56: Emergency rescue and shock at high levels

"Quick! Medical team! Highest priority! Start the rescue immediately! Repeat! Highest priority!!" Xiao Zhang roared hoarsely into the communicator built into his tactical helmet. His voice was raspy from the impact to his internal organs and extreme tension, even carrying a hint of a tremor he hadn't noticed himself. He half-knelt on the ground, his finger pressing hard on the communication button, his eyes locked onto the motionless figure on the ground, as if Excellence would completely disappear if he looked away for even a second.

The piercing, nerve-shredding highest-level medical alarm instantly drowned out the original environmental alarm, echoing through every corridor and corner of the underground base with even higher frequency and volume. The top medical team in the medical area, already on standby in the deepest part of the base and equipped with the highest level of biochemical protection and rescue equipment, sprang into action like a precision machine being switched on.

Three groups totaling twelve members, wearing fully enclosed white heavy protective suits with self-contained life-support systems—their visors reflecting the cold red light of the alarm—pushed various life-support, rapid testing, and emergency surgical equipment so advanced they were almost sci-fi. They charged through the damaged hatch and flooded into the mess of the laboratory, which looked as if it had just been bombed, with a speed that was disciplined and swift but not chaotic. They ignored the sharp metal and glass shards scattered on the ground, the pungent smell of ozone and burnt material still lingering in the air, and the damaged instruments still flickering with dangerous electrical sparks. All their attention was intensely focused as they rushed to the scene's only casualty.

With movements that were extremely careful yet exceptionally fast, they moved the unconscious Excellence—whose vital signs were extremely weak and whose body was covered in fine cuts and bloodstains—steadily onto a multi-functional stretcher bed with all-around sign monitoring and an automatic stabilization system. Almost the moment they made contact, various sensor patches and probes were precisely attached to his chest, temples, and neck. Portable high-precision ECG monitors, real-time EEG monitors, non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring systems, and ECMO pre-fill lines... a series of top-tier equipment completed their connections within seconds.

On the large holographic display nearby, the real-time refreshing data was shocking, with every indicator flashing a piercing red alarm:

[Heart Rate: 28 bpm, extreme ventricular arrhythmia, frequent premature ventricular contractions, on the verge of ventricular fibrillation!]

[Arterial Blood Pressure: 58/30 mmHg, severe shock state!]

[EEG Activity: Extremely suppressed, background activity nearly a flat line, diffuse high-amplitude slow delta wave activity, interspersed with paroxysmal spike-and-slow wave discharges—indicating severe diffuse whole-brain injury with epileptiform activity!]

[Blood Oxygen Saturation: 72% (percutaneous monitoring), severe hypoxemia!]

[Core Body Temperature: 34.1°C, central thermoregulatory failure!]

This was a state of impending multi-organ failure, especially the central nervous system approaching brain death!

"Inject high-dose vasoactive drugs immediately! 1mg of Epinephrine IV push! Continuous infusion of Norepinephrine, target mean pressure above 65! Emergency tracheal intubation! Ventilator support with pure oxygen! Fast!" The lead medical expert, a gray-haired old professor with eyes as sharp as an eagle's that seemed to pierce through all appearances—Academician Chen—rapidly scanned the terrifying data cascading across the screen while issuing a series of unquestionable life-saving commands in a very fast and clear voice. Fine beads of sweat also broke out on his forehead, and a layer of white mist condensed inside his protective visor. Clearly, the situation before him far exceeded any critical illness he had seen in his decades-long career; it was more like... an unknown attack on life itself.

Excellence was transferred at top speed, under the tense escort of a squad of fully armed Fortress members, to a completely isolated negative pressure emergency room in the deepest part of the base's underground—theoretically capable of withstanding tactical nuclear strikes and the highest level of biochemical contamination. This emergency room was more like a small, cutting-edge medical Fortress, with walls made of thick lead plates and special composite materials, air filtered through three stages of high efficiency, and equipped internally with all the top-tier equipment needed to support a major field surgery.

Outside the transparent special glass partition, Xiao Zhang and several core members of the Fortress squad, along with several senior base officials and security officers who had rushed over upon hearing the news, all had expressions as grim as iron, their fists clenched as they waited in silence. The air was filled with suffocating tension and a near-desperate unease. Every abnormal alarm from the monitors made everyone's heart skip a beat. No one spoke; there was only the sound of heavy breathing and the rhythmic ticking of the instruments.

