"Accept fate?"
Qin Yu spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
"Those two words don't exist in my dictionary."
The red lights around them flashed with increasing urgency.
It was a countdown to death.
The temperature in the air had already begun to rise noticeably.
Not the kind of gradual warming.
But like someone had thrown you into an oven that hadn't finished preheating.
Every breath felt like swallowing a mouthful of scorching sand.
"Boss."
Elena's voice sounded beside him.
Though her face was deathly pale, there was not a trace of panic in those sapphire-blue eyes.
Only an intensely professional coldness.
She was quickly inspecting the surrounding wall structure.
Her fingers tapped on the dust-covered metal plates.
"Don't waste your energy trying to smash the door."
Elena didn't turn her head.
"This is a Military Fortress-Grade Defense from the previous era."
"That gate is cast from Depleted Uranium Alloy. Unless you have a Tactical Nuclear Bomb, even if you fire your Sniper Cannon until it explodes, you won't leave a scratch."
Qin Yu retracted his fist, which he had been preparing to charge.
Since the professional had spoken.
He'd listen to the professional.
"How do we handle this?"
Qin Yu asked directly.
"Ten-minute high-temperature sterilization."
Elena said while pulling a Tactical Dagger from the outer side of her thigh.
At this moment.
The Tactical Undergarment she was wearing was already torn to shreds.
Large patches of snow-white skin were exposed.
But no one had the mind to look at that right now.
"An underground factory of this level usually uses High-Energy Microwave or plasma flame for sterilization procedures."
"Whichever it is."
"Once activated, the air here will instantly reach thousands of degrees."
"We'll be carbonized on the spot."
Elena spoke rapidly.
Her hands moved even faster.
She used the dagger to pry open a maintenance panel on the wall.
Inside was a mess of tangled wires.
"But."
A cold smile curled at the corner of Elena's mouth.
"Any system has vulnerabilities."
"Any building has blind spots."
She pointed at the wires.
"Look at this."
Qin Yu leaned in.
It was a blue pipe, printed with that familiar string of characters from the previous era.
Though he couldn't read it.
The cold air emanating from it was unmistakable.
"Liquid Nitrogen Cooling Pipe?"
Qin Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Right."
Elena stood up abruptly.
Her eyes sharp as an eagle's.
"This Armory produces those Tyrannosaurus Mecha."
"The kind whose core overload requires powerful cooling."
"That means there must be an independent Liquid Nitrogen Circulation Hub here!"
"To prevent Coolant leaks from freezing the entire workshop during production accidents, that hub would definitely be equipped with the highest-grade insulation!"
"And it's physical insulation!"
"Not controlled by the electronic system!"
Qin Yu's eyes lit up.
This foreign girl.
Her brain works really well!
"Location?"
Qin Yu was concise.
"Follow me!"
Elena wasted no words.
She turned and ran.
Not towards the exit.
Instead, he headed toward the deepest part of the workshop.
He ran in the direction of the wreckage left by the Third Tyrannosaurus that had just fallen.
"Zzzzt—"
The red light overhead suddenly shifted to a glaring orange.
"Warning: High-Temperature Sterilization Program preheating…"
"Countdown: 03:00"
"How did it change to three minutes?!"
Qin Yu cursed as he sprinted.
"Didn't it say ten minutes just now?!"
"Even the machine lies!"
Elena didn't look back.
She weaved and leaped through the scattered debris and wreckage littering the ground.
Her movements were as agile as a hunting leopard.
"Stay close!"
"Don't step on the red floor tiles! Those are Inductive Microwave Emitters!"
Qin Yu followed closely behind her.
By now.
The air was already so hot it felt scorching against the skin.
Sweat evaporated the instant it formed.
Leaving behind a layer of white salt crystals.
"Just ahead!"
Elena pointed forward.
Behind the massive fallen body of the Raptor.
There was an inconspicuous gray wall.
On the wall.
A large snowflake symbol was painted.
"That's the cooling chamber!"
"Boom—!!"
Suddenly.
A massive metal fireproof wall dropped from above.
Crashing down a mere ten meters in front of them.
Completely sealing the path.
"Damn!"
Qin Yu skidded to a halt.
Sparks from the ground splattered onto his pant legs.
"The way's blocked!"
"Don't stop!"
Elena shouted sharply.
She didn't slow down at all.
Instead, she erupted with an even more terrifying burst of speed in that instant.
"Boss! Throw me over!"
"What?!"
Qin Yu was stunned.
That wall was a full five meters high.
Its surface was so smooth even a fly couldn't get a grip.
"Throw me! Now!"
Elena had already charged up to Qin Yu.
She leaped powerfully.
Planting one foot on Qin Yu's knee.
Qin Yu instantly understood.
At a time like this.
