Chapter 47: Time Sealing – Section 4

Despite being surrounded by stagnant flames, at this moment, Black Hair still felt some concern for his subordinates behind him. He slowed down considerably to allow them to keep up. His fingers flew across the keyboard, and the outer armor plates of the engineering mech instantly changed color, shifting from bright red to a darker brown.

In fact, this was also one of the self-protection methods of engineering mechs. As non-combat mechs, their defense systems had always been criticized. Especially when facing energy attacks, their protective capabilities were pitifully weak. Yet one aspect in which they surpassed ordinary mechs was their adaptability to special environments.

By activating a program, the engineering mech could inject a special type of energy into its outer armor in a short time, causing unusual structural changes that greatly enhanced its adaptability to a particular environment. Simply put, once heat-resistant energy was injected, it could walk through flames without issue.

Undoubtedly, this was the program Black Hair was using now. The armor plates, infused with energy, not only changed color to dark brown but also underwent structural changes. Although the strength of the surrounding stagnant flames was still unclear, Black Hair believed his mech was strong enough to protect him as he penetrated deeper into the target area.

Of course, if those behind him still didn’t know what to do after seeing his actions, then they deserved to suffer further losses.

In the quiet cockpit, Black Hair’s gaze remained calm. His operations were methodical. The bulky engineering mech he controlled moved through the gaps as effortlessly as threading a needle—just one moment it had dodged a flame jet, and the next it rushed past a wave of flames.

After just two minutes of continuous movement, Black Hair saw a sea of fiery red ahead.

There was no way out…

As far as the eye could see, there were only solidified flames—no path in sight. Clearly, Black Hair had reached the end of this passage. Ahead lay the core of the fireball. Once he passed through, the surface of Hell Prison Planet would be right before him.

Of course, even so, Black Hair knew well that penetrating the core of this fireball wasn’t easy. Its temperature was undoubtedly the highest point in the entire fireball. Moreover, due to the explosion, there were likely still powerful energy turbulence remnants—things engineering mechs feared the most. If encountered, not only would rescuing others be impossible, but even self-preservation would be a challenge.

But Black Hair had no room for hesitation. For the sake of the Black Prison Gang or his own safety, he had to penetrate the core ahead. A cold glint flashed in his eyes. Black Hair’s fingers quickly pressed a row of red buttons next to the keyboard. As a result, the speed of the engineering mech suddenly slowed down significantly. Visibly, the mech’s status on the screen showed its weight had increased by more than five times.

He injected a second type of energy: heavy metal hormones. This was a very strange form of energy, an accidental byproduct of experiments conducted by the Black Prison Gang. Its effect was to greatly increase the density of metal, boosting both its toughness and strength exponentially over time—of course, at the cost of increased weight. Once used, even the most ordinary iron plates could instantly become harder than alloys.

This way, even if he encountered energy turbulence, Black Hair could hold on for a short while. It might not be enough to penetrate the entire fireball, but it would still serve as some form of defense. As for whether it would allow him to complete his mission, that depended on luck.

Black Hair had always believed that luck was also part of strength. If he was unlucky enough to keep encountering energy turbulence, it was only fair for him to suffer.

It sounded complicated, but it actually happened in an instant. Just as Black Hair finished injecting the new energy, the engineering mech beneath him plunged like an eagle into the flames ahead. The screen in front of Black Hair instantly turned blood red. At the same time, he habitually glanced at the status diagram in the upper right corner of the screen to see how hot the flames were. But…

“Hm?” Black Hair’s eyes widened. “Temperature… 48.3?”

How was that possible!?

After all, this was the core of an explosive fireball. Even a few thousand degrees would be normal. How could the temperature be so low? And this temperature…

“It’s actually the mech’s own temperature. The surrounding temperature isn’t showing at all.” Black Hair frowned, unable to understand the environment here.

Well, this was indeed the core of flames. But flames were solid. And based on what his subordinate had experienced, these flames were clearly lethal. Logically, no matter how high the temperature, Black Hair shouldn’t be surprised. So why did the mech’s system show no temperature?

