In the shadows of the mine fork, the Iron Eagle patrol car lay like a wounded metal beast amidst the rubble.
Feng Hao kicked aside the slag at his feet, his fingers tracing the bullet marks on the door—charred edges, signs of electromagnetic bullets, but no penetration, indicating the owner had abandoned it, not been defeated. He knocked on the car body, the dull echo revealing confidence: "The armor's thick enough, the energy core should still work."
"Thirty seconds," Yan Yuanxiu crouched down, data streams from his fingertips snaking into the car's circuits like silver serpents.
He didn't glance at the dashboard, his eyes locked on the terminal screen. As the data stream breached the firewall, the screen flashed with garbled code, quickly suppressed by his counter-codes. At ten seconds, the car lock clicked; at twenty, the energy core hummed; at thirty, the deflated tires began to inflate, and the headlights suddenly blazed, blinding.
"Done," Yan Yuanxiu dusted off his hands, nonchalant, "Iron Eagle's system is easier to crack than Qingxiao Pavilion's spirit locks, like child's play."
Feng Hao was about to open the door when Chen Mochen grabbed his wrist.
Chen Mochen's folded fan pointed to the heap of abandoned mine carts behind them. Behind the rusted iron, something furry moved, stirring up dust that swirled in the headlights. "Come out, whoever's hiding there," his voice, though soft, was like a stone thrown into water, "keep hiding, and my fan won't be friendly."
The heap of mine carts fell silent.
After a moment, a rusted iron plate was cautiously pushed aside, revealing a small, grimy face.
A girl, no more than fifteen or sixteen, her ponytail a mess, clutching something half her height—a mechanical dragon with golden scales, its head drooping, a crack in the left eye's crystal, its right foreleg dripping pale gold liquid, clearly injured.
"Don't… don't come closer," the girl's voice trembled, but she held the dragon tighter, "Steel Fang bites."
The dragon let out a low growl, not the hiss of electricity but the whimper of a real beast, tugging at the heart. Its golden scales were smeared with blood and oil, the broken leg's metal skeleton gleaming, evidence of a recent fierce battle.
"Steel Fang… behave," the girl gently stroked the dragon's neck, a faint green light flickering at her fingertips.
Feng Hao noticed her technique—not that of a mechanic, but more like soothing a living creature. Each stroke slowed the dripping liquid, the whimpers softening.
"Iron Eagle's people?" Yan Yuanxiu raised an eyebrow, his terminal already pulling up nearby patrol records, "There was a skirmish here yesterday, Qingxiao Pavilion chasing a 'dragon thief,' wouldn't be you, would it?"
"I didn't steal it!" The girl's face flushed red, pressing the dragon closer, "Steel Fang was left by my dad! He said it's a symbiotic dragon from the previous era, it shares energy with people…"
Before she could finish, the dragon suddenly struggled, scales bristling, baring its teeth at Chen Mochen. The girl quickly hugged it, "No! They… they don't seem bad."
Chen Mochen's fan snapped open, hiding half his face, only his smiling eyes visible, "Oh? So, are we good or bad?"
The girl pursed her lips, glancing at Feng Hao's mechanical arm, then at the data streams on Yan Yuanxiu's terminal, suddenly mustering courage, "You… you're heading to the safe zone, right? I know the way! Steel Fang knows Iron Eagle's patrol routes, we can avoid their checkpoints!"
She paused, pushing the dragon forward, "It's hurt, needs spirit energy crystals. Take me to the safe zone, I'll guide you, and… and Steel Fang can scout for you!"
The dragon seemed to understand, its intact right eye looking at Feng Hao, the crystal reflecting his image, its broken paw gently touching the girl's hand, as if nodding.
Feng Hao's mechanical arm suddenly grew hot.
The resonance was clear—the dragon's energy frequency matched his arm and the spirit energy crystals deep in the mine.
"Get in," Feng Hao released the car door, pointing to the back seat, "Your dragon, we might be able to fix it."
The girl's eyes lit up, then dimmed quickly, "Really? Steel Fang's core is a symbiotic furnace from the previous era, Qingxiao Pavilion says… it's a cursed thing, can't be fixed…"
"They don't know squat," Yan Yuanxiu scoffed, already pulling out a toolbox from the car, "The previous era's symbiotic furnace is ten times more valuable than the Federation's junk engines. Give me a spirit energy crystal, I'll make it spit fire."
