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

Chapter 266 The Fortress's Final Preparations

The electronic clock in the underground bunker jumped to four in the morning. Su Wanqing rubbed her sore neck. The holographic projection in the command center was still lit.

On the pale green defense network coverage map, a few scattered yellow spots are flashing, which are the weak points that are not yet perfected.

"Lu Zhao, the energy barrier coverage in the southwest corner is still insufficient."

She tapped the control panel, and the jade bracelet on her wrist vibrated, emitting a pale blue halo.

“Currently, energy reserves are at 40%.” Lu Zhao’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “If we could redistribute energy from non-core areas, we could raise reserves in key areas to 95%.”

Su Wanqing stared at the gap the size of a soybean—the location connecting to the ventilation shaft. "Shadow" had broken through from a similar area during its last invasion.

She shook her head: "No, we have to be careful they don't come again."

A notification popped up in the console: 2300 rebate points remaining. Su Wanqing clicked "Activate auxiliary function by consuming 500 points," and the jade bracelet's light suddenly doubled, causing the entire wall to tremble slightly.

Blue patterns crawled across the metal surface, like living vines, extending from the corners of the walls to the ceiling.

"System notification: Anchor point resonance detected, privileges elevated by 23%."

Lu Zhao read the words on the screen, then paused, pushing up his glasses. "It's related to the five people Xiaoling mentioned contacting."

Lin Che was squatting in the corner adjusting the water purification device when he suddenly looked up.

The blue markings on the back of his neck were slightly warm, and he could clearly sense Xiaoling's location in the laboratory to the east—she was labeling a sample of silver liquid, her movements as gentle as if she were afraid of breaking glass.

Xiao Ran brought in the last box of compressed biscuits from the supply warehouse, sweat beading on his forehead.

He had just put down the box when he heard Lin Che say, "Brother Xiao, the gold spot on your wrist is twitching?"

Xiao Ran looked down and saw that there was indeed a gold spot on the inside of his wrist that was slightly glowing. The colors of the gold spot on Su Wanqing's jade bracelet, Xiao Ling's silver bracelet, the blue light on Lu Zhao's glasses temple, and the gold spot on his own arm were just enough to form a rainbow.

"My temples were throbbing when I activated the assistive function just now," Lu Zhao said, touching his forehead. "Now... I can sense your location."

Xiaoling poked her head out of the lab, still holding a test tube in her hand: "Sister Wanqing is in the command center, Brother Xiaoran is at the entrance of the supply warehouse, Brother Linche is in the water purification area, and Brother Luzhao is by the control console."

She tilted her head. "It's like having a map in your mind."

Su Wanqing's jade bracelet was still warm. She pressed her wrist and said, "It seems Lu Zhao's prediction was right. Our five-person communication can be accessed with system privileges. I need to find time to practice our synchronization rate."

Just as he finished speaking, Lin Che's tactical headset suddenly rang. He answered it, and Dr. Zhang's rapid breathing came through: "Xiao Lin? It's Dr. Zhang."

Lin Che pressed the earphones into his ears: "Dr. Zhang, what's wrong?"

"The hospital can't hold on any longer." Dr. Zhang's voice trembled. "Yesterday there were only a few cases, but today the entire respiratory department is full. Black lines are creeping up from the wrists to the necks. There was an old man who grabbed a nurse, and his fingernails turned black."

The sound of papers turning over came through the communicator. "I secretly took a video and sent it to your terminal."

Lin Che clicked on the screen, and in the picture, a man in a hospital gown was banging his head against the wall, and the black lines on his neck looked alive, as if they were drilling into his eyes.

"The military took over the quarantine area this morning," Dr. Zhang said in a low voice. "The nurses said they were using sealed vehicles to transport people, and they weren't heading towards a regular hospital."

Even more bizarrely, an elderly woman who had been unconscious suddenly sat up as the car drove away and smiled at us in a way that seemed unlike a living person.

Lin Che forwarded the video to the public channel. Su Wanqing leaned over to watch, her brows furrowed: "Dr. Zhang, is it safe over there?"

“I’m fine for now,” Dr. Zhang paused, “but I want to go with you. But there are still more than twenty nurses here who are not infected, and three children who have just had surgery.”

Su Wanqing glanced at Xiao Ran: "Xiao Ran, take the disguise equipment to the hospital. Bring back the medical equipment and vaccines that Dr. Zhang mentioned, and see if you can bring those nurses and children with you."

Xiao Ran tore off his tactical glove and stuffed it into his pocket: "Is there a cordon around the hospital?"

“Lu Zhao hacked the military pass, use that.” Su Wanqing pointed to the control panel. “But remember, if you encounter an inspection, don’t try to force it.”

Two hours later, Xiao Ran squatted next to a trash can in the back alley of the hospital. He was wearing faded blue overalls, with a name tag on his chest that read "Wang Jianguo, Logistics Department"—a pass that Lu Zhao had obtained illegally; the photo was his, but the name was fabricated.

Two soldiers stood at the entrance of the alley, both wearing chemical protective masks, with the butts of their rifles resting on their shoulders.

