188: Delving into the "mother nest" and negotiating with energy.

Clad in heavy protective gear, his figure appearing even slimmer yet exceptionally resolute, Excellence, under the close protection of Su Mu and the tight escort of a Rescue Squad composed of the base's most elite soldiers, resolutely stepped into the dark, perilous karst cave passage leading deep underground.

Upon entering the cave, a sense of oppression, completely different from the outside world, rushed over them. The air was damp and heavy, carrying a strong, peculiar odor mixed with rock dust and unknown minerals. The environment, which should have been pitch black, was illuminated by sporadically distributed phosphorescent moss and crystal fragments on the rock walls, as well as the powerful searchlights carried by the team, casting countless swaying, bizarre shadows that added to the eeriness and unease. Underfoot were slippery, uneven rocks, and cold water droplets occasionally fell from hanging stalactites above with a distinct 'drip-drop' sound, echoing clearly and unnervingly in the deathly silent cavern.

The deeper they went, the more pronounced and suffocating the chaotic yet powerful energy field originating from the cave's Core became. The air seemed filled with an invisible, viscous resistance. Even wearing the highest-grade protective suits, ordinary team members began to experience varying degrees of physiological discomfort—some felt inexplicable dizziness and nausea, others had accelerated heartbeats and shortness of breath, and some saw the screens of their electronic devices begin to flicker wildly, display garbled code, or even black out and fail completely. The comms channel was filled with 'crackling' static interference, making communication between team members extremely difficult. A primal, instinctive fear of unknown danger quietly spread through the ranks.

Yet, amidst this extremely uncomfortable and even terrifying energy turbulence, Excellence, walking at the forefront of the group, displayed an almost eerie composure and calmness that starkly contrasted with the surroundings. A soft, seemingly internally generated glow of energy naturally emanated from his body, like a moving, warm, and stable halo. The chaotic energy ripples, potent enough to disable precision instruments and discomfort strong soldiers, upon touching this halo, were gently and smoothly deflected and guided aside by an indescribable force, like a stream encountering smooth pebbles, unable to affect him in the slightest. He walked through the eye of this energy storm with steady steps and a composed posture, like a sovereign inspecting his own territory, albeit one currently in chaos.

He had no need to rely on any potentially malfunctioning electronic compass or terrain scanner for direction. His 'Holographic Sensing' ability functioned like the most precise compass, directly linked to the 'Core' deep within the earth. He kept his eyes slightly closed, relying more on mental Perception than sight to 'see' the path. Occasionally, he would stop and listen intently, as if catching subtle sounds carried on the wind that only he could hear.

"This way," he would suddenly speak, his voice coming through the visor with a peculiar, faint echo as if in an empty hall, calm and certain, "Its 'crying'... is clearer. It's very... 'confused,' like a... big creature that's lost and hurt." His words were childlike, yet accurately described the 'emotional' state of that energy.

What astonished and even awed the team members more was that when encountering some rock walls or energy nodes made extremely unstable by energy impacts, seemingly on the verge of collapsing again, Excellence would even casually raise his small, thickly gloved hand and 'tap' those agitated areas. The next moment, those violently fluctuating energy turbulences would rapidly calm and stabilize, like a pacified, ferocious beast, clearing a relatively safe path for the team. The team members behind watched the not-tall figure ahead, radiating incredible power amidst the eerie light and shadow, their eyes filled with inexpressible shock, reliance, and a reverence akin to viewing a non-human entity. They now understood with absolute clarity that this child was their only hope for this mission.

Core Manifestation: The Raging Heart and the Trapped Comrades

Guided by Excellence, the team navigated through the most dangerous collapse disturbance zone without major incident. When they finally reached the source of this disaster—the Core of the collapse area—even the most well-trained and experienced team members were stunned, gasping at the sight before them!

This was an unimaginably vast underground cavity, as if the heart of the entire mountain range had been hollowed out. The dome of the cavity was immeasurably high, vanishing into profound darkness. In the center of the cavity, the most horrifying sight met their eyes: a colossal 'Core,' the size of a small house, composed of countless tightly aggregated crystals emitting soft light of various colors, floated silently in mid-air, pulsating slowly like a living heart! With each 'pulse,' it released visible ripples of energy distortion that warped light, accompanied by a deep, awe-inspiring hum, as if the entire underground world trembled to its rhythm! The raging energy field radiated from it, engulfing the entire cavity.

