Free Web NovelChapter 94: The Current and the Consequence
Inside the security control room, the silence was absolute, broken only by the steady, rhythmic hum of the ventilation units and the faint, algorithmic clicking of the terminal processors.
Lin Qing remained perfectly motionless in her chair. Her upper body was leaned slightly forward, her sharp, unblinking eyes fixed entirely on the master thermal display matrix. On the glowing screen, the distinct red silhouettes of Gao Feng’s elite climbing vanguard were densely packed together, ascending the steep vertical geometry of the frozen concrete wall in three orderly, disciplined columns.
They moved with a practiced, arrogant confidence born from a lifetime of successful mercenary operations, completely unaware that their entire approach path had been deliberately monitored, permitted, and timed to the exact second.
By this point, they had climbed past the midpoint of the sheer face. They were high enough now that jumping down meant hitting the jagged boulder fields at the base of the mountain—a brutal fall that would be instantly fatal to any human being, regardless of armor or physiological conditioning. They were entirely committed, their weight suspended fully on the massive metallic grid of the security fence.
Lin Qing’s slender finger rested lightly on the intercom toggle. When she spoke, her voice was completely devoid of emotion—a cold, executioner’s decree cutting through the earpieces of the waiting team.
"Old Wang. Flip it. Maximum voltage."
"Copy that, Sister-in-law," Old Wang muttered, a grim satisfaction tightening his features.
Standing in the freezing shadows of the upper rampart alcove, the veteran sniper didn’t hesitate for a single heartbeat. He slammed his hand down onto the heavy, industrial manual breaker lever, forcing the massive copper contacts into the active position with a resounding, metallic thud that vibrated through the casing.
There was no dramatic flash of blinding light, no spectacular eruption of multicolored fireworks, and no cinematic hum. True electricity at this scale was silent and invisible. It was a torrent of raw, high-density current drawn directly from the facility’s newly integrated industrial solar grid, routed through heavy transformers. The electricity surged through the conductive steel mesh of the fence instantaneously, passing instantly into the metallic climbing pitons, the carabiners, and the damp, reinforced carbon-fiber gear of the mercenaries.
The destructive effect was silent, immediate, and total.
Because the output parameters had been dialed to their absolute maximum limit, the sheer amperage bypassed any standard rubberized insulation on their tactical suits.
The current instantly seized the nervous systems of every single climber on the wire. Their muscles contracted violently in a permanent, tetanic spasm, their fingers locking rigidly around the metal grating for a single, agonizing microsecond as the massive electrical load stopped their hearts entirely.
Their grips failed instantly as their muscles burned out. Dozens of lifeless bodies collapsed backward simultaneously, tumbling through the freezing ice mist like heavy ragdolls, bouncing off the concrete protrusions and crashing silently onto the frozen rocks far below. Not a single person survived the initial shockwave of current.
Down at the base of the wall, hidden within a shallow rock recess, the mercenary captain stood huddled with the three remaining ground troops of his vanguard. He had his gloved hand pressed tightly against his throat mic, his brow furrowed in deep, sudden confusion as the heavy, wet thuds of falling bodies began to echo through the mist around him.
"Team One? Team Two? Report status," the captain hissed into his encrypted radio, his voice laced with an escalating anxiety. "What was that noise? Talk to me, what’s your position—"
Before the words could fully clear his lips, a brilliant flare of high-heat energy pierced through the swirling white fog above them.
Lieutenant Chen stepped out onto the upper ledge of the parapet, his thermal manipulation core flaring to life. He didn’t give the remaining mercenaries a single second to register the shock of the electrical trap or formulate a retreat strategy back into the valley. With advanced precision, he unleashed a concentrated, rapid-fire volley of high-velocity ammunition from his rifle, his fire manipulation igniting the chemical rounds the exact microsecond they cleared the muzzle.
The ignited rounds tore through the freezing air like streaks of mini-lightning, striking the captain and the three remaining ground troops with devastating accuracy.
The sheer force of the ballistic impact lifted them completely off their feet, neutralizing them instantly before they could even draw their sidearms or sprint back toward the safety of the lower valley tree line. The brief echo of the gunshots was swallowed by the howling mountain winds, leaving behind nothing but a profound, absolute silence over the snow.
Inside the secondary monitoring bunker, Ah Hua watched the last of the red heat signatures on his screen slowly fade into a dull, cold blue. A massive, booming grin broke across his face. He grabbed his radio, his voice echoing loudly across the team’s shared channel. "They’re completely wiped out! Every single one of them is down on the rocks! The wire is clear!"
