284: Infiltrate the City of Resonance

Four standard hours passed in silence, heavy as lead, amidst nerves stretched taut and preparations as precise as clockwork gears.

For Excellence and his squad, this was not just a brutal race against the countdown of the echo civilization, but also a treacherous first "dance" with a mysterious "ally."

The ranger and that dark purple crystal spaceship named Anchor of Order maintained a delicate, safe distance in the cold void.

A temporary data link, subject to multiple layers of dynamic encryption and strictly limited bandwidth, connected the two, as fragile as a spider's thread.

Every exchange of data packets was accompanied by the highest level of firewall scanning and logic purification procedures, ensuring there were no hidden "gifts"—whether they be spy code, logic bombs, or ambiguous information that could trigger a misjudgment.

This cooperation was built upon ten thousand meters of ice; any slight fissure could cause the entire ice sheet to collapse.

Fortunately, the initial technical interfacing exhibited an extraordinary level of efficiency and "professionalism."

The complete technical blueprints and operating procedures for the "Psionic Purification Array" transmitted by the Anchor of Order revealed to Excellence and his team a precise world that shared the same origins as the psionic technology of the Star Scar civilization but had veered toward a completely different extreme in philosophy.

This array was not the massive, cumbersome equipment they had imagined; rather, it was composed of over three hundred micro-units, each the size of a fingernail, known as "Silent Prisms."

These prisms themselves were like sleeping deep-sea pearls, emitting almost no energy ripples.

Yet, once deployed around the source of contamination according to a specific array structure containing advanced geometry and psionic topology, and injected with a startup harmonic signal at the precise moment, they could act like an awakened swarm of bees, resonating in synergy to weave an "Order Harmonic Field" with a controllable range and adjustable frequency.

The principle of this field was not a crude "annihilation" or "destruction."

It was more like an exquisite "information scalpel" or "psionic antibiotic," with its core frequency tuned to form a perfect mirror-image hedge against the chaotic psionic characteristics of the Heart-Devouring Demon contamination.

When the contaminated energy touched this field, a highly efficient, almost "mutual destruction" harmonic neutralization reaction would occur, reducing the filthy, chaotic psionic energy into harmless background psionic radiation, much like clarifying muddy water.

Meanwhile, the relatively orderly and harmonious "Resonance Network" psionic frequency of the echo civilization, due to its fundamental difference from the contamination frequency, would only experience extremely weak, almost negligible, disturbances.

"Ingeniously conceived, bordering on art." White Elder carefully scrutinized the three-dimensional blueprint floating in the air, the fingers of his virtual image gently tracing those complex energy streamlines, his long beard stirring without a breeze.

"Its foundation lies in the ability to extremely precisely deconstruct and reconstruct the psionic spectrum, as well as the technology to transform the abstract concept of 'Order' into a programmable, deployable physical field. This is by no means an achievement attainable solely through the accumulation of time; it must contain a profound insight into the essence of psionic energy."

"The focusing parameters for the 'Spear of Order: Delusion Break' they provided are also an extension of the same concept—compressing orderly psionic energy to the extreme, finding the gaps to enter, striking where it must be saved, and destroying its core structure in a single blow. Such attainments... the waters of this 'Silent Order' are likely much deeper than we have seen."

"But for that very reason, we must be even more vigilant." Stardust's gaze, like a precise scanner, swept over the heavily encrypted core algorithm modules inside the "Silent Prisms."

"They have delivered the 'finished product' manual, not the 'principle' design blueprints. The manufacturing process of the prisms, the psionic Resonance formula of the core materials, and especially that decisive frequency modulation algorithm, are all encapsulated in an unresolvable black box. We can only act as qualified 'deployers' and 'starters' according to the parameters they provided."

"This means that if the Anchor of Order harbors ulterior motives, they could easily pre-set backdoors or logic traps in the array that we cannot detect. In the worst-case scenario, the array might fail, might operate in reverse at a critical moment to exacerbate the contamination, or even... become a tool for them to reverse-control or monitor the source of contamination."

"Risk and opportunity are always two sides of the same coin." Excellence's voice was low, his gaze locked on the flickering light points of the blueprint.

"We have neither the time nor the technical reserves to independently develop a system capable of countering contamination of the Heart-Devouring Demon's level. Their solution is currently the only seemingly viable straw to grasp."

"We can only choose limited trust and put on the thickest 'armor' possible for ourselves. Evelyn, the master control after the array is deployed must be firmly held in our own hands. Immediately use our unique chaotic encryption protocol to overwrite all remote command channels they have reserved, keeping only the most basic, one-way startup signal receiver."

