dumped like dumplings, whimpering softly in his throat. He pawed at the ground a couple of times, his body arched like a fully drawn bow, his eyes fixed on the blue light, as if he wanted to leap out at any moment.
Jiang Shu quickly stopped it, "Er Shun, wait a bit! Let's go down with Brother Diao!"
Jiang Zhi glanced at them and said, "Chiu Chiu is a girl."
The white eagle exhaled a breath towards the ginger tree through its nostrils: "Chirp!!"
Jiang Shu and Er Shun got sprayed in the face.
Er Shun, that coward, immediately pressed his ears to his head when Bai Diao saw him, his eyes occasionally glancing at him, but he dared not move again.
Jiang Shu awkwardly wiped his face.
"Hey, Zhi, is this your first time meeting Sister Diao? How did you know it was... um... a girl?"
How do you know?
Anyway, Jiangzhi knows.
She glanced at her brother, too lazy to reply.
Hu Yang was truly impressed by Jiang Shu's relaxed attitude; even at a time like this, he could still chat idly.
His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to explode.
After everyone from the southern base jumped into the deep pit, Lin Yuan looked at the brother and sister.
"I'll be waiting for you over there."
Jiang Shu chuckled. "Alright!"
Jiang Zhi didn't speak, but only nodded slightly.
Lin Yuan didn't linger and signaled the team member in the driver's seat to drive the car in.
At this point, only Luo Yonghui's team and Gu Kaizhi's team remained.
Jiang Zhi: "Uncle Luo, hurry up and go down, the blue light is about to disappear."
At that moment, the cold wave was only seventy or eighty meters away from them.
We still don't know what's going on over the deep pit; we need to rejoin the main force as soon as possible.
Luo Yonghui didn't delay any longer and said to Gu Kaizhi, "Let's go down together."
Gu Kaizhi nodded, signaling to his men to prepare to drive.
Luo Yonghui's vehicle went ahead.
As she watched Luo Yonghui and the others enter the deep pit, Jiang Zhi, who was standing to the side, suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck.
Looking back, the gray, chilly air was chasing after me, skimming along the ground, instantly freezing the grass and leaves in its path.
The members of Gu Kaizhi's team were terrified by the cold wave that had previously affected them, and one of them even lost a brother in the process. Now, seeing the freezing cold about to reach their heels, they were so frightened that they slammed on the gas pedal.
I never expected that the chill would catch up with us so quickly!
Jiang Zhi's expression changed.
"Brother, take Ershun downstairs first!"
Jiang Shu's heart pounded wildly, and he jumped onto Er Shun's back.
Just as Gu Kaizhi's vehicle was about to plunge into the pit, an unexpected change occurred—
The deer, which was thought to have been trampled to death by the herd of beasts, suddenly sprang up and crashed straight into the driver's seat of Gu Kaizhi's car.
The mangled head was bitten into the driver's arm.
Even with rotten lips, the biting force of those teeth was still terrifying.
The young man screamed in pain and jerked his hand off the steering wheel to push the bull.
At high speed, the front of the car lost control and veered sharply to the side.
Gu Kaizhi rushed over and tightened the steering wheel.
The car body spun halfway around on the ground, and the tires screeched as they rubbed against the ground.
As if in a final burst of energy, the deer pushed off with its hind legs, its strength so great that it propelled the entire cart several meters away.
The car instantly lost control and crashed into a dilapidated office building next to it with a loud bang.
A loud "BOOM!"
The already crumbling walls of the office building were falling off in large sections, and when the car hit it, the entire building tilted to one side as if its bones had been removed.
The cracking sound of breaking steel bars was painful to the ears, and broken bricks and stones fell into the pit with a clatter.
Before anyone could react, the entire building collapsed into the pit, accompanied by smoke and dust. The ground trembled, and the smoke and dust, along with debris, all plunged into the pit with a "whoosh."
The car's tires screeched against the ground, and it finally came to a crooked, wedged position in the last remaining gap between the office building's stones. The engine sputtered twice and then stalled completely.
All of this happened in just two or three seconds.
At this time, the cold wave arrived as expected, and thin white ice crept up the trunk, roof, and wheels little by little, even freezing icicles in the tire grooves.