Even more heart-wrenching was that the previously trapped Exploration Team Members were not physically buried under rocks, but were firmly imprisoned by an intangible cage formed from a dense, amber-like energy field emitted by the 'Core,' confined on several large rock platforms not far from the Core. They sat or lay, seemingly unconscious, with weak vital signs, flickering precariously within the energy cages!

"Quick! Use the Energy Neutralizer, try to break that cage!" Seeing this, the Rescue Captain ordered without hesitation. A team member immediately shouldered a complex-looking device, aimed it at the energy cage, and fired a modulated beam attempting to balance and negate the energy field.

However, this action was like poking a hornet's nest! The 'Core' seemed thoroughly enraged, its pulsation suddenly intensifying. An energy pulse, several times more violent than before and carrying clear hostility, slammed back like a heavy hammer! The Energy Neutralizer instantly overloaded and smoked, and the operating team member was thrown back, reeling from the impact!

"Stop! Everyone stop!" Excellence shouted urgently, his voice brooking no argument, "Don't attack it! It doesn't understand! It thinks we're attacking its 'home,' hurting it! It's protecting itself!" He quickly stepped forward, placing himself between the rescue team and the 'Core.' His small figure seemed so insignificant before the massive, raging energy Core, yet it carried a strange, convincing calmness.

Dialogue of the Mind: Pacifying an Ancient Soul

Excellence signaled all team members to retreat, away from the Core's direct energy influence. Su Mu's heart was in her throat, her hands clenched tightly into fists, nails digging into her palms. But looking at Excellence's unusually calm and determined profile, she forcibly suppressed the urge to rush forward and protect him, choosing to trust him unconditionally. She simply gripped her weapon tighter, vigilantly scanning the surroundings to guard him.

Alone, Excellence took a few steps forward and stopped about twenty meters from the raging 'Core.' He took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. This time, he was no longer passively sensing or simply guiding energy. Instead, he fully activated the highest-level application of 'Energy Linguistics' taught by Evelyn—the active, structured weaving and transmission of 'Energy Information Streams'!

He focused his consciousness intensely, imagining himself standing before a massive and furious soul. He began to meticulously extract and weave strands of energy imbued with specific "semantic" meanings from his own stable and gentle energy field. These energy streams were no longer chaotic instinctual releases, but highly structured "energy sentences" full of soothing, goodwill, Order, and understanding—a collection of the most advanced energy symbols he had learned over these past days concerning "calm," "friendliness," "greeting," "harmlessness," and even "help." Like a master mediator or a patient linguist, he attempted to use this language beyond sound to communicate with the ancient and bewildered consciousness before him.

At first, the "Core" reacted violently to his "signals." It seemed even more provoked, pulsating with wilder frenzy. The energy shockwaves it emitted almost solidified into tangible gales, making Excellence's protective suit flap noisily! Rubble began to rain down from the ceiling of the cavern! Su Mu and the team members' hearts clenched tight!

But Excellence, his face pale, fine beads of sweat forming on his temples, his small body trembling slightly from immense mental exertion, gritted his teeth and stood his ground, unwavering. He did not forcefully resist, nor did he retreat. Instead, like the most resilient bedrock, he continuously and steadily outputted that stream of good-willed, rhythmically stable "energy information." He constantly adjusted the gentleness of the "tone" and repeated the clarity of the "expression," trying to pierce through that barrier of rage and fear.

Time passed second by second, each second feeling as long as a century. Gradually, a miracle occurred! The Core's frenzied pulsations began to show a faint, almost imperceptible trace of... hesitation? The intensity of the heart-stopping energy shockwaves seemed to... lessen just a tiny bit? The chaotic light within it also began to show subtle, increasingly regular flickers?

"There's... there's a reaction! It... it seems to be listening!" A team member who had been closely watching the energy monitor (which, though mostly malfunctioning, now showed a small but steady swing back of the needle) couldn't help but exclaim in a hushed, excited voice!

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind: The Foundation's Surprise Attack

However, at this very moment when the crucial "communication" was showing its first signs of success and everyone's spirits had slightly relaxed—another sudden change occurred!

Several extremely faint, yet ghostly-fast whistling sounds abruptly rang out from several dark corners above the cavern! Several black shadows, like bats hunting in the dead of night, used advanced stealth technology and jetpacks to dive down silently! They wore pure black, advanced optical camouflage combat suits bearing the distinct emblem of the "Prophet Foundation." The weapons in their hands emitted a dangerous, ghostly blue energy glow—it was The Foundation's elite "Scavenger" squad! They had clearly been lurking nearby using some kind of superb tracking technology, waiting for this perfect moment when the "Core" was unexpectedly activated, the "Homeland" forces were preoccupied, and both sides might be weakened—aiming to seize this priceless ancient artifact in one fell swoop!

