Chapter 269 Alarm
The command center of the underground bunker was lit with cold white lights, and Dr. Zhang's white coat was still covered with dust from last night.
Su Wanqing pushed the terminal onto the table, projecting a wall full of documents with burn marks on the edges of the papers - they were what Dr. Zhang snatched from the research center.
"Look at this first." Lu Zhao tapped on the keyboard, and the map unfolded on the screen. The red, yellow and green blocks looked like they were splashed with paint.
"The military has divided the areas into green zones, where senior officials and experts are located, yellow zones are for their families, and red zones" he pointed at the red areas, "areas that have been confirmed to be infected. The red zones now account for nearly 30%, with the southwest and northeast being the worst hit."
Doctor Zhang pulled out a form from the pile of documents, the pages rustling. "Officials say the infection rate is 1.2%, but internal estimates suggest it's ten times higher. The hospital is now receiving hundreds of new cases every day, and many are being sent directly to quarantine camps."
He flipped open the blood sample for analysis. The nanostructures in the microscope photo looked like a mess. "These little things will replicate themselves and rewrite DNA. Yesterday, a patient was admitted to the hospital with just a fever, but six hours later his nails turned into scales."
Lu Zhao pulled up Xiao Ling's test report, with two images superimposed on each other. "It has a similar structure to the silver liquid in Xiao Ling's body, but it's more aggressive. The silver liquid is stable, but this thing is drilling into the cells like crazy."
Xiao Ran turned the tactical knife half a circle on his fingertips, and the blade reflected the light of the screen: "What's more troublesome is the 'scorched earth policy'."
He pulled out a document with the words "Top Secret" printed in gold on the cover. "Activate if the infection rate exceeds 10%. Block the city and use special weapons to purify it."
"What weapon?" Su Wanqing asked.
Xiao Ran shook his head: "It doesn't say the specific model, but I have seen similar plans in the army. It may be a high-energy pulse weapon, or a drug that can decompose organic matter."
He pointed to the green areas on the map, "They have to completely wipe out the red areas to prevent the spread of infection."
Lin Che leaned against the window, the blue lines on the back of his neck slightly hot. He closed his eyes: "The water system has started to have problems. Three workers at the North District Water Plant had black lines yesterday. The Weaver Base in the southwest." He put his fingers on his temple, "The water flow swirled in that area, as if it was being sucked by something. The energy fluctuation range has expanded to five kilometers."
Su Wanqing rolled up her sleeves, and the jade bracelet on her wrist glowed with a faint blue light: "System analysis shows that this is a precursor to the activation of the space-time channel. The second stage of the doomsday, the time anomaly is coming."
Xiao Ling touched her wrist, and the silver liquid climbed up the back of her hand along the blood vessels: "Something is wrong here too. Every time there is a fluctuation, the silver liquid gets hot, as if it is shaking." She looked up, "It may be a warning."
Lu Zhao input all the data into the terminal, and a countdown popped up on the screen: "Infection spread rate, military preparation progress. Scorched earth policy will be launched within 72 hours. On the Weaver's side, energy accumulation will reach the critical point in 48 hours."
Su Wanqing checked the status of the fortress: "The defense system is 92%, the supplies are enough for 30 people for a month, and the medical room can handle ordinary injuries."
She glanced at the crowd, "We have to deal with two things at once - saving the abandoned civilians, and stopping the Weaver to open a passage."
"Xiao Ran and Doctor Zhang are in charge of the rescue network." She pointed at Xiao Ran, "Find a safe route and a temporary shelter."
Then he turned to Lin Che and Xiao Ling, "You two keep an eye on the Weaver base and look for weaknesses. Lu Zhao and I will work on the defense, especially the defense against time anomalies."
She looked at Dr. Zhang. "You still have time to leave. Your name is not on the military list."
Doctor Zhang pressed the stethoscope in the pocket of his white coat and said, "I'm a doctor."
