Chapter 262 Construction of the Underground Fortress
As the roar of the armored vehicle gradually faded away behind her, Su Wanqing glanced at her watch.
At 4:17 in the morning, the eastern sky was just beginning to turn pale. She turned back and counted the team - a hundred people, not one less.
Lin Che leaned against the back of the truck, blue lines crawling from his sleeves to his neck, and his breathing sounded as heavy as a bellows.
"The mining area is still three kilometers away." Xiao Ran patted the driver's seat. "The underground structure is stable. I checked the mine map from fifty years ago. I can dig two layers."
Lu Zhao passed the tablet from the co-pilot, and on the screen was a geological scan of the mining area: "The fault zone is in the northwest. The rock layer in the area we chose is thick enough and has strong impact resistance."
He pushed up his glasses. "But the system construction requires a continuous energy supply. We have to connect to the nearby substation first."
Xiao Ling huddled beside Su Wanqing, clutching the corner of her clothes: "Time field monitoring shows that the interference in this area is 30% smaller than in the urban area."
The truck rolled over the gravel road, shaking so much that it made people's bones ache. Su Wanqing touched the jade bracelet on her wrist, and the cold touch penetrated through her skin.
This was her first time using the highest system authority, and she had 8,200 rebate points left, which might not be enough even if she put all of them in.
"We're here." Xiao Ran stepped on the brakes.
The iron gate of the abandoned mining area lay crooked on the ground, with the rusty "State-owned 701 Mine" sign half hanging on the doorpost.
Lin Che jumped out of the car first. The blue lines glowed in the morning light. He squatted down and touched the ground: "There is a main mine tunnel 30 meters underground, and the structure is complete."
Su Wanqing stood in the middle of the mining area, kicking away some gravel with her toes. The wind blew coal dust towards her, and she squinted her eyes: "Let's get started."
The jade bracelet suddenly became hot. She raised her wrist, and the blue light shot up into the sky like a living thing, condensing into a translucent light net above her head.
The system prompt sounded in the headset: "Space construction permission conflict, an unknown module was detected to lock the base layer."
Lu Zhao's tablet lit up with a ding: "The system log shows that someone sent a build instruction to this area 72 hours in advance."
He quickly tapped on the keyboard, "But the sender's IP address cannot be found. It seems that time encryption is used."
Xiao Ling leaned over to look at the screen, her fingertips tapping on the glowing data stream: "When I measured the time field yesterday, there were residual ripples here."
She looked up. "It's a bit like the laboratory in my dream, with blue light shining on the metal pipes and many people running around."
Su Wanqing pursed her lips. She remembered that the system manual said that the person with the highest authority could fully control the construction process, so how could there be a conflict?
The light of the jade bracelet dimmed a little, and the prompt sounded again: "It is recommended to check module 03 first."
“I’ll go check it out.” Lin Che tugged at her sleeve, and the blue veins crawled over along their clasped hands. “There may be a source of interference in the mine tunnel.”
The entrance to the mine was piled with rubble half a person high. Lin Che bent down and moved a stone away, and Lanwen went in along the cracks in the stone.
There was a "click" sound from inside, and the dusty electric light suddenly lit up. In the dim light, the metal pipes were coiled on the wall like a giant python.
"Module 03." Su Wanqing pointed to the silver box in the corner. "This should be what the system is talking about."
There are strange patterns engraved on the surface of the box, which are exactly the same as the patterns on the inside of the jade bracelet.
Just as she was about to touch it, Xiao Ling suddenly stopped her: "Wait." The little girl closed her eyes, "There is a smell of time in it, like crumpled paper."
Lu Zhao took out the detector from his backpack, and the screen jumped wildly as soon as it lit up: "The radiation value is normal. The energy fluctuation is the technical characteristic of the Weaver."
He pushed up his glasses. "But more like a key."
The box opened automatically with a "buzz" sound, revealing a palm-sized crystal inside, with a miniature city model suspended in the center.
Su Wanqing took a closer look and found that the buildings in the model were exactly the same as the city they had just evacuated.
"This is..." She didn't finish her words, and the system prompt sounded again: "Space anchor point detected, construction authority has been transferred."
The light of the jade bracelet suddenly surged, and the crystal model merged into the light net with a "swish".
The mine tunnel began to shake, and gravel fell from overhead. Lin Che opened his arms, and the blue lines covered everyone like a net: "Hold on!"
The shaking lasted for three minutes. When the dust settled, a metal door appeared in the mine tunnel, and the electronic screen on the lintel read "Underground Fortress - Foundation Layer".
Su Wanqing reached out and touched the door; it felt cold, completely different from the defensive fortress she had built with the rebate points before.
"The system says the authority has been transferred." Lu Zhao flipped through the tablet log. "The construction progress is now 47%, but the energy consumption is one tenth of that in autonomous mode."
He looked up. “It’s like someone laid the foundation for us ahead of time.”
Xiao Ling touched the pattern on the door frame and whispered, "The laboratory in my dream also has a door like this."
