36: Chapter 8 Engineer's Beacon

Deep underground, the teeth-grinding metallic scraping and roaring gradually faded, eventually vanishing into the endless darkness of the pipe labyrinth, leaving behind only deathly silence and an even thicker, foul stench of blood mixed with machine oil.

Inside the control room, the emergency light flickered on and off, illuminating the three of them's pale faces.

Ling Yue slumped against the wall, her breathing shallow, all color drained from her face.

Her completely ruined mechanical arm hung limply, and the exposed cables at the break occasionally sparked, each one causing her body to twitch slightly.

The intense pain made it nearly impossible for her to think, but her eyes remained fixed on the doorway, maintaining a final sense of vigilance.

Lin Feng knelt on one knee, enduring the splitting headache and nausea brought on by mental overexertion, >> Scanning ... Hostile Bio-Signature Receding . No Immediate Additional Threats Detected . He continued scanning the surrounding environment.

That desperate "Resonance" just now had nearly drained him, but it also gave him a vague new insight into the precise control of the "Source" System's abilities.

Lei Kun was in the best condition, but the old injury on his left shoulder had clearly flared up during the previous intense movements, making his actions appear somewhat stiff.

He quickly checked the valve at the door that had been deformed by the impact, confirming it was temporarily jammed and could not be easily pushed open from the outside, which finally allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

He returned to Ling Yue's side, pulled hemostatic gel and heavy-duty bandages from the crude first-aid kit he carried, and skillfully treated the laceration at the connection point between her shoulder and her mechanical arm.

"We have to leave here." Lei Kun's voice was low and firm, breaking the suffocating silence. "That thing might come back. The official cleanup crews will eventually stumble into this fringe area too."

"...Where can we go?" Ling Yue's voice was thin as a thread, hoarse from pain. "In this state... I'm just a burden." She tried to force a mocking smile, but it twisted into a grimace from the pain.

Lin Feng looked up, his gaze sweeping across the chaotic control room before finally landing on Ling Yue's face, which was unnaturally pale from blood loss and pain.

A strange sense of responsibility, mixed with the subtle connection formed after experiencing life and death together, sprouted in his heart.

"You are not a burden." Lin Feng spoke, his voice dry but unusually firm. "Without you, we would have already died at the hands of the drones or that monster."

He paused and looked at Lei Kun. "You mentioned before, 'The Engineer'..."

Lei Kun's bandaging paused for a moment, then continued without looking up. "Yeah. He is our only hope right now. Not just for her arm, but to escape our current situation. The few safe points 'Wrench' provided are likely no longer safe. The 'Workshop' of 'The Engineer' is one of the few places in The Nest that even 'Razor' and the authorities are unwilling to provoke easily."

"Why?" Lin Feng pressed.

"Because he holds some... critical things. Technology, information, or something else. And he is crazy enough, and powerful enough." Lei Kun tied the final knot and stood up. "But he never sees outsiders, and he especially doesn't welcome trouble."

"We are the biggest trouble right now." Ling Yue sneered, but she sucked in a sharp breath as it aggravated her wound.

"That's why we need a stepping stone." Lei Kun looked at Lin Feng, his gaze sharp. "'Wrench' said you have something he is 'interested' in. This is our ticket."

Lin Feng felt a shiver in his heart. He recalled the "evaluation" mission "The Engineer" had issued through Ling Yue, and the attention brought by his efficient data processing capability. His inexplicable ability had actually become a key bargaining chip.

Query : Can "The Engineer's" location be pinpointed ? Scanning Available Networks ... Faint , Encrypted Beacon Detected . Source : Deep Warrens . Signal Pattern : Highly Irregular . Matches "Wrench's" Provided Access Protocol . Plotting Possible Route ... Multiple High-Risk Zones Detected . Optimal Path Requires Traversing Active Industrial Waste Flow Channel .

The "Source" System captured an extremely faint, encrypted beacon with an odd signal pattern and began planning a route. The route was fraught with danger, even requiring them to traverse an active industrial waste channel!

"I... think I can find a direction," Lin Feng said uncertainly, relaying the rough coordinates and route risks provided by the "Source" System.

Lei Kun listened carefully, his brow furrowed. "Industrial waste channel? That route could indeed avoid most surveillance and patrols, but..." He glanced at Ling Yue, who was barely able to move. "The environment is extremely harsh, and in her current state..."

"I won't die..." Ling Yue struggled to stand, but nearly fell, saved only by Lei Kun catching her.

"I have a way," Lin Feng said suddenly. He recalled seeing some abandoned, crude hover maintenance platforms in those derelict pipes on their way here.

