275: Chapter 275 Echoes Behind the Door

The heavy, rusted, dark golden metal gate slid open a crack with a slight, mechanical "click" and a "hiss" of pressure release.

A faint, stable white light, originating from the same source as the energy field of the Court of World Purification, spilled out from the gap, appearing exceptionally blinding in the darkness.

Old Shi used his last ounce of strength to push open the not-so-thick gate, then, almost falling into the white light, he tumbled onto the cold, smooth, spotless metal floor, along with Ling Ye on his back.

"Clang!"

Behind him, the gate closed automatically and silently, cutting off the chaotic, violent energy field and suffocating darkness of the Rift Canyon.

The deathly silence was instantly replaced by another, deeper, purer kind of silence, filled with Order and rules.

Old Shi lay on the cold metal floor, gasping violently, his lungs burning with every breath, but he could feel that the pervasive, chaotic energy stinging sensation in the surrounding air had disappeared.

Replacing it was an extremely stable, gentle, yet coldly detached energy field.

This energy field was similar to the inside of the Gate of Order, but even "purer," without any aggression or oppressiveness, instead having a feeling of... "filtering" and "soothing," making the chaotic energy in his body, caused by contamination and overexertion, strangely calm down a little.

He struggled to lift his head and looked around.

This was a straight, wide corridor, about three meters high, made entirely of dark silver-white metal, with a surface as smooth as a mirror, without any decorations or seams.

Soft white light spilled down evenly from the Materials at the top of the corridor, illuminating every corner without shadows.

The air was dry, clean, with a faint, fresh scent similar to ozone.

The corridor extended towards the northeast, with no end in sight, terrifyingly quiet.

It was a "backup channel," or rather, a "maintenance channel."

A real, functional space maintained by the Court of World Purification.

On his back, Ling Ye's breathing was weak, but it no longer had that intermittent feeling that it could stop at any time.

Old Shi laboriously untied Ling Ye from his back and carefully laid him flat on the metal floor.

Ling Ye's face was still pale as paper, and the cloth strips simply bandaged by Old Shi on his chest had been soaked with blood, turning dark red, but fortunately, it was not seeping out in large amounts.

His eyes were tightly closed, his brows furrowed, as if he was enduring great pain, but the weak rise and fall of his chest proved that the fire of life, forcibly bonded and stabilized by the power of "Order," had not been extinguished.

Old Shi could feel that the chaotic, near-collapsing Qi in Ling Ye's body was being combed and calmed down at an extremely slow speed in this stable energy field.

This corridor itself seemed to be a low-intensity, automatic medical/maintenance field for "Order" creations or related "authorized personnel"!

"Is... is there hope?" Old Shi's heart beat violently because of this sudden, incredible turn of events, but immediately, a deeper chill and vigilance surged into his heart.

This was the territory of the Court of World Purification.

Although there was no danger for the time being, "Order" meant rules.

And they were "intruders," "unstable factors," non-"authorized" individuals carrying "contamination."

He immediately observed both sides of the corridor vigilantly, but did not find any traces of monitoring equipment or defense devices.

But this was even more unsettling, because it meant that the defenses here might be more Advanced and invisible.

He braced himself to stand up and looked around.

The corridor was straight, without any forks, only the unknown end ahead.

He tried to drag Ling Ye forward, but after only a few steps, he collapsed to the ground again.

His physical strength had reached its limit.

"No... it won't do... I need... time..." Old Shi gasped, looking at his trembling hands, and the right hand where the gray-green patch was still obvious but no longer wriggling violently.

His state was also on the verge of collapse.

Just then—

"Hum..."

From deep within the corridor came a very faint, yet regular, low humming sound like some precision instrument starting up or an energy circuit self-check.

Immediately after, several flat, palm-sized dark compartments slid open silently on the smooth metal walls on both sides of the corridor.

From the compartments stretched out several slender, flexible, metallic-textured mechanical arms with soft white light points at the tips, as if they possessed life.

The mechanical arms reached out flexibly, one of which hovered above Ling Ye's body, and the white light point at the tip emitted a soft beam of light, scanning quickly from Ling Ye's head to his feet like a scanner.

Wherever the light beam passed, the vital sign data of Ling Ye's body seemed to be read and analyzed in some way.