Inside the emergency room, the atmosphere was even more tense, like a battlefield. Various advanced instruments emitted rhythmic ticks, hums, and occasional sharp alarms. Medical staff in heavy protective suits were busy yet orderly performing various operations: fast and precise tracheal intubation under a video laryngoscope, ultrasound-guided internal jugular and femoral vein catheterization, precise injection of various cardiac, pressor, and anti-arrhythmic drugs through precision infusion pumps, and defibrillator paddles coated with conductive paste standing by... They not only had to do their utmost to maintain Excellence's basic vital signs, which were like a candle in the wind, but also had to deal with his extremely strange and highly fluctuating physiological state—sometimes as stable as deep anesthesia, and other times suddenly on the verge of collapse, as if two completely different forces were repeatedly tugging and fighting for control within his body.

"His nervous system has suffered an unprecedented impact!" a neurophysiologist said, his voice filled with shock and confusion as he looked at the large areas of abnormal dimness and a few scattered points of abnormal flashing, overactivity, or even bizarre synchronous discharges on the real-time high-density EEG topography and functional MRI. "This doesn't fit any known model of disease, poisoning, or physical injury! It's more like... like the key synaptic connection networks and neural membrane potentials were directly 'burned out' by some ultra-high-intensity, destructively structured information flow! This is... physiological damage caused by an information-level attack!"

"Abnormalities found in blood gas and biochemical analysis!" Another biochemical analysis expert brought an even more startling discovery. "There are a large number of unknown energy residues in the blood! A... a type of strange information particle never before found in a living organism, with high chemical inertness but extremely strong biological activity?! They aren't like any known virus, bacteria, or toxin, but they are interfering with the normal electron transport chain of cellular mitochondria and disrupting the electrochemical activity of transmembrane ion channels! This might be the direct physical cause of his multi-organ dysfunction!"

Hearing the reports, Academician Chen's gray eyebrows knitted tightly. Synthesizing all the incredible information, he made an extremely bold yet inevitable rescue plan: "Immediately start Continuous Blood Purification (CBP) combined with plasma adsorption! Try to clear those unknown particles from the blood! At the same time, give high-dose, multi-combination intravenous infusions of neurotrophic factors and gangliosides to do everything possible to repair the nerve damage! Also... try to intervene with a specific frequency and extremely low-intensity transcranial alternating electric field to see if we can stabilize his abnormally discharging neural electrical activity, even if only temporarily!"

This rescue, a race against an unknown death that utilized the country's top medical resources and most imaginative treatment plans, lasted for six agonizing hours.

During these six hours, a top-secret emergency report regarding the loss of control and critical condition of Excellence, the core seed of the Candle Dragon Project, was rushed with the highest encryption level and the fastest delivery speed to the desk of a grim-faced Wang Jianguo, who was still presiding over the command center.

In the brightly lit command center, Wang Jianguo stood alone before a giant circular screen. One corner of the screen showed a split-screen view of the real-time rescue room footage and Excellence's still-shocking vital sign data. He looked at the cold text in the report describing Excellence's inhuman berserk state, the terrifying destructive power he had displayed, and the heart-pounding data curves in the emergency room that repeatedly brushed with death. His face was grim, his fingers turned white from gripping so hard, and his knuckles made a slight clicking sound. The red encrypted communication line in front of him had been open the whole time, connected to several heavyweight figures with even higher status who were capable of deciding the nation's strategic direction. The communication used the highest level of security and anti-interference protocols to ensure the content was absolutely not intercepted.

"...That is the situation. After all-out rescue efforts, the seed's vital signs have temporarily stabilized but are extremely fragile and far from being out of danger." Wang Jianguo's voice came through the line, incredibly heavy and carrying a hint of hard-to-conceal exhaustion and... deep lingering fear. He could even hear the thumping of the blood vessels in his temples. "According to the current data analysis, the direct trigger for this incident is highly suspected to be his private contact with and attempt to analyze a Heterogeneous High-dimensional Information Entity from an extremely dangerous source, with a technological level far beyond our current understanding. Preliminary judgment is that the information entity is highly aggressive, intelligent, and deceptive. Its purpose was not simply to transmit knowledge but to attempt to... assimilate, override, or even seize the host's consciousness, transforming it into some form of... information puppet or descent vessel."

There was a long silence on the other end of the communicator, only the extremely slight hiss of static. This silence was more pressuring than any reprimand. Finally, an old but unquestionably majestic voice slowly spoke, every word weighing a thousand pounds and striking Wang Jianguo's heart: "Comrade Jianguo, you gave a military pledge before. Absolute control and absolute safety are the prerequisites for the Candle Dragon Project and the bottom line for the top leadership's agreement to invest such massive resources. Now, not only is the seed himself on the verge of collapse, but the top-tier underground base we spent countless efforts building has been severely damaged by him, with the core laboratory nearly half-destroyed. The even more serious problem is... what exactly was it that he contacted and might have unconsciously leaked or radiated in his out-of-control state? If that thing, even just a small part of its characteristics or information, were to spread out and contaminate our networks or even affect other personnel..."

