Chapter 153: The Third Round of Elimination Begins

Qin Feng, like a reaper returning from the ice plain, carried a body of biting cold and a faint scent of blood as he made his way back to Jingyuan Technology's temporary shelter. The injured Shield team member had his calf torn open by a bullet — a serious wound — and the accompanying engineer was urgently stanching the bleeding and bandaging him. The extreme cold aggravated the pain, but to a certain extent also slowed the bleeding.

"Boss, taken care of?" Lei Zhan lowered his voice, his gaze sweeping warily around them, worried there might be other ambushers.

"Mm. Professional killers, left no trace." Qin Feng was concise, his gaze turning toward the faintly visible direction of the Chuangsheng Technology team in the distance, a flash of killing intent passing and gone. "Pick up the pace, get to the Perennial Frozen Frontier as fast as possible."

The other side had chosen to strike here for no other reason than to use the extreme environment to delay or even eliminate them — at the very least to prevent them from reaching the Observation station on time. They absolutely could not be allowed to succeed.

There was no time to carefully survey the scene. The team, with their wounded, set out once more into the wind and snow. The atmosphere was heavier than before; everyone knew clearly that the road ahead was not only a struggle against the heavens, but a fight against men.

The next twenty kilometers felt like walking a razor's edge. Everyone was on full alert, guarding against cold shots or sudden attacks that might come from any angle. Yet, unexpectedly, until that Perennial Frozen Frontier Observation station — like a black beast crouching on the ice plain — appeared at the far edge of their vision, the anticipated second attack never came.

The Observation station was built of thick special steel and reinforced concrete, its surface covered in a thick shell of ice, with only a few portholes letting out a faint glow, like an island forgotten at the end of time. The giant antennas and meteorological sensors let out a whimpering sound in the gale.

When the Jingyuan Technology team, dragging their exhausted bodies, finally reached the station's thick airtight door, less than three hours remained before the start of the 72-Hour Extreme Test. Almost at the same moment, on the other side, the Chuangsheng Technology team also barely arrived.

Liu Shiyin's gaze swept over the Jingyuan Technology team member who was being supported, his leg bandaged, and the corner of her mouth curved into an almost imperceptible cold arc. She then led her team into the Observation station first.

Qin Feng's face was expressionless, as if he had seen nothing, and led his team in close behind.

The interior of the Observation station was far more spacious than it looked from outside, but still oppressive. White frost condensed on the metal walls; the air was thick with machine oil, electronic equipment, and a faint, elusive smell of decay. The limited space was divided into several functional zones; the largest central area had already been converted into a temporary testing zone, with several special cold-resistant interfaces and monitoring equipment already in place.

The other teams that had narrowly advanced had also arrived, each looking haggard — clearly their hardships along the way were no less. Seeing Qin Feng and Liu Shiyin arrive almost simultaneously, the representatives of these teams all had complicated looks in their eyes: awe, and wariness.

There was no idle small talk; the pressure of survival and competition had drained everyone of the mood for pleasantries. After each team settled in and quickly began installing and debugging their Core Energy Modules, the competition committee's station representative announced through the internal broadcast the official start of the second round — the "Extreme Environmental Adaptation Verification."

72-hour countdown, initiated!

Jingyuan Technology's lightweight, modular design now showed its advantage. Despite the jolts, exhaustion, and even the attack along the way, the three engineers, with Qin Feng and Lei Zhan's help, swiftly installed the Light Hydrogen Conversion Membrane Core Module and connected it to the Special Load Simulator provided by the Observation station.

Hum—

As the system started, a soft, steady blue glow lit up inside the conversion membrane. On the monitoring screen, the curve representing energy output rose smoothly, quickly reaching rated power and holding steady. Powerful energy flowed through the interface and surged into the Observation station's internal grid, infusing vitality from Jingyuan into this frozen fortress.

The entire process was smooth and swift, displaying astonishing stability and Environmental Adaptation.

On the other side, Chuangsheng Technology's installation process appeared far more "mysterious." They used their own Portable Insulation Chamber to haul the bulky equipment wrapped in black material into the testing zone, refused any outside help, and even hung up temporary shielding curtains. Only muffled sounds of mechanical latches and the hum of energy flow could be faintly heard from within. After a long while, the green light indicating normal operation lit up on their monitoring screen as well, and their output power also met the standard.

