Chapter 24

The alarm was beeping! He didn't start it!

Gu Jing's heart seemed to be tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and it stopped beating instantly! The cold fear was like a tsunami, instantly drowning the determination he had just ignited!

Who is it?!

Qin Zhengfeng? Did he figure it out? Was this a trap to lure him out?!

Or... 739? An accident? Forced to start?

Countless terrible speculations exploded in my mind, but there was no time to think at this moment!

The shrill alarm sounded like the scream of death, penetrating the decks, accompanied by the sudden, dense and chaotic sound of footsteps, roars, and the loud noise of some kind of metal gate slamming down in the distance!

The entire ship instantly transformed from a cold factory into a boiling hunting ground! And they were the prey trapped at the bottom of the cage!

"Hmm..." Qin Yu on the bed seemed to be stimulated by the huge noise. His dilated pupils focused with difficulty for a moment. He struggled to move, but it only made the equipment connected to his body emit a more urgent alarm!

There was no fear in his eyes, only a burning desire to protect something. He stared at Gu Jing, his lips moving silently, as if he wanted him to leave quickly.

Go? Where to go?!

Gu Jing suddenly looked towards the heavy alloy door of the confinement room - the door must be full of guards at this moment! The only ventilation duct entrance was also several meters away, and there was no time to retreat!

Desperate situation!

Cold sweat instantly soaked Gu Jing's back, and a huge despair swallowed him like an icy tide. He could even imagine the door being kicked open in the next second, with countless guns pointed at them!

No! I can't die here!

He suddenly lowered his head and looked at Qin Yu, who was trembling slightly in pain and anxiety on the bed, and looked at his eyes that were looking at him until his death.

An equally crazy bloodiness suddenly broke through the fear!

He quickly scanned the small confinement room - the cold metal bed, the flashing monitoring equipment, and a fixed metal instrument tray in the corner!

His gaze finally fell on the densely packed tubes and patches on Qin Yu's body.

Take a gamble!

A ruthless light flashed in Gu Jing's eyes. He no longer tried to dismantle it gently, but suddenly reached out and roughly tore off all the life monitoring patches and infusion lines connected to Qin Yu!

The data on the instrument screen instantly turned into chaotic straight lines and garbled characters, issuing an even sharper and more piercing fault alarm!

Almost at the same time!

The alloy door of the confinement room made a soft "beep" sound, and the green light of the electronic lock flashed - someone unlocked it from the outside!

Gu Jing's pupils suddenly constricted. Without a second thought, he used all his strength to slam the heavy metal instrument tray toward the door! At the same time, he pounced on the bed like a cheetah and dragged Qin Yu, who was convulsing violently from being suddenly separated from the instrument, off the bed. Using his thin back as a cushion, the two of them tumbled heavily to the cold ground and rolled into the narrow space under the metal bed!

"Bang--!"

The tray hit the door with a loud bang!

Almost at the same time!

"Bang!"

The alloy door was violently kicked open from the outside! Several armed guards rushed in!

"Don't move!"

"Hands up!"

Chaotic roars and the crisp sounds of guns being loaded filled the small space!

The moment the guards rushed in, the first thing they saw was an empty bed, instruments torn into a mess, and metal trays and miscellaneous items scattered on the floor.

The blind spot - the narrow space under the bed became the only possible hiding place!

"Under the bed! Search!" the leading guard shouted sternly, and the muzzle of the gun moved downward instantly!

At this critical moment!

"boom--!!!"

A massive explosion, far more terrifying and muffled than the sirens and gunfire, suddenly erupted from somewhere on the upper deck! The entire hospital ship shook and tilted violently, as if struck by an invisible giant hand!

The shockwave of the explosion traveled wildly along the metal hull! The ceiling light bulbs instantly exploded and went out, and debris rained down like raindrops! The walls creaked with a piercing sound! A strong smell of burning and smoke quickly filled the air!

"What's going on?!" "Explosion! Is it the power compartment or the ammunition depot?!" "Hold on! Capture them first!"

The guards who rushed in were thrown to the ground by the sudden and violent explosion and vibration, and their positions were thrown into disarray! Screams, the sound of objects smashing, and the sound of metal twisting were endless!

Chaos! Absolute chaos!

