The psionic well, which had completely gone out of control, was supplying excess energy to all the crystallized tubes in the wreckage. The energy drain of the ship alone was no longer sufficient to divert so much excess energy. Although a large number of energy leeches were working hard outside, the fragile structure of the wreckage meant that there was a limit to the amount of energy leeches that could be used in this situation. No matter how accurate and knowledgeable Tawil was, in such a complicated and sudden environment, he had to give up many things to preserve as much of the wreckage's database as possible, such as all the experiment modules that he had previously given up. But even so, he had only bought us two hours, and the situation in the core area of the wreckage had not improved at all.
After entering the maintenance passage and walking in a straight line for more than ten minutes, we arrived at the transit area that connected the maintenance passage and the ship's internal corridor. It was a very spacious alloy hall, more than a hundred meters high and a few hundred meters wide on average, big enough for a small spaceship to pass through. The transit area was divided into three passages. One was the direction we came from, one extended into the depths of the spaceship, and one was the official corridor that led directly to the database module. The third passage was dimly lit, twisted, and gloomy, with only thick smoke and fire spewing out from the depths of the passage. It was connected to the completely sealed energy bolt of the inner ring. That was the culprit of this emergency, the last energy bolt that had not been successfully extracted from the entire wreckage. If it had not been suddenly jammed, the psionic well management program of the ship would not have judged that it was necessary to replenish the energy in the experiment module.
But now that the energy bolt had been completely sealed by the raging psionic storm, even Pandora or Visca would not dare to approach that environment, let alone the rescue team. What was the concept of a raging psionic well? Even the smallest model was equivalent to the output of a dozen psionic reactors. In order to advance in the abyss, the efficiency of the psionic well in the experiment module was extremely high. In all fairness, under such circumstances, the environment around it was not much better than being bombarded by the fleet.
But Sandora and I were probably the only two people who could approach the energy bolt. I was almost immune to pure energy attacks, and Sandora had a good meat shield.
"How many people are still in this belt?" Sandora noticed that I was studying the route to the energy switch. She had already guessed what the people around her wanted to do, so she didn't give any suggestions. Instead, she asked the "safety station" staff.
"The inner ring has fourteen key nodes, and each node has one to two such workstations. There are twenty-two stations in total, and a total of 136 researchers are holding their positions."
"Alright, hold on for a while. Let's go remove the energy plug!" I finally confirmed the route to the energy plug and said loudly in an unquestionable tone.
"This is very dangerous!" The scientist was shocked. "The energy bolt is the focus of the rampaging psionic energy. This is too risky!"
"At least it's safer than letting you handle it. Sandora and I can approach the energy plug safely. Can your safety platform last longer than an Emperor-level apostle?"
"Chief Tawil has already informed us of Your Majesty's plan. If we were to remove the energy plug midway, I'm afraid there wouldn't be enough time. Now that we are here to suppress it, Your Majesties can head to the core with peace of mind. As for any unexpected situations, we have already taken into account. If the safety station collapses prematurely, we will immediately upload our souls. Death is a common occurrence for us. "
I was momentarily speechless. "You work together with that lunatic Tawil every day. You must have gotten used to being bombed by her … Alright, alright, let's not talk anymore. Change of plans. I know that the rules of the Empire are that in the field of scientific research, even the Emperor has to listen to the suggestions of the scientists. But now that the research project here has ended, Sandora and I are commanding the battle. You should prepare to retreat. Oh right, I forgot to ask, does removing the energy plug work?"
The second half of my sentence was directed at Sandora. Although I sounded confident in the beginning, I suddenly realized that I didn't even know what the energy plug was for.
"You are really …" Sandora rolled her eyes at me. "The energy plug is used to restrict and distribute the energy in the large-scale psionic network. But now, the energy plug has become the source of a bug. Because of its existence, the psionic well mistakenly thinks that there is a major leak in the energy network, so it keeps sending energy to the outside. If we can really remove the energy plug, it will send a signal to the system of the psionic well that the energy network is offline. Without a doubt, the system of the psionic well will stop working."
"Then, the wreckage will be safe?" I was overjoyed. If the psionic well quieted down, does that mean that we don't have to blow up this section of the submarine?
"Unfortunately, there is too much excess energy in the energy network of this half of the submarine. The shutdown of the psionic well can only stop the core area from pressurizing and give the workstations a chance to evacuate. However, the energy that has accumulated in the network cannot be released. Also, after the energy plug is removed, the energy in the inner ring and the outer ring will be separated. The function of the energy plundering device will be further suppressed, and the wreckage will be even more hopeless. Of course, we didn't intend to save it in the first place, so it is not a loss."
"Okay, let's go to the energy plug." I immediately made a decision. I thought that Sandora might remind me about the priorities of the situation and the decisiveness of a leader. But unexpectedly, she nodded without hesitation. She grabbed my hand and rushed to the dark and twisted third tunnel on the other side.
The environment on the path leading to the energy bolts was even worse than the maintenance tunnel earlier. There were small-scale explosions and energy sparks everywhere, and thick smoke obscured my vision. I had no choice but to use my mental power to sense the environment in front of me. Since the surroundings were filled with psionic interference, this wasn't an easy task. I felt as if I was seeing nothing but mosaics — this barrier was quite thick.