Wang Jianguo felt his back instantly drenched in cold sweat, which slid down his spine. He knew the severity of the problem had far exceeded the level of a technical accident or personnel casualties, rising to the strategic height of the highest-level national security and the biological and information security of human civilization.

"It was a serious dereliction of duty on my part. I underestimated the bizarreness and ruthlessness of the opponent's methods, and... I underestimated the immense danger and uncontrollability corresponding to the extremely high value contained within the seed himself." Wang Jianguo admitted his mistake, his tone heavy with sorrow and without any excuses. "I request the higher-ups to give me all necessary punishments. The current top priority is to concentrate all forces to save Excellence at any cost, to preserve his life and all the information that may exist in his brain, whether it's his own or what he was forced to receive. At the same time, I request the immediate activation of the highest-level Information Firewall and physical isolation protocols, to conduct a comprehensive and thorough biochemical and information disinfection of the Seventh Floor and related areas, and to implement the highest level of isolation and observation for all contact personnel. We must not let any abnormal information or energy residue leak out even a single bit!"

"Agreed. Execute immediately." Another even calmer and more decisive voice intervened, giving the command directly. "Establish a highest-level Candle Dragon Incident Special Emergency Leadership Group, with you as the field commander-in-chief, authorized to mobilize all necessary resources, including the reserves and special materials of all national-level laboratories. Remember, Wang Jianguo, the strategic importance of the seed is unquestionable, but he must first be... 'safe' and 'controllable.' If he cannot be successfully rescued, or if his consciousness's independence and absolute safety cannot be ensured after he is saved, and if his potential risks cannot be assessed and eliminated... you know what to do in the worst-case scenario for the sake of greater overall safety. This is the highest authorization."

The communication cut off. Those last words were like an incredibly cold, glinting dagger hanging over Wang Jianguo's heart, its icy blade seemingly already touching his skin. He knew what the cold determination beneath that calm tone meant—if Excellence couldn't be saved, or if his absolute safety and control couldn't be ensured after he was saved, and if it couldn't be proven that he hadn't been 'contaminated' or 'transformed,' then... the 'destruction' option would be put on the cold agenda. This wasn't out of malice, but based on the coldest and most macro risk assessment.

Wang Jianguo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his gaze had returned to its usual cold hardness and decisiveness, as if he had suppressed all emotions into the deepest depths of the ocean. He pressed the communicator on the command console, his voice becoming cold and efficient: "Notify all base departments to activate the highest level of the Nirvana Emergency Plan. The Seventh Floor and related corridors are to be completely sealed off. No one is to approach the rescue isolation area for any reason without my direct command. Assemble the top chief experts in the fields of neuroscience, bioinformatics, high-energy physics, and anomalous energy and information research from across the country to form a joint Remote Expert Consultation Group. They are to connect via an absolutely secure Quantum Encryption Link at the fastest speed to analyze data in real-time and formulate subsequent treatment plans and... a comprehensive, objective risk assessment report."

He walked to the giant bulletproof glass window of the command center and looked at the simulated, unchanging 'sunset' scene of the underground base outside. His heart, however, was filled with an unprecedented heaviness and urgency, as if he were carrying a volcano about to erupt.

Morpheus Li... Prophet Foundation... just what kind of damn thing did you throw over?! Do you want to completely destroy him, or do you want to destroy us all through him?!

Meanwhile, in the rescue room that was layered with blockades and completely cut off from the outside world, after six hours of tireless, all-out efforts by the medical staff, Excellence's vital signs were finally pulled back from the brink of death. Although the data on the screen still hovered at the edge of the danger zone, it at least stopped its cliff-like plunge and had temporarily stabilized.

Academician Chen breathed a small sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a sterile towel, and signaled everyone to take turns resting for a moment while maintaining vigilance. Everyone was exhausted, but their eyes remained highly focused.

However, what no one knew was that in the deepest part of Excellence's sea of consciousness, which had fallen into the deepest drug-induced coma and where all modern instrument monitoring showed 'calm'...

A more subtle, more dangerous contest concerning the very essence of being had only just begun. The cold, invading will from the pandora fragment had not completely dissipated; it had only been temporarily repelled and hidden away, like a wounded venomous snake licking its wounds in the dark, waiting for a chance to strike back. And the System's Guardian Power had also been greatly consumed by the previous outburst, like a dimming spark, yet it still stubbornly guarded that most core flame of self-consciousness.

Beneath the silent coma was a secret war and ordeal of consciousness far more dangerous than the previous physical battle. Excellence's self was like a severely damaged small boat floating on a black sea that seemed calm after the storm but was actually surging with undercurrents, liable to be completely swallowed by the next wave at any time.