78: Evacuation blocked, pursuers attacking

The elevator door was only halfway open when Lin Wei quickly clicked three times on the engineering module. The screen immediately displayed a string of data: the mucus sample had high iron content, a neural residue concentration of 0.7 micrograms per milliliter, and was accompanied by records of intermittent electromagnetic waves.

"This is not an ordinary alien beast," she said, looking up. "It stayed up there for at least ten minutes, likely watching us the whole time."

Chen Wang did not reply, his right hand already pushing aside the metal cover beneath the driver's console, causing the weapon panel to pop out automatically. A red light flashed, initiating Level One combat readiness. The shield began charging, and a slight tremor came from beneath the vehicle.

Su Ling retrieved a sniper rifle from beneath the seat and flipped open the roof turret hatch. She leaned halfway out, slowly aiming the muzzle at the hall entrance. The end of the corridor was piled high with collapsed beams, and a cold wind swept diagonally through, carrying snowflakes that scraped across cracks in the floor.

"There's movement ahead," she said. "Fifty meters out, heat sources are dense and spread out in a fan shape."

Lin Wei brought up the holographic map. Over a dozen red dots clearly appeared ahead, moving in an arc, with stable speed and uniform spacing. This was not a disorderly advance, but a carefully arranged encirclement formation.

"They knew we were coming out." Chen Wang pushed the control stick to the preheating position. The tracks slowly rotated, crushing a piece of broken ice. "That drop of mucus earlier was the signal."

Su Wan sat in the corner of the medical pod, her fingertips sliding across the control panel. After the emergency procedure was activated, the medicine cabinet automatically locked, and the life support system switched to independent power. She grabbed an adrenaline syringe and gently placed it on the metal table beside her.

"I'm ready," she said.

Chen Wang nodded slightly, his gaze fixed forward. The wuling divine vehicle slowly drove out of the elevator shaft, its tracks grinding against the icy floor with a brief, scratching sound. Just as it entered the hall, over a dozen alien beasts suddenly rushed out of the shadows—some crawling on four legs, others walking upright—but their movements were perfectly synchronized. They closed in with low growls, neither charging nor scattering, like a net gradually tightening.

"Something is wrong," Lin Wei said, staring intently at the signal screen. "Their steps are uniform, their heartbeats synchronized, as if they are being controlled by a single consciousness."

Chen Wang immediately ordered, "Activate the jammer."

Lin Wei pressed the button, and high-frequency sonic waves were instantly released. The alien beast group collectively paused, their footsteps becoming erratic, and two even collided. Three seconds later, they regained their footing and continued to approach.

"It works," Su Ling said, "but only for a few seconds."

She saw clearly through the scope—in the center was a smaller alien beast, wearing a metal ring on its head that flashed blue light. Its movements were less like an attacker and more like it was transmitting commands.

"The one in the middle," she whispered. "It's giving the orders."

Chen Wang followed her gaze. "Shoot it?"

"We can try," Su Ling said, placing her finger on the trigger. "But if it loses connection, the other alien beasts might go berserk."

"Better than being trapped and killed," Chen Wang said, gripping the control stick. "You find your chance, I'll cover you."

Before he finished speaking, the kindling system suddenly issued an alarm—a continuous pulse signal appeared in the underground layer to the southeast, with a frequency of 18.6 Hertz, highly similar to the alien beasts' brain waves. The signal source was about fifteen meters deep and fixed in position.

"Someone is controlling them," Lin Wei said, her voice tightening. "This is not natural behavior; it's remote command."

Chen Wang looked at the red dots on the map, then looked outside. The northwest exit was obscured by a half-collapsed wall, barely wide enough for the vehicle to pass. Rushing out now would be equivalent to driving straight into the trap.

He quickly switched to terrain mode, adjusting the track angles to keep the vehicle body tightly against the collapsed wall on the right. The exposed rebar there could obscure some lines of sight.

"No frontal assault," he said. "We'll go right and see if we can find a breakthrough."

Lin Wei immediately shut down the main cannon charging and switched to electronic monitoring. She aimed the signal receiver toward the southeast, attempting to lock onto the signal source.

"The signal is unstable," she said. "It might be a mobile device, or there could be a shielding device."

"Don't worry about the source yet," Chen Wang said in a deep voice. "Let's clear the path in front of us first."

Su Ling retracted the turret and readjusted the sniper rifle magnification. In the magnified view, current was pulsing in the metal ring on the central alien beast's head.

