Chapter 211 A Difficult Decision
Su Wanqing sat in front of the laboratory control console, the jade bracelet in her hand slightly warm.
She stared at the flowchart on the screen and did not take any immediate action, going over all the possibilities in her mind.
The sounds of the "lurkers" outside the door became more and more frequent, and the only sounds in the air were the alternating echoes of the machines running and the collision of the door.
Lu Zhao took a copy of the terminal data and whispered, "The normal procedure won't work. There's simply not enough time. I just reran the energy distribution logic..." He coughed twice, put his hands in his coat sleeves and pressed his ribs.
Su Wanqing waited for him to finish.
“I can use your jade bracelet and energy interface as a bridge, and convert some functions into direct energy supply.
Theoretically, this bracelet can deceive the system as a backup source and last for about thirty minutes, but after that, many parts of it will be paralyzed, and we must transfer the cabin and the main body into a portable system as soon as possible. "
As Lu Zhao explained, he took out two sections of the device wiring and quickly manually tested the connectors.
Su Wanqing looked at the densely packed ports and instruments. She asked, "If we extract the core directly, people will die, right?"
"Yes, it's not an ordinary life support system. If the main power is unplugged, it won't last more than half an hour. According to my design, I can use the jade bracelet to trick the system and maintain the life signal at a minimum to buy some time.
But the price is that the jade bracelet will burn some of the spare units, and it is uncertain whether it can be used again later."
Lu Zhao pursed his lips and asked, "Do you trust my plan?"
Su Wanqing didn't answer, staring at the bottom of the closed cabin. She squatted down, leaned forward to look at the metal nameplate carefully with the help of the light, and was silent for a few seconds before speaking: "It says S-7 backup carrier here."
Lu Zhao was stunned when he heard this. He whispered, "Specially reserved for backup?"
Su Wanqing felt a chill in her heart. She lowered her head and thought for a while, then took off the jade bracelet and, with a rigorous and decisive movement, she directly fastened it to the energy interface.
The system then popped up a blue warning: "Temporary energy access mode, the main body stability has decreased, please operate with caution."
At this moment, the alarm suddenly sounded, and a series of electronic sounds from the main control computer broke the silence: "Warning - External security system intrusion detected. The main security line has failed. The estimated arrival time of the intruder: eighteen minutes."
The upper right corner of the terminal projected a live surveillance video, which showed a team of special forces wearing military uniforms and thick helmets advancing towards the main entrance of the base and climbing over collapsed obstacles. Their division of labor was extremely skilled, and their shoulder lights showed a straight-line advancement formation on the surveillance screen.
Su Wanqing stared for a few seconds and saw a man using tactical gestures to indicate the search direction and lowering the muzzle of his gun.
She didn't say anything, but her breathing did slow down.
"They are coming in." Lu Zhao reached out and pulled the temporary energy routing table to one side, and readjusted the priority order.
"I saw it," Su Wanqing said in a low voice, "How long can we delay at most?"
"Based on the thickness of this door, the Lurker is estimated to have less than ten minutes left."
After Lu Zhao finished speaking, he injected the last anti-infection agent into his shoulder. His face turned pale and a drop of sweat slid down his neck to his collar.
He licked his lips and asked, "Have you thought it through?"
There were already seven "lurkers" gathered outside, some leaning against the door, some banging on the door lock with strange cries, and a white-red bruise had formed on the part of the body that had been hit.
Su Wanqing didn't look outside, but just raised her hand and pressed the numbered nameplate on the cabin.
She was thinking about the S-7 logo she had just seen and the "carrier" mentioned by Lu Zhao.
She said in a calm and matter-of-fact tone, "Take it. The one in this cabin is the backup. The others won't hesitate once they come in. We can't let them get the core."
Lu Zhao looked at her and nodded. The progress meter on the console jumped and the timeline moved forward.
A system pop-up window popped up: "Core removal auxiliary mode activated. Alternative energy source detected: S-level authority verification passed. Life support maintenance time limit, estimated thirty minutes."
Su Wanqing turned the jade bracelet open and inserted the main energy interface into the backup port.
"If we burn a group of units here," she said bluntly, "you may not be able to use the full set of functions later. You should prepare the extraction process."
"I understand." Lu Zhao endured the pain and pinched the operating lever with his fingertips, calibrating the interface current and threshold item by item.
His movements were quick, but every time he pressed a point, one could hear his breathing getting heavier.
He gritted his teeth and opened the main and auxiliary engine on-off circuits.
An abnormal image suddenly appeared on the main screen, a string of garbled characters mixed together, and the screen made a harsh noise.
Then the electronic screens in the entire room dimmed and lit up one after another.
Then a highly encrypted message popped up in the center of the main display screen, with a familiar audio code voice: "S-7, evacuate immediately after obtaining the core. Don't trust anyone, including your own memory. The military is just a facade, the real threat comes from the 'Tower'.
