Chapter 151: Shelter's Lingering Light, The Doctor's Shadow

The massive ruin pile resembled the burial mound of a prehistoric beast, exuding a thick, mingled stench of metallic rust, dust, and that unsettling, corrupting taint. Xiang Lingna and Wrench climbed with uneven steps, loose rubble and slick, dark-purple moss beneath their feet. The badge on Xiang Lingna's chest vibrated with increasing intensity, and the claw-mark brand on her right arm burned like a red-hot iron, radiating searing pain and a cold, throbbing pulse—both pointing toward the heart of the ruin pile.

"Be careful… this place looks like it could collapse any moment…" Wrench probed the path ahead with his metal pipe, warning her tensely.

Xiang Lingna nodded, forcing down the dizziness brought on by her body's weakness and the clash of energies within. She drew the glow of the jade fragment inward, maintaining only the bare minimum of protection to avoid becoming a conspicuous target in the unknown environment. Her mind was razor-focused, sensing everything around her.

Finally, halfway up the ruin pile, a narrow gap appeared before them—covered by several huge, twisted metal plates crisscrossing each other, barely wide enough for one person to crawl through. From deep within the gap, a faint, rhythmic blue glow seeped out. The badge's vibration reached its peak here, and the brand's throbbing, as if it had found its source, pointed straight into the depths of the gap.

"This is it!" Xiang Lingna drew a deep breath.

Wrench dropped flat, carefully using his metal pipe to push aside the loose stones and rotting vines at the gap's edge. "I'll scout ahead." He volunteered, thrust the pipe inside and stirred it a few times to confirm there were no traps or living things, then cautiously crawled in.

Xiang Lingna followed close behind. The interior of the gap was narrow and steep, sloping downward. The air was thicker, heavy with the smell of stale dust, but that corrupting taint seemed to be held at bay by some force, much fainter now. After crawling for more than ten meters, the space ahead suddenly opened up.

They had entered a relatively roomy space. This was clearly the remnant of an Old World shelter. The walls were thick metal and concrete structures, covered in rust and cracks. The floor was littered with shattered instrument casings and severed conduits. A few emergency lamps embedded in the walls gave off a faint, flickering blue cold light, providing the only illumination. The entire space was steeped in a deathly, frozen atmosphere, forgotten by time.

Most striking of all—on the control console at the center of the space sat a terminal device, blanketed in thick dust, yet its screen still glowed! Snow and garbled characters flickered across the screen, but a constantly rotating, broken "07" insignia was faintly visible! The very same number as on Xiang Lingna's badge! And the badge's vibration was resonating with this terminal!

"Shelter 07?" Xiang Lingna's heart stirred as she recalled the wasteland shelters Brother Lin Mo had once mentioned.

Just then, the terminal screen on the console flashed violently! The snow and garbled characters vanished, replaced by a glaring red alarm interface! A cold, emotionless electronic synthesized voice abruptly rang out in the dead-silent space:

【Warning! High concentration of unknown energy erosion detected!】

【Warning! High-authority biological signature tag detected! Signature code: Hand of Annihilation (The Doctor)!】

【Warning! Shelter core database firewall under assault!】

【Maximum defense protocol activation failed… insufficient energy…】

Accompanying the alarm, a blast door sealed by a thick metal hatch on the wall behind the control console let out a shrill metallic screech—and amid violent tremors, slowly cracked open a sliver! A denser, purer wave of corruption and annihilation aura, mingled with the cold smell of metal, surged out from the gap!

The claw-mark brand on Xiang Lingna's arm instantly erupted in blinding purple light! An irresistible suction force emanated from the gap in the hatch, yanking at her body!

"Not good! There's something in there! It's pulling at that brand!" Wrench screamed in terror, trying to grab Xiang Lingna.

But it was too late! From the gap in the hatch, several tendrils of energy streaked out, coursing with dark-purple annihilation runes! As if alive, they instantly coiled around Xiang Lingna's body—especially the arm branded with the claw mark! A cold, deathly force, brimming with an absolute will to dominate, invaded her body in an instant, suppressing the emerald protective light cluster and the Thorn Order energy within her! Rendering her completely unable to move!

"Container… location locked… sample… retrieval…"

A cold, vast voice, branded directly into the depths of Xiang Lingna's soul, rang out! It was The Doctor! He could actually use the brand and the residual equipment of this shelter to exert a degree of remote control!

The hatch, pulled by the energy tendrils, groaned teeth-grindingly, the gap widening more and more! The scene beyond was faintly visible—a far larger space, with a massive cylindrical container made of dark-purple crystal standing at its center! The container was filled with viscous, churning dark-purple liquid saturated with annihilation energy! Countless thick energy conduits, coursing with runes, connected to the container, seemingly feeding something into it—or drawing something out!

This was unmistakably a small, unactivated Rotclaw Furnace! Or rather, a hidden laboratory or energy node The Doctor had set up in this fallen wasteland world!

The Doctor's objective was crystal clear—using the brand and the shelter's facilities, he would drag Xiang Lingna, this "key" who carried an important fragment and shared a deep connection with his power, into this node-container! A precious sample for his research into the fusion of corruption, annihilation, and the essence of life! He might even use her to locate and influence Lin Mo on the other end of the Thorn Corridor!

"No—!" Xiang Lingna let out a desperate scream, struggling with all her might, but her body was tightly bound by the energy tendrils, the emerald light cluster suppressed—she could only watch helplessly as she was dragged inch by inch toward the container exuding the breath of death!

Wrench's eyes nearly split from their sockets as he wildly swung his metal pipe at the energy tendrils! But the moment the pipe touched the tendrils, it was instantly corroded and melted through by the terrifying annihilation energy! Useless!

"Let her go! Monster!" Wrench roared in despair.

Just as Xiang Lingna's body was about to be dragged fully into the gap of the hatch—

Hum!!!

The badge in Xiang Lingna's arms, engraved with "07," seemed to sense the red alarm and the call of the highest authority from the shelter terminal, and suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, blinding blue light! This light was not an energy attack, but an extremely pure identification signal belonging to the highest authority of the Old World!

【Highest authority identity confirmed: Shelter 07 Supervisor (Acting)!】

【Emergency energy draw authorization approved!】

【Core defense protocol: Final Bastion—activated!】

Accompanying the cold electronic synthesized voice, the entire shelter remnant space shuddered violently! The flickering emergency lamps on the walls instantly erupted with blinding white light! From inside the thick metal hatch behind the control console that was being forced open, a tremendous sound of machinery rumbling to life rang out!

Boom! Crack!

Several thick alloy mechanical arms, flickering with ghostly-blue energy arcs, suddenly sprang out from the walls inside the hatch! Carrying the force of ten thousand jun, they slammed brutally into the dark-purple energy tendrils coiled around Xiang Lingna! At the same time, the hatch itself, driven by tremendous hydraulic force, let out a deafening roar and began to forcibly close!