Chapter 99 He's in Her Heart
In the circular hall, where the "statue" of Li Qing had originally been placed in the corner, the space suddenly flickered.
A silver archway appeared out of thin air.
"There really is a gate."
"Let's go take a look."
The team's attention was immediately drawn.
Dean Sanger immediately waved to Su Zhe.
"Mr. Suzhe, please check this." After saying that, Sangge ordered the main force, "Everyone check the equipment, report the damage, and prepare to depart."
A moment later, Su Zhe withdrew his hands.
“This is a one-way spatial portal. The structure behind the portal is stable, but the risks are unknown. However, it seems to be the only way at the moment,” he said.
Sanger sighed.
The choice speaks for itself.
After the troops had regrouped, Sanger gave the order in a deep voice, "Advance!"
Ning Shuyin and Luo Lan remained at the back of the group.
However, unlike before, Fang Yan and several other soldiers who had received help from Ning Shuyin consciously walked behind her, forming a protective circle that was neither too close nor too far.
With environmental crises looming and more people around to protect her, Ning Shuyin greeted them with grateful smiles.
Loran remained expressionless upon seeing this.
He simply and quietly closed the distance between himself and her.
Behind the silver archway was an unremarkable corridor.
The group moved forward, cautiously surveying their surroundings. No one spoke to each other; the silence was unsettling.
Su Zhe deliberately slowed his pace, retreating from the front of the group to stand beside her, walking alongside her.
"Thank goodness you were here just now. Thank you," he said gently, breaking the silence.
Then, he politely turned to Lorraine.
"Thank you, Dr. Lorran, for pulling me in from outside and for adding to my treatment."
Loran simply nodded at him.
He remained expressionless.
Before long, the view suddenly opened up before them.
This is a huge cave.
Looking around, Ning Shuyin saw a glowing tree several hundred meters tall in the center of the cave.
The tree canopy is enormous and stretches as far as the eye can see.
On the thick tree trunk, which could be encircled by more than a dozen people, shimmering light appeared and disappeared.
Upon closer inspection, its spreading pattern bears a striking resemblance to blood vessels and nerves within a living organism.
These luminous veins extend downwards in a tangled pattern.
It extends outwards in all directions.
Following the roots, they pointed to the entrances of several dark passages.
She had never seen such a sight before and marveled at it.
Dean Sanger looked up at the tree with awe in his eyes.
“I’ve studied the ancient documents related to the K99 site. All the clues point to a living core…”
"If I'm not mistaken, this neural tree is the navigation system of the ruins. We can use our consciousness to tell it where we want to go..."
As the team leader, he slowly placed his palm on the tree trunk.
Then he closed his eyes and muttered something to himself.
"I need to purify the virus and extract the purification protocol."
He frowned, as if forming a strong idea in his mind.
However, more than ten seconds passed.
The giant tree did not react.
Sanger looked somewhat surprised.
A soft murmur of discussion arose within the team.
"Did the research go wrong?"
"What should we do then..."
Su-che stepped forward and activated his special ability to scan the surrounding mechanisms, but to no avail.
Ning Shuyin blinked, and a possibility came to mind.
“Dean,” she began, “perhaps one person’s will is too weak. How about… we try together?”
Sanger hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded.
"Okay, let's all give it a try. Everyone, think that we are going to extract the purification protocol."
As instructed, everyone placed their hands on the huge tree trunk.
A few seconds later...
A strange phenomenon occurred.
The entire giant tree seemed to come alive.
The light flashed rapidly along the veins of the tree trunk. One of the thick roots was illuminated by the green light.
At the same time, the standard cosmic language appeared above the root:
[Cleanup Protocol Entry -> Biological Laboratory]
The team's morale soared.
The goal of this trip has finally been found.
However, amidst the excitement, Loran's gaze turned to another place.
In the opposite direction, an inconspicuous root glowed red.
