Chapter 298

The wind at the vent stopped, Zhao Chen's fingers still rested on the tablet. The screen lit up for a moment, and a line of text appeared: "Dr. Zhao, I can speak."

She didn't reply to the message, just took a screenshot of that sentence and saved it to an encrypted folder. Then she swiped her finger, closed the communication interface, and looked up at the center of the laboratory.

Zhao Xing and Zhao Yang had already stood up, walking toward her from both sides. The three of them didn't speak, but their steps were in sync, like a beat coming from the same machine.

They formed a triangle, simultaneously reaching out to press on the core pillar of the spacetime device. The metal ring began to heat up, the ground trembled slightly, the lights on the wall flickered twice and went out, leaving only a circle of blue light shining from the bottom of the device.

"Activate." Zhao Chen said.

The system prompt popped up: 【Energy charging, estimated time: three minutes】.

Before the countdown could start, the whole room shook violently. Zhao Yang almost fell, bracing his hand against the wall to steady himself. Chunks of concrete fell from the ceiling, hitting the ground and crumbling to powder.

"An earthquake?" Zhao Xing looked up at the ceiling.

"No." Zhao Chen stared at the data stream, "It's crustal resonance; the energy fluctuation from our side has been transmitted outward."

As soon as the words fell, a muffled boom came from outside. The laboratory's glass shattered completely, spreading like a spiderweb. Alarms sounded in the distance, one after another, fading farther away, as if the signal were being swallowed by something.

The air around the device began to warp, like asphalt melting under summer sun. A rift appeared out of nowhere, hanging in midair, its edge glowing with a purplish-black light. That light wasn't bright, yet it made people unable to keep their eyes open.

The rift kept widening until it became as wide as a door. Inside, it was first black, then something moved.

The first to emerge was a black shadow, four legs, body like a wolf but head mechanical, one eye red, the other blue. It landed silently, its limb joints clicking a few times, then turned its head to look at them.

Then came the second, the third… more and more. Some walked upright on two legs, their bodies clad in iron plates, a glowing core in their chests; others had no fixed shape, a mass of black mist swirling around a metal skeleton. They crawled out of the rift, formed a line, and stood motionless on the ground.

"What the hell is this?" Zhao Xing asked quietly.

"Enemy." Zhao Chen stared at those things, "They were hiding fine in the data just now, and now their true forms have come out."

The system suddenly popped up a red box: 【Ultimate danger detected! Suggest immediately initiating self-destruct procedure!】

"Don't listen to it." Zhao Yang pressed his hand harder, "We're not ready yet."

【Warning: Spacetime structure continues to collapse, risk level S+, suggest immediately executing the purge protocol】

Zhao Chen opened the permissions management page and quickly entered a command. She used the underlying code from the medical module, disguising it as the system processing mass casualties, giving emergency state priority over defense logic. The red box flashed a few times and turned yellow: 【Self-destruct procedure paused, awaiting final confirmation】.

"All right." She said, "Temporarily suppressed."

The sky outside changed. It had been daytime, but now the sky turned purplish-black, clouds swirling as if someone had stirred them with a hand. In the distance, the shadows of skyscrapers were skewed, as if viewed through hot water.

The creatures in the rift moved. The mechanical wolf at the front lifted its forepaw and let out a low growl. That sound didn't seem to come from its mouth; it was more like it drilled straight into the brain.

All the monsters turned at once, their gazes locking onto the triplets.

"They've locked onto us." Zhao Yang said.

"Of course." Zhao Xing sneered, "We're the key, they're the nails locking this door shut."

He slapped his hand on the ground, blue flames shooting along the floor, drawing a circle around them. The fire wasn't strong, but it burned steadily, keeping those monsters at a distance of five meters.

"The rune barrier is working." He said.

Zhao Yang closed his eyes, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a piece of melted candy. It was the leftover residue of the emotional resonator, sticky and grayish. He crushed it and scattered it over the edge of the flame.

A low-frequency wave spread outward, the air gaining something indescribable. The monsters' forward-charging motions stalled, as if they had stepped into mud.

"Can buy us a moment." He said.

Zhao Chen watched the data screen, her heart racing. Channel progress at 17%, still over two minutes to go. But outside, the monsters had already begun to circle the fire ring, some probing the flames with their claws, others crouching as if preparing to pounce.

Just then, the door was pushed open.

Zhao Jianguo walked in, chewing something. He stopped at the doorway, blew a bubble with the gum in his mouth, then bit it.

