Chapter 196 Energy Crisis
Su Wanqing sat quietly in front of the main control screen. The data line refreshed by the instrument was slanted upwards, and the energy consumption curve was almost vertical.
Lu Zhao entered the room carrying a thick stack of information and spread the data sheet in his hand directly on the table.
He whispered, "The energy system can't hold out for much longer. The load on the three military devices is 40% higher than originally estimated, and the barrier energy consumption has soared to the critical line. At this rate, the system can only last another 18 days, definitely not the 30 days originally estimated."
There were chaotic footsteps at the door, and Xiao Ran lifted the curtain with a gloomy face.
He didn't exchange pleasantries with Lu Zhao, but went straight to the report: "We have just finished counting the backup energy warehouse, and the reserve volume is also decreasing very quickly. During the inspection, we found that there were some abnormal hot spots on the pipeline, and it seems that there is a leak. Our maintenance team only repaired the most superficial part, and there is not enough material to deal with the deeper faults."
Lu Zhao glared: "Yesterday afternoon it was still 21 days, how come it became 18 days overnight?"
Xiao Ran responded casually: "The military changed their attack method within three hours. The frequency was changed from the original staggered to linked. The pressure was increased by one level compared to before. The consumption of energy warehouses accumulated too quickly."
He stretched his neck and said, "If we go any further, we will have to compress the reserves, which won't last long."
The energy distribution graph on the main control screen jumped one by one, and the time bar gradually approached the warning red line.
Su Wanqing closed her mouth, slowly took off the jade bracelet and placed it on the device's sensor.
The symbols on the inner wall of the jade bracelet squirmed for a while, and a faint light flowed and projected onto the instrument panel.
After a long while, she clicked on the data interface and whispered, "We can't just guard the energy core now, we have to strengthen the barrier immediately. Lu Zhao, how much high-energy matter can you mobilize?"
Lu Zhao subconsciously flipped through the form, rubbing his hands. He counted to the third page before saying in a deep voice, "There are only three types of high-energy materials left. The reserves are 600 grams of No. 1 reactant, less than 20 liters of No. 2 tritium condensate, and less than 800 grams of No. 3 tachyon powder. They all had to be kept for the final stage of emergency."
Xiao Ran looked grim, and couldn't help but slap his thigh, "These things won't last long if we use them all. How about we take out some of the alternative fuels and test products in the medical warehouse?"
Su Wanqing shook her head. "We can't just randomly take emergency medical supplies. If we need them, we should focus all of them on the most dangerous side of the barrier to hold out for this wave."
She stroked the jade bracelet, and the halo on the screen became heavier.
She said calmly, "If the barrier is breached, neither the medical area nor the self-rescue passage will be able to be saved."
Lu Zhao held down the keyboard and simply flipped through the energy allocation chart: "If we use all of them, at the current consumption rate, we can only hold out for another ten days, which is already the limit."
Su Wanqing silently slid her finger over the energy supply line section by section and issued instructions to the control panel: "Allocated the No. 1 reactant and No. 2 condensate according to the section, and transferred them all to the southeast outer circle and the northern corner. High-risk points must be covered, don't worry about the cost." She pushed aside the map on the table, stared at it for a while, and then said, "During the night shift change, see if we can insert a batch of spare tachyon powder to the section with the largest fluctuation."
Xiao Ran slumped his shoulders and asked, "What about the retreat? What if all the energy and material are used up and the barrier is still torn apart?"
Su Wanqing raised her eyebrows and lowered her voice: "We can only find a second energy core. The Eden Barrier is based on a multi-core resonance chain, and now only one is activated, barely holding the field.
If it continues like this, the whole system will collapse soon." She said, glancing at the two of them, "Since the total amount is not enough, we can only take the risk and look for it."
Lu Zhao paused for a few seconds, tapped the table with his hand, and slapped the data aside: "The core is a dead object, but the maintenance of the barrier relies on superposition resonance.
There are several suspected core source points on the base map, but except for the one we just obtained, the coordinates of the rest are vague, either hidden deep or without detailed paths. Can we use the jade bracelet to resonate with that piece and forcibly locate the second one? "
Su Wanqing nodded, picked up the jade bracelet and gritted her teeth, took out a small connecting device from her pocket, and buckled the jade bracelet into the instrument interface.