—This car is no good!
Jiang Shu hesitated for only half a second before shouting, "Er Shun!!"
Er Shun was running wildly towards the sinkhole when he heard Jiang Shu's voice and abruptly stopped.
"Let's go! Let's go save them!!"
Jiang Zhi's heart tightened at the sight.
"elder brother?!"
Jiang Shu was thinking at this moment—
If everyone on this bus were just abandoned like this, they would definitely not escape death.
At that moment, he didn't think about who was in the car.
They didn't even consider whether Gu Kaizhi was their enemy.
Jiang Shu was only thinking about saving people.
He used the only dagger he had to shoot it into the roe deer's head.
The roe deer twitched, and then its teeth slowly loosened.
Er Shun ran to the car door in a few strides, forcefully breaking open the door covered with a thin layer of ice. "Quick! Get out of the car with me, I'll take you down!!"
Upon seeing Jiang Shu, the people in the car were overjoyed. "Comrade Jiang Shu, we...we're stuck!"
Jiang Shu then saw the situation inside the carriage.
The vehicle closest to the ruined wall was almost completely destroyed, and several mutants sitting there were stuck inside the vehicle, covered in blood.
Gu Kaizhi was also hit and his head was covered in blood. When he saw Jiang Shu, a look of surprise flashed across his face, as if he hadn't expected the other party to be willing to turn back and save them.
Jiang Shu didn't have time to think and pulled out the people who weren't stuck.
Seeing this, Jiang Zhi immediately came to help.
She instructed Qiuqiu to grab the few lightly injured people and throw them into the deep pit.
She yelled to her brother, "Brother!! Hurry! A cold wave is coming!!"
The cold wave, hundreds of meters high, was getting closer and closer.
Thirty meters to go.
Twenty meters.
Before the injured mutants were swallowed by the blue light, they cried out, "Comrade Jiang! Please save the boss and the others!"
Er Shun paced anxiously around the area, barking, "Woof woof woof!"
Seeing that Jiang Shu hadn't left, he refused to leave either.
As Jiang Zhi watched the blue light shrink smaller and smaller, she became extremely anxious.
If this continues, even if the cold wave doesn't arrive, the blue light will disappear first!
"Chirp chirp, do you have a way to stop this blue light from shining?"
"Chirp chirp!!" The white eagle looked at it as if it were nothing, holding its head high.
Then, with a flap of its wings, it flew toward the blue light.
The white eagle stopped where the blue light was, and the light did indeed shrink at a slower rate.
Jiang Zhi's heart leaped with joy at the sight, but then her spirits sank again—
This means she can't help her brother!
Jiang Zhi looked anxiously at the cold wave that was slowly but irresistibly approaching, and couldn't help but shout into the distance, "Brother! Hurry up!!"
The ginger tree over there was also anxious.
He managed to drag Gu Kaizhi out, but the mutated warrior sitting in the back seat had his lower body stuck inside the deformed vehicle.
Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal.
But with a cold wave approaching, there was no way to quickly pull people out at this time.
Jiang Shu was so anxious that sweat poured down his forehead.
A chill crept over him, freezing the sweat on his forehead into ice.
Should we give up?
They were just strangers...
The mutant was covered in wounds, but it was still clinging desperately to the edge of the car with its unbroken arm, its fingernails digging into the metal.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Shu's hesitation vanished in an instant.
He looked at Gu Kaizhi, "Do you still have the strength? Let's move the car out together!"
Gu Kaizhi pursed his lips.
They agreed directly with their actions.
He quickly went to the back of the car and lifted it up, while Jiang Shu helped lift the front of the car.
"One, two! One, two!"
"Woof woof woof!!"
Er Shun bit Jiang Shu's clothes, trying to drag him away, but at this moment, the matter was already halfway done and there was no way to stop.
Jiang Shu gritted his teeth and persevered.
The vehicles used by mutants are all modified, and are several times heavier than normal vehicles.
Gu Kaizhi was stronger than they had imagined. The two of them tried several times together and actually managed to pull the car out of the ruins.
Zhang He was overjoyed; even with his leg injured, he now had a chance to live.