Xiao Ran touched the jammer in his pocket, and just as he was about to move it, one of the soldiers shouted, "Identity!"

He handed over his work badge, the soldier scanned it with an instrument, and the green light came on.

"Go inside, don't wander around." The soldier returned his work badge to him, his mask covered in white mist.

In the hospital lobby, half of the benches that are usually full of family members accompanying patients are empty, and the rest of the people are huddled in the corners, covering their mouths and noses with scarves.

As Xiao Ran walked towards the stairwell, he overheard two nurses whispering as he passed the nurses' station: "I heard that all the patients in the isolation ward have been sent outside the city. Nurse Li went to help out, and she came back vomiting."

"What are you spitting out?"

She said that a patient's hand had turned into octopus tentacles.

Xiao Ran felt a tightness in the back of his neck. He turned into the storage room, where Dr. Zhang was squatting on the floor stuffing vaccines into a cardboard box: "You've come at the right time. These are antiviral serums and children's fever reducers."

"Where's the child?" Xiao Ran asked, lifting the box.

“I have someone watching over the pediatric ward on the second floor,” Dr. Zhang said as he locked the door. “But the military has set up a checkpoint at the elevator entrance, so we have to use the fire escape.”

The window of the fire escape staircase was open, and the wind was blowing in, making Dr. Zhang's white coat flutter loudly.

Xiao Ran followed him downstairs and suddenly heard footsteps coming from downstairs.

He shoved the box into Dr. Zhang's arms and slipped into the stairwell around the corner.

Three soldiers came up from downstairs, the one in front holding a gun: "The surveillance footage just showed someone entering the storage room. Check it out."

Xiao Ran took out the jammer and pressed the switch, and the emergency lights in the corridor flashed twice.

While the soldier looked up, he grabbed Dr. Zhang and rushed into the emergency exit, where the stairwell alarm went off.

"Run!" Xiao Ran shouted. The two of them carried the boxes and rushed down the stairs, when soldiers shouted behind them, "Halt!"

After leaving the hospital through the back door, Xiao Ran stuffed the box into the truck parked at the alley entrance.

Dr. Zhang, leaning against the car door and panting, said, "Thank you. I really didn't expect you to come."

"Don't thank me yet." Xiao Ran started the car. In the rearview mirror, the hospital lights were still flashing. "When we get back to the fortress, you have to tell me everything you know."

The truck drove two streets, and Su Wanqing's voice came through Xiao Ran's earpiece: "The military has moved up the lockdown. Now the only way out of the city is the North Ring Road."

"Got it." Xiao Ran stepped on the gas, leaving scorch marks on the ground from the tires.

He glanced at Dr. Zhang in the passenger seat, who was staring blankly at the receding street scene outside the window.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Ran asked. "I've been a doctor for ten years, I've seen SARS, I've seen bird flu," Dr. Zhang said, touching the USB drive in his pocket. "But this time is different."

The truck turned onto the North Ring Road, and military camouflage tents could be seen in the distance.

Xiao Ran slowed down the car, and the gold mark on his wrist began to heat up again—it was as if there was a thread connecting him to Xiao Ling and Lin Che in the fortress, gently pulling them down to the ground.

A slight hum came from the ventilation ducts of the underground bunker. Su Wanqing stood in front of the control console in the command center, her fingertips swiping across the holographic screen.

The green spots of the defense network finally merged into one, covering all the critical areas.

She turned to the four people behind her: "The basic defenses are stable. We need to go check out that sealed compartment Xiaoling mentioned today."

Lin Che tightened the last screw on the water purifier he had just adjusted, then stood up and said, "I'll go with you."

Xiao Ran carried an empty box in from the supply warehouse. Upon hearing this, he put the box down in the corner and said, "Count me in."

Lu Zhao pushed up his glasses, the blue light from the screen flickering on the lenses: "The system log mentioned that there are unresolved areas on the third basement level, so I'll go check it out."

Xiaoling ran out of the lab clutching a test tube, her hair still stained with silver liquid: "Sister Wanqing, I'll lead the way!"

The five people walked down the spiral staircase. The lights on the third basement level were dimmer than those on the upper level, and the metal walls gleamed coldly.

Xiaoling stopped at the corner and placed her hand on a seemingly ordinary wall: "This is it."

The moment her fingertips touched the metal, the silver bracelet on her wrist suddenly lit up, and silver patterns spread along the wall like living vines.

Su Wanqing took out her terminal and brought up the system interface. As soon as the screen lit up, a prompt popped up: "Anchor point resonance body detected. Activating the special area requires five people to synchronize."

She turned to look at the others. The gold spots on Xiao Ran's wrist were glowing, the blue markings on the back of Lin Che's neck were slightly warm, the blue light on Lu Zhao's glasses temples and Xiao Ling's silver bracelet complemented each other, and the jade bracelet on her own wrist was also getting warm.

"Put your hand on it." Su Wanqing placed her palm next to Xiaoling.