The girl hugged the dragon, hesitantly taking a few steps, then stopping, "You… really won't arrest me?"
"Arrest you for what?" Chen Mochen's fan tip pointed at the dragon in her arms, "We're not interested in dragon thieves, only useful people. If you lead us wrong…" he didn't finish, the fan snapping shut, "you'll face the consequences."
"I won't mess up!" The girl thumped her chest, Steel Fang growling in agreement, as if vouching for her.
She climbed into the back seat with the dragon, carefully placing the broken leg on the seat, herself shrinking into the corner, using her sleeve to wipe the blood off the dragon's scales. Feng Hao glanced in the rearview mirror, noticing she cleaned meticulously, even the dirt between the scales, her movements gentle, like caring for a sick relative.
The patrol car slowly left the fork, headlights cutting through the mine's darkness.
"My name's Su Xiaoli," the girl suddenly spoke, her voice louder now, "My dad used to be a beast tamer in the mines, taught me to talk to spirit machines. Steel Fang was found in an abandoned lab, he said it could share life force, like… like your mechanical arm."
Feng Hao's grip on the wheel tightened.
Share life force?
He looked down at his arm, the fragments glowing brighter, as if responding to her words.
Yan Yuanxiu tapped on his terminal, pulling up a 3D image of the dragon, "The symbiotic furnace can share energy, but it needs a medium. Your dad didn't tell you the dragon's core runs on mine spirit energy?"
Su Xiaoli's face reddened again, "He… didn't finish before he left. Iron Eagle said he was hiding relics from the previous era, arrested him…" her voice trailed off, fingers picking at the seat cover, "I stole Steel Fang back, they've been chasing me ever since."
The car fell silent, only the engine's hum and Steel Fang's occasional whimpers.
Chen Mochen suddenly spoke, "Left turn ahead, there's a temporary checkpoint."
Su Xiaoli immediately looked up, "I know! Detour through the ventilation shaft, half the sensors are broken, Steel Fang can mask our energy signature!"
Yan Yuanxiu didn't reply, just turned the wheel.
The patrol car entered the narrow shaft, headlights reflecting off the metal walls. Su Xiaoli held Steel Fang, the green light at her fingertips growing brighter, the dragon's broken leg's liquid gradually stopping.
Feng Hao glanced in the rearview mirror at the girl and dragon, suddenly feeling this journey wasn't so bad.
A found patrol car, a girl met along the way, a whimpering mechanical dragon… and that phrase, "share life force." Perhaps the previous era left more than cold machines and data, something warmer, hidden in these chance encounters.
As the shaft's end showed a faint light, Steel Fang suddenly raised its head, growling towards the front.
Su Xiaoli spoke quickly, "Three sentry bots ahead, Steel Fang can jam their signals!"
Feng Hao floored the accelerator, the patrol car bursting out of the shaft, the girl's green light and the dragon's golden scales shining like a sudden bloom.
The sentry bots' red lights swept past in the dark, as if blind, sliding right past the patrol car.
Yan Yuanxiu whistled, "Not bad, your dragon's better than my jammer."
Su Xiaoli buried her face in Steel Fang's scales, whispering, "Steel Fang's amazing, it can 'talk' to the sentry bots' sensors, make them think we're just slag."
The dragon proudly flicked its tail, scales flashing in the headlights, the broken leg's light membrane thickening.
Past the checkpoint, the mine opened up. Ahead, a massive spirit energy crystal embedded in the rock wall cast a pale blue light, illuminating a deserted camp—tents askew, a campfire still smoking, as if the owners had just left.
"This is Iron Eagle's temporary supply station," Yan Yuanxiu glanced at his terminal, "Records from three days ago show they suddenly left, reason unknown."
Feng Hao parked the car by the crystal, "Split up. Yan Yuanxiu, check for usable supplies; Chen Mochen, keep watch; Su Xiaoli, let Steel Fang absorb the crystal's energy, once it's recovered, we'll have fewer problems."
Su Xiaoli immediately ran to the crystal with the dragon.
As Steel Fang touched the crystal, it let out a contented growl, the blood on its scales fading, the broken leg's liquid flowing back. Su Xiaoli sat beside it, green light continuously flowing from her fingertips, murmuring as if whispering to the dragon.
