278: Chapter 278 Echoes of Exhaustion

The blue-white light of the Purification chamber extinguished completely, leaving only a few faint emergency light strips on the walls, flickering on the dark silver metal surfaces like the pulse of a dying person.

The pure, frigid energy field of "Order" in the air was rapidly fading, replaced by a suffocating, dull silence that felt as if space itself were slowly solidifying.

"Warning: Hub Node-γ energy reserves are below 5%, about to trigger the survival maintenance limit. Initiating minimum energy consumption mode... bzz... initiation failed... insufficient energy..."

The cold synthetic voice was intermittent, mixed with harsh electrical static, before finally falling completely silent.

The entire spherical hall plunged into darkness; only the inverted pyramid-shaped main control terminal in the center remained, its core light mass shrunk into a fist-sized dim phantom, like a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment.

The crisis of energy depletion arrived much faster and was far more lethal than the "suggestions" provided by the Adjudicator.

Old Shi lay limp on the cold Purification platform, lacking even the strength to lift a finger.

Having just endured the cruel baptism of the "Order" Furnace, Old Shi's body felt like a worn-out doll that had been completely dismantled and then barely pieced back together.

At the right wrist, the purified "Metal Point" sent a faint, icy stinging sensation, as if reminding Old Shi of the pain just endured, and also as if it were the last faint connection between Old Shi and this dying "Order" relic.

It struggled to move its eyes to look to the side.

The light of the floating medical platform had also dimmed to the extreme; faint, unstable energy ripples even began to appear at the platform's edge, as if it might disintegrate at any moment.

On the platform, Ling Ye remained unconscious, but his brows were furrowed even tighter, as if he could sense this imminent survival crisis even in his unconscious state.

"Move..." Old Shi roared to itself in its heart.

It knew that once the medical platform failed completely, or the life support System in this enclosed space shut down entirely, the severely injured Ling Ye and itself, this weak "defective product," would truly die within minutes from oxygen deprivation or energy depletion.

It tried to mobilize the minuscule amount of power within its body, attempting to roll off the platform.

This simple action, however, caused black spots to dance before its eyes, and a sweet, bloody taste surged into its throat.

Just then— "Hum..."

An extremely faint, yet exceptionally clear vibration came from the dark silver "Metal Point" on its right wrist.

Immediately following, a weak but extremely pure, directional energy stream of "Order" seeped out from the "Metal Point" like a slender thread, flowing along its broken meridians into the depths of its consciousness, outlining an extremely simple, yet clearly directed "map"!

That "map" pointed to a corner on the lower side of the hall, shrouded in shadow, unremarkable, and appearing merely as decorative wall patterns.

According to the information fed back by the "interface," there seemed to be a maintenance passage blocked by a physical gate leading to the node's "Backup Energy Core" or "Emergency Exit"!

Furthermore, in that direction, there seemed to be a lingering trace... of an even more ancient, more fundamental "Order" fluctuation that shared the same source as the "the key" beacon on Ling Ye!

Old Shi did not know if this information was a residual function of the "interface," or the final mercy granted by the Court of World Purification System before it fell completely silent to those who met the conditions of the "Dual Keys."

It had no time to think and could only grasp at this last straw.

"Ling... Ye..." It used all its strength to let out a hoarse, almost inaudible voice, trying to wake its companion.

At the same time, it began to use all its strength to inch off the Purification platform like a worm.

Every inch moved was accompanied by the excruciating pain of tearing muscles and dizziness.

Seemingly sensing Old Shi's tenacious will to survive, as well as the faint resonance between the "interface" on its wrist and the "the key" on Ling Ye, the medical platform emitted one last low hum, using up its final energy to carry Ling Ye, slowly and unsteadily drifting toward the direction indicated by Old Shi.

"Bang!"

Old Shi finally fell from the platform, slamming heavily onto the cold floor.

Ignoring the pain, it pressed its forehead against the ground, using that bit of friction to inch toward that corner like a dying reptile.

Behind it, a faint trail mixed with blood and energy residue was dragged along.

After drifting for over a dozen meters, the medical platform's energy was completely exhausted.

With a "clatter," it slammed to the ground and ceased movement.

Ling Ye's body slid off the platform and lay motionless on the floor.

Old Shi crawled to Ling Ye's side, bit onto Ling Ye's torn collar with its teeth, and dragged him, continuing to crawl toward that corner.

The "Metal Point" on its wrist grew hotter and hotter, guiding the way.

Finally, it crawled before that wall.

There, indeed, was an extremely hidden, dust-covered secret door that was nearly integrated with the wall.

In the center of the secret door was an extremely tiny, almost invisible groove, the shape of which... was exactly the same as the "Metal Point" on Old Shi's wrist!

It was the physical verification point for the "interface"!

Old Shi used the last ounce of its strength to lift its arm, heavy as a mountain, and pressed the dark silver "Metal Point" on its wrist firmly into the groove!

"Click..."

A slight sound of a mechanism, as if from ancient times, rang out.

The secret door slid open silently, revealing a pitch-black, narrow, downward-sloping passage emitting a faint musty smell and the scent of metal corrosion.

A weak but definitely existing energy aura, carrying a sense of antiquity, drifted from the depths of the passage.

At the same time, the light in the entire spherical hall extinguished completely.

The light mass of the main control terminal, like the last extinguished star, returned to eternal darkness.

Silence swallowed everything.

Old Shi lay at the entrance of the passage, lacking even the strength to turn back for a glance.

It used its last bit of consciousness to grab Ling Ye's arm, drag him, and roll together into that downward-sloping, unknown, dark passage.