Chapter 132

Ning Hai frowned tightly, unsure whether that thing would explode; he couldn't tell.

"What do you want to do?" Ning Hai decided to ask first.

The mercenary captain said, "I want to use explosives to blow open this door."

"Blasting?" Ning Hai's head shook like a rattle drum, "No way, no way! Just a burst of bullets already cracked this side, and you still want to use explosives? Are you crazy?"

The mercenary captain said seriously, "Then do you have any other way to open the door?"

Ning Hai's face grew grim, "No, but…"

"Mr. Ning, please trust my professional expertise," the mercenary captain patted his shoulder, "using only a small amount of explosives and employing directional blasting, we can blow open the iron door while trying not to destroy this place."

Ning Hai fell into a dilemma.

The mercenary captain asked again, "Please tell me, Mr. Ning, what's inside, and will it explode?"

"The thing inside…" Ning Hai looked at the round iron door before him.

Although saying that thing out loud would likely not be believed by these mercenaries, it ultimately concerns Professor Bruce's secret research, so it cannot be spoken openly.

In fact, Bruce's secret research project is spacetime travel.

M Guo has nearly held the leading position in global scientific research over the past century, so it has also been covertly conducting many extremely advanced scientific explorations and studies.

Bruce himself also has a strong interest in this area.

Relying on a top-secret file concerning the Kuche Boerg Nuclear Power Plant collected in recent years, he gained support from M Guo's Special Research Department and established a dedicated project team for spacetime travel.

That top-secret file mentioned that several decades ago, a group of Eastern European scientists were conducting experiments in spacetime travel.

Because they required enormous energy support, these Eastern European scientists set up their laboratory inside the then‑largest nuclear power plant in the world—the Kuche Boerg Nuclear Power Plant.

However, an unknown accident occurred, causing an explosion at the nuclear power plant.

Therefore, the severe accident at the Kuche Boerg Nuclear Power Plant was not, as later announced to the outside world, due to reactor design flaws and operator error by the plant's staff.

Not long ago, Bruce investigated based on the top-secret file, uncovered more clues, and concluded that the machine built by those Eastern European scientists decades ago should still be underground at the nuclear power plant.

Furthermore, that machine very likely succeeded in opening a spacetime portal.

This was extremely tempting for Bruce.

He urgently wanted to find that machine; even if only its wreckage were recovered, it could greatly aid his project research.

It so happened that Ning Hai, once his prized disciple, fled to M Guo seeking his protection, which led to the present situation.

"Mr. Ning?" the mercenary captain shouted when he saw Ning Hai spacing out.

Ning Hai came to his senses and slowly said, "In theory, the nuclear plant has been decommissioned and supplies no energy, so that thing shouldn't explode… but… this is merely theoretical."

Seeing his troubled expression, the mercenary captain bluntly said, "If you're really worried, Mr. Ning, let's just go back."

Ning Hai blurted out, "No! The thing the professor wants is right here—I must get it!"

He also needs to complete this mission to obtain M Guo citizenship and become a senior researcher there; then, whatever he did domestically would no longer matter.

But if he fails to get it, he'll spend the rest of his life on the run, never able to turn things around.

"Mr. Ning, you're putting me in a tough spot," the mercenary captain shrugged and spread his hands, "Besides blasting, there's no other way."

"Alright… blow it up then," Ning Hai agreed helplessly.

Having received permission, the mercenary captain immediately sprang into action with his team.

First, using their carried equipment, they had to reconfigure the explosive dosage according to the scene, including modifying the explosive tools.

Seeing them work together with seamless coordination, Ning Hai felt a bit relieved and asked, "About how long will it take?"

The mercenary captain said, "You can take a nap first; I'll wake you."

Ning Hai looked around; beneath his feet was mud soaked by groundwater for who knows how long, and there was nowhere to sit, so he strained despite his fatigue, waved his hand, and said, "I'd better keep an eye on things—hurry up."

——

At the same time, Ning Jinli and the rescue team had arrived at the area where the experts were trapped.

Since they were following the official survey route previously opened, the journey went smoothly.

Along the way, Ning Jinli kept walking while absorbing nuclear radiation; radiation that would be lethal to ordinary people was exactly the training energy she sought.

