Chapter 281

The metal legs tapped lightly in the pipe, stopping with every step, moving toward the port where they were hiding.

Xu Xiaochuan felt his heart about to jump out of his throat, sweat rolling down his forehead.

Lin Yu's hand had already reached for the knife at his waist, ready to fight to the death.

Just as the spider was about to find them, a 'clatter' sound came from the other end of the pipe.

The machine immediately turned around, its eight legs moving rapidly, crawling toward the sound, and quickly disappeared around the corner.

The three of them waited for nearly two minutes before daring to crawl out of that small space.

"What was that thing just now?" Xu Xiaochuan wiped away cold sweat.

"Lowest-level patrol machine," Lin Yu looked around. "Eyes of the 'Ouroboros'. These things usually come in groups; we're lucky to have bumped into just one."

Xuanyuan Qing leaned against the pipe wall, her breathing heavier.

The bandage on her arm was dark red, looking terrifying.

"Are you okay?" Xu Xiaochuan was a bit worried.

Xuanyuan Qing nodded, squeezing a few words through her teeth: "Go."

They crawled forward for another stretch.

The pipe slowly grew a bit wider, allowing them to straighten their backs slightly.

Finally, they reached a place that looked like a ventilation transfer station, where several pipes converged, and the space was much larger.

Lin Yu swept the searchlight around.

Rusted tools and broken parts were piled in the corner, looking like they'd been there for years.

Xu Xiaochuan saw two crooked letters carved into one of the toolboxes—'JH'.

"My dad," Xu Xiaochuan's throat tightened. "Xu Jianhua, he's been here."

Lin Yu crouched down and flipped open the rusted toolbox.

Inside were just a few screwdrivers and a yellowed little notebook, the cover already rotted away.

"Look at this," Lin Yu opened it carefully, the paper inside surprisingly still in good condition. "Your old man left this."

Xu Xiaochuan took it and, by the light, struggled to recognize the words inside:

"Ventilation system modified, B3 floor can be accessed from here. Electric fence signal interfered with, can temporarily fool the 'Ouroboros', but won't hold for long. The life support pod on the third underground floor consumes too much power; once the main power is cut, the backup can hold for 72 hours at most…"

"The old man really left a backup plan," Xu Xiaochuan closed the notebook and shoved it into his pocket. "Started preparing to save people thirty years ago."

Lin Yu nodded: "Your old man, he hid things really deep."

No sooner had he spoken than the mark on Xu Xiaochuan's back burned violently!

The female voice in his brain also changed tone, urgent and chaotic:

"Danger! Ahead… energy net… filter… will trigger alarm…"

"What's wrong?" Lin Yu saw his expression change.

"Xiao Ya says there's an energy net ahead," Xu Xiaochuan gritted his teeth, his back hurting intensely. "Touch it and the alarm goes off."

Lin Yu frowned tightly and walked forward a few steps.

The end of the tunnel looked like nothing, but when he shone his flashlight from the side, a nearly invisible energy membrane appeared, like the surface of water, swaying slightly.

"Energy filter net," Xuanyuan Qing's voice was weak. "Unauthorized things can't pass."

"I'll go first." Lin Yu pulled another pitch-black thing from his backpack, the last piece of C4. "Find the energy node and blow it up."

He looked back at the deathly pale Xuanyuan Qing, his voice lowered: "You two stay here, wait for my signal."

At the other end of the ventilation duct, that patch of ghostly blue light flickered.

In the laboratory, Xiao Ya's holographic face twisted, the electronic noise growing heavier: "He hates me… the life support pod he designed for my 'protection'… is just a cage…"

Xu Xiaochuan's throat felt blocked: "Xiao Ya, I'm here. This time, I'm taking you away."

The hologram raised a phantom hand, wanting to touch his face, but her fingertips passed straight through.

"You… look a bit like him," her voice suddenly softened, losing some of its mechanical quality, gaining a bit of human-like trance. "That… uncle who secretly brought me candy."

No sooner had she spoken than the entire room was drowned in a sharp alarm sound!

Red lights flashed wildly, staining everything with an ominous blood color.

Xiao Ya's image shook violently, nearly collapsing.

"Someone… another entrance…" her voice was intermittent, mixed with piercing electronic screeching. "They… have been discovered!"

Xu Xiaochuan's heart sank: "Uncle Lin! Xuanyuan Qing!"

"Ventilation pipe… energy net…" Xiao Ya's image flickered unsteadily, information coming through like fragments. "They… are stuck…"

"How to save them?" Xu Xiaochuan grew anxious.

Xiao Ya's virtual fingers passed through the glass container and pointed to the control panel beside it: "Here… can take over… turn off that net… just for a bit… need… authority…"

Her weak voice rang directly in his brain: "Press your back… against it… the biological identification area on the control panel… I can… connect…"

Xu Xiaochuan didn't think twice, tearing open the clothes on his back to reveal the slightly burning skin mark, pressing it hard against a translucent sensor board on the edge of the control panel.

In an instant, it felt like a red-hot iron rod had been stabbed into his spine!

Intense pain burned along his nerves all the way to his brain, a flash of white light exploding before his eyes; he let out a muffled groan, his teeth clenching until they cracked, but he didn't move an inch.

The control panel screen flashed crazily, the data stream moving too fast to see.

"Takeover… complete…" Xiao Ya's voice in his brain was intermittent, laced with electronic noise. "Energy net… off… forty-five… seconds…"

At the same time, inside the ventilation duct.

Lin Yu and Xuanyuan Qing were caught in a pincer attack.

Ahead was the sizzling energy net, behind them the heavy sound of military boots hitting the ground grew closer, and the 'click' of cold firearms being taken off safety was clearly audible.

Armed personnel had blocked their retreat.

Lin Yu gripped the gun in his hand, ready to fight to the death.

Xuanyuan Qing leaned against the cold pipe wall, even her breathing carrying the smell of blood.

Just then, the dazzling energy barrier ahead, without warning, let out a 'zizz' sound and vanished.

The energy net disappeared.

Lin Yu performed a forward roll and charged through, dragging the stunned Xuanyuan Qing along as he landed, pulling her into the passage on the other side.

His movements were as fast as a shadow.

"Fuck! What the hell?" Lin Yu's throat was burning with rage, his voice pressed low and fierce.

Red lights flashed wildly at the other end of the passage, and the 'thud-thud' sound of heavy military boots on metal plates followed right behind them.

Xuanyuan Qing leaned against the cold wall, her face terrifyingly pale, her breathing shallow and rapid, the bandage on her arm soaked through with a large patch of dark red.

"Forty-five seconds." Her teeth chattered, her voice light as a sigh. "Before the system disconnects, there's a prompt."

"Xiaochuan did it! Go!" Lin Yu roared, his brain spinning fast.

No time to hesitate, the two of them pressed against the wall and ran for their lives.

Lin Yu reached back into his bag and pulled out the last pitch-black thing, slapping it onto the corner of the passage wall without looking.

The sound of the pursuers' footsteps made his eardrums hum, and the metallic sound of gun bolts being pulled was only a few meters away.

"Ahead," Xuanyuan Qing pointed to the end of the passage, her words broken. "Infrared… scan… standard procedure…"

Before she could finish, several thin metal rods extended from both sides of the passage, red light lines instantly weaving into a dense web, so tight that even a mosquito couldn't fly through.