"Walk."
The three of them headed east. The drainage ditch was deeper than they had imagined. The walls were made of old stones and covered with moss. There was only a shallow layer of water at the bottom, which made a squelching sound when stepped on. The Vein Guardian led the way, deliberately walking on the earthen embankments formed by the collapse of the ditch walls so that their feet would not get wet. A Yao used her bamboo cane to keep her balance by touching the ditch wall, while Snow Empress walked at the back, looking back from time to time.
After circling for about twenty minutes, the drainage ditch rounded a bend, and the eastern section of the radar station's back wall appeared directly ahead. This section of the wall was more intact than the western section; although the barbed wire was rusted, it wasn't broken. The Vein Guardian peered up from the edge of the ditch. "Go up from here, climb over the barbed wire, and you'll find the ventilation shaft of the east corridor. I removed the iron grille of the ventilation shaft last year and didn't put it back."
"How much did you actually do in this area last year?" A Yao couldn't help but ask.
The Vein Guardian grinned, revealing a missing front tooth in his gums. "To make a living in the Blind Zone, you have to know where you can and can't go. Last year, some people were digging something in the south of the Blind Zone, so I followed their route and explored the whole area."
As they spoke, the three climbed over the edge of the ditch. Sure enough, the barbed wire was held up by only a few rusted nails; the Vein Guardian easily pried it open with his hand. Behind the wall was a row of low auxiliary buildings, their exterior walls painted whitewash, most of which had peeled off. The Vein Guardian led them to a ventilation shaft; the iron bars were indeed held in place by only two screws, which came off easily with a twist of the hand. The ventilation shaft wasn't large, but an adult could squeeze in sideways.
"I'll go first." Snow Empress put the knife in her mouth and squeezed in sideways. Inside was a metal ventilation duct, which turned twice and went down a bit, with a dim yellow light shining through at the end. She peeked out and saw that it was the same corridor she had passed through on her way up, the one with the emergency lights. The ventilation duct's exit was on the corridor ceiling, about ten feet above the ground.
Snow Empress braced herself against the edge of the air duct, flipped over, and jumped down, landing silently. A Yao followed suit, and the Vein Guardian landed last. His knees made a sound when he landed, and he grimaced but didn't make a sound.
The corridor was still empty. The three of them walked quickly south, through two doors, and back to the circular hall. The cover was still up, and blue light from the bottom of the well shone upwards.
"I'll go down first." Snow Empress retied the rope and climbed down the iron ladder. The iron ladder creaked and groaned as usual, but this time she didn't stop and reached the bottom of the well in one breath. When A Yao and the Vein Guardian followed her down, they heard voices coming from the circular room at the end of the passage. It was the three prisoners arguing.
"It's all your fault! You insisted on listening to Old Dao, saying 'Let's get started as soon as we arrive,' and now we're stuck here!"
"Stop talking nonsense. You didn't hold back when you took the money..."
Snow Empress walked over and stood by the doorframe. The three prisoners immediately shut up. The short, stout man's eyes lit up when he saw the bulging iron box in her arms. "Found it?"
"Found them." Snow Empress placed the metal box on the control panel and opened the lid. Three Spirit Vein Key gleamed with a dark golden light in the blue glow. The message on the control panel screen flashed and changed to. " Spirit Vein Key detected. Please insert them into the key slots in sequence."
A Yao leaned over to the control panel and looked around. She found three slots side-by-side below the screen, their shapes perfectly matching the keys. "There's an order," she said, pointing to the small print on the screen. "It says, 'Insert in the order of the node patterns.' The pattern order... you have to look at the engravings on the back of the key."
Snow Empress turned the three keys over. Sure enough, each key had a fine line engraved on its back, with different lines. When the three keys were put together, they could form a complete circuit pattern.
"This one is the start, this one is the middle, and this one is the finish." A Yao arranged the three keys in order. "Shall I insert them?"
"You insert it. I'll keep an eye on the door." Snow Empress retreated to the door frame, her sword drawn three inches from its sheath.
A Yao took a deep breath and pushed the first key into the slot. With a click, the control panel screen lit up briefly. She pushed in the second key, and the screen lit up again. When the third key was pushed in, the blue light in the entire room suddenly turned incandescent, the control panel emitted a low hum, the countdown on the screen stopped, and a new line of text appeared. "Main control node 01 is being activated. Spirit Vein Circuit self-check passed. Node is online."
The buzzing sound lasted for about ten seconds, then gradually subsided. The text on the screen changed to. "Node 01 is operating normally. Vein coverage: 17.3%. Awaiting node 02 and 03 to connect."
"It's done." A Yao took a step back and let out a long breath.
The Vein Guardian, who had been crouching in the corner without saying a word, suddenly spoke up, "The self-destruct countdown has stopped, but look at this," he pointed to a line of small print in the corner of the screen. "After a node is activated, it must connect to an adjacent node within 120 minutes, otherwise it will automatically enter hibernation protection."
"Two hours." Snow Empress frowned. "We've only spent a little over an hour. Less than an hour left."
"Where is node 02?" A Yao asked.
The Vein Guardian stood up, walked to the side of the control panel, and tapped the panel with his knuckles. "When I first came across this area last year, I saw a similar tower base to the west of the Blind Zone. It was a size smaller than this one, buried on a hillside, surrounded by brambles. It should be node 02."
"How far?"
"Go this way, walk quickly, it'll take forty minutes."
Snow Empress closed the tin box, tucked it into her coat, and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."
As the three of them were walking out, the short, fat man suddenly called out, "Hey, what about us?"
Without turning her head, Snow Empress said, "You all stay put. The self-destruction has stopped; this place won't collapse. We'll talk about it when we get back."
Returning the way they came, it was completely dark when they emerged from the drainage ditch. The dew on the grass had turned into frost, making it slippery underfoot. Snow Empress walked in front, her flashlight half-covered by a cloth, letting only a small sliver of light shine through.
"West," the Vein Guardian pointed in a direction, "Go west along the back wall of the radar station, past that poplar grove, then climb over a embankment, and you'll see the bramble thicket."
As she walked, A Yao pulled a compressed biscuit from her waist bag, broke it into three pieces, and gave one to each person. "I ate as I walked. I didn't have time to stop for the next hour."
Snow Empress took two bites of her biscuit and mumbled to the Vein Guardian, "Have you been down to Node 02?"
"No. I took a look last year. There was an iron gate outside the tower, and it was locked. I didn't bring a crowbar, so I couldn't open it."
"Locked?" A Yao pondered, chewing on a biscuit. "System nodes shouldn't be locked. Unless someone added the lock later."
" Old Dao's men," Snow Empress said, "They must have scouted the site when they buried the key last year. The cover plate of node 01 was pried open, and they might have tampered with node 02 as well."
The poplar grove was denser than expected, with slender trunks and branches blocking the way in a chaotic manner. The Vein Guardian led them through a trail in the middle of the grove, their feet crunching on the thick layer of fallen leaves, soft and silent. Emerging from the grove, they found a small embankment ahead, below which lay a dense thicket of dark brambles, their branches laden with dried bean pods that rustled in the wind.