Chapter 237: Covering the Deployment

"Lin Xian!"

Upon hearing this, Kiki's face instantly paled; she glared at Lin Xian with fire in her eyes—had there not been so many people present, she would have rushed forward and strangled him.

Lin Xian pointed at the mech beneath his feet: "Once it's fixed, want to take the first drive?"

To his surprise, Kiki's expression instantly cleared; she looked at him with a mix of anger and anticipation and hurriedly said: "You said it, don't back out."

"Lin Xian, what's the plan now?"

Chen Sixuan, seeing the strange corpse in the water, immediately asked.

Lin Xian now spoke seriously: "Originally, I planned to send the whole team to explore, but it seems the situation below is far more complex—no one should split up. Wait until I repair this mech, then we'll leave together."

"Huh?" Kiki said regretfully: "Such a huge research facility—aren't we going to search it? What if there are even more valuable items?"

Lin Xian pointed at the eerie human head in the water: "A hallucination-inducing monster is a serious threat. Plus, we just encountered one that tunnels through ventilation ducts—I suspect many other strange entities have already infiltrated this facility since the isolation walls in the test zone ruptured. Under these conditions, don't be greedy."

In horror films, splitting up when you know something strange is happening is just stupid.

For the Infinite, supplies aren't yet at a life-or-death stage; if not for this heavy mech beneath me, I'd have already ordered everyone to evacuate—after all, my original goal of finding a medical pod has already been achieved, and that exceeds expectations.

Add to that it's nighttime now, and the Infinite might face other risks—so Lin Xian didn't want to linger longer.

"How about this—we all search this floor together, and in the process, we can cover you? Once you're done, we all leave together?" Kiki immediately suggested.

Kiki looked at the empty research facility before her and felt it would be a waste not to loot something useful.

But she knew Lin Xian's decision made sense, so she offered a more moderate suggestion.

Lin Xian thought for a moment, then said: "Fine. But since we're all underground in this facility and the water is still rising, to be safe, we should prepare two options."

"Kiki." Lin Xian looked at her: "Where's the exit for the mech elevator dedicated to this hangar?"

Kiki picked up her mobile terminal and quickly searched: "Exit F—but it's in Test Zone 3, outside the Qingshui Town test site we entered before. That's the exit for heavy machinery."

Lin Xian frowned slightly, then said: "I understand."

He then turned to Da Lou: "Da Lou, take your team and guard the elevator shaft—make it easier for others to evacuate later."

"Shu Qin, Lu Chang—you take the atrium. The lake water here might be hazardous, or our communication range could be disrupted by strange entities. You're both skilled—handle relay communications and gather supplies."

"Kiki, you protect Director Ding and take her to key areas to search for useful information—especially anything related to psychic abilities or strange bodies. This Foundation seems to have researched these areas more deeply than the Phoenix Society—it could be valuable to us."

"Chen Laoshi, you and Miao Lu stay here and cover me. I estimate I'll finish in 40 minutes to an hour."

"Mm." Chen Sixuan nodded.

Lin Xian added: "Everyone, don't spread out too far during movement. Any room search must involve at least three people. Keep your lights on—floor power could fail at any moment. Besides human anomalies and strange bodies, there are unknown experimental subjects here. If you encounter any, eliminate them completely and mark them. If you can't handle them, fall back to the atrium elevator or here—other teams will provide backup!"

"Understood!" everyone chorused.

Aside from Lu Xingchen, Shasha, and a few Chedui members staying on the Infinite, all 24 combat-capable Infinite members were here. Lin Xian's deployment ensured each squad had at least one heavy weapons soldier armed with a Roarer K23 electric rotary machine gun. Additionally, every member was issued standard-issue tactical flashlights, explosives, grenade launchers, gas masks, and cutting tools.

"Alright, stay safe—move out!"

Hearing Lin Xian's deployment, everyone's morale surged, and they immediately began moving.

The Infinite Chedui members were now heavily armed, and their enhanced physical conditioning made them a formidable force. With Lin Xian's clear plan and mutual support between squads, everyone instantly focused and split into teams to act.

"Chen Laoshi…"

"I know." Chen Sixuan cut him off: "Go do your thing—I'll watch this area for you."

Lin Xian opened his mouth, saw Chen Sixuan's serious expression, swallowed his words, and nodded: "Alright. Stay safe."

Chen Sixuan nodded, took a slow breath, then instructed Miao Lu and the others: "We'll observe nearby. Water's rising—watch the water."

"Got it!"

Lin Xian watched the rising water speed—this ninth floor, being the largest, would take time to fully flood, but already the water was nearly at the mech's cockpit, and he began to feel urgency.

【Scan Progress: 60%】

Da Lou led his team with Shu Qin toward the atrium. The underground structure resembled a beehive: a central descent shaft, each level divided into six hexagonal research zones.

"Test communication range." Shu Qin pressed her earpiece.

"Sister Shu, received—but interference is already detectable."

"You two—here." Shu Qin, observing the nodes along the way, began positioning relay personnel: "Pair up. Call every three minutes. Maintain contact."

Da Lou watched Shu Qin's efficiency and couldn't help asking: "Didn't you serve in the military?"

"Interstellar 71st Army, Dingzhou 552nd Frontier Recon Rangers, Sergeant." Shu Qin glanced at him: "Retired. You?" "West Wind Brigade, engineer corps." Da Lou replied flatly.

"General Wei's troops?" Shu Qin said, surprised.

Da Lou nodded: "Yes."