He said, “And if you go out now, you will either be caught as an infected person or be eaten by mutants.”
The lights on the conference table flickered, and everyone stood up. Xiao Ran dragged Doctor Zhang to the data room, his tactical boots knocking on the metal floor: "First, mark the warehouses near the green zone where people can hide."
Lin Che and Xiao Ling went to the monitoring room. Lin Che sat on the induction chair, closed his eyes, and his consciousness flowed out along the water network: "The fluctuations become stronger every 12 hours, like charging."
Xiao Ling rolled up her sleeves, and the silver liquid flowed under her skin: "When it reaches its peak, the liquid will run to the wrist, as if it wants to rush out."
She input the data into the terminal, and the curve in the model began to rise. "47 hours, critical point."
Lu Zhao followed Su Wanqing into the core control room. He called up the energy barrier parameters, his fingers jumping on the keyboard: "The data of the sealed cabin said that time anomalies will pull space. We need to adjust the barrier frequency to synchronize with the anchor point."
Su Wanqing stared at the defense map on the screen when her jade bracelet suddenly became hot and pricked her hand.
She looked down and saw the blue light flashing like a heartbeat.
Su Wanqing was curled up in a folding chair in the command center and taking a nap when the alarm pierced the silence of the underground bunker.
She grabbed the terminal and glanced at the screen. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. The system prompted: "The concentration of pollutants in the city's water supply system is abnormal. Level red alert."
"Everyone, get up." She kicked the camp bed next to her. Xiao Ran rolled out from under the quilt, his tactical boots still not put on properly; Lin Che leaned against the wall, the blue pattern faintly visible on the collar of his pajamas; Lu Zhao's white coat was wrinkled into a ball, his glasses tilted on his nose; Xiao Ling rubbed her eyes, the silver liquid crawled down her wrist to the back of her hand.
The screen lit up, and the water quality data curve for the past 72 hours was like a knife, stabbing diagonally from the horizontal line to the top.
Lu Zhao leaned over and typed on the keyboard: "Exponential growth, natural pollution can't grow at this speed."
He zoomed in on the map. The red dot started from the North District Main Water Plant and seeped out along the pipe network. "The source is here, the North District Water Plant."
Doctor Zhang's terminal rang. He slid open the phone and took a look. The hem of his white coat wrinkled. "I just received news from the hospital. There are 27 cases of early infection in the North District. All the symptoms match."
He pushed up his glasses. "Fever, black lines on the skin, just like the previous infected people."
Su Wanqing turned to Lin Che: "What can you find out?"
Lin Che said nothing. He walked to the screen and raised his hand to press on the data chart.
Blue light spread from his fingertips, and ripples appeared on the screen like water waves.
He closed his eyes and his Adam's apple moved: "North District Water Plant. There are living things in the water."
His fingers trembled slightly. "It's like a small machine, drilling into cells."
Suddenly he stumbled forward and rested his forehead on the screen. “They are calling me to connect with what’s inside of me.”
Lu Zhao held his arm: "Exactly where?"
"Processing center." Lin Che panted and straightened up, "There is a device pouring something into the water."
The lights in the command center flickered. Lu Zhao pulled up the North District Water Plant structural diagram and pointed his laser pointer at the center of the plant. "The processing center is here. It has surveillance and security. Everything is included."
He pulled a silver box out of the drawer. "Improved protective clothing. Biochemical protection. Does not affect movement."
He pulled out another briefcase, "Neutralizers, they can temporarily clear the pollution, but we need to take samples from the source to make an antidote."
Xiao Ling suddenly said, "I'll go get tested." She rolled up her sleeves, and the silver liquid flowed under her skin. "I've been in contact with an infected person, and I'm fine."
Xiao Ran knocked the tactical knife onto the table: "Nonsense."