"As for the final activation of the 'Spear of Order: Delusion Break'..." He paused, his eyes sharp, "I will have full control; their parameters are only for reference, never to be relied upon."

"Command confirmed. Chaotic encryption overwrite protocol loaded, highest priority. Final Node for the 'Spear of Order' guidance authorization locked; requires dual verification of your biological key and mental fluctuations." Evelyn's response was clear and decisive.

Meanwhile, Excellence also packaged the intelligence the squad possessed regarding the echo civilization, after careful de-sensitization, and sent it to the Anchor of Order.

This included limited probe data of the underground structure of Resonance City (mainly derived from early geological scans and emotional observation back-calculations), high-probability coordinates of the main contamination source (anchor point) calculated based on multi-source information fusion, a preliminarily constructed contamination diffusion dynamics model, and elusive, ethereal fragments of legends regarding the "Stone of silence."

After receiving the data, the other party's reply was exceptionally concise: "Data packet received, verification passed. Information has tactical value." There were no superfluous pleasantries and no curiosity about the source of the intelligence, appearing restrained and focused.

"They have no objections to our planned infiltration route," Su Mu said, comparing the final action timeline chart agreed upon by both sides. "Both sides agree that we should take advantage of the 'blind spot' in attention caused by the constant high pressure from the eye of suffering, which has forced the echo civilization to concentrate the vast majority of their surveillance power and attention on orbital defense and the maintenance of the global mental barrier. We will infiltrate from the entrance of the abandoned 'Resonance Stone' mine vein on the outskirts of Resonance City, an area with frequent geological activity where the old surveillance network is already dilapidated."

"The core objective remains unchanged: complete the deployment of the 'Silent Prisms' array around the anchor point, have Excellence guide the focusing strike of the 'Spear of Order: Delusion Break' to destroy the anchor point structure. Once successful, evacuate immediately along the predetermined route."

"The Anchor of Order will provide remote support from outer space and, if necessary, interfere with the eye of suffering using precise 'Order' attribute psionic pulses to buy us an evacuation window."

"A standard, textbook-style special infiltration and sabotage procedure for high-value, high-risk targets," Stardust evaluated, her tone steady. "But the vulnerability of all plans lies in the details of the execution level and the ability to respond to sudden variables."

"The underground network of the echo civilization is intricate and complex; even abandoned mine tunnels may contain remnants of ancient automatic defense mechanisms or passive surveillance spores. And in the core contamination area, it is highly likely that there are deeply corrupted 'Resonance Network' secondary Nodes, or even native creatures or contaminated individuals that have been completely twisted and mutated, having lost their reason and retaining only their predatory instincts. We must be prepared for high-intensity, high-frequency skirmishes."

"Old White," Excellence looked at the floating image of the wise man, "Your spiritual Perception and thousand years of experience are the indispensable 'compass' and 'early warning aircraft' for this trip. Especially your intuitive sensing of that twisted psionic contamination, which will allow us to avoid the most dangerous traps in advance."

"I will certainly do my best," White Elder nodded slightly, his face formed of light and shadow wearing a rare gravity. "However, the filth left by that Heart-Devouring Demon is unusually treacherous. Its core source must be heavily shielded, which may disturb or even block outside Perception. At that time, I fear we will have to rely on your ability to observe emotional waves, and..." He paused, "the courage to make decisions on the fly."

"Then, the action team: myself, Stardust, Old White (carried on a special drone in data core form). Su Mu, Evelyn, you stay behind on the ranger, responsible for global monitoring, real-time intelligence relay, maintaining encrypted communication with the Anchor of Order, and..." Excellence's voice was steady but carried an unquestionable weight, "if we... cannot return as planned, execute the emergency contingency plan to ensure your own safe evacuation."

"Understood!" Su Mu pressed her lips tightly, her small hands clenched, her eyes filled with both tension and an unyielding determination.

Evelyn's spiritual body emitted a soft and stable halo: "All ship systems have switched to stealth pickup mode, and weapon units are pre-charged. May Order protect your path, Commander."

The massive hull of the ranger began a series of adjustments as delicate as ballet, utilizing the complex geomagnetic turbulence on the night side of the Resonance Star and the scattering effects of the high-altitude ionosphere to glide silently toward the planet's surface like a shadow truly blending into the cosmic background.

Eventually, it hovered above the predetermined coordinates—a desolate plateau far from the brilliant halo of Resonance City, covered in countless jagged rock pillars that had been eroded by wind for billions of years, standing like the skeletons of giants.