"I heard after the Awakening Day, when the Federation collapsed, the surviving interstellar forces reorganized internally and joined the Phoenix Society's ranks—including your West Wind Brigade."

"I'm not sure." Da Lou scratched his head: "Like you, I retired long ago. I run an auto repair shop now."

The squad advanced quickly and reached the atrium—a vast hall like an airport terminal, complete with guidance zones.

"I'll guard here." Da Lou slung his Gatling gun over his shoulder and stepped onto a flowerbed.

"There are two emergency stairwells—I'll patrol these with Lu Chang, stay in contact with you in the center." Shu Qin didn't hesitate and began inspecting the area with Lu Chang.

"Got it." Da Lou nodded, eyes scanning everywhere—he knew this was the evacuation route and dared not slack off, fully focused on guarding it.

On the other side, Kiki and Ding Junyi hurried toward several research zones; Ding Junyi walked briskly while Kiki hovered in midair.

Ding Junyi glanced at Kiki as she walked: "Your psychic ability has strengthened considerably since leaving Jiazhou City."

!

"Really?" Kiki crossed her arms and floated backward, staring at her: "I haven't felt much difference. The Angel Project's evolution tiers don't seem to correlate with Dang Ling values at all."

"Dang Ling values, strictly speaking, measure high-energy fluctuations in lifeforms. To be accurate, only the total energy released during a biological death spike can serve as a valid metric—otherwise, no precise evaluation is possible."

Ding Junyi adjusted her glasses: "I've been closely tracking the Phoenix Society's research on psychic abilities—and I collect useful data from other survivor groups. From current information, those who've endured prolonged darkness show far stronger psychic and genetic evolution than those in regions less affected by the eternal night. The only problem is survival rate."

"Survival rate won't be high if you just stay in darkness facing those monsters," Kiki waved her hand.

"No, there's more—Darkness Infiltration. Lin Xian mentioned this before. Combining it with Phoenix Society research, I found that entering dawn effectively suppresses Darkness Infiltration. So I suspect: after absorbing darkness, humans need a buffer to process it—and that buffer… is dawn."

Kiki frowned slightly: "You mean we need to maintain balance?"

"For humans, yes. Biological evolution requires sunlight. Think of it like plants: they photosynthesize during the day, but too much sun kills them; at night, they respire and release energy. The Phoenix Society has likely confirmed this—though they haven't yet conducted targeted experiments to prove it, so they haven't released it publicly."

"So cautious?" Kiki scoffed: "If they've got results, why not tell everyone? It's the end of the world—why stick to bureaucracy?"

Ding Junyi smiled gently, then said seriously: "You're wrong. Science demands rigor—and precisely because they're the Phoenix Society, representing the last remaining public trust of all survivors, they must be extra cautious. Moreover, their current stance is to follow dawn. Objectively, they don't need to announce something that aligns with their own doctrine, especially without full proof."

"Oh~" Kiki said: "I get it. If they announced this discovery, some people might deliberately stay in darkness to accelerate evolution—and cause even greater casualties?"

"Exactly."

Ding Junyi said gravely: "Including the discovery of the 'Dark Mark'—this is even more serious than Darkness Infiltration, because it directly affects the fate of all humanity. Even if I handed over our research, they'd still need to conduct experiments. Otherwise, ordering survivors to actively combat strange bodies would cause unimaginable loss of life."

"But… we've already confirmed it ourselves—we experienced it firsthand! The Dark Mark exists. Didn't we just encounter a mark decoy this afternoon?" Kiki looked confused.

"It's not that simple."

"First, scientifically, our findings are mostly inference, not proof. Even with the Hell Black Chrysanthemum, we lack concrete experimental data—we don't even know what form of energy the mark is, or how to detect it. 'Empirical observation' is more accurate. Second, the Phoenix Society's organizational nature prevents them from conducting the kind of cruel live experiments the Foundation uses to reach such conclusions."

Kiki rolled her eyes: "I don't get it. This is so frustrating. So even if we find the Phoenix Society, they won't believe us?"

"Yes." Ding Junyi nodded.

"Damn it!" Kiki's face darkened, then suddenly shifted: "Wait—you mean you think the Foundation is the group that dropped the mark decoy at the station this afternoon?"

Ding Junyi looked at Kiki: "No. I only judged that, based on their current research direction, they should theoretically achieve more breakthroughs than the Federation or Phoenix Society in certain areas. Also, you and Lin Xian interacted with them this afternoon—can you tell me what kind of organization this Foundation really is?"

"A cult of madmen." Kiki sneered, then briefly recounted what happened when she entered the SIID Foundation this afternoon.

"See? They experiment on living people, turn them into games—yet claim to be neutral? Pfft!" Kiki spat.

But Ding Junyi's expression turned thoughtful after listening.

"It sounds like herd immunity. But if that's all, their research should be open to the public—even for trade. The Federation once partnered with the Lofei Corporation, but we severed all ties. I never expected the SIID organization to operate under such a principle."

"Herd immunity? What does that mean?" Kiki asked.

Ding Junyi explained: "They view the Abyss and Darkness Infiltration as a global plague. Human survival depends on natural selection—survival of the fittest. After the Awakening Day, over ten billion died. Those of us alive now—those who gained psychic abilities or genetic evolution—are the lucky ones in this theory."

"Pfft~" Kiki said: "So we still have to fight the darkness ourselves."

Plop.

Ding Junyi suddenly stopped walking and looked at Kiki with serious expression.

"But the truth is—humanity has never truly defeated a virus."

(End of Chapter)