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

Chapter 269 Alarm
The command center of the underground bunker was lit by a cold white light, and Dr. Zhang's white coat was still covered in dust from last night.

Su Wanqing pushed the terminal onto the table, projecting a wall full of documents with scorch marks on the edges of the papers—they were snatched from the research center by Dr. Zhang.

"Look at this first." Lu Zhao tapped the keyboard, and the map unfolded on the screen, with red, yellow, and green blocks that looked like paint had been splashed on them.

“The military is divided into zones. The green zone is for high-ranking officials and experts, the yellow zone is for their families, and the red zone is…” He pointed to the red zone, “The confirmed infection areas. Now the red zone accounts for nearly 30%, with the southwest and northeast being the most severely affected.”

Dr. Zhang pulled a form from the pile of documents, the pages rustling: "The official infection rate is 1.2%, but our internal assessment is ten times higher. The hospital is now admitting hundreds of new cases every day, and many are being sent directly to quarantine camps."

He opened the blood sample analysis, and the nanostructures in the microscope photos looked like a tangled mess. "These tiny things can self-replicate and rewrite DNA. Yesterday, a patient was admitted with only a fever, and six hours later, his fingernails turned into scales."

Lu Zhao pulled up Xiaoling's test report, and the two images were superimposed: "Similar to the structure of the silver liquid in Xiaoling's body, but more ferocious. The silver liquid is stable, but this thing is like a madman drilling into the cells."

Xiao Ran twirled the tactical knife halfway between his fingers, the blade reflecting the light from the screen: "What's more troublesome is the 'scorched earth policy'."

He pulled out a document with the word "Top Secret" printed in gold on the cover. "Activate if the infection rate exceeds 10%. Lock down the city and purify it with special weapons."

"What weapon?" Su Wanqing asked.

Xiao Ran shook his head: "It didn't specify the model, but I've seen similar contingency plans in the military. It might be a high-energy pulse weapon, or a drug that can decompose organic matter."

He pointed to the green zone on the map, "They want to completely erase the red zone to prevent the spread of infection."

Lin Che leaned against the window, the blue markings on the back of his neck slightly burning. He closed his eyes: "The water system is starting to malfunction. Three workers at the North District water plant developed black markings yesterday. At the Weaver's base in the southwest..." He pressed his fingers to his temples, "the water flow is swirling in that area, like it's being sucked in by something. The energy fluctuation range has expanded to five kilometers."

Su Wanqing rolled up her sleeves, the jade bracelet on her wrist gleaming with a faint blue light: "System analysis indicates this is a precursor to the activation of the spacetime channel. The second phase of the apocalypse is approaching, and time anomalies are on their way."

Xiaoling touched her wrist; the silvery liquid seeped up her veins onto the back of her hand. "Something's not right here either. Every time I move, the silvery liquid gets hot, like it's trembling." She looked up. "It might be a warning."

Lu Zhao input all the data into the terminal, and a countdown popped up on the screen: "Infection spread speed, military preparation progress. Scorched earth policy to be launched within 72 hours. On the Weavers' side, energy accumulation to reach the critical point in 48 hours."

Su Wanqing checked the fortress status: "Defense system at 92%, supplies enough for 30 people for a month, medical room can handle ordinary injuries."

She swept her gaze across the crowd. “We have to deal with two things at the same time—rescuing the abandoned civilians and stopping the weavers from opening a passage.”

“Xiao Ran and Dr. Zhang are in charge of the rescue network.” She pointed to Xiao Ran, “Find safe routes and temporary shelters.”

He then turned to Lin Che and Xiao Ling, saying, "You two keep an eye on the Weaver's base and find its weaknesses. Lu Zhao and I will work on the defenses, especially against time anomalies."

She looked at Dr. Zhang: "You still have time to leave. Your name isn't on the military's list."

Dr. Zhang pressed the stethoscope in his white coat pocket: "I am a doctor."