Beneath the belly of the ship, a dark, non-reflective hatch slid open silently. A small, streamlined shuttle, covered entirely in the latest adaptive optical camouflage and nano-radar-absorbent coating, slid silently into the thin atmosphere like a night owl leaving its nest, descending toward the dead, star-lit forest of rock pillars below.

The shuttle's propulsion system used a combination of field-effect levitation and pulsed micro-propulsion technology; the landing process was nearly silent, with only the barely audible hiss caused by the slightest friction with the air.

It landed precisely between the two thickest rock pillars that cast deep shadows, the landing gear making a slight "click" as it contacted the weathered rock.

The hatch slid upward, and Excellence and Stardust leaped out nimbly, landing on the cold, hard rocky ground.

Both had donned custom-tailored dark gray all-environment stealth combat suits; the fabric was soft but possessed excellent anti-abrasion and energy-diffusion properties, and the optical camouflage layer on the surface was slowly changing with the texture and color of the surrounding rocks, making them almost blend into the background.

Excellence's tactical belt was fixed with a special magnetic storage canister containing all the "Silent Prisms," as well as some micro-equipment for extreme situations.

Stardust carried a multi-functional tactical backpack that looked compact but was actually highly integrated, stuffed with various detection, cracking, communication, and medical modules. In her hand, she held a portable psionic interference/barrier generator, ready to be deployed at any moment.

The special drone carrying White Elder's data core—a disc-shaped device only the size of a basketball, with a matte surface and multiple sensor Nodes—hovered silently about half a meter behind the two, like a silent and vigilant guardian eye.

The night on the plateau was desolate and bone-chilling; the wind, like an invisible giant hand, traveled between the rock pillars, making sounds that were at times whimpering and at times shrieking.

The starry sky above was brilliant, but in the direction of the horizon, the light of Resonance City—like a massive cluster of glowing coral growing on the coastline—seemed at this moment to be covered by a veil of uneasy, pulsating dark blue.

And in the higher, more distant sky, beside that moon of the echo civilization, a chilling, purple-black dot was clearly visible—that was the projection of the eye of suffering, like a festering, pus-oozing evil star in the night sky, eternally and greedily staring down at the land below.

"Environmental scan: atmospheric composition suitable, oxygen content slightly high, trace amounts of inert psionic dust present. Gravity 0.98 standard. Surface temperature seven degrees Celsius, continuing to drop. No active scanning beams or wide-area energy detection fields detected. Target entrance, bearing 034, distance 3.2 kilometers, abandoned shaft of the former echo civilization's Seventh Resonance Stone mining area." Stardust's voice came through the bone-conduction communicator into Excellence's ear, steady and clear, without any emotional redundancy, like an instrument broadcast.

"Action," Excellence whispered, activating the full stealth suite of his combat suit.

Their figures instantly blurred as the optical camouflage perfectly mimicked the texture and shadows of the rocks; thermal signals were completely suppressed, and psionic fluctuations were dampened to the absolute minimum.

Like two wisps of mist blown by the wind, they began to move rapidly and silently through the shadows of the massive rock pillars.

The 3.2-kilometer journey took less than twelve minutes, thanks to their enhanced physical abilities, superior equipment, and expert stealth skills.

A mine ruin, severely damaged by time and geological activity, appeared before them: half-collapsed metal derricks leaned like the skeletons of giant beasts, rusted tracks disappeared into piles of rubble, and several pieces of ancient mining equipment, long since turned to scrap metal, were scattered about, their surfaces covered in thick mineral dust and a type of moss that emitted a faint blue light.

And their target, the shaft entrance—about 3.5 meters in diameter and partially buried by twisted metal and huge boulders—lay open quietly, like a pitch-black scar on the earth.

A scent drifted eerily from the opening, a mixture of damp rock, oxidized metal, and... a trace of something extremely faint, yet one that instantly set their nerves on edge: a sickeningly sweet, putrid odor.

"Background psionic radiation anomaly detected; Heart-Devouring Demon contamination characteristic spectrum present. Concentration level: extremely low, but confirmed."

Stardust's portable detector emitted an almost inaudible hum, and the spectral analysis graph on the screen clearly pulsed with ominous peaks.

"The contamination has spread along the underground vein network to this point. Intelligence confirmed."

"As expected," Excellence said, taking a deep breath of the cold yet clean highland air. He suppressed the discomfort rising in his heart from that strange odor, focused his mind, and actively activated his Perception ability, "Emotional Observation."

