"That way... there seems to be... a draft..."
Zero's voice was as faint as a gossamer thread, yet in this dead-silent, ominous ventilation shaft, it felt like a fragile beacon, pointing towards a direction. Lin Ye had no time for second thoughts. He hauled up her almost powerless body and scrambled towards the deeper, darker section of the pipe she had indicated. Behind them, the chilling energy fluctuations of the "Ghost Signal" were drawing ever closer, like countless invisible eyes greedily watching them in the darkness, the cold malice almost solidifying into a tangible presence.
The aftershocks of the EMP blast continued. Lin Ye felt a throbbing pain in his temples, and the AR overlay provided by Noah on his retinas flickered intermittently, unstable, occasionally flashing with snow-like interference patterns, crucial tactical information appearing and disappearing, frustrating him to no end.
[Noah: Warning! Host, my long-range scanning and most tactical analysis modules are under sustained suppression from the EMP. Currently, I can only maintain basic vital signs monitoring and short-range near-field communication... The Ghost Signal's energy signatures are intensifying. They... they seem to be able to sense Zero's unique fluctuations, they're being drawn to her! Very fast!] Noah's voice was also heavily distorted, choppy, but the information it conveyed made Lin Ye's heart sink even further.
"Sense Zero?" A shiver ran down Lin Ye's spine. This meant Zero herself was like a beacon in the darkness, constantly attracting these deadly predators. He pulled Zero harder, his ragged gasps echoing in the narrow pipe, every breath a searing pain in his lungs. He could feel Zero's body trembling slightly, whether from cold or fear, he couldn't tell.
The pipe began to slope downwards here, the gradient becoming steeper, making their crawl even more arduous. They were almost half-sliding, half-shuffling downwards, their bodies and tattered combat suits scraping against the cold metal walls, producing a harsh, grating "shh-shh" sound that seemed deafeningly loud in the silence, undoubtedly giving away their position. Lin Ye could only pray that the "Ghost Signals'" sensory methods didn't rely solely on hearing.
"Slower... too fast..." Zero let out a pained grunt in front of him; the jolting was clearly more than her already weakened body could bear, each vibration feeling like it would tear her apart.
"Sorry, but we're out of time!" Lin Ye gritted out. He could clearly sense that the energy fluctuations of the "Ghost Signals" had already entered the pipe junction they had just left and were now tracking them in this direction with alarming speed, seemingly unhindered by the complex terrain.
Suddenly, Zero's body went rigid, followed by a suppressed convulsion, her entire form curling into a ball like a stepped-on beetle.
"What's wrong?" Lin Ye asked urgently, trying to steady her.
"They... they're in my head... so many... so chaotic... like countless needles pricking..." Zero's voice was filled with an indescribable agony and a bone-deep terror. Her hands clamped tightly over her head, her fingernails digging deep into her scalp. Her body, due to the intense neural stimulation, involuntarily contorted, completely blocking Lin Ye's advance.
[Noah: Warning! Zero's brainwave activity is abnormally violent! High-frequency data streams detected attempting to forcibly breach her conscious barrier! It's a psychic attack from the Ghost Signal! This attack pattern... is highly unusual, it seems to be attempting to read or assimilate her consciousness!] Noah's voice was filled with an unprecedented level of anxiety and a hint of bewilderment.
"Psychic attack?" Lin Ye felt his scalp tingle. These "Ghost Signals" possessed such bizarre abilities, even more insidious than physical attacks! He looked at Zero, who was in immense pain, almost writhing on the floor of the pipe, and for a moment, felt utterly helpless. He could fight physical enemies, but how did one counter an invisible psychic assault? Especially when Noah was also crippled.
Just then, the pipe beneath them jolted violently, immediately followed by the deafening screech of tearing metal from directly above and behind them! It wasn't the sound of an energy weapon's explosion, but more like some sharp object forcibly slicing through the metal wall of the pipe!
Lin Ye jerked his head up. Through a small crack in the pipe wall, a result of age and disrepair, he saw with horror several shadowy, distorted energy tendrils seeping down from the section of pipe they had just crawled through. These tendrils emanated an ominous dark red glow, and wherever they passed, the hard metal pipe wall was torn apart and melted as if it were made of paper!
