Chapter 88: The Underground Net and the Pincer Attack on Two Fronts
The dark blue fluorescent light, like reviving vines, instantly crawled across the rock walls of the entire underground tunnel.
The main tunnel, originally dead and pitch-black, was in an instant completely filled with a frigid psychic field. Without any gradual buildup, the dormant node array pre-embedded by the Ancient Progenitor was fully activated the moment the three of them stepped into the core area.
A heavy, ancient, and overwhelmingly oppressive psychic will crashed down, locking the entire space in place.
"The retreat path is sealed!"
The instructor's face changed drastically. His fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness instantly opened to its full extent, a heavy psychic barrier firmly protecting the three of them. But in the next second, the nodes on the ceiling and the rock walls on both sides of the tunnel erupted simultaneously with layers upon layers of illusions.
Unlike the previous three-layer illusions, this time, it was a massive net woven from dozens of layers of fragmented illusionary realms.
Deep within the forks on the left and right, endless darkness churned, and the roars of countless scaled beasts came from all directions. It was not an auditory deception; a real beast tide was closing in.
"We've fallen for it," Jiang Tao gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice. "The so-called rock stratum vibrations and main tunnel signals were all bait deliberately released by the Ancient Progenitor. It knew all along that we would come to investigate!"
The Ancient Progenitor had not been dormant for months in vain.
It had retracted all shallow psychic signals, leaving only the physical excavation vibrations that could not be concealed, precisely grasping humanity's psychology of exploration. Knowing full well it was a trap, humans had to come; if they didn't, the six major bastions would forever live in the fear of the unknown.
And once they stepped into this main underground tunnel, it was eternal damnation.
The nodes throughout the entire tunnel were connected into a massive network, far larger and more meticulous than the previous triangular or four-layer nodes. This was the ultimate cage tailor-made for the special reconnaissance squad.
"Its target this time is not to kill just me, but to completely annihilate our entire squad." Lin Yan's eyes were calm. His third-tier Sea of Consciousness spread out rapidly, with fine psychic threads shuttling through the fluorescent veins, rapidly analyzing the network structure. "All the nodes in the entire tunnel are connected in series, backing each other up and supplying each other with energy. There are no single-point vulnerabilities. To break the array, we must find the main core node."
Just as the three of them faced this deadly situation underground, a sudden burst of war erupted on the surface as well.
The four squad members who had stayed behind to guard the crevice exit were originally hiding behind rubble cover on alert. Suddenly, they heard dense, low, hoarse roars coming from all around the wasteland.
In the vast wasteland's scattered rock piles, countless dark shadows quietly surrounded them. Dozens of high-tier scaled beasts had been lurking silently, already ambushed around the perimeter of the exit, waiting for the underground nodes to activate to completely seal off their retreat.
"There are scaled beasts all around! We're surrounded!"
"Send a distress signal immediately!"
The squad members frantically activated their communicators, but the screens were filled with static. The entire area was shielded by the underground psychic field; electromagnetic signals were completely cut off, and no distress messages could be transmitted.
Trapped on both the surface and underground, a pincer attack on two fronts.
Inside the underground tunnel, the darkness surged completely.
From the six branching tunnels, large numbers of high-tier scaled beasts charged out in an orderly fashion, their steps neat and without a hint of chaos. They were uniformly dispatched by the global psychic network, coordinating closely with clear division of labor. Some charged from the front to restrain the enemy, while others flanked from behind to seal off the retreat path.
In the middle of the tunnel, two familiar tall figures slowly walked out.
Two secondary priests, one on the left and one on the right, stood behind the beast tide. The priest who had been severely injured at the No. 3 Rift had completely recovered, its aura even more robust than before. Two icy psychic locks were firmly nailed onto Lin Yan and the other two.
"Humanity's strongest reconnaissance squad."
The psychic thoughts of the secondary priests echoed through the tunnel.
"Repeatedly destroying the Lord's plans, repeatedly severing nodes. Today, you shall be buried here."
The Ancient Progenitor's will rose above all sounds, cold and indifferent:
"You are most skilled at breaking nodes and illusion arrays. Then I will use endless nodes and endless beast tides to exhaust you to death. I want to see if your methods of breaking through can shatter this entire underground network."
As the words fell, the power of the illusion array surged once again.
Countless tragic scenes frantically poured into the minds of the three. The broken walls of Panshi City, the brutal deaths of comrades, the annihilation of relatives, the fall of the wasteland... Layers of illusions stacked upon each other, intertwining the real and the fake. Even the temperature of the air, the smell of blood, and the sounds of wailing were incredibly real.
The instructor's Sea of Consciousness trembled violently, his brow tightly furrowed. "My barrier can't hold out for much longer! This level of global illusion array is being supported by the Ancient Progenitor exhausting its computing power from afar!"
Jiang Tao fully deployed his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness, stubbornly bearing the brunt of the psychic impact. His face quickly turned pale. "I will restrain the two priests and withstand the frontal psychic pressure! Lin Yan, keep looking for the core node! Only by destroying the main control node will this entire network collapse!"