His vision shifted abruptly. In his "eyes," the abandoned mine entrance was no longer a simple dark cave, but a source constantly oozing the stale, dark yellow aura of "aging" and the turbid, grayish-black aura of "erosion."

That grayish-black color, like a living stain, seeped out in wisps, continuously spreading upward from the depths of the mine, creating a jarring conflict with the natural colors of the surrounding environment (the earthy yellow of the rocks, the Deep Blue of the night sky, and the pale green of the faint moss).

His vision extended along the downward-sloping tunnel and was soon blocked by the winding rock walls, but the torrent of grayish-black "aura," laden with pain and malice, became increasingly clear to his Perception, like a foul, dark river leading to an abscess in the earth's core.

"Contamination concentration gradient increases sharply downward; direction matches the predicted coordinates of the main contamination source. Preparing to enter."

Stardust confirmed the environmental data again and took two fist-sized, matte-shelled floating light orbs from the side pocket of her backpack.

With a light touch of her fingers, the light orbs rose silently, emitting a soft, non-direct cold white light that perfectly illuminated the area a few meters ahead, while simultaneously releasing low-power broad-spectrum scanning waves to begin building and updating a high-precision 3D map of the cave interior in real-time.

Excellence stepped into the mine first. Underfoot was a rough-hewn surface, covered in a slippery film of mineral condensation.

The air instantly became cold and damp, and the sickeningly sweet, putrid odor grew stronger, now mixed with an indescribable "background noise" that sounded as if countless people were whispering simultaneously in different languages, their voices lowered.

This noise did not travel through air vibrations but acted directly on the level of consciousness. At first, it was faint, but it stubbornly tried to worm its way into the cracks of their minds, stirring up inexplicable irritability and a vague sense of panic.

On the rock walls, one could see embedded raw Resonance Stone ore everywhere, though it had lost its active luster and was now a dull dark blue.

In his emotional vision, these crystals mostly appeared as a dull, deathly gray-white, like eyes that had lost their souls.

But every so often, he could see a few crystals with an ominous, faint dark red or purplish-black halo glowing from within, like virus-infected cells, quietly exuding contamination.

"Portions of the Resonance Stone vein have been deeply contaminated, becoming secondary diffusion Nodes," Stardust said as her detector swept over the abnormal crystals, causing warning icons to pop up on the screen. "The contamination is trending toward crystallization. Warning: Avoid direct physical contact; use of psionic power for investigation is strictly prohibited, as it may trigger a backlash of contamination or an alarm."

The two of them and the drone proceeded cautiously through the dim, winding mine tunnel that kept extending toward the earth's core.

Stardust was responsible for terrain mapping, environmental monitoring, and path optimization; every step she took was precise and stable, as if she had already calculated her footing and line of sight.

Excellence, relying on the guidance of his emotional Perception, anticipated and avoided areas with excessively high contamination concentrations or those that gave him a strong premonition of danger, as if walking through a minefield.

silence was the master here, broken only by the sound of their footsteps, which were almost completely absorbed by their combat suits, their faint breathing, and that omnipresent, gradually intensifying, malicious background sound of mental whispering.

As the depth increased, the terrain sloped noticeably downward, and the air became increasingly stifling, as if an invisible weight were pressing on their chests.

The sickeningly sweet, putrid odor almost solidified, clinging to the depths of their nasal cavities and throats.

The whispering also became clearer, no longer chaotic noise. He began to distinguish sentences filled with extreme negative emotions, composed of fragments of the echo civilization's language. Translated by the translator, they lingered intermittently and hauntingly:

"Pain... pain everywhere..." "Hate... why only us..." "Sink... sink into the deep sea together..." "Do you see... He is watching us..." "Hee hee... it's here... fresh flesh..."

These whispers did not seem to come from any specific source but seeped out from the damp rock walls, rose from the stagnant water underfoot, and dripped from the darkness overhead, pervasive and trying to entangle and infiltrate their consciousness.

Excellence felt a throbbing pain in his temples, and an inexplicable sense of violence and despair, like cold vines, quietly crept into his heart.

He knew this was the result of the high-concentration contaminated environment continuously eroding his mind.

"Activating personal psionic filtering barrier, basic mode, primarily to block disordered emotional clutter," came Stardust's calm voice. She seemed completely unaffected, or rather, her powerful logical thinking and emotional control center constituted a more effective defense than any physical barrier.

The device on her wrist projected a faint blue film of light, barely visible to the naked eye, enveloping her and the drone that followed closely.

