Chapter 13: The Deadline Looms
Inside the underground main control room, the massive body of the scaled beast lay quietly among the scattered equipment debris. The light purple glandular fluid slowly seeped through the cracks in the ground, and the foul stench grew increasingly heavy in the enclosed space.
Su Qin put away the collection chip and repeatedly confirmed that all three coordinate markers on it were lit up. Her heart eased slightly, but her taut nerves dared not relax for a moment. She raised her hand to rub her temples; her Sea of Consciousness, which had been battered by the underground surge, still throbbed with a dull ache.
"We need to hurry." Su Qin raised her eyes to look up the passage, the flashlight beam cutting through the floating dust in the corridor. "The struggle underground just now consumed a lot of time. We have less than an hour and a half left before the assessment time limit. The route back to the exit is longer, and the uphill climb will drain our physical strength. Plus, scaled beasts could be roaming the ruins at any time."
Lin Yan briefly checked his own injuries. The forearm that had been struck by the beast's tail was red and swollen, stinging sharply with any movement, and his chest still felt tight and swollen. Fortunately, his bones were intact, and it wouldn't impede his movement. He picked up his emergency kit and slung it over his back, then scanned the main control room one last time to ensure there were no other hidden monsters.
"Let's go, return the way we came. Try not to stop on the road; prioritize moving. If we encounter enemies, bypass them if possible."
The two turned and stepped into the sloping passage leading to the second underground level. The flashlight beams, one in front and one behind, illuminated the slippery rubble underfoot. Climbing upward was far more exhausting than descending. The passage was narrow, and loose rocks continuously cascaded down from the unstable rock layers above. Although the psychic turbulence underground had significantly diminished due to the death of the sub-high-level scaled beast, scattered aftershocks still occasionally swept over their Seas of Consciousness.
Just as they climbed out of the first underground level and returned to the surface ruins, two low roars of scaled beasts echoed from afar. Judging by the sound, they were not far away.
"There are scaled beasts active nearby." Lin Yan lowered his voice, raising his hand to signal Su Qin to stop, and tilted his head to discern the direction of the sound. "They're to the right of our original route. There are at least two of them. Going back the original way will lead us straight into them."
Su Qin frowned tightly and quickly pulled out the crumpled, simple map.
"If we take a detour, we have to pass through a collapsed residential district. There are dense piles of building debris and plenty of cover, but the alleys are complicated and it's easy to get lost. Moreover, the psychic turbulence in that area is unstable."
"We can only detour," Lin Yan said decisively. "If we encounter two scaled beasts head-on and get dragged into a fight, we definitely won't make it in time."
The two changed direction and headed into the collapsed residential district. Broken walls were stacked in layers, with a massive number of collapsed floor slabs piled into uneven hills of stone. The alleys were narrow and winding, and in many places, they could only squeeze through sideways. The daylight was sliced into tiny, flickering spots by the ruined buildings, limiting their visibility.
After walking for about twenty minutes, Su Qin's footsteps suddenly paused. Her body swayed slightly, and she pressed a hand hard against her forehead.
"What's wrong?" Lin Yan stopped immediately and turned to look at her.
"My Sea of Consciousness... the old injury is flaring up." Su Qin bit her lower lip, her face rapidly draining of color to a deathly pale, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on her forehead. "The aftermath of the impact underground just now... I thought I had stabilized it, but the continuous rushing combined with the fluctuating turbulence in this area has caused my Sea of Consciousness to destabilize again."
The core of her Sea of Consciousness began to shake. Waves of dull pain drilled continuously into her mind, and her vision blurred momentarily. The Sea of Consciousness stabilizer pendant around her neck trembled violently, the faint light on its metal surface flickering; it could hardly buffer the impacts effectively anymore.
"Can you hold on?"
"I'll try my best." Su Qin took a deep breath and closed her eyes, forcibly gathering her scattered consciousness. "We can't stay here long. The longer we stay, the worse the turbulence in my Sea of Consciousness will get. Let's slow down and avoid running vigorously."