Now is the time!

Under the bed, Gu Jing's blood was boiling and his ears were buzzing, but he gritted his teeth and took advantage of the moment when the guard's vision was disturbed and his body was unbalanced. He used all his strength to drag Qin Yu, who was almost completely unable to move, and rolled out from the other side of the bed!

"Over there! Catch them!" A sharp-eyed guard spotted them, staggered, raised his gun and tried to aim!

Gu Jing didn't have time to think, and dragged Qin Yu towards the open and slightly shaking ventilation duct inspection port!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The bullets whizzed and hit the metal wall and the ground behind him, splashing a string of sparks!

Gu Jing felt a burning pain in his shoulder, as if it had been scratched by a ricochet, but he didn't care! He struggled to stuff Qin Yu's upper body into the ventilation duct, and followed closely behind, using his hands and feet to crawl deeper into the duct!

"Chase!"

Behind me came the guard's angry roar and the sound of chaotic footsteps!

The dark, narrow ventilation ducts filled with dust and smoke became their only way to survive!

Gu Jing dragged Qin Yu, desperately crawling forward! Qin Yu's body was as heavy as a rock, completely unable to cooperate. Every drag consumed Gu Jing's huge physical strength. The sounds and footsteps of the pursuers behind him were getting closer and closer. The occasional bullet hit the wall of the pipe, making a terrifying muffled sound!

He could only rely on his memory and the structural diagram he had glanced at before, and desperately crawled towards the path mentioned by 739 in his memory, which might lead to a relatively safe area!

The explosion continued, and from time to time there were violent vibrations and terrible metallic groans coming from the hull, as if it would disintegrate and sink at any moment! The smoke in the pipes grew thicker and thicker, and the temperature was also rising!

"Cough... cough cough..." Qin Yu seemed to be choked by the thick smoke, making a weak and painful cough, and his body spasmed unconsciously.

"Hold on... Qin Yu! Hold on!" Gu Jing growled hoarsely, his face covered with sweat, blood and dust, his arms trembling violently from excessive exertion, and his lungs aching like fire.

He didn't know what the explosion was, who started the buzzer, where the road ahead led, or whether they could survive.

He only knew that he couldn't stop and couldn't be caught!

I don't know how long I climbed, but the sound of the pursuers behind me seemed to be temporarily thrown away by the explosion and the complex pipe structure.

Gu Jing's strength was almost exhausted. He gasped for breath and stopped at a slightly wider pipe junction. This seemed to be a maintenance node, with a slightly larger space, allowing them to curl up and take a breath.

In the darkness and thick smoke, the only sounds were the heavy and struggling breathing of two people.

Qin Yu's condition was very bad, his breathing was weak and rapid, and his body temperature was frighteningly low.

Gu Jing groped and hugged his cold body, trying to give him some warmth, and his fingers trembled as he stroked his cold cheek.

"... Stupid... thing..." The man in his arms suddenly uttered a few very weak and intermittent sounds.

Gu Jing was stunned and lowered his head.

With the help of the faint red light that came from nowhere and filtered through the gap in the pipe, he saw Qin Yu struggling to open his eyelids. His bottomless eyes were weakly focused in the darkness, with an almost helpless and anxious reproach.

"...Why... did you come..." He spoke each word as if he had spent a huge amount of energy, "...shouldn't...come..."

At this time, he is still thinking about this?

Gu Jing's heart seemed to be hit hard by something, and sourness, anger, and an indescribable emotion surged up.

"Shut up..." His voice was hoarse and filled with tears. He hugged him tighter, "...Fuck you... Shut up... Save your energy..."

Qin Yu seemed to want to force a smile, but in the end he just closed his eyes weakly, and his breath became even weaker.

Gu Jing's heart sank to the bottom in an instant.

We can't stay here! We have to find a way out! We have to find medicine! Qin Yu needs treatment!

He forced himself to gather himself and carefully observed the node. There were several pipe openings in different directions around it.

Which way to go?

According to my memory, the blueprint given by 739 showed that there should be a path leading to...

His eyes suddenly fixed on the inner wall of one of the pipe openings.

There, there was a fresh, extremely simple arrow symbol hastily carved with some sharp object!

It was exactly the same symbol he saw under the sink in the rest cabin!

