198: The Tragedy of Silence

the deep diver tore through the curtain of the Undercurrent Layer, leaping into normal space like a wounded giant whale. Behind it, three silence-class interceptors followed like shadows. On their cold grey hulls, the black spiral emblem of the Silent Watchers glinted ominously under the starlight.

"Engine overload at 37%, concerto keystone stability continues to drop." Isla's voice carried a rare static noise, a sign of the system struggling on the edge of overload. "We cannot maintain superluminal escape for long."

Lin Mo's gaze swept over the star map, and a signal from the nearest space station, flashing with a neutral marker, caught his eye—'Silent Lament,' a massive deep-space outpost located on the frontier of civilization and directly managed by the Star Language Council. It was famous for its powerful defenses and relatively independent jurisdiction, having served as a temporary Shelter for many who were being hunted.

"Go to 'Silent Lament'." Lin Mo ordered, his voice slightly hoarse from the previous rule resonance impact. "We need a breather, we need repairs, and more importantly, we need to figure out... what exactly happened inside the Council."

Dr. Val nervously adjusted the scanner. "Will they receive us there? Tolan's permissions might have already covered most of the Council's network."

"The Commander of Silent Lament, Commander Osira, owes me a favor." Liranta suddenly spoke. She was closing her eyes in concentration, her fingertips moving through the void, guiding the residual power of the myriad phenomena astrolabe to lay down layers of spatial folds behind the deep diver, temporarily slowing the pursuers. "It was... an old matter that wasn't very honorable. But she values her promises."

the deep diver dragged a blue wake formed by energy leaks, laboring toward that giant space station that looked like several gears nested together. However, the closer they got, the stronger the sense of foreboding became.

The outer walls of Silent Lament, which should have been alloy armor plates smooth as mirrors, were now covered in eerie, rust-like mottled marks. In some areas, lights flickered irregularly or were completely extinguished, leaving parts of the space station hidden in darkness like a mangled beast. Even more unsettling was that the station's external communication channel was not transmitting orderly navigation instructions or identity checks, but a piercing static noise mixed with screams, roars, and unidentifiable languages.

"Space station status abnormal." Isla quickly analyzed the scanning data. "Detecting large-scale vital sign disorders, extreme energy flow instability, multiple high-intensity energy outbursts within... and the rule rust readings are extremely high, even exceeding the levels we observed in the Domain of a Thousand Mirrors."

"Has it been infected?" Dr. Val blurted out.

"Not entirely." Liranta opened her eyes, a hint of exhaustion and gravity flashing in them. "It's a 'reality substrate disorder' triggered by rule rust, intertwined with the panic and mutiny that likely exist within the station, forming a malignant negative cycle. This place... is collapsing from the inside."

the deep diver attempted to send identification codes and distress signals, but only received a fragmented, incoherent automatic reply: "...Prohibited... entry... order... is lost... they are in the walls... growing in the walls..."

At the same time, the silence-class interceptors had closed in to the edge of weapon range. Their main cannons began charging, and cold energy fluctuations locked onto the deep diver.

"There's no choice." Lin Mo took a deep breath. "Force a docking at Emergency Port No. 7. Isla, hack the airtight door permissions. Val, prepare to deal with... whatever might be inside. Liranta, buy us one last bit of time."

Liranta nodded. She pressed her hands into the air over the control console, and the phantom of the myriad phenomena astrolabe emerged behind her. The once brilliant star map now appeared dim and fragmented. She began to chant a series of ancient and obscure syllables in a low voice, each syllable causing subtle ripples in the surrounding space.

"I am guiding the 'Void Strings'... this can temporarily distort the pursuers' sensors and fire control systems, but the price is... I will be exposed to the forefront of the rule rust." She looked at Lin Mo, her gaze calm. "Once inside the station, find Commander Osira and tell her... 'The promise in the ashes, it is time to repay'."

the deep diver narrowly avoided the first volley from the silence-class interceptors. Energy beams grazed the hull, exploding into silent fireballs against the station's outer shell. Liranta's body trembled slightly, and a trace of golden blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, but her chanting voice remained steady.

Isla successfully hacked the airtight door of Emergency Port No. 7, and the deep diver plunged into the dim internal dock of the space station like a weary bird returning to its nest.

The moment the docking was complete, Liranta let out a muffled groan, and the phantom of the myriad phenomena astrolabe flickered violently before completely shattering. She slumped down and was caught by Lin Mo. Outside, the three silence-class interceptors seemed to lose their target instantly, circling futilely in place. In their sensors, the deep diver and the entire Port No. 7 area had turned into a patch of unresolvable 'noise'.

"They can't find us for now... but time is short..." Liranta's voice was weak. "Quick... find Osira... the station's 'Core Suppressor'... must be restarted... otherwise... everyone will perish in madness..."

Lin Mo handed Liranta over to the arriving medical robots, then quickly formed an action team with Val and Isla (projected via a mobile terminal) and rushed out of the deep diver.

Inside Silent Lament, it was already a scene of apocalypse.

The lights in the corridors flickered on and off, and the rust marks on the walls seemed to possess life, slowly crawling and expanding. The air was thick with the smell of ozone, blood, and an indescribable, metallic-rot sweetness. They occasionally encountered station personnel running and screaming; some had undergone terrifying mutations—their skin took on a metallic sheen, or their limbs twisted in ways that defied anatomy. More people were killing each other or futilely attacking the constantly 'growing' rusted walls.

"rule rust manifests here as a powerful reality distortion field." Dr. Val explained with difficulty while scanning with a portable device. "It amplifies the fear, paranoia, and malice in people's hearts, and directly... 'materializes' these negative emotions into physical phenomena and physiological Aberrations!"