Lin Yan adjusted his pace, slowing their progress. He also took the initiative to walk in the lead, responsible for guarding the blind spots and shadows ahead, sharing the burden of environmental perception for her. Whenever the putrid stench in the air grew stronger or the psychic turbulence increased, he would immediately remind Su Qin to be on guard in advance.
Rubble continuously rolled off the broken walls along the way, the rustling sound exceptionally clear in the silent ruins. They avoided large open spaces, deliberately choosing routes covered by walls for protection. Several times, when they caught sight of scaled beast shadows from afar, they hid against the broken walls in advance, holding their breath, and only continued moving after the monsters had passed.
Su Qin endured it with gritted teeth throughout the entire journey. The pain in her Sea of Consciousness came in waves; every time a wave of psychic turbulence swept past, her headache worsened. Her footsteps grew heavier, and her breathing became rapid. Several times, she nearly tripped over the piles of rubble. She did not dare to use the signal alarm in her emergency kit. They had collected all three coordinates; all that was left was to rush back to the exit. Once she pressed the alarm, all their efforts would be in vain.
"Once we pass through these collapsed buildings, there's a large open gravel beach. After crossing the beach, we'll be close to the exit assembly point." Su Qin forced herself to stay focused, pointing to a massive gap in the wall ahead.
Passing through the gap, their field of vision suddenly opened up. A vast expanse of rubble-strewn open ground lay before them, without any tall broken walls for cover. The empty area had no shelter; once discovered by scaled beasts, there would be nowhere to hide.
"Pass through quickly, don't stop," Lin Yan reminded in a low voice.
The two stepped onto the gravel beach and quickened their pace. The rubble underfoot made a continuous rustling sound. Just as they reached the middle of the beach, a sharp roar suddenly erupted from behind a broken wall on the left!
A low-level scaled beast, half the size of a human,猛地 (suddenly) rushed out of the shadows. The glands on its head instantly lit up with a faint glow, and a medium-intensity psychic impact shot straight at the two of them.
Su Qin's already unstable Sea of Consciousness was hit again. She let out a muffled groan, her body staggering violently, nearly collapsing to the ground.
"You keep running forward, I'll hold it back!" Lin Yan said in a deep voice.
"No, I can't leave you behind!"
"The exit is not far ahead, go there first to report. I'll catch up soon." Without waiting for Su Qin to argue, Lin Yan picked up a fist-sized stone and threw it forcefully toward the side of the scaled beast, drawing the monster's attention.
As expected, the scaled beast was attracted by the sound of the stone. It changed direction and pounced fiercely toward Lin Yan.
Lin Yan dodged the pounce by turning his body, his footwork flexible as he constantly maneuvered to restrain the scaled beast, leading it away from Su Qin. Su Qin glanced back. After a moment of inner struggle, she knew that staying behind would only drag Lin Yan down. Gritting her teeth and enduring the severe pain in her Sea of Consciousness, she continued to run swiftly toward the exit of the ruins.
While maneuvering, Lin Yan observed the scaled beast's movements. It was only a low-level individual with limited psychic impact strength, posing little threat. He constantly pulled away to create distance, draining its stamina and looking for an opportunity. After a few rounds, seizing the moment when the scaled beast landed from a pounce, he delivered a fierce kick to the weak gap in the scales on its neck.
The scaled beast let out a painful hiss, rolled on the ground, and temporarily lost its ability to move. Lin Yan did not linger to fight; he immediately turned around and sprinted at full speed toward the exit to catch up with Su Qin.
By the time he burst out of the gravel beach, he could already see the metal fence at the exit of the ruins in the distance, along with the vehicles of the garrison squad and the figures of the instructors outside the fence. Su Qin had already reached the exit and was leaning against the fence, panting heavily, her face as pale as paper.
Lu Ling and several instructors stood at the assembly point, staring at the candidates' positioning signals on their tablets. When they saw Lin Yan's positioning signal also arrive at the exit area, Lu Ling raised his hand and glanced at the assessment countdown.