"There are many old maintenance tunnels down here, and some still have functional hover platforms. We can make a simple sled, use the hover platform as power, and transport her across. I can... try to bypass the main discharge points of those waste channels and find a branch path with relatively lighter pollution."

This was the first time he had so proactively proposed a concrete and risky plan. He looked at Lei Kun, waiting for his decision. The veteran's experience was crucial now.

Lei Kun looked at Lin Feng appraisingly, then at the weak Ling Yue, pondered for a few seconds, and finally nodded. "It's worth a try. Move fast; we don't have much time."

With the decision made, the three immediately took action. Lei Kun was responsible for security and finding suitable materials. He quickly dismantled some sturdy metal supports and a thick bulletproof plastic board from the corner of the control room.

Lin Feng forced himself to stay alert, >> Activating Low-Power Environmental Scanning ... Locating Abandoned Hover Platform . He focused his remaining energy on scanning and locating the nearest usable hover platform, optimizing the route, and striving to avoid the main waste pipes.

Although Ling Yue couldn't move, her mind remained clear. She used a weak voice to direct Lei Kun on how to quickly build a stable sled using the limited materials and how to secure her on it to minimize bumps.

Soon, a crude but sturdy sled was finished. Lei Kun carefully lifted Ling Yue onto it and secured her with ropes. Lin Feng also successfully located and activated an old but barely functional hover platform and connected it to the sled.

"Go!" Lei Kun gave a low shout and pushed the hover platform. With Lin Feng leading the way, the three dived back into the dark, dangerous, and intricate network beneath The Nest.

A new escape began. Following the route planned by the "Source" System, Lin Feng led the group through narrow, damp pipes filled with all sorts of pungent odors. Sometimes they needed to work together to lift the sled over obstacles, and sometimes Lin Feng needed to concentrate on interfering with an old sensor that was still working.

Ling Yue lay on the sled, bumps and pain hitting her continuously, but she gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound, only occasionally using her good hand to point to a fork in the road, correcting minor deviations in Lin Feng's route based on her memory. Her technical instincts remained even when severely injured.

It was unknown how much time had passed, but following the beacon's guidance, they entered a more ancient pipe where the air was relatively "cleaner" (only relatively speaking). The walls here were covered in thick, unknown chemical condensates that emitted a dim, eerie fluorescence.

Engineer's Beacon Signal : Strengthening . Estimated Distance : 500 Meters . Warning : Area Ahead Shows Signs of Heavy Fortification and Non-Standard Surveillance .

The "Source" System's alert came through, simultaneously warning of signs of heavy fortification and non-standard surveillance in the area ahead.

"We're almost there," Lin Feng whispered, his voice tinged with fatigue and a hint of anticipation.

Lei Kun slowed down, his eyes becoming even more vigilant. He signaled for Lin Feng to stop, then moved forward silently to scout the situation ahead.

A few minutes later, he returned with a grave expression. "There's no path ahead. It's a massive metal wall that looks like it was cast in one piece, with no obvious doors or entrances. There's something on the wall... like some kind of energy scanner that covers the entire passage."

Lin Feng's heart sank. They had gone through so much trouble to get here, only to be blocked by a wall?

Just then, Ling Yue, who was lying on the sled, suddenly used all her strength to fumble for something from the inner pocket of her damaged work suit—it was the fingernail-sized, unmarked black metal piece that "The Engineer" had given to Lin Feng earlier.

She handed the metal piece to Lin Feng and said weakly, "Newbie... take it... walk forward... hold it up... let the wall see it..."

Lin Feng took the cold metal piece, took a deep breath as instructed, and walked alone slowly toward the massive, despairingly smooth metal wall at the end of the passage.

The closer he got, the more he could feel a faint, skin-tingling energy field permeating the air. On the wall, several concealed lens devices rotated silently, emitting an almost invisible glimmer as they scanned him.

He held up the black metal piece in his hand.

There was no sound.

A few seconds later, just as Lin Feng thought they had failed—

Click. A soft sound, as if coming from deep inside the wall.

Immediately after, a portion of the massive, seemingly seamless metal wall before him silently recessed and slid inward, revealing a narrow, brightly lit entrance that could only accommodate one person!

Behind the entrance was a metal corridor, so clean that it was completely out of place in The Nest's environment, with soft lighting and a strange, ozone-like scent in the air.

A severely distorted voice, from which neither age nor gender could be distinguished, came from an unknown loudspeaker inside the corridor, cold and direct:

"Only those carrying the 'Token' are allowed to enter." "Other... 'clutter,' stay outside."