Excellence also immediately activated the basic mental protection field built into his combat suit (the effect was far inferior to his own Order power, which was introverted and self-contained, but it saved energy), while simultaneously more actively circulating the silvery-white power within his body, letting it act like a warm and tough inner armor to protect his core consciousness.

In his emotional vision, he could see the grayish-black aura attempting to entangle them; upon touching the faint light around him and Stardust, it was slightly distorted and repelled, but it did not completely dissipate, still following them like a shadow.

"The straight-line distance to the main contamination source has shortened to 1.8 kilometers. A complex intersection appears ahead. Based on real-time contamination gradient mapping and structural stress analysis, the recommended path is as follows..."

Stardust looked at the floating, constantly updating 3D map before her, where several passages were marked with different colors and risk levels. "The central main mine tunnel has the highest contamination concentration and the steepest gradient change; it is highly likely to be a shortcut to the core area, but the probability of encountering high-intensity contaminated entities or traps is estimated at 74 percent.

The secondary tunnels to the left and right have slightly lower contamination readings, but their structural integrity is questionable; there is an unknown risk of collapse, and the path is circuitous, which may take more than 40 percent longer."

"Take the middle," Excellence said without hesitation. Time was their most extravagant enemy. "Old White?"

"Very well. But this path is filled with monstrous filth; it must be the heart of the demon's nest. Every step is fraught with danger; you must remain focused and vigilant." White Elder's voice came from the drone, carrying a distant echo that seemed to penetrate the rock layers.

They turned into the middle fork. This mine tunnel was significantly wider, with a higher rock ceiling, clearly the location of the former main vein.

The raw Resonance Stone ore embedded in the rock walls on both sides was larger and denser, but at this moment, they were almost without exception emitting a turbid, dark halo, like countless sick eyes.

The whispering converged here into a noisy "market," countless voices filled with pain, resentment, and madness interweaving to form dark currents that assaulted their minds.

In the air, thin, visible mist with purplish-black specks began to appear.

After advancing another few hundred meters, the area ahead suddenly opened up; the end of the mine tunnel connected to a massive natural underground cavern.

The scale of the cavern far exceeded their imagination; the dome was so high it could not be seen, hidden in the darkness, with only some hanging, faintly phosphorescent stalactites like an inverted forest, casting shadowy, ghostly light and images.

The ground was not flat, covered in puddles of varying depths, the stagnant water showing an abnormal, oily dark green.

And in the central area of the cavern, several exceptionally thick giant Resonance Stone crystal pillars, over two meters in diameter and more than ten meters high, rose from the ground. They were no longer pure blue, but radiated a heart-stopping, mixed light of dark purple—like congealed blood—and a pitch black that swallowed all light. On the surface of the crystal pillars, viscous black matter seemed to be slowly flowing and writhing.

"Warning! Contamination psionic readings have exceeded the threshold! High-activity, high-aggregation distorted psionic field detected! Multiple life reaction signals—non-standard carbon-based life lineage!"

Stardust's detector emitted a sharp buzzing sound, and the screen was instantly covered in deep red, representing an extremely high threat!

Almost at the same instant, Excellence's "emotional vision" was flooded with a violent, thick, almost liquid pitch black and scarlet!

In his Perception, those giant crystal pillars were like erupting volcanoes, constantly spewing out torrents of filth condensed from pure malice, pain, and the desire for destruction!

Within the torrent, countless twisted, painful, and hate-filled consciousness fragments were screaming and struggling; they intertwined and fused, forming a terrifying outline of an existence between a physical entity and a spiritual body.

"It's a contamination hatchery! Corrupted entities are aggregating!" Excellence roared, his energy pistol sliding into his hand instantly, switching to high-energy pulse mode, while he signaled Stardust and the drone to find cover and prepare for engagement.

But the abyss reacted faster.

The pitch-black crystal pillars shook violently, and the surface of the pillars, as if boiling, revealed countless phantom faces twisted in extreme pain. They opened their mouths but could make no sound, only waves of even more intense spiritual wailing surged out.

Immediately after, from the shadows of the crystal pillars, from the dark green puddles scattered around, and even from behind the stalactites hanging above their heads, came the tooth-aching sound of viscous writhing, the crisp sound of bone dislocation, and the gurgling sound mixed with dripping liquid.

One by one, "things" with forms that completely defied common sense crawled out, stood up, and floated up.

They vaguely retained some characteristics of echo creatures—the pale blue or pale green skin base, the amphibian-like skull outline. But that was all.