Another mechanical arm hovered in front of Old Shi, scanning him with a light beam as well; the light beam stayed and focused on the gray-green patch on Old Shi's right hand for a moment, emitting a slightly brighter flash with a certain "analytical" meaning.

It was the automatic maintenance/medical/detection System of the Court of World Purification!

They had been activated!

Old Shi's heart jumped to his throat instantly, his body stiff, not daring to move, for fear of triggering any defense mechanism.

But he could feel that those mechanical arms did not seem to have any hostility, just executing some preset basic "scanning and assessment" program for "entrants."

A few seconds later, the scanning beam disappeared.

The mechanical arms slowly retracted into the dark compartments, and the compartments closed silently.

In the corridor, a cold, calm, emotionless, non-human voice, like a synthesized sound, rang out, using some extremely ancient and obscure language, but Old Shi could actually understand a part of it—that was the common language of the Court of World Purification, which he had sporadically seen in the oldest documents of the "Dark Nest."

"Detected: Lifeform A (severe trauma, energy signature: Advanced Order beacon, permission Rank: unrecognized/abnormal, contamination status: low-level contamination). Detected: Lifeform B (moderate trauma, energy signature: low-Rank Order interface (damaged/contaminated), permission Rank: none, contamination status: highly unstable). Comprehensive judgment: Non-standard authorized entrant. Triggering 'Backup Channel Maintenance Protocol-7B'."

"Protocol initiated: 1. Basic life support (for Lifeform A). 2. Temporary contamination isolation and stabilization (for Lifeform B). 3. Path guidance: Move to 'Hub Node-γ' for in-depth assessment and permission verification."

"Warning: The contamination status of Lifeform B does not meet the entry standards of the Court of World Purification. Temporary isolation measures have been initiated. Please arrive at 'Hub Node-γ' within thirty minutes. If overdue, or if the contamination breaks through the isolation threshold, the forced Purification program will be executed."

As the voice fell, Old Shi felt a sudden cold sense of restraint on his right wrist.

Looking down, a dark silver, extremely thin, but unusually tough metal ring had automatically latched onto his right wrist at some point, firmly wrapping the gray-green patch inside.

Inside the metal ring, a cold, orderly energy field came, completely suppressing and isolating the contamination on his right hand, and the connection with other parts of the body was temporarily cut off.

At the same time, a slight, directional traction force came from the metal ring, pointing towards the northeast of the corridor.

And beside Ling Ye, a rectangular opening slid open silently on the ground, and a compact, streamlined, hovering medical stretcher platform rose slowly, moved under Ling Ye, and lifted him steadily.

A soft white light lit up on the platform, releasing a gentle energy field, wrapping Ling Ye's body, as if providing him with the most basic life support and wound stabilization.

It was the "maintenance protocol"!

The automated System of this corridor judged them as "non-standard intruders," but it seemed that because of the "Advanced Order beacon" (the key) on Ling Ye and the "low-Rank Order interface" on Old Shi, it triggered some special protocol containing "guidance" and "temporary disposal"!

It didn't attack or "Purification" immediately, but gave them a "way out"—to go to that "Hub Node-γ" for so-called "in-depth assessment and permission verification."

But this "way out" had a time limit and carried a deadly threat.

Thirty minutes.

Old Shi had to bring Ling Ye to that "Hub Node-γ" within thirty minutes.

Otherwise, once the isolation ring on his wrist failed, or the contamination broke through the threshold, what awaited him would be "forced Purification"—which likely meant total, ruthless eradication.

There was no choice.

This was the only way out.

Old Shi took a deep breath, suppressing the fear and anxiety in his heart.

He looked at Ling Ye on the hovering platform, who was still unconscious but whose breathing seemed slightly more stable, and then at the cold, countdown metal ring on his wrist.

"Hub Node-γ..." He repeated the name in a low voice, his gaze following the traction force from the metal ring, looking towards the depths of the corridor.

"Let's go."

He no longer hesitated and walked to the side of the hovering medical platform.

The platform seemed to have an automatic follow function, and as Old Shi moved, it hovered steadily beside him.

One person, one "stretcher," began to walk quickly in this cold, silent, metal corridor filled with echoes of "Order," towards the unknown "Hub Node" that determined life and death.

Behind him were the closed gate and the violent canyon.