As Feng Hao and Yan Yuanxiu searched for supplies, Chen Mochen emerged from the largest tent, holding a crumpled paper.
"Look at this," he handed the paper to Feng Hao, "Mine disturbance, evacuate immediately. Iron Eagle's handwriting, ink still wet."
Feng Hao unfolded the paper, besides the words, there was a scribbled mark, like a beating heart, pointing deeper into the mine.
"Disturbance?" Yan Yuanxiu pulled out a few boxes of rations from a crate, "Qingxiao Pavilion attacking, or…"
Before he could finish, Steel Fang let out a sharp cry.
Su Xiaoli stood up, face pale, "Steel Fang says… something's woken up deep in the mine! It's vicious!"
The dragon faced the mine's depths, scales bristling, a threatening growl in its throat, its broken claw gripping the crystal, even stopping its energy absorption. Though its left eye was cracked, the red light inside flickered wildly, as if warning.
"Something?" Chen Mochen's fan snapped open, "Chaos Syndicate, or…"
"I don't know!" Su Xiaoli was on the verge of tears, "Steel Fang says it feels 'hunger,' a terrible hunger, like it's going to devour the whole mine!"
Feng Hao's mechanical arm suddenly burned intensely.
The resonance was stronger than ever, he could even "see" the scene deep in the mine—a massive shadow, slowly awakening with the mine's pulse, the surrounding spirit energy crystals trembling.
"How far to the safe zone?" Feng Hao looked at Su Xiaoli.
The girl immediately nodded, "Through the lava layer ahead! There's a defensive structure from the previous era, it should hold…"
"Let's go," Feng Hao cut her off, turning to run to the patrol car, "Yan Yuanxiu, grab the supplies, no time to sort; Chen Mochen, cover the rear!"
Yan Yuanxiu had already stuffed the found spirit energy crystal fragments into his backpack, grabbing it as he ran, "Can Steel Fang move? If not, I'll carry it!"
"It can!" Su Xiaoli picked up the partially recovered dragon, following Feng Hao to the car.
Though Steel Fang still struggled to stand, it braced on three legs, scales shining like fire in the crystal's light. It glanced at Su Xiaoli, then at Feng Hao's mechanical arm, suddenly leaping into the back seat, more agile than before.
The patrol car started again, this time speeding.
Outside, the spirit energy crystals' light dimmed, as if being drained. The mine walls trembled slightly, falling rocks clattering on the car roof.
"It's catching up!" Su Xiaoli pointed at the rearview mirror, voice trembling.
Feng Hao saw in the mirror the shadow from the mine's depths expanding, spirit energy crystals shattering in its wake, emitting mournful cries.
"Hold on!" Feng Hao jerked the wheel, the car narrowly avoiding a falling boulder, "Yan Yuanxiu, push the engine!"
"It's maxed!" Yan Yuanxiu slapped the energy core's casing, "This junker can't go faster!"
Chen Mochen suddenly opened the window, his fan sweeping back. A dark energy blast flew out, exploding in the mine's center, forming a barrier. Though instantly consumed by the shadow, it bought a few seconds.
"The lava layer's close!" Su Xiaoli pointed at the red light ahead, "Through that is the safe zone!"
Feng Hao floored it.
The patrol car shot like an arrow into the lava layer's red light. Heat blasted in, the car's paint melting, but no one cared. Steel Fang let out an excited growl in the back, scales shining blindingly, seemingly familiar with the high-temperature zone.
As they passed through the lava layer, everyone exhaled.
A wide valley opened before them, a massive metal structure at its center, covered in previous era's runes—the safe zone from Iron Eagle's records.
As the car stopped, Su Xiaoli jumped out with Steel Fang, pointing at the building's entrance, "Look! The previous era's symbiotic runes! Steel Fang says it's safe here!"
Feng Hao looked at the building, touching his burning mechanical arm, the resonance now soft and steady.
He suddenly felt Su Xiaoli and Steel Fang's appearance wasn't a coincidence.
Like the safe zone's symbiotic runes, the dragon's resonance with the mine, that phrase, "share life force"—the previous era's secrets were slowly unfolding through these chance companions.
And whatever had awakened deep in the mine, they'd have to face it.
But this time, they weren't alone.