Chapter 239: Traversing the Rift and the Forgotten Outpost

The frigid underground current swept along her body, carrying a bone-chilling cold and an indescribable pressure. Xiang Lingna clenched her teeth, enduring the searing pain of her left arm's wound soaking in water and the numbness in her right leg, struggling to follow the blurred figure ahead.

The elven commander who called himself Crow held the unconscious Sister Ai Li in one arm, while his other hand nimbly felt its way forward through the narrow, twisting, completely waterlogged fissure. He seemed unusually familiar with this hidden path, always managing to avoid dangerous whirlpools and sharp rocks.

Xiang Lingna had nearly exhausted the little strength she had just recovered, sustained entirely by a willpower that refused to fall into desperation again. The icy river water constantly sapped her body heat, and her consciousness began to blur from blood loss and cold. The faint glow from the "Tear" shard in her hand became the sole comfort for her spirit in the darkness.

It seemed like a long time had passed, yet also like only an instant, when the pressure of the water ahead suddenly eased.

Crow surfaced first, warily surveying his surroundings, then lifted Sister Ai Li up before nimbly climbing out himself. He turned back and extended a hand to Xiang Lingna, still in the water.

Xiang Lingna mustered her last ounce of strength, grabbed his hand, and was pulled up in one swift motion.

She collapsed onto the cold, rough ground, coughing violently, spitting out the icy water she had choked on, soaked through, shivering, while the wound on her left arm began seeping fresh blood again from the ordeal.

Crow gently laid Sister Ai Li in a relatively dry spot nearby, quickly checked her condition, confirmed it remained stable, and immediately turned to Xiang Lingna's side.

"Your wound needs treatment." His tone was still concise, but with a few degrees less of the previous coldness, and a trace of subtle concern. He took out a hemostatic spray and bandages from the emergency pack at his waist, and with practiced movements began treating the gruesome wound on Xiang Lingna's left arm.

The sting from the spray made Xiang Lingna gasp sharply, but it also cleared her head considerably. She looked at Crow's focused profile, those emerald eyes appearing especially deep in the faint light.

"Thank you…" Xiang Lingna said softly, her feelings complicated. Just minutes ago, the other had been the cold Scorched Earth commander under the Doctor, and now had become a companion fleeing side by side.

"No need to thank me. I am merely repaying the debt I owe Elder Elaina and this Ark." Crow did not look up, his voice low. "Besides, saving you is also to stop the Doctor."

His bandaging technique was clean and efficient, quickly stopping the bleeding, and he properly secured the wound with the bandage.

After treating the wound, Crow took out two high-energy nutrient packs from his bag, handed one to Xiang Lingna, and fed the other to Sister Ai Li, who was still unconscious.

The cold liquid food slid down her throat, bringing a faint trace of warmth and strength, and Xiang Lingna felt somewhat better.

Only now did she have a chance to take in where they were. This appeared to be the edge of an ancient underground river channel. The space was not large, the air damp but reasonably fresh. On one side of the river channel was the water pool they had climbed out of, and on the other side was a steep rock wall. In the rock wall was an inconspicuous fissure entrance just wide enough for one person, pitch-black inside, leading to who knew where.

"Where is this?" Xiang Lingna asked.

"An abandoned ancient waterway, leading to the 'Night Watcher Outpost.'" Crow tucked away the empty nutrient pack, his gaze directed at the dark fissure. "That is an emergency outpost secretly converted by Elder Elaina using an unrecorded erroneous node from the Ark's early exploration maps. In theory, it should not yet be covered by the Doctor's surveillance network. We need to rest there and decide on our next move."

Night Watcher Outpost? It sounded like a name full of hope.

Crow picked up Sister Ai Li again, signaled Xiang Lingna to follow, and plunged into the fissure first.

The inside of the fissure was initially extremely narrow, requiring one to turn sideways to pass through, the stone walls cold and slick. But after walking about a dozen meters, the space gradually opened up, and rough, artificially repaired stone steps appeared underfoot, leading upward.

Crow seemed extremely familiar with this place, able to accurately avoid obstacles even in absolute darkness. Xiang Lingna could only struggle to follow the sound of his footsteps and breathing, feeling her way forward.

After walking upward for a long stretch, a faint light finally appeared ahead.

