Chapter 232

Cold. Bone-chilling cold, mixed with an indescribable stench as if accumulated over countless ages, like invisible tentacles wrapping around every inch of Xiang Lingna's skin, trying to seep into her mouth and nose, dragging her into eternal silence.

She regained consciousness in this suffocating cold.

Agony surged through her body like a tide, especially from the severed right shoulder and her likely injured spine—each faint breath pulled sharp, burning pain through her chest. Before her was absolute, heart-stopping darkness, thick as a solid mass, with no light, no sound, only her own faint, nearly inaudible heartbeat and labored gasps.

She was still alive. After falling from such a height, she was still alive?

She tried to move her fingers; fortunately, her left hand still obeyed, though every motion brought searing pain as if her nerves were being torn apart. Her right arm… only a hollow, roughly bandaged stump remained, sending waves of searing, twitching agony. Her lower body was almost completely numb, only faintly sensing the cold, rough ground pressed against her back.

Where am I?

She painfully turned her only movable neck, trying to observe her surroundings, but the darkness swallowed everything. The air reeked of heavy mildew and rust, and something else… an extremely faint, peculiarly sweet, rotting-then-dried odor, nauseating.

"Sentry?" she tried calling in her mind, her voice hoarse even to herself.

No response. Only deathly silence. As if that ever-cold but at least present electronic voice had vanished entirely. Was it because of distance? Or because… the fall caused damage?

Complete isolation. Unprecedented fear coiled like a cold venomous snake around her heart.

I cannot die here. Absolutely not.

Survival instinct forced her to calm down. She began slowly, carefully, probing her surroundings with her left hand. Beneath her was cold, damp ground littered with gravel and debris. Her fingers brushed against something hard, cold, rough-surfaced, with irregular edges—like… broken bone?

She forced herself not to recoil, continuing to explore. More fragments like these, varying in size, some very small… like… the skeletal remains of small creatures? Had this been a nest or a graveyard?

Besides bones, she touched tough, dry, leather-like sheets, and hollow rod-like objects long dead, crumbling at the slightest touch. Plant remains? Deep underground?

As her exploration widened, she realized she seemed to be lying within a narrow, cramped passage or fissure. On either side were cold, rough walls, thickly coated with sticky moss (perhaps), and above, she could not reach the ceiling.

She had to leave this place. At least, find a relatively safe corner, perhaps with faint light.

Using her left elbow and her slightly responsive waist and abdomen, she dragged her completely paralyzed lower body like a wounded worm, inching forward with excruciating slowness. Every movement cost immense effort and unbearable pain; cold sweat mixed with blood soaked her already tattered clothing.

In darkness, time lost meaning. How long had passed? Minutes? Hours? Her fingertips finally touched a different texture—not rough rock or bone, but cold, smooth metal bearing clear signs of artificial manufacture!

A wall?

She followed the metal wall, which was unnaturally smooth, even revealing orderly grooves and interfaces. This was no natural formation! It was Ark structure! She was still inside the Ark, but likely in some ancient, perhaps forgotten lower level!

This discovery infused her with a faint glimmer of hope. Artificial construction meant possible exits—or at least useful items.

She continued crawling along the metal wall. The passage seemed slightly wider, the debris thinner. After moving further, her left hand suddenly brushed empty air!

A corner? Or an entrance?

She cautiously reached into the void. Her fingers swept through air, then touched another cold metal wall. A right-angle turn.

Just as she prepared to turn, an extremely faint hiss—nearly drowned by her own breath—drifted from the darkness beyond the corner.

Not wind. More like… a leak? Or… the breathing of some creature?

Xiang Lingna instantly held her breath, muscles tensed, pain momentarily forgotten.

The hiss was faint, intermittent, seemingly distant. But in absolute silence, it was unnervingly clear.

What was it? A surviving subterranean creature? A defense system set by the Doctor? Or something worse?

She dared not move, straining her ears. Aside from the hiss, no other sound.

After hesitation, survival instinct overcame fear. Staying still meant death. She had to risk it.

With near-turtle slowness, she crept soundlessly around the corner.

Beyond the turn, the passage seemed more orderly. And far ahead, a faint, flickering, pale blue light!

Light!

Though weak, in absolute darkness, that pale blue glow was a beacon—giving her immense hope!

She crawled toward the light. The hiss seemed to come from that direction too, growing slightly clearer as she approached.

Along both sides of the passage, she spotted broken, long-dead wall lamps and embedded, dust-covered terminal interfaces. The air remained stale, but that peculiar sweet-rot odor had faded somewhat.