He said, "And if we go out now, we'll either be arrested as infected or eaten by mutants."

The conference table light flickered, and everyone stood up. Xiao Ran pulled Dr. Zhang toward the records room, his tactical boots clicking on the metal floor: "Mark the warehouses near the green zone first; they can hide people there."

Lin Che and Xiao Ling went to the monitoring room. Lin Che sat in the sensor chair, closed his eyes, and let his consciousness flow out along the water network: "The fluctuations intensify every 12 hours, like recharging."

Xiaoling rolled up her sleeves, and the silver liquid flowed under her skin: "At its peak, the liquid rushed towards my wrist, as if it was about to burst out."

She input the data into the terminal, and the curve in the model began to rise. "47 hours, the critical point."

Lu Zhao followed Su Wanqing into the core control room. He pulled up the energy barrier parameters, his fingers dancing across the keyboard: "The data from the sealed chamber says that time anomalies can disrupt space. We need to adjust the barrier frequency to synchronize with the anchor point."

Su Wanqing stared at the defense diagram on the screen, and the jade bracelet suddenly felt hot and prickly to the touch.

She looked down and saw the blue light flashing intermittently, like a heartbeat.

As the alarm pierced the silence of the underground bunker, Su Wanqing was dozing off in a folding chair in the command center.

She grabbed the terminal and glanced at the screen, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end—the system notification read: "Abnormal concentration of pollutants in the urban water supply system, red alert level."

"Get up, everyone." She kicked the cot next to her. Xiao Ran rolled out from under the covers, his tactical boots not yet properly on; Lin Che leaned against the corner of the wall, blue patterns faintly visible on the collar of his pajamas; Lu Zhao's white lab coat was crumpled, his glasses perched on his nose; Xiao Ling rubbed her eyes, silver liquid trickling down her wrist to the back of her hand.

The screen lit up, and the water quality data curve for the past 72 hours looked like a knife, slashing diagonally from the horizontal line to the top.

Lu Zhao leaned over and typed on the keyboard: "Exponential growth, natural pollution doesn't grow at this rate."

He zoomed in on the map, and the red dots started from the main water plant in the North District and seeped outwards along the pipeline network. "The source is here, the North District water plant."

Dr. Zhang's terminal beeped. He swiped to open it and glanced at it, his white coat creased from being gripped tightly: "Just received news from the hospital that all 27 initial infections in the North District have symptoms that match up."

He pushed up his glasses. "Fever, dark lines on the skin, just like the previous infected people."

Su Wanqing turned to Lin Che: "What can you find out?"

Lin Che didn't say anything, but walked to the screen and raised his hand to press on the data chart.

Blue light spread from his fingertips, causing ripples to appear on the screen.

He closed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing: "North District Water Plant. There are living things in the water."

His fingers trembled slightly. "Like a little machine, it drills into cells."

Suddenly, he staggered, his forehead touching the screen. "They're calling to me, wanting to connect with what's inside my body."

Lu Zhao held his arm: "Exact location?"

"The processing center," Lin Che said, straightening up as he caught his breath. "There's a device that's pouring something into the water."

The lights in the command center flickered on and off. Lu Zhao pulled up the structural diagram of the North District water plant and pointed the laser pointer at the center of the plant area: "The treatment center is here, with monitoring and security, everything is in place."

He pulled a silver box out of the drawer. "Improved protective suit, biohazard resistant, doesn't affect movement."

He pulled out a briefcase. "Neutralizer, it can temporarily clear the pollution, but we need to get a sample from the source to make an antidote."

Xiaoling suddenly spoke up: "I'm going to get tested." She rolled up her sleeves, and the silver liquid flowed under her skin. "I've been in contact with infected people, but I'm fine."

Xiao Ran slammed his tactical knife on the table: "Nonsense."

Su Wanqing didn't reply, but stared at Xiaoling's wrist for a while: "Xiaoling and Lu Zhao, you're in a group, get the data and samples. Lin Che and Xiao Ran, come with me to the processing center." She turned to Dr. Zhang, "You stay and guard the fortress, prepare to receive infected people."

