Chapter 280 Fateful Choice

When the countdown reached the tenth second, Su Wanqing shouted into the air, "I choose the fourth path."

The jade bracelet vibrated with a "buzzing" sound, and a green light rushed out, condensing into streams of data in front of the console, and then directly penetrated into the interface of the metal panel.

"Quick, stop her!" Zhizhu's voice was like scraping glass, mixed with a sharp buzzing sound.

Several Weaver guards in silver uniforms rushed over from both sides in an instant, their leather heels making a "clacking" sound as they hit the metal floor.

Xiao Ran turned the gun and blocked Su Wanqing in front of him. The last two bullets in the gun hit the legs of the nearest guard with a "bang". The man staggered two steps and fell, knocking over the instrument rack next to him.

Lin Che squatted in the corner, his back pressed against the scorching pipe. A blue light surged beneath his skin, as if something alive was wriggling in his veins.

Xiao Ling half-knelt and pushed the last dose of stabilizer into his arm. Just as the transparent liquid in the syringe was empty, he suddenly grabbed her wrist and said, "The communication system... there's interference."

Xiaoling didn't say anything, but instead reached out and pressed his forehead. Light red blood beads oozed out of her palm and seeped into his skin.

Lin Che closed his eyes for a moment, and the blue light exploded with a "boom". The surveillance screen on the ceiling "sizzled" and instantly turned into a snowflake.

Professor Gray huddled behind the console, his fingers tapping rapidly on the secondary keyboard.

He didn't even bother to adjust his crooked glasses, and kept muttering, "The parameters need to be adjusted, otherwise they will explode."

The Lord of Weaving suddenly turned his translucent face, his pupils slit into thin lines. Before Gray could react, a blue light had already struck him, and he crashed into the wall, shattering half of the glass.

The ring structure of the time gate began to shake, and the blue light on the surface kept churning like boiling water.

The alarms on the main control console blared incessantly. Su Wanqing stared at the jumping numbers on the console. A warning from the watcher came through her headset: "Energy critical. We recommend terminating your operation."

She ignored it and continued to input commands with gritted teeth. Her nosebleed dripped onto the console, forming a small red dot.

Xiao Ran's gun was empty. He threw it to the ground, picked up the wrench next to him and threw it at the guards who rushed over.

Three guards surrounded him and smashed his back with metal gloves. The dull sound mixed with the sound of dislocated bones echoed in the space.

Xiaoling threw the medical kit on the ground, pulled out two syringes filled with antidote, bent down to avoid a wave of energy, and stabbed the guard on the left in the neck with her backhand.

The guard suddenly froze, pinching his throat and kneeling down. The guard on the right was distracted and glanced at his companion, and Xiao Ran took the opportunity to hit his knee with a wrench.

Lin Che staggered to her feet and placed both hands on the main console.

Blue light seeped out from between his nails, and he looked like a luminous body.

"I need energy." He turned his head to look at Su Wanqing, his eyes shining blue.

Su Wanqing bit her lip, and the jade bracelet's green light split and wrapped around Lin Che's wrist.

A lavender arc of electricity rose between the two of them, the console screen flickered madly, and the data streams entangled like two snakes - on one side was the Watcher's correction code, and on the other side was the Weaver's forced-on program.

The Lord of Weaving rushed over, creating a gust of wind. Su Wanqing was thrown against the wall, and out of the corner of her eye she saw a dark shadow blocking her way.

The outline of the Time Observer became clearer, and its translucent body twisted into a barrier. The Weaver's attack hit it, splashing specks of light.

"You've broken the rules!" the Master of Weaving roared. The Observer's voice repeated, "You were the first to cross the line."

The time gate suddenly emitted a sharp metallic friction sound. The ring structure cracked several times, and blue light burst out with a hiss, burning people's skin.

Gray climbed up with the help of the wall. His sleeve was cut and blood was flowing down his arm.

He rushed to the backup console, his fingers typing quickly on the keyboard: "This should be..." The console screen flashed, and the coordinates at the other end of the time gate began to change, slowly turning from the "Weaver's Home Planet" to the "Unknown Spacetime Point".

"No!" Zhizhu's voice was filled with tears. He threw the observer away and rushed towards the main console, stepping on the debris on the ground.

Su Wanqing looked up and saw that the steel bars on the ceiling began to fall down continuously. Cracks appeared on the ground, and the dark pipes below could be seen.

