And his eyes... were still filled with a bottomless blankness. It was as if the excruciating pain from this fatal injury only caused him to feel a strange, incomprehensible disturbance.
"Why..." Wen Shifei's voice was shaking and she was crying. Every word she said sounded like she was crying blood. "You...you don't remember anything..."
Lu Cheneng's hollow gaze fell on Wen Shifei's blood-stained and tear-stained face. A subtle hint of confusion seemed to flicker through his blank expression. He opened his mouth, his voice weak, hoarse, and intermittent, as if he was trying to understand his own actions. In the end, he could only utter a few cold words that struck Wen Shifei's heart like a hammer:
"...Instinct...is...loud..."
His body shook and he could no longer support himself. His heavy body completely pressed down on Wen Shifei, and his consciousness fell into deep darkness.
"Lu Cheneng!!!" Wen Shifei let out a heart-wrenching cry.
"Boss Wen! Over here!" Old Li rushed back from the smoke like a mad tiger, followed by two blood-soaked but fierce-eyed Firefly fighters! Taking advantage of the brief chaos and smoke caused by the Giant Lizard's firing, they miraculously tore a small hole!
Old Li dragged the unconscious Lu Cheneng away from Wen Shifei, and another soldier quickly lifted up the almost exhausted Wen Shifei.
"Let's go!" Old Li growled, carried Lu Cheneng's heavy body on his shoulders, and without looking back, rushed into the depths of the ruins that were as intertwined as the fangs of a giant beast!
Wen Shifei was dragged by her comrades, stumbling as she ran. She turned her head to take one last look at the hellish battlefield.
The massive silhouette of the Black Snake's "Monitor Lizard" mecha emerged from the smoke and dust, its crimson sensor beams scanning the devastated battlefield, seemingly confirming the outcome. The Black Snake militants were regrouping, attempting to pursue the enemy into the ruins.
However, on the edge of this chaos and despair, Wen Shifei saw a scene that made her heart tremble -
In the direction of the lower city, behind the windows of the ruined buildings that had not yet been affected by the war, in the cracks of the broken walls, and even on the ruins of the tall tower cranes, a little bit of faint but extremely stubborn light, like a firefly that was reignited after being disturbed, stubbornly lit up more and more!
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple... dots of light converge into a stream!
That's the Firefly network! After a brief silence caused by the attack and signal interference, it survived! The people of downtown, in their own way, reignited the light of hope!
The light penetrated the dense smoke, like a silent, warm and tough net, covering the bloody battlefield, as well as the fleeing Wen Shifei and the heavy hope she carried.
Old Li was incredibly familiar with this maze of ruins, a scar on the city. Carrying the unconscious Lu Chenentang, Wen Shifei, and the two remaining soldiers, he navigated like a cunning rabbit through massive concrete blocks, twisted metal structures, and collapsed pipework. Every sharp turn, every time he slipped through a low crevice, he cleverly exploited the terrain to evade the sporadic gunfire of his pursuers.
After running for an unknown amount of time, they came upon a half-collapsed, old factory annex building, looking as if it had been gnawed by a giant beast. The ground floor was mostly buried, but a relatively intact room on the second floor, its windows obscured by thick fire curtains, let in a faint ray of light—a temporary safe house node in the Firefly network.
"Hurry! Go in!" Old Li panted and took the lead in breaking open a half-open, rusty iron door.
The room was small, filled with dust and a damp, musty smell. A few makeshift beds made of planks and discarded packing boxes lay on the floor, and emergency supplies were piled in a corner. A middle-aged man with glasses and a pale face was nervously guarding a portable communication terminal, which was flickering faintly. Seeing Lao Li and the others rush in, covered in blood, he nearly jumped in fear.
"Old Li! Boss Wen! You..." The man with glasses' voice was shaking.
"Stop talking nonsense! Doctor! Medicine box! Hurry!" Old Li carefully laid Lu Chenshang flat on the relatively clean bed. Lu Chenshang's face was pale, his breathing was weak, and the area under his shoulder blade soaked in blood was shocking.
Wen Shifei was supported by a soldier and staggered to sit against the wall. The penetrating wound on her right leg and the tear on her left shoulder almost made her collapse, but she managed not to faint, her eyes fixed on Lu Cheneng.
The man with glasses frantically dug out a medical kit. He was clearly not a professional doctor, only knowing some first aid. With trembling hands, he cut open the clothing around Lu Chen's wound, revealing the hideous embedded fragments. Blood continued to seep out.
“It needs to be taken out as soon as possible to stop the bleeding, but the conditions here are poor…” The man with glasses had sweat on his forehead and his voice trembled as he looked at the deep wound and twisted metal.
Wen Shifei gritted her teeth and struggled to the bedside. She looked at Lu Chensheng's lifeless face and the fatal wound. The immense grief and a suffocating feeling of powerlessness nearly swallowed her.
At this moment, her fingertips accidentally touched the hard bulge on the inside of the tactical vest - the portable terminal that stored Wen Yuan's consciousness backup data.
My younger brother...Wen Yuan...
A thought flashed through her chaotic mind like lightning! This data... wasn't just a fragment of Wen Yuan's soul; it came from the Pandora Core! Could it... could it contain some information about the chip in Lu Chen's body? Or... some clue that could awaken his memory? Even if there was only a tiny hope!
This thought instantly ignited the last glimmer of light in her eyes. She reached out with a trembling hand, pulling out the portable terminal stained with her body heat and blood from her body. The screen dimly lit in the darkness, revealing the folder labeled "Wen Yuan - Dynamic Consciousness Backup."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com