He forcefully pulled open the car door, smiling as he said, "Thank you, boss! Thank you, Jiang—"
Before he could finish speaking, a chill suddenly enveloped the back of his neck. Before he could even react, half of his body froze instantly.
His smile froze on his face, his hand, which he was about to raise, was frozen in place as if nailed to the ground. In the blink of an eye, a layer of white frost appeared on his eyebrows and temples, and he seemed to have been pressed into an ice cellar, unable to move.
Gu Kaizhi's expression changed drastically: "Zhang He!!"
Jiang Shu turned his head and his heart jumped into his throat—the cold wave had silently crept up on them, only five steps away!
"Woof woof woof!"
Jiang Shu shouted, "Run!!!"
He leaped onto Ershun's back in a few steps, and Ershun took off running in a flash.
Gu Kaizhi tucked the frozen Zhang He under his arm and ran towards the giant pit.
But the cold wave was incredibly fast, catching up in a flash.
Gu Kaizhi's legs, which were running forward, were instantly frozen, and his feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, unable to move an inch.
Even though he managed to break free of the ice and run a few more steps, he was quickly frozen back up. His speed slowed down, and the teammate in his arms was already half-frozen.
At the critical moment of life and death, Gu Kaizhi shouted—
"Ginger tree!!!"
Jiang Shuxin's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly turned around, only to see Gu Kaizhi gritting his teeth and forcefully throwing the mutant under his arm, whose lips were already frozen purple, toward him.
Jiang Shu instinctively called out, "Er Shun!"
Er Shun leaped into the air, and Jiang Shu caught the mutant who was still breathing faintly.
Let's look at the past tense again.
As soon as Gu Kaizhi straightened up, a wave of cold air surged up on him like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey.
His legs were instantly encased in ice shards, causing him to hiss and gasp for breath, but he remained rooted to the spot.
Jiang Shu met the other person's eyes.
There were too many things in it that he couldn't understand.
Helplessness, pain, struggle, or even... liberation?
"Boss... Boss..." The mutant in his arms kept murmuring. Perhaps sensing Gu Kaizhi's predicament, a string of hot tears rolled down his cheeks.
In the blink of an eye, a chill crept up from Gu Kaizhi's heels.
It quickly rose up to his waist and froze his arms.
Finally, even his movement of looking up froze in mid-air, his whole body becoming an ice sculpture, completely swallowed up by the rapidly spreading cold wave in the white, frigid air.
"Brother!!! Hurry!!!"
Jiangzhi roared above the giant pit.
Jiang Shu gritted his teeth, turned his head resolutely, and shouted, "Ershun! Charge!"
Er Shun responded with a "whoosh," and with a burst of strength from his limbs, he charged forward like a cannonball.
It spotted the blue light and leaped into it.
The moment he touched the edge of the light, the blue light suddenly enveloped him with a "whoosh." Jiang Shu felt a sudden weight in his arms, and the golden retriever kicked twice in the light, pulling him down with it. The wind whistled in his ears, and in the blink of an eye, he was completely swallowed by the blue light. The cold air and shouts outside disappeared instantly.
At the same time, the white eagle, carrying Jiang Zhi, darted into the blue light with lightning speed.
Before going in, Jiang Zhi subconsciously glanced at Gu Kaizhi, who was already frozen solid.
The other person was still raising their hand to touch their neck, as if trying to grasp something.
With just one glance, Jiang Zhi quickly sank into the interdimensional passage.
As the white eagle's figure disappeared into the crowd.
The blue light shrank rapidly, like a punctured balloon, and the halo around its edges faded away little by little.
In just a second, the blue light shrank to a tiny dot and then vanished completely with a "pop."
Immediately afterwards, the cold wave that followed surged up with a "whoosh".
The chilling white air surged and billowed above the huge pit opening.
Like a thick, lingering fog, it pressed down with ice shards. The stones at the edge of the pit crackled from the cold.
The newly sprouted grass shoots along the edge of the pit instantly turned into icicles, and even the air seemed to turn white from the cold.
As the cold air rolled in, a white mist rose above the pit, as if the entire sky was about to be frozen and collapse.
The outside world was completely silent at that moment.
No one knows how much this cold wave will be reduced after overcoming so many obstacles.
Perhaps in the next province, the threat will be gone.
Maybe……
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