Chapter 307: Lost Between the Doors

A Gao Ta of such immense size, a starship capable of crossing time and space, a cult nest hiding countless secrets... how many doors could there be within?

Many, many.

Those connecting different floors, those connecting different rooms, those connecting different corridors, or merely serving to cut off specific areas and act as security barriers—every single one of those doors is now quietly waiting for a destined passerby.

A team advanced cautiously through the connecting passage in the D-1 area leading to the core cabin, searching for traces of the intruder.

Outsiders had hidden on this ship, attacked the previous first combat squad and recovery team, and infiltrated parts of the ship's systems; now, the monitoring system is no longer reliable, and they can only rely on manpower to find that intruder.

The Hidden Order combatants, wearing light power armor and draped in black cloaks, moved with agile steps; the various sensing systems attached to their power armor allowed them to "sniff out" any rustle in the air, as well as changes in temperature and magnetic fields. They had also brought along the remaining few Brass Knights that could still move, ordering some of them to activate optical camouflage to serve as a surprise force, dispersed throughout the front and rear of the squad and in nearby connecting passages.

Various small drones were also active nearby, shuttling back and forth through ventilation ducts, maintenance troughs, and connecting passages, further expanding the squad's "perception range" and monitoring more potential anomaly signals.

Such a deployment could ensure the timeliness and accuracy of intelligence to the maximum extent; even if that intruder was extremely strong, the squad would at least receive news before the enemy attacked, avoiding total annihilation in a surprise assault.

Monk Ronan-22 truly could not imagine what kind of enemy could sneak up under the squad's nose in such a situation and take away his teammates.

Yet a vague unease still lingered in his heart, even seeming to permeate the surrounding air.

"Monk," a low-ranking monk suddenly broke the silence, muttering softly in the squad's comms, "I have a feeling someone is watching me nearby."

Monk Ronan-22 looked at the speaking low-ranking monk: "Allen-27, you are too nervous; there is no one nearby, and my spiritual intuition gives no warning."

"Probably." The low-ranking monk known as "Allen-27" nodded, yet still instinctively scanned the surroundings.

The long corridor was brightly lit; a faint humming sound came from the nearby ventilation ducts. The gravity environment in the current area had been restored, and the air purification devices were operating normally.

The walls on both sides were decorated with metal reliefs depicting numerous ancient sages, while the arched ceiling was covered in magnificent and exquisite murals symbolizing various prophecies. Among the figures of those sages and wise men, hidden cameras were slowly rotating, scanning the situation in the corridor.

Everything looked very normal, yet there was just a slightly abnormal atmosphere.

Allen-27 even felt that the people in those reliefs and murals were staring at him, even feeling that... one of "them" had just blinked at him.

He even felt the ground beneath his feet soften for a moment; stepping on it felt like walking on soft, even warm, flesh and blood.

Blood was flowing beneath that floor, pulsing slightly; nerve bundles pierced through the steel overhead, echoing with interfering electric currents; every wall hid malevolent eyes staring at the prey walking within—a strong and terrifying "impression" rose uncontrollably in his heart. Allen-27 did not know why he had these terrible associations, but in just an instant, he felt all that malice had vanished, as if he had just had a brief and absurd dream.

... Was it because of the shameful defect hidden in his genes? Or because his initial individual had increased the neural sensitivity adjustment value too much during the offspring adjustment process?

Allen-27 shook his head and carefully checked the various detection data returned by the power armor again—yes, everything was normal.

The squad was passing through the gate at the end of the D-1 area, heading toward the core area.

The previous combat squad had gone missing near this very gate.

But there were no traces of battle here.

Before the squad passed through the gate, Monk Ronan-22 first carefully inspected the surroundings, then was the first to step across that door.

Allen-27 walked at the very back of the squad, watching the others cross that door one by one, watching their figures continue moving in the corridor on the opposite side, watching this entirely normal scene—but for some reason, he always felt something was wrong.

It was as if those who crossed the great door had not truly reached the opposite side of the corridor, as if everything he saw was merely an illusion.

He felt the people around him becoming fewer and fewer; when the last compatriot crossed the great door, he even felt he was all alone, standing desolately in this long corridor.

"Monk!" He stopped before the gate and suddenly shouted loudly, "The situation is wrong!"

"What are you doing over there?" Monk Ronan-22 turned around, looking at this side with some displeasure, "Hurry over!"

"Monk, I said the situation is wrong—I felt it!" Allen-27 unconsciously panted heavily, his heart pounding, a indescribable impulse surging through his nerves, "Hurry back, there is a problem over there!"