After moving further, she saw the pale blue light emanating from an open entrance in the side wall—like a hatch. The glow came from within.

And the hiss became clearly identifiable—not biological breathing, but the rhythmic electrical hum of an aging device nearing power exhaustion.

She exhaled slightly, but vigilance remained. Slowly, she crawled to the open hatch and cautiously peered inside.

Inside was a small room, resembling an old maintenance chamber or storage closet. The interior was in disarray—tools and parts scattered everywhere, covered in thick dust. The pale blue light came from a broken, fallen terminal in the center, its shell cracked, yet its screen still stubbornly flickering.

The terminal's display was unstable, filled with static, but faintly visible were rolling fragments of Elven script and blurred schematics. The hissing electrical noise came from this nearly scrapped terminal.

No immediate danger appeared.

Xiang Lingna exhaled, painfully dragged herself into the room, and leaned against the wall beside the door, catching her breath. Her gaze was fixed on the flickering screen.

The image occasionally stabilized for an instant, showing what seemed to be… an energy conduit layout? The labeled zone names were ancient and unfamiliar. Suddenly, the image shifted to a repeating, fragmented warning message:

【…Warning…Seventh Ecological Garden…'Cradle' Protocol…Unauthorized Access…Life Energy…Rapid Depletion…】【…Isolation Walls…Failed…'They'…Awakened…】【…Request…Moon Goddess' Protection…Purification…Required…Purification…】

Cradle! They!

Xiang Lingna's heart jolted! Did this terminal record the events of the Seventh Ecological Garden disaster?!

She struggled to crawl closer for a better look. But just then, the terminal screen flared violently, the image twisting into chaos—then, a faint, distorted, intermittent audio fragment crackled from the terminal's broken speaker:

"…Can't hold on…'Hunger' has infected the main roots…Children…'Cradle' can't stop it…" A desperate male Elven voice, accompanied by violent explosions and a horrific sound like countless nails scraping metal. "…Must…execute Final Directive…activate 'Deeproot Protocol'…send the 'Seed'…to the 'Sanctuary'…" A older, yet resolute female voice followed. "…No! Elder! That will seal this place forever! We'll all…" "…It's the only way! We cannot let 'Hunger' reach the 'Sanctuary'! For the future…sacrifice is necessary…" The explosions drowned the rest. Only the final words, the elder's voice screaming with her last strength, as if piercing time: "…Remember…'Sanctuary' lies beneath the 'Hall of Echoes'…the 'Key'…requires 'Twin Light'…to…"

The recording ended abruptly.

The terminal screen flickered a few final times, then the pale blue light vanished entirely. The hissing hum ceased. The room plunged back into darkness, leaving only Xiang Lingna's Rough and Heavy breathing.

Deeproot Protocol? Sanctuary? Hall of Echoes? Key requires Twin Light?

These unfamiliar terms struck Xiang Lingna's mind like shards. This recording revealed far more than imagined! The Elven people hadn't merely resisted the disaster—they executed a final plan, sending a thing called the "Seed" to a place called the "Sanctuary," even sealing off the entire region! And opening that "Sanctuary" seemed to require a "Key" and the so-called "Twin Light"?

She unconsciously "looked" at her empty right shoulder. The Key… was it referring to her? And what was the "Twin Light"? Sister Liyana's natural energy? Lin Mo's primordial power? Or something else?

And the "Hunger" mentioned at the end—its traits matched the crimson, all-consuming monster so perfectly! Were they born from the contamination of the garden's "main roots"? Was their target the "Seed" and the "Sanctuary"?

The information overload made her already throbbing head spin.

But one thing was certain: she had stumbled upon clues about the ancient disaster and the Ark's deepest secrets! And that "Sanctuary" might be a safer, more vital place than the outpost!

I must find it!

Yet the moment this thought arose, a sudden, non-terminal sound—a faint metallic scraping—echoed from the darkness beyond the door!

Creak—

The sound was faint, yet in the dead silence, it was unbearably clear!

Xiang Lingna froze instantly, her heart stopping!

That sound... was absolutely not formed by nature! It was as if something... some thing wearing metal boots or possessing metal claws... was moving cautiously and slowly within the corridor!

Had the Doctor's scavengers tracked her down? Or was there... something else already existing in these deep underground depths?

The scraping sound stopped and started, as if discerning direction, then... it was clearly heading toward the door of the room where she stood!

Xiang Lingna held her breath, her left hand clamped tightly over her mouth, her body pressed firmly against the cold wall, daring not to move a muscle. Cold sweat instantly soaked through her back.

It's over...