Recaps

The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein keeper activated node 01 with the three Spirit Vein Keys, stopping its self-destruct countdown but learning they had less than an hour to connect an adjacent node. They headed for node 02 in the western blind zone, where a locked gate and possible tampering awaited them.

• The trio entered the radar station through a drainage ditch and vent, then descended to the console where the three prisoners were waiting.
• A Yao arranged the Spirit Vein Keys by their node patterns and activated node 01, which passed its self-test and came online.
• The vein keeper warned that node 02 had to be connected within 120 minutes, and said he had seen a smaller tower base near chaste-tree thickets in the western blind zone.
• The Snow Empress took the keys and led A Yao and the vein keeper toward node 02, leaving the prisoners behind.
• The trio crossed the poplar grove and reached an earthen ridge overlooking the chaste-tree thickets where node 02 was located.

The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein keeper activated Node 02 and learned that Node 03 lay beneath the old hydrological station. They reached its entrance and discovered Old Dao had rigged a tripwire alarm, leaving them to disarm it before opening the cover.

• The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein keeper entered Node 02 and found that someone had damaged its primary interface.
• A Yao used the three Spirit Vein Keys in the backup interface to bring Node 02 online, connecting it to Node 01 and raising coverage to 34.1%.
• A Yao found Node 03's location in Old Dao's notebook, and the vein keeper identified the route to the old hydrological station.
• The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein keeper crossed the blind zone and found the pump house entrance beneath the station's east wall.
• A Yao spotted a tripwire beneath the concrete cover, and the vein keeper found its buzzer and explained how to disable it.

A Yao, the Snow Empress, and the vein keeper activated main control node 03 despite Old Dao’s armed men trying to stop them. After the spirit vein circuit fully activated and its protection mechanism expelled the intruders, they emerged to find the clearing deserted.

• The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the vein keeper entered node 03, where A Yao inserted the three Spirit Vein Keys and started its activation.
• Four armed men arrived and demanded the keys, so the Snow Empress stalled them by suggesting Old Dao had sent them to do dangerous work before abandoning them.
• Node 03 activated, bringing all three main control nodes online, and the armed men fled after panicking that the shaft would collapse.
• A Yao read the console’s warning that the spirit vein circuit would take thirty minutes to fully activate and then expel unauthorized personnel.
• Once the circuit covered the Blind Zone, its protection mechanism drove Old Dao’s men from the shaft, and the three emerged to find the clearing empty.

After restoring the Blind Zone’s spirit vein nodes, the Snow Empress, A Yao, and the Vein Guardian reported their work and prepared to investigate Old Dao’s equipment sources. The Snow Empress and her companions reached the secondhand market to inspect a new batch of gear linked to the Blind Zone.

• The Snow Empress told Old Zhou that the three nodes were active but warned that Old Dao could still bypass their protections, and Old Zhou arranged inspections and a temporary allowance.
• The Vein Guardian told Old Liu that the Blind Zone’s spirit veins were alive again, while A Yao explained that her bamboo staff might recover by absorbing Spiritual Qi near a stable node.
• The Snow Empress, A Yao, and the Vein Guardian completed a report for the Spirit Vein Bureau, and the Vein Guardian said he would modify a buzzer to detect anyone opening a node cover.
• Old Zhou told the Snow Empress that a six-person inspection team would arrive and that the police had only recorded Old Dao’s case, so she decided they would keep watch themselves.
• The Vein Guardian brought Zhao the Lame to the Snow Empress, and the three went to the secondhand market to investigate newly arrived equipment matching Old Dao’s gear.