Lin Che, Xiao Ran, and Lu Zhao followed in turn, their five hands forming a semicircle on the metal wall.

The wall suddenly shook, and the metal block flowed like melting wax, revealing the spherical device inside.

The surface of the device is covered with patterns, and the color of each pattern corresponds to the five people's marks.

"System notification: Synchronization rate 37%." A notification sounded on Lu Zhao's terminal. "Closer resonance is needed."

Xiaoling closed her eyes, and the silver liquid inside her body began to flow.

The liquid flowed down her veins to her fingertips, drawing silver symbols on the metal surface.

The blue markings on the back of Lin Che's neck spread to his arms. He could feel the water pipes on the third underground floor vibrating, and the water flow gathered into a thin stream, condensing into blue-green watermarks on the device.

Xiao Ran's golden spots were dazzlingly bright. He gritted his teeth, and the power within his body, like a ignited fire, seeped into the device through his palm, burning out golden patterns.

Lu Zhao's glasses suddenly emitted blue light, and data streams poured out from the lenses, weaving a light blue grid on the surface of the device.

Su Wanqing's jade bracelet emitted a bright light, and she could clearly feel the pulse of the system—those once vague instructions had become exceptionally clear.

"Synchronization rate 62%." Lu Zhao's voice trembled slightly. "The device is responding."

The spherical device cracked open with a "click," revealing the space inside.

Five items float in the center, each emitting light corresponding to the five people's markings: a blue wristwatch, blue-green gloves, a red neck ring, special glasses, and a silver bracelet.

Su Wanqing reached for her wristwatch, and the jade bracelet suddenly jolted as her fingertips touched the dial.

The watch face revealed patterns similar to those on a jade bracelet, and it gently landed in her palm: "This... can resonate with the system?"

Lin Che put on the gloves, and the blue patterns on the back of his hands immediately crept into the gloves through his fingers.

He clenched his fist in the air, and a drop of water condensed in his palm: "I can extract water from the air now."

Xiao Ran put the neck ring on his neck, and the red light spread along his collarbone.

He tried to mobilize the power within his body, but this time there was no burning sensation. Instead, it felt like holding a tamed fire: "It's not so easy to lose control now."

As soon as Lu Zhao put on his glasses, a holographic interface popped up in front of him. He blinked, and the interface automatically switched to a defense network diagram: "Data processing speed is at least three times faster."

As soon as Xiaoling fastened the bracelet to her wrist, the silver liquid inside her body suddenly surged into her arm.

The liquid solidified into a shield in front of her, then instantly turned into spikes: "I can control this silver liquid now!"

The system notification sounded again: "Basic equipment activation complete. The synchronization rate needs to be increased to 80% to be fully unlocked."

The spherical device slowly closed, but the cabin door remained open, revealing several rows of data streams on the inner walls.

Lu Zhao leaned closer to the data stream, his fingertips tracing patterns in the air: "This is the document for the Weaver Project."

He pulled up a text: "The first stage is biological contamination, the second stage is time anomalies, and the third stage is direct invasion. We are currently at the end of the first stage, and the second stage is about to begin."

"Time anomaly?" Xiao Ran frowned. "Does the time rift we encountered before count?"

“That’s the prelude.” Lu Zhao pulled up a diagram. “The second phase will involve large-scale spacetime distortion, blurring the boundaries between reality and other spacetime.”

Su Wanqing touched her wristwatch; the patterns on it still resonated with the jade bracelet. "These items should be for dealing with this situation."

"Report!" Jiang Hui's voice came through the communicator, "Xiao Ran's military informant reports that General Li has made a move."

Xiao Ran picked up the communicator: "Speak."

"General Li has just received orders from his superiors that the infection is spreading too rapidly, and we are now entering an orange alert level."

Jiang Hui's voice was somewhat muffled, "His superiors instructed him to prioritize evacuating those on the list, while the others remain in the quarantine zone. If the situation reaches a red alert, he has the authority to activate the purification protocol."

Su Wanqing tapped her fingers on her wristwatch: "What is the purification protocol?"

"Use extreme measures to clear the area, including civilians." Xiao Ran put down the communicator. "The inside source said that General Li was staring at the heavy weapons outside the window, and his face looked grim."

Lin Che gripped his gloves tightly, water droplets condensing into small icicles in his palms: "The military wants to sacrifice the entire city?"

“We need to speed things up.” Su Wanqing turned to look at the data stream in the cabin. “The second phase of Project Ark starts today. Xiao Ran and Dr. Zhang are in charge of building safe points, Lin Che and Xiao Ling are in charge of monitoring the Weaver’s base, and Lu Zhao is in charge of improving the defenses.”

She paused, then said, "Save as many as you can."

Xiaoling's silver liquid shield suddenly flickered. She looked down at her bracelet and said, "Sister Wanqing, the silver liquid is moving, as if it's responding to something."

Lu Zhao adjusted his glasses, and new data popped up on the screen: "The energy fluctuations at the Weaver Base have increased again."

Su Wanqing touched the jade bracelet; it was even warmer than before. "It seems the second phase is progressing faster than expected."