28 Lung Inhalation

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The highly intelligent alien creatures have their own consciousness and are struggling even in the chaos caused by the influence of the ground; the insects' own brains are not developed enough, so they instinctively find external brains and continue to evolve.

Only humans boast of their intelligence, believing they can see through the mysteries of nature. To survive, they cut off their own arms. With their eyes blinded by sand and their ears filled with the sound of the wind, they are no different from human pigs.

From a distance, it looks like a big bug.

Whether they could return to the surface in the future was unpredictable, and the outcome of the battle between the surface and underground factions was uncertain. But at least from what she saw, they would definitely pay a greater price.

The problem is, her own experiment is still differentiating Sentinels. Yan Xunzhi asked curiously, "But your experiment gave birth to more Sentinels. Isn't this the experiment you led...?"

Even people like Lian Yirong and Zheng Qing'an, who were obviously guides, were divided into sentinels. It would be strange if there were not many sentinels.

"They said my experiment was ruled out!" Kong Wei was dispirited. Why did they come back to this? "This is not the final result..."

She is not a prophet and is still groping in the dark.

He paused, perhaps not wanting to be misunderstood by her half-understood understanding, and added, "The so-called differentiation direction with a guide before differentiation is nothing more than getting better results in courses with a greater mental advantage. The White Tower course is only a basic selection and cannot cover all aspects."

Yan Xunzhi vaguely understood, "So they actually have other mental flaws...?"

That's not right. Guide differentiation is a means to strengthen mental strength. Isn't it a disguised way of dividing more sentinels and weakening the guide?

Kong Wei was about to make it clear, "It's almost the same, but we are..."

The yellow sand suddenly swirled up.

The wind is blowing! She stopped talking immediately and quickly took out a bunch of equipment such as scanners and recorders to take pictures and record.

Yan Xunzhi only did some simple training and didn't teach how to use these things. For a while, he could only stand there stupidly, watching helplessly, unable to help.

But in just ten seconds, the wind and sand were already raging!

The sky was filled with yellow sand, just like what she saw when she first came to the surface. The shallow pit beside her was difficult to identify, and the body was half buried in the blink of an eye.

Even though Kong Wei was skilled, he was not supernatural after all. There were many equipments and time was tight, so he could only throw them all on the ground, pick up the ones he needed, and had no time to collect them, and they fell into the yellow sand in an instant.

She had no choice but to close the exoskeleton, pull the connecting wires to prevent the important equipment from falling - at least the internal storage card from falling, and take her hands off the line, half-ejecting her body to grasp the operation.

Seeing Yan Xunzhi's empty hands, he subconsciously said, "What are you standing there for?"

They say a person's face reflects his heart. Having been an officer and an instructor, how could she possibly control someone without a bit of temper? It was just that she rarely showed it in front of Yan Xunzhi, and since she had no reason to lose her temper, she was usually very gentle... Yan Xunzhi was somewhat bewildered by this special flattery.

This was a wake-up call for her, and she woke up with a start and got to work quickly.

But I didn't know where to start, so I could only dig out the machine that was stuck in the sand and hold it...

Kong Wei looked at her movements and was stunned for a moment.

I don't know if it was a deep breath or a sigh, but he kept turning his hands, his tone much slower, "You won't forget. Hold on to the connecting line, and take it out when it gets into the sand. Don't drop anything or lose anything."

Yan Xunzhi did as he was told.

Kong Wei, a skilled multitasker, finished recording everything needed for the report in just two or three minutes. He stood up, took the instruments from her arms, and sorted them into different categories.

The yellow sand had already surrounded them. Looking around, even the distance two steps away from them seemed blurry, not to mention the tower in the distance.

Fortunately, the yellow sand covered the sky, so Yan Xunzhi didn't have to endure the direct scorching sun. He felt that his breathing was a little smoother, and he could even grope on the ground for a while.

There are foreign objects wandering around the nearest ground tower, and two doors are broken and are being repaired. The only door that is still working is facing the direction of the wind and cannot be opened.

Kong Wei contacted other ground towers and took a long detour before returning underground from an ground tower in the northwest second area.

War zones all look the same.

As Yan Xunzhi descended the ladder, he silently scanned the surroundings, unable to spot a single area that was different from Canxing or Northwest District 3. What a boring design...

Returning ground equipment and conducting process inspections in Northwest District 2 required approval. Yan Xunzhi followed Kong Wei and waited a while before returning the equipment.

After cleaning, I walked straight ahead and was still in the cleaning room, but it was a completely unfamiliar room. The administrator pressed a button on the wall, and dozens of machines on both sides roared to life.

The machine consists of two huge iron cans, a thick hose, a thin plastic tube, restraints, and a device that looks very much like a breathing mask. It is about half a person's height from the ground, and there are three stairs for people to climb up.

Kong Wei had already gone up there, familiar with the route. Yan Xunzhi followed behind, climbing up and standing like her, then fumbling to fasten the restraints.

She didn't know how to put the mask on, and it was crooked on her head. The administrator noticed and went over to help her adjust it. "First time?"

Yan Xunzhi let go and let her fiddle with it, silently memorizing the wearing method, "Well, I've been on the ground before, but never here."

"It's normal. You don't need to inhale your lungs every time. You only need to do it once every two or three times." The administrator smiled at her. "Believe me, after you experience it, you will find returning to the tower a torture."

“…”

Yan Xunzhi saw her expression, clearly teasing and looking forward to the fun, and internally broke out in a cold sweat. Could it be that scary?

It’s better not to tell her!