Some bodies were elongated and deformed like melting candles, with several disproportionate, slime- and wart-covered tentacles replacing their limbs, crawling on the ground or rock walls;

Some had large areas of skin festering and peeling off, revealing an "interior" that seemed to be composed of semi-congealed black tar and unknown substances with flickering dark red spots, constantly dripping foul-smelling slime;

Some had heads split down the middle, forming terrifying mouthparts filled with spiral sharp teeth, dripping saliva;

The most soul-freezing part was their "eyes"—or rather, sensory organs—some were just hollows burning with vicious dark red flames, some had turned into constantly rotating, multiple insect-like compound eye structures, and some had no eyes at all, just a constantly opening and closing gap filled with granulation tissue where the face should be.

Their bodies were wrapped in pitch-black emotional smoke that had almost solidified, and that sickeningly sweet, putrid odor was suffocatingly intense.

"Ugh... ah..." "Pain... so painful..." "Blood... soul... need..." "Outsider... defiler... devour..."

The intermittent, hungry, and venomous mental screeching was a hundred times clearer than the previous whispers, like cold poisonous needles piercing directly into the consciousness of Excellence and Stardust.

These existences—"Rot-Singers"—thoroughly twisted and alienated by the Heart-Devouring Demon contamination, discovered the living targets. With an instinctive hatred and desire to devour all orderly life, they swarmed from every corner of the cavern in eerie postures—some stumbling, some swift, some floating!

Target confirmed as 'Corrosive Resonators', high-threat contamination derivatives!

Stardust's speech was extremely fast but remained steady. She quickly inserted the portable barrier generator into the ground and activated it!

A pale blue hemispherical energy barrier instantly expanded, enveloping her and the drone behind her.

At the same time, she hoisted the special rifle she carried on her back; the gun body smoothly deformed and unfolded, and the silver-white energy conduction ring at the muzzle began to charge, emitting a low hum.

Physical resistance is extremely high; conventional energy weapons have limited effect.

It is recommended to attack their psionic convergence Node—usually located in the head or the center of the thoracic cavity of the aberration!

Fire! Prioritize clearing nearby individuals, be careful to conserve energy, and avoid hitting the central crystal pillars to trigger unknown chain reactions!

Excellence ordered decisively, and the energy pistol in his hand shot out a dazzling blue pulse beam.

Hiss!

The beam accurately hit the shoulder of a 'Corrosive Resonator' that was rushing at the front, shaped like a bloated lizard.

The monster let out a hoarse howl, and the hit area exploded with a cloud of black smoke and mucus, but it only staggered. The black substance at the wound quickly squirmed and proliferated, actually starting to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye!

It became even more violent, its speed increasing rather than decreasing, and it lunged forward with its mouth full of dense, sharp teeth open!

Energy resistance and regenerative capabilities exceed expectations!

Stardust reported calmly, her special rifle already fully charged.

She barely aimed, relying on some kind of precise computational intuition, and pulled the trigger.

Whoosh—!

A silver-white beam, as condensed as a strand of hair yet bright and blinding, tore through the air and silently sank into the dark red, constantly swelling tumor located in the center of the body of another 'Corrosive Resonator' that leaped from a puddle on the side, shaped like a multi-legged starfish.

Pop!

There was no violent explosion; the dark red tumor instantly shriveled and annihilated like a popped blister!

The monster's entire body convulsed violently, all tentacles hung down limply, the black smoke around it quickly dissipated, and it fell into the puddle with a 'splat,' splashing up a disgusting spray of water, no longer moving.

Effective! 'Order harmonic' weapons have a special attack effect on their core contamination structure!

Stardust continued to fire while quickly moving her shooting position.

Her marksmanship was terrifyingly precise; every silver-white beam was like the finger of death, pointing at the most lethal Node of the 'Corrosive Resonators,' killing those hit instantly.

Excellence also immediately changed his strategy, trying to guide and attach a trace of the power of Order to the pulse beam shot from his energy pistol.

A pale silver halo wrapped around the blue beam, hitting a monster again.

This time, the effect was significantly improved; the monster's healing speed slowed down significantly, and even tiny, silver-white erosion light spots began to appear at the wound.

White Elder's drone also joined the battle.

It hovered at a safe height within the barrier, and several small emission probes extended from under its fuselage, shooting out beams of soft, golden light carrying the aura of purification.

These beams had weak direct lethality against the 'Corrosive Resonators,' but they could effectively disperse the contaminated smoke around them, interfering with their senses and coordination, creating better shooting windows for Excellence and Stardust.

