43: Chapter 15 Evolutionary Growing Pains

The blood-red text of the Most Wanted notice burned into the retinas of the three like a branding iron, and even deeper into their hearts. The ear-piercing, city-wide alarm seemed ubiquitous, penetrating layers of earth to drill into their ears, announcing that they had been abandoned by the entire world and turned into public enemies.

Kill on sight.

Those three words represented an endless pursuit and zero tolerance.

The air inside the underground drainage tunnel seemed to freeze into blocks of ice, heavy enough to make breathing impossible. The sharp pain from their wounds seemed temporarily suppressed by this even greater, icy fear.

"Damn it..." Ling Yue cursed under her breath, her voice carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling. She abruptly shut off the receiver that was still flashing the wanted notice, as if doing so could cut off that suffocating pressure. "They've gone mad!"

Lei Kun didn't speak, but his sharp eyes were instantly bloodshot, and the wound on his temple that had just stopped bleeding began to seep again due to the tension. He moved quickly, no longer checking injuries, but instead gathering usable supplies scattered around the vehicle wreckage at top speed—a few high-energy compressed rations, a water bag with only half a pot left, several basic tool modules spilled from Ling Yue's toolbox, and all the weapon energy cells he could find. Every movement was clean and efficient, yet carried the desperation of a final stand.

"We can't stay here," Lei Kun's voice was hoarse and urgent as he quickly distributed the gathered supplies to Lin Feng and Ling Yue. "The authorities and Razor's people will follow the crash trail down here soon. The drainage system is their primary search area."

"Where do we go?" Lin Feng spoke with difficulty, his throat feeling dry and tight. He tried to stand up but stumbled, nearly falling. It wasn't entirely due to his injuries; it was mainly because the frantically flashing symbols in his mind and the icy burning sensation in his chest were growing stronger, interfering with his balance and perception.

>> "Source" Integration at Critical Stage. Neural Overload Imminent.

>> New Subroutine [Reality Perceptron Alpha] Initializing... Calibration Required.

The prompts from "Source" became intermittent, filled with interference ripples. The energy from the "initial protocol" fragment was triggering a storm within his body.

Lei Kun caught him, his gaze sweeping like lightning across Lin Feng's pale face and somewhat unfocused eyes. "What's wrong with you?" He keenly sensed that Lin Feng's condition was off.

"That thing... it..." Lin Feng pointed at the metal container Ling Yue had quickly picked up and was clutching to her chest, his voice broken. "It's affecting me... 'Source'... is very unstable..."

Hearing this, Ling Yue's expression worsened. She instinctively held the container tighter, as if it were both a hope and a plague. "We must find The Engineer as soon as possible! Only he might know how to handle this thing and your hellish condition!"

"Leave here first!" Lei Kun made a split-second decision, propping Lin Feng up. "Find a temporary hiding spot! You need time to stabilize!"

He no longer hesitated. Relying on a veteran's intuition and a vague memory of the underground structure, he chose a direction where the water flow was relatively calm and supported Lin Feng as they moved quickly. Ling Yue followed closely behind, clutching the dangerous container, her new mechanical arm's sensors turned to maximum, alertly scanning for any movement in all directions.

The drainage tunnel was dark and damp, with slippery silt and debris underfoot. Though the ubiquitous global alarm had grown faint here, it tortured their nerves like background noise. Every sound of dripping water in the distance, every moan of wind through the pipes, made them as jumpy as startled birds.

Lin Feng was practically being dragged along by Lei Kun. His consciousness struggled between clarity and blurriness. External sounds became distant and distorted, while internal visions turned surreal.

He "saw" the cold concrete walls around him lose their solidity, occasionally becoming transparent to reveal twisted metal skeletons and flowing energy conduits behind them (the preliminary effect of [Reality Perceptron Alpha]?); he "heard" what seemed like countless tiny wails and whispers from the distant past in the water; he could even vaguely "feel" several hostile energy sources moving in the distance like torches in the dark (trackers!).

>> Warning: Perception Drift Detected. Differentiating Hallucination from Reality Becoming Difficult.

This sensory chaos caused him immense pain, but it also brought a slight benefit—occasionally, based on this chaotic perception, he would instinctively pull Lei Kun to avoid areas that seemed safe but hidden old pressure-sensitive traps, or choose a fork where the energy flow was weaker and potentially safer.

"Left... that branch pipe... has been abandoned longer..." Lin Feng's voice was weak as he pointed to a pipe that was nearly three-quarters blocked by silt.

Lei Kun didn't doubt him for a second and immediately changed direction. He was no longer surprised by Lin Feng's sudden, almost intuitive guidance, simply attributing it to an abnormal manifestation of the mysterious "Source" ability under pressure.

They squeezed into the narrow, foul-smelling branch pipe and struggled forward for several hundred meters until they finally found a slightly drier concrete platform left by past maintenance workers, barely enough to accommodate them.

"Right here." Lei Kun set Lin Feng down, leaning him against the wall. "We need to buy some time. Ling Yue, see if you can make a few simple alarms with what we found. I'll take care of our tracks."

