Chapter Thirty-Two: The Shadow of Betrayal

"Argh!" A pained roar erupted from Duan Peng through the communicator, followed by a bone-chilling screech, as if metal were being crushed by an immense, invisible force.

"Pressure... spiking! It’s like… being ground by a ten-thousand-ton hydraulic press! The bulkhead… it’s groaning!"

His voice was interrupted by violent gasping and agony. On the screen, the red zone of total collapse spread like a plague! The column of light representing stability was on the verge of plunging into the black abyss of destruction.

The situation was dire. A flash of resolute determination ignited in Xu Yan’s eyes. This could not be solved by mere console commands; the situation was spiraling out of control!

He jerked his hands away from the keyboard and, driven by raw instinct, slammed them down onto the two physical emergency brake levers on the main console.

Simultaneously, his consciousness, sharp as a piercing awl, dove into the center of the raging dark-purple turbulence. Channeling the extraordinary perception he had coveted, he forcibly "touched" the fleeting, core resonance frequency of that destructive energy!

'Inverse-phase hedge! Frequency lock: Lambda-7! Instantaneous power: 200% overload!' The consciousness he coveted shrieked the final solution. This was near-suicidal!

"Stabilize… for me!" Xu Yan let out a bestial roar from the depths of his throat. His hands exerted terrifying force, pinning the heavy brake levers all the way down!

At the same time, his intent acted like an invisible giant hand, forcibly channeling the reserve energy. With a violent surge that shattered design limits, it slammed directly into the frequency core of the dark-purple turbulence!

BOOM!

A massive, muffled thud echoed as if from the depths of the soul!

The lights in the entire warehouse dimmed instantly! Sparks showered from the main console. The screen went black for a heartbeat before stubbornly flickering back to life!

The frantically spreading crimson was swallowed by an invisible maw and vanished in an instant!

The violently convulsing "Cocoon Chamber" suddenly ceased its shaking! The ear-piercing alarms fell silent.

Dead silence.

Only the low, damaged hum of the energy matrix remained, like the ragged breathing of a beast that had narrowly escaped death.

In the center of the main screen, the digits representing the environmental simulation runtime, after a heart-stopping plunge and a terrifying freeze, struggled and ticked forward:

24:59… 25:00…

***

The crimson receded, and the glaring red warning area shrank significantly, yet the screen remained blanketed in a vast, unstable yellow.

The core stability column hovered at the dangerous edge between yellow and red, trembling weakly, yet it did not fall into the abyss.

Twenty-five minutes!

The price was a core system overload; stability was hanging by a thread, like dancing on the edge of a cliff.

"Shut… shut down the system! Depressurize! Open the hatch!" Jing Zhimin’s voice, raspy from the narrow escape and filled with unquestionable urgency, shattered the suffocating silence.

The heavy hatch slid open with difficulty, and scorching air mixed with the pungent scent of ozone billowed out.

Duan Peng crawled out, his face as pale as parchment, a trace of blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. He clutched his chest tightly, every breath accompanied by violent coughing and painful groans.

He collapsed onto the cold warehouse floor, his body spasming uncontrollably. Yet, his bloodshot eyes remained fixed on Xu Yan, who was leaning against the console, equally drained and gasping for air. "Tw… twenty-five minutes! Xu Yan… are you… are you a god?!"

Late at night, the base was silent, save for the beams of patrol searchlights occasionally sweeping the ground.

A shadow, like a cat blending into the night, slunk silently to the rear of the abandoned warehouse.

Heavy lead plating blocked most light and sound, but a narrow maintenance port left for ventilation ducts had become a fatal vulnerability.

Jing Dong held his breath, his heart hammering against his ribs as if it would shatter them.

His uncle, Jing Zhimin, had inadvertently let slip a few words while talking to a confidant in his study the previous night under immense pressure: "...'The Cocoon'… it’s too advanced… Xu Yan… the source of his knowledge is absolutely suspicious… it must be investigated… otherwise, all of Jinjiang… will be buried with him…"

Fear and a twisted sense of jealousy at being excluded from the core secret gnawed at him.

He had to know the truth! He had to catch Xu Yan in the act!

Familiar with the base’s security blind spots, he climbed up to the vent like a gecko. He carefully attached a magnetic device, equipped with a micro-camera and signal transmitter, to a cold steel support beam inside the warehouse through the gap in the grille.

The micro-lens silently aimed at the brightly lit "Cocoon Chamber" prototype and the main control area below.

Just as he prepared to retreat, footsteps and voices drifted from the warehouse! It was Xu Yan and Duan Peng!

Terrified, Jing Dong froze, pressing himself against the cold lead plating, not daring to move a muscle.

Inside, Xu Yan and Duan Peng did not notice the surveillance from above.

Duan Peng rubbed his still-aching chest, looking at the scarred "Cocoon Chamber" with lingering fear: "Twenty-five minutes… Old Xu, how did you actually manage that last part? I felt like the whole chamber was about to be torn to shreds!"

***

Xu Yan did not answer immediately. He walked to the main console, picked up an electronic pen, and unconsciously sketched on a discarded scrap of paper.

He did not draw any known Star Blue symbols, but a complex geometric figure consisting of multiple nested spirals and strange angles—a core resonance model of an energy field, pure and imbued with the cold aesthetics of the Ram Star.

His gaze was distant, as if still immersed in the life-and-death struggle against the violent energy. He muttered unconsciously: "...The key lies in the frequency… inverse phase… overload is only a temporary measure… if only there were 'Void Crystals' to serve as a resonance substrate… or… directly utilize the tidal energy of space itself…"

His voice was soft, but through the high-sensitivity bug, every word was transmitted clearly to Jing Dong outside the warehouse!

Frequency? Inverse phase? Void Crystals? Space tidal energy?!

These terms were like an alien language, yet they carried a chilling, inhuman coldness!

Jing Dong felt a chill run through him, his hair standing on end! Is this still the Xu Yan he knew?!

This could never be the classmate he recognized!

Could it be that Xu Yan, who should have died in the deep sea but miraculously survived, had undergone some transformation, or triggered some hidden ability of his body?

Had he turned into an incomprehensible monster?

Fear, like a cold viper, coiled around his heart, extinguishing his last bit of hesitation.

A flicker of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. He stopped lingering and slid down the wall like a startled rat, disappearing into the thick night without a sound.

He had to pass all this on, along with that bizarre diagram, as quickly as possible!

Xu Yan’s secret was far more terrifying than he had imagined! This was no longer just an internal issue for Jinjiang!

Inside the warehouse, Xu Yan seemed to sense something. The pen in his hand paused; the Ram Star symbol was only half-drawn.

He suddenly looked up, his sharp gaze sweeping toward the ventilation duct like a bolt of lightning, where only profound darkness lay.

A sense of indescribable unease quietly crept into his heart.