This tunnel — actually, it couldn't be considered a tunnel anymore. It could only point us in the direction of the last energy plug. The severe distortion of the tunnel itself and the large amount of twisted metal blocking the way interfered with Sandora and my progress. We couldn't find a normal path to pass through. Sandora had no choice but to change her form and use the giant abyssal claw to open up the path. Along the way, the metal obstacles and falling alloy plates were torn into pieces like paper. Other than the demolition team, I had never seen such high efficiency.
"You seem to support my unorthodox plan."
I raised my protective shield to block the psionic lightning that was comparable to guns and cannons along the way for Sandora. I asked loudly amid the continuous explosions.
"You mean to suddenly change the route to personally remove the energy plug? Or are you going to personally assist those low-level technicians? " Sandora didn't even turn her head. She casually waved her hand and released a greyish-white shockwave, shattering a collapsing metal support beam into pieces.
"Both. No matter how you look at it, it seems a little petty."
"That's right. As a leader, changing the plan like this is equivalent to lowering the success rate of the entire operation. Not only that, it will consume a lot of energy. But as Ah Jun, you will definitely make this decision. You are used to taking care of everything by yourself. I am used to your habits. Also, Tawil's previous plan wasn't wrong. It's just that she isn't you or me. When faced with the same situation, her judgment might be limited by her own eyes. That's why I feel that Ah Jun's plan is quite feasible. With our strength, if we move at full speed to remove the energy plug and head to the core area, we will still have time. "
Hearing this, my heart relaxed a little. Actually, I also know that changing the plan like this is a very rash action. But how should I put it, letting those low-level technicians manually suppress the core network is ultimately not a solution. I feel that if I work together with Sandora, it should be more than enough to remove one energy plug.
"It should be in front." Sandora suddenly stopped and said loudly. Then, she pulled me down from the alloy wall in front of us. "Don't run so fast."
"Damn, it's too thick." I rubbed my forehead awkwardly. Thick smoke billowed around us. Even when I used my spiritual power to explore the path, I was still affected by the energy environment. I don't have Sandora's vision that comes with over a hundred types of radars. If I wasn't careful, I would have crashed into a wall.
If I had known earlier, I would have used my Void form to travel. Although it was a little ugly, at least if I met a wall blocking my way, I could directly smash a hole through it …
"It seems that the control system of the wreckage closed the gate by itself. The opposite side is where the energy plug is placed." Sandora looked at the huge alloy wall in front of us. It was already distorted by the nearby energy impact. The opening mechanism must have failed. "It seems that we can only dig a hole."
"Your claws have quite a lot of functions." I glanced at Sandora's Abyss Claws and suddenly blurted out.
Sandora rubbed her claws on the metal wall beside us. "Ah Jun, a loose tongue can cause trouble."
Although that was what she said, Sandora didn't have any psychological resistance towards her Void form. She was even happy to joke around with me about it. This was probably because my Void form was even more unsightly than my large claws, which gave her a lot of confidence. Next, the two of us started to deal with the gate in front of us. Since the rechargeable armor had failed, the originally indestructible alloy gate had now become ordinary metal. The only thing that was difficult to deal with was that it was originally designed to protect the energy hub, so it was highly resistant to psionic energy. The rampaging psionic energy in the surroundings didn't reduce the physical strength of the gate, so we weren't able to deal with it as easily as before. Sandora began to aggressively cut through the gate. The whole process was filled with sparks. I focused on maintaining the shield and diverting the energy nearby to prevent it from exploding. After a while, Sandora let out a sigh of relief. "It's done. It's actually more than two meters thick, and there's even star gold stone mixed in.
It's really sturdy. "There was a hole about two meters wide and two meters deep on the gate. There weren't any metal shards on the ground. Sandora probably threw them into her mouth and ate them.
What a miraculous tooth! She could even bite through star gold stone! If it wasn't for the lack of range, perhaps Sandora's most powerful weapon would be her canine teeth.
Shandora and I immediately went through the hole and entered the energy hub. The place where the energy bolts were placed was a cylindrical enclosed space with a radius of about twenty to thirty meters. There were no operating stations in the space, which meant that under normal circumstances, no one would come to such a place. There were countless intertwining pipelines beneath his feet, like the floor of some kind of nest. The arc-shaped walls on the side were lined with many parallel crystallized pipelines that emitted a faint blue light. In front of him was a large number of mechanical devices that were fixed in mid-air. It was made of metal and crystal. The radius of the cylinder was probably close to ten meters, and the height was about twenty to thirty meters. Looking up, it looked like a strange-looking building, with windows that flickered with blue light.
Below the cylinder was a slightly larger hole. The hole was emitting a blue and white halo. The intertwining pipes on the floor finally converged on a circle of crystallized rings at the edge of the hole. It was obvious that the huge cylinder that was a few meters above the ground and the hole that was emitting blue light below it combined to form the so-called energy valve. As for the energy plug, it was the cylindrical thing.
