After stocking up at the maximum level, all the handsome men in the apocalypse are looking for suppo

Chapter 211 Difficult Choice

Su Wanqing sat in front of the control panel in the laboratory, the jade bracelet in her hand slightly warm.

She stared at the flowchart on the screen, not taking any immediate action, but mentally going through all the possibilities.

The sounds of the "lurkers" outside the door became increasingly intense, and the air was filled with the alternating echoes of machinery and the scrambling of the door.

Lu Zhao took a copy of the terminal data and said in a low voice, "The normal procedure won't work, there's simply not enough time. I just ran the energy distribution logic again..." He coughed twice as he said this, and pressed his hands into his coat sleeves to his ribs.

Su Wanqing waited for him to finish speaking.

“I can use your jade bracelet and energy interface to bridge the gap, and some functions can be converted to direct power supply.”

Theoretically, this bracelet can deceive the system as a backup source for about thirty minutes, but after that many parts of it will malfunction, and we must transfer the cabin and main body to a portable system as soon as possible.

When Lu Zhao explained, he took out two sections of the equipment wiring and quickly tested the connection ports manually.

Su Wanqing looked at the dense array of ports and instruments. She asked, "Would directly extracting the core kill someone?"

"Yes, it's not a regular life support system. It won't survive more than half an hour without the main power. According to my design, I can use the jade bracelet to trick the system and maintain its life signal to the minimum to buy some time."

However, the cost is that some of the spare units in the jade bracelet will be burned, and it's uncertain whether they will be usable again later.

Lu Zhao pursed his lips. "Do you trust my plan?"

Su Wanqing didn't answer, staring at the bottom of the sealed cabin. She squatted down, using the light to examine the metal nameplate closely, and after a few seconds of silence, she uttered, "It says S-7 Backup Carrier here."

Lu Zhao was stunned upon hearing this. He whispered, "A backup specifically for this purpose?"

Su Wanqing felt a chill run down her spine. She lowered her head and thought for a moment, then took off the jade bracelet with precise and decisive movements, attaching it directly to the energy interface.

The system then displayed a blue warning: "Temporary power access mode, main stability is reduced, please operate with caution."

Suddenly, the alarm sounded, and a series of electronic beeps from the main control computer shattered the silence: "Warning—An external security system intrusion has been detected. The main security defense has failed. Estimated arrival time of the intruder: eighteen minutes."

The terminal projects a live monitoring feed in the upper right corner, showing a team of special forces soldiers in military uniforms and thick helmets advancing towards the main entrance of the base, scaling collapsed obstacles. Their division of labor is extremely skilled, and their shoulder lights show a straight-line advancing formation on the monitoring screen.

Su Wanqing stared for a few moments and saw someone use tactical hand gestures to indicate the direction of the search, while lowering the muzzle of their gun.

She didn't say anything, but her breathing did slow down a bit.

“They’re in.” Lu Zhao reached out and pulled the temporary energy routing table to the side, readjusting the priority order.

“I saw it,” Su Wanqing said in a low voice, “How long can we hold out at most?”

"Judging by the thickness of this door, the 'lurkers' probably have less than ten minutes left."

After Lu Zhao finished speaking, he injected the last anti-infection agent into his shoulder, his face turned pale, and a drop of sweat slid down his neck to his collar.

He licked his lips. "Have you thought this through?"

Seven "lurkers" had gathered outside. Some were leaning against the door, while others were banging on the door lock with strange noises, and a white-red bruise had appeared on the part of the door they were banging on.

Su Wanqing didn't look outside, but simply raised her hand and pressed down on the serial number plaque on the cabin.

She thought about the S-7 markings she had just seen, and the "carrier" that Lu Zhao had mentioned.

She said in a calm and grounded tone, "Take it. This is the backup. The others won't hesitate once they get in. We can't let the core fall into their hands."

Lu Zhao glanced at her and nodded. The progress bar on the control panel flickered, and the timeline moved forward.

A system pop-up appeared: "Core removal auxiliary mode activated. Alternative energy source detected: S-level permission verification passed. Life support duration estimated at thirty minutes."

Su Wanqing turned the jade bracelet off and inserted the main power interface into the backup port.

“A set of units is burned out here,” she said bluntly. “The full functionality may no longer be available. Be prepared to extract the process.”

"Understood." Lu Zhao endured his wound, pinched the control lever with his fingertips, and calibrated the interface current and threshold one by one.

His movements were quick, but you could hear his breathing becoming heavier with each press.

He gritted his teeth and turned on the main and auxiliary machine switching circuit.

An abnormal image suddenly appeared on the main screen, a string of garbled characters, and the screen emitted a piercing noise.

Immediately, all the electronic screens in the room dimmed and then lit up again.

Immediately afterward, a highly encrypted message popped up in the center of the main display screen, accompanied by a familiar audio-coded voice: "S-7, evacuate immediately after obtaining the core. Do not trust anyone, including your own memory. The military is merely a facade; the real threat comes from 'The Tower'."