"Enemy attack! Three o'clock! Nine o'clock! Above!" The Rescue Captain's combat instincts made him roar the warning first! The well-trained rescue team members, though shocked, reacted swiftly, immediately seeking cover. Fire spat from their weapons as intense combat instantly erupted within the massive underground cavern! Energy beams crisscrossed, explosions flared intermittently, shattering the situation that had just begun to ease.

The Resonance of Protection: The Ancient Power's Choice

This sudden, malicious attack completely escalated the situation! However, what happened next left everyone present utterly dumbfounded!

Before the Homeland rescue team could fully organize an effective defensive formation, the Core, which had just been somewhat calmed by Excellence, as if sensing the intrusion of external energy filled with aggression and destructive intent (the energy signature of The Foundation's weapons was starkly different from the Homeland's defensive energy), violently erupted with a terrifying energy pulse—more ferocious than its previous assault on the rescue team, but this time with an extremely clear and targeted direction!

*BZZZZZZZZ—!!!*

A visible pulse wave of pure destructive energy, thick as a giant serpent, erupted from within the Core. Like an angered guardian deity, it was not a random attack. With lightning speed, it tore through the darkness and lashed out with pinpoint accuracy at the members of the "Scavenger" squad launching the surprise attack!

"Aaaaah!" Screams instantly rang out! The Foundation soldiers didn't even have time to react. Their advanced shields were like paper before the wrathful strike of the ancient Core, shattering instantly! Several Scavenger members were directly hit by the energy pulse and turned to charcoal on the spot! The rest were sent flying by the blast shockwave, their equipment severely damaged, left in a sorry state.

This sudden counterattack not only devastated The Foundation squad but also left the Homeland team members utterly stunned! Soon, however, Evelyn's voice, transmitted through the barely restored comms channel, filled with extreme shock and sudden realization, revealed the truth: "It's Excellence! He's... he's guiding it! While communicating with the Core, he 'translated' and conveyed the malicious energy signature of The Foundation members to the Core! The Core autonomously identified them as invaders and launched the attack!"

It was Excellence! At the critical moment, he displayed incredible, unimaginable battlefield control! He was not only soothing the Core, but also cleverly using the initial "trust" and "communication channel" he had established with it to "inform" it of the external threat's "malice" in a way it could understand, successfully guiding this ancient, powerful force to carry out precise self-defense! The scene was as if an ancient guardian deity, under the guidance of its only recognized "communicator," had swung its scepter to punish the invaders!

The Coronation Moment: Proof of the Guardian

Under the ancient Core's completely unexpected and unstoppable devastating strike, The Foundation's "Scavenger" squad suffered heavy losses instantly. The survivors, seeing the situation was hopeless, fled the underground cavern in panic and dismay using their remaining equipment.

After this battle, the ancient "Core" seemed to have completed a confirmation. It "saw" that Excellence, in the crisis, had not taken the opportunity to attack it but instead seemed to help it fend off the external enemy. Its "trust" in Excellence instantly skyrocketed. The previously violent energy field visibly and rapidly became docile and calm, its pulsations returning to a slow, steady rhythm, the light it emitted turning gentle and warm. Even more surprisely, the energy cage trapping the The exploration team also followed vanished like ice under the sun!

Only then did Excellence slowly, somewhat exhausted, open his eyes. His face was as pale as paper from the immense mental strain, his clothes inside the protective suit soaked with sweat. His body swayed slightly, and Su Mu, who had rushed forward the moment she could, tightly supported him. But his eyes shone with a startling brilliance, filled with exhaustion, yet even more so with an indescribable, star-like confidence and sense of accomplishment. He looked at the rescue team members rapidly checking and beginning to evacuate their rescued comrades, then glanced at the ancient Core floating in the air, emitting its docile light. With great difficulty, he curled the corner of his mouth into a smile mixed with extreme fatigue and immense pride, and said in a weak yet crystal-clear voice:

"See... I told you... I could... handle it."

These brief words, at this moment, carried immense weight. They were not merely a declaration of victory, but a symbol, a mark. They marked that Excellence, this "seed" who once needed to be closely protected under someone's wing, had truly broken through the soil and grown into a worthy guardian who could, by his own power, converse with ancient forces, resolve great crises, and protect the lives of his companions. This trial deep within the earth had become the most dazzling, most solid milestone on his path of growth.