Chapter 301

The marking was very scribbled: at the junction of B3 and B2 areas, next to the service passage, there was a hidden ladder.

"It's this way," Xu Xiaochuan panted, his voice sounding particularly ghastly in the empty corridor.

Turning the third corner, a wall that had collapsed halfway blocked the way.

Concrete blocks and twisted steel bars were piled up tightly.

The road sign on the wall was long gone, but the blurred words "B2/B3 Junction Area" could still be seen.

This is it!

Xu Xiaochuan carefully placed Xuanyuan Qing down, letting her lean against the wall, and then began to clear the obstacles with his bare hands.

The concrete blocks were dead heavy; moving one made him see stars.

Sweat mixed with blood dripped down, the wound on his right leg split open again, blood flowing down his pant leg, but he seemed unable to feel the pain, only one thought remaining in his brain: get out!

Moving aside a twisted metal plate, a corner of fabric was revealed behind it.

Xu Xiaochuan's heart skipped a beat; he pulled it out to look—it was the fabric of a special combat uniform, covered in dried, blackened blood clots.

Lin Yu's blood.

He had seen this kind of clothing; only the special operations team was issued it.

Lin Yu had been here, or rather, had been brought here.

The bloodstains on the fabric were in a splatter pattern, as if affected by an explosion.

Where was he? Found a way? Or... buried under here?

No time to think about it.

Xu Xiaochuan accelerated, and when he used all his strength to move a particularly large cement slab, what was revealed underneath wasn't more rubble, but a square metal cover plate!

He lifted the cover plate with all his might, and a metal ladder going up and a terrifyingly narrow shaft appeared before his eyes.

On the inside of the cover plate, a few words were carved: "The Last Retreat".

The handwriting was very old; one could tell it was carved decades ago.

It was his father's handiwork, a backup left behind when the base was first built.

Xu Xiaochuan hurriedly returned to Xuanyuan Qing's side, patting her face. "Found the way, we have to go!"

Xuanyuan Qing didn't respond, her breathing weaker than before.

The oxygen was definitely getting less and less; if they didn't go now, they really wouldn't be able to.

Just as Xu Xiaochuan was preparing to carry Xuanyuan Qing on his back again, the ground suddenly shook.

Not far away, the ceiling dropped stones with a clatter; a new collapse was coming!

He couldn't care about anything else, scooped up Xuanyuan Qing, and stumbled toward the escape passage.

The mark on his back heated up fiercely, more intensely than any time before.

Eerie blue light seeped from his fingertips, illuminating the narrow ladder.

This power came inexplicably, but it became his last straw.

Stepping on the first rung of the ladder, the chip in his pocket started to heat up again, the pulsing rhythm faster.

He felt like this chip was establishing a connection with somewhere.

Maybe it was the "Ark," maybe it was Xiao Ya, maybe... both.

Xu Xiaochuan carried Xuanyuan Qing on his back, climbing up step by step.

The passage was narrow to the point of death; he was almost rubbing against it sideways.

Every ten rungs or so, he had to stop to catch his breath and adjust the person on his back.

The higher he climbed, the higher the heat of the mark on his back, burning him until he bared his teeth.

But along with the pain, strength indeed poured in continuously.

Xu Xiaochuan vaguely understood that this mark was definitely not an accident.

His old man had buried a chess piece on him long ago, waiting for this very day.

At the top of the passage, a glimmer of light finally shone in—it was the light from outside.

Xu Xiaochuan's heart beat wildly, and he accelerated.

What was waiting for him outside? A military blockade? People from "Ouroboros"? Or another puzzle left by his old man?

Three steps from the exit, the chip in his pocket suddenly shone with blue light, so bright it was blinding, piercing straight through the clothing fabric.

At the same time, the mark on his back released unprecedented heat, the blue light even dyeing his whole person blue, illuminating the entire passage.

Xu Xiaochuan gritted his teeth and reached out to push open the hatch above his head with all his might.

The blinding sunlight instantly poured in, mixing with the blue light on his body.

He crawled out of the passage holding Xuanyuan Qing and knelt on the ground with a thud.

Fresh air! He opened his mouth wide, breathing greedily, his lungs burning with pain.

His eyes were stung by the strong light, tears streaming down, and it took a long while before he recovered.

When he finally saw his surroundings clearly, his heart sank again.

This wasn't any part of the base; it was just a piece of barren cement ground, and in the distance, he could see some abandoned mechanical shelves.

In the sky, several black dots were approaching rapidly—they were drones!

Xuanyuan Qing moved weakly, her lips moving, her voice as thin as a thread: "Not the end... just the beginning..."

Xu Xiaochuan gripped the chip in his pocket tightly, the blue light flashing through his fingers.

How far was the place the coordinates pointed to? What exactly was the "Ark" project? Where was Xiao Ya?

Countless questions swirled in his brain.

But now, surviving was the most important thing.

"Go." He carried Xuanyuan Qing on his back again and walked toward the abandoned factory building complex in the distance.

No matter if it was life or death ahead, he had to break through.

The blue light of the mark on his back flowed slowly under his skin, echoing with the chip in his pocket, revealing a strange vitality.

His old man's plan had already begun, and he was just a piece on this chessboard.

The metal cover plate above his head was pushed open with great effort, hitting the cement ground with a clang. The blinding sunlight was like a red-hot steel needle, instantly piercing Xu Xiaochuan's eyeballs, forcing him to close them suddenly. When he opened them again, everything before him was white, only the air heavy with dust rushing into his lungs, burning with pain, yet carrying a sense of reality of having survived a disaster. This air, at least, wasn't the poisonous gas from underground mixed with blood, rot, and despair.

His knees went weak, and he knelt heavily on the ground, the weight of Xuanyuan Qing on his back almost snapping his entire spine. Every nerve in his body was screaming in protest, and the intense pain in his right leg was frantically clamoring for existence. The scorching heat brought by the mark on his back retreated a little, turning into a dull and persistent burning sensation, reminding him that the power he had just used hadn't come from nowhere.

He shook his head, trying to shake off the tinnitus and dizziness, and only then did he see his surroundings clearly. A dead, desolate silence. Beneath his feet was cracked cement ground, covered in weeds. In the distance, rusted, twisted, and deformed huge metal skeletons stood silently, like tombstones of some completely forgotten industrial era. Where was this? His brain was a blank. The "last retreat" left by his old man led to an abandoned garbage dump?

"Cough... cough cough..." Xuanyuan Qing on his back emitted a series of suppressed coughs, her body trembling weakly, startling Xu Xiaochuan from his blankness. He subconsciously reached out to probe her carotid artery; the pulse was as weak as a candle flame about to disappear.

"We're out..." he wanted to say something comforting, but his voice was dry and hoarse.

Before he finished speaking, his scalp went numb, and a feeling of being watched made his hair stand on end. In the sky, several tiny black dots were magnifying at an astonishing speed, and that unique, heart-palpitating low humming sound was getting closer and closer, clearer and clearer.