"Sister Wen! Brother Lu! Hold on! Follow me!" Ajie's voice carried undeniable strength. With him on board, Wen Shifei's pressure was suddenly relieved. The three of them formed a small, mutually supportive triangle. With Ajie's guidance, they struggled through the gap in the collapsed structure and squeezed through the even narrower ventilation duct branch.
At the end of the passageway was a relatively spacious underground refuge hall, once one of the fortress's emergency supply storage points. Now, it served as a makeshift shelter for the wounded and a command center. Under the dim emergency lighting, figures swarmed, groans of pain and suppressed sobs intertwined. The air was filled with the nauseating smell of disinfectant and blood. Medical personnel shuttled among the wounded, their movements swift, but they were clearly severely short of both manpower and supplies.
Beacon stood at a makeshift table in the center of the hall, his holographic projection equipment broken. He was speaking commands rapidly into a handheld tactical tablet, his voice hoarse like sandpaper. His metal visor bore visible dents and burn marks, and his left arm hung awkwardly. Seeing Ajie and the other two enter, he immediately disconnected his communication and strode forward to meet them.
"What's going on?" His eyes swept sharply across Lu Chenshang's pale face and Wen Shifei's half-body stained with blood, and finally fixed on the magic blade in Lu Chenshang's hand that was surrounded by purple lightning and humming incessantly. There was an unprecedented solemnity in his metallic voice.
"The main control tower... is destroyed. The seven-pointed star... is expanding... it's calling..." Wen Shifei gasped, his voice intermittent, and every word took a huge effort to resist the spiritual erosion. "Lu Qiming's mecha... and the follow-up troops... the fortress... can't be held..."
"I know." Beacon's answer was unusually concise and heavy. "'Firefly' has been activated. Our people are dispersing into the deep shelter network and preset evacuation passages. Where is the 'Doctor'? How is Qingyi?" He asked the key question.
Wen Shifei's heart tightened, and she remembered Lu Qingyi! She was still in the rest room when the explosion happened!
"The rest room is... on the lower level of the main control tower!" Ajie's face suddenly changed. "The explosion was so violent..."
"She's been transferred!" a weak but clear voice interrupted. It was Sister Li from the medical team. She stumbled over, bloodied gauze wrapped around her forehead. "Before the explosion... the 'Healer' activated the emergency evacuation procedure for the rest room... using independent power to transfer her... to the deep medical shelter in Area C... but... the 'Healer' herself... couldn't make it out..." Her voice trailed off.
Lu Chensheng's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened. Hearing that his sister was temporarily safe, his tense body seemed to relax a little, but then he was overwhelmed by deeper fatigue and pain, and his body shook.
"The deep medical shelter... is safe for now." Beacon quickly judged, "But we must move immediately! It's not safe here either! The strength of the Ark's signal is still increasing, and the mental pollution index... is about to break through the critical point!" He pointed to the soaring and shocking curve on his tactical tablet screen.
As if to confirm his words, a shrill howl erupted from the corner of the shelter hall. A soldier, who had been sitting against the wall, suddenly leaped to his feet, his eyes bloodshot. Strange dark purple lines beneath his skin wriggled and bulged like living snakes. He frantically scratched at his face and neck, tearing at his flesh. With an inhuman roar, he lunged at a nearby medic tending to a wounded soldier!
"Hold him down! Sedative!" someone screamed.
The scene suddenly became chaotic.
"Go! Now!" Beacon's command was resolute. He gestured to Ajie and two other soldiers in better condition, "You, escort Lu Chenentang and Wen Shifei to evacuate through Emergency Elevator 3! To the abandoned hospital in the old city! It's one of the designated safe havens, with independent energy and basic medical supplies! Everyone else, follow me and cover our retreat! Follow the 'Firefly' plan and disperse!"
"Old hospital?" Wen Shifei was slightly stunned. A vague thought flashed through his mind, but it was suppressed by the severe headache and the crisis in front of him.
There was no time to hesitate. Ajie and two soldiers immediately supported the nearly incapacitated Lu Cheneng. Wen Shifei took a deep breath, forcing herself to ignore the physical pain and mental strain, and followed closely. Behind them, the chaos in the refuge hall intensified, the roars and sounds of battle, tainted by mental pollution, becoming increasingly intense. Xin Beacon's towering figure blocked the entrance to their evacuation route, his energy gun raised, his eyes cold and resolute beneath his metal mask.
The path leading to Emergency Exit 3 was an even narrower, long-abandoned maintenance tunnel. The air was stagnant, thick with the smell of rust and damp mold. Most of the emergency lights were broken, and only the light from Ajie's tactical flashlight cut a flickering path through the darkness, illuminating the slippery metal grating beneath and the thick, cold pipes on either side. Every footstep resonated with a dull reverberation, as if stepping on the bones of a giant beast. Lu Cheneng's weight rested largely on Ajie and another warrior, his consciousness ripping apart by the excruciating pain and the raging energy of the demonic blade, his steps unsteady. Wen Shifei followed closely behind, one hand supporting herself against the cold pipe wall, the other pressing firmly against her temple. The amplified whispers of the "Ark" were like countless cold steel needles, constantly pricking her nerves, trying to pry open her defenses. Each mental shock was accompanied by intense dizziness and nausea.
"Sister Wen? Can you hold on?" Ajie's voice came from the darkness ahead, panting and worried.
"...Yes." Wen Shifei forced the word through gritted teeth, her voice trembling. She focused her scattered gaze, looking ahead at Lu Cheneng's back. He lowered his head, the magic blade dragging along the ground, the tip scraping across the metal grating with a sharp sizzling sound. The swirling purple lightning stood out against the darkness, like a venomous snake choosing its prey. This blade, this power, felt more like a bomb poised to explode at any moment.
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