Even if it were a mountain of blades or a sea of fire ahead, he had to trust her!
"Go!!"
Qin Yu roared.
Cupping his hands under the soles of Elena's firm, powerful feet.
His S-Grade Physical Constitution erupted instantly.
Every muscle in his body tightened like steel cables.
He thrust upward with all his might!
"Whoosh—"
Elena shot through the air like a human cannonball.
Clearing the five-meter-high fireproof wall entirely.
While still airborne.
She summoned astonishing core strength.
Forcing her body to twist mid-air.
Her Tactical Dagger stabbed fiercely into a gap at the top of the firewall.
"Screech—"
Sparks flew.
She was hanging on!
"Catch!"
Elena's voice came from the other side of the wall.
Immediately after.
A tactical rope was thrown over.
Without a moment's hesitation.
Qin Yu grabbed the rope.
Pushed off the wall with his feet.
And scaled the death-wall in a few powerful leaps.
The instant he landed.
A biting chill washed over him.
It was the cold air seeping from the cracks around the cooling chamber door.
A stark contrast to the heatwave at his back.
"We're here."
Elena panted heavily.
She pointed at the thick, circular metal door in front of them, resembling a submarine hatch.
It was covered in a thick layer of white frost.
No electronic lock.
Only a massive, red manual valve wheel.
"It's a mechanical lock."
"Once it's closed, even if everything outside turns to ash, it'll stay below zero inside."
"Hurry!"
By now.
The workshop behind them.
Was already glowing with a despair-inducing white light.
The precursor to the High-Energy Microwave activation.
Anywhere the white light touched.
Metal began to glow red and soften.
Residual machine oil instantly caught fire.
A rolling heatwave surged toward them.
So intense it made their hair curl.
"Open!"
Qin Yu rushed forward.
Both hands gripped the icy wheel.
"Open for me!!"
He exerted strength in his arms.
Muscles bulged, veins throbbing.
But the wheel seemed welded shut.
Not moving an inch.
"It's rusted shut!"
Qin Yu gritted his teeth.
"No one's touched this place for centuries!"
"Together!"
Elena lunged forward.
Grabbing the other side of the wheel.
"One, two, three!"
"Ugh, aaaaaah!!"
Their roars mingled together.
Qin Yu's wounds tore open again.
Blood flowed down his arms onto the wheel.
Elena's fingernails snapped off.
But she didn't care at all.
Clenching her lips tightly, even biting until they bled.
The white light behind them had already spread to their heels.
The stinging sensation of skin about to be scorched was driving them mad.
"For fuck's sake..."
"Move!!"
Qin Yu's eyes turned bloodshot.
In this final moment of life and death.
The adrenaline in his body surged to its limit.
"Click... clack..."
A grating, teeth-chilling friction sound rang out.
The rusted wheel.
Moved.
Only a millimeter.
But it was enough.
"It turned!"
Elena cried out in surprise.
"Keep going! Don't stop!"
With that slight loosening.
What followed became simple.
"Squeak—squeak—"
The massive wheel began to slowly turn.
The thick hatch emitted a dull rumble.
Opening inward a crack.
Even denser white mist gushed out.
"Get in!"
Qin Yu grabbed Elena by the waist.
Shoved her straight into the gap.
Then squeezed himself sideways.
Slipping in entirely.
Just as his heel pulled inside.
"Zzz—!!"
A terrifying high-temperature ray swept past outside the door.
Where they had stood moments before.
The hard alloy floor instantly melted into a pool of molten metal.
"Close the door!!"
The two of them inside gripped the inner handle tightly.
Using the last of their strength.
"Clang!!"
The half-meter-thick insulated hatch.
Slammed shut.
Turning the wheel once more.
Locking it.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
In the darkness.
Only the heavy breathing of two people remained.
There was no light here.
Only occasional slivers of red light, mostly blocked, seeping through the hatch seams.
Silence.
Deathly silence.
The roars and burning sounds outside.
Became extremely distant here.
As if separated by a world.
"Alive... we're alive?"
Qin Yu leaned against the cold wall.
His body slid down along it.
Plunking onto the floor.
The ground was cold.
But this chill now felt incredibly comforting.
"Mhm."
Elena's voice sounded in the darkness.
Right across from Qin Yu.
Very close.
"The insulation here is aerospace-grade."
"Even if outside becomes the surface of the sun."
"We can hold out for a few hours."
Safe.
Once the taut nerves relaxed.
That bone-deep exhaustion and intense pain.
Instantly surged up like a tide.
Qin Yu felt his hands burning as if scorched by fire.
Wounds left from pulling the core and opening the door earlier.
"Tss—"
Qin Yu couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
"What's wrong?"
In the darkness.
Came rustling sounds.
Then.
A cold hand.
Groped and touched Qin Yu's arm.
"Hands ruined?"