"How are you doing? Can you hear me?" the rescue captain cautiously approached the collapse site and shouted downwards.

Soon, a response came from below: "Two people are injured, one with a broken calf; I and the other three are fine, just a bit dehydrated."

The rescue captain then asked, "Is anyone trapped underneath?"

They replied that no one was.

"We'll first lower some water and chocolate down by rope," the captain reminded, "Eat something to replenish your strength, stay as far to the side as possible; debris has piled up at the collapse opening, and we need to clear it."

"Okay, thank you… thank you…" the people below breathed a sigh of relief.

The rescue team members were about to begin clearing when they discovered that the rubble-reinforced concrete collapsed above the site was tightly jammed together, making it hard to pry open with the equipment they carried.

Moreover, the gaps in the debris were too narrow for anyone to pass through.

"Captain, this won't work…" a crew member whispered, "We'd need an excavator to open it. But even if we could bring one in, the ground here couldn't bear the weight—what do we do?"

"Let me try," Ning Jinli said, stepping forward slowly.

The captain asked, "Do you have a way?"

Ning Jinli nodded, "Step back a little, I'll widen the gap a bit, then we can pull them up with the rope."

Several team members quickly said, "These obstacles are not only heavy but also locked together; even our gear can't budge them—how could you possibly do it?"

The captain then said bluntly, "General Shangguan told me that Miss Ning possesses extraordinary abilities—let's trust Miss Ning."

Several rescue personnel promptly stepped back a bit.

Ning Jinli covertly circulated her internal strength, thrusting her hands into the debris and gradually trying to increase the force.

Crack—

A faint cracking sound rang out, and everyone's hearts leapt to their throats in an instant.

One must bear in mind that a slight misstep could cause the collapse zone to expand again, and given the surrounding subsidence, it might trigger a chain reaction—not only would the experts be unable to escape, but the rescue team could also be buried alive.

Ning Jinli held her breath, bare-handedly slowly chiseled open the concrete block, then carefully bent the protruding rebar aside.

This scene left the rescue team dumbfounded.

This is the specially formulated concrete and rebar used in the nuclear power plant; even after decades, its strength far exceeds that of ordinary building materials.

As a result…… she pried it open with her bare hands?

Is she a superhero?!

"Looks about right," Ning Jinli said, eyeing the barely wide enough gap for a person to crawl through. "I can only dig this much; if I go further, the obstruction could collapse at any moment. You're in protective gear, so I'll go down instead."

The rescue team members, without a word, fastened a safety rope around Ning Jinli.

Several people pulled the rope, lowering Ning Jinli down.

For safety, at a height of five to six meters, they took about ten minutes.

"Where are the injured?" Ning Jinli asked, holding up a flashlight.

"Here!" someone replied,

Ning Jinli followed the sound and saw four experts tightly squeezed in a corner, guarding two others lying on the ground.

In the areas not reached by the flashlights, a faint mixture of blue‑green light glimmered vaguely.

That was produced by some radioactive substances.

It shows how severe the nuclear radiation here is—even the visible radioactive glow is this obvious, let alone the invisible kind.

As Ning Jinli approached, the experts exclaimed in shock:

"Little miss, are you with the rescue team? How come you're not wearing any protective gear?"

"This is the core area of the old nuclear power plant! The worst spot of the leak! Now the whole place is saturated with intense nuclear radiation!"

"Yeah! Without protection, even a few minutes of exposure could cause serious harm to the body! Little miss, you… you… sigh!"

Several people felt heartbroken, thinking the rescue team had risked their lives to save them.

Especially this girl—she looks very young at a glance.

But as a result of saving them, she's been exposed to high‑dose nuclear radiation…

"Don't worry, I'm not afraid of radiation." Ning Jinli soothed them, then noticed one injured person had a fractured lower leg and his protective suit was torn, and she asked, "How long has he been exposed?"

The experts wore grim faces, "Possibly over twelve hours, maybe."

"Probably when he fell and broke his leg, the suit got torn at the same time…"

As they spoke, someone began to sob softly.

They all knew that even if this colleague survived and got out, the residual radiation in his body would not let him go.