"They're cutting through the pipe directly!" Lin Ye gasped in horror. These "Ghost Signals" were more aggressive and destructive than he had imagined!
An invisible fear gripped his heart like an icy hand. He instinctively pulled Zero behind him, shielding her with his own body, though he knew it might be futile.
"Noah! Any way to interfere with them?"
[Noah: Under EMP interference, my active defense programs cannot be initiated... Wait! Zero's brainwaves... are undergoing a drastic change! Very... chaotic, but... there seems to be a... a resistive high-frequency resonance!]
Lin Ye looked down at Zero. She was still clutching her head, her body trembling violently, but from the depths of her throat, a series of unintelligible, almost bestial low growls escaped. Beneath her tightly shut amber eyelids, faint blue, circuit-like patterns materialized on her skin, flashing briefly and then disappearing.
Simultaneously, those shadowy tendrils that were about to continue tearing downwards through the pipe, as if struck by some invisible force, suddenly froze! The ominous red glow at their tips flickered violently, seeming somewhat unstable.
An opportunity!
Lin Ye didn't have time to ponder this sudden change; his survival instinct made him react instantly. He saw that a short distance ahead, where the pipe had previously collapsed, there was an irregular opening on the right side, seemingly leading to another smaller branch pipe or some unknown cavity.
"There!" he roared, unleashing all his strength, and forcibly dragged Zero, who was still battling some unseen force, towards that opening.
Fragments of the pipe wall and rust rained down, hitting his helmet. He could feel those shadowy tendrils, after a brief pause, resuming their pursuit with even greater ferocity.
"Faster!" he told himself, adrenaline coursing wildly through his veins.
Just as they were about to reach the opening, a shadowy tendril, like a venomous snake, struck from their rear flank, aiming straight for Zero's back!
Lin Ye's pupils contracted violently. There was no time to think; his body had already reacted. He violently shoved Zero forward and threw his own back against the incoming tendril!
"Ugh!" An indescribable, searing pain shot through his back, as if a red-hot iron had been pressed against him, or as if countless steel needles had pierced through. Lin Ye let out a muffled grunt, his body uncontrollably pitching forward. But he gritted his teeth against the agony and, using the force of the impact, tumbled out of the opening with Zero, in a battered, undignified heap!
They landed hard in an even narrower passage, littered with sharp, broken stones. Lin Ye felt a burning pain in his back, and a metallic-tasting liquid trickled from the corner of his mouth. He struggled to look back and saw, at the opening of the ventilation pipe they had just escaped, several shadowy tendrils writhing frantically, as if enraged by losing their target. But they didn't immediately follow, as if something in this new passage deterred them.
"Cough... cough, cough..." Lin Ye coughed violently, each cough sending daggers of pain through his back. He struggled to sit up and looked at Zero beside him.
Zero had also taken a hard fall, but seemed to have avoided direct fatal injury thanks to Lin Ye's protection. The agony on her face was slowly receding, replaced by an extreme weakness and... bewilderment. The faint blue, circuit-like patterns on her forehead had also vanished.
"Are you... are you okay?" she looked at Lin Ye, her voice faint, her amber eyes, for the first time, devoid of fear, instead holding a trace of disbelief and... concern.
"Not dead yet..." Lin Ye managed a grin, though it was distorted by pain. "Looks like... we're safe, for now." He glanced around. This new passage was even darker, the air thick with heavy dust and... a pungent, sulfur-like odor. Ahead lay pitch darkness, leading to an unknown destination.
[Noah: Host... detecting high-energy corrosion damage to your back. It needs immediate attention! This passage... has abnormal geomagnetic readings. EMP interference persists, but the Ghost Signal's energy fluctuations are significantly suppressed here. This might be a temporary safe zone. I'm attempting to recalibrate sensors and find an exit.] Noah's voice was still choppy, but there was a palpable sense of relief in her tone.
Lin Ye let out a shaky breath, his taut nerves finally relaxing a fraction. He leaned against the cold stone wall, the intense pain almost making him black out. But he knew this was no time to rest. They had to leave this accursed place as soon as possible, to find somewhere they could truly catch their breath. And the strange changes that had occurred with Zero, along with her words about "success and failure," weighed on his mind like a giant stone, heralding an even more difficult and unknown path ahead.