Elena's voice still carried that icy tone.
But her movements were gentle.
"Not ruined."
Qin Yu gave a bitter laugh.
"It just hurts a bit."
"Never thought I'd get to experience what it feels like to be roasted alive in this lifetime."
"This place..."
Qin Yu looked around.
Though he couldn't see clearly.
He could sense it.
This space was small.
Very small.
Probably only two or three square meters.
With two people inside.
Their legs had to press against each other.
The air was filled with a faint chemical coolant smell.
And also...
That scent from Elena's body, mixed with sweat and the smell of blood.
Along with the unique fragrance of a woman.
In this cramped, enclosed, dark space.
This scent was amplified infinitely.
Drilling straight into his nostrils.
"Just now..."
Qin Yu shifted his leg slightly.
Accidentally brushing against Elena's thigh.
Smooth.
Warm.
Even though the temperature here was low.
Her skin was startlingly hot.
"I owe you one for earlier."
Qin Yu spoke honestly.
"If it weren't for you."
"I'd probably be a pile of charcoal by now."
"It's a bodyguard's duty."
Elena seemed to be rummaging for something in the darkness.
"Besides."
"I didn't intend to save you."
"I just didn't want my paycheck to go unpaid."
Stubborn.
Qin Yu smiled inwardly.
This woman.
She risked her life just moments ago.
Now she's putting on a cold front again.
"Zzz—"
Suddenly.
A faint blue light flickered on.
It was Elena turning on a small tactical flashlight.
The light was dim.
But in this environment, it was already glaring enough.
Qin Yu instinctively squinted his eyes.
Then.
He froze.
The flashlight's beam happened to shine directly on Elena.
At this moment.
She looked truly disheveled.
Her dazzling golden hair was a mess, covered in dust.
Her face was streaked with black and white marks.
But.
That already scant Tactical Undergarment.
During the intense movement and climbing earlier.
Had another strap snapped.
Now it could barely hang on her body.
Vast stretches of breathtakingly pale skin.
Even under this dim blue light.
Still dazzled the eyes.
It was a beauty full of wildness and strength.
Without any concealment.
Striking Qin Yu's retina with extreme directness.
"Seen enough?"
Elena noticed Qin Yu's gaze.
She didn't cover up.
Instead, she held the flashlight.
And shone it on herself.
The corner of her mouth curled into a half-smile.
"Boss."
"Is this the motivation you were desperately fighting to survive for earlier?"
Qin Yu cleared his throat.
Averting his gaze.
"That's not it."
"Mainly, I just haven't lived enough yet."
"But..."
Qin Yu paused.
His gaze, quite helplessly, drifted back.
"Since we survived."
"Some debts."
"Shouldn't they be settled?"
Elena was taken aback.
Then she remembered something.
Earlier, outside.
Qin Yu had said: After this fight, come to my room and take it off for me.
She had said: As long as the boss can afford the overtime pay, I won't even bother wearing this underwear.
The air.
In this cramped space.
Suddenly grew thick.
The relief of surviving a disaster.
Mixed with the emptiness after the adrenaline faded.
And the ambiguity of a man and a woman alone together.
Was undergoing some kind of strange chemical reaction.
"What?"
Elena turned off the flashlight.
Darkness descended once more.
But this time.
The darkness was no longer cold.
Instead, it carried a hint of restlessness.
"The boss wants to collect his debt here?"
Her voice in the darkness grew somewhat hoarse.
Carrying a trace of provocation.
"This is the cooling chamber."
"Only three square meters."
"Or perhaps..."
Elena leaned closer to Qin Yu.
Her breath brushed against his ear.
Slightly hurried.
"You like this kind of... thrilling place?"
Qin Yu's hand.
In the darkness.
Accurately grasped her waist.
Not with force.
Just gently tracing the tense lines of her core, taut from intense exertion.
The sensation was maddeningly good.
"Three square meters."
Qin Yu's voice was low.
Carrying a hint of dangerous amusement.
"It's enough."
"And."
"Since we can't get out."
"We might as well find something to do."
"Otherwise, how boring would it be?"
Elena didn't pull away.
Her body leaned slightly forward.
Almost pressing entirely against Qin Yu.
That soft touch.
Instantly disrupted Qin Yu's breathing.
"You're right."
Elena's hand.
Slid slowly up Qin Yu's chest.
Finally hooking around his neck.
"However."
"I want more money."
"No problem."
Qin Yu cupped the back of her head.
Even though the wound on his hand still ached.
He couldn't feel it at all now.
He just wanted to fiercely kiss those cold, red lips that always spoke icy words.
"Whatever you want."
"I'll give it all."
"Mmm..."
In the darkness.
Two hurried breaths intertwined.
The temperature in the cooling chamber.
Seemed.
To be rising.