Monk Ronan-22, however, still stood on the opposite side of that door, staring motionlessly at Allen-27's direction together with the other Hidden Order members who had already crossed the great door.

Through the thick tactical helmet, Allen-27 seemed to feel the gaze falling upon him.

"Brothers and sisters...?" He felt something choke his throat, speaking with an indescribable discomfort, "Are you... are you really over there?"

"Ronan-22" looked at him silently, saying nothing.

Allen-27 suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head; a pain as if tearing his nerves drilled into his brain. His heart tightened, a large dose of clairvoyance agent was injected directly into his spinal cord, and the built-in warning sound of the power armor shrieked sharply in his ears—and then, in the instant the overdosed agent took effect, he finally saw...

A pair of indifferent, seemingly colorless, light gray eyes.

Opposite was not some "connecting corridor," but an unfamiliar hall, and Special Bureau agents fully armed.

Allen-27 gasped sharply and turned to run!

At the same time, he quickly opened all the built-in communication channels of the power armor, frantically calling out to every communicator he could contact at that moment—

"The door! The door has a problem! Do not approach the doors on the ship!"

However, only harsh static came through the communicator.

Allen-27 stopped, slowly raising his head.

The ancient sages lowered their gaze toward him, shaking their heads helplessly; the metal reliefs flowed down from "them" like mud, slowly accumulating beneath his feet, binding his hands and feet; the ground became soft, undulating like waves, pushing him bit by bit toward the nearest door.

Strange sounds of metal writhing echoed in the corridor, along with Allen-27's repeated cries:

"The door has a problem! Do not approach the doors on the ship! The door has a problem! The door has a problem—"

Bai Liqing turned back, looking at those Hidden Order members who still stood dazed in place, allowing the nearby Special Bureau agents to disassemble their power armor without resistance, and gently rubbed his eyes with his hand.

In the open ground further away lay the scattered parts of the Brass Knights, dismantled by the Deep Divers, and the "mud" substance burned to ashes.

Song Cheng stood aside, watching the last Hidden Order member be "thrown" over here. This Hidden Order member was obviously not as "quiet" as those who had walked over voluntarily before; as soon as he broke free from his restraints, he started shouting and screaming, even attempting to attack the nearby Deep Divers with the weapon in his hand—fortunately, Xu Jiali was slightly superior, and after a few exchanges, she disarmed the opponent.

"Not many people can remain conscious under your gaze," Song Cheng said with considerable emotion, "There are still capable people among this bunch."

"They were drugged," Xu Jiali, not far away, raised her head; a muffled voice came from beneath the power armor helmet. She had just checked the Hidden Order member she had knocked unconscious, and now her tone held some regret, "Even if saved, they drool; their brains are almost cooked by the clairvoyance agent."

"... Send them to the medical room to try first; one more live prisoner means one more possible source of intelligence," Song Cheng waved his hand, "We must figure out how these guys secretly drilled in, and what exactly they want to do in Jie City."

The new batch of prisoners was quickly taken away to be held in the same containment facility as the two batches caught earlier.

Bai Liqing and Song Cheng continued waiting at the entrance.

The scene was very quiet, and the atmosphere was somewhat subtle.

Song Cheng looked at the female director beside him, wanting to speak several times.

After a while, he finally could not hold back: "Director, you say... from the perspective of public cognition alone, we should be the righteous side, and this bunch of Hidden Order members should be the villains, right?"

Bai Liqing turned her head and looked at him.

"... Why does it feel like the style has reversed," Song Cheng's mouth twitched, "I have executed countless cultist arrest missions before; never once has the style been like this."

Bǎilǐ Qíng's face was expressionless: "As long as the problem is solved and the safety of the border region is ensured, trivial details need not be minded."

"... You are right."

And just then, Bǎilǐ Qíng's phone vibrated again.

She picked up the phone and glanced at it, her expression shifting slightly.

Sòng Chéng knew at a glance that this was a new message from Yú Shēng—there were very few people who could cause the stoic bureau chief's expression to change.

"What did Yú Shēng say?"

Bǎilǐ Qíng: "He asked me if the Special Operations Bureau knows what the 'Holy Coffin' of the Artificial Saintess looks like."

Sòng Chéng: "... What does he want to do?"

"He wants to try moving an entire Artificial Saintess system over—including the Saintess herself, along with the Holy Coffin and its supporting maintenance system," Bǎilǐ Qíng took a light breath, "a truly astonishing idea."

"... That is astonishing."

(End of this chapter)