… This thing was much bigger than I had imagined. A huge cylinder that could house two hundred people. Was it really just a valve handle?
"It's completely out of control. These crystallized pipes were pierced near the restraints above. Then, some of them fused together. Even the beta barrier around it was broken in many places." Sandora raised her head and looked at the top of the enclosed space. I saw that above the energy plug, where all the crystallized pipes converged. Large patches of psionic lightning were exploding in all directions. The sizzling sound of energy shooting echoed throughout the space. The mechanical devices fixed the energy plug in mid-air had tiny energy 'electric' phenomena everywhere. Bright psionic light arcs ran along every pipe. Due to the unstable energy, many small crystalline balls of light appeared in the surrounding air. When these balls of light floated onto the huge cylinder, they would cause a small-scale explosion. Every time it happened, it would be terrifying. The energy reaction inside it was almost equivalent to the barrel of a Galaxy Cannon! Once this thing broke, even if the two of us didn't die, we would at least lose a layer of skin!
"We can only follow the procedure and safely descend this thing." Sandora walked forward. "We can't destroy the energy plug directly. Once its crystal barrier is broken, it might explode."
Staying in this huge 'component' (actually, including the cylindrical enclosed space we were in, we were in an energy valve, and the energy plug was only the valve's control component), even Sandora and I felt a tremendous amount of pressure. The energy density around us was astonishing, and the energy plug in front of us contained psionic energy equivalent to a shot from a Galaxy Cannon. If an ordinary Empire soldier came here, they would probably overload and self-destruct in a few seconds. I, on the other hand, was completely relying on my talent to survive in such an environment. However, the dense psionic fluctuations around us still brought a lot of psychological pressure. No wonder Tawil once thought that the submersible ship was completely hopeless. Aside from a Commander-class apostle, who else would have the ability to come here and explore?
Due to the leakage of energy, the space around us was filled with ear-piercing alarms, each one more urgent than the next. It was annoying to listen to. Sandora frowned and casually waved a shockwave in a certain direction. The alarms stopped abruptly. Then, she went to the hole below the energy plug, retracted her giant abyssal claw, and began to violently dismantle the crystallized ring.
I didn't really understand these things, so all I could do was try my best to guide the leaking psionic energy from the energy plug. At the same time, I watched Sandora's actions.
She had already dismantled the one-meter-wide crystallized ring, revealing a one-foot-wide hole. Inside was a complicated crystal structure. Without looking, Sandora smashed the beautiful and deadly crystal into pieces, revealing a metal protrusion below. She searched the metal protrusion and found a groove. Then, she pulled it out of the ground. It turned out to be a control rod buried in the mechanical structure. The control rod was originally glowing blue, but as it was pulled out of its original slot, the blue light quickly dimmed. At the same time, there was a low buzzing sound from the energy plug when the equipment was running out of energy.
* Clang! * Sandora threw the dismantled parts on the ground. Then, she dismantled the nearby crystallized cover and pulled out the control rods one by one. I looked at it for a while and realized that it wasn't difficult at all. So, I helped her. "It doesn't look that difficult."
"Sometimes, when the microscopic probe can't solve the problem, a hammer will work too." Sandora raised her head and smiled. "The clumsy method is the easiest to master … Okay, the last one, done!"
"Warning: The state of the restraining device for the 14th energy plug is abnormal. The restraining device is about to be released. The energy plug is estimated to be completely lowered in one minute."
As Sandora threw the last control rod on the ground, the crystallized ring beneath our feet immediately dimmed. Then, there was a low buzzing sound of energy being released. The restraining mechanism in the air began to use the remaining energy to lower the energy plug. The huge cylinder finally began to descend after a series of tremors. Sandora and I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Although the environment was harsh, at least it was more obedient to operate it manually.
However, before we could completely exhale, we heard a deafening sound from above. * Clang! *
The energy plug suddenly stopped after a violent shaking. The surrounding space was instantly filled with energy lightning. Sandora's expression changed. "Sh * t! It's stuck! "
The moment the energy lightning appeared in the surroundings, I had already taken action. I instantly released an energy suppression field. All the rampaging psionic energy was forcefully restrained within its own medium. An earth-shattering explosion was narrowly nipped in the bud. However, it still made me break out in cold sweat. I maintained the energy suppression and didn't dare to relax. I asked anxiously, "What's going on?"
"The restraining device malfunctioned. It locked itself," Sandora pointed at the complicated mechanical device in the air. "That's why I don't like mechanical restraining devices! We have to quickly lower the energy plug and let it fall into the hole. Otherwise, there will be a huge explosion. "
"Cut off those mechanical arms?"
"Those things are made from high-purity star gold stone and high-crystallized Amu alloy. I am certain that my claws won't be able to break them. It was designed so that the energy plug wouldn't deviate beyond the tolerance range even if it was hit by the warship's main cannon. Furthermore, this thing's energy resistance is 99%. It will be difficult to cut it off in a short period of time."
"I can't use energy attacks, nor can I casually direct void energy into such an environment. Then, I can only … find a coolie!" At that moment, I had a flash of inspiration and immediately connected to her. "Lin, come over. It's time for you to work hard!"
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