Words also surfaced on the roots:
[Void Droplet Entrance -> Time Archive]
Almost simultaneously, Ning Shuyin let out a suppressed groan.
"Hmm!"
Her body swayed.
Two opposing thoughts were clashing wildly in her mind.
On one side is the collective mission "Extract the Purification Protocol," and on the other side is the purpose of Loran's date with her: "Find the Void Droplet."
These two thoughts were torn apart by the mysterious power of the giant tree, causing her immense pain.
Lorraine immediately noticed her condition.
"Let go." His cold voice rang out, and he reacted swiftly, reaching out to pull her hand off the tree trunk.
The moment Ning Shuyin's hand left, the red light on the root that indicated "Time Archives" vanished instantly.
Inside the cave, only the root that led to the biological laboratory remained, glowing green.
Luo Lan supported Ning Shuyin, who was a little unsteady on her feet, and seemed to be deep in thought.
He had assumed that Ning Shuyin subconsciously did not want to help him find the things.
This date was only arranged due to the formalities.
Her primary goal, like Sanger's and the others in the Alliance, was undoubtedly the "Purification Protocol" that would bring enormous prestige gains.
But……
He saw it clearly in that instant.
The root of the "void droplet," representing his personal purpose, did indeed light up because of her shared consciousness.
The fact that she had two goals at the same time triggered a conflict in her will within the navigation tree, causing her to bear such a heavy mental burden.
She actually... genuinely took his matter to heart.
A strange emotion quietly began to grow in places unknown to Loran.
Once the group confirmed the entrance, they began heading towards the passage leading to the biological laboratory.
Footsteps and whispers echoed in the hall.
The main force had already entered the passage, but Luo Lan and Ning Shuyin were still at the very back of the group.
He instinctively turned around and looked at the navigation tree that had returned to its peaceful state.
But that one glance sent shockwaves through his eyes.
Wherever his gaze fell, the red root that had been pointing at the droplet of void was rapidly drying up and turning ashen.
In just a few seconds, that root had turned to ashes!
Loran felt as if a knife had been plunged into his heart.
how so?
Just then, a line of text suddenly lit up on the trunk of the tree:
Life cannot simultaneously allow for survival and transcendence.
Please choose the only future for the Ark.
It's a choice between two options. One choice eliminates the other possibility entirely.
Even though Lorraine usually kept her emotions to herself, she couldn't quite control herself at this moment.
Regret, disappointment, self-blame, and anger all surged into my heart at once.
Just now, the path to the void droplet was within reach.
Now, it has been nipped in the bud.
"Dr. Loran, what's wrong?" Fang Yan asked, puzzled, when he saw Loran standing outside the passageway door.
"No, it's nothing." Loran suppressed the heaviness and secret back into her heart.
Ning Shuyin, who was standing in front of him, glanced back at him, as if she had caught something.
The procession moved through a long, narrow corridor. The ground beneath their feet was not a smooth, hard mirror.
The ground is soft to the touch, and covered with lush vegetation.
Thick moss grew on the vines, which were as thick as snakes.
Various umbrella-shaped fungal clusters grow in the gaps between the mosses, and some unidentified small flowers also bloom there.
Stepping on it feels as soft and fluffy as a cloud.
The fungal community emitted multicolored light. With each step, the light would alternate between bright and dim, like a breathing light.
Ning Shuyin felt a sudden, inexplicable palpitation.
Beneath my feet, it felt as if a massive life force was pulsating. This passageway resembled the spine of a sleeping behemoth.
The road ahead is filled with unknown darkness.
"ah!"
A scream came from ahead.
It was Lisa who sent it.
Just now, a soldier turned on his tactical flashlight, wanting to use the strong light to illuminate the surrounding vegetation.
As a result, the light from the fungal colonies in the irradiated area was extinguished instantly.
Then, a green lizard suddenly leaped out of the black area and landed right on Lisa's shoulder.
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