Chapter 13

The next day, Miao Weizhen summoned Wen Ling, Su Si and Han Zhong. In the temporary command room with a solemn atmosphere, the huge screen on the wall displayed the still unstable scarlet energy readings of the core of the ninth district.

"The failed communication attempt proves that the target is highly deceptive and dangerous." Miao Weizhen went straight to the point, his tone regaining absolute calm, as if what happened in the medical station had never happened. "Destructive suppression is the only viable option."

Wen Ling remained silent. He did not object anymore. The lesson of failure and the injury on his shoulder were too heavy.

He just stared at the screen, his deep green eyes filled with reflection and unwillingness, but more of it was the solemnity of facing reality.

"Engineer Su, how do we deploy the destruction program for the resonance generator?" Miao Weizhen looked at Susie.

Susie took a deep breath and pointed at the three-dimensional model of the energy core. "The energy field surrounding the core is too strong for conventional delivery methods. Someone must carry a specially designed high-powered generator, break through the innermost energy barrier, and manually activate it at a very close distance. Once activated, the resulting energy storm will...annihilate the core, but the carrier has no chance of survival."

Her voice was trembling slightly, but her words were clear.

"I'll go." Han Zhong stepped forward, his eyes firm beneath his graying hair. "Even with my old, frail body, I can eliminate this threat for Your Highness and Sailiang. It's a worthy death!"

"No, General Han, you need to command the clearing of the periphery and subsequent operations." Miao Weizhen directly rejected it. His eyes swept across everyone and finally landed on Wen Ling, but only for a moment before he moved away.

"This mission requires extremely strong individual penetration capabilities and extreme resistance to the energy environment." Miao Weizhen's voice was flat. "I will carry it out personally."

Silence fell in the command room. Even Han Zhong was shocked. Miao Weizhen was going to personally carry out a suicide mission? This was far beyond their expectations.

Wen Ling glanced at Miao Weizhen, trying to find any trace of impulse or acting on his face, but all he saw was a bottomless icy lake. He was serious.

"No!" Wen Ling blurted out, "You are the person in charge and commander of this operation. Your command is needed here, and..." He wanted to say that this was too dangerous, but swallowed the words back. In the face of the common goal of "destroying the core", any concerns about personal safety seemed pale.

"There's no one more suitable than me," Miao Weizhen said in an unquestionable tone. "I understand the characteristics of some of the Federation's equipment and can try to use it to disrupt the energy field. My ability to perceive and react to danger is the key to a successful infiltration."

He paused, then looked at Wen Ling with a sharp gaze. "Your Highness, this is the plan with the highest chance of success right now. Do you want to stop it again?"

Wen Ling met his gaze, seeing the resolute determination in his eyes, a willingness to risk his own life. He understood that Miao Weizhen wasn't playing the hero, but rather the optimal solution arrived at through cold calculation. His previous ideas had already failed, and to stop them now would be an unreasonable act of indecision, which would only lead to the deaths of more people.

He pursed his lips tightly and finally shook his head with difficulty.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked, his voice low but firm.

Wen Ling accepted this cruel reality and chose to take her own responsibilities.

Miao Weizhen replied, "Your Highness and General Han will be responsible for coordinating the perimeter. Ensure that the blockade is absolutely secure after I enter to prevent the spread of contamination. Engineer Su, immediately conduct the final adjustments to the generator and provide me with the strongest protective gear."

The order was quickly issued, and the entire port began to operate like a precision instrument. No one questioned it anymore, and the air was filled with a tragic and tense atmosphere.

Wen Ling watched as Miao Weizhen, with the help of Susie, put on a specially made heavy protective suit that could resist energy erosion to a certain extent. The dark figure was wrapped in the bulky equipment, but still stood straight as a javelin.

When Miao Weizhen was about to walk towards the airtight door leading to the ninth area, Wen Ling quickly stepped forward and stuffed something into his hand.

It was a small, peculiarly structured metal tuning fork, inscribed with fine ancient Serlian runes.

"This is……"

Miao Weizhen was slightly stunned.

"Pacifying Rune Tuning Fork. I made it... myself."

Wen Ling spoke quickly, a complex emotion in her green eyes: "Although communication has failed, perhaps... at the last moment, I can slightly disrupt its violent consciousness, even if it can only buy you a fraction of a second."

There was a subtle earnestness in his voice: "Take it, just in case."

This is not an order, but more like a powerless wish, a last glimmer of hope that one is unwilling to give up in the face of cruel reality.

Miao Weizhen looked at the tuning fork in his palm, which was warm from Wen Ling's fingertips. It was as if another stone had been thrown into the frozen lake of his heart. He did not refuse, but held it tightly in his palm and gave Wen Ling a deep look, his eyes complex and difficult to read.

Then, he turned without hesitation and stepped into the dark passage that symbolized death.

The airtight door slammed shut behind him.

Wen Ling stood there, his fists clenched tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms. He had chosen to support Miao Weizhen's cold but effective plan, but the heaviness and worry brought by this decision were no less than the previous setback. This time, they placed all their hopes on the man whose methods were ruthless and who repeatedly surprised them.

Miao Weizhen's figure disappeared at the end of the dark passage, and the heavy airtight door blocked out all sounds.

The atmosphere in the temporary command room was tense. Wen Ling, Han Zhong, Su Qian, and all the staff members were fixed on the central screen.

The screen was divided into several images: the bumpy and dim first-person perspective transmitted back by Miao Weizhen's helmet camera; the energy reading curve of the core area, the scarlet peak was like the heartbeat of a devil, constantly hitting the warning threshold; and the real-time monitoring of the outer blockade line.

