The cold mountain air whistling through the northern air-flow hatch brought the heat inside the apex platform down to a crisp ten degrees.
Lin Tao sat down upon the second step of the apex dais, resting his elbows on his knees, and step by step unbuckled his land-mapper satchel. His palms were aching with the deep, throbbing heat of second-degree burns. But the tight linen squeezing wraps and the bitter pine-resin animal fat had steadied the tissue, preventing fluid loss and infection. His pulse was steady at fifty-six beats per minute. His body settled into the deep, calm recovery state of an experienced field worker after a grueling shift.
Beside him, Tie Shan lowered his massive frame onto the marble step with a low grunt of physical tiredness.
The giant placed his fourteen-pound star-iron pry-bar across his lap. It ran his thick, scarred thumb along the hardened wedge. The star-iron bore several bright silvery streaks where it had struck diamond armor and hard dark metal hinge pins. But the edge remained true, without a single chip or hairline fracture. Tie Shan took an earthen water bottle from his belt, pulled the cork with his teeth. Then it took three deep swallows before passing it to Lin Tao.
