Chapter 307 Lost Between Doors
Such a huge tower, a spaceship that can travel through time and space, a cult lair hiding countless secrets...how many doors are there in it?
A lot. A lot.
Those doors that connect different floors, different rooms, different corridors, or are simply used to cut off specific areas and serve as safety barriers, each of those doors is now quietly waiting for the destined person to pass by.
A team was moving cautiously through the connecting passage from the D-1 area to the core module, searching for any signs of intruders.
There is an outsider hiding on this ship, who attacked the first combat team and the recovery team, and hacked into some systems on the ship. Now, the monitoring system is no longer reliable, and we can only rely on manpower to find the intruder.
The Priory fighters, wearing light power armor and black robes, were nimble in their steps. The multiple sensory systems attached to the power armor allowed them to "smell" any movement in the air and changes in temperature and magnetic field. They also brought with them the few remaining Brass Knights who were still able to move, and had some of them turn on optical camouflage, dispersing them as surprise troops in front and behind the entire team and in the nearby connecting passages.
There are also various small drones operating nearby, shuttling back and forth in ventilation ducts, maintenance troughs, and connecting passages, further expanding the team's "perception range" and monitoring more potential abnormal signals.
Such an arrangement can ensure the timeliness and accuracy of intelligence to the greatest extent possible. No matter how strong the invader is, the team can at least get the news before the enemy attacks, so as not to be wiped out in the raid.
Brother Ronan-22 really couldn't imagine what kind of enemy could sneak up under the team's nose and take away his team members under such circumstances.
But a vague sense of uneasiness still lingered in his heart, even seeming to permeate the air around him.
"Monk," a low-level monk suddenly broke the silence and muttered in the team communication, "I always feel like someone is watching me nearby."
Ronan-22 looked at the low-level monk who was speaking: "Alan-27, you are too nervous. There is no one around here, and my spiritual intuition did not give any warning."
"Probably." The low-level monk called "Alan-27" nodded, but still looked around subconsciously.
The long corridor was brightly lit and a slight humming sound could be heard from the nearby ventilation ducts. The gravity environment in the current area had been restored and the air purification device was operating normally.
The walls on both sides were decorated with metal reliefs depicting many ancient sages. The arched ceiling was covered with gorgeous and exquisite paintings symbolizing various prophecies. Between the figures of those sages and wise men, hidden cameras were slowly turning, scanning the situation in the corridor.
Everything seemed normal, but there was something a little off about it.
Alan 27 even felt that the people in the reliefs and paintings were staring at him, and even felt that... one of "them" was winking at him just now.
He even felt that the ground beneath his feet softened at some point, and stepping on it was like walking on a piece of soft, even warm flesh.
There was blood flowing and pulsating under the floor, and nerve bundles passed through the steel above his head, with the sound of disturbed electricity echoing in it. There were malicious eyes hidden on every wall, staring at the prey walking among them - a strong and terrifying "impression" emerged in his heart uncontrollably. Alan-27 didn't know why he had these terrible associations, but in just a moment, he felt that all the malice had disappeared, as if he had had a short and outrageous dream.
...Is it because of the shameful flaw hidden in his genes? Or is it because his original individual increased his nerve acuity adjustment value too much during the offspring adjustment process? Allen-27 shook his head and carefully checked the various detection data sent back by the power armor again - yes, everything was normal.
The team is passing through the gate at the end of D-1 area and heading towards the core area.
The previous combat team disappeared near this gate.
But there were no signs of fighting.
Brother Ronan-22 led the team to carefully check the surrounding situation before passing through the gate, and then he was the first to step through the door.
Alan-27 walked at the end of the team, watching the others walk through the door one by one, watching their figures continue to move in the corridor opposite, watching all this normal scene - but for some reason, he always felt that something was wrong.
It was as if those who stepped through the door did not really arrive on the other side of the corridor, as if what he saw was just an illusion.
He felt that there were fewer and fewer people around him. When the last compatriot stepped through the door, he even felt that he was alone, standing alone in this long corridor.
"Frak!" He stopped in front of the gate and suddenly shouted, "Something is wrong!"
"What are you doing over there?" Brother Ronan-22 turned around and looked at this side with some dissatisfaction, "Come here quickly!"
"Brother, I said something is wrong - I feel it!" Allen-27 gasped unconsciously, his heart pounding, and an indescribable impulse surged in his nerves, "Come back quickly, there is a problem over there!"
