21: Chapter 1 The First Signs of Cracks

"More... more..."

"Tell... us... more..."

That cold, twisted whisper, as if stitched together from countless fragments of consciousness, did not enter their eardrums via air vibrations but resonated directly deep within the minds of the three of them, carrying a non-human, spine-chilling curiosity and greed.

The air within the conduit froze instantly, biting and cold, as if time itself had ceased to flow. Lin Feng, Ling Yue, and Lei Kun stood frozen in place, like prey trapped by invisible frost, with only the frantic pounding of their hearts in their chests sounding deafeningly loud in the dead silence.

"＞ ＞ Warning : Psionic / Waveform Intrusion Detected ! Source : Non - Localized , Propagating Through Metallic Structures !"

"＞ ＞ Cognitive Integrity Under Assault ! Recommend Mental Shielding !"

The "Source" System's warning was sharp and urgent. Psionic/waveform intrusion! Propagating through metallic structures!

"Damn! What the hell is that!" Lei Kun was the first to react, growling low—not out of fear, but out of pure warrior instinct when faced with an unknown threat. He jerked up the shotgun in his hands, the muzzle not aimed at any specific target, but vigilantly scanning the endless darkness ahead and behind the conduit, as if an invisible enemy were lurking within.

Ling Yue's face was deathly pale, but her eyes were exceptionally bright, shining with a light that intertwined extreme terror and extreme excitement. Her new mechanical hand's fingers splayed open suddenly, then clenched tight, emitting a faint sound of metal grinding. "It's them... the residual consciousness of the Epsilon Series... they really are 'alive' within the structure... and they can actively infiltrate..." Her voice trembled with disbelief, sounding more like an analytical soliloquy.

Lin Feng, meanwhile, felt a cold, numbing itch crawl up his spine into his brain. The whispers seemed to carry countless tiny hooks, attempting to pry open his consciousness to peer into the memories and knowledge within. He concentrated with all his might, trying to construct the mental shield recommended by the "Source" System, but the whispers were pervasive, constantly hammering against his defenses.

* * "...Knowledge... fresh... pain... craving..." * *

The whispers sounded again, becoming clearer, the vocabulary growing more bizarre, as if they were rapidly learning and adapting.

"We can't stay here!" Lei Kun decided instantly, his voice firm and decisive. "This pipe is their conductor! Follow me!"

He didn't hesitate, choosing a direction (not the way they came), lowering his body, and moving forward rapidly with a tactical gait, each step taken to minimize contact with the metal conduit.

Ling Yue and Lin Feng followed immediately. At this moment, Lei Kun's decisiveness and experience were their only reliance.

The conduit seemed endless, twisting and winding, stretching into the deeper underground darkness. The bizarre whispers followed like a shadow, sometimes clear, sometimes blurred, sometimes like babbling in their ears, other times seeming to come from a great distance. The content, too, shifted from initial curiosity, gradually mixing in more chaotic fragments—painful screams, cold commands, incomprehensible technobabble, and even... the laughter of a child? All of this was twisted and blended, causing mental confusion.

"＞ ＞ Psychoacoustic Attack Intensifying ! Mental Fatigue Accelerating !"

Lin Feng felt a splitting headache, with waves of nausea rising. Ling Yue's state was even worse; she frequently pounded her temples forcefully, trying to dispel the sound. Her new mechanical arm seemed to be experiencing interference as well, emitting an unstable hum.

"Brother Kun... is there any way to block this?" Lin Feng asked through gritted teeth, his voice distorted by pain.

Lei Kun didn't look back, his voice hoarse and urgent. "Physical isolation! Or drown it out with stronger white noise! But we don't have the equipment!" He stopped abruptly as a vertical maintenance shaft appeared ahead. "Go down! Get out of the main conduit!"

He was the first to grab the ladder on the shaft wall and slide down. Ling Yue and Lin Feng followed closely behind.

After descending nearly ten meters, they landed in a narrower secondary tunnel, seemingly used for laying large energy pipelines. The walls here were no longer metal but some kind of rough synthetic material, and the vibration underfoot was more intense.

Sure enough, once they left the main metal artery, the whispers that had been invading their minds directly weakened significantly. Although they hadn't disappeared entirely—seemingly still echoing within the distant metal structures—they no longer possessed that direct, jarring impact.

The three of them leaned their backs against the cold synthetic walls, panting heavily as if they had just escaped the brink of drowning, their faces marked with the lingering terror of those who had narrowly survived a disaster.

"Temporarily... safe..." Ling Yue slid down to the floor, her mechanical hand pressed to her forehead, her voice weak.

Lin Feng also slumped down, trying to calm his churning spirit and blood. He looked at Lei Kun; the veteran remained in a defensive posture, his ear pressed against the wall, carefully listening for movement in the distance, the lines of his side profile as cold and hard as rock.

"What exactly was that?" Lin Feng asked, still shaken.

"Residual collective unconsciousness? Information ghosts based on quantum entanglement? Or simply some kind of ecological information pollution that we can't understand?" Ling Yue gasped, offering several sci-fi-flavored yet hair-raising speculations. "The 'Genesis' project... it's even crazier and more dangerous than I imagined..."

She looked sharply at Lin Feng. "The data! What about the data you read just now? Is it complete?"

Lin Feng closed his eyes, struggling to recall and organize the fragmented pieces forcibly received by the "Source" System. Blurred text, shattered images, incomplete blueprints...

