Chapter 296

Hum——!

Almost the moment Lin Yu realized this, the humming sound of the entire server array rose sharply! A pale blue energy force field spread out like water ripples from around the container, instantly enveloping the entire central area, forming a translucent energy shield!

Immediately after, an invisible, cold pressure slammed into Lin Yu's brain!

That wasn't sound, nor was it a physical impact, but a pure, malicious mental crushing! Cold, massive, without any emotion, like the heavy pressure of the deep sea, wanting to tear his consciousness apart and wipe it clean!

"Urgh!" Lin Yu let out a muffled groan, the intense headache making his vision go dark, his body swaying involuntarily. He forcibly bit the tip of his tongue, the intense pain helping him barely maintain consciousness. He subconsciously raised his gun, aiming at the huge container, but the energy shield blocked everything silently.

"It's... digesting... her..."

On his back, Xuanyuan Qing's voice rang out, weak, but with a clarity after great terror. The intense mental impact and the scene before her instead stimulated her to briefly regain consciousness. She struggled to turn her head, staring fixedly at Xiao Ya and those scarlet lines in the container through the gas mask's eyepieces.

"Ouroboros... system... it wants to turn Xiao Ya... into... a part of itself..." Her voice trembled, "Those red lines... are its 'blood vessels'... sucking her consciousness... her life..."

Lin Yu felt a chill rush from his tailbone to the top of his head. Digesting? Sucking? This had already exceeded the scope of machinery or programs.

The mental impact came wave after wave, getting stronger. Lin Yu felt his consciousness was like a small boat in a gale, ready to capsize at any moment. He stared fixedly at the container, the instinct to protect Xuanyuan Qing keeping him from collapsing.

Just then, the black biological chip he had been carrying in his arms, stained with YA-000's filth, suddenly started to heat up! And it emitted a faint, high-frequency hum!

This hum seemed to resonate with something in the distance. The indicator lights of the server array began to flash chaotically, and that mental impact appeared extremely brief disorder!

"Cut off... those red lines..." Xuanyuan Qing's voice became urgent, with a kind of desperate determination, "Must... cut them off... to stop the swallowing... but..."

She started coughing violently, her voice full of powerlessness, "But... forcibly cutting them off... will trigger core... instability... the entire base... might..."

Might be completely finished.

Lin Yu understood her unfinished words instantly. Saving Xiao Ya might trigger self-destruction. Not saving her, Xiao Ya would be completely swallowed, and they would sooner or later be trapped and wiped out by this system.

Time passed second by second. In the container, Xiao Ya's body seemed to become more transparent, while those dark red energy lines lit up even more eerily. Her life energy was flowing away at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Suddenly!

Those dark red energy lines wrapped around Xiao Ya fluctuated violently without warning! As if whipped hard by some external force! The surface of the lines erupted with blinding scarlet electric arcs!

The entire server array emitted an even sharper, harsher alarm sound! The humming reached its peak! The energy shield flickered violently, becoming extremely unstable!

The central container began to shake violently, the blue liquid inside churning endlessly!

Xiao Ya, suspended in the center of the liquid, twitched suddenly.

Then, her tightly closed eyes opened suddenly!

There was no luster in those eyes, empty, blank, like an exquisite doll.

At the same time!

In the entire space, on the walls, on the ceiling, everywhere that could display information, blood-red huge countdown numbers lit up simultaneously!

【05:00】

【04:59】

【04:58】

The base's final self-destruction program had been forcibly triggered!

Lin Yu looked at those opened, empty eyes, and then at the coldly pulsing countdown, gripping the gun in his hand tightly.

Lin Yu shook his head violently, wiping away the blood dripping into his eyes. The gas mask had been damaged in the previous struggle, and a crack in the mask allowed poisonous gas to slowly seep in. His lungs burned with pain, every breath making his throat tighten.

Only seven bullets remained in the pistol.

【04:47】

【04:46】

【04:45】

The blood-red countdown pulsed mercilessly on the wall, the death knell for the entire facility. Lin Yu looked up at the container where Xiao Ya was—those empty eyes on that young face stared straight into the void, the once lively aura having been swallowed up by those eerie dark red energy lines.

"Xuanyuan!" Lin Yu lowered his voice, Xuanyuan Qing on his back having fallen into a semi-comatose state, "Can you still hold on?"

Xuanyuan Qing weakly raised her hand, as a response. She struggled to adjust her breathing, suppressing the waves of intense pain in her body. The burning sensation from her broken arm made her consciousness constantly blur and clear, as if repeatedly jumping on the edge of death.

"Put me down... there..." She struggled to raise her hand, pointing to an inconspicuous console on the right wall, "There's... an interface..."

Lin Yu quickly scanned the surroundings, confirming the status quo. The core area was shrouded in a translucent energy barrier, unable to approach Xiao Ya directly. That cold mental pressure was still continuously attacking their consciousness, trying to crush all intruders.

He carefully leaned Xuanyuan Qing against the wall, but at this moment—

Hum——!

A harsh alarm sounded, and the sealed gate at the entrance suddenly lit up with red light!

"Defense mechanism... activated..." Xuanyuan Qing's voice was hoarse.

The walls on both sides of the gate slowly separated, revealing dark red metal compartments. With the hissing sound of air pressure release, mechanical structures slid out one by one—each was the size of a human, made entirely of frosted metal, with no facial features on the head, only a red optical sensor spanning across it.

"Scavenger units..." Xuanyuan Qing recognized these machines, her tone filled with despair, "Terminal defense... the system's immune cells..."

Six mechanical warriors spread out in a fan shape, their red sensors locking onto Lin Yu simultaneously. The ends of their arms deformed, revealing pitch-black gun barrels.

"Go to the console!" Lin Yu stood up suddenly, raising his hand and firing two shots, accurately hitting the optical sensors of the two nearest mechanical warriors.

Two muffled sounds, the bullets embedded in the metal, but caused no substantial damage. The mechanical warriors approached with neat and rigid steps without pausing.

Lin Yu quickly covered Xuanyuan Qing's movement toward the console. In the few seconds of precious time bought by two bullets, Xuanyuan Qing moved to that old terminal device almost by crawling.

"Chip..." She extended her trembling hand, signaling Lin Yu to hand her that black "brain" chip.