Chapter 251 The First Storm Arrives
Before Lu Zhao finished speaking about the "absolutely stable time anchor point network", the atmosphere in the entire fortress changed.
The depression caused by Lin Che's injury and the unknown enemy was replaced by a mixture of tension and anticipation.
This may be the first time they have touched the true path to victory in this endless cycle.
Nine o'clock in the evening.
Without anyone's reminder, the emergency lights in the fortress automatically switched to a soft brightness.
On the main control screen, half of the dozens of surveillance images that originally displayed the city’s night scene were instantly occupied by snowflakes.
Immediately afterwards, the dazzling purple lightning, like a giant python in mythology, silently tore through the city's sky and struck the ground densely.
The sea of light in the city went out in patches, and it fell into widespread darkness and chaos.
"The backup power system has been activated and the fortress is operating normally." Lu Zhao's voice rang out in the quiet hall. He pushed his glasses and quickly operated his fingers on the console, bringing all available images to the main screen.
"Look at the southwest area." Xiao Ran pointed to a picture.
That was a high-point surveillance camera near a water conservancy project. The picture was shaking violently, but it was still clear that the area had been completely blocked by military roadblocks.
Purple rainwater flowed into the reservoir, and beneath the surface of the water, something was glowing.
They were creatures that looked like tadpoles but were absurdly large, swimming in the murky water and emitting a strange fluorescent light.
Another scene switched to a park in the city center. The neatly trimmed plants seemed to have been injected with a catalyst. The vines grew like giant snakes, entwining and tearing the street lamps and benches. Some vines even split open at the top, revealing structures similar to predatory mouthparts.
The most disturbing footage came from the First Municipal Hospital. Through a corridor surveillance camera, they could see that the corridor of the emergency room was crowded with people.
The symptoms of most patients were surprisingly consistent, with purple spots of varying sizes appearing on exposed skin, and they were delirious and mumbling to themselves.
In the corner of the picture, a patient suddenly pounced on the nurse, showing extreme aggressiveness.
Lu Zhao pulled up a series of data streams, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter. "Something is wrong. The mutation rate is at least three times faster than in my previous life, and it has a strong directionality, as if it is being guided by some kind of signal, and it prioritizes attacking the city's water supply system, ecosystem, and densely populated areas."
The purple lightning lasted for about an hour, and the phenomenon in the sky became even more bizarre.
On the main screen, the image of a commercial building suddenly began to distort and briefly became translucent, so that one could even see the street behind it.
On the street, a passerby who was running to avoid the rain left three or four overlapping "time afterimages" behind him, and the movement of each afterimage was half a beat slower than the previous one.
"The time field is beginning to break apart." Lu Zhao explained, pointing to the surveillance footage of a bus stop.
Under the platform awning, several people waiting for the bus were moving as slowly as in a slow motion movie, while the vehicles and rain behind them were passing by at a normal speed.
"The flow of time in different areas is no longer synchronized. What we are seeing now are small 'time bubbles'. This is the moment when the Weaver will choose to intervene."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiaoling and Xiaoyu, who had been sitting quietly beside him, closed their eyes at the same time.
The red dot on Xiaoling's forehead lit up, and Xiaoyu's eyes emitted a faint silver light.
"The Weaver's main ship has entered geosynchronous orbit." Xiao Ling's voice was steady, but with unquestionable certainty, "It has shielded its own signals. No modern technology can detect its existence."
Xiaoyu then added, her voice trembling: "The military has detected abnormal spatial fluctuations around the world.
The Pentagon has activated the 'Midnight Protocol', and military bases in major countries around the world have entered the highest level of secret alert. "
The storm was intensifying. Dozens of deciphered emergency broadcast signals suddenly popped up on Su Wanqing's system interface.
The government is using all channels to urgently evacuate all residents in the southwest district on the grounds of "toxic gas leakage from a large chemical plant."
The radio called on citizens to remain calm, but the voiceover was the increasingly loud sirens and people screaming.
At the same time, Lu Zhao made new discoveries in the city traffic monitoring system that he hacked into.
A fleet of military trucks were entering the city, but their target was not the southwest district where residents were being evacuated, but rather they were heading straight for the city hall building, national laboratories and several secret research institutions.
Instead of unloading relief supplies, the vehicles were rapidly loading filing cabinets and precision equipment, and evacuating groups of people in white coats or suits.
"I've contacted my people." Xiao Ran hung up an encrypted call, his face very grim, "Message confirmed.
The top leaders know far more than we thought. The Ministry of National Defense has activated the highest emergency plan code-named "Noah's Ark" and is secretly transferring top scientists and senior officials to permanent underground fortifications across the country. "
An even more shocking scene appeared in the backdoor surveillance of a research institute.
In the wind and rain, several people wearing special silver-gray protective suits are systematically collecting mutated plant samples and rainwater with strange instruments. Their movements are professional and efficient, as if they are executing a process that has been rehearsed countless times.
Su Wanqing looked at all this and called up the system analysis module. A line of conclusion emerged in her mind: [Comprehensive intelligence comparison: There is an unknown force that predicted this "collection" incident in advance and is using the crisis to collect specific data.
This situation occurs for the first time in the 188th reincarnation. 】
Someone knew about the storm in advance, and instead of trying to stop it, they were taking advantage of it.
The storm reached its peak intensity around midnight.
There was a slight but continuous vibration from the metal walls of the underground bunker, and the lights above began to flicker.
That is the time barrier outside the fortress resisting the violent time and space turbulence from the outside world.
"The barrier energy output power has reached 90%." Lu Zhao reported.
At this moment, Lin Che groaned, and the complex purple pattern on his left wrist suddenly burst into strong light, activating uncontrollably.
A gentle but tenacious energy emanated from his body and merged into the fortress's defense system.
Lu Zhao looked at the data in surprise: "The barrier energy has stabilized! Lin Che's energy resonates with the fortress!"
At the same time, Su Wanqing's system interface also changed.
【Warning: Large-scale space-time distortion detected. 】
[System function upgrade: 'City Anomaly Scanning' module has been unlocked. ]
A three-dimensional map of the city unfolded in front of her. On the map, different areas were dyed with different colors.
The southwest water conservancy project area is a shocking deep red, the city center and several major residential areas are dangerous yellow, and only a few suburban areas on the edge of the city remain safe green.
Lu Zhao came over to take a look at the simple map shared by Su Wanqing and immediately understood its value.
"This is not just an early warning system, it's a guide to action." He quickly imported the map data into his tablet, conducted a cross-analysis, and soon came to an even more shocking conclusion, "Look at this diffusion pattern, the mutation is spreading along the city's underground water pipe network!
At this rate, 80% of the city will be covered by pollution within three days.
We must immediately begin gathering more supplies and identifying the next safe spot."
Su Wanqing switched to her own resource interface. After the storm came, the rate of obtaining rebate points increased again.
【Current rebate multiplier: 15 times. 】
She looked at her few remaining points, and then at the rapidly spreading yellow and red areas on the map.
A new plan took shape in her mind. If used properly, these points might be able to build a truly solid defense network for them before the next, more terrible crisis arrives, something they have never had in any of their past reincarnations.
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