pertwk Chapter 3: The Damaged Spear, the Light Technique
Chapter 3: The Damaged Spear, the Light Technique
"Emergency power is activated, maintaining only basic area lighting and visitor guidance systems."
As soon as the synthesized voice finished, the light strips on both sides of the corridor lit up one by one, dispelling some of the darkness.
The light was dim and yellowish, and a thick layer of dust covered the walls. The air was thick with the pungent smell of rusting metal and decay.
Hong leaned against the door without going in immediately.
He gripped half of the gun barrel tightly in his right hand, his muscles taut, ready to unleash his power at any moment, and warily scanned the interior of the corridor.
The dust covering the ground indicates that no one has been here for a long time, but no one can say for sure whether the ruins' defense system is still operational.
He remembered that even if such remnants of cosmic civilization were abandoned, they were not so easy to break into.
He didn't rush in. Instead, he turned to the side, picked up a piece of gravel, and threw it with all his might into the depths of the corridor.
The stone flew about ten meters in, and two thin, reddish rays shot out from the two walls on either side, crossing each other.
The rock was silently sliced into powder in mid-air, scattering across the ground.
Hong's eyes narrowed.
The speed and cutting power are terrifying.
Even with his extraordinary dynamic vision, he could only barely catch a fleeting glimpse of the launch port.
With his current physical abilities, he simply couldn't get past such a defensive trap.
Since there is a visitor guidance system, there must be a safe passage.
He turned and began inspecting the area near the entrance gate.
He used the broken gun barrel to tap the nearby wall little by little.
"Knock knock".
"Thump."
Most of the place was solid, until he knocked on a corner covered by vines more than 30 meters to the left of the entrance, where the sound changed.
"Empty."
It is hollow.
Hong perked up and forcefully pulled away the vines, revealing the metal wall behind them.
On the wall, there is a metal plate about half a meter square with a groove almost completely filled with dust, and a small gap can be seen at the edge.
He inserted the broken end of the gun barrel into the gap and pried it open with all his might.
"Creak—"
With a screeching sound, he pried the metal plate open.
Inside was a narrow maintenance passage, covered in dust and tangled with pipes, barely wide enough for one person to crawl through while bending over.
Maintenance access.
Without hesitation, Hong immediately crawled inside.
The passage was dark and narrow, forcing him to crawl forward using both hands and feet. The stench of decay was even stronger, and as he crawled, he carefully listened for any sounds around him.
After crawling for over a hundred meters, a fork in the road appeared ahead.
He stopped and took out a flashlight from his backpack.
The beam of light illuminated the fork in the road. There was a thin layer of dust on the ground at the entrance to the left passage, while there were several very faint crawling marks on the dust on the right, which were almost invisible unless you looked closely.
He chose the left side.
After climbing several dozen meters, the flashlight beam illuminated a scattered skeleton, its shape resembling a lizard magnified several times.
Hong stopped and noticed an inconspicuous small black hole in the ceiling in front of the skeleton.
He picked up a lizard bone and threw it towards the area.
A faint arc of electricity shot out from the small hole, instantly turning the bone into ashes.
He carefully crawled along the ground, slowly making his way under the trap.
In this way, he avoided several more traps.
Finally, a metal grid that could be pushed up appeared in front of them.
He pushed open the fence and climbed out.
This place appears to be a small equipment room, filled with discarded instruments that are sparking everywhere.
He walked through the equipment room, opened a half-closed door, and suddenly the view opened up before him.
A huge central hall appeared before us, exuding a high-tech feel; this must be the control room.
The hall was a mess; the huge screen was broken, the control panel was covered in dust and cracks, and most of the equipment was damaged.
Hong's heart sank.
He came here hoping to find some complete scientific data or star maps, but now it seems unlikely that he will succeed.
He didn't stop, but turned and walked towards another heavy metal door.
Pushing open the door, a strong, musty smell of decaying metal hit me.
The first thing you see are rows of weapon racks, filled with all kinds of firearms, but they are already rotten and could turn into rust with the slightest touch.
Hong picked up a strangely shaped rifle, and with a slight pressure from his fingers, the gun collapsed into a pile of fragments.
He had little interest in these conventional weapons to begin with.
Just as he was about to leave in disappointment, his gaze was drawn to something in the corner.
It was a silver-white alloy cabinet, taller than a person.
In the otherwise rusty armory, this cabinet stood out as if it were brand new, without a speck of dust on its surface.
He walked over and found that there were no door handles or combination locks on the cabinet.
He used all his strength to slam his fist on the cabinet.
"when."
With a loud bang, the cabinet remained completely still, but his fists were shaken and felt numb.
It's made of a very hard material.
Hong's eyes hardened, he took two steps back, concentrated all his strength in his right leg, and suddenly delivered a side kick.
"Bang!"
The cabinet made a muffled thud, and a dent and crack finally appeared on its surface.
He kicked and kicked, relentlessly, at the same spot.
After a dozen or so kicks, with a "crack," a hole was kicked open in the surface of the cabinet.
He reached in and pried it open forcefully.
"Sizzle—"
He tore the hard alloy plate open, revealing what was inside.
There were no weapons inside, only a black soft cushion.
A long spear lay quietly on the cushion.
The gun body is dark and has a simple, antique design without any superfluous decorations. The only special feature is a tiny, almost imperceptible notch on the sharp blade.
Beside the spear, there was a diamond-shaped crystal about the size of a fingernail, completely transparent with a faint light flowing inside.
Hong's heart skipped a beat.
He carefully picked up the spear; it was very heavy, at least twice as heavy as the alloy spear he had used before, but it felt surprisingly good in his hand.
He then picked up the chip. After examining it for a while, he suddenly seemed to remember something, took the chip, turned around, and quickly ran back to the control room.
He weaved through rows of scrapped equipment and finally found a miniature computer in a corner with a faint indicator light still on.
Hong found a notch on the computer that matched the size of the diamond-shaped chip perfectly.
He inserted the chip.
"drop."
The black screen lit up instantly, and a line of powerful characters appeared in the center of the screen—"Light" (incomplete).
"It's not a universal language?"
He quickly looked down.
The screen displayed a limited amount of content—an incomplete gunplay manual specializing in speed and penetration. It only included illustrations and power techniques for the first few moves, but the underlying concept captivated him, a man who had just grasped the basics of "momentum."
At the end of the marksmanship manual, there was a text titled "Genetic Energy Basic Guidance Technique".
This is exactly what he has been dreaming of.
For the past two years, he had been figuring things out on his own, which was inefficient. But what he was seeing now, although it was just a basic guiding technique, was a systematic cultivation method.
"Very good."
As he was desperately trying to memorize the energy flow and method of that guiding technique, the entire ruins suddenly lit up with red lights, and a piercing alarm sounded in every corner.
"Waaaaah—waaaah—"
A cold, mechanical voice rang out again.
"Alert! Alert! Unauthorized access to S-level data detected!"
"The 'Light' manual contains the content of the anonymous disciple inheritance assessment of Meteorite Star! Access restrictions do not apply! Activate emergency plan!"
"Self-destruct program initiated! Countdown: 300, 299, 298..."
Upon hearing the words "Meteorite Star," Hong's expression changed.
He never dreamed that he had stirred up such a huge hornet's nest.
Without a second thought, he ripped off the chip, grabbed the dark-colored long gun beside him, and sprinted back towards the maintenance tunnel entrance he had come from.
He had three hundred seconds to escape this damn place.
"Damn, are we going to go this far?"