Xiao Ran rushed over and grabbed Xiao Ling, shouting, "Retreat! Retreat quickly! This place is going to collapse!" Xiao Ling struggled, but couldn't break free, and was dragged towards the door by him.

The final moment arrived quickly. Just as Su Wanqing finished entering the command, the Watcher's notification blasted into her ears: "Insufficient energy. New parameters cannot be stabilized."

Lin Che suddenly grabbed her hand, and the blue light in his palm burned her painfully.

"I'll be the stabilizing force," he said, his voice sounding like it came from far away.

Xiao Ling screamed and tried to rush over, but was stopped by Xiao Ran. Her nails left several bloody marks on his arm.

Lin Che's body began to become transparent, and the blue light flowing inside could be seen.

He looked at Xiaoling, moved his lips, and said, "That day at the water plant... you were the anchor."

He fished a data chip from his pocket and tried to hand it over, but his hand disintegrated into particles of light in mid-air.

Xiaoling struggled forward crying, but Xiao Ran hugged her tighter.

Zhizhu stood in front of the control console, his hands inserted into the core. His angry expression slowly calmed down, and he looked up at Lin Che: "So... this is the bridge."

His hands stopped struggling and instead guided the energy along Lin Che's blue light.

The three forces collided with each other in the center of the time gate, and the air was filled with the crackling sound of electric arcs.

The moment the countdown reached zero, the time gate exploded with a bang. The intense light blinded the eyes, and when they could finally see clearly, a blurry image appeared in the center of the gate.

A beam of light shot out from the door, casting a holographic projection on the ground - a middle-aged man with light blue eyes and fine blue lines on his skin.

"Greetings, guardians of Earth." His voice was electric. "We are... the future."

As soon as the middle-aged man in the holographic projection finished speaking, a "click" sound was heard from the metal ground.

The Lord's translucent body trembled violently, and his skin, which had originally glowed with a cold light, cracked. "Tampering with the coordinates! You actually changed the parameters!" He turned and pounced on Gray, who was huddled behind the control console, even his glasses cracked into spider webs. "Did you change it? Tell me!"

Gray was lifted up by his neck, his feet off the ground: "No...it's the time gate that's turning on its own."

He coughed twice, and blood foam splashed on Zhizhu's wrist. "The energy flow is being pulled by something, and even I can't control it."

Adrian's projection flickered, the blue light becoming more stable. "First Weaver, the time gate you activated already carries the 'anchor' of Earth civilization. The genetic imprint left behind by the pioneers who left three million years ago keeps the gate connected to the future of this planet."

He raised his hand, and the right hand in the projection pressed against his chest. "It took our civilization fifty years to fully understand the choice made by the pioneers back then—they didn't flee, but rather reserved the possibility for the fusion of the two races."

Su Wanqing wiped the blood from her nose, the jade bracelet burning on her wrist. She stared into Adrian's blue eyes, the color of which was almost identical to the light in Lin Che's transformed eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"End this crisis," Adrian said. "The energy of this door is out of control now. It will tear apart all the underground facilities, triggering a chain reaction. Half of the city will be swallowed up by the time turbulence."

His projection turned to Lin Che, "And this young man—Lin Che, his gene fusion is the only anchor that can stabilize the gate."

Xiao Ling knelt beside Lin Che, holding his hand. Lin Che's skin had turned translucent, and the blue light in his veins could be seen like a dying candle. "He can't hold on any longer. When he used his energy just now, I felt his pulse, and it was very slow."

"We have a way," Adrian said. "Using future medical technology, combined with the characteristics of Xiaoling's blood, we can temporarily maintain his vital signs. But we need your cooperation to close this door."

Xiao Ran threw the wrench to the ground. The sound of metal clashing mixed with the rebar falling overhead. "Why should we trust you? You said fifty years from now, who knows if it's a trap set by the Weaver?"

The orb suddenly let go of Gray, who fell to the ground, clutching his neck and coughing violently.

The Lord of Weaving turned to Adrian, his translucent face leaning closer to the projection. "Historical records? In the history you're talking about, I'm the 'founder of mixing'?"

"Yes." Adrian nodded. "You led some Weavers to stay on Earth and established a joint government with humans. Your genetic sample is kept in the museum, numbered 001."