That light came from a thick, heavy airlock door that looked as if it were made of some old alloy. Beside the door was a simple password input device, extremely ancient in style.

Crow carefully leaned Sister Ai Li against the wall, then walked to the door, his fingers rapidly and accurately inputting a long string of complex codes on the password device.

Beep— clack.

With a soft sound, the airlock door emitted a muffled hiss of escaping air, slowly opening inward to leave a crack.

A gust of dry air, carrying a faint smell of dust and machine oil, poured out from within the door.

Crow cautiously poked his head inside to look, then signaled Xiang Lingna to follow, and entered first.

Xiang Lingna took a deep breath and stepped in after him.

The sight beyond the door made her eyes widen slightly.

This was a hidden outpost that was not very large, but had fairly complete facilities. The ceiling was not high, inlaid with old light strips providing stable illumination. The surroundings were cold metal walls, covered with various long-extinct display screens and instrument interfaces. In the center of the room was an operating console, on which were scattered some ancient tools and data pads. In the corner were several simple storage cabinets and a crude resting bed. Although the entire space was covered in dust and appeared long unvisited, it was preserved relatively intact, as if time had frozen here.

The most striking feature was on one side wall of the room, where a hand-drawn, somewhat yellowed partial structural map of the Ark hung, with many fine notes and symbols annotated in elven script. Several areas were heavily circled, including the Seventh Eco-Garden where they had been, the Hall of Echoes, and the Sanctuary. And below the structural map was written a line of vigorous, forceful elven script:

【Though the long night stretches on, the Night Watcher keeps vigil for the dawn. — Elaina】

This place was one of the sparks of hope left behind by Elder Elaina.

"Safe. For now." Crow carefully inspected the entire room, confirmed there were no surveillance devices or signs of intrusion, and breathed a slight sigh of relief. He gently laid Sister Ai Li on the resting bed and covered her with a thermal blanket.

Xiang Lingna leaned exhaustedly against the operating console, looking around this safe house. The nerves that had been taut all along could finally relax just a fraction, and an overwhelming wave of fatigue crashed over her like a landslide.

Crow walked to the storage cabinets, opened one of them, and inside were neatly stored some well-sealed emergency food, clean water, medicine, and even several sets of clean, old-style elven standard combat uniforms.

"There's food, water, and basic medical supplies here. You can wash up and change clothes." Crow took out some things and handed them to Xiang Lingna. "We need to recover our condition as soon as possible. The Doctor won't give us much time."

Xiang Lingna took them gratefully. She indeed needed to clean off the blood and cold river water covering her body.

In one corner of the room was a small partitioned area with simple cleaning facilities. Xiang Lingna walked in, used the cold clear water to wash her body and wound as quickly as possible, and changed into that slightly oversized but clean and comfortable elven combat uniform. The cold fabric against her skin brought a strange sense of peace.

When she tidied herself up and came out, she found Crow standing before that structural map, brows tightly furrowed, seemingly deep in study of something. On the operating console, an old terminal screen that still seemed operational was glowing faintly, with some complex data scrolling across it.

"Any discoveries?" Xiang Lingna walked over and asked.

Crow did not turn around, his finger pointing to an area on the structural map that had been circled multiple times yet was marked "Insufficient permissions, data missing." "The Doctor's core laboratory and main control area. Most of his research and power are concentrated there. We must find a way to get in, at least to know exactly how far he has progressed."

His gaze fell again on the areas representing the Seventh Eco-Garden and the Hall of Echoes, his expression turning Heavy and Solemn: "Moreover, according to the scattered information left by Elder Elaina, the 'heart' of the Ark—the main energy core and the most important 'Ark Control Hub'—is very likely also located beneath that area, and may even overlap with the Doctor's laboratory. The Doctor must also be trying to control them."

The Ark Control Hub? If one could control that place, wouldn't it mean being able to turn the tables and fight back against the Doctor?

"Can we get in?" Xiang Lingna felt a spark of hope.

"Very difficult." Crow shook his head. "The defenses there are top-level, filled with the Doctor's elite troops and automated defense systems, and identity verification is extremely strict. Even with my previous permissions, I couldn't enter the core area." He paused, looking at Xiang Lingna, "Unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless there are higher-level permissions. For example… the Night Watcher's highest permissions." Crow's gaze turned to the console terminal. "Elder Elaina may have left something here."