Su Wanqing didn't respond, staring at Xiao Ling's wrist for a while: "Xiao Ling, Lu Zhao, one group, take the data and samples. Lin Che, Xiao Ran, follow me to the processing center." She turned to Doctor Zhang, "You guard the fortress and prepare to receive the infected."
Doctor Zhang tugged at his white coat and said, "I know."
The lights in the equipment room were so bright that it made people dizzy. Su Wanqing took back five sealed boxes from the system exchange area, and laid out waterproof masks, anti-infection gloves, water quality testers, and communication headsets.
Lin Che squatted in the corner, suddenly covered his chest and bent over, groaning and bumping into the metal cabinet.
Xiao Ran went over to help him: "What's wrong?"
Lin Che opened his collar, and blue scales crawled from his collarbone to his chest, glowing coldly under the light: "Those things are urging me to change."
He looked up, a blue light flashing in his eyes, "But I can suppress it."
Su Wanqing touched his shoulder: "Are you sure?"
“Just because it can be connected, I should go.” Lin Che put the hydraulic device on his waist, and the metal buckle clicked, “Let’s go.”
Lu Zhao came over with a backpack and poured equipment onto the table: "Electric shock gloves, 30,000 volts, for paralyzing weavers."
He handed it to Xiao Ran, "Hydraulic device, used by Lin Che, can turn the water jet."
He put a silver bracelet on Xiao Ling, "To simulate your silver liquid and prevent infection."
He patted his backpack. "Sonic jammer, to disrupt Weaver communications. It just... hasn't been tested yet."
Su Wanqing pointed at his backpack and asked, "Does it work?"
"I don't know." Lu Zhao pushed his glasses up, "Let's try it this time."
The engine sound of the modified off-road vehicle echoed in the underground garage. Su Wanqing stared at the water quality data on the terminal. The pollution curve was still rising: "8 hours to cover the whole city."
She pressed the earphones into her ears and said, "This must be resolved before dawn."
Lin Che leaned against the car window, his blue scales glowing in the night. He suddenly said, "They are shouting even more urgently."
Xiao Ran gripped the steering wheel tightly, the headlights cutting through the darkness: "We'll block them when we get there."
As the off-road vehicle rushed out of the fortress gate, the water quality detector in the rear compartment suddenly made a sharp beep.
When the beeping sound of the detector in the rear compartment pierced the night, Xiao Ran swerved the steering wheel and the SUV veered into the shadow of the abandoned warehouse.
Su Wanqing pulled off her headphones and threw them on the back seat: "Turn it off." Lu Zhao bent down and stopped the instrument. The metal casing was still hot.
“Two o’clock and seven minutes.” Lin Che pressed his forehead against the car window, blue lines crawling from his collarbone to behind his ears. “The pollution concentration is three times higher than when we left the city.”
Xiao Ran took off the night vision binoculars, the tubes still stained with rain. "There are no lights outside the water plant, and patrols pass by every twelve minutes."
He pointed to the fence and said, "The surveillance blind spot is in the southeast corner. The barbed wire is newly replaced, but the joints are loose."
Su Wanqing touched the hydraulic device on her waist, and the coolness of the metal penetrated her skin through the tactical suit: "Walk over there, keep a distance of ten meters."
Lin Che was the first to get off the car, his shoes running over broken glass. He closed his eyes and took two steps, then suddenly stopped: "The water is shaking."
He stretched out his hand and pressed it lightly on the ground. "The water in the entire factory area is shaking, as if someone is shaking the water pipe."
Xiao Ling tightened the zipper of her protective suit, and the silver liquid crawled down her wrist to the back of her hand: "Like a heartbeat?"
“Faster than my heartbeat.” Lin Che walked forward, and the blue lines lit up. “Like a machine breathing.”
The fence was shorter than expected. Xiao Ran used pliers to clamp the wire mesh, and the sound of metal friction was like a knife scraping glass.
Su Wanqing was the first to get in, her boots crushing a brick. Lin Che suddenly pulled her collar from behind, nearly knocking her down.