However, the number of 'Corrosive Resonators' seemed endless!

They emerged from every dark corner of the karst cave, crawled out of the stagnant pools, and some even 'squeezed' directly out of the cracks in the rock walls!

The several huge pitch-black crystal pillars in the center of the cave, like evil brood nests, continuously 'gave birth' to these twisted monsters.

Even more troublesome, some of the remains of the 'Corrosive Resonators' that were killed fell into the water or touched the ground, and their dissipating black contaminated substances seemed to be able to contaminate the environment, spawning more weak but malicious psionic reactions, as if hatching new threats.

At this rate, we will be completely trapped here!

Excellence shot and exploded a flying 'Corrosive Resonator' attempting to pounce on the barrier, feeling the rapid decline of his pistol's energy reserves, 'We must destroy those crystal pillars! They are contamination Nodes and also the source of these monsters!'

Agreed!

Stardust quickly scanned the central crystal pillars between shots, 'The structure is abnormally stable, and the internal psionic reaction is strong and chaotic. Conventional explosives or high-energy shots may not be able to destroy them quickly, and the explosion impact is highly likely to cause a large-scale collapse of the cave. It is recommended to use high-precision, high-penetration 'point' destruction, or try using the Spear of Order to attack the resonant weak points of their internal energy circuits. But precise control of power output is required.'

Cannot trigger a collapse!

Excellence looked around at the obviously unstable rock walls and the forest of stalactites hanging overhead, rejecting the high-power plan.

He took a deep breath, and the cold, foul-smelling air rushed into his lungs, but it made his mind even clearer.

His gaze locked onto the thickest one among those crystal pillars, where the aura of contamination flowed most like substance.

Stardust, provide cover fire, suppress the monsters in front of me! White Elder, use purification beams to interfere with the sides and rear!

Before the words fell, Excellence had already rushed out of the protection range of the pale blue barrier like an arrow from a bow!

He infused the power of Order into his legs, his speed exploded instantly, and he sped across the slippery ground covered with gravel and puddles, his figure bringing up a series of afterimages, narrowly avoiding the tentacles waving and acid sprayed by several 'Corrosive Resonators.'

Stardust's gunfire instantly became rapid and precise; the silver-white beams intertwined into an airtight net of death, pinning the monsters rushing from the front and flanks of Excellence to the air or ground one by one.

White Elder's drone also raised the emission frequency of the purification beams to the limit; golden rain of light fell, although not lethal, it made the movements of a large number of 'Corrosive Resonators' stiff and slow, emitting painful hisses.

This sprint of dozens of meters, under the crazy interception of the monster group, seemed unusually long and dangerous.

Two exceptionally strong, heavily armored 'Corrosive Resonators' broke through the fire net, one on the left and one on the right, pouncing with a fishy wind!

One swung a giant claw like a chela, smashing towards Excellence's head, while the other opened its mouthparts dripping with mucus, biting towards his waist and abdomen!

A silver light flashed in Excellence's eyes, his forward momentum did not diminish at all, but at the critical moment, his body twisted to the side at an unreasonable angle to avoid the giant claw, and at the same time, his left leg whipped out, his toe condensed with a thin layer of silver light, kicking hard at the lower jaw of the other 'Corrosive Resonator'!

Crack!

A teeth-aching sound of bone cracking rang out; the kick containing the power of Order had power far exceeding ordinary attacks.

The 'Corrosive Resonator''s lower jaw was directly deformed and shattered, its entire head tilted back violently, dark red 'blood' and mucus sprayed out from its mouth and nose, and its huge body was kicked, rolling in the air, and smashed heavily into the puddle on the side.

Borrowing the reaction force of the kick, Excellence's figure became three times faster, and he finally rushed under that largest pitch-black crystal pillar!

Observing from a close distance, the evil and twisted feeling of this crystal pillar was magnified to the extreme.

Its surface was not smooth but covered with gully patterns pulsating like living blood vessels, flowing with dark red light; inside, it seemed to be sealed with a viscous, constantly churning sea of darkness, with countless miniature painful faces floating, colliding, and silently screaming within it.

Just standing in front of it, that negative emotional impact that almost tore the soul apart and the extremely sweet, foul smell were enough to make ordinary people have a mental breakdown.

There was no time to hesitate, and no time to fear.

Excellence extended his right hand, his five fingers grasping in the air, and the power of Order in his body, like an army summoned, gathered and compressed toward his palm at an unprecedented high rate and precision!

A light spear, about 1.2 meters long, with pure silver-white brilliance flowing throughout its body, condensed like substantial crystal, instantly shaped in his palm!

