The young man walked away, his figure elongated under the white light.

Tang Xin hesitated for a moment, then said, "You, don't you think that guy is a bit strange?"

"I felt something was off with him ever since we entered the basement. Don't you think..."

Tang Xin lowered her voice, "His expression seems a bit stiff? Unlike a normal person's expression."

"You're overthinking. Compared to that Lin Xing, I find that guy Chen San even stranger. The moment he met us, he wanted to dominate the team. When danger comes, who knows what may happen."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xin was stunned but quickly realized Xu Xiaoyou was making a silence gesture and conveying a different message via sign language.

'Silence.'

Tang Xin looked around. Could it be that one of the team members has a problem?

Suppressing her thoughts, she followed the young woman out of the room and joined the others in another modified room.

The modified off-road vehicle was parked in the center of the room. Its headlights were red, and its sedate, understated black paint gave it the appearance of a metal beast lurking in the night, wild and heavy.

The off-road vehicle was outfitted with an exoskeleton metal frame, like indestructible armor. The alloy bumper in the front was jagged, reminiscent of a beast's fangs. Its scratches and rust silently told the tale of this metal beast's past crossings over the snowfields.

"Whoa, this thing is probably older than my grandfather," Lin Sheng said, kicking the tires and tapping the windows, producing a dull sound from the bulletproof glass riddled with fine scratches.

"I thought Dawn Office would equip us with a hovercar."

"The Core Technology of hovercars is controlled by Celestial Wings Space-Time. They require hovercars to operate only within designated 'Nest City' areas. Outside the cities, hovercars are no different from scrap metal," Chen San explained, adjusting his glasses.

"Even High Tier Cleaners must apply to Celestial Wings Space-Time at least half a month in advance to unlock permissions when heading to the Wastelands for assignments."

Core technology is the foundation on which large corporations thrive, absorbing the fat and blood of the people. In a pitch-black forest, corporations armed with core technologies confront and counterbalance each other. They maintain polite appearances since they each hold hunters' rifles that can end lives, thus collectively oppressing the lowest rung of society.

But everyone knows that leaking their core technology is akin to exposing lethal weaknesses to every hunter's eyes, leading only to barbarism and plundering.

History has seen major corporations fall due to leaks in their core technology, the fall of every Nest City within their sphere of influence, endless warfare and chaos, lives ruined, ultimately disintegrating, and their remains devoured by other corporations.

"Speaking of which, do you think the secret documents have anything to do with Cosmic Heavy Industries' core technology?" Lin Xing suddenly asked, as if realizing something.

This threw everyone present into alarm.

Xu Xiaoyou and Chen San's faces instantly darkened.

Lin Sheng, furious, slapped Lin Xing on the head: "Do you dare to ask about everything?!"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't, don't speak of what you shouldn't—Isn't a Shadow supposed to know that?"

"If you want to die, don't take us with you." Chen San huffed coldly, then opened the car door and climbed inside.

Curiosity is human nature and also a fatal flaw.

Curiosity, even about some matters, can lead one into an abyss from which there is no return.

...

The vehicle soon drove out of the city and into the outskirts, the sights of civilization gradually vanishing, as if eons had passed by, leaving towering steel structures to slowly become crumbling ruins, overgrown and decayed, the past no more.

In the city's ruins, skyscrapers with large glass curtain walls stood surrounded by a sea of green, and young shoots bravely emerged from cracks in the steel under the shadows, silently testifying to life's resilience and unyielding spirit.

A hundred years ago, this was a thriving city. The century of weathering and nature's power have stripped it of color, leaving it in this state.

Everything returned to its original form, the city's steel remnants coexisting with nature. It was desolate at sunset yet exuded an indescribable beauty, reminding Xu Xiaoyou of apocalyptic scenes from movies and games, where civilization vanished, and a verdant world was reborn—like when a whale falls, life burgeons, and what humanity took from nature eventually returns to it.

Over the ice, a majestic bridge stretched across the river, holding up the sky. Its surface was marred by cracks but stood steadfast through the passage of time. Abandoned vehicles were scattered everywhere. Before disaster and war struck, the fear of doomsday spread here, and hopes were dashed in chaos and madness.

The expansive and barren gray-white world passed by, the open car window letting in the frigid wind. Snowflakes danced in the air, and a golden thread descended on the distant horizon, bathing the entire snowfield in golden light.

The vehicle roared past, starting birds that turned into black dots fading away in the last sunset.

The endless wilderness brought gusts of free wind, making one feel breezy as the oppression and restraint within the steel flood dissipated.

Tang Xin quietly leaned against the car window, her blue eyes reflecting the rushing wilderness and pale golden light, the gentle brush of the free wind lifting strands of her hair.

"I've never felt this way before," she gently turned her head, saying, "It feels so good."

Xu Xiaoyou saw desire in her eyes and thought, indeed, a girl who grew up in the confines of a foster home and lived in an oppressive city all her life couldn't help but yearn for sights like this.

Continuing deeper into the snowfield for a dozen kilometers, as night began to fall, the three Yaoxing stars setting over the horizon, the vehicle stopped in front of an ice lake.

They got out of the car and lit a bonfire on the spot, preparing for the long night ahead.

"Phew, suddenly I can breathe," Lin Xing remarked. "Being in the city suffocated me."

"Don't let your guard down. We've already gone ten kilometers outside the city. No one knows when danger will come," Lin Sheng reminded.

"Bro, don't be so tense. We've finally made it out; we should relax a bit," Lin Xing said.

Seeing his brother's bright smile, Lin Sheng couldn't say much more. He simply repeated his reminder.

By the off-road vehicle, Chen San took a sniper rifle out of the trunk, adjusted and inspected it, then pulled the bolt to aim at the figure in the distant forest.

It was a nimble roe deer with thick, pale gray fur covered in specks of snow, shimmering softly. It stood quietly by sparse shrubs, its coal-black, bright eyes exuding innocence and agility. Its thin, pointed ears twitched slightly, as did the antlers atop its head, capturing surrounding sounds with a hint of wariness.

It seemed carefree, galloping in the woods, as if it could keep running like that all day until the characteristically muffled gunshot of the silencer rang. It couldn't run anymore, flipping over and collapsing motionless on the ground.

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