"It's very fragmented..." he recounted with difficulty. "Most of it is about the 'Omega Vault'... It doesn't seem to be in our current sector, but deeper down... It requires a specific 'The Key' to open... The logs mentioned that The Key might be a... 'resonant frequency' or... a 'specific genetic sequence'..."

"The Key..." The light in Ling Yue's eyes intensified. "The 'project legacy' that 'The Engineer' is pursuing must have something to do with that vault! We must find it!"

"We must survive first." Lei Kun interrupted her coldly, his gaze still vigilantly scanning both ends of the tunnel. "Even though those 'things' are temporarily blocked off, it doesn't mean they won't find another way. Besides, 'Razor' and the official personnel must have been alerted by the alarm just now; the outside is probably crawling with people by now."

His words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing part of Ling Yue's fervor. The immediate crisis was still imminent.

"What do we do now then?" Lin Feng asked.

Lei Kun pondered for a moment, then pulled a crumpled, hand-drawn sketch of the lower levels of The Nest (clearly in the style of "Wrench") from his tactical jacket. "We're roughly at this location now." He pointed to a spot. "There's a maintenance tunnel that very few people know about; it leads to the abandoned freight tunnel to the west. Theoretically, it's not within the official immediate lockdown zone."

He looked at Ling Yue and Lin Feng. "My suggestion is to leave this trouble spot first, find a place to rest and regroup, digest the intelligence, and then plan our next move. We'll definitely need to report to 'The Engineer' as well."

Although Ling Yue was unwilling, she knew this was the most prudent plan and nodded.

Lin Feng naturally had no objections.

With the decision made, the three rested briefly to recover their strength, then set off again with Lei Kun leading the way. This part of the journey was relatively peaceful; although the bizarre whispers occasionally drifted in like background noise, they could no longer cause any substantial impact.

Lei Kun's familiarity with the route was astonishing. He led the two of them through the labyrinthine lower tunnels, avoiding several obviously unstable structural zones and areas suspected of harboring dangerous biological nests.

After nearly an hour of cautious trekking, they finally arrived at the abandoned freight tunnel Lei Kun had mentioned. The tunnel was wide but dilapidated, the rails long rusted, and the air filled with the smell of dust and machine oil, but at least the suffocating, mysterious sense of oppression was gone.

"Follow the tracks west for about three kilometers, and there's an old dispatch station where we can stay for the time being." Lei Kun pointed in the direction.

However, just as they stepped onto the maintenance walkway beside the tracks and prepared to leave—

The device in Lin Feng's pocket suddenly vibrated slightly, and an encrypted message popped up automatically. The sender's identifier was that cold Wrench icon.

* * [Interference successful. 'Razor' wandered into the Epsilon active zone and is temporarily trapped, but has already sent a distress signal externally. High-level support from the 'The Cleaners' is suspected to be assembling.] * *

* * [The official search focus is still on the upper levels, but a technical team has begun analyzing the energy anomalies in the lower levels. You don't have much time.] * *

* * [New mission: Ling Yue and Lin Feng, proceed to the 'Skull-Crusher' Clinic and acquire the 'Neural Interaction Calibrator' and 'High-Density Energy Battery (Model: Vulcan-7)'. Lei Kun, you have other arrangements; see the attached coordinates for details.] * *

* * ['The Key' information received, currently under analysis. Prioritize ensuring your own availability. — The Engineer] * *

The message was, as always, concise and cold, yet contained a massive amount of information.

'Razor' trapped? The Cleaners' support assembling? Official technical team intervening? The situation remained critical!

And the new mission... the 'Skull-Crusher' Clinic? The name alone sounded like a place of ill repute. Acquire specific equipment? This was clearly to prepare for repairing and upgrading Ling Yue's mechanical arm, and also for the 'neural interaction' application that Lin Feng might need (to deal with the Epsilon whispers?). And Lei Kun was being sent away separately?

Ling Yue looked at the message, her brow furrowed tightly, especially when she saw that Lei Kun had been assigned a separate task. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she silently accepted the order. She looked at Lei Kun. "Orders from 'The Engineer'."

Lei Kun glanced at the coordinates in the message attachment. A flicker of extremely complex emotion flashed through his rock-like eyes—it looked like resignation, or perhaps a kind of long-accustomed obedience. He nodded without asking another word, simply saying in a deep voice, "Understood. Take care of yourselves. That 'Skull-Crusher' place... it's a den of iniquity, don't trust anyone."

He paused, then unbuckled the old military dagger from his waist and handed it to Lin Feng. "Take it, just in case. It's better than a Wrench."

Lin Feng was stunned for a moment, then took the heavy dagger, which still bore the warmth of the veteran and the marks of time. A complex emotion welled up in his heart. "Thank you... Brother Kun."

Lei Kun waved his hand, his gaze lingering on the two for a split second. In the end, he said nothing, turned, and strode off into the darkness in the other direction. His tall silhouette quickly blended into the shadows of the tunnel, so decisive and clean that it left a sense of melancholy.

The temporarily formed squad had split up once again.

Lin Feng gripped the cold dagger, looking in the direction where Lei Kun had disappeared, then glanced at Ling Yue beside him, whose expression was dark and unreadable. He suddenly felt clearly that an invisible crack had quietly appeared between them.

On one side of the crack was the absolutely rational, even cold, planning and utilization of 'The Engineer'.

On the other side was the camaraderie and trust, forged through life and death but still remaining murky.

And he himself was standing right on this crack.

What kind of den of tigers and dragons would the 'Skull-Crusher' Clinic ahead be?

He took a deep breath, carefully stowed the dagger away, and looked at Ling Yue.

"Let's go."