Dr. Zhang tugged at his white coat: "I know."

The lights in the equipment room were so bright they made one's eyes dizzy. Su Wanqing retrieved five sealed boxes from the system exchange area, containing waterproof masks, anti-infection gloves, a water quality tester, and communication earpieces, which she laid out one by one.

Lin Che squatted in the corner, suddenly clutched his chest and bent over, groaning as he bumped into the metal cabinet.

Xiao Ran went over to help him up: "What's wrong?"

Lin Che lifted his collar, and blue scales crawled from his collarbone to his chest, gleaming coldly under the light: "Those things are urging me to change."

He looked up, a flash of blue light in his eyes, "But I can handle it."

Su Wanqing touched his shoulder: "Are you sure?"

"I should go precisely because it can be connected." Lin Che clipped the water pressure device to his waist, the metal buckle clicking loudly. "Let's go."

Lu Zhao came over carrying a backpack and dumped equipment on the table: "Electrified gloves, 3 volts, for paralyzing weavers." He handed one to Xiao Ran, "Hydraulic device, for Lin Che, can turn a water jet."

Then they put a silver bracelet on Xiaoling, "to simulate your silver liquid and prevent infection."

He patted his backpack. "A sonic jammer, used to interfere with Weavers' communications. It's just... I haven't tested it yet."

Su Wanqing pointed to his backpack: "Does it work?"

"I don't know." Lu Zhao pushed up his glasses. "Let's give it a try this time."

The engine roar of the modified SUV echoed in the underground parking garage. Su Wanqing stared at the water quality data on the terminal; the pollution curve was still climbing: "Covering the entire city in 8 hours."

She pressed the earphones into her ears. "It has to be resolved before dawn."

Lin Che leaned against the car window, the blue scales glowing eerily in the night. He suddenly spoke, "They're shouting even more urgently now."

Xiao Ran gripped the steering wheel tightly, the headlights piercing the darkness: "When we get there, we'll block them off."

As the off-road vehicle sped out of the fortress gate, the water quality monitor in the rear compartment suddenly emitted a sharp beep.

As the beeping of the detector in the back compartment pierced the night, Xiao Ran jerked the steering wheel, and the SUV veered into the shadows of the abandoned warehouse.

Su Wanqing ripped off her headphones and threw them on the back seat: "Turn it off." Lu Zhao bent down and pressed the stop button on the device; the metal casing was still hot.

“2:07.” Lin Che pressed his forehead against the car window, blue lines creeping from his collarbone to behind his ears. “The pollution concentration is three times higher than when we left the city.”

Xiao Ran took off his night vision binoculars, the lens still wet with rainwater: "There are no lights around the water plant, and the patrol team passes by every twelve minutes."

He pointed to the wall, "The blind spot in the surveillance is in the southeast corner. The barbed wire is newly replaced, but the connections are loose."

Su Wanqing touched the water pressure device at her waist, the cool metal seeping into her skin through her tactical uniform: "Walk over there, maintaining a ten-meter distance."

Lin Che was the first to get out of the car, his shoes crunching over broken glass. He took two steps with his eyes closed, then suddenly stopped: "The water is shaking."

He reached out and pressed his hand on the ground, saying, "The water in the entire factory area was shaking, like someone was shaking a water pipe."

Xiaoling tightened the zipper of her protective suit, and silver liquid crawled up her wrist to the back of her hand: "Like a heartbeat?"

"Faster than a heartbeat." Lin Che walked forward, and the blue pattern lit up. "Like a machine breathing."

The wall was lower than he had imagined. Xiao Ran gripped the barbed wire with pliers; the metallic scraping sound was like a knife scraping glass.

Su Wanqing was the first to crawl in, her boots crushing a brick. Lin Che suddenly grabbed her by the back of her collar, the force almost knocking her over.

