The factory…disappeared.
Completely wiped off the map by the light of judgment from the "Ark".
"Report... all... external detection signals... disappeared. Factory coordinates... energy response... returned to zero." The communicator's voice was dry and hoarse, filled with great grief and unbelievable numbness.
"Landslide in Area B7...Casualties...Counting..."
"The energy response of the 'Ark' beacon (the seven-pointed star) has subsided... but its intensity... remains at a dangerous threshold..."
"Fortress shield stability...37%...continuously decreasing..."
Bad news washed over the command center like an icy tide, wave after wave, pounding the nerves of everyone. Despair, like a thick, tangible fog, permeated every corner. Even the tall, cold metal frame of the "beacon" seemed to hunch slightly for a moment.
Lu Qingyi slumped in her wheelchair (rushed in by Xiaolin), her face paler than paper, her body trembling uncontrollably with overwhelming grief and weakness. She stared intently at the crimson hue of annihilation on the sand table, her nails digging into the wheelchair's armrests, her knuckles turning white. Brother... Sister Shi Fei... Ajie... Anvil... Monkey... They all... didn't make it? Was it the interference she activated... that left them vulnerable to even more precise attacks? A surge of self-blame gnawed at her heart like a venomous snake.
Xiaolin held the handle of the wheelchair tightly, tears silently streaming down her face, and her body trembling slightly.
The beacon's electronic prosthetic eye stared fixedly at the crimson, its light like a dying candle, rapidly flashing through complex calculations and deductions. Factory destroyed... Target eliminated... Wen Yuan's "key" destroyed... Had Lu Qiming won? How much longer could the fortress hold out? Three days? Five days? Faced with the ongoing mental pollution and the threat of another "Ark" attack, this amount of time was merely a delay in death. Cold logic told him it was time to activate the last of his "fireflies" and disperse. Abandon the fortress, and let every last one escape...
Just then—
Buzz...sizzle...
On the command center's main console, an unassuming backup screen connected to the fortress's deep surveillance network suddenly flickered, revealing a blurry, distorted black-and-white image! The image seemed to be severely disrupted, shaky and covered in snow, but one could vaguely make out an interior scene covered in cracks and thick smoke.
Immediately afterwards, an extremely weak, intermittent communication signal with strong electrical noise forced its way into the fortress's almost paralyzed communication channel!
[…Lighthouse…beacon…can you hear…?]
[…factory…ground floor…not…completely…destroyed…]
[…Lu Cheneng…severely injured…alive…Wen Shifei…in coma…]
[…Energy…link…successful…but…the cost…is huge…]
[…Requesting… Emergency… Medical… Support… Coordinates… Old Factory… Basement… B Floor… Passageway…]
[…repeated…request…support…]
This voice... has an inhuman electronic texture... but that unique calmness and orderliness that belongs to Wen Yuan... penetrates the noise!
"It's Wen Yuan! Wen Yuan's voice!" a technician exclaimed in surprise!
The dead silence in the command center was instantly broken! Everyone looked up in disbelief at the flashing screen and the voice coming from the communicator!
Lu Qingyi suddenly covered her mouth, tears bursting out, it was the ecstasy and disbelief of escaping from a desperate situation!
The beacon's electronic prosthetic eye instantly burst into an unprecedentedly sharp light! Like a torch rekindled in the darkness! He stepped forward to the main console, his metal fingers transforming into phantoms on the keyboard!
"Lock on the signal source! Increase the signal gain! Clear the interference!"
"Medical team! Immediately organize the most elite emergency team! Bring all available life-support equipment and emergency medicines!"
"The coordinates last transmitted by Team Ajie! Underground B-level passage! Prepare the Pangolin small drilling transport vehicle! Set off immediately!"
"All defense systems of the fortress! Enter level one combat readiness! Attract the attention of the chaebol and the 'Ark' beacon! Buy time for rescue!"
A series of cold, swift, unquestionable orders were issued like a torrential downpour! The entire lifeless command center instantly sprang into action like a sophisticated war machine! Despair was torn apart, and hope, like a faint starlight, stubbornly shone at the bottom of the abyss!
"Qingyi," Beacon turned to the girl in the wheelchair, her voice carrying a rare solemnity, "I need you... to reconnect the 'Resonance' countermeasure array... not to attack... but to use your unique mental frequency... to block the 'Ark' signal from detecting the rescue area as much as possible! Like a layer of... invisible veil!"
Lu Qingyi wiped the tears from her face, her eyes becoming resolute, even though her body was still frail. "I... can do this!" She raised her hand with difficulty and pressed the mental interface reserved for her on the control console. For her brother... for Sister Shi Fei... for all those still struggling in the abyss... she had to do it!
Like a wounded beast, the fortress let out a deep and resolute roar. Under the cold gaze of the Ark, in the shadow of death within the ruins, the final rescue operation was launched against the clock!
Factory underground, B-level passage.
It was even darker, damper, and more oppressive than the core control room above. Huge load-bearing columns supported the crumbling dome, broken pipes dripped muddy liquid, and the air was filled with the strong smell of rust, engine oil, and... a faint hint of blood.
Ajie awoke from his coma, his head splitting, his bones feeling like they were falling apart. He struggled to push away the half-slab of concrete that was pressing down on him, spitting out the mud, sand, and blood foam in his mouth. The shockwave from the explosion had flung him here, narrowly avoiding the most fatal collapse.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com