"We have no time to grieve." My voice echoed through the silent "nest," not loud but remarkably clear. It carried a coldness and determination that severed all avenues of retreat, like a quenched blade cleaving through stagnant air. Every word echoed heavily against the bullet-riddled and bloodstained metal floor.
"The enemy is stronger, more cunning, and more...ancient than we imagined." My eyes swept across the bandage on Leah's shoulder, across the blood of my companions on the ground, and finally stopped at the deep dark edge of the screen. "What Ethan paid for with his life is not for us to wait here for the next opportunity to slaughter."
I raised my hand and pointed to the edge of the illuminated, distant, unknown, dark area on the screen. My fingertips were steady, without a single tremor.
"He left us a way out. An 'oasis' hidden in the heart of chaos, where the enemy would never expect it." I emphasized the word "oasis," watching Leah's pupils shrink. The other team members' eyes flashed with uncertainty. "There might be weapons to counterattack, the true secrets of the Hive, or even... the fatal weakness of the self-proclaimed ghost, Raven!"
A dead silence reigned within the "nest," except for the ragged breathing and the patter of rain on the ceiling. Sadness, fear, confusion... a myriad of emotions swirled and collided fiercely on the survivors' faces. But gradually, a new element began to grow and converge—the almost ferocious will to survive, ignited by the desperate situation and the desperate madness fueled by blood feud!
"We..." Wrench wiped the blood and rain from his face. His voice was hoarse, but it was filled with a fierce determination to fight to the death. "How much can we still move?"
"Count me in!" Hook gritted his teeth, pressed the wound on his arm, and looked like a poisoned hook. "I'm going to tear those sons of bitches apart with my own hands!"
"The power armor...needs urgent repairs, but...can catch up!" In the corner, a team member in charge of mechanical maintenance, with an oily face, shouted while panting.
Leah didn't say anything, she just gave me a deep look. Sadness still thickened in those weary eyes, like insoluble ink. But deep within the ink, a cold, polar-star-like light shone once again. She endured the excruciating pain in her shoulder, straightened her back, and answered with action.
I retracted my hand from the screen, my gaze once again sweeping across the scarred yet resolute faces. Within my chest, the "heart of data" beat with an unprecedented steady, powerful throb, resonating with the pale golden "oasis" mark deep within my consciousness, emitting a silent roar.
"Clear the battlefield. Treat the wounded. Strengthen the defenses." My orders were concise and cold, like the clanging of steel. "Pack up usable equipment, energy sources, data cores... everything we can take away! We only have..." I paused, sensing the extremely vague time pressure transmitted by the pale golden mark deep in my consciousness. "Twelve hours at most."
My eyes finally fell on the package wrapped in a damp tarp that I had brought in and placed in the corner next to the console. Ethan's belongings lay there quietly.
"Twelve hours later," I said in a decisive voice, with a desperate determination, as if declaring, "we will leave the 'nest'. Our goal is—"
"oasis!"
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