Isla's projection flickered, quickly analyzing intelligence gathered from fragmented information in the station's internal network. "The rebellion was initiated by a group of security personnel infiltrated by the 'Assimilators' ideology. They took advantage of the chaos caused by the rule rust, attempting to seize control of the station and make a sacrifice to the observer. Commander Osira and her loyal subordinates are besieged in the Core Command Room. The Core Suppressor—the key equipment for maintaining the station's reality stability—is offline due to the dual impact of the rebellion and the rust."

The path to the Core Command Room was filled with obstacles and frantic crossfire. Lin Mo's team had to use Isla's hacking abilities, Val's makeshift technical bypasses, and Lin Mo's precise shooting to carve a bloody path through the chaos. They witnessed the once-solemn Council Hall covered in rust, its exquisite reliefs turned into hideous, distorted faces; they traversed a warehouse area where debris and corpses floated due to the failure of gravity rules; they even encountered 'echo' formed by time rule disorders in one corridor—tragedies that had occurred here hours ago were replaying repeatedly like holograms, with desperate cries and the hiss of energy weapons echoing over and over in the air.

Finally, they broke through the last alloy gate blockaded by rebel fire and entered the Core Command Room.

The situation here was equally grim. The command room was filled with temporary barricades, and the air was thick with heavy smoke and the smell of blood. The remaining dozen or so loyalist guards were scarred and battered, holding their ground at the central control console. In front of the console, a woman in a crisp Commander's uniform, her silver hair pulled into a bun, was precisely picking off approaching Aberrations and rebels with a pistol. Her gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, and despite the grime and sweat on her face, her posture remained upright.

It was indeed Commander Osira.

Seeing Lin Mo's team burst in, a flash of surprise crossed Osira's eyes, which then turned into cold scrutiny. "Liranta sent you?" Her voice was hoarse from long hours of combat, but it still carried unquestionable authority.

Lin Mo nodded, raising his gun to join the defense while speaking quickly: "Liranta asked us to tell you: 'The promise in the ashes, it is time to repay'. We need to restart the Core Suppressor, or the entire station is finished!"

Hearing that code phrase, Osira's eyes flickered with complex emotions—memory, pain, and finally, a touch of resolve. "The suppressor core was destroyed with high explosives by the rebel leader, former security chief Krok. Spare parts are in the Lower Energy Vault, but that is now the area with the most severe rust and mutation. Moreover, Krok himself is likely there; he... is no longer human."

Just then, the command room's main screen suddenly lit up, showing surveillance footage from the Lower Energy Vault (the signal was extremely unstable). In the image, a burly figure, with more than half of his body covered in dark red rust and his limbs severely metallicized and distorted, stood before the spare parts cabinet. His eyes glowed with an unnatural red light, and he directed a twisted smile at the camera (or rather, at the viewers).

"Osira... and Liranta's lapdogs..." Krok's voice sounded like metal grinding, piercing and unpleasant. "It's too late... the suppressor will never restart... The Great Mastication is almost complete... we will become part of the new rules... and you will become the... sacrificial offerings for the old ones!"

The entire space station suddenly shook violently, more intensely than any time before. The lights went out completely, with only the emergency light sources of the console and scattered equipment providing dim illumination. The rust on the walls accelerated its spread like a living thing, even beginning to drip a viscous, foul-smelling dark red liquid. Some wounded guards began to let out inhuman howls as their bodies underwent horrific mutations in the dim light.

"The rust is accelerating!" Dr. Val looked at the readings in horror. "Without the suppressor, this place will completely disintegrate within standard time!"

A flash of despair crossed Osira's face, but it was quickly replaced by determination. She looked at Lin Mo: "I will take you to the energy vault; it's our only chance. But..." She paused, her voice low, "We need someone to stay behind and manually overload the command room's backup power to form a temporary reality stability field, buying us time to enter the vault and repair the suppressor. This requires extremely high mental resistance, otherwise..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood—the person who stayed behind would face the strongest impact of the rule rust, and the chance of survival was near zero.

A brief silence followed.

Then, Isla's projection slowly stepped forward, her data stream exhibiting an unprecedented, almost tragic calm. "My core logic structure is based on a hybrid architecture of quantum probability clouds and deterministic algorithms, giving me a certain natural resistance to reality distortion. I will perform this task; the survival probability is 0.73% higher than that of an organic life form. This is the optimal solution."

"Isla..." Lin Mo wanted to stop her, but he couldn't find a more rational plan. Dr. Val opened his mouth, but it only resulted in a powerless sigh.

"Logic is sound." Isla's projection turned to Lin Mo. Those eyes composed of data seemed to possess some indescribable emotional color at that moment. "Commander Lin Mo, please ensure the safety of the key fragments and restart the final protocol. This is the highest priority task. Also..." Her voice had a tiny, almost human tremor, "In this 'time' spent working with you all, my database has recorded 'abnormal experiences' far exceeding preset parameters. This... was very interesting."

Without further goodbyes, Isla's projection dissipated, turning into a pure stream of data that merged into the central console. A second later, a soft yet exceptionally resilient blue energy field expanded violently from the command room as its center, temporarily pushing back the spreading rust and chaotic rule fields, forming a brief 'safety path' to the outer corridors.

"Go!" Osira growled, charging out first.

Lin Mo took one last look at the console shrouded in blue light, then turned resolutely to rush into that deeper, more dangerous darkness with Val and Osira.

Behind them, the blue glow of the command room flickered stubbornly and lonely under the erosion of the boundless rust, like a candle in the wind.