The Master of Weaving took two steps back, knocking over a nearby instrument rack. Metal parts clattered to the floor. He stared at his hands, the blue lines faintly visible beneath his translucent skin. "I thought... we would rebuild our home planet's civilization."

"The home planet was destroyed two thousand years ago." Adrian's voice softened. "The pioneers knew this when they left, so they chose Earth as their new home. Your persistence back then actually saved both races from extinction."

Su Wanqing squatted down and looked Lin Che straight in the eye. Lin Che's eyes had turned grayish blue, as if covered with a layer of fog. "Can you hear me? They say you're the anchor."

Lin Che moved her lips, her voice coming out like water: "Xiaoling's blood... can save me."

He raised his arm and touched the back of Xiaoling's hand with his fingertips. "That day at the water plant, you held me in your arms and ran, blood dripping onto my neck. I thought at the time, if only it could always be like this..."

Xiaoling's tears fell on the back of his hand: "What nonsense! You will definitely make it through this."

She took out the last two stabilizers from the medical bag, and her hands kept shaking as the needle pierced Lin Che's arm.

The ground cracked again, and black liquid could be seen surging underneath.

Xiao Ran tugged at Su Wanqing's sleeve. "The facility won't last ten minutes. We either trust his method or run away—but Lin Che definitely won't be able to stay."

"There's no point in running." Lu Zhao's voice exploded from the headset, carrying a cacophony of electricity. "I just connected to the underground surveillance, and the collapse has spread to the B3 floor. The main facility you're in is the center point, and all the routes leading out have collapsed."

Adrian's projection suddenly flickered, and snowflakes appeared at the edges. "The energy backlash from the time gate has begun to affect the transmission. I need you to make a decision within three minutes. If you agree, I will synchronize future medical procedures to Xiaoling's terminal. If you disagree, this gate will drag you and the entire underground facility into the time turbulence."

Su Wanqing looked at Xiao Ran. Xiao Ran touched the flare in his pocket and then let it go. "I'll trust you this once. But if you dare to play tricks on us..."

"I understand," Adrian said.

Xiaoling's terminal made a "ding" sound, and a string of green codes popped up on the screen.

She wiped her face and handed the terminal to Su Wanqing: "It's a medical program. It matches the blood sample data I studied before."

The Lord of Weaving suddenly walked to the Time Gate. His body was no longer transparent, and the blue veins were as clear as blood vessels. "I want to see what the Earth will look like in fifty years."

He raised his hand and pressed on the door. A blue light suddenly enveloped him. "If what you said is true..."

The alarm suddenly rose in volume, becoming a piercing wail. A steel bar in the ceiling snapped, falling half a step away from Su Wanqing.

Lin Che's hand slipped from Xiaoling's, and the blue light completely dimmed.

"Lin Che!" Xiao Ling rushed over and pressed her face against his chest.

Adrian's projection began to blur. "Medical procedures need to be initiated immediately. Xiaoling, use your blood to mix with the stabilizer and inject it into his heart."

Su Wanqing grabbed Xiaoling's hand and said, "Listen to him."

Xiaoling bit her lip, drew her own blood with a syringe, and mixed it with the stabilizer.

When the needle pierced Lin Che's left chest, he suddenly opened his eyes, and light flickered in his blue eyes.

The blue light of the time gate began to shrink, from a ring to a point of light.

Adrian's projection said something last, but it was drowned out by the alarm.

Su Wanqing only saw the shape of his mouth - "Good luck to you."

The ground shook violently, and Su Wanqing fell on top of Xiao Ran. When she got up, the time portal had disappeared, leaving only the charred remains of the control console.

The Lord of Weaving stood there, his body no longer translucent, the blue lines under his skin exactly the same as Adrien's.

Lin Che coughed twice and grabbed Xiao Ling's wrist: "I seem to have seen... fifty years from now."

Another piece of cement fell from the ceiling and landed at their feet. Xiao Ran dragged Su Wanqing towards the door and said, "Let's get out first!"

Xiao Ling carried Lin Che on her back and ran after him. Lu Zhao's voice blasted out from the headset: "The backup escape route is ten meters behind you on the left! Hurry!"

The Master of Weaving stood still. He touched his face, the blue lines burning at his fingertips.

More violent explosions were heard in the distance, and the facility began to tilt.

When Su Wanqing ran past the Master, he suddenly said, "Tell Adrian fifty years from now..." He smiled, "Tell him that the first Master said this choice... was worth it."

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