Brother Ronan-22 was still standing opposite the door, staring motionlessly in the direction of Alan-27 together with the other members of the monastery who had already passed through the door.
Through the thick tactical helmet, Allen-27 seemed to be able to feel the gaze falling on him.
"Brothers and sisters?" He felt something strangle his throat, and there was an indescribable discomfort when he spoke, "Are you...are you really over there?"
"Ronan-22" looked at him quietly without saying anything.
Allen-27 suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head, a pain that seemed to tear his nerves into his brain. His heart tightened, and a large dose of clairvoyance potion was injected directly into his spinal cord. The warning sound built into the power armor whistled sharply in his ears - and then, at the moment when the overdose of potion took effect, he finally saw...
A pair of indifferent, light grey eyes that seemed to have lost their color.
The area opposite was not a "connecting corridor" but an unfamiliar hall with fully armed Secret Service agents.
Allen-27 took a deep breath, turned around and ran!
At the same time, he quickly opened all the communication channels built into the power armor and frantically called every communicator he could contact at the moment -
"Door! There's something wrong with the door! Don't go near the door on the ship!"
However, only harsh noise came from the communicator.
Allen-27 stopped and slowly looked up.
The ancient sages lowered their eyes to him and shook their heads helplessly. The metal relief flowed down from "them" like mud, slowly piling up under his feet and binding his hands and feet. The ground became soft, undulating like waves, pushing him towards the nearest door bit by bit.
There was a strange sound of metal moving in the corridor, and Alan-27 shouted over and over again: "There's a problem with the door! Don't go near the door on the ship! There's a problem with the door! There's a problem with the door--"
…
Baili Qing turned around and looked at the members of the monastery who were still standing there in a daze, allowing the nearby Secret Service agents to dismantle their power armor without resistance. She raised her hand and rubbed her eyes gently.
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In the open space farther away, there were brass knight parts that had been dismantled by the divers, as well as "mud" material that had been burned to ashes.
Song Cheng stood aside and watched the last monastic member being "thrown" here. This monastic member was obviously not as "quiet" as those who had come over here on their own initiative. As soon as he broke free from his restraints, he began to shout and scream, and tried to attack the nearby divers with the weapons in his hands. Fortunately, Xu Jiali was more skilled and disarmed the opponent in a few moves.
"Not many people can stay awake under your gaze," Song Cheng said with a sigh, "There are still capable people among these guys."
"It's time to apply medicine," Xu Jiali, who was not far away, raised her head and heard a muffled voice from under the power armor helmet. He had just checked on the member of the hermitage who was knocked unconscious by him. At this time, there was some regret in his tone, "He is drooling after being rescued. His brain is almost burned by the clairvoyance potion."
"… Let's send them to the medical room first. One more survivor means one more possible source of information." Song Cheng waved his hand. "We need to find out how these guys sneaked in and what they want to do in Jiecheng."
The new batch of prisoners was quickly taken away and placed in the same holding facility as the two previous batches.
Baili Qing and Song Cheng continued to wait at the door.
The scene was very quiet and the atmosphere was a bit subtle.
Song Cheng looked at the female director beside him and wanted to speak several times.
After a while, he finally couldn't help but said, "Director, you say... from the perspective of public perception, we should be the good guys, and these people from the hermitage are the villains, right?"
Baili Qing turned and glanced at him.
"...Why does it feel like the style is reversed?" Song Cheng's mouth twitched. "I have carried out countless missions to capture cultists before, and I have never seen such a style."
Baili Qing had a blank expression on her face: "As long as we can solve the problem and ensure the safety of the border, we don't need to worry about the details."
“…That’s what you said.”
At this moment, Baili Qing's cell phone vibrated again.
She picked up her phone and took a look at it, her eyes changing slightly.
Song Cheng knew at a glance that this was new news from Yu Sheng - there are not many people who can make the expression of the paralyzed director change.
"What did Yu Sheng say?"
Baili Qing: "He asked me if the Secret Service knew what the 'holy coffin' of the artificial saint looked like."
Song Cheng: "...What does he want to do?"
"He wants to try to move a complete set of artificial saint system here - including the saint herself, and then bring the holy coffin and the matching maintenance system." Baili Qing took a breath, "It's an amazing idea."
“…That’s amazing.”
(End of this chapter)
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