168: Chapter 168 Exploring the Abyss, Seeking Opportunity in Desperate Circumstances

The metal platform at the bottom of the shaft was clearly an artificial facility. The light meant energy, and the door behind the platform meant space and a possible passage. There might be equipment still in operation, leftover data, or even a secret path leading to other areas (such as deeper facilities or other parts of the city) that the "Cleaning" side had not yet secured. This was the adventure most likely to bring a substantial Breakthrough in this desperate situation. The risk of climbing certainly existed, but compared to the impending collapse of the barrier and the city-wide manhunt, it was worth a shot.

Ling Ye no longer hesitated. He hid the PIT close to his body, checked his backpack and equipment, confirmed his multi-tool knife was at hand, and that his wounds were securely bandaged. Then, he walked to the edge of the shaft, grabbed the rusty but seemingly sturdy metal ladder, took a deep breath, and began to climb down.

The vibration of the ladder was more violent than imagined, as if the entire shaft were trembling along with the rumbling underground. Hot air mixed with the smell of machine oil blew fiercely from below, almost suffocating him. His eardrums were filled with immense noise, and his head felt dizzy. But Ling Ye gritted his teeth, relying on the support of "Qi" for his body and his strong willpower, alternating his hands and feet to descend steadily and rapidly.

A distance of twenty meters was nothing under normal circumstances, but in this environment, it seemed exceptionally long. Sweat mixed with oil stains instantly soaked his clothes, and the wound on his back sent waves of stinging pain.

Finally, his feet stepped onto that protruding metal platform. The platform was about five or six square meters, its surface covered in thick oil stains and dust, but it was still stable. On one side of the platform, the tightly closed metal door came into view. There was a circular observation window on the door, but it was covered in thick grime, making it impossible to see inside. Beside the door was an old-fashioned mechanical combination lock and a manual door valve.

Ling Ye lowered his body, hugging the edge of the platform, and first listened closely to the movement inside the door. Apart from the rumbling of the shaft itself, there seemed to be no other obvious human voices or sounds of machine operation inside. He leaned toward the observation window, wiped away a patch of grime with his hand, and squinted to look inside.

Inside was a small room that looked like an old equipment control room or duty room. In the room, there were consoles, instrument panels, a few flickering indicator lights, and a simple metal table and chair. Some documents and tools were scattered on the table. Most importantly, on the other side of the room, there was another door. That door was open, revealing brighter light, seemingly leading to a larger space.

Furthermore, the control room was empty.

Good luck? Or a trap?

Ling Ye did not act immediately. He first checked the metal door. The mechanical combination lock had long been damaged, and although the door valve was rusted, it seemed it could still turn. He tried to slowly turn the door valve.

"Creak..."

The harsh sound of metal friction was almost inaudible amidst the rumbling of the shaft. The door valve turned! The door was pulled open a crack!

No alarm, no attack.

Ling Ye slipped in sideways, closed the door gently behind him, cutting off most of the rumbling from the shaft. His ears were instantly much clearer, with only the low hum of equipment remaining.

He quickly scanned the control room. Most of the instruments on the console had malfunctioned or had chaotic readings; only a few indicator lights were still flickering, displaying basic information such as "Backup Power Running" and "Environmental Monitoring - Normal." The documents scattered on the table seemed to be technical logs and operation manuals from decades ago, already yellowed and tattered.

His gaze fell on that open door leading to a brighter space.

He walked to the doorway silently and peeked inside.

Behind the door was a much more spacious equipment hall. In the center of the hall stood several massive cylindrical metal tanks covered in pipes and valves, connected to complex circuits and instruments. On the surface of the tanks were labels reading "Geothermal Exchange Core - Experimental Type." Some of these tanks had rusted shut, while others seemed to be slightly vibrating, emitting heat. Around the hall were more consoles, pipelines, and... a few relatively new-looking military-grade electronic equipment cabinets and communication terminals!

Those military devices were completely out of place with the surrounding old exploration equipment; they were clearly added later! Moreover, the indicator lights on the equipment cabinets were on! The terminal screens were also lit; although they were in standby or screensaver mode, they were clearly powered on!

This place had indeed been occupied by newcomers! Was it the "Cleaning" side? Or "Deep Space Frontier Capital"? Or... some other force?

Ling Ye's heart tightened. He lowered his body, used the tanks and consoles as cover, and moved silently through the hall, while simultaneously pushing his "Spiritual Sense" to the limit, sensing any signs of life or energy fluctuations.

The hall seemed empty. Those military devices appeared to be running automatically or being monitored remotely.

He came to a lit communication terminal. The screen displayed an encrypted login interface, inaccessible. But next to the terminal lay an open, military-grade tablet that seemed to be charging; the screen was in sleep mode, but the power light was on.

Perhaps... he could try operating this tablet?

Ling Ye carefully picked up the tablet. The screen sensed the touch and lit up immediately, but it also required a password or biometric identification.

He tried swiping and found that the tablet was not completely locked; it seemed to be in a "low-privilege standby" state, capable of accessing some basic functions, such as... a local file browser and device status monitoring.

He immediately opened the file browser. Inside were several folders, all named with codes, such as "SF_Ext_Monitor_Logs," "Site_Gamma_Status," and "Comms_Archive_Local."

He clicked on "SF_Ext_Monitor_Logs" (SF External Monitoring Logs). Inside were text files arranged by date, recording energy readings, vibration monitoring, and... brief reports of life signal scans in the nearby area (seemingly centered on this shaft, within a radius of several kilometers)!

The reports showed that within the past 24 hours, several "unauthorized high-energy disturbances" (corresponding to his own use of "Spiritual Sense" and his escape?) had been detected underground in this area, along with alerts for "suspected non-standard life sign movement." However, the alert Rank was marked as "Low," and the handling instruction was "Continue observation, insufficient resources, do not dispatch ground teams for now."

It seemed this was an automated monitoring station responsible for observing this underground area, but it was not a priority, and its defensive forces were weak.

He then clicked on "Site_Gamma_Status" (Site Gamma Status). Inside was the equipment operation status, energy reserves, and... the encrypted data link connection status with other sites. One of the data links was marked "Northbound - Main Relay Station," and the status was "Connection Normal, Low Bandwidth."

Northbound - Main Relay Station? This meant that this underground site was connected via a data link to a certain "Main Relay Station" in the north! That was likely a larger facility, perhaps even a regional command node or an important stronghold for the "Cleaning" side under Dawn City!

And the data link was "Connection Normal"! Although the bandwidth was low, it meant... perhaps he could use this site's equipment to try and access the network of that "Main Relay Station"? Obtain more information? Or even... send a message?

A bold idea emerged in Ling Ye's mind.

The Old Factory District barrier was about to collapse, and the "Purification Net" was fully activating. He was isolated and helpless, deep underground.

But at this moment, he held a node that could connect to the enemy's internal network and had weak defenses.

Perhaps... he could do something here, using the enemy's equipment.

For example, try to send a forged "internal order" that would be enough to cause chaos? Or steal more detailed deployment maps of the "Purification Net"? Or even... try to interfere with some of the communication between that "Main Relay Station" and the ground operational teams?

The risk was huge, but if successful, perhaps he could tear open a gap before the "Purification Net" closed in!

Of course, first, he had to be able to crack or bypass the permissions of this tablet and truly connect to the data link network.

This would require skill, and it would also require luck.