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Chapter 187 The Isolated Fortress
The attacks from outside gradually became sluggish, and the golden shield acted like a silent wall, suppressing all the impacts.

Lu Zhao leaned against the corner, and after his breathing became even, he suggested that everyone be moved to the main control room.

"The equipment is all here. There's an emergency power supply in case it gets stuck." Su Wanqing nodded, then asked Xiao Ran for help and helped the girl with the childlike voice into the inner room.

In the main control room, several old carpets were laid on the floor, and the three backup power indicators were still glowing faintly.

Lin Che protected the girl with the childlike voice and placed her on the sofa closest to the main console.

His eyes were red-rimmed, and he stared blankly at her fingers.

Su Wanqing didn't stop moving, she gripped the jade bracelet tightly and brought it close to the edge of the control panel.

She whispered, "Is there any way to remove the shield now? We can't keep it on like this."

She pressed the groove on the jade bracelet repeatedly, but there was no response.

Lu Zhao placed the tablet and a portable scanner together, and only a string of cold, hard numbers remained on the screen: "High-density energy coverage, not a trace of leakage. Sound wave detection, completely blocked." He frowned and put his hands behind his back—"All electromagnetic waves, wireless and infrared communications are completely cut off. The outside world and the inside world are like two different worlds."

Su Wanqing stared at the jade bracelet, trying to communicate with it through her thoughts. "Eden's Guardian, deactivate."

She enunciated each word carefully, yet the jade bracelet emitted a burning, stinging pain. Immediately afterward, a cold, mechanical voice exploded in her mind: "Danger Level: Omega. Emergency protection protocol activated. System locked. Seven energy cores must be collected to restart the system."

A tense silence fell over the room. Su Wanqing took a deep breath and lowered her voice: "The system is locked. What kind of energy core do we need to collect?"

The gold threads on the surface of the jade bracelet seemed to have lost their power, ceasing to flow, and even the tactile sensation disappeared.

Xiao Ran asked in a low voice, "Does that mean... we need to find seven energy sources to unlock it?"

He gritted his teeth and fiddled with the rifle's safety mechanism in his hand. "They're all locked, and there's military outside. How am I supposed to get out?"

Lu Zhao interjected, pointing to the backup energy meter in the room: "The Eden Barrier is different from a normal barrier—its energy is cyclical, but all outward channels are sealed off. I've measured it with a scanner, and not even the thinnest wireless signal can get out. In other words, we've become an isolated island—no one can get in from the outside, and no one can get out from the inside."

Xiao Ran slowly stood in front of the window and opened the only observation window in the main control room.

A dense mass of military armored vehicles surrounded the area, and further away, Li Ming and his men were gathered.

They relentlessly bombarded the golden barrier with folding cannons, flamethrowers, and a barrage of explosive projectiles.

Each time, a ripple could be seen on the surface of the shield, but there was no cracking whatsoever.

Further away, the zombie hordes were so dense that they piled up to form a wall.

They collided and wailed, drawn by the golden energy, gathering ever denser, like an ever-expanding black encirclement.

Lu Zhao glanced at the energy panel again and couldn't help but say, "Currently, the entire fortress's electricity, oxygen circulation, and water treatment are still running. At the past rate of consumption, it will last at most thirty days. If we don't replenish the energy cores, this barrier will continue to wear down—if we can't hold on until all the cores are gathered, the people will be the first to give up."

She pondered every word in the mechanical prompts, then asked Lu Zhao, "Can the core be replaced by another energy source?"

Lu Zhao reached into his pocket, shook a spare chip, and shook his head: "This kind of locking requires all seven to be found as originally planned. They've written the authentication program into the physical structure. Even one gap won't work—this protocol isn't a conventional security mode; it might require a special energy response that's the same as the virus."

The four people in the control room fell silent for a moment. Xiao Ran shifted his position at the door, glancing at the security door and energy meter outside, and continued calculating the plan.

He used a pencil to write down the remaining food, oxygen cylinders, and water on an old piece of paper.

"It could take as little as twenty-six days, or as long as thirty-one days. Either we wait for someone to rescue us, or the barrier goes out, allowing the zombies and the military to come in together."

Su Wanqing calmed down and continued to talk to the jade bracelet in a low voice, without giving any further prompts or responses.