Miao Weizhen advanced at breakneck speed, his movements as precise as a machine. Using the temporary "friendly frequency" provided by Susie as cover, he avoided most of the energy turbulence. Whenever he encountered a few contaminators, he eliminated them with the simplest and most efficient method—precisely firing at their leg joints to disable them—without the slightest hesitation. His calmness and efficiency almost made one forget that he was marching step by step towards his own death.

"We have broken through the first layer of energy barrier." Miao Weizhen's cold voice came through the communicator without any fluctuation.

Wen Ling unconsciously took a step forward and stared at the screen.

He saw that the surface of Miao Weizhen's protective suit had begun to emit an abnormal red light, and energy corrosion was continuously consuming the protection.

"The energy readings are rising sharply! The core has discovered him!" Susie suddenly exclaimed.

On the screen, the crimson curve representing core energy suddenly shot up! Miao Weizhen's first-person perspective shook violently, and countless dark red energy tentacles swarmed out from the depths of the pit like ferocious venomous snakes, strangling him!

"Initiate emergency evasion!" Han Zhong shouted into the communicator.

In the image, Miao Weizhen executed a series of dazzling tactical evasive maneuvers within the confined space, so fast that they practically left afterimages. His pulse pistol unleashed a fiery beam, precisely severing each incoming tentacle, but more continued to emerge.

"No! There are too many! He can't get close to the core!" Susie's voice was filled with despair.

At this moment, Wen Ling looked at Susie fiercely: "Susie! Can you amplify the 'soothing frequency' I simulated earlier and broadcast it towards the core through the port's external broadcasting system?"

Susie was stunned. "You can try! But the effect is unknown. It might anger it, or it might be completely useless!"

"There's no time to hesitate! Hurry!" Wen Ling's tone was filled with unquestionable determination.

Susie immediately operated quickly on the console.

A few seconds later, a low and melodious frequency with an ancient rhythm passed through the huge external speakers of the port, penetrated through the layers of rock walls, and faintly entered the underground dome.

A miracle happened.

The wildly dancing energy tentacles froze for a moment. The pulsating crimson light of the core also flickered ever so slightly and erratically. In the image captured by Miao Weizhen's helmet camera, the tentacles' aggressiveness seemed to have weakened a bit!

It’s this precious moment!

Miao Weizhen did not hesitate at all. Like a dormant cheetah, he suddenly rushed out from behind the cover, increasing his speed to the extreme. He ignored the few tentacles that were still attacking him, letting them leave charred marks on his protective suit, and rushed straight to the edge of the pit!

"He rushed over!" Han Zhong shouted excitedly.

Everyone held their breath.

On the screen, Miao Weizhen's first-person perspective was frozen at the edge of the dizzying abyss of the pit, the dark red core below like a huge evil eye. Without hesitation, he raised the specially designed resonance generator and pressed his thumb hard on the start button.

At this critical moment, something strange happened again!

A beam of blue light, completely different from the core energy, shot out from the shadow on one side of the dome without any warning. It was at an astonishing speed and aimed directly at Miao Weizhen's back!

The sneak attack was too sudden and too covert, completely beyond everyone's expectations.

"Be careful!" Wen Ling screamed in surprise.

Miao Weizhen seemed to have eyes on his back. Just before the dark blue beam of light hit his body, he twisted his body at an almost unbelievable angle. The beam of light brushed past his ribs, tearing a huge hole in his heavy protective suit. The scorching energy even scratched his skin!

He turned around suddenly, and the helmet camera instantly locked onto the attacker - a figure wearing a federal special operations uniform and a full-face mask on his face, holding a peculiarly shaped high-energy sniper rifle that was obviously a federal standard.

People from the Federation? Why are they here, and launching a sneak attack at this critical moment?

Miao Weizhen's eyes flashed with coldness, filled with murderous intent. But he had no time to pursue, as the core seemed to be stimulated by the conflict between the sneak attack and the appeasement frequency, becoming even more violent, and more tentacles rolled towards him.

He faces a desperate situation: the violent core in front of him and the federal killers behind him.

At this critical moment between life and death, Miao Weizhen made a decision that made everyone's heart stop - he suddenly threw the resonance generator in his hand, which had been activated and the countdown had begun, with all his strength towards the core deep in the pit.

At the same time, he used the recoil of the throw to pounce towards the federal killer behind him, his pulse pistol spewing out angry tongues of fire.

"The detonation program has been initiated, countdown is ten seconds!" Susie reported sharply.

Everyone's heart was in their throat.

The generator arced and fell into the core's crimson glow. Miao Weizhen and the federal assassin engaged in a fierce close-range firefight in the confined space, beams of light crisscrossing and explosions ringing out.

"ten!"

"Nine!"

"eight!"

…

The countdown is like a death knell.

Wen Ling stared at the screen, his fists clenched so tightly that he didn't even notice the blood seeping from his nails. He looked at the dark figure weaving through the hail of bullets and energy tentacles, and for the first time, he clearly hoped that this man would survive.

"three!"

"two!"

"one!"

Boom!!!

An indescribable, all-consuming white light suddenly erupted from the depths of the pit, instantly flooding the entire screen.

Bright light, loud noises, and violent earthquakes were heard simultaneously. The lights in the temporary command room flashed wildly, the equipment creaked, and everyone was shaken to the ground.

When everything slowly calmed down, the white light on the screen gradually dimmed, and when the picture reappeared, it was seen that the huge pit had been forcibly smoothed and sealed by some invisible force, leaving only twisted molten rock.

The scarlet energy light and those terrifying tentacles all disappeared without a trace.

The core was destroyed.

But...what about Miao Weizhen?

And that federal killer?

The camera searched, and finally, under a collapsed metal support near the edge of the original pit, the camera locked onto a dark figure lying on the ground.

He was motionless, his protective suit was badly damaged, and weapon fragments were scattered around him.

Wen Ling's heart sank instantly.