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Chapter 262 The Construction of the Underground Fortress

As the roar of the armored vehicles faded into the distance behind her, Su Wanqing glanced at her wristwatch.

At 4:17 a.m., the eastern sky was just beginning to lighten. She turned around and counted the group—one hundred people, not one missing.

Lin Che leaned against the back of the truck, blue stripes creeping from his cuffs to his neck, his breathing heavy like a bellows.

“There are still three kilometers left in the mining area.” Xiao Ran patted the driver’s seat. “The underground structure is stable. I checked the mine map from fifty years ago. We can dig two more layers.”

Lu Zhao handed a tablet to the passenger seat, displaying a geological scan of the mining area: "The fault zone is in the northwest direction. The area we chose has thick enough rock strata and strong resistance to impact."

He adjusted his glasses. "But the system needs a continuous energy supply, so we have to connect to a nearby substation first."

Xiaoling huddled next to Su Wanqing, clutching her clothes: "Time field monitoring shows that the interference in this area is 30% less than in the urban area."

The truck churned over the gravel road, the bumps making her bones ache. Su Wanqing touched the jade bracelet on her wrist, the icy touch seeping into her skin.

This was the first time she had used the highest level of system privileges. She had 8200 rebate points left, and even if she invested them all, it might not be enough.

"We're here." Xiao Ran stepped on the brakes.

The iron gate of the abandoned mine was crooked on the ground, and the rusty sign "State-owned Mine 701" was half-hanging on the gatepost.

Lin Che jumped out of the car first, his blue markings gleaming in the morning light. He crouched down and pressed the ground: "There's a main mine tunnel thirty meters underground, and the structure is intact."

Su Wanqing stood in the center of the mining area, kicking a piece of gravel aside with her toe. A gust of wind blew coal dust towards her, and she squinted. "Let's begin."

The jade bracelet suddenly became hot. She raised her wrist, and blue light shot into the sky like a living thing, condensing into a semi-transparent net of light above her head.

A system notification blared in the headset: "Space construction permission conflict, an unknown module has been detected locking the base layer."

Lu Zhao's tablet lit up with a "ding": "System logs show that someone sent a build command to this area 72 hours in advance."

He typed rapidly on the keyboard, "But the sender's IP cannot be found, it seems to be encrypted with time."

Xiaoling leaned closer to look at the screen, her fingertip hovering over the glowing data stream: "When I measured the time field yesterday, there were residual ripples here."

She looked up and said, "It's a bit like the lab in my dream, with blue light shining on the metal pipes and lots of people running around."

Su Wanqing pursed her lips. She remembered that the system manual stated that the user with the highest privileges could completely control the construction process, so how could there be a conflict?

The jade bracelet dimmed a little, and the notification sounded again: "It is recommended to check module 03 first."

"I'll go take a look." Lin Che tugged at her sleeve, and blue lines crawled along their clasped hands. "There might be a source of interference in the mine tunnel."

The entrance to the mine tunnel was covered with rubble up to half a person's height. Lin Che bent down and moved a rock aside, and Lan Wen crawled into the crack in the rock.

A "click" came from inside, and the dusty light suddenly turned on. In the dim yellow light, the metal pipes coiled on the wall like a giant python.

“Module 03,” Su Wanqing pointed to the silver box in the corner. “The system must be referring to this.”

The surface of the box is engraved with strange patterns, exactly the same as the pattern on the inside of the jade bracelet.

Just as she was about to touch it, Xiaoling suddenly grabbed her: "Wait." The little girl closed her eyes. "It has the smell of time inside, like crumpled paper."

Lu Zhao took out the detector from his backpack, and the screen started flashing wildly as soon as it lit up: "Radiation value is normal, energy fluctuation is a technical characteristic of the weaver."

He pushed up his glasses. "But it looks more like a key."

The box opened automatically with a "hum," revealing a palm-sized crystal inside, with a miniature city model suspended in the center.

Su Wanqing leaned closer to look, and the buildings in the model were exactly the same as the city they had just evacuated from.

"This is..." Before she could finish speaking, the system notification sounded again: "Spatial anchor point detected, construction permissions transferred."

The jade bracelet's light suddenly surged, and the crystal model "whooshed" into the light network.

The mine shaft began to shake, and loose rocks rained down from above. Lin Che spread his arms wide, and blue patterns covered everyone like a net: "Hold on!"

The tremors lasted for three minutes. When the dust settled, a metal door appeared in the mine tunnel, with an electronic screen above it displaying "Underground Fortress - Foundation Layer".

Su Wanqing reached out and touched the door; it felt icy cold, completely different from the defensive fortress she had built with rebate points.

"The system says permissions are being transferred." Lu Zhao flipped through the tablet logs. "The current build progress is 47%, but the energy consumption is one-tenth of that in autonomous mode."

He looked up, “It’s like someone laid the foundation for us in advance.”

Xiaoling touched the patterns on the door frame and whispered, "The laboratory in my dream also had a door like this." She turned to look at Su Wanqing, "Maybe the system wasn't created by you, but rather it chose you."

