Night fell like a giant curtain, swallowing the Seventh Viaduct and the abyss beneath it entirely. The howling wind raged across the bridge, stinging their faces, yet it could not extinguish the burning fire in Jin Wanchao's eyes. Wearing a crude protective helmet, he lay prone on the cold concrete edge, binoculars in hand, his gaze locked firmly on the distance.
"Wanchao, everything's ready. All lines secure, fully charged." Ahuo's voice came from behind, tinged with suppressed excitement. He gripped the control lever of the launcher so tightly his knuckles whitened. Beside him, Old Zhong also wore a protective mask, his murky eyes glinting with fanatical light. Little Axing hugged a toolbox, his face pale, yet he bit his lip hard and made no sound.
Every nerve was stretched thin, waiting for the moment of this reckless gamble. On the viaduct, only the wind screamed, accompanied by distant, faint sirens from deep within the city. The entire Lower District seemed to have fallen into slumber, holding its breath for the gamble about to unfold.
Jin Wanchao suddenly lowered his binoculars. At the edge of the night, two piercing lights blazed like a monster's eyes, closing in fast. They were the bright headlights of an armored train, cutting through the darkness with a low, rumbling roar, speeding toward them. Its body, black as forged iron, resembled a steel python, baring its fangs at them.
"Stand by!" Jin Wanchao's voice was quiet but unshakable, carrying undeniable authority.
Ahuo took a deep breath and squeezed the control lever until his veins stood out. Old Zhong's body trembled slightly, but there was no fear in his eyes—only ignited fervor.
The train drew nearer, its massive wind pressure and thunderous roar crashing over them. The grim metal face of the locomotive looked as if it would crush them at any second.
"Now!" Jin Wanchao roared.
"Fire!" Ahuo slammed the control lever all the way forward.
Boom!
The huge electromagnetic anchor launcher jolted violently. A thick cable shot out like a shell, slicing through the night sky and slamming hard into the speeding armored train.
Clang!
A sharp metallic crash exploded in the silent night. The electromagnetic吸附装置 at the cable's tip locked firmly onto the train's heavy armor.
Jin Wanchao's "flame" surged violently into the electromagnetic cable. He could clearly "see" the energy pathways inside the cable light up instantly. A wild electromagnetic pulse poured into the train's power core like a bursting dam.
Screech—!
A teeth-grinding sound of metal scraping, mixed with a pungent burnt stench, rose from the train's undercarriage. The speeding train was seized by an invisible hand. Its wheels ground fiercely against the rails, sending sparks flying in a long fiery trail. The train's massive inertia forced a desperate whine; its body shook violently before finally grinding to a halt in the middle of the viaduct with a piercing screech of brakes.
"We did it!" Ahuo shouted in triumph, pumping his fist. Old Zhong and Little Axing exhaled in relief, joy etched across their faces after a narrow escape.
"Move in!" Jin Wanchao gave them no time to catch their breath. He charged onto the train first, his steam gauntlet primed for battle. Ahuo, Old Zhong, and the Fire Cult fighters behind them poured out from cover on both sides of the viaduct like tigers descending a mountain, swarming the train. At the same time, the scavengers under Ban Shou's command surged from the deeper darkness like a tide, joining the raid.
Yet when they boarded the train, ready to pry open the freight cars, they met far heavier resistance than expected.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Inside the cars, rows of new steam-powered combat puppets emerged from the dark like phantoms. Jet-black, their eyes glowing crimson, they opened fire simultaneously with chainsaws and heavy rifles, spitting deadly fire.
"Dammit! Bastards! Knew it wouldn't be that easy!" Ahuo roared, slamming his steam gauntlet into one puppet, shattering it to pieces. But more puppets poured from the depths of the car, engulfing them like a flood.
"These puppets are different—they have self-awareness!" Old Zhong shouted a warning. His sledgehammer struck a puppet's joint, leaving only a white mark.
The Fire Cult fighters fought bloodily. Their steam gauntlets and makeshift weapons dented the puppets again and again, yet could barely destroy them. The scavengers were caught off guard by the sudden resistance, and casualties mounted quickly.
Jin Wanchao's "flame" burned fiercely inside him. He could clearly "see" the intricate energy flows within these new models. Their cores were wrapped in layered armor, impervious to ordinary attacks.
He lunged at a heavy puppet, his steam gauntlet striking not its torso, but precisely at its leg hydraulic system. A sharp metal crack rang out; the puppet's leg crumpled, lost balance, and crashed to the ground.
"Aim for the joints! Their joints are weak points!" Jin Wanchao bellowed. His voice cut through the chaotic battlefield like thunder.
The Fire Cult fighters understood at once and shifted tactics, targeting the puppets' vulnerable joints. Arcs flashed, chainsaws screamed, and the clatter of metal and explosions echoed endlessly. With flesh and blood, they tore a gap through the steel tide.
