Chapter 291

Cold sweat covered Lin Yu's forehead, and the clothes on his back were already soaked, sticking tightly to his skin.

He pulled out his dagger, ignoring the danger the electric arcs might bring, and plunged the tip into the panel seam, prying it with all his might!

"Crack!"

The metal panel popped open at the sound!

What was revealed inside wasn't complex wiring, but a pitch-black square hole—an air duct entrance!

On the edge of the entrance, a few simple symbols were vaguely carved, an arrow pointing into the depths of the duct, and next to it, the severely weathered number: "B3".

The escape duct left by Xu Jianhua!

Lin Yu didn't hesitate for a moment, carefully stuffing the unconscious Xuanyuan Qing into the duct first, then squeezing in right after her.

The inside of the duct was much narrower than expected!

It could only accommodate an adult crawling forward; anyone slightly fatter would probably be stuck directly.

The duct walls were covered with thick rust and dust; a slight movement stirred up choking dust, drilling into his nasal cavity and throat, causing him to cough violently.

The tactical flashlight beam extended forward with difficulty in the dark duct, illuminating a small area.

Lin Yu dragged Xuanyuan Qing's heavy body with one hand, supporting himself with the other, crawling forward with difficulty.

On the duct walls, one could indeed see some blurred, long-weathered ancient marks, the direction of the arrows still vaguely identifiable.

"Damn, old fox..." Lin Yu cursed indistinctly, his mood complex.

Regarding Xu Jianhua's meticulous arrangements, he couldn't tell if he felt gratitude or something else at this moment.

After crawling less than twenty meters forward, suddenly, an extremely pungent smell surged from the front of the duct!

Lin Yu's movements stalled, and he immediately covered his mouth and nose.

It was the smell of some chemical reagent, so strong it made one feel dizzy, and breathing instantly became difficult.

Worse still, a "click-clack" mechanical sound began to come from the inner wall of the duct!

The sound echoed in the narrow space, unusually clear.

It was a heavy valve closing!

The path ahead was cut off!

Lin Yu cursed silently, his flashlight beam scanning the surrounding duct walls quickly.

On the side, he found a smaller branch duct entrance.

That opening was ridiculously narrow, hardly looking like it was meant for people to pass through.

Just at this critical moment, the body of Xuanyuan Qing, whom he was dragging, twitched violently!

Her whole person tensed straight, her one good arm grabbing his shoulder fiercely, her nails almost embedding into his flesh, with astonishing strength!

"Below... induction... very strong..."

Her voice was so weak it almost dissipated in the air, but something in her tone was unquestionable.

Lin Yu understood instantly.

This branch path, narrow to the point of perversion, was very likely the shortcut to the B3 level life support zone—the place where the mark on Xu Xiaochuan's back had the strongest induction!

The smell of poisonous gas was getting stronger, and the oxygen in the duct was being quickly drawn away.

There was no time to hesitate!

Lin Yu gritted his teeth, pushing Xuanyuan Qing toward that narrow branch duct with all his might, and squeezed in right after her.

This branch path was even more cramped than the main duct!

It was almost suffocating.

The two of them could only crawl inside like insects, every inch of their skin rubbing against the cold, rough metal duct walls, their clothes torn, their skin scraped, burning with pain.

Lin Yu felt his lungs were about to explode; the prolonged tension caused his muscles to twitch uncontrollably.

He clearly heard the dull "click" of the valve closing completely in the direction of the main duct behind him.

Poisonous gas had already filled that place.

The retreat was completely cut off.

"Continue... forward..." Xuanyuan Qing was still murmuring intermittently; even on the verge of death, she still relied on her last bit of willpower to move her body forward.

Suddenly!

The duct ahead tilted downward sharply!

The angle increased abruptly, almost becoming a vertical shaft!

Lin Yu shone his flashlight downward, only to see a faint, eerie blue halo vaguely shimmering at the bottom of the shaft.

"It's the B3 level..." Lin Yu said in a low voice, a glimmer of hope rising in his tone.

Before he finished speaking!

The duct beneath him suddenly emitted an ominous "creak" sound!

Followed by the "click-clack" sound of metal being unable to bear the weight and twisting out of shape!

Thirty years of wind and rust had long since made this escape duct fragile, and with the weight of the two of them, the entire connection and support structure of the duct was collapsing!

"Hold on!" Lin Yu shouted, but it was already too late!

"Boom——!"

The duct connection broke suddenly!

The harsh screech of metal tearing instantly pierced his eardrums!

The two of them lost their footing, instantly losing their balance, falling into the bottomless dark shaft!

Darkness swallowed everything!

The sensation of weightlessness struck fiercely; Lin Yu instinctively hugged Xuanyuan Qing in his arms tightly, trying to use his own body as a cushion.

The wind whistled wildly in his ears, and fragments of the broken duct constantly grazed his body, opening bloody gashes.

They were like moths swallowed by a giant dark mouth, falling straight and uncontrollably toward the abyss emitting the eerie blue light.

——

Inside the laboratory.

Xu Xiaochuan pressed his hands tightly against the deep blue sensor board on the console.

The places where his palms made contact were already charred black, bloody and mangled, and the burnt smell of high-temperature protein burning permeated the air, sizzling.

The bone-piercing pain surged wildly along his arm nerves, but he gritted his teeth, his molars oozing blood, stubbornly refusing to let go even a bit.

"Lin Shu has entered the electric grid passage," Xiao Ya's holographic image flickered violently, the signal extremely unstable, like a candle in the wind, "Main system defense mode activated; electric grid energy has reached a lethal level."

"Show me!" Xu Xiaochuan roared with a hoarse, broken voice, "Let me see them!"

The main screen of the console switched to the passage surveillance image.

But the intense electrical interference filled the image with noise and static, and he could barely see a blurred figure carrying another, trapped at the passage entrance, unable to move.

"The electromagnetic interference is too strong," Xiao Ya explained, "The highest control authority of the electric grid is in the hands of the main system, I cannot take over directly—"

"Don't control it!" Xu Xiaochuan interrupted her rudely, the intense pain from his palms making his vision go dark, "Interfere with it! Just like you interfered with the elevator before! Interfere with it for me!"

Xiao Ya's virtual face seemed to stutter for a moment, then understood.

"Active interference will trigger a higher-level defense countermeasure from the main system."

"Screw that!" The veins on Xu Xiaochuan's forehead throbbed violently due to congestion, sweat mixed with blood dripping from the corners of his mouth onto the cold console, "Thirty seconds! Give me thirty seconds! Make a path for Lin Shu!"

The data stream on the screen went completely wild instantly!

The sharp, harsh alarm sound was like a physical sound wave, frantically impacting his eardrums, almost tearing his head apart!

A current far more violent and fierce than any before surged from the sensor board, instantly piercing through Xu Xiaochuan's entire body!

He arched his back suddenly, letting out a muffled groan suppressed to the extreme, his consciousness like being rolled into a violent data vortex, the world spinning.