It won't be long before he too…

"Little miss, don't bother with me—please get the others and our important survey data out first." The fractured expert said weakly, "I'm surely done for; don't waste time on me."

Ning Jinli pulled out the walkie‑talkie at her waist, "Captain, I need a set of protective gear here."

"Received," the captain replied immediately, "I'll send it down right away."

Soon, a new set of protective gear was lowered down on a rope from above.

With the help of the other experts, they put the new gear on the fractured one, and then Ning Jinli placed her hands on his body.

The next second, the air began to swirl around her.

The experts, wearing protective suits and helmet visors, felt no wind, but could see her hair moving.

Then, the faint blue‑green light all around surged toward her.

Several experts had never seen anything like this in their lives; they were utterly stunned.

As the radioactive energy kept flowing into Ning Jinli's body, it all vanished in a short while.

"Little… little miss… what… what is happening to you?" an expert stammered.

Ning Jinli exhaled slowly, "I've absorbed the surrounding nuclear radiation, including what's in this expert's body."

Several people looked utterly incredulous.

But judging by her tone, she wasn't joking.

"Rest assured," Ning Jinli comforted the fractured expert, "your body is now free of residual radiation, but because you were exposed for too long, it's sustained some damage; just recuperate well and you needn't worry about aftereffects."

"All right, I'll send you up first."

Ning Jinli tied the safety rope to the fractured expert, then communicated via walkie‑talkie with the rescue team above to hoist him up slowly.

At the same time.

On Ning Hai's side, the mercenary squad had already prepared a small directional‑blasting explosive device and placed it around the round iron door.

With a few sounds no louder than firecrackers,

the round iron door, under the directed impact force of the explosion, bulged out several centimeters from the wall.

Ning Hai immediately checked the condition of the nearby crack; seeing it hadn't worsened, the worry in his heart eased.

Then, with the combined strength of several mercenaries, they finally opened this iron door, which was a full forty centimeters thick.

Ning Hai was the first to slip inside, shone his flashlight, and found the interior cramped, with the walls and ceiling curving like an inverted bowl.

Cables ran thick across the walls, clearly drawn from the nuclear power plant above this secret underground chamber.

Countless cables converged together, connecting to a central experimental platform over a meter high, and in the middle of that platform sat a black sphere the size of a basketball.

"Tsk, good thing this place is deep enough and the walls are sturdy, otherwise we wouldn't have survived that blast," Ning Hai muttered, "at last I've found it."

"Is this it?" the mercenary captain asked, pointing at the black sphere.

Ning Hai leaned in for a close look; this black sphere's material was unknown—it resembled both metal and stone.

"Probably… besides this, there doesn't seem to be anything else," Ning Hai muttered, "this thing… is it a machine?"

"Then take it down," the mercenary captain said, stepping up to the experimental platform and reaching out.

Ning Hai hurried to stop him, "Don't rush—let me examine its structure first; it's fused with the platform, can't be pried apart. If you break it, you'll pay for it?"

A mercenary wandered over to the other side of the lab bench, discovering several switches and buttons, as well as rows of indicator lights.

It looked like a control panel.

He bent over, exhaled a breath, and blew away the thick dust covering it.

However, there were no labels or symbols next to the switches and buttons, so it was unclear what they did.

Since he was idle anyway, and he thought the nuclear plant had long been destroyed, so there could be no power left, and the machines here surely couldn't be restarted, he began fiddling with the switches and pressing the buttons.

The click-clack sounds drew Ning Hai's attention.

He turned his head and saw it was the mercenary who had earlier fired a gun in a startle; instantly furious, he shouted, "What are you doing now? Don't touch anything! You idiot, why are your hands so cheap?!"

Since they had already had a conflict, and now Ning Hai was cursing again, the mercenary could no longer tolerate it, he kicked the control panel and raised his middle finger at Ning Hai.

"You bastard!" Ning Hai braced his hands on the lab bench, about to leap over and fight.

The other guy wasn't backing down either; he directly pulled the bolt and pressed the gun muzzle against Ning Hai's forehead.

At that moment, the indicator lights on the control panel suddenly lit up.

The Black Sphere then began to spin...