"Let me try." She pressed the instrument lightly, and several faint lights quickly emerged from the jade bracelet, and the energy fluctuations in the instrument increased in brightness.
She zoomed in on the projection, and the rows of fuzzy coordinates gradually brightened, but only the lower level area in the east was dimly lit, while the rest was hidden in the structure.
Lu Zhao stared at the projection, and a line of letters and numbers flickered repeatedly. "Southeast, the main underground passage? The military is watching that area the most closely. It's hard to get in, let alone find the core."
Su Wanqing didn't say anything in a hurry. She switched the instrument to continuous correlation mode, allowing the jade bracelet to maintain low-frequency resonance.
The energy transmission of the jade bracelet became somewhat disordered. She whispered, "If I use the jade bracelet to bring out the energy shield and attenuate the energy wave within fifteen minutes, we can get in - but this method can only be used once."
Xiao Ran pointed at the table and said, "So we have to put all the high-energy materials into the barrier core and compress the standby time?"
"This is necessary." Su Wanqing's tone was calm, but her movements were more efficient.
She pulled up the energy delivery table and assigned all emergency supplies to the main warehouse.
"Also," she turned around and said, "Only the minimum stockpile should be kept in the medical area as a backup, and the rest should be allocated to the main control barrier - once we get through this, we will slowly replenish it."
Lu Zhao hummed as he typed: "With the current full reserve, we can only last for eighteen days at most. After the additional allocation, the decline will be even faster every hour, so there are less than ten days left. If the military's offensive becomes more violent, even ten days will be in danger."
Xiao Ran raised his head and asked, "Who should we bring with us to chase the second core? What plan should we use?"
Su Wanqing gathered her equipment and said, "Let's keep this a secret for now. Let's wait until the barrier is stable for a few hours. We'll do a detailed route check and preparation tonight."
The composite storage curve on the main control screen jumped twice, and the red line part was all lit up. She clicked to confirm, "All high-energy materials, southeast corner first, backup energy supply, full power at maximum."
Lu Zhao whispered: "We are gambling our lives on time."
Xiao Ran paused his fist lightly, his voice a little muffled: "We have to gamble again, it's better than waiting to die here."
The survivors' noise could be heard outside the house again, occasionally mixed with various questions about supplies and barriers.
No one in the control room paid attention to what was happening outside. They could only watch the data on the control screen decrease every second, and figure out what to do next.
Su Wanqing picked up the jade bracelet and turned it mechanically. If she had a hint of hesitation at first, she had now completely given up all hope.
She whispered an order to Lu Zhao and Xiao Ran: "Guard the southeast corner tightly and conduct patrols tonight. For other areas, hold your ground. If there is any abnormality in the experimental area, dispatch the medical team to take over and don't let anyone outside take advantage of it."
Lu Zhao said nothing more. He opened all the joint control channels in the main control room and assigned the energy distribution and monitoring tasks to the teams layer by layer.
All regions responded promptly, not daring to delay.
Su Wanqing leaned back in her chair, clutching her jade bracelet in a trance. Just as she was calculating the data, two urgent alarms suddenly popped up on the main control screen: Southeast energy allocation changed, and the trend of external attack frequency changes was unknown.
She quickly adjusted the instrument, allowing the energy in the jade bracelet to slowly flow into the main control monitoring system. The sensor bar showed that the critical point of the barrier was swinging back and forth on the visible curve.
Xiao Ran walked to the side, tapped the corner of the table with his hand, and whispered: "There is no other way. After all the high-energy materials are patched, we can only rely on finding a way to go underground in the southeast to find the core. That area can only be delayed for a few hours by the barrier."
Su Wanqing nodded, put away the jade bracelet and equipment, and began to sort out the team members' configuration.
While writing it down in her notebook, she repeatedly recalled the coordinates and energy fluctuations that the instrument had just captured.
Lu Zhaogang had just finished checking the energy partitions. He turned around and whispered, "I'll keep an eye on the main control tonight. You go and rest. You can call me anytime. If there's anything else, we'll talk about it after the barrier is stable."
Su Wanqing didn't agree, nor did she refuse. She lowered her head and thought, and she didn't make any extra plans.
In the corner of the screen, the remaining energy time number decreased clearly, like a countdown bomb, and no one dared to say a word.
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