"The vital signs of 'Sample Zero' are rapidly deteriorating!" Dr. Heisen's projection lost its previous enthusiasm, his face turned ashen, and his voice became sharp due to anger and a hint of imperceptible panic, "The mental pollution index has exceeded the safety threshold! The resonance between the induced command element and the radiation of the 'Bury Worm' exceeds the expected model! If this continues, the core consciousness of the sample will completely collapse! Our only 'Ark Key' will become scrap!" His ice-blue eyes stared at Vincent K in the main seat, "Speaker! The induced command must be stopped immediately! Strengthen the shielding!"
"Stop?" Madam "Gorse"'s lazy voice sounded with a hint of cold sarcasm. Her beautiful projection played with a strand of virtual golden hair. "Doctor, are you afraid that your experiment will shatter? The force field of the 'burial worm' is a rare extreme testing environment. The strength of the 'key' needs to be tempered on the brink of destruction. Collapse? That only means that she is not 'perfect' enough." Her eyes swept over Lu Qingyi's model on the verge of collapse, as if looking at a priceless work of art with flaws.
"Perfect?" The projection of General "Iron Wall" snorted coldly. The electronic scar on his face flashed red, pointing to the upper left corner. The light signal representing Zero and Lu Qingyi had completely disappeared after entering a certain coordinate on the edge of Area B-7! "The sample and the signal of that 'ghost' disappeared at the encryption node at the same time! 'Shadow'! Where are your people? You can't even lock onto a signal?!" His spearhead was directed at the "Shadow" shrouded in gray mist.
The mist surrounding the Shadow's projection swirled slightly. A raspy voice carried a subtle chill. "The target has accessed a... 'historical' encrypted node within the deep maintenance network. The permission level... is unusually high. The shielding... is non-standard. We're cracking it, and it will take time." The shadow beneath his hood seemed to glance at Vincent K, who sat in the main seat, hinting, "The fortress's 'history' always hides... unexpected 'dust'."
"History dust?" The "engineer" sitting on the hover chair suddenly spoke, the data stream in his electronic eyes refreshing frantically, and his voice had a metallic texture, "I am more concerned about the 'present' of Area B-7! The structural stress index is about to break the critical point! The activity fluctuations of the 'burial worms' trigger a chain resonance! The repair protocol requires the immediate use of 15% of the redundant energy of the 'Ark' core energy pool! Otherwise, the collapse will spread to Area C!" His words directly pointed to the core contradiction in resource allocation.
"Fifteen percent?" Madam Gorse's eyes narrowed, her voice instantly cold. "'Engineer,' do you know how much the redundancy of the core energy pool depends on the stability of numerous core experiments and defense matrices? For the sake of an abandoned experimental site destined to collapse?"
"That's not a testing ground! That's a cage holding an ancient calamity! If the cage breaks, everyone will be doomed!" Dr. Heisen roared, pointing at the model of Lu Qingyi in the center, which was on the verge of collapse. "And our 'key'! If it breaks, the progress of the entire 'Ark Project' will be set back at least ten years!"
The debate erupted instantly. Dr. Heisen's frenzy, Mrs. Plantagenet's cold calculations, the Engineer's absolute rationality, General Iron Wall's threats of force, the Shadow's subtle implications... all sorts of voices collided beneath the cold starry dome.
The ever-silent "Web Weaver," his metal fingers shrouded in the shadow of his hood, tapped gently on the polished tabletop with a subtle, almost imperceptible rhythm. Each tap corresponded to an imperceptible fluctuation in a highly secretive data stream beneath the table, independent of the Hive's main network. Like a venomous snake slithering through the darkness, this data stream silently penetrated the Council's most rigorous firewalls and connected to an unknown, deeply encrypted node within the fortress.
Vincent K's icy blue eyes swept calmly over the arguing crowd, like a god overlooking an ant colony. His finger lightly tapped Lu Qingyi's chip model, which was on the verge of collapse, at the center of the light table.
"Quiet." The gentle but unquestionable voice instantly suppressed all the noise.
His gaze fell on Dr. Heisen. "Doctor, you are permitted to remotely inject the highest dose of Mind Anchor. Regardless of the cost, stabilize Sample Zero's core consciousness. Her collapse is not part of the plan."
Dr. Heisen's eyes flashed with ecstasy: "Yes! Speaker!"
Vincent K turned his gaze to the Engineer. "Reinforce the barriers in Area C. Utilize ten percent of the core energy pool's redundant energy. Area B-7... is permitted to collapse. Activate Protocol: Gravestone. Record all data, especially the interaction between the Gravestone Worm and Sample Zero. After the collapse, permanently seal the area."
The Engineer's electronic eye data stream flickered. "Understood. Ten percent... barely enough."
Finally, Vincent K's gaze turned to the focus of the dispute - Lady Plantagenet, General Iron Wall, and the swirling gray mist "Shadow".
"Refining the 'Key' requires pressure, but not meaningless destruction." His voice remained gentle, yet held a chill that could freeze the soul. "'Shadow,' I don't care what method you use. Within 72 hours, I want to see that 'Ghost' and 'Sample Zero' appear in the Hive Lab. Alive. As for the 'Dust' within the fortress..."
His ice-blue eyes narrowed slightly, as if penetrating the barriers of space and falling on the metal fingers of the "web weaver" that were silently tapping on the table.
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