There were seven minutes left until the six-hour time limit.
The two had successfully made it back.
End of Chapter
Su Qin put away the collection chip and repeatedly confirmed that all three coordinate markers on it were lit up. Her heart eased slightly, but her taut nerves dared not relax for a moment. She raised her hand to rub her temples; her Sea of Consciousness, which had been battered by the underground surge, still throbbed with a dull ache.
"We need to hurry." Su Qin raised her eyes to look up the passage, the flashlight beam cutting through the floating dust in the corridor. "The struggle underground just now consumed a lot of time. We have less than an hour and a half left before the assessment time limit. The route back to the exit is longer, and the uphill climb will drain our physical strength. Plus, scaled beasts could be roaming the ruins at any time."
Lin Yan briefly checked his own injuries. The forearm that had been struck by the beast's tail was red and swollen, stinging sharply with any movement, and his chest still felt tight and swollen. Fortunately, his bones were intact, and it wouldn't impede his movement. He picked up his emergency kit and slung it over his back, then scanned the main control room one last time to ensure there were no other hidden monsters.
"Let's go, return the way we came. Try not to stop on the road; prioritize moving. If we encounter enemies, bypass them if possible."
The two turned and stepped into the sloping passage leading to the second underground level. The flashlight beams, one in front and one behind, illuminated the slippery rubble underfoot. Climbing upward was far more exhausting than descending. The passage was narrow, and loose rocks continuously cascaded down from the unstable rock layers above. Although the psychic turbulence underground had significantly diminished due to the death of the sub-high-level scaled beast, scattered aftershocks still occasionally swept over their Seas of Consciousness.
Just as they climbed out of the first underground level and returned to the surface ruins, two low roars of scaled beasts echoed from afar. Judging by the sound, they were not far away.
"There are scaled beasts active nearby." Lin Yan lowered his voice, raising his hand to signal Su Qin to stop, and tilted his head to discern the direction of the sound. "They're to the right of our original route. There are at least two of them. Going back the original way will lead us straight into them."
Su Qin frowned tightly and quickly pulled out the crumpled, simple map.
"If we take a detour, we have to pass through a collapsed residential district. There are dense piles of building debris and plenty of cover, but the alleys are complicated and it's easy to get lost. Moreover, the psychic turbulence in that area is unstable."
"We can only detour," Lin Yan said decisively. "If we encounter two scaled beasts head-on and get dragged into a fight, we definitely won't make it in time."
The two changed direction and headed into the collapsed residential district. Broken walls were stacked in layers, with a massive number of collapsed floor slabs piled into uneven hills of stone. The alleys were narrow and winding, and in many places, they could only squeeze through sideways. The daylight was sliced into tiny, flickering spots by the ruined buildings, limiting their visibility.
After walking for about twenty minutes, Su Qin's footsteps suddenly paused. Her body swayed slightly, and she pressed a hand hard against her forehead.
"What's wrong?" Lin Yan stopped immediately and turned to look at her.
"My Sea of Consciousness... the old injury is flaring up." Su Qin bit her lower lip, her face rapidly draining of color to a deathly pale, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on her forehead. "The aftermath of the impact underground just now... I thought I had stabilized it, but the continuous rushing combined with the fluctuating turbulence in this area has caused my Sea of Consciousness to destabilize again."
The core of her Sea of Consciousness began to shake. Waves of dull pain drilled continuously into her mind, and her vision blurred momentarily. The Sea of Consciousness stabilizer pendant around her neck trembled violently, the faint light on its metal surface flickering; it could hardly buffer the impacts effectively anymore.
"Can you hold on?"
"I'll try my best." Su Qin took a deep breath and closed her eyes, forcibly gathering her scattered consciousness. "We can't stay here long. The longer we stay, the worse the turbulence in my Sea of Consciousness will get. Let's slow down and avoid running vigorously."
