The ascent up the final tiers of the Grand Octagonal Dais was a race against heat-powered runaway.
With every stride Lin Tao took, the heat inside the circular hall climbed by another two degrees. The cooling oil leaking from the shattered transformers beneath the floor began to smoke and boil. It filled the air with thick, pungent curls of blue-black vapor that stung the eyes and coated the lungs with an oily, chemical soot. High above in the shadowed dome, the massive load-bearing ribs of the ceiling groaned under huge magnetic strain, their bronze joints warping as thousands of current units of raw current surged through the unshielded channels.
Lin Tao sprinted up the sixth tier, his boots leaping two marble steps at a time.
Beside him, Tie Shan moved with astonishing agility for a man of his size. His fourteen-pound pry-bar was held low against his thigh, his breath coming in rhythmic, fiery huffs. The giant didn’t waste a single erg of energy on unnecessary motion, his boots finding traction on the scorched stone with total certainty. Sweat poured down Tie Shan’s temples, stinging his scarred eyebrows. But his grip on the cold iron remained unbending.
Lin Tao performed a rapid body scan of their status. His own pulse was ninety-six beats per minute, raised but within safe working limits. His breathing was deep and deep-belly, matching Tie Shan’s rhythm to avoid hyperventilation in the white-hot, smoky air.
