The defiant silence of Lin Fan's fortress, punctuated by the brazen display of the frozen skyscraper, sent the only possible message to The Iron Hand: a declaration of war. Lin Fan stood before the Sensory Array, watching the eastern quadrant. He didn't have to wait long.
The radio silence of the past few hours was shattered by frantic, coded transmissions. Through the enhanced filters of the Tier 3 Matrix, Lin Fan could clearly decipher the commanding officer's rage. They interpreted his stylized snowflake symbol not as a warning, but as a direct challenge to their burgeoning authority.
[Faction Response: Aggressive Mobilization.][Unit Strength: 1 Command Vehicle (APC), 3 Technicals (Heavy MG/Grenade Launchers), approx. 40 personnel.][Estimated Time to Engagement: 45 Minutes.]
"Brute force and arrogance," Lin Fan murmured, a familiar contempt curling his lip. "They rely on the same outdated hierarchy that failed them in the past life."
He donned his Cryo-Armor, the new suit providing a gratifying sense of security. He moved to his control station, linking his personal visor feed directly to the Aegis-1 Sentry Turret. His strategy was surgical: cripple their mobility, showcase his invulnerability, and inflict just enough terror to turn retreat into a panicked rout.
The Arrival
The Iron Hand arrived with a predictable display of force. The roar of diesel engines and the churning of armored tires cut through the icy wind. The four vehicles—a makeshift APC and three heavy-calibre technicals—screeched to a halt around the perimeter of his building.
The command vehicle's external radio crackled to life, the sound blasting from large speakers mounted on its roof.
"This is Commander Rourke of The Iron Hand! We know you're in there, isolating resources! You have ten seconds to open your primary vault door and submit to our authority! Your little ice trick is cute, but we deal in firepower! Surrender your energy core, or we will strip this block to bedrock!" The voice was raw, amplified, and dripping with aggressive confidence.
Lin Fan remained silent. His silence was his defense.
Rourke, frustrated by the lack of response, lifted a megaphone and screamed towards the sealed, alloy-covered windows of Lin Fan's unit. "Ten seconds! Nine! We will take your technology and execute you for insubordination!"
Lin Fan watched the thermal signatures of the enemy personnel. They were setting up heavy weapons: two men shouldered RPG launchers aimed directly at the center of his fortress wall—the area concealing the vault door.
Zero seconds, Lin Fan thought, gripping the control stick for the Aegis-1. Showtime.
The Unbreakable Shield
Rourke dropped the megaphone and yelled, "Fire!"
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The two RPG rounds streaked through the frozen air, leaving fiery contrails, aimed at the presumed point of entry. Simultaneously, the heavy machine guns on the technicals opened fire, a torrent of armor-piercing rounds ripping into the outer wall.
The impact was spectacular.
The projectiles struck the exterior surface of the apartment wall, but they did not hit the alloy. Instead, they hit an invisible, shimmering field of energy barely a meter away from the concrete.
K-RASH!
The Advanced Energy Shield Module (A.E.S.M.) flared into brilliant, blinding life. It was a dome of intense, kinetic energy. The two RPG rounds, designed to penetrate tank armor, disintegrated upon contact, their warheads failing to detonate properly against the pure energy field. The resulting concussive force was absorbed completely.
The torrent of heavy machine gun fire likewise impacted the A.E.S.M. The shield pulsed, releasing energy in shimmering waves, but the rounds glanced off, melting into smoking pieces of slag that clattered harmlessly onto the ice below.
Inside the shelter, Lin Fan felt a negligible vibration, less than a heavy footfall. The A.E.S.M. had absorbed the entire barrage with contemptuous ease.
Outside, the reaction was pandemonium. The soldiers of The Iron Hand froze, disbelief etched across their thermal signatures.
"What in God's name was that?!" Rourke screamed, snatching up his binoculars. "It's energy! It's some kind of power field!"
The Cryogenic Counterattack
Lin Fan had proven his invulnerability. Now, he would prove his lethality.
"Aegis-1, targeting system active. Priority: Mobility. Fire on Technical vehicle axles and command vehicle engine block. Suppress personnel."
BRRRT! BRRRT!
The Aegis-1 Sentry Turret, mounted discreetly above the vault door, opened fire. The heavy 12.7mm explosive rounds tore through the air, their trajectory guided by Lin Fan's precise input.
The first burst struck the lead technical. The rounds shredded the axles and punctured the tires, sending the vehicle spinning into a heap of twisted metal and ice. The crew scattered. The second burst crippled the engine block of the command APC, immediately spewing frozen vapor and killing its power.
As the enemy soldiers scattered, Lin Fan activated his personal power—a tactical strike designed to maximize chaos and fear.
He channeled his Cryogenic Manipulation through his external vents, focusing the cold directly onto the terrain.
FLASH-FREEZE.
The air within the fifty-meter radius around the vehicles instantly plummeted. The ground beneath the fleeing soldiers—already slick—turned into smooth, impenetrable glass. Their boots, ineffective against the sudden friction loss, sent men sliding, falling, and colliding.
The most terrifying effect was the instantaneous freezing of the enemy's own heavy weapons. The heavy machine guns and RPGs, left exposed on the technicals, flash-froze solid. Lin Fan had effectively disabled their entire conventional arsenal with a wave of invisible cold.
Annihilation and Sovereignty
The fight was over. The organized assault had devolved into a mass of sliding, panicking soldiers, trapped on an icy killing field, unable to shoot or stand.
"Cease fire, Aegis-1," Lin Fan ordered. He didn't want corpses; he wanted survivors to carry the message.
He focused his external microphone on Commander Rourke, who was currently sliding on his knees, staring in terror at the shimmering shield.
Lin Fan's voice, filtered and digitized through the high-powered comms, boomed across the frozen street, echoing with cold, unearthly power.
"Commander Rourke. This is the Ice Lord. You attempted trespass. You failed. Your armor is slag, your weapons are ice. Retreat now. Take your damaged vehicles and tell your council: This is my domain. The next trespass will be permanent."
Lin Fan then used a burst of Cryogenic energy to precisely freeze the ground directly under Rourke's feet, locking him temporarily to the ice in a miniature, agonizing prison. He then focused on the damaged APC, creating a massive, jagged pillar of ice beneath it, lifting the entire vehicle as a mocking trophy.
Rourke and the remaining two dozen men were left paralyzed, forced to watch the humiliation.
After a minute, Lin Fan released the ice trap. "Go."
The surviving members of The Iron Hand scrambled away, dragging their wounded. The Commander didn't look back. The retreat was disorderly, absolute, and total.
[Threat Neutralized. Faction Cohesion: Shattered.][System Loot Detected: High-Grade Conventional Weapons Cache (Tier 2 Salvage).]
Lin Fan had won the first war. His fortress was unbreakable, and his power was divine. He smiled beneath his visor. He had shattered The Iron Hand with minimal energy cost.
The nearby city was now his to claim.
(Author's Note: The Iron Hand is broken! The A.E.S.M. is flawless, and the Cryogenic power is terrifyingly effective. Lin Fan is now the undisputed technological and elemental sovereign of the region. What will he salvage from the battlefield, and how will he use his new dominance to find new cores? Don't miss Chapter 13! Show your support with a Power Stone for the Ice Lord!)