I'll be waiting for you at the signal tower. Come alone with your core—N.

Su Wanqing silently repeated the sentence to herself, feeling her throat tighten.

Along with the screen information, a design drawing also popped up. A red line indicating the bottom tunnel, which was not marked on the map, flashed, and the terminal displayed: "Hidden evacuation route generated. Please evacuate as soon as possible."

Once the message on the screen reached its end, the program executed a destruction command, and all information disappeared within five seconds, with only the evacuation route guidance arrow still flashing.

“It must be 'Night's' arrangement.” Lu Zhao’s voice was hesitant, but he still pressed save and set the evacuation procedure. The “lurkers” outside had already smashed the door, leaving a dent, and a lot of dust fell down.

The door frame bulged outwards, and a prolonged scraping and distorting sound emanated from near the keyhole.

Lu Zhao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with his arm, transferred the remaining data to the mobile device, and asked Su Wanqing to make the final preparations.

"You take over the extraction," Su Wanqing said, checking the remaining equipment and focusing all her attention on the jade bracelet output module.

Lu Zhao opened the core disassembly program and entered the S-level verification code. The progress bar moved slowly.

His fingers trembled, but he didn't hesitate for a moment. "How long it lasts depends on whether your bracelet can hold up."

During this time, a low, thumping sound came from the corridor as doors were slammed, accompanied by repeated metallic scraping. A fishy and damp smell had seeped in from under the door cracks.

The special forces were getting closer and closer, and the countdown indicated that they had ten minutes left to enter.

Su Wanqing's palms were slightly sweaty. She stared at the progress, her mind focused on only one sentence: "S-7 backup".

She no longer paid attention to the monitoring curves of the elliptical core module—to save the whole, she had to sacrifice the parts.

After the core system detects an external power source, the energy alert level gradually decreases, and an order is issued to automatically disconnect some modules.

When the progress bar reached 80%, Lu Zhao suddenly coughed. He held onto the control panel but didn't stop.

A vital signs warning appeared on the screen: "Core energy level decline detected. System switches to temporary power supply. Window removal countdown - 29 minutes and 50 seconds."

"Prepare the portable support module first," Su Wanqing urged.

He nodded and brought the portable system under the main interface.

A loud crash suddenly came from outside the door. A mutant violently wedged its limbs into the crack of the door, revealing a pale, mutilated claw.

The steel bars of the protective door began to crack.

"Hurry up. If you dawdle any longer, forget about the army, these monsters will come in first."

Lu Zhao used up the last dose of painkiller, pursed his lips, and stared at the hatch opening procedure.

His voice grew softer and softer, and his body swayed slightly.

The timer on the main screen jumps to eight minutes.

Su Wanqing inserted the bottom interface of the jade bracelet into the new port, close to the mechanical structure, while keeping a close eye on the energy bar out of the corner of her eye.

The upper part of the hull began to loosen, and the transparent hatch of the core module opened a very thin gap, with pale blue liquid sliding into the lower container under gravity.

Inside the cabin, the facial features of "Su Wanqing" were blurred, with only her chest and abdomen slowly rising and falling, and her vital signs fluctuating rapidly.

"Can the hull support be moved?" Su Wanqing asked.

"Yes, the portable support module can last for twenty minutes. I'm testing it." Lu Zhao gritted his teeth and adjusted the parameters.

Another loud metallic clang came from outside. A Lurker shoved its head into the crack in the door and bit through a steel bar inside.

Lu Zhao was operating the system when, at the final step, the reset program froze for two seconds. All the instrument panels lit up with yellow lights, and the diamond-shaped purple crystal at the core of the cabin automatically detached from its original position due to the airflow.

An alarm sounded: "Life support systems have been temporarily switched to external power. Please take further action within thirty minutes."

"Take it out." Su Wanqing took the core without hesitation.

Suddenly, the system's voice boomed: "Removal complete. Vital signs countdown begins. Temporary energy insufficient. Immediate relocation recommended."

She looked down at the end where the jade bracelet was inserted and noticed that the bracelet was surprisingly hot.

The energy distribution chart on the screen is decreasing rapidly.

“I’ve memorized the evacuation route.” Lu Zhao looked up, his nostrils flaring.

The door frame not far away was finally completely destroyed by the monster.

"Let's go. I'll take the core. You lead the way." Su Wanqing put away the core, closed the portable life support box, and fastened the transfer lock.

At the edge of the control panel, there was still a little system information left. Su Wanqing thought for a moment, then made no further hesitation.

She kept repeating to herself, "'Night' said not to trust anyone—not even your own memories..." The noise in her head grew louder and louder, and she forced herself to stare at the guide lights to stop her thoughts from spreading.

The metal sheet outside the door was smashed to the ground, and seven "lurkers" had already surged into the entrance.

The footsteps of special forces and the roars of monsters came from different directions.

Su Wanqing and Lu Zhao immediately turned around and ran towards the hidden underground passage of the base, following the red arrow indicating the evacuation.

They left themselves no room for maneuver, only the choice of the next step.