The other teams were clearly struggling far more. One team's equipment short-circuited from internal frost the moment it started, sending up black smoke, and was forced to withdraw; another's output power hovered at the critical threshold the whole time, hanging by a thread.

The competition on the ice plain, after entering this relatively "safe" Observation station, took another form and became even more silent and fierce.

Time ticked by, second by second. The wind and snow outside seemed endless, slamming into the station's outer walls with a muffled roar. Inside the station, apart from the low hum of equipment running and the occasional sound of communications, there was dead silence.

The first day passed smoothly.

On the second day, an accident occurred. Not from competitors, but from the Observation station itself. A local power fluctuation caused by aging wiring swept through the entire testing zone. The equipment output of most teams showed varying degrees of jumping and alarms.

Jingyuan Technology's system only flickered on screen for a fraction of a second before swiftly returning to stability — its powerful self-adaptive regulation on full display.

On Chuangsheng Technology's side, from behind the shielding curtains came a distinct, almost biological-sounding shriek; their output curve jerked violently several times before barely stabilizing, but the monitoring personnel clearly grew more tense.

Qin Feng glanced over from afar, his eyes narrowing slightly. That shriek… absolutely did not sound like a normal energy device.

The third day, also the most critical day. Continuous high-load operation and the persistent assault of extreme cold began to truly test the ultimate endurance of every system.

In the early hours, one team's equipment finally gave out — a core component cracked from the cold and shut down completely — and they withdrew in dejection.

Now, in the testing zone, only four teams remained in the fight. Besides Jingyuan and Chuangsheng, the other two were also giving it everything they had, tottering on the brink.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the constantly jumping data and the steadily decreasing countdown on the monitoring screens.

70 hours… 71 hours… 71 hours 50 minutes…

The final ten minutes!

The air inside the Observation station seemed to freeze solid. Even the roar of the wind and snow outside seemed to have weakened considerably.

From behind Chuangsheng Technology's curtains came a muffled, heartbeat-like "thump… thump…" Their output curve began to show subtle, periodic tremors, as if whatever was inside might lose control at any moment.

On Jingyuan Technology's side, the blue glow remained steady, the output curve as smooth as a straight line, as if the extreme cold outside and the passage of time had no effect on it at all.

Finally—

"Beep—!"

The long 72-hour countdown hit zero!

The committee representative's slightly weary but clear voice came over the broadcast: "Time's up! The second round, 'Extreme Environmental Adaptation Verification,' is over! All teams, please stop system operation and wait for the final data review!"

"We did it!" Chen Ming and several engineers couldn't help but let out a low cheer, their faces full of excitement and exhaustion.

Lei Zhan and the Shield team members also breathed a sigh of relief, but remained on guard.

Qin Feng slowly exhaled a breath of stale air; the white vapor instantly condensed in the freezing air. He looked across and saw Liu Shiyin walking out from behind the shielding curtain, her face seemingly a few shades paler than the polar ice itself, but the obsession and coldness in her eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

Soon, the committee's preliminary review results came out.

Jingyuan Technology, with impeccable stability, ultra-high efficiency, and perfect Environmental Adaptation, once again received the highest evaluation and advanced to the Final Round without suspense!

Chuangsheng Technology, although it had barely survived the 72 hours, had its system's instability in the later stages and that mysterious shriek draw serious concern and questioning from the judges. In the end, with the controversial conclusion of "significant uncertainty in technical performance, but meeting the minimum completion standard," it squeezed into the Final Round by the skin of its teeth.

Of the other two teams, one was eliminated for failing to meet the output power standard at the last moment, and the other withdrew due to severe equipment damage.

The second round's brutal ice plain elimination finally came to an end.

Jingyuan Technology once again emerged victorious in a dominating fashion.

But when Qin Feng led his team, packed up their equipment, and prepared to leave the frigid Observation station, he could clearly feel the gaze from Liu Shiyin and the dark force behind her — like a bone-rotting ulcer — even colder, even more filled with killing intent.

The ice and snow of Greenland had failed to stop his steps, but the final showdown was destined to unfold on a bigger stage, in an even more perilous way.

The third round — also the Final Round elimination that would decide the championship — was about to begin. And the location and content of the Final Round subsequently announced by the competition committee made all the surviving teams draw a sharp cold breath once again—

The final battlefield was actually set in that legendary place!