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Chapter 207 The Mysterious Orion Base
Su Wanqing pressed her body tightly against the metal door, waiting for the last bit of energy fluctuation to stabilize.

The darkness behind the door was somewhat oppressive, and the distant hum of machinery was accompanied by intermittent vibrations.

She glanced at the jade bracelet on her wrist; the energy interface was slowly converging.

Lu Zhao whispered a reminder: "Watch your step."

The two walked through the loose alloy door and were greeted by a wide passageway with a badly worn anti-slip surface on the ground.

At the end of the main road, a faint blue indicator light flickered. Ahead lay a tall, semi-circular hall, its structure entirely supported by an alloy frame.

Su Wanqing silently stepped forward, but after a few steps her foot touched the step.

Upon reaching the center of the hall, the footsteps abruptly ceased. A giant holographic projection pillar stood in the center; although some parts had collapsed, a blurry light screen still illuminated it, displaying a complex three-dimensional cross-section of the base's interior.

Lu Zhao turned on the signal detector to try and capture data. He leaned close to the edge of the projection and said, "Seven layers deep, this area is probably almost half the size of a fortress."

Su Wanqing's gaze fell on the top layer of the projection, with a clear outline, and it expanded downwards layer by layer, with several areas circled by red dots.

She bit her lip: "The official report didn't mention this area at all." The markings on the projection were still flashing, with "Extreme Research Zone" written at the bottom.

Along the walls of the hall are rows of research stations, each with remnants of medical and biological analysis equipment on its surface.

Most of the screens had already lost power, with only one workstation near the west side still having its main power switch dimly lit.

Lu Zhao checked each port one by one. The cooler was covered in dust, so he carefully put on gloves and connected the power.

A series of old data windows popped up.

Lu Zhao frowned and slowly turned the page: "There are local records here, but they are all incomplete."

He opened a folder, and a sentence stood out in the residual log: "N-series experimental subjects, consciousness stability suddenly became abnormal... The memory interaction interface of Project S reported an error again, and the permission has been handed over to the supervisor for review."

He stopped what he was doing. "This refers to two sets of experiments."

Su Wanqing leaned closer and looked at the recorded times at the bottom of the screen: "They're all from ten years ago."

She remembered that Ye had mentioned an era that predated the emergence of the virus.

Lu Zhao closed the terminal and then took out the drive to back up the data.

At the far end of the hall was a row of lockers, most of which were locked. Su Wanqing tried turning the handles on several, but only the one on the very edge was still intact.

When she approached with the jade bracelet, the locker automatically clicked open.

Su Wanqing had been acting strangely for a while. She looked down and saw a tiny bracelet quietly placed in the cabinet. Structurally, it corresponded to her jade bracelet, but it was red overall and had metallic symbols on its streamlined surface.

She took them out, and as soon as she touched them, the red bracelet and her own jade bracelet lit up simultaneously, and an energy wave resonated intensely between the two devices.

Her arm was a little sore when a stream of data rushed into her mind. The jade bracelet projected a long string of dense encrypted characters, which finally stopped on the screen: "Pairing system, core initialization incomplete."

Su Wanqing's breathing became heavy. She quickly put away the red bracelet. As soon as it was separated, the jade bracelet's notification page retracted, and the encrypted data was automatically archived and disappeared.

Lu Zhao examined the portable terminal for a while. "The security protocol shows that these two devices are highly correlated and may be part of an original set."

"Why is there a spare?" Su Wanqing asked hesitantly. "The pairing system... is it also related to the project codename?"

She wasn't sure she could answer the question even after asking it.

“This scale is definitely beyond the scope of external research authority.” Lu Zhao fastened the circular storage box. “Take it back and analyze it later.”

They walked down from the main control hall, and there was a side passage leading to the culture area. The labels on the doors were old, but the words "Biosample Room" were still legible.

Su Wanqing pushed open the door and went inside. She saw more than a dozen culture chambers arranged in the room. Most of the glass chambers were covered with cracks, and each chamber was marked with a code and date.

The interior was completely empty; the instruments and data ports had been violently destroyed.

The only intact one was the corner hull, numbered "N-7," with large areas of congealed blood on its walls and broken cables scattered around the connectors.