There were footsteps on the right. A man in work clothes stepped out of the shadows, his helmet pulled low and his flashlight beam pointed directly at the ground.
When he passed by Su Wanqing's hiding place, the whites of his eyes were faintly blue, like two glass marbles soaked in formaldehyde.
Xiao Ling leaned close to Lin Che's ear and asked, "Infected?"
Lin Che shook his head, the blue lines darkening in the moonlight: "His breathing is even, and each step is 62 centimeters."
He stared at the man's back. "Just now, from Pump Room No. 3 to Warehouse No. 5, the straight-line distance is 108 meters, and he walked 153 steps."
"Being controlled?" Xiao Ran put the pliers back on his waist.
Lin Che said nothing, but pointed at the back of the man's neck - there was a light blue line under the skin, running along the spine into the collar.
The team continued to move forward. Every twenty meters, they ran into a worker, some carrying water pipes, some holding wrenches, all like puppets, with bright blue eyes.
The street light at the fork in the road suddenly flashed, and Su Wanqing raised her hand to signal to stop.
“Lu Zhao, take Xiao Ling to the control room.” She touched her earphones, “Lin Che, Xiao Ran, follow me to the processing center.”
Lu Zhao pushed up his glasses and said, "The monitoring authority can only last for half an hour at most."
"Enough." Su Wanqing patted his shoulder.
The door of the control room was ajar. Lu Zhao stuffed the small bell into the ventilation duct and moved to the door along the wall.
The two operators inside had their backs to him, their eyes blue and sore, their fingers tapping rapidly on the keyboard, pausing for half a second every five keystrokes.
Lu Zhao took out the stun gun and placed the metal contacts against the back of the nearest operator's neck.
The man shuddered and collapsed on the swivel chair. The other one was about to turn around, but Lu Zhao had already walked around and poked him with the electric shock device again.
When the console lit up, Xiao Ling climbed out of the pipe, the hem of her white coat stained with dust: "Monitoring footage."
Scenes from all corners of the water plant popped up on the screen, with all the workers repeating mechanical movements.
Lu Zhao quickly tapped on the keyboard: "Operation record. The process has been changed forty-seven times in the past three days, all with the factory director's authority."
He pointed to the timestamp. "The last one was two hours ago, right when the alarm went off."
Xiao Ling went to another computer and saw garbled text on the screen: "This code is wrong."
She touched the touchpad. "Like using DNA strands as the alphabet."
"Try fingerprints." Lu Zhao took out the ID card from the operator's pocket. "The factory director's."
Xiao Ling didn't take the work badge, but took out her pocket knife and cut her fingertips. When the blood dripped onto the identifier, the screen suddenly went black.
Three seconds later, a line of words appeared: "Identity features matched, access rights granted."
The words "Biological Transformation Plan" filled the screen. Xiao Ling quickly scrolled the mouse: "Water pollution is the first stage, followed by air and food supply chain."
She paused. "The next target is the central air purification system, which will be activated in 36 hours."
Lu Zhao came over to take a look: "Note: The resonant energy in the core members' bodies is the only force that can reverse the pollution."
He pushed up his glasses and said, "We have to pass this to Su Wanqing."
The corridor of the processing center smelled of rust. Su Wanqing walked close to the wall, and Lin Che walked in the middle, with blue lines crawling from his cuffs to the back of his hands.
Xiao Ran suddenly grabbed her arm, and the three of them flashed into the equipment room.
There were footsteps outside the door, at least seven people. Lin Che stared at the crack in the door: "They are knocking on the pipes."
He touched the wall and said, "It changes position every three knocks, as if it is positioning itself."
"Collective consciousness?" Xiao Ran pulled out half of the tactical knife.
Lin Che didn't answer, and the blue lines suddenly brightened. The footsteps outside the door stopped, followed by the sound of metal colliding - someone was turning the doorknob.
Su Wanqing took out the water pressure device and put her finger on the switch.
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