She turned to look at Su Wanqing, "Maybe you didn't create the system, it chose you."
Su Wanqing didn't say anything. She remembered that when they evacuated yesterday, Lin Che used his ability to stabilize the time crack, and the jade bracelet suddenly had an additional "space construction" option; she remembered that Lu Zhao said that the silver liquid in Xiao Ling's body was related to the Weaver; she remembered the wreckage of the aircraft that Xiao Ran picked up in the southwest area. These fragments turned in her mind, and they became more and more confused.
"Let's put them inside first." Xiao Ran patted her shoulder. "There are a hundred people outside. Some are getting wet in the rain, and some have fever."
There were twenty dormitories on the base floor, each accommodating five people. Lin Che activated the lighting system with the blue pattern, and the warm yellow light spread out. The emergency supply cabinet on the wall popped open with a click, and compressed biscuits, mineral water, and first aid kits were neatly placed inside.
"The system automatically filled in the basic supplies." Su Wanqing flipped through the supply list, "The quantity is just enough for one hundred people for three days."
She looked up at Lu Zhao, "Is this what you mean by autonomous mode?"
Lu Zhao nodded: "The building blocks are being adjusted based on real-time needs."
He pointed to the camera on the ceiling and said, "The surveillance system has also been activated. It can connect to the jade bracelet on your wrist."
Xiao Ling suddenly pulled her sleeve: "The time field monitoring shows that there is a protective film outside the fortress."
She shook the detector in her hand. "The interference has dropped below 5%."
Su Wanqing touched the system interface and found that there were only 1,200 rebate points left.
But the construction progress of the fortress has reached 63%, three times faster than she expected.
The jade bracelet felt slightly warm on my wrist, as if reminding me of something.
"Let's go to the command center." She turned and walked down the corridor. "We need to see how to deal with the remaining modules."
The command center is at the innermost part of the base layer. When the metal door opened, the holographic projection in the center automatically started, showing the three-dimensional structure diagram of the fortress: "After the base layer is completed, the living area, laboratory, and fortifications can be expanded.
It is recommended to prioritize strengthening the energy module. "
Su Wanqing stared at the red mark in the projection - the energy module was sixty meters underground, and a new mine tunnel needed to be opened.
She turned around and looked at Lin Che: "Can you stabilize the time anomaly in the mine tunnel?"
“Try it.” Lin Che rolled up his sleeves, and blue veins crawled up his arms. “When I used my ability yesterday, I felt that I was more closely connected to the water veins.”
Xiao Ran patted him on the back and said, "I'll lead the engineering team to clear the rubble first, and you stay behind to support us."
Lu Zhao followed with a tablet in his arms: "I'll monitor the energy fluctuations. Stop immediately if there's anything abnormal."
Xiao Ling stayed in the command center, staring at the time field monitor: "I'll be watching the perimeter of the fortress, and I'll call you if there's any situation."
Su Wanqing stood in front of the holographic projection, the light from the jade bracelet reflected on her face.
The system prompt sounded again: "Core members gathering detected, do you want to activate the hidden function?"
Just as she was about to press "No", the projection suddenly flashed and a line of small words appeared: "Five core members have been confirmed, and the space anchor point will be activated soon."
She was stunned. Core members? It should be Lin Che, Lu Zhao, Xiao Ran, Xiao Ling, and herself.
But how would the system know? The jade bracelet suddenly vibrated, and the notification tone turned into a gentle female voice: "Welcome home, Commander."
This sentence was like a needle, piercing her temples. She remembered that the system said the same thing when she first saw the jade bracelet - in a rainstorm, she squatted in front of a convenience store to avoid the rain, and the jade bracelet suddenly flew out of her bag, put on her wrist, and said "Welcome home".
"Wanqing?" Xiaoling's voice came from the monitor. "The time field fluctuations of the energy module have become regular. It seems that someone is guiding it."
Su Wanqing rubbed her forehead, turned and walked towards the control console in the command center.
In the holographic projection, the red mark of the energy module is turning green, and the construction progress has jumped to 78%.
She pressed the "Confirm" button, and the light from the jade bracelet suddenly formed a line, passed through the console, and penetrated into the ground.
A muffled sound came from the direction of the mine tunnel. Lin Che's voice came out from the intercom: "The mine tunnel has been opened! The energy module is exposed and the structure is intact!"
Lu Zhao's voice followed: "The energy value is stable, it's geothermal energy! It's enough to support the fortress for three months!"
Xiao Ran smiled: "The engineering team said that this mine tunnel seemed to have been dug in advance, with piles of rubble on both sides and a straight ditch in the middle."
Su Wanqing didn't say anything. She watched the construction progress in the holographic projection jump to 100%, and all the red lights on the base layer turned green.
Xiao Ling came over and pointed at the monitor: "The time field protective film has thickened, and the interference is now zero."
The jade bracelet felt slightly hot on her wrist. She looked down and saw the lines on the inside suddenly light up, forming a line of small words: "The space anchor point has been activated, and the key information has been retained."
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