Across the facility’s defenses, the heavy, suffocating tension that had gripped the elite team for days finally shattered into a thousand pieces.
A collective, fierce cheer erupted from the soldiers stationed along the ramparts and inside the isolated security rooms. Old Wang let out a rough, barking laugh, clapping Xiao Li on his rock-hard shoulder, while even the usually stoic Da Yong let out a sharp whistle of approval over the comms. They had successfully turned Gao Feng’s elite mercenary team into a complete graveyard without suffering a single casualty of their own.
Miles away, at the base of the mountain range, the interior of Gao Feng’s command flagship was suffocatingly warm, smelling of synthetic leather, heavy insulation, and heated electronics.
Gao Feng stood before the main console, his hands resting heavily on the polished edges of the map table. His brow was deeply furrowed, his eyes burning with an intense, volatile impatience as he stared at the completely dead communication monitor. He had expected a swift, quiet infiltration from his top men, but the absolute lack of telemetry or status updates was starting to rattle his composure.
"Vanguard Captain, report," Gao Feng commanded, his smooth voice dropping into a dangerous, low-frequency growl that made his subordinates stiffen. "You cleared the perimeter ten minutes ago. Why has the primary gate override sequence not been initiated? Report status immediately."
There was no response. The static coming from the receiver was flat, rhythmic, and completely empty.
Gao Feng’s jaw clenched, his knuckles turning white against the metal table. "Captain, respond."
Suddenly, a faint, muffled popping sound crackled through a completely separate, secondary audio channel on the console. It was the unmistakable, distinct rhythm of rapid-fire gunshots echoing in the distance, followed immediately by a return to absolute silence.
Gao Feng’s eyes widened slightly, a dark, furious comprehension dawning within his mind. He reached out, violently slamming his hand down on a secondary toggle switch, patching directly into a lone scout who had been stationed on a ridge miles away with high-powered, thermal-imaging binoculars to oversee the entire infiltration mission from a safe distance.
"Scout Four! Give me a visual update on the main security wall right now!" Gao Feng roared into the microphone, his polished demeanor completely fracturing. "What is happening up there? Why am I hearing gunfire?"
On the other end of the line, the scout’s voice came through trembling, thick with absolute horror and disbelief. "C-Commander... they’re gone. All of them. The entire climbing team... they just dropped off the wire all at once. I don’t know what happened, it was like the grid just went dead, and then the ground team was cut down. Commander... every single man we sent up that wall is dead. The vanguard is completely gone."
"What did you say?!" Gao Feng slammed his fist down onto the console, the heavy impact cracking the plastic housing around the monitor. His face twisted into a mask of pure, unadulterated fury, his chest heaving as he stared at the dead monitor. His elite vanguard—men he had personally trained and equipped with the finest military gear available—had been effortlessly wiped out in a matter of minutes.
Standing just a few feet away, Lin Tao shifted uncomfortably, clearing his throat as he tried to look useful in front of the enraged commander. He completely misread the room, assuming this was his moment to present himself as a brilliant advisor.
"Commander Gao, please, do not lose your composure," Lin Tao said, offering a weak, greasy smile as he stepped forward with a smug, entirely unhelpful look on his face. "I have a perfect, brilliant strategy to get our revenge for this minor setback. We should take our remaining transport vehicles, load them with all the spare fuel we have left in the reserve tanks, and drive them straight into the lower mountain tunnels. We can detonate them all at once! The smoke and fire will travel up the ventilation shafts and suffocate everyone inside the sanctuary within an hour. It’s a foolproof revenge plan!"
Gao Feng turned his head slowly, his dark eyes fixing onto Lin Tao with a terrifying, homicidal intensity. The absolute lameness and stupidity of the plan—suggesting they waste their precious, dwindling fuel reserves to cause a fire that the bunker’s industrial filtration units would easily isolate and purge—infuriated him past his breaking point. It showed an utter lack of understanding of basic engineering.
"You utter idiot," Gao Feng snarled, his voice a dangerous, vibrating hiss.
Before Lin Tao could even blink or step back, Gao Feng reached out, grabbed a heavy ceramic mug from the console, and hurled it directly at Lin Tao’s head with terrifying force.
The mug shattered violently against the metal bulkhead right next to Lin Tao’s ear, spraying sharp shards of ceramic and hot liquid across his face. Lin Tao let out a sharp yelp of terror, stumbling backward and hitting the floor as Gao Feng stood over him, his breathing ragged, his mind entirely consumed by a cold, vengeful fury against the sanctuary.
