Ethan... Ethan again! In his final moments, he not only pushed me away and detonated the "Raging Wave," but also left behind the final coordinates for our group of fleeing survivors!
An indescribable bitterness and burning sensation suddenly rushed up my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut, suppressing the surging emotions. Now was not the time to mourn.
"Liya is seriously injured! We need to treat her immediately!" Wrench shouted anxiously. Leah leaned against a half-collapsed concrete pillar, her face pale and her lips drained of all color. Her body trembled slightly in the cold. It was clear that the potent potion was wearing off, and the blood loss and hypothermia were sapping her life force.
"Let me see!" a calm female voice rang out. A tall figure, carrying a multi-purpose medical kit, stepped quickly through the crowd. It was Nurse, the team's only professional medic. She was also in the Mole's squad!
The "nurse" quickly examined Leah's injuries, her brow furrowed. "Piercing shoulder wound, severe blood loss, hypothermia! Immediate battlefield surgery is necessary to debride the wound and stop the bleeding, or she won't survive an hour!" She spoke rapidly, quickly opening her medical kit and removing a sterile cloth, spreading it on a relatively flat surface. "We need a light source! Clean water! And... silence!"
"Quick! Make room for the nurse! Hooks, guard the high ground! Wrenches, find something to block the rain! Everyone else, spread out and stand guard!" I commanded immediately, my voice brimming with undeniable authority. Amidst the wreckage of the rooftop, a flurry of activity erupted. Some constructed a makeshift shelter from the rain with tattered canvas and broken metal sheets, others collected relatively clean rainwater, and still others, armed, vigilantly scanned the regrouping enemy below and the gloomy sky.
I stepped aside, my back against the cold parapet, my gaze returning to the damp notebook in my arms. Ethan's final, scribbled words burned like a red-hot iron, searing into my heart: "Raven is not dead! The Hive is his creation! The Oasis is the key to defeating him! The key... is in the heart?"
My hand subconsciously pressed against my chest. The "Data Heart" was beating steadily. A gentle yet resilient energy, emanating from the "Oasis," flowed slowly within it, dispelling physical fatigue and bringing a chilling clarity. Was that the "key" Ethan was referring to? Or was it something deeper within it, awakened by the "Oasis"?
"Boss..." A hoarse voice interrupted my thoughts. It was Raven (a team member). He was leaning against a broken wall not far from me, his face equally grim, the wound on his arm hastily bandaged. He looked at the notebook in my hand with a complex expression, filled with deep sadness and a kind of... indescribable confusion. "Did Ethan... say anything else?"
I was silent for a moment, my eyes scanning the exhausted yet dedicated team members around me. Wrench was clumsily trying to use a scrap piece of iron to block the rain from drifting toward the operating area. Hook rested on the edge, rain dripping down the brim of his hat, his eyes scanning the area like a hawk. Under the simple light, the nurse, her forehead beaded with sweat, concentrated on treating the nasty wound on Leah's shoulder. Peregrine Falcon and Mole vigilantly monitored the perimeter.
A group of soldiers who have lost their homes, their comrades, and are being hunted down by powerful enemies. But the rage of these soldiers could burn the heavens!
"He told us," I said, my voice low, but clear enough to penetrate the rain and reach everyone's ears, like a cold iron slamming into the ground, "who the enemy is."
Everyone's movements paused for a moment, and their eyes instantly focused on me.
"Behind the Hive isn't an out-of-control AI." My gaze slowly scanned each face, finally settling on the scribbled, torn-wing symbol on the notebook in my hand. "It's a ghost who should have been dead. A man named Raven. He's the founder of Wing Biotech. The Hive is the monster he hatched from Wing's darkest legacy! The intelligence Ethan sacrificed his life for leads to a place called the Oasis. He says only there lies the power to defeat Raven."
Dead silence. Only the sound of rain pounding the ruins. Shock, disbelief, and the ensuing rage, like an invisible storm, converged madly in the eyes of every survivor! A living, supposedly dead demon, controlling everything? This was more terrifying than any out-of-control AI, and even more... hateful!
"Raven..." Wrench squeezed out the name from between his teeth, his fists clenched and crackling, his eyes burning with the fire of revenge.
"Wing Biotechnology...those lunatics..." the nurse whispered, but her hands moved more steadily and quickly, as if she wanted to pour all her anger into the action of saving her companion's life.
Just then!
"Warning! High-energy reaction! Ultra-high-speed target! Lock on to the source - directly above!" The "matrix" that had been responsible for monitoring the radar suddenly let out a heart-wrenching scream, and the voice was distorted due to extreme fear!
Everyone looked up in horror!
Without warning, deep within the gray, leaden-heavy rain clouds, a blinding crimson light suddenly ignited! It was as if a demon had opened its single eye, overlooking the world! The light, carrying a soul-freezing, terrifying pressure, instantly penetrated the thick clouds and rain curtain, like the light of judgment, precisely enveloping the entire rooftop ruins!
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The cold rain hit my face, bringing the chill of death.
"It's an orbital strike! Hurry..." The Peregrine Falcon only shouted half of its roar!
The crimson light suddenly expanded and plummeted! Its speed was so fast it surpassed the retina's ability to capture it! His vision was instantly engulfed by a pure, destructive red light! It wasn't the color of fire, but rather the light of death, the energy compressed to its limit, the very space itself wailing!
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com