Lin Che held the girl with the childlike voice, his brows furrowed, his hands moving repeatedly: "How do you think... we're supposed to collect the core of this thing?"

Su Wanqing replied in a low voice, "We might need to go into various parts of the fortress to search for backup energy left over from the Eden Project. That mechanical prompt wasn't just made up; finding the energy core is the only way to have a chance for the next step."

She paused for a moment, sorting out the key issues.

The sound of the barrier vibrating violently once again came from outside, but the wall remained unmoved. Xiao Ran closed the observation port and said to Su Wanqing, "No matter what, we must first ensure energy and safety. If we delay any longer, the water and oxygen inside will deteriorate."

Lu Zhao quietly used the instrument to test the strength of the shielding area.

"Don't expect to contact the outside world anymore. It's impossible for you to shout or ask for help from outsiders; the signal simply won't get through."

The classroom was quiet. Just then, the girl with the childlike voice stirred in Lin Che's arms and let out a long sigh of relief.

Lin Che leaned closer, his voice much lower: "Are you alright? Where does it hurt?"

The girl opened her eyes, raised her head, and spoke in a soft, slightly hoarse voice.

"I'm fine." She looked at Lin Che and whispered, "Thank you, brother."

Lin Che paused for a moment, then didn't ask any further questions. The girl with the childlike voice turned to look at Su Wanqing.

She began, "My name is Xiaoling." Her voice was soft, but she spoke earnestly, "I used to... live in a very white room, that was the constellation 'Orion'. There was an auntie who wore glasses who always told me stories. Sometimes she was very anxious, but every night she would hold my hand. Then one day she disappeared, and I couldn't find her."

Lin Che patted her shoulder, "You finally remembered your name."

Xiaoling nodded and showed Lin Che her right hand. A faint blue light slowly shone from her palm.

“This is called ‘Little Star.’ My aunt says it can help me find fragments of my memories. It lights up whenever I’m scared or cold. Sometimes, I can also see shadows in the room, which guide me to retrieve what I’ve lost.”

Su Wanqing walked over slowly, a thoughtful expression on her face.

She picked up the rod-shaped detector and paused in front of Xiaoling's palm.

The display showed only a string of blue flowing numbers, which was very similar to the energy color on the jade bracelet.

Lin Che asked softly, "Can you find these 'fragments'?"

Xiaoling raised her head slightly: "I don't remember, but I think I can help."

She handed the blue light to Lin Che and whispered, "This 'little star' only responds to Eden's energy. Auntie said that once I 'put it all together,' the door will open."

Lu Zhao paused for a moment, then added, "The core design of the barrier is to allow different genetic energies to respond to each other—the Orion project may have had such a contingency plan. Is your resonance frequency a clue to finding the energy core?"

Su Wanqing glanced at everyone and asked Xiaoling directly, "Can the barrier allow you to directly sense the location of those fragments?"

Xiaoling lowered her head and slowly gathered the light in her palm: "Right now I can only feel that someone is very close to us, it's very noisy, and a lot of energy is piled up together... but the fragments seem to be hidden inside the wall, and I have to get closer to find out where they are."

Xiao Ran closed the notebook in his hand, his voice filled with genuine anxiety: "Regardless of whether she can lead us to find energy or not, don't give up any hope. Thirty days, even the slightest mistake, and it's all over."

The air inside seemed heavy and oppressive; no one had the energy to talk.

Su Wanqing quietly put the jade bracelet back on her wrist, pressed her fingers against it, and continued to silently count the system prompt in her mind.

Lu Zhao recorded all the initial conditions of the barrier and entered the parameters into the terminal one by one.

Lin Che then asked, "Xiao Ling, have you memorized anything in particular? Like shapes, symbols, or numbers?"

Xiaoling shook her head, but leaned her head on Lin Che's shoulder. "Auntie said that as long as there are 'little stars' and energy fragments together, you won't be afraid of the dark."

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Lu Zhao shook the remaining batteries, mentally going over all the possible energy recycling schemes.

Xiao Ran lowered his voice, "It doesn't matter how far things get, we need to prioritize the fortress's energy consumption first."

Su Wanqing didn't say anything more, but simply placed the jade bracelet on the table and waited for any new reactions from the system.

Everyone sat around the control room, isolated in a fortified island.