Lin Fan did not delay. The clock was ticking toward the arbitrary "midnight" deadline he had imposed, a temporal marker designed to amplify the psychological pressure on The Citadel. He was Tier 4, and his target was the massive Geothermal Power Station—a resource too vital to damage with conventional force.
The Invisible Invasion
Lin Fan emerged from the cloaked Cryo-Skimmer in the frozen canyon. The Citadel's defenses were formidable: laser grids, seismic pressure plates, and sophisticated thermal scanners constantly sweeping the perimeter. Commander Valkyrie had positioned her troops for a massive kinetic attack, making the perimeter dense with armed patrols.
Lin Fan had no intention of engaging kinetically. His path was one of molecular precision.
He focused his Perfect Molecular Control to achieve absolute stealth. As his crystalline boots touched the ice, he simultaneously applied localized freezing and sonic dampening to the micro-structure beneath his feet. He was an invisible, soundless phantom, registering zero acoustic or thermal signature against the -40°C environment.
He bypassed the first perimeter—a complex laser tripwire grid—by generating a thin, shimmering wall of inert, super-cooled air that acted as a perfect refractive lens, bending the laser light just enough to render the sensors useless for the crucial second he crossed.
He then passed the main thermal scanner array. Instead of shielding himself, Lin Fan used his power to precisely match the ambient temperature of the surrounding environment, creating a perfectly cold, passive profile that the Citadel's sensors would dismiss as local thermal leakage or environmental static.
Lin Fan slipped inside the perimeter, moving toward the primary utility infrastructure near the central administration block, the fortress's nervous system.
Tier 4 Power Demonstration: Replication
Deep within the compound, Lin Fan encountered a patrol—four Citadel soldiers, heavily armed and moving with professional discipline. They were carrying encrypted radio packs and Tier 3 kinetic rifles. Direct engagement was noisy and unnecessary.
As the patrol moved past the corner of a generator housing, Lin Fan seized the opportunity.
He focused his Instant Matter Replication ability. He drew ambient kinetic energy from the generator's rhythmic vibration and mentally commanded: "Replicate: 10 meters of ultra-fine, highly conductive copper filament (Tier 1)."
SHIMMER-SNAP. A coil of ultra-fine, gossamer copper wire materialized silently in his hand.
In a swift, invisible movement, Lin Fan threw the filament. The wire silently wrapped around the soldiers' encrypted radio packs. The high conductivity instantly overloaded and shorted out their communications, emitting a sharp, localized ozone scent.
The soldiers froze, confused, their lines of communication severed. They began frantically checking their useless gear.
Lin Fan had no time for them. He used his Perfect Molecular Control to flash-freeze the ground beneath their boots, locking them in place for a crucial minute. He continued his infiltration, leaving the paralyzed, isolated unit behind.
The Geothermal Paradox Attack
Lin Fan reached the external housing of the geothermal system—a chaotic network of superheated pipes, massive valves, and steam vents. This was The Citadel's heart—and the focus of the impossible threat he had issued.
Lin Fan took up a position on the roof, directly above the main pipe outflow. He focused all his Cryogenic Dominance into a single, terrifying application.
He didn't target the exterior of the pipe. He targeted the steam molecules flowing under pressure inside the pipe.
He unleashed a focused blast of absolute cold directly into the core flow. The superheated steam, under extreme pressure, instantly flash-froze into massive, high-density ice crystals within the pipe's internal structure.
K-RACK-BOOM!
The instantaneous expansion of the ice crystals was catastrophic. Two main outflow pipes—each thicker than a man's torso—ruptured violently, spewing shattered pipe segments and chaotic, pressurized steam into the air.
Simultaneously, The Citadel's main console would have registered a catastrophic drop in steam pressure and an impossible spike in internal system cold.
But Lin Fan wasn't finished. He knew the Citadel would immediately divert power to emergency backup.
He moved 100 meters away, to the edge of the geothermal zone, where a massive, ancient glacier abutted the facility. He focused his Tier 4 thermal output—the inversion of his cryogenic power. He poured his immense internal energy into the glacier's molecular structure, causing an instant, localized molecular destabilization (melting) of the ice.
A torrent of hundreds of thousands of gallons of superheated, pressurized water, released instantly from the glacier, rushed down the natural incline and straight into The Citadel's primary drainage systems and lower foundations.
The sequence was impossible and horrifying: Ruptured pipes due to flash-freezing followed immediately by a massive, unexpected flood of superheated water. The Citadel's primary power source appeared to be malfunctioning catastrophically, simultaneously freezing and boiling itself into structural failure.
Valkyrie's Collapse
Lin Fan retreated immediately, using the cover of the sudden steam and the resulting chaos of the flood. His work was done.
Inside The Citadel's central command, Commander Valkyrie was facing total pandemonium. Her sophisticated, kinetic defense systems were useless against this molecular assault.
Lin Fan tapped into their comms one last time. He could hear Valkyrie's voice—sharp, but edged with genuine terror.
"Sector Four! Report on the pressure spike! Why are we flooding? Divert all available maintenance crews! The core is registering absolute zero in the outflow—how is that physically possible?!"
An engineer's voice was frantic: "Commander, it's not possible! We're melting! We're freezing! The system diagnostics are redlining with contradictory data! The foundation is compromised by the flood!"
Valkyrie screamed into the comms: "It's a chemical attack! It has to be! Send Kinetic Teams Alpha and Beta to the eastern manifold! Secure the structural integrity immediately!"
She had fallen into the trap. She had committed her most heavily armed units—Kinetic Team Alpha and Beta—to defending a structure that was not actually failing, but suffering from a localized molecular mirage.
Lin Fan moved swiftly to the facility's actual weak point: the Primary Utility Tunnel beneath the Administrative Block. He targeted the heavy, electronically locked blast door.
He didn't use an explosive. He used his Perfect Molecular Control to simultaneously subject the door's massive metal hinges and locking bolts to an instantaneous process of molecular destabilization and extreme thermal expansion. The metal screamed under the unnatural manipulation.
K-RACK! The heavy door's hinges and bolts sheared off with a muffled snap.
Lin Fan slipped into the darkness of the utility tunnel. He immediately sealed the entrance behind him with a dense, instantaneous wall of mutagenic ice, ensuring no one could follow quickly.
He was deep inside The Citadel's infrastructure, armed with Tier 4 power, and heading directly for the geothermal core. The psychological war was won; the real war for the control of the massive, self-sustaining power station was about to begin. Lin Fan had effectively crippled The Citadel's confidence, turning their greatest strength—their reliance on stable, conventional power—into their greatest terror.
He contacted Valkyrie's frequency one last time, his voice calm, digitized, and full of cold finality.
"Midnight has arrived, Commander. You have seen the depth of my power. Surrender the facility and your command, or the entire complex will become my frozen monument."
He waited just long enough for the message to sink in, then moved deeper into the facility, ready for the final, decisive engagement.