Su Wanqing remembered that Ye had mentioned "Test Subject No. 7". She observed the remaining data inside the cabin; the last communication was updated to the date of the experiment's sealing.

“This pod has been involved in an accident.” Her voice lowered. Lu Zhao adjusted the oxygen tank on his shoulder and replied in a deep voice, “Violent destruction, escape attempts after infection. Unlike ordinary culture media, this pod’s data interface has three layers.”

The two then walked to the control panel next to them. Su Wanqing tried to touch it with her jade bracelet, but only sensed some irregular interference.

Every time she passed through a locked area, whether it was a database or an internal passage, the access control system would flash the monitoring lights a few times as soon as she approached, the latch would automatically retract, and the door would open.

Lu Zhao turned on his hat light and said, "Your access has been directly upgraded to the supervisor level. The access control will react to you every time you take a step closer."

Su Wanqing suppressed her unease and focused her attention on the jade bracelet on her hand.

She pushed open the door at the far east end of the corridor and saw a sign on the door frame that read "Supervisor's Office".

She tried to peek inside, and the scanner next to the access control lighted up automatically, emitting an electronic voice: "S-7 identity confirmed, welcome back, Dr. Su."

She paused, her mind a complete blank. There was no movement inside the office. She looked at her jade bracelet, then touched her arm, but found no trace of her memory.

She went inside and found the room filled with old books and data terminals, with several unopened file folders piled in a corner.

Everything seemed to be specifically designed for her, yet she had no recollection of it.

At this time, Lu Zhao was working outside and connected the temporary terminal to a usable data well.

He glanced at the screen, his expression quickly turning to one of confusion: "I pulled up your biometrics comparison, and the S-7 supervisor in the database matches your body with a 98% match rate."

The only discrepancy is in your brain's neural activity; this database contains a specific set of parameters.

Su Wanqing calmed herself down and tried to sort through the information she had just absorbed. She had never been to this base before and had no memory of participating in these studies, yet all the permissions, access control, and data systems seemed to be waiting for her.

She pursed her lips, enduring her headache, and looked back. The seven-layer structure on the projector was still slowly rotating, and each subsequent area was marked with some code that only those with internal connections could know.

"It is almost certain that I am fundamentally connected with my position as the head of the S-7 project."

She pressed her temples, not daring to look again at the access control sign that claimed "Welcome Back".

The data from the two wristbands seemed to resonate subtly within my body, creating a strange sense of weightlessness deep within my consciousness.

They continued through the archives, and Lu Zhao tried to crack more databases, but no matter what she did, her access was automatically revoked.

The security system tacitly allowed her entry at every critical juncture. Several mechanical electronic prompts almost etched the name "Dr. Su" into her very being.

Even after circling the entire first floor, traces of past experiments still lingered throughout the base, including scattered biological detectors, once-operational mainframes, and abandoned sealed capsules.

Most of the rooms showed signs of temporary relocation and evacuation, with neglected semi-finished experimental materials and printed test reports scattered everywhere.

The holographic projection pillar continued to emit light, and an unknown experiment progress bar was continuously playing above the pedestal.

Further east is a separate inspection area with large sample cryopreservation cabinets labeled with classification information.

One of the sample cabinets had its smoke-proof glass shattered, and empty device casings and numbered stickers were scattered all over the floor. Some of the sequences corresponded to the data codes they had just seen in the log port.

Su Wanqing hadn't relaxed at all from beginning to end, and countless fragmented details flashed through her mind.

Lu Zhao tidied up the fragmented report behind her, then glanced at the base entrance a few more times.

The main control communication board remained silent; Xiao Ran's signal was completely cut off, and there was no contact with the outside world.

"The site's structure is far more complex than the design drawings suggest. Your involvement here is too close, which is not right."

As Lu Zhao spoke, he flipped through the counter's documents, "Once you have the authority, you can activate it all."

This isn't just a simple settings issue. The comparison in the biometrics database shows that your identity is actually pre-programmed deep into the code.

Su Wanqing touched the pressure buckle on her waist and put both bracelets into her pocket at the same time.

She couldn't understand most of the reasons, but now she could only continue to investigate further.

Lu Zhao followed, carrying the equipment. His footsteps echoed in the empty hall, where the unpleasant smell of metal and coolant still lingered.

She pushed open the last isolation door, preparing to move towards the next unpredictable area.