After finishing the arrangement, the administrator went to Kong Wei again to make sure that all the masks were properly worn before turning on the machine.

The machine roared loudly again. Yan Xunzhi remained silent for a while and was about to say, "There's nothing..." Suddenly, he felt a twitch in his chest, as if someone had grabbed his chest, and he immediately found it difficult to breathe.

asphyxia.

The feeling of dying, as if all the oxygen in the body had been drained away in an instant, like being held underwater, struggling to the end, and about to sink in despair. Yan Xunzhi struggled instinctively, but was strangled by the restraints.

One second, two seconds... time is so long, stretched out and stagnant countless times.

Oxygen rushes in.

Every cell was vying to absorb the energy. Yan Xunzhi was about to take a breath when he realized that this set of movements only involved inhalation, not exhalation.

It was like pouring water. My stomach was so bloated it was about to burst, but the water just kept pouring down my throat, sealing all the holes and preventing it from spilling out, forcing my belly to burst.

This is completely against physiology and is like torture.

Yan Xunzhi felt even more pain, his lungs felt like they were on fire, his vision was blurry, and he just wanted to struggle to break free from the machine.

The huge machine supplies oxygen at one end and extracts air from the lungs at the other end. All the alveoli shrink into a ball, and then the oxygen that is pumped in is forced to expand to the maximum.

Over and over again, breathing gradually becomes the rhythm of a machine.

After an unknown amount of time, there was a click and the rumbling sound gradually subsided.

His breathing returned to normal, and Yan Xunzhi gasped for air, his body drenched in sweat. He looked completely exhausted, his face pale, his cheeks flushed red, as if he had just survived a major struggle and barely managed to pull himself back alive.

The restraints kept her legs from buckling and slamming headfirst onto the ground. She gasped for a moment, her mind finally clearing from the lack of oxygen, and tremblingly pressed the buckle on her wrist restraints.

As soon as she untied her hands, she saw Kong Wei already in front of her.

The ankle binding required bending over, and Yan Xunzhi felt that in his current state, bending over would definitely cause a head injury...

Mingzhi stopped moving. After Kong Wei untied her ankles, he reached out to press the buckle at her waist.

She saw two red marks on her wrists.

Obviously, even an officer like Kong Wei, who had experienced countless times and had great endurance, could not face this torture calmly and indifferently... Yan Xunzhi inexplicably felt a little relieved.

Officer Kong is a high-ranking, highly experienced and capable leading officer. But she is still a human being, not a god.

People standing on the ground always feel closer to each other than gods floating in the sky.

Click. The last buckle at the waist undid.

Yan Xunzhi was about to go down the stairs, but his mind had returned to normal, and his body hadn't recovered from the torture. His legs gave way, and he fell directly into Kong Wei's arms.

Even after cleaning, the dust still lingered on the floor. She caught it firmly, as if she had known she was going to fall, without wavering at all. The dusty air around her seemed heavy and austere.

Kong Wei picked her up and said, "It's always difficult to adapt to something for the first time. There are benches outside. Let's go sit down and rest for a while."

Yan Xunzhi looked at her eagerly, "Will she get used to it if she comes here a few more times...?"

Kong Wei thought for a moment and said sincerely, "That's not possible."

“…”

As if knowing that anyone who comes out will feel unsteady in steps and weak in body, there is a row of benches outside the door, all with backrests.

After sprawling on the chair like a pile of mud for a while, Yan Xunzhi felt like he was finally alive. But he was a little too lazy to move, feeling that he had embarrassed himself in front of Kong Wei more than once or twice, and would continue to embarrass himself in the future...

He simply didn't move, maintaining his lazy attitude and asked, "Instructor Kong, are we going back to Northwest District 3 later?"

In fact, she didn't care much about returning to Northwest District 3. All the war zones looked the same. She was more concerned about where to sleep tonight...

Kong Wei nodded and checked the time. "Have you rested well?"

Yan Xunzhi stood up and stretched his arms and legs, wanting to show that he was a sentry after all and that he was physically superior. "Of course!"

After saying that, he stood up and staggered, almost spraining his ankle and falling into the mud.

Kong Wei laughed out loud.

Seeing her embarrassed face, he shrank back into his chair, wishing he could dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it. He gathered his mental strength a little, condensed a rabbit, and threw it to her to hold.

It seems that she has consumed too much mental energy. Yan Xunzhi knew that her spiritual body was useful, so she silently hugged the rabbit tightly, but was also very puzzled. Where did she consume so much?

Kong Wei only needed to observe the change in her expression to know what was happening. He smiled and said, "After you get on the ground, the exoskeleton consumes a lot of mental energy. You are consuming too much energy and you don't even realize it. The pain in your lungs is too severe to pay attention to anything else. You don't even realize that the nerves in your legs are completely paralyzed and have stopped working."

Really? She curled up in her seat listening to this and couldn't help but stretch out her hand to pinch her leg.

As expected, he was unconscious.

Kong Wei was not in a hurry. "You should rest first. Holding the rabbit will help you recover quickly. It's still early, so there's plenty of time to catch the next subway."

The rabbit had already been held well, finding its own comfortable position and nestling in his arms. Yan Xunzhi looked down for a while, feeling a little tired, and suddenly empathized with Kong Wei's previous sigh.

How could she... be so weak!

【Author’s words】

Pickled Fish: Who invented this? How is it different from torture?!

Kong Wei: Just get used to it...

Pickled Fish: So... how long will it take me to get used to it?

Kong Wei: I don’t know. Anyway, I haven’t gotten used to it in two lifetimes.

Pickled fish: ...