He quickly began operating the terminal, the data on the screen scrolling at high speed.

Xiang Lingna also leaned over to look. Those complex elven characters and codes were mostly incomprehensible to her, so she could only wait anxiously.

Suddenly, the terminal screen changed drastically, popping up an interface requiring identity verification, with a peculiar palm-shaped scanning area beside it.

"Biometric verification required… it's Elder Elaina's…" Crow tried placing his own palm on it.

【Verification failed. Permissions do not match.】 The terminal emitted a cold prompt.

Crow sighed, as if he had expected it.

Just then, Xiang Lingna, as if possessed, extended her own left hand and pressed it onto that scanning area.

She didn't know why she did that, only subconsciously felt that since Elder Elaina had left the clues for the "Key" and the "Twin Lights," perhaps…

【Special energy signature detected… sequence comparison in progress…】 The terminal paused for a few seconds, the data on the screen jumping wildly, 【…partial match…identified as 'Seed' guardian sequence…granting temporary access permissions (Level VII).】

It actually worked!

Although it was only a temporary permission, the interface on the screen suddenly changed, revealing a hidden menu and file list!

Crow glanced at Xiang Lingna in surprise, then immediately focused on the screen. "Excellent! Let's see what's here!"

Most of the files were encrypted, but one text file named "Nightwatch Journal - Final Entry" was in a readable state.

Crow immediately opened it.

The screen displayed a series of journal entries written in elven script, somewhat messy and hurried:

【"... The disaster has spiraled out of control... the contamination speed of the 'Hunger' far exceeds expectations... we have lost direct contact with the 'Heart' and the 'Core'..."】【"... Doctor... did he foresee this long ago? Or did he accelerate it all?... the energy readings in his laboratory zone are extremely abnormal... he is conducting dangerous experiments..."】【"... The 'Deep Root Protocol' must be executed... this is the only way to preserve the 'Seed'..."】【"... I secretly modified an energy node in the Seventh Maintenance Corridor... leaving a physical-layer backup command channel... perhaps... perhaps those who come after can use it to bypass the Doctor's blockade and briefly restart a secondary system of the 'Heart'... even if only for an instant... it can create an opportunity..."】【"... Node coordinates: Gamma-7, node identification code: Owl's Eye. Activation command: In the name of dawn..."】【"... May those who come after... find hope..."】

The journal ended abruptly here.

Gamma-7 node? Owl's Eye? In the name of dawn?

This seemed to be a tiny crack leading to victory!

"Gamma-7 node... I know that place!" Crow's eyes lit up, and he quickly found the corresponding coordinates on the structural map. "It's an ancient energy distribution station near the edge of the core zone! There really could be a physical-layer backup line!"

Hope descended once more!

However, just as they were exhilarated by this discovery—

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The terminal on the console suddenly emitted a sharp, urgent alarm! A red warning box popped up violently!

【Warning! High-intensity, multi-band scanning pulse detected approaching this area! Source: Doctor's main control laboratory! Estimated arrival in two minutes and seventeen seconds!】

The Doctor's active scan! He had indeed begun a large-scale search! This hideout would soon be discovered!

"Damn it! Move!" Crow's face changed drastically, and he abruptly stood up, scooping up the still-unconscious Sister Ai Li!

Xiang Lingna also instantly tensed up, flusteredly trying to gather her things.

"No time! Take nothing! Follow me!" Crow growled lowly, dashing toward the other side wall of the room. He pressed hard somewhere on the wall, and a section of wall silently slid open, revealing behind it an even narrower emergency passage that could accommodate only one person!

"This passage leads to the underground pipe network on a lower level, it should be able to temporarily avoid the scan! Quick!" Crow dove in first.

Xiang Lingna did not hesitate, immediately following close behind.

The instant she stepped into the passage, she seemed to hear, from the direction of the hideout's airtight door, heavy, rhythmic pounding sounds!

The Doctor's pursuers... had already reached the door!

The wall quickly closed behind her, completely cutting off the lights inside the hideout and that urgent alarm.

Before her eyes, darkness fell once again, with only Crow's faint footsteps and breathing ahead guiding the way.

A new flight had begun.