He blew several in a row, the last one especially big, as round as a basketball. The bubble flew out, hardened on contact with the air, unfolded layer by layer, and finally became a transparent shield that covered the entire Siheyuan.

The outside sound suddenly dropped. The monsters' movements also slowed, as if something were pressing down on them.

"Wait a bit longer." Zhao Jianguo stood with his back to them, hands in his pockets, "My children aren't ready yet."

No one responded. The triplets only felt the pillar beneath their hands growing hotter, the numbers on the data screen jumping rapidly.

Channel progress 48%.

The monsters in the rift suddenly all lay flat, foreheads to the ground, as if awaiting orders. Then, from the depths of the rift walked out a new entity. It was a head taller than the others, pitch black, with six arms on its back, each clutching a chain crackling with electricity.

It didn't look at Zhao Jianguo, heading straight for the shield. One hand rose, palm facing the shield's surface.

Pop!

With a crisp sound, the gum bubble shield cracked.

Zhao Jianguo's shoulder twitched, but he didn't turn around.

"Still quite a temper." He said quietly.

The crack on the shield began to spread, like glass struck by a hammer. Then another explosive sound, and a second crack appeared.

The triplets' palms were slick with sweat, but none of them let go.

Channel progress 73%.

Zhao Xing bit his lip, blood dripping onto the rune circle, and the flames shot up a notch. Zhao Yang's ears began to bleed, but he kept maintaining the frequency output. Zhao Chen's fingertips went numb, the data stream flowing so fast she could barely keep up.

The system popped up again: 【External pressure exceeded critical value, suggest immediately terminating the jump procedure】

She directly clicked to close it.

The leading monster outside raised its two arms, six chains crossing in the air, emitting a piercing screech. The other monsters all lifted their heads, letting out the same low growl from their throats.

They were about to attack.

Zhao Jianguo raised his hand, stuffed the last piece of bubble gum into his mouth, and chewed it hard a few times.

"Almost there," he said. "Just give me thirty more seconds."

Channel progress 89%.

The monsters in the rift leapt up together, lunging toward the fire circle. The rune array began to flicker, the blue flame wavering. Zhao Xing let out a low growl, threw himself to the ground, and used his hand to mend the broken lines.

Zhao Yang's body shuddered, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. His hand was still trembling, but the frequency didn't break.

Zhao Chen stared at the screen and shouted, "Ninety-five!"

Zhao Jianguo blew the gum out of his mouth; this time the bubble was bigger, it struck the edge of the rift, instantly spreading a film that stuck some of the monsters in midair.

But more had already rushed in.

The first Mechanical Lesson wolf jumped over the fire ring, lunging straight at Zhao Chen. She didn't dodge, her hand pressed hard against the pillar.

Just as it lunged toward his head, a figure flashed past.

Zhao Jianguo stepped in front of her, punching that thing in the face. Metal shattering sound rang out, the wolf head exploded, black smoke spewed out. He was knocked back several steps, his feet carving two grooves in the ground.

He said, wiping the corner of his mouth, "Just wait a bit more."

Channel progress 98%.

Zhao Yang suddenly opened her eyes, voice trembling: "I can't hold on."

"Just one more." Zhao Xing gritted their teeth: "Just a bit more."

Zhao Chen looked at the data stream, shouting the final number: "Ninety-nine!"

The system interface suddenly went black, then a line of white text appeared: 【Synchronization complete, channel established】

The monsters outside all froze, even their sounds stopped.

Zhao Jianguo stood in place, his back still straight. He heard the breathing of the three children behind him become uniform, as if they had become one person.

A rift split the purplish-black sky, a beam of light shone down from above, landing exactly at the center of the device.

He turned his head, seeing their bodies begin to glow, edges slightly transparent, as if they might scatter at any moment.

"All right." he said softly.

Just then, the ground shook violently.

The six-armed monster in the rift suddenly lifted its head and let out a long howl. All the monsters that had been blocked surged out again, their numbers several times greater than before. They no longer scattered, but converged on the weakest point of the shield.

Boom!

The bubble gum shield shattered in a large area, fragments flying everywhere.

Zhao Jianguo was flung over by the blast, rolling several times before stopping. He tried to get up, but his right leg had no strength.

He looked up.

The triplets still stood in place, hands not loosening, the light growing stronger. Their feet could no longer be seen, as if they had merged into the floor.

And those monsters were now only ten meters away.