"I can hit it," she said. "But we must retreat immediately after the shot, or they will lose control."

"You fire, and I charge," Chen Wang said. "Don't wait for a reaction, act immediately."

Silence fell inside the vehicle, broken only by the hum of the shield operating and the rhythmic ticking of the dashboard. Su Ling slowed her breathing, her index finger lightly touching the trigger; Lin Wei's hands hovered over the operating interface, ready to activate the jammer; Su Wan tightly gripped the syringe, her eyes fixed on the cabin door.

The alien beast group continued to close in, the distance shrinking to thirty meters. The foremost few began to growl, their sounds layering into a certain rhythm.

"They are waiting for a command," Lin Wei said.

"Then don't let the command get through," Chen Wang said.

Su Ling held her breath. In the scope, the blue light of the metal ring suddenly flashed, and the current intensity sharply increased.

Now.

The gun fired.

The bullet accurately struck the metal ring, sending sparks flying. The alien beast convulsed violently and collapsed to the ground. The surrounding alien beasts instantly froze, then erupted in sharp roars, their formation completely chaotic.

Chen Wang immediately pushed the control stick. The engine roared, and the tracks spun at full speed. The vehicle tilted to the right, speeding forward pressed tightly against the wall. Lin Wei simultaneously activated the sonic interference to prevent the alien beasts from regrouping.

Su Ling quickly retracted into the turret and closed the hatch. "Hit! They're scattered!"

"It's not over yet." Chen Wang's gaze was like iron.

The exit was within reach, but just as the vehicle was about to turn, the kindling system alarmed again—three red dots appeared on the edge of the map, approaching at high speed, coming from the east passage, the southern ruins, and the ceiling ventilation duct, respectively.

"The pursuers are here," Lin Wei said, her speech quickening. "Three sets of heat sources, closing in."

Chen Wang slammed the brakes, and the vehicle slid sideways half a foot, narrowly avoiding a dangling rebar. He brought up the rearview display: a Giant Beast appeared at the east passage entrance, carrying a carapace on its back, with reinforced joints on its limbs; dust rose in the south, and the ground tremor intensified; above the ventilation duct, the metal sheeting was coming loose.

"They aren't wild," he said. "They were driven here by someone."

Lin Wei checked the signal spectrum and found that the brain waves of the newly arrived alien beasts were also synchronized with the pulse from the southeast. "They belong to the same sequence; there is indeed a manipulator behind the scenes."

"Their goal isn't to kill us," Su Ling said. "It's to force us toward a certain location."

Chen Wang looked at the northwest exit. It seemed clear, but the space behind the wall was narrow—entering it would be a death trap. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed—the opponent had planned the route long ago.

He decisively abandoned the original plan and decided to retreat back near the elevator shaft. There was ample cover there, favorable for defense.

Just then, the kindling system automatically focused on the signal from the southeast underground layer. The pulse frequency suddenly jumped from 18.6 Hertz to 21.3 Hertz, held for two seconds, and then dropped back. At the same time, the alien beast group stopped its chaos and reformed its ranks, but a clear gap appeared on the left side.

"It's testing our reaction," Lin Wei said. "That shot just now made it change its strategy."

"That signal source," Chen Wang stared at the map. "It's not afraid of us eliminating a few alien beasts; it's afraid of us finding it."

No one spoke. Everyone understood that breaking the siege could not rely on brute force; they first had to uncover the manipulator behind it all.

"We can't go any further," Su Wan said. "The exit is a trap."

Chen Wang nodded. He pulled the control stick back to idle, reducing the engine speed, but the weapon system remained active. The shield energy was maintained at 65%, enough to withstand one powerful impact.

"Wait for the next wave," he said. "They will move again."

Su Ling opened the hatch again, the muzzle aimed steadily at the center of the hall. Lin Wei's fingers paused on the interference button, her eyes never leaving the screen. Su Wan gripped the syringe tightly, her knuckles white.

The alien beast group slowly advanced. The gap on the left side remained, seemingly a path of survival intentionally left open. The pulse from the southeast flickered again, this time lasting four seconds.

Chen Wang looked at the gap. He knew that rushing through might mean survival, or it might mean death. But if they didn't move, they would eventually run out of chances.

He took a deep breath, his right hand slowly moving toward the manual fine-control switch.

"Get ready," he said.

Su Ling steadied her rifle.

Lin Wei locked onto the signal source coordinates.

Su Wan gripped the medicine.

The wuling divine vehicle's engine gave a low growl, and the tracks silently began to turn.