At last, at a heavy cost, they broke into the train's core carriage.
But the car was empty. There was no "Resonance Crystal" as they had imagined. Only a fist-sized blue orb hovered in the center.
Jin Wanchao's heart sank. A terrible premonition washed over him. The "flame" inside him shrank abruptly, as if doused in ice water.
The moment his fingers touched the orb, it expanded violently, and a hologram materialized before them.
It was a man in an ornate white uniform, wearing a monocle. His hair was combed back neatly, his face set in a permanent, haughty smile. He was Valerius, a high-ranking official of the Blacksteel Council.
He swirled a glass of red wine gracefully. Amid the chaos of the battlefield, his voice remained clear and magnetic, steeped in innate arrogance.
"Ah, poor 'Prophet.' It seems your 'divine revelation' is not enough to see everything." He spoke softly, his smile playful and mocking. "My dear Ms. Wrench, you really are as restless as ever. No matter—all pieces will eventually return to me."
"You… you knew we were coming!" Ahuo shouted in rage.
Valerius paid Ahuo no heed, fixing his gaze on Jin Wanchao, his eyes full of curiosity and faint amusement.
"Do you really think I would serve you the real Resonance Crystal?" He flicked his finger, and the orb projected another hologram—an identical cargo crate, sitting safely inside a hidden underground warehouse.
"The crystal was bait. This entire train was a trap carefully laid just for you." Valerius smiled, a grin that looked like a demon's snarl to Jin Wanchao. "Welcome to the real game, Prophet."
As the words fell, blinding lights blazed to life at both ends of the viaduct. Countless Blacksteel Guards and heavy equipment poured from the dark like a steel flood, sealing all escape routes. At the same time, a teeth-grinding sound of metal snapping came from beneath the viaduct. Its structural supports began to disintegrate from the bottom up. The entire bridge was collapsing on its own.
"Shit! We fell for it!" Despair and anger twisted Ahuo's face.
Valerius's hologram faded, but his voice echoed over the viaduct like a prelude to victory.
"Enjoy the final fireworks. Soon, you will have a sky graveyard all to yourselves."
Valerius's taunting voice still lingered, but the viaduct shook more violently. The train wreckage beneath their feet tilted, steel beams twisting under unbearable strain. Jin Wanchao's "flame" could clearly perceive the viaduct's load-bearing structures collapsing at an alarming rate.
"Wanchao! What do we do?" Ahuo rushed to his side, panic written all over his face. Ban Shou and her scavengers gathered close, eyes alert and uneasy.
Jin Wanchao squeezed his eyes shut. His "flame" burst forth like a runaway steed, surging outward and probing downward wildly. He sensed an endless urban canyon below the viaduct—but deeper still, a massive current of energy surged.
His power of divine revelation pierced the thick crust, layers of abandoned pipes and building wreckage, finally locking onto a huge, disused main sewer line. Though dark and foul-smelling, in his eyes it was a lifeline.
The "flame" erupted again, etching every detail of the tunnel into Jin Wanchao's mind: its depth, width, obstacles inside, even the speed and direction of the water flow.
"Jump!" Jin Wanchao opened his eyes. His voice was quiet, but held unyielding resolve.
Everyone—Ahuo, Ban Shou, all of them—froze. Jumping into the abyss below from a collapsing viaduct dozens of meters high was sheer suicide.
"You're crazy! You've lost your mind!" Ban Shou exclaimed.
"What's down there? Only death!" a scavenger shouted.
Jin Wanchao ignored their doubts. The "flame" within him burned faster, his strength and will stronger than ever. He knew this was their only way out. Valerius had never anticipated they would choose such a perilous path.
"Trust me." Jin Wanchao's gaze swept over every face. His unwavering eyes seemed to pierce straight through their hearts.
Ahuo stared at him. He remembered how Jin Wanchao had "awakened" him from despair, led them out of the Furnace District, and worked miracles time and again. He loosened his clenched fist and forced a bitter smile.
"Fine. I'll take this crazy chance with you." Ahuo rushed to the train's edge, glanced down at the abyss, gritted his teeth, and leaped first.
"Ahuo!" Old Zhong cried out in alarm.
"Follow!" Jin Wanchao snapped. He scooped up Little Axing, grabbed Old Zhong with his other hand, and jumped without hesitation.
"Dammit! Let's do this!" Ban Shou cursed. Glancing fiercely at the crumbling viaduct, she led her scavengers after them.
One by one, figures plunged into the bottomless dark below like dumplings dropped into boiling water. The wind howled. The train wreckage let out one final whimper before finally collapsing with a thunderous crash.
Watching this unexpected leap of faith on the surveillance feed, Valerius's face—locked in elegant composure until now—flickered with surprise for the first time.
"Interesting…" he murmured, the corner of his mouth curving upward. Yet this smile lacked its earlier poise, replaced by dark amusement and curiosity.