Footsteps sounded from the right. A man in overalls emerged from the shadows, his hard hat pulled low, his flashlight beam shining straight at the ground.

As he passed by Su Wanqing's hiding place, the whites of his eyes gleamed with a deep blue, like two glass marbles soaked in formalin.

Xiaoling whispered in Lin Che's ear: "Infection?"

Lin Che shook his head, the blue pattern darkening in the moonlight: "His breathing was even, and each step was 62 centimeters."

He stared at the man's back. "Just now, from pump room number three to warehouse number five, the straight-line distance is 108 meters, and he took 153 steps."

"Were you controlled?" Xiao Ran tucked the pliers back into his waistband.

Lin Che didn't speak, but pointed to the back of the man's neck—there was a light blue line under the skin, running down the spine and into the collar.

The line continued forward. Every twenty meters, they would encounter a worker, some carrying water pipes, others holding wrenches, all like marionettes, their eyes shining blue.

The streetlights at the fork in the road suddenly flickered, and Su Wanqing raised her hand to signal them to stop.

"Lu Zhao, take Xiaoling to the control room." She touched her earpiece. "Lin Che, Xiao Ran, come with me to the processing center."

Lu Zhao pushed up his glasses: "The monitoring privileges will only last for half an hour at most."

"That's enough." Su Wanqing patted his shoulder.

The door to the control room was ajar. Lu Zhao stuffed the small bell into the ventilation duct and then shuffled along the wall to the doorway.

Inside, two operators stood with their backs to him, their eyes a deep, almost scalding blue, their fingers flying across the keyboard, pausing for half a second after every five keystrokes.

Lu Zhao took out the stun gun and pressed the metal contacts against the back of the nearest operator's neck.

The man shuddered and slumped back in the swivel chair. Just as the other man was about to turn around, Lu Zhao had already walked around him and plunged the stun gun back in.

When the control panel lights up, Xiaoling climbs out of the pipe, her white coat hem dusty: "Monitoring footage."

The screen showed various corners of the water plant, with all the workers repeating mechanical actions.

Lu Zhao quickly typed on the keyboard: "Operation log. The process was modified forty-seven times in the past three days, all using the factory manager's authority."

He pointed to the timestamp, "The last one was two hours ago, right when the alarm went off."

Xiaoling went to another computer, where the screen was full of garbled text: "This code is wrong."

She touched the touchpad, "It's like using DNA strands as an alphabet to spell it out."

"Try your fingerprint." Lu Zhao pulled out the employee badge from the operator's pocket. "The factory manager's."

Xiaoling didn't take the employee badge; instead, she pulled out a small knife and cut her fingertip. As the blood dripped onto the scanner, the screen suddenly went black.

Three seconds later, a line of text appeared: "Identity feature matching, access permission granted."

The words "Biomodification Project" filled the screen. Xiaoling scrolled the mouse quickly: "Water pollution is the first stage, next is air and food supply chain."

Her finger paused. "The next target is the central air purification system, which will be activated in 36 hours."

Lu Zhao leaned closer to look: "Notes. The resonance energy within the core members is the only power that can reverse the pollution."

He pushed up his glasses. "I need to pass this on to Su Wanqing."

The corridor of the processing center smelled of rust. Su Wanqing walked close to the wall, while Lin Che walked in the middle, blue patterns creeping from his sleeve to the back of his hand.

Xiao Ran suddenly grabbed her arm, and the three of them darted into the equipment room.

Footsteps sounded outside the door; there were at least seven people. Lin Che stared through the crack in the door: "They're knocking on the pipes."

He touched the wall, "He knocks three times and then moves to a different spot, like he's locating a location."

"Collective consciousness?" Xiao Ran pulled his tactical knife halfway out.

Lin Che didn't answer, and the blue pattern suddenly brightened. The footsteps outside the door stopped, followed by the sound of metal clanging—someone was turning the doorknob.

Su Wanqing took out the water pressure device and placed her finger on the switch.