Was it left behind by 739?! He's here?! He's guiding them?!

Gu Jing's heart was instantly seized by hope!

He no longer hesitated, and used up his last bit of strength to drag Qin Yu up and crawl towards the pipe opening indicated by the mark!

The tunnel seemed to slope upward, becoming increasingly narrow and difficult to navigate. But Gu Jing gritted his teeth and pressed forward desperately.

After climbing for an unknown amount of time, I could vaguely hear a faint light and human voices ahead?!

It wasn't the rough roar of the pursuers, but some kind of... rapid but orderly movement?

Gu Jing's heart was in his throat, and his movements became more cautious and slow.

He cautiously approached the grille at the pipe opening and looked out through the gap.

There seemed to be a small emergency medical station outside. Several people wearing white medical uniforms but tactical vests were busy sorting out first aid supplies and... weapons? There were also a few oxygen cylinders piled in the corner.

One of them was bandaging the arm of another wounded man, and his profile looked...

It was Qin Yu's sharp-eyed subordinate who had handed him the wine in the banquet hall and whom he met once in the sanatorium later!

Is he one of us?!

Gu Jing almost cried with joy!

But he suppressed his excitement and watched cautiously, unable to be completely sure whether it was safe.

At this moment, the wounded man whose arm was being bandaged raised his head slightly as if in pain.

It was 739! The nurse numbered 739! He had taken off his goggles, his face stained with blood and dust, but his eyes remained calm!

He seemed to raise his eyes unintentionally, and his gaze accurately swept across the ventilation grille where Gu Jing was hiding!

The two people's eyes met very briefly through the gap in the grille!

739's eyes moved slightly, then he lowered his head as if nothing had happened and continued to cooperate with the bandaging, but his hand hanging by his side made a "safe, wait" gesture very subtly and quickly!

It’s really them!

Gu Jing's tense nerves relaxed instantly, and a huge feeling of weakness came over him, making him almost faint.

He leaned against the cold pipe wall, gasping for breath, holding Qin Yu's cold body in his arms. Tears finally flowed out uncontrollably, mixed with the stains on his face, burning hot.

There is hope... They have hope...

However, at the moment when he relaxed a little——

"Bang!!"

Suddenly, from deep within the pipe they had just crawled through, there was a clear, loud noise as if a metal grille was violently kicked open!

and the guards' fierce roars: "This way! The traces are coming this way! They can't get far!"

The pursuers actually found us so quickly?!

The faces of the people in the emergency medical station changed instantly! They immediately grabbed their weapons and entered combat mode!

739 suddenly looked towards the ventilation vent with anxious eyes, and quickly made a gesture of "prepare for support and force a breakthrough"!

There are support in front and pursuers behind!

A line between life and death!

Gu Jing looked at Qin Yu, who was dying in his arms, and then glanced at his own people outside who were on the verge of a fight to the death. A last trace of crazy determination flashed in his eyes.

He suddenly lowered his head, leaned close to Qin Yu's ear, and used up his last bit of strength to hoarsely speak word by word:

"Qin Yu...listen...if you dare to die..."

"...Even if I become a ghost...I won't let you go..."

After saying that, he no longer hesitated, and used up all his remaining strength to kick open the vent grille in front of him!

"Bang!"

The loud noise of the grille flying out!

"Catch him!" Gu Jing roared outside and pushed Qin Yu towards 739 and the others with all his strength!

at the same time!

In the pipe behind him, the figures of the pursuers were already faintly visible! Guns were sticking out!

"Fire!"

"Protect Brother Yu!"

The sound of gunfire, roars, the aftermath of the explosion, the sound of twisting metal...it instantly drowned out everything!

The moment Gu Jing pushed Qin Yu out, he himself fell backwards due to the huge reaction force and fell back into the depths of the dark pipe.

The last thing he saw was 739 and the others struggling to catch Qin Yu, a barrage of death woven together by countless firepower, and Qin Yu's distracted yet stubborn gaze, which seemed to be trying to turn towards him before he fell into a complete coma...

And, deeper inside, from the heart of the hospital ship, came another, even more terrifying, even closer sound...

Loud explosion!

"boom--!!!"

The whole world was plunged into darkness and roar.