Su Wanqing remained silent. She recalled how Lin Che had used his abilities to stabilize the time rift during the evacuation yesterday, and how the jade bracelet had suddenly gained a "space construction" option; she remembered Lu Zhao saying that the silver liquid inside Xiaoling's body was related to the Weaver; she remembered the spacecraft wreckage that Xiao Ran had picked up in the Southwest District. These fragments swirled in her mind, becoming increasingly chaotic.

"Let's get everyone inside first." Xiao Ran patted her shoulder. "There are a hundred people outside, some are getting rained on, and some have fevers."

There are twenty dorm rooms on the base floor, each accommodating five people. Lin Che activated the lighting system with a blue pattern, and a warm yellow light spread out. The emergency supply cabinet on the wall clicked open, revealing neatly arranged compressed biscuits, bottled water, and first-aid kits.

"The system has automatically filled in the basic supplies." Su Wanqing flipped through the supplies list. "The quantity is just enough for one hundred people for three days."

She looked up at Lu Zhao. "You mean this kind of autonomous mode?"

Lu Zhao nodded: "The module is being adjusted according to real-time requirements."

He pointed to the camera on the ceiling, "The surveillance system is also activated, and it can connect to the jade bracelet on your wrist."

Xiaoling suddenly tugged at her sleeve: "Time field monitoring shows that there is a protective membrane around the fortress."

She waved the detector in her hand, "The interference has dropped to below 5%."

Su Wanqing took out the system interface, and found that she only had 1200 rebate points left.

The fortress is already 63% complete, three times faster than she expected.

The jade bracelet felt slightly warm on my wrist, as if it were reminding me of something.

"Let's go to the command center." She turned and walked down the corridor. "I need to see how to handle the remaining modules."

The command center is located at the innermost part of the base layer. When the metal door opens, the holographic projection in the center automatically activates, displaying a three-dimensional structural diagram of the fortress: "After the base layer is completed, the survival area, laboratory, and fortifications can be expanded."

It is recommended to prioritize reinforcing the energy module.

Su Wanqing stared at the red marker on the projection screen—the energy module was sixty meters underground, and a new mine tunnel needed to be dug.

She turned to look at Lin Che: "Is there any anomaly in the timing of stabilizing the mine tunnel?"

"Give it a try." Lin Che rolled up his sleeves, and blue patterns crawled up his arms. "When I used my ability yesterday, I felt a stronger connection to the water veins."

Xiao Ran patted him on the back: "I'll lead the construction team to clear the rubble first, and you can bring up the rear."

Lu Zhao followed, carrying a tablet: "I'll monitor the energy fluctuations. Stop immediately if there's anything abnormal."

Xiaoling stayed in the command center, staring at the time field monitor: "I'll keep an eye on the perimeter of the fortress. Call me if anything happens."

Su Wanqing stood in front of the holographic projection, the light from the jade bracelet reflecting on her face.

The system notification sounded again: "Core members have been detected gathering. Activate the hiding function?"

Just as she was about to press "No", the projection suddenly flashed and a line of small text appeared: "Five core members have been confirmed, and the spatial anchor point will be activated soon."

She was taken aback. Core members? It should be Lin Che, Lu Zhao, Xiao Ran, Xiao Ling, plus herself.

But how did the system know? The jade bracelet suddenly vibrated, and the notification sound changed to a gentle female voice: "Welcome home, Commander."

These words stung her temples like a needle. She remembered the first time she saw the jade bracelet; the system had said the same thing—in the pouring rain, she was crouching outside a convenience store to shelter from the downpour when the jade bracelet suddenly flew out of her bag, slipped onto her wrist, and said, "Welcome home."

"Wanqing?" Xiaoling's voice came from the monitoring device. "The time field fluctuations of the energy module have become more regular, as if someone is guiding it."

Su Wanqing rubbed her forehead and turned to walk towards the control console in the command center.

In the holographic projection, the red marker on the energy module is turning green, indicating that the construction progress has jumped to 78%.

She pressed the "confirm" button, and the light from the jade bracelet suddenly formed a line, passing through the control panel and piercing into the ground.

A muffled thud came from the direction of the mine tunnel. Lin Che's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "The mine tunnel is open! The energy module is exposed, and the structure is intact!"

Lu Zhao's voice followed: "The energy level is stable; it's geothermal energy! Enough to sustain the fortress for three months!"

Xiao Ran laughed: "The construction team said that the mine tunnel looks like it was dug in advance, with piles of rubble on both sides and a straight ditch in the middle."

Su Wanqing didn't speak. She watched as the construction progress in the holographic projection jumped to 100%, and all the red lights on the base layer turned green.

Xiaoling walked over and pointed at the monitor: "The time field protection film has thickened, and the interference is now 0."

The jade bracelet felt slightly warm on her wrist. She looked down and the patterns on the inside suddenly lit up, forming a line of small characters: "Spatial anchor point activated, key information stored."