MM Racing Page 278
Page 278
"This is the only theoretically possible path," the sentinel replied coldly. "All other paths to the bottom have been completely locked or collapsed due to the system crash."
Lin Ye patted Li Sha on the shoulder: "Let's go. At least we know where to go now, we have enough equipment, and... there's still a glimmer of hope."
He operated the manual switch, reopening the heavy door of Observation Station Zero. Outside, the world, with its flashing blood-red alarms and pervasive stench of decay and danger, rushed towards him once more.
The two took a deep breath and resolutely stepped out of the temporary shelter, returning to the perilous spaceship corridor.
Following the sentry's directions, they proceeded cautiously. Perhaps the Bone Walkers were "cleaning up" elsewhere, because they encountered no attack on their way back to the main corridor of B-7. Only the newly added signs of a struggle and broken bones on the ground indicated that a conflict had just taken place.
“They seem to have gone up to the upper levels,” Li Sha said, looking in the direction of the marks.
"The distress signal from Sector B-12...it seems it's not a coincidence." Lin Ye's expression was grave. "We need to hurry."
They quickened their pace, crossing Sector B-7 and stepping onto the wide connecting bridge linking Sector B-8 and B-9. The bridge spanned a massive internal cavity, dark and gloomy below, where thick energy pipes and supports were vaguely visible. The bridge itself was severely damaged, deformed in many places, with large sections of the railing missing, making it sway precariously as one walked on it.
Just as we reached the middle of the bridge, an accident occurred!
"Creak—Boom!!"
A loud crash came from under the bridge, and the entire bridge suddenly sank! The violent shaking almost made Lin Ye and Li Sha fall, and they quickly grabbed the guardrail that hadn't fallen.
"Structural collapse! Bridge support points have failed!" the sentry urgently warned.
In the middle of the bridge, a large crack spread rapidly like a centipede, the sound of metal twisting and breaking was sickening. The bridge deck on both sides of the crack began to drift apart, the difference in elevation widening!
"Run! The bridge is collapsing!" Lin Ye roared, grabbing Li Sha and sprinting towards Sector B-9!
The bridge beneath their feet trembled violently, with metal fragments constantly falling from the cracks into the abyss below. The cracks, like a gaping maw, widened and widened, causing the bridge to tilt violently, making running feel like climbing a steep slope.
"No! We're going to miss it!" Li Sha looked back and saw that the crack had widened alarmingly and was accelerating! They simply didn't have time to reach the other side before the bridge completely collapsed.
Just as the crack was about to engulf them, a large section of the bridge beneath their feet suddenly collapsed!
"Jump!" Lin Ye's eyes were red. He used all his strength to push Li Sha towards the relatively intact bridge on the other side! He also used the momentum to lunge forward!
Li Sha screamed, her body arcing through the air as she barely managed to grab onto the opposite side of the bridge, dangling in mid-air.
Due to the reaction force, Lin Ye landed further back, and the moment his feet touched the ground, that section of the bridge shattered! He fell straight down!
"Lin Ye!" Li Sha's voice changed in fright.
Just as he was about to fall, Lin Ye reacted with lightning speed, reaching out his right hand to grab a piece of bridge deck that was still attached to the steel bars and hadn't completely fallen! He was now hanging in mid-air, with a bottomless abyss below him!
"Hold on tight!" Li Sha tried desperately to climb up and pull him up, but the bridge edge was slippery and she couldn't get a grip.
Lin Ye was hanging by one hand, feeling the cold steel bars creaking under his breath; he was about to give way. He looked up at Li Sha and the constantly falling debris, then looked down at the darkness below.
can not wait!
He swiftly drew his dagger with his left hand and plunged it into a gap in the bridge structure, gaining a foothold. Then, using his core strength, he pushed off the sloping bridge surface with both feet, simultaneously releasing the steel reinforcement with his right hand and propelling his body upwards!
"Grab it!" Li Sha finally regained her balance and leaned out to reach out her hand.
Both hands gripped tightly in mid-air!
With Lin Ye using the leverage, Li Sha pulled him back with all her might, finally managing to drag Lin Ye onto the relatively stable bridge surface in a disheveled state.
The two slumped onto the bridge, their hearts pounding as they stared at the bridge structure that had completely collapsed into the abyss behind them, gasping for breath. They had almost lost both of them.
"Are you alright?" Li Sha asked, noticing that Lin Ye's arm was bleeding from being cut by a steel bar.
"Minor injury." Lin Ye shook his head, checked his rifle, and thankfully it hadn't fallen. "This damn ship is trying every trick in the book to kill us."
After resting for less than a minute, forcing themselves to calm down, the two stood up and looked towards the entrance to Sector B-9. The bridge was broken, and there was no way to retreat.
Now, the only way forward is to go down to that unknown target called the "Control Hub".
Sector B-9 is the main power pipeline hub, a vast space tens of meters high, with thick energy pipes coiling like the veins of a giant dragon. But now, most of these pipes are black and covered with thick dust, some cracked and melted, with leaked coolant and energy residue forming pools of strangely colored, pungent, viscous liquid on the ground.
The air was thick with ozone and the smell of burning metal, and occasionally you could hear the hissing sound of energy leaking from the pipes, which was unsettling.
Following the sentry's directions, they moved forward along the narrow maintenance platform in the pipework area to find the maintenance well. Along the way, the signs of battle were more numerous and ruthless. The walls were riddled with craters from energy weapons and deep claw marks from bone claws. Scattered on the ground were fragments of bone, charred mutant tissue, and even several mangled human corpses wearing security uniforms.
“We’ve fought tough battles here…” Li Sha said in a low voice, “The security team tried to set up defenses here, but they couldn’t hold them off.”
Lin Ye crouched down to examine a corpse. There was a hole through the chest, the edges of which were smooth, as if it had been instantly vaporized by high temperature. However, the clothes and skin around the wound were an unnatural grayish-white, as if they had been drained of life.
“It wasn’t from an energy weapon…” Lin Ye frowned. “This wound… looks like a part of it was instantly ‘reconstructed’ by something.”
A chill ran down his spine. The Bone Walkers primarily use physical attacks, so what's this one with "reconstruction" properties? A more advanced "Reconstructor"?
"Sentinel, have you detected any residual anomalous energy?"
“Trace amounts of high-dimensional ‘order’ energy residue were detected, which is of the same origin as the core energy of the ‘Bone Walker’, but its purity and intensity are several orders of magnitude higher. It is speculated that there are higher-level ‘Reconstructor’ individuals active here.”
Higher level...
The tension in their hearts was at its highest.
They continued walking, finally reaching their destination... the entrance to a massive maintenance well, over five meters in diameter, pointing vertically downwards. A rusty metal ladder, fixed to the edge of the well, extended downwards into a darkness that swallowed all light. A few lamp holders remained on the well walls, long since dead. Only from the very depths below came a faint, low hum, like the workings of a giant machine, and a... soul-chilling sense of oppression.
This is the entrance to the edge of the "abyss".
"Is this the keel maintenance passage?" Li Sha looked at the bottomless darkness and swallowed hard.
"Okay." Lin Ye slung his rifle over his shoulder, checked his equipment, and grabbed the cold ladder first. "Stay close and keep your footing. We don't know what's down there, so be ready to act at any moment."
He took a deep breath and began to climb down.
Li Sha followed closely behind.
Darkness surged up from below like a tide, slowly engulfing them. Only the lights on their helmets cast two weak yet stubborn beams of light into the endless vertical passage, descending relentlessly towards the unknown "abyss" that held ultimate fear.