76: Crisis resolution

After the kindling system alarm stopped, Chen Wang immediately initiated a deep scan.

The heartbeat signal on the B3 level had vanished, but he knew for certain that the previous detection was by no means a false alarm.

He swiped across the holographic panel and activated the sonic detection.

"Lin Wei, is the engineering module ready?"

"Power is connected." Lin Wei leaned against the console, her hands still trembling slightly, but she steadied her breathing and turned on the sonic emitter. "Low-frequency pulses are ready to fire."

"Fire."

The sound waves penetrated the strata, and data returned three seconds later.

The terminal displayed a cavity deep within B3, with faint echoes inside, their frequency close to a rhythmic breathing pattern.

Chen Wang stared at the values, silent.

Su Ling had quietly climbed onto the high platform, her gun aimed at the shadows in the corridor, her body pressed against the wall.

Su Wan watched the progress bar on the medical table—the antidote had 2 minutes and 58 seconds remaining.

She took off her mask, wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, and quickly adjusted the cryogenic oscillation parameters with her fingers.

The temperature in the reaction chamber slowly dropped, and the solvents began to fuse.

"Increase the power a little more," she said.

Lin Wei pushed the handle, and the power of the engineering module increased by 15%.

The medical table indicator light turned from yellow to green, and the equipment operation stabilized.

"That's enough," Su Wan said softly. "Now, we just have to wait."

Chen Wang's gaze remained locked on the end of the corridor.

The vehicle's lights illuminated the ten meters ahead, while the distance beyond was swallowed by darkness.

His right hand rested on the ignition key, and his left hand gripped the control lever of the mechanical arm.

The wuling divine vehicle was in standby mode, tracks undeployed, armor closed, and the main cannon had finished cooling.

Two minutes later, the progress bar jumped to 97%.

Su Wan opened the sterile box and took out a syringe and a test tube.

The liquid medicine was pale blue, clear and transparent.

She drew the medicine into the syringe, tightened the connection, and set it aside for later use.

Just then, the kindling system vibrated again.

【Warning: Signal activity on B3 level increased】

Chen Wang immediately switched to thermal imaging mode.

In the image, a blurry shadow appeared in the corridor below, moving slowly, its body temperature lower than the normal human range.

"It's not a living thing," he said. "It's tissue in motion."

Su Ling asked in a low voice, "Will it come out?"

"Not sure," Chen Wang replied. "But we must not let it get close."

Su Wan pulled out the infusion tube and stood up. "I must use the antidote, otherwise all our previous efforts will be in vain."

"Who has been parasitized?" Chen Wang pressed.

"It's me," she said calmly. "When I was extracting the gland, a fine filament pierced through a gap in my glove."

Everyone was stunned.

Lin Wei looked up abruptly. "When did you discover it?"

"A minute ago." Su Wan raised her left hand, revealing a tiny tear in the cuff. "The toxin hasn't entered my bloodstream yet, but I can feel my arm going numb. There isn't much time."

"Get in the vehicle!" Chen Wang ordered decisively.

The four of them quickly retreated into the wuling divine vehicle.

Lin Wei closed the cabin door and initiated the isolation procedure.

The medical table was pushed to the center; Su Wan sat down and took off her outer garment.

"I'll do it myself," she said. "Help me hold still; don't let me move around."

"No!" Lin Wei objected. "You're not in a stable condition right now."

"No one understands this surgery better than I do." Su Wan's voice was soft yet firm. "The silver knife has good conductivity and can sever nerves without letting the toxin spread. Just follow my instructions."

Chen Wang nodded. "Listen to her."

Su Ling stood at the foot of the bed, pressing down on Su Wan's legs with both hands. Lin Wei held her shoulders.

Chen Wang activated the life monitoring system. The screen displayed real-time heart rate, blood pressure, and neural signals—heart rate 118, blood pressure low, neural signals chaotic.

Su Wan put on the magnifying glasses and picked up the scalpel. The blade gleamed coldly under the light.

She took a deep breath and aimed the tip of the knife at a red spot on the inside of her left wrist.

"Start."

The blade cut into the skin; there was no bleeding, and a black filament slowly slid out of the wound.

The filament contracted as if it had a life of its own, attempting to burrow back in.

"Lin Wei, cryogenic spray."

Lin Wei pressed the button, and cold air sprayed around the wound; the black filament's movements slowed significantly.

"Press harder," Su Wan said to Su Ling.

Su Ling increased the pressure, and Su Wan used tweezers to clamp the end of the black filament, slowly pulling it out.

The worm body was about five centimeters long, pitch black, and covered with ring-like patterns on the surface.

"Success," she said.

Immediately, she inserted the syringe into her vein and pushed in the antidote.

The blue liquid flowed into her veins, and the neural signals on the monitoring screen gradually returned to stability.

Three minutes later, her heart rate dropped to 92, and the numbness subsided.

Su Wan leaned back in the chair, closed her eyes, and panted, sweat dripping from her temple.

"Get the debridement kit," she said, opening her eyes.

Chen Wang handed her the first-aid kit. She treated the wound herself, and after bandaging it, she placed the parasite into a sealed tube and labeled it.

"Sample preserved," she said. "This thing fears cold, not heat; burning it won't kill it."

Chen Wang looked at her. "What now?"

"Clean up the scene first," she replied. "The residue on the ground must be completely destroyed, otherwise it will contaminate the air."

Chen Wang stepped out of the driver's seat and initiated the cleanup program.

The wuling divine vehicle slowly reversed, the bottom of its tracks heating up to 800 degrees, crushing the green blood on the ground.

A burnt smell filled the air, but no smoke rose.

The plasma nozzle followed, scorching for three seconds to ensure all organic matter was completely broken down.

Lin Wei released the nano-cleaning gel.

The gray-white liquid covered the contaminated area, automatically decomposing the toxins.

System prompt: 【Hazardous material recovery complete, sealed in isolation chamber D-4, marked as high-risk biological sample】

"Cleanup complete," she said.

Chen Wang checked the environmental data—toxin concentration was zero, and the air was safe to breathe.

He returned to the vehicle and sat back in the driver's seat.

Su Ling changed the magazine, and the gun barrel finished cooling.

She stood by the window, her eyes fixed on the corridor entrance.

Lin Wei leaned against the toolbox, her fingertips touching the screen to maintain the engineering module in standby mode.

Su Wan closed the logbook, picked up the sealed box, and held it to her chest.

Her expression was calm, neither fearful nor relaxed.

The kindling system returned to normal, the B3 signal was interrupted again, and there was no further movement.

No heat sources were approaching from the outside; the alarm was cleared.

But no one let their guard down.

Chen Wang's hand still rested on the ignition key, the engine humming in operation.

Su Ling's gun muzzle remained aimed at the shadows.

Lin Wei watched the system background.

Su Wan stared at the medical table, as if still confirming some detail.

Suddenly, the terminal emitted two beeps.

The kindling system popped up a new message: 【Weak electromagnetic signal detected, source—east wall of the third underground level, frequency matches the experimental equipment in the Stasis Zone】

Su Wan looked up.

"There is something there," she said. "It's not alive; it's a machine running."