Chapter 229

The cold metal tube dug into her palm, offering a negligible sense of grounding. Xiang Lingna leaned against the cold, rough wall of the corridor, gasping for breath; each inhale tugged at the searing pain of her shattered right shoulder, the frigid air stabbing her lungs. Fifty meters ahead, structural stress anomalies pulsed— the sentinel’s cold warning still echoed in her ears. But clearer than the warning were the faint energy signatures of scavenger units, rapidly approaching like the footsteps of death.

What unsettled her more was the faint, almost drowned-out sound of crying—a child’s sob, filled with terror and helplessness, intermittent, as if coming from far away, yet seemingly just around the next corner.

A trap? A tactic Dr. Chen Fu always used, exploiting human weakness? If Miss Liya had fallen into his hands, he could easily have used voice-synthesis tech to create this lure.

But that cry… why did it feel so real, so heart-wrenching, striking her soul with ache? What if it wasn’t a trap? What if it was truly the last desperate plea of a survivor, trapped deep in the ruins, from a distant past? Like herself, once, waiting beneath rubble for rescue that would never come.

“Sentinel, can you analyze the sound source? Real biological signal or simulated synthesis?” Lingna whispered, barely audible, her eyes scanning the corridor ahead and behind. Darkness clung thick as ink; only the faint glow from the sentinel’s scattered sensors outlined the ruined corridor—twisted metal, collapsed debris everywhere.

【Environmental interference too severe. Acoustic signal extremely weak and distorted. Unable to perform precise voiceprint matching. However, energy fluctuation patterns show no signature of high-precision simulators activated in the scavenger unit’s vicinity.】 The sentinel’s reply remained coldly objective, yet left a sliver of possibility.

Not a simulator? Lingna’s heartbeat quickened. She glanced back—the way she came meant relative safety at the forward outpost, but also meant abandoning a potential life. Forward meant unknown danger and almost certain combat; at her current state, survival was a sliver.

In the instant she hesitated, the crying suddenly rose in pitch, filled with ultimate terror—then cut off abruptly, as if a hand had clamped shut its throat!

Immediately, a grating metallic screech and a low, inhuman roar erupted from the darkness ahead!

No!

Lingna made her decision in an instant. She couldn’t gamble. Even a one-in-ten-thousand chance of a real life—she couldn’t turn away.

“Sentinel! Plot the fastest route to the stress anomaly! Ignore safety margins—only speed!” She gritted her teeth, using the metal tube to brace herself, crawling toward a narrower, steeply sloping side passage lined with condensation pipes. One of the sentinel’s alternate routes—more dangerous, but theoretically able to skirt the main corridor where the scavengers approached.

【Route confirmed. Warning: Severe condensate leakage, icy and slippery floor, and damaged high-temperature steam pipes along the walls. Extreme danger.】

“No time!” Lingna rolled and scrambled into the side passage. Her foot slipped; she crashed hard onto the icy, wet ground, her broken arm slamming into the floor—pain blinded her, nearly knocking her out. But she bit her lip till blood filled her mouth, forcing herself awake, crawling forward on hands and knees.

The roars and heavy footsteps seemed to sense her direction—immediately turned, chasing after her! Fast!

Cold condensate soaked through her thin uniform; the chill made her teeth chatter. A nearby broken pipe spewed scalding white steam, narrowly grazing her body, leaving angry red burns. She crawled through this gap between ice and fire, ragged and broken.

The pursuers drew closer! She could now hear the clacking of their mechanical joints and the faint hum of energy weapons charging!

“Sentinel! How far?!” Lingna cried out, dodging another jet of steam.

【Fifteen meters ahead, right wall: a maintenance access panel. May offer temporary shelter. But entrance may be blocked.】

Fifteen meters! A distance she’d crossed in an instant—now a chasm.

She crawled desperately forward, finally spotting a dull, rust-covered metal plate on the right wall—slightly deformed, slightly ajar, revealing darkness beyond.

As her fingers reached for the plate, a searing energy beam grazed her scalp and struck the wall behind, melting a glowing red hole!

They’ve caught up!

Lingna summoned her last strength, slamming into the deformed plate, tumbling into the space behind. Almost instantly, at least three energy beams hammered the entrance, spraying brilliant sparks!

She collapsed into cold darkness, heart pounding as if to burst from her chest, lungs burning. Outside, the scavenger units’ heavy footsteps echoed, and scanning beams hissed over the entrance. They hadn’t forced entry yet—seemed to be assessing, or waiting.

Temporary safety…

Lingna leaned against the cold wall, gasping, slowly adjusting to the dark. It was a tiny maintenance compartment, cluttered with discarded parts and tools, air thick—but no other danger detected.

She exhaled slightly, preparing to check her wounds—when suddenly, an extremely faint, tearful child’s voice pierced her mind, clear and unannounced!

“Help me… it’s so dark… so cold… they’re… they’re coming for me…”

Lingna froze, every hair standing on end! This wasn’t heard through her ears—it was direct mental contact?! And this voice… identical to the crying she’d heard before!

“Who are you? Where are you?” Lingna focused hard, trying to reply mentally. She remembered Miss Liya had similar abilities—but she’d never experienced it herself.

“…Cradle… I’m in the Cradle…” The voice came in fragments, trembling with fear and confusion, “...green light… fading… I feel… on you… similar light… weak… but warm…”

Cradle?! The Seventh Ecological Garden’s Cradle?! Lingna’s heart reeled. Was this child truly a survivor from that time? Had she survived in some strange state all these years? And could she sense the residual natural energy from the World Tree’s tender branch still lingering on Lingna?

“How many others? Are you alright?” Lingna pressed urgently.

“...Only me… the others… are sleeping… never waking up…” The child’s voice carried endless sorrow, “...bad things… are smashing the door… the light’s fading… I’m scared…”

Bad things? Scavengers? Or something else?

At that moment, the scavenger units outside suddenly moved again! A series of mechanical reconfiguration clicks echoed, followed by a sharp, frequency-targeted energy scan pulse—piercing the metal wall, lancing straight through Lingna!

“Ugh!” Lingna’s head exploded with pain—as if steel needles drove into her brain. The child’s cry in her mind turned into a shriek of terror—then vanished.

【Warning: Detected high-intensity directional psychic interference pulse! Highly targeted; likely used to drive out or expose specific psychic entities or energy-sensitive units!】 The sentinel’s urgent warning blared.

Dr. Chen Fu’s goal wasn’t just capture—he was probing, even attacking the child in the “Cradle”!

Fury replaced fear. Dr. Chen Fu didn’t just use Miss Liya as bait—he was willing to destroy a child who’d survived, perhaps, for centuries!

After the pulse, silence fell outside—for now. But Lingna knew: this was the calm before the storm. Dr. Chen Fu’s hunting team had pinpointed the target’s approximate location. Next, they’d storm.

She had to act! She couldn’t just wait to die!

She struggled through the dark, fingers brushing cold metal—and then, a cold, cylindrical object, with a button on top. By touch alone, it felt like an old-fashioned…

Suddenly, a heavy impact rang outside! The entire compartment shuddered! The deformed plate bulged inward, leaving a clear claw mark!

They’re forcing entry!

Lingna’s heart clenched again. She gripped the cold cylinder tightly, eyes darting across the cramped space, searching for anything usable.

A second impact came—hinges groaned under strain, cracks widened!

A third!

Boom!

The entire plate was ripped open by immense force! A grotesque, pale-armored mechanical head thrust inside, its crimson electronic eyes locking instantly onto Lingna, curled in the corner!

Cold killing intent flooded the tiny space.