There was only one possibility!

In an instant, Kurokami suddenly remembered. If the molecules that made up the flames here were also at a standstill, it would be enough to eliminate the high temperature generated by motion. But what would replace it was an even more terrifying phenomenon—low temperature!! If all molecules stopped moving, then the temperature would be what’s known as absolute zero!! In that moment, Kurokami was almost terrified into sweating by his own hypothesis. He quickly switched channels, ready to warn his subordinates, only to find that the red light ahead suddenly cleared, revealing a pitch-black surface. So, he had passed through? Though he could hardly believe his eyes, everything before him reminded him that he had indeed crossed that massive fireball. As Kurokami turned around, he could even see the fireball receding behind him. The increasingly intense vibrations also told him that he had entered the atmosphere of Black Prison Planet. “Whoosh…” The vibrations of the mech grew more and more severe, quickly becoming unbearable. Being inside the cockpit was like being in a completely sealed tin can—a feeling that could drive one mad. But Kurokami was already accustomed to all this and calmly relaxed his body. At such times, relaxation was often more effective than tension. He wouldn’t get as panicked as a novice pilot, only to end up with sore muscles after actually landing. Since he had already passed through the fireball, the rest of the journey was simple. As long as he could find the laboratory that Madaro had taken him to before, everything would be clarified. Through the mech’s screen, Kurokami could even locate the area where the laboratory was. Visibly, the giant building that had once been above it had collapsed, leaving nothing but ruins. But this was hardly a problem for an engineering mech. Compared to combat mechs, engineering mechs were designed for exactly such tasks. So rather than calling it a mech, it was more like a giant machine equipped with comprehensive tools. Performing excavation and penetration tasks was a child’s play for it. So after landing with a loud thud, Kurokami without hesitation rushed to the ruins and began digging. The ten mechs that had been following him also landed one after another five minutes later, joining him in the work.

Ten engineering mechs were equivalent to ten giant excavators, complete with all necessary supporting equipment. Their efficiency in working was astonishing. In just ten minutes, a large pit hundreds of meters in diameter appeared before everyone. At the bottom of the huge pit lay a pitch-black opening.

“This is it,” said the black-haired man, his voice filled with joy. He was clearly satisfied with what he saw. Although they hadn’t yet entered Madaro’s laboratory, a cool breeze was still coming from the newly discovered hole, indicating that the air exchange system of the underground base was still functioning! And since the base was still operational, the chances of the prisoners surviving increased. The black-haired man didn’t believe those madmen wouldn’t have prepared a complete set of escape plans while conducting their research.

The rescue operation went smoothly so far, with no insurmountable obstacles encountered. And although the surrounding environment was eerie, it had little impact on them as long as they didn’t touch anything on their own. Other rescue teams also arrived one after another after the black-haired man dug the hole and entered the underground base without hesitation.

It was only then that everyone realized the destructive power of the explosion.

Almost all the passages were blocked. Everywhere visible was utter chaos—twisted and deformed armor plates, distorted corridors—all testament to the severity of the explosion. The closer they got to the laboratory designated by the black-haired man, the more horrifying the sight became. Eventually, there was no path left at all; only a mass of melted and mixed alloys in front of them.

“Start digging using cutters. We don’t have much time left.” Seeing this, the black-haired man had no choice but to try everything possible. If all the metal had melted, did that mean the original rooms no longer existed? For a moment, he really worried whether the prisoners could survive. In his opinion, such a scene was almost a death sentence for them!

But it must be said that miracles still exist in this world. And this miracle unfolded right before the black-haired man’s eyes…

Switching to cut mode naturally slowed down the digging process. Yet after just half an hour, the black-haired man finally reached his destination. With the shrill sound of the cutters, the team members working ahead suddenly cheered.

“The head!! We found it!! They’re all here, still alive!!!”

Letting out a long sigh, the dark-haired man felt his entire body relax, listless to the point where he didn’t even want to move a finger. It was only then that he realized his tank top was already soaked with sweat…