The cold wind blew her bangs aside, chilling Xu Qian to the bone.
She narrowed her eyes, gazing into the bottomless abyss below, unsure of what lay within.
After sliding for about five minutes, her vision brightened.
With a thought, Xu Qian unfurled her wings and stabilized herself.
The young woman's brow furrowed. Was this an icehouse?
Blocks of ice were neatly arranged indoors, with no other apparent entrances.
Could this not be the main entrance?
[Ding, that's correct. The main entrance is heavily guarded. The system recommends the optimal route for you.] kuAiδugg
[Where is the entrance?]
[Ding, the system cannot identify it.]
Xu Qian: ...
Just as she was feeling around the ice walls, a young man slid down from the passage.
Xu Qian flew over, grabbed his collar, and gently placed him on the ground.
"Xiao Lu, let's look for an entrance."
"Qian, after completing this mission, can I absorb crystal cores?"
Xu Qian turned and glanced at him. Xu Lu's eyes had turned dark green.
He wanted to be angry but couldn't quite manage it, his expression sullen.
Xu Qian sighed and said, "Yes, but be good and complete the mission first."
Xiao Ping's green eyes lit up, and he nodded emphatically.
The two searched the icehouse but found no entrance. Xu Qian's small face was already pale with cold; the temperature in the icehouse was no joke.
Xiao Ping quietly held her icy hand and whispered, "Let's go up first. This isn't helping matters."
Xu Qian shook her head. She had finally managed to get down here.
Besides, the item could only be used once a day; if they went up, they'd have to wait until tomorrow.
Suddenly, a drop of ice water landed on her cheek, sending a shiver down her spine.
Xu Qian looked up. The ice above showed signs of melting, while the ice on the ground was hard and frozen.
Where there's smoke, there's fire.
The young woman spread her wings and flew up, using her super sturdy shovel to shatter the melting ice.
Pieces of ice clattered down, revealing a sealed ventilation shaft.
Xu Qian reached out and touched the edges, faintly sensing heat emanating from within.
A hint of surprise flickered in her eyes. It seemed the base was located above.
Xu Qian pried open the ventilation shaft, and a gust of hot air rushed towards her nose. She couldn't help but sneeze.
The extreme cold and heat, she hadn't adjusted yet.
Xiao Ping's expression tensed upon hearing the sound.
"Qian, how is it?"
Xu Qian shook her head, indicating she was fine. "You can come up."
They crawled forward along the passage and soon found a hollow ventilation grate.
Through the gaps, they could see many people walking back and forth below.
Xu Qian squinted slightly and peered down.
The laboratory was surrounded by ice blocks. People in lab coats gathered around a test bench, and in the center lay a...
Octopus-man?
Its eyes were purple, and its limbs were no longer what they were.
Tentacles were tightly bound, writhing occasionally.
Most people were busy writing reports.
A black-haired old man injected a blue syringe into the octopus-man's neck.
Before long, the octopus-man let out a roar, and more limbs began to sprout. Two more tentacles grew, which they quickly restrained.
The black-haired old man cackled madly.
"A new mutant is about to be born, hahahahahaha!"
"Congratulations, Director Huang."
"Congratulations, congratulations."
The black-haired old man stopped laughing, his expression turning serious.
"This is all thanks to everyone's efforts. I, Huang Jingming, do not deserve your congratulations!"
"Everyone, let's continue to work hard, okay?"
The crowd grew more excited and responded in unison.