I'll wait for you at the signal tower, bring the core and come alone - N."
Su Wanqing repeated this sentence silently and felt her throat become stiff.
The design drawings popped up at the same time as the information on the screen appeared. A red line of an underground tunnel that was not marked on the map flashed, and the terminal displayed: "Hidden evacuation route generated. Please move as soon as possible."
When the message on the screen reached the end, the program immediately executed the destruction command, and all information disappeared within five seconds, with only the evacuation route guidance arrow still flashing.
"It should be the arrangement of 'Night'." Lu Zhao's voice was hesitant, but he still pressed save and set the evacuation procedure.
The "lurker" outside had knocked a hole in the door, causing a lot of dust to fall.
The door frame was dented, and there were long scratching and deformation sounds near the keyhole.
Lu Zhao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his arm, transferred the remaining information into the mobile terminal, and asked Su Wanqing to make final preparations.
"You operate the extraction." Su Wanqing said, checking the remaining equipment and focusing all her attention on the jade bracelet output module.
Lu Zhao opened the core disassembly program and entered the S-level verification. The progress bar moved slowly.
His fingers were trembling, but he did it without hesitation. "How long you can hold out depends on whether your bracelet can hold up."
During this time, a low banging sound of a door was heard in the corridor, accompanied by repeated metal friction, and fishy and damp smells had seeped in from under the door.
The special forces were getting closer and closer, and the countdown showed that they had ten minutes left to enter.
Su Wanqing's palms were sweating. She stared at the progress, with only one sentence in her mind: "S-7 backup body".
She no longer paid attention to the monitoring curve of the elliptical core module - to preserve the whole, only the part can be sacrificed.
After the core system detects the external energy source, the energy alert gradually decreases and an order is issued to automatically remove some modules.
When the progress bar had advanced to 80%, Lu Zhao suddenly started coughing. He held onto the console but did not stop.
A vital signs warning came from the screen: "A drop in core energy level has been detected. The system has switched to temporary energy supply. Remove the window to start the countdown - twenty-nine minutes and fifty seconds."
"Prepare the portable support module first." Su Wanqing urged.
He nodded and pulled the portable system under the main interface.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise outside the door, and a mutant violently stuck its limbs into the crack of the door, revealing a pale and incomplete claw.
The steel bars of the protective door began to crack.
"Hurry up. If you delay any longer, forget about the army, these monsters will come in first."
Lu Zhao used up the last of the painkiller, pursed his lips, stared at the hatch and opened the program.
His voice got lower and lower, and his body swayed slightly.
Home screen time jump: eight minutes.
Su Wanqing inserted the interface at the bottom of the jade bracelet into the new port, pressed against the mechanical structure, and stared at the energy bar out of the corner of her eye.
The upper end of the cabin began to loosen, and the transparent hatch of the core module opened a very thin gap, and the light blue liquid slid into the container at the lower end due to gravity.
The facial features of "Su Wanqing" in the cabin were blurred, and only the slow rise and fall of the chest and abdomen could be seen, and the vital signs lines were shaking rapidly.
"Can the cabin support be moved away?" Su Wanqing asked.
"Yes, the portable support module can last for twenty minutes. I'll try it." Lu Zhao gritted his teeth and adjusted the parameters.
There was another huge metal collision outside. A "lurker" stuck its head into the crack of the door and bit off a steel rod inside.
Lu Zhao operated to the last step, and the reset program was stuck for two seconds. All the dashboards lit up yellow, and the diamond-shaped purple crystal at the core of the cabin automatically disengaged with the airflow.
The alarm sounded: "The life support system is temporarily switched to external power. Please perform follow-up operations within thirty minutes."
"Take it out." Su Wanqing took the core without hesitation.
Suddenly, the system's voice was high-pitched: "Removal completed. The countdown for vital signs has begun. Temporary energy is insufficient. It is recommended to transfer the action immediately."
She looked down at the port where the jade bracelet was inserted and noticed that the temperature of the bracelet was alarming.
The energy distribution meter on the screen is decreasing rapidly.
"I've noted down the evacuation route." Lu Zhao raised his head, his nostrils twitching.
The door frame not far away was finally completely broken by the monster.
"Let's go. I'll get the core. You lead the way." Su Wanqing put away the core, closed the portable life support box, and fastened the transfer buckle.
There was still some system information left on the edge of the console. Su Wanqing thought about it and did not hesitate any longer.
She just kept repeating: "'Night' said not to trust anyone - not even my own memories..." The noise in her mind kept accumulating, and she forced herself to stare at the route guidance lights to prevent her thoughts from spreading.
The iron sheet outside the door hit the ground, and seven "lurkers" had already swarmed in the entrance.
The footsteps of the special forces and the roars of monsters came from different directions.
Su Wanqing and Lu Zhao immediately turned around and ran towards the secret lower level passage of the base following the red arrow indicating evacuation.
There is no room for maneuver, and the only choice left is the next step.
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