Ling Yue immediately got to work, using the found wire, scrap metal, and a small amount of energy cells to craft the simplest tripwire alarms. Lei Kun carefully cleared the obvious traces they left on their way and set up two extremely well-hidden tripwire traps.

Lin Feng curled up in the corner, eyes tightly shut, his entire body soaked in cold sweat. He was battling the storm within. Those broken symbols were no longer content with flashing; they began to attempt combinations, forming fragments of incomprehensible "commands" or "knowledge" that were forcibly shoved into his consciousness.

>> Foreign Data Assimilation: 3.5%. Partial Decryption Successful: [Energy Shaping Fundamentals - Fragmentary].

>> Unauthorized Execution Attempt Detected: Subroutine [Morphic Field Generator]...

Suddenly!

Lin Feng snapped his eyes open and let out an uncontrollable low growl of pain!

He unconsciously raised his hand toward the empty air in front of him!

Buzz—!

An invisible, distorted force field suddenly expanded outward from his hand!

The light in the space before him underwent a bizarre refraction; the air seemed to turn into a viscous liquid, rippling slightly! The thick layer of dust accumulated on the platform was stirred by this force, spinning upward to form a brief, miniature dust vortex!

Though it lasted barely over a second before abruptly dissipating, it was definitely no natural phenomenon!

Ling Yue, just about to set the last alarm, whipped her head around and saw this eerie scene, her tools nearly slipping from her hand in shock.

Lei Kun, just returning from setting the traps, also stopped abruptly. His pupils contracted as he gripped his weapon, alertly scanning the surroundings before finally locking his gaze on Lin Feng's slightly trembling hand, which hadn't yet fully lowered.

"What... what was that just now?!" Ling Yue's voice was filled with uncertainty.

Lin Feng panted heavily, looking at his hand which still seemed to hold a strange sensation. His eyes were filled with confusion and a hint of fear. "I... I don't know... it... just happened on its own..."

He couldn't even clearly describe what had just occurred; he only felt a surge of uncontrollable power that changed something.

>> Unauthorized Execution Logged: Subroutine [Morphic Field Generator] (Incomplete). Energy Cost: High. Stability: Poor.

>> Suggestion: Immediate Cognitive Focus Required to Stabilize Core.

The "Source" logs showed that an incomplete subroutine named "[Morphic Field Generator]" had been triggered without authorization!

"The influence of the 'protocol' fragment is intensifying..." Ling Yue looked at the metal container placed in the corner of the platform, her gaze incredibly complex. "It's forcibly remodeling you... or rather, helping you 'unlock'?"

This unlocking appeared dangerous and uncontrollable.

Lei Kun walked to Lin Feng's side, squatted down, and carefully examined the area where the energy had just burst, then looked at Lin Feng's pale, sweat-drenched face. "Can you control it?" he asked directly and briefly.

Lin Feng shook his head with difficulty. "It's hard... like... like trying to hold back a tidal wave with bare hands..."

Just then!

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The simple alarm Ling Yue had set toward the direction they came from suddenly emitted a sharp buzzing! Though faint, it sounded like a thunderclap in the dead silence of the sewer!

"They found us!" Ling Yue's face changed drastically.

Almost simultaneously!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Several beams of searing high-energy particles shot from the dark depths of the pipe like venomous snakes, accurately striking the edge of the concrete platform where they were hiding, blasting up a cloud of rubble and smoke!

The Official Rapid Response Force! Their search efficiency was terrifyingly high!

"Go!" Lei Kun growled, pulling Lin Feng up while his pulse pistol instantly fired back fiercely toward the source of the attack to suppress the enemy fire!

Ling Yue grabbed the container, her mechanical arm launching a miniature smoke grenade to the rear!

Bang!

The smoke spread rapidly, temporarily obscuring their vision.

The three fled for their lives once again! Behind them were the sounds of dense energy beam fire and the cold communication calls of the official soldiers!

A new chase began in this dark underground labyrinth!

Lin Feng was dragged along by Lei Kun, stumbling as they ran. The sounds of pursuit behind them, the explosions nearby, the energy storm within... everything mixed together, nearly tearing him apart.

Under the extreme chaos and pressure, that strange perception emerged again.

He suddenly looked toward a branch canal ahead to the side, which was almost completely submerged in sewage and looked like a dead end.

"There!" he screamed, almost entirely on instinct. "Down there... there's a way! It leads to... the even older lower levels! Their scanning signals... are weak!"

It was an entrance to an ancient spillway that wasn't marked on any map and had been almost forgotten!

Lei Kun didn't hesitate for a second and immediately changed direction!

"Follow him!" he shouted to Ling Yue.

The three dove into the cold, foul-smelling sewage without hesitation, struggling to dive deeper.

Behind them, the official soldiers rushed to the edge of the canal and fired fiercely into the murky water for a while, but ultimately did not follow them into these unknown, seemingly dead-end depths.

Temporary safety was once again exchanged for even greater risk and the unknown.

And in the depths of the icy sewage, the "fission" inside Lin Feng was still accelerating.