"Got it!"
Lin Yan did not hesitate any longer, completely sinking his mind into his Sea of Consciousness.
At this moment, he discarded all distracting thoughts, isolating the external roars, illusions, and psychic heavy pressure. The ancient martial arts mind-guarding technique was operated to its absolute limit; his mind was like an ancient, cold pool, without a single ripple.
Countless psychic threads extended to their absolute limit, shuttling through the densely packed fluorescent veins.
The nodes throughout the tunnel seemed evenly distributed and flawless, but the flow of energy always had a source. The energy of countless branching veins was ultimately converging toward the deepest part of the tunnel.
"The deepest point! There is a unique main core node at the end of the tunnel!" Lin Yan instantly locked onto the location. "All the branching nodes are mere appendages. Destroy the main core, and the global network will directly paralyze!"
The two secondary priests instantly sensed his intentions. Their pupils contracted sharply, and they immediately mobilized their psychic power to erect a heavy psychic barrier in the middle of the tunnel, blocking the path forward.
"You will not get near the main core!"
At the same time, the high-tier scaled beasts charging from the front suddenly accelerated. The pitch-black beast tide, fearless of death, surged forward like a tide, intending to use their physical bodies to block the three's advance.
Wielding his long spear, the instructor stepped forward, his roar echoing through the tunnel: "I will clear the path!"
The spear swept horizontally, the force exploding outward. The two high-tier scaled beasts at the very front were instantly heavily injured and sent flying backward. But the subsequent beast tide kept coming endlessly, one after another, impossible to kill off completely.
Jiang Tao's fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness erupted with full force. A majestic psychic torrent pressed down head-on against the two secondary priests, forcibly pushing back their psychic barrier and tearing open a brief gap.
"The window of opportunity is only three breaths! Lin Yan, go quickly!"
Three breaths, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Lin Yan's ancient martial arts footwork erupted to its absolute limit beneath his feet. His figure moved like a lingering shadow, shuttling and dodging through the gaps in the beast tide, avoiding all claws and fangs. Braving the sky-high psychic disturbances, he sprinted at full speed toward the main core node at the deepest end of the tunnel.
Behind him, the beast tide roared to the heavens, and the psychic pursuit from the priests followed closely.
Ahead of him, the massive main node, shining with dazzling dark blue light, hovered quietly at the end of the tunnel. It was like a giant subterranean eye lying in wait, staring at the lone youth charging forward.
A single thread of escape in a deadly situation, the only chance to break the deadlock.
End of Chapter.
The main tunnel, originally dead and pitch-black, was in an instant completely filled with a frigid psychic field. Without any gradual buildup, the dormant node array pre-embedded by the Ancient Progenitor was fully activated the moment the three of them stepped into the core area.
A heavy, ancient, and overwhelmingly oppressive psychic will crashed down, locking the entire space in place.
"The retreat path is sealed!"
The instructor's face changed drastically. His fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness instantly opened to its full extent, a heavy psychic barrier firmly protecting the three of them. But in the next second, the nodes on the ceiling and the rock walls on both sides of the tunnel erupted simultaneously with layers upon layers of illusions.
Unlike the previous three-layer illusions, this time, it was a massive net woven from dozens of layers of fragmented illusionary realms.
Deep within the forks on the left and right, endless darkness churned, and the roars of countless scaled beasts came from all directions. It was not an auditory deception; a real beast tide was closing in.
"We've fallen for it," Jiang Tao gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice. "The so-called rock stratum vibrations and main tunnel signals were all bait deliberately released by the Ancient Progenitor. It knew all along that we would come to investigate!"
The Ancient Progenitor had not been dormant for months in vain.
It had retracted all shallow psychic signals, leaving only the physical excavation vibrations that could not be concealed, precisely grasping humanity's psychology of exploration. Knowing full well it was a trap, humans had to come; if they didn't, the six major bastions would forever live in the fear of the unknown.
And once they stepped into this main underground tunnel, it was eternal damnation.
The nodes throughout the entire tunnel were connected into a massive network, far larger and more meticulous than the previous triangular or four-layer nodes. This was the ultimate cage tailor-made for the special reconnaissance squad.
"Its target this time is not to kill just me, but to completely annihilate our entire squad." Lin Yan's eyes were calm. His third-tier Sea of Consciousness spread out rapidly, with fine psychic threads shuttling through the fluorescent veins, rapidly analyzing the network structure. "All the nodes in the entire tunnel are connected in series, backing each other up and supplying each other with energy. There are no single-point vulnerabilities. To break the array, we must find the main core node."
Just as the three of them faced this deadly situation underground, a sudden burst of war erupted on the surface as well.
The four squad members who had stayed behind to guard the crevice exit were originally hiding behind rubble cover on alert. Suddenly, they heard dense, low, hoarse roars coming from all around the wasteland.