Lin Yan adjusted his pace, slowing their progress. He also took the initiative to walk in the lead, responsible for guarding the blind spots and shadows ahead, sharing the burden of environmental perception for her. Whenever the putrid stench in the air grew stronger or the psychic turbulence increased, he would immediately remind Su Qin to be on guard in advance.
Rubble continuously rolled off the broken walls along the way, the rustling sound exceptionally clear in the silent ruins. They avoided large open spaces, deliberately choosing routes covered by walls for protection. Several times, when they caught sight of scaled beast shadows from afar, they hid against the broken walls in advance, holding their breath, and only continued moving after the monsters had passed.
Su Qin endured it with gritted teeth throughout the entire journey. The pain in her Sea of Consciousness came in waves; every time a wave of psychic turbulence swept past, her headache worsened. Her footsteps grew heavier, and her breathing became rapid. Several times, she nearly tripped over the piles of rubble. She did not dare to use the signal alarm in her emergency kit. They had collected all three coordinates; all that was left was to rush back to the exit. Once she pressed the alarm, all their efforts would be in vain.
"Once we pass through these collapsed buildings, there's a large open gravel beach. After crossing the beach, we'll be close to the exit assembly point." Su Qin forced herself to stay focused, pointing to a massive gap in the wall ahead.
Passing through the gap, their field of vision suddenly opened up. A vast expanse of rubble-strewn open ground lay before them, without any tall broken walls for cover. The empty area had no shelter; once discovered by scaled beasts, there would be nowhere to hide.
"Pass through quickly, don't stop," Lin Yan reminded in a low voice.
The two stepped onto the gravel beach and quickened their pace. The rubble underfoot made a continuous rustling sound. Just as they reached the middle of the beach, a sharp roar suddenly erupted from behind a broken wall on the left!
A low-level scaled beast, half the size of a human,猛地 (suddenly) rushed out of the shadows. The glands on its head instantly lit up with a faint glow, and a medium-intensity psychic impact shot straight at the two of them.
Su Qin's already unstable Sea of Consciousness was hit again. She let out a muffled groan, her body staggering violently, nearly collapsing to the ground.
"You keep running forward, I'll hold it back!" Lin Yan said in a deep voice.
"No, I can't leave you behind!"
"The exit is not far ahead, go there first to report. I'll catch up soon." Without waiting for Su Qin to argue, Lin Yan picked up a fist-sized stone and threw it forcefully toward the side of the scaled beast, drawing the monster's attention.
As expected, the scaled beast was attracted by the sound of the stone. It changed direction and pounced fiercely toward Lin Yan.
Lin Yan dodged the pounce by turning his body, his footwork flexible as he constantly maneuvered to restrain the scaled beast, leading it away from Su Qin. Su Qin glanced back. After a moment of inner struggle, she knew that staying behind would only drag Lin Yan down. Gritting her teeth and enduring the severe pain in her Sea of Consciousness, she continued to run swiftly toward the exit of the ruins.
While maneuvering, Lin Yan observed the scaled beast's movements. It was only a low-level individual with limited psychic impact strength, posing little threat. He constantly pulled away to create distance, draining its stamina and looking for an opportunity. After a few rounds, seizing the moment when the scaled beast landed from a pounce, he delivered a fierce kick to the weak gap in the scales on its neck.
The scaled beast let out a painful hiss, rolled on the ground, and temporarily lost its ability to move. Lin Yan did not linger to fight; he immediately turned around and sprinted at full speed toward the exit to catch up with Su Qin.
By the time he burst out of the gravel beach, he could already see the metal fence at the exit of the ruins in the distance, along with the vehicles of the garrison squad and the figures of the instructors outside the fence. Su Qin had already reached the exit and was leaning against the fence, panting heavily, her face as pale as paper.
Lu Ling and several instructors stood at the assembly point, staring at the candidates' positioning signals on their tablets. When they saw Lin Yan's positioning signal also arrive at the exit area, Lu Ling raised his hand and glanced at the assessment countdown.
There were seven minutes left until the six-hour time limit.
The two had successfully made it back.
End of Chapter