The spear body had smooth and perfect lines, and the tip of the spear presented a fiery white spot that was so intense it was almost void due to extreme energy concentration, and the surrounding air was slightly distorted because of the high concentration of energy.

He poured all his spirit, will, and understanding of Order into this blow.

The goal was not to destroy the entire crystal pillar, but to find the most unstable and fragile 'resonant singularity' in that chaotic energy ocean current.

Break!

A low shout echoed in the cave.

The silver-white fiery light spear flew out of his hand; there was no whistling, no colorful trajectory, only a thin line condensed to the extreme, as if it had swallowed the light along the way, straight and silently sinking into a slightly sunken Node at the intersection of dark red veins on the surface of the pitch-black crystal pillar!

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

The next moment—'Crack... crunch... crunch, crunch, crunch—!!!'

A sound that was crisp to the point of eeriness, as if ten-thousand-year black ice was cracking from the inside, instantly spread throughout the entire huge crystal pillar, centered on the point where the light spear entered!

The hit Node first burst out a point of blindingly extreme silver-white light, and immediately after, countless fine cracks like spider webs, shimmering with silver light, spread madly to every corner of the crystal pillar at a speed far exceeding physical common sense!

Wooooaaaaah—!!!

Inside the crystal pillar, it seemed as if billions of imprisoned and tortured souls were simultaneously letting out their final, most shrill, and most relieved screams!

The thick pitch-black and dark red light, which seemed to be able to swallow all light, flickered and dimmed madly like a light bulb with a bad connection, and the light quickly faded.

The cracks continued to expand and deepen, and finally—it was not a earth-shattering explosion, but a dull 'rumble' as if the internal structure of a huge object had completely shattered.

The entire huge pitch-black crystal pillar, over ten meters high and over two meters in diameter, completely disintegrated from the inside, turning into countless black crystal fragments that lost their luster and quickly weathered and disintegrated, as well as a large amount of viscous, foul-smelling black sludge, collapsing down like a landslide!

A strong mental shockwave full of final malice spread out with the destruction of the crystal pillar, but the core activity of the Heart-Devouring Demon contamination within it had already been completely annihilated and purified by the power of Order!

With the destruction of this core 'brood nest' crystal pillar, the originally thick and inseparable contaminated psionic field in the cave, like a popped abscess, instantly dissipated for the most part!

The disgusting, sweet, and foul smell in the air rapidly receded.

Those 'Corrosive Resonators' that were originally rushing out frantically seemed to have collectively lost their power source, their movements suddenly stiffened, emitting chaotic and confused hisses, and then their bodies began to uncontrollably disintegrate and melt, turning into pools of black sludge with no activity.

The other few smaller pitch-black crystal pillars also suddenly dimmed, their surfaces covered with cracks, obviously having suffered heavy damage, and no new monsters emerged.

The cave was once again dominated by near-absolute silence, with only the 'drip' sound of water droplets falling into the puddle in the distance, and the slightly heavy breathing of the three people echoing in the empty space.

Although the aura of contamination still remained in the air, that suffocating, active malice had dissipated.

Main secondary contamination Node one, confirmed destroyed.

Environmental psionic contamination index dropped by 52.3%.

Stardust put away her special rifle, and most of the red alarms on the detector had gone out, turning into yellow representing medium-low threats.

She looked at the black sludge rapidly melting on the ground, her tone still steady, 'Threat level reduced, but the reaction from the main contamination source is still strong. It is recommended to immediately replenish energy, deal with trace contaminants on the body surface, and continue to advance toward the target point.'

Excellence gasped slightly, glanced at the melting monster remains and the collapsed crystal pillar ruins, and nodded.

He took out an energy bar to quickly replenish his physical strength, and used a spray of agent to clean the slightly corrosive black mucus stained on his combat suit.

White Elder's drone also lowered its height to perform self-checks and slight energy replenishment.

There was no time for reflection or rest.

On the other side of the cave, a deeper mine tunnel with a larger tilt angle, like the esophagus of a giant beast, extended toward the deeper underground darkness.

From there, a deeper, more unquestionable malicious call came, and... a faint, rhythmic, heavy Resonance sound, as if a heart was beating.

The distance to the final target, that source of contamination that bred the eye of suffering and poisoned the entire echo civilization, was less than one kilometer.

But everyone understood that what they had just experienced was perhaps just a... skirmish leading to the core of the true nightmare.

The deepest, most unpredictable darkness was waiting for them ahead.