In the vast wasteland's scattered rock piles, countless dark shadows quietly surrounded them. Dozens of high-tier scaled beasts had been lurking silently, already ambushed around the perimeter of the exit, waiting for the underground nodes to activate to completely seal off their retreat.
"There are scaled beasts all around! We're surrounded!"
"Send a distress signal immediately!"
The squad members frantically activated their communicators, but the screens were filled with static. The entire area was shielded by the underground psychic field; electromagnetic signals were completely cut off, and no distress messages could be transmitted.
Trapped on both the surface and underground, a pincer attack on two fronts.
Inside the underground tunnel, the darkness surged completely.
From the six branching tunnels, large numbers of high-tier scaled beasts charged out in an orderly fashion, their steps neat and without a hint of chaos. They were uniformly dispatched by the global psychic network, coordinating closely with clear division of labor. Some charged from the front to restrain the enemy, while others flanked from behind to seal off the retreat path.
In the middle of the tunnel, two familiar tall figures slowly walked out.
Two secondary priests, one on the left and one on the right, stood behind the beast tide. The priest who had been severely injured at the No. 3 Rift had completely recovered, its aura even more robust than before. Two icy psychic locks were firmly nailed onto Lin Yan and the other two.
"Humanity's strongest reconnaissance squad."
The psychic thoughts of the secondary priests echoed through the tunnel.
"Repeatedly destroying the Lord's plans, repeatedly severing nodes. Today, you shall be buried here."
The Ancient Progenitor's will rose above all sounds, cold and indifferent:
"You are most skilled at breaking nodes and illusion arrays. Then I will use endless nodes and endless beast tides to exhaust you to death. I want to see if your methods of breaking through can shatter this entire underground network."
As the words fell, the power of the illusion array surged once again.
Countless tragic scenes frantically poured into the minds of the three. The broken walls of Panshi City, the brutal deaths of comrades, the annihilation of relatives, the fall of the wasteland... Layers of illusions stacked upon each other, intertwining the real and the fake. Even the temperature of the air, the smell of blood, and the sounds of wailing were incredibly real.
The instructor's Sea of Consciousness trembled violently, his brow tightly furrowed. "My barrier can't hold out for much longer! This level of global illusion array is being supported by the Ancient Progenitor exhausting its computing power from afar!"
Jiang Tao fully deployed his fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness, stubbornly bearing the brunt of the psychic impact. His face quickly turned pale. "I will restrain the two priests and withstand the frontal psychic pressure! Lin Yan, keep looking for the core node! Only by destroying the main control node will this entire network collapse!"
"Got it!"
Lin Yan did not hesitate any longer, completely sinking his mind into his Sea of Consciousness.
At this moment, he discarded all distracting thoughts, isolating the external roars, illusions, and psychic heavy pressure. The ancient martial arts mind-guarding technique was operated to its absolute limit; his mind was like an ancient, cold pool, without a single ripple.
Countless psychic threads extended to their absolute limit, shuttling through the densely packed fluorescent veins.
The nodes throughout the tunnel seemed evenly distributed and flawless, but the flow of energy always had a source. The energy of countless branching veins was ultimately converging toward the deepest part of the tunnel.
"The deepest point! There is a unique main core node at the end of the tunnel!" Lin Yan instantly locked onto the location. "All the branching nodes are mere appendages. Destroy the main core, and the global network will directly paralyze!"
The two secondary priests instantly sensed his intentions. Their pupils contracted sharply, and they immediately mobilized their psychic power to erect a heavy psychic barrier in the middle of the tunnel, blocking the path forward.
"You will not get near the main core!"
At the same time, the high-tier scaled beasts charging from the front suddenly accelerated. The pitch-black beast tide, fearless of death, surged forward like a tide, intending to use their physical bodies to block the three's advance.
Wielding his long spear, the instructor stepped forward, his roar echoing through the tunnel: "I will clear the path!"
The spear swept horizontally, the force exploding outward. The two high-tier scaled beasts at the very front were instantly heavily injured and sent flying backward. But the subsequent beast tide kept coming endlessly, one after another, impossible to kill off completely.
Jiang Tao's fourth-tier Sea of Consciousness erupted with full force. A majestic psychic torrent pressed down head-on against the two secondary priests, forcibly pushing back their psychic barrier and tearing open a brief gap.
"The window of opportunity is only three breaths! Lin Yan, go quickly!"
Three breaths, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Lin Yan's ancient martial arts footwork erupted to its absolute limit beneath his feet. His figure moved like a lingering shadow, shuttling and dodging through the gaps in the beast tide, avoiding all claws and fangs. Braving the sky-high psychic disturbances, he sprinted at full speed toward the main core node at the deepest end of the tunnel.
Behind him, the beast tide roared to the heavens, and the psychic pursuit from the priests followed closely.
Ahead of him, the massive main node, shining with dazzling dark blue light, hovered quietly at the end of the tunnel. It was like a giant subterranean eye lying in wait, staring at the lone youth charging forward.
A single thread of escape in a deadly situation, the only chance to break the deadlock.
End of Chapter.