Gray Tower 1.4
The journey to Ash Valley proved far more difficult than anticipated. The coordinates pointed to an undeveloped, primeval forest, the road ending at the last ranger station. The team was forced to abandon their vehicle and proceed on foot, relying on satellite maps and Fanjinz's deciphering of the Lane Cipher to traverse the rugged and steep mountains.
The closer they got to the coordinates, the more eerie the environment became. The surrounding trees began to twist and contort, and the rocks took on an unnatural grayish-white color, as if scorched by a fire, yet chillingly cold. The air was unusually dry, carrying a faint, metallic smell, similar to that of ionized metal.
"The signal is starting to become unstable." Situ Jin frowned, looking at the constantly flashing and noisy testing equipment in his hand. The compass was also malfunctioning here, its needle spinning wildly.
Li Weimian's voice came through the still intermittent satellite communication, accompanied by severe electronic interference noise: "Be careful... strong magnetic field interference... may affect... your nerves..."
Yu Yan immediately looked at Fan Jinci. Sure enough, Fan Jinci's face was paler than usual, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. He was shaking his head slightly, as if resisting some kind of invisible pressure.
"What's wrong?" Yu Yan grabbed his arm, his hand feeling its icy coldness.
“Low-frequency resonance… it’s very disruptive…” Fan Jinci’s voice was a little strained as he pointed into the depths of the valley. “The source is over there. Ryan’s notes mentioned… ‘field effect’.”
Wen Lin, gun in hand, stood guard ahead and couldn't help but curse, "This damn place, even the stones are weird!"
Using a portable device, Jiang Zhaoyan barely managed to analyze the environmental data: "Abnormal magnetic field strength, accompanied by infrasound of a specific frequency... wait, the rock samples show a highly radioactive crystalline structure... this is not normal valley geology at all!"
Suddenly, Wen Lin, who was walking at the front, stopped abruptly and raised his fist to signal for caution. Ahead was a relatively open depression, with some... discarded supplies packaging scattered on the ground, as well as several clear tire tracks, but they were definitely not the wide tire tracks left by ordinary vehicles.
“They’ve been active here, and on a considerable scale,” Wen Lin said in a low voice.
Yu Yan signaled the team to spread out and take cover, using rocks and dead trees to observe the center of the depression. There, a cleverly disguised underground ventilation shaft was emitting a low hum.
“Entrance.” Yu Yan’s eyes sharpened.
Just as they were preparing to investigate further, Fan Jinci suddenly swayed, and if Yu Yan hadn't supported him, he would have almost fallen to his knees. He covered his temples, his breathing became rapid, and data streams flashed wildly in his gray-blue pupils, only to be instantly overwhelmed by intense pain.
“Fragments of memory…” He gritted his teeth, squeezing out a few words, “They are… ‘playing’ something…”
"Play?" Situ Jin was taken aback.
“It’s that kind of resonance!” Li Weimian’s voice came intermittently, filled with astonishment. “They might be using the valley’s natural ‘recording’ properties to output… disruptive information in reverse! Fan Jinci’s brain is most sensitive to this kind of coding!”
Yu Yan made a decisive decision: "We can't let him advance any further! Wen Lin, provide cover! Situ, prepare to retreat!"
“No…” Fan Jinci grabbed Yu Yan’s arm, his knuckles turning white from the force. He raised his eyes, his gaze filled with suppressed chaos and an almost cold clarity. “They know… I’m here. This is… the ‘verification key’.”
Verify key?
If the "key" refers to Fan Jinci, then what is the "lock"? The fact that Gray Tower is willing to expose this stronghold just to verify Fan Jinci's reaction suggests that their ambitions are far greater!
Suddenly, the humming from the underground ventilation shaft abruptly increased! Immediately afterward, several seemingly natural rocks at the edge of the depression suddenly flipped over, revealing dark gun barrels!
"Enemy attack! Take cover!" Yu Yan roared, slamming Fan Jinci down behind a boulder.
Bullets rained down on the spot where they had just stood, kicking up a cloud of gravel and dust.
"Damn it! It has an automatic defense system!" Wen Lin shouted as he retaliated.
Under the suppressive fire, the squad was temporarily trapped on the edge of this depression. Meanwhile, underground, the eerie buzzing and the "playback" targeting Fan Jinci continued.
Yu Yan held Fan Jinci tightly in his arms, who was trembling slightly, feeling the invisible impact on his brain. The violence in his eyes was almost tangible.
"Situ! Is there any way to interfere with that resonance source?!"
Situ Jin quickly rummaged through the equipment: "I'll try strong magnetic pulse interference! But it might temporarily disable our equipment as well!"
"Do it!" Yu Yan said without hesitation.
Just as Situ Jin was about to activate the equipment, Fan Jinci suddenly looked up, his eyes seemingly detecting a pattern in the chaotic data stream. He abruptly pointed to an inconspicuous, slightly dark-colored rock wall above and to the side of the ventilation vent.
"There...the resonance node...the weakness..."
His voice was weak, yet undeniably precise.
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