One hour.
The number hung in the command center like a thousand-pound stone, pressing down on every heart in the room.
BANG—!
BANG—!!
BANG—!!!
The metal door shrieked in agony under the frenzied assault of the green longblade. Each impact made the entire room tremble, dust sifting down from the ceiling. On the door panel, the hideous dents grew deeper, and the rivets at the seams had begun to loosen, producing a grating, teeth-aching groan. No one knew if this seemingly sturdy door could hold until Mister Yi returned.
Xiang Lie clutched the now cold "Ling" in his hand, his palm slick with sweat. His eyes were fixed, unblinking, on the constantly deforming door, every muscle in his body taut, ready for the desperate, all-out fight once it breached. The atmosphere in the room was suffocating, broken only by the heavy slamming and the girls' ragged breathing. Time had never stretched so long.
He didn't know how long it had been, but just as Xiang Lie felt the door was on the verge of being split in two—
BANG!
After another heavy impact, the mad, hacking sound from outside ceased, without a single warning. The sudden, chilling silence stunned everyone.
"What's going on? She stopped?" a little girl asked timidly.
All eyes snapped to the main screen in the center of the command room.
On the screen, "Ye," radiating malevolent energy, stood silently outside the door. She was no longer attacking the barrier. Instead, her head was tilted slightly, her crimson nose sniffing vigorously at the air, like a beast scenting its prey.
Suddenly, her body convulsed! Her maddened crimson eyes flared with a hunger and desire ten times more intense than when she had first seen Xiang Lie!
The next second, she abandoned the door that had so stubbornly resisted her, her entire form dissolving into a blurry, blood-red afterimage, and tore like a bullet down a corridor leading deeper into the base!
"She… she left?"
"Where is she going?"
After a brief moment of stunned shock, Ling's face turned even paler than before! As if struck by some terrifying realization, her hands flew across the virtual keyboard, pulling up internal surveillance feeds of the base.
"Where's Luo?!" Her voice rose, shrill with terror. "Why isn't Luo here?!"
The girls in the command room exchanged bewildered glances, their faces mirroring Ling's panic.
"It was too chaotic just now, I… I didn't notice…"
"Luo's the most timid, did she hide somewhere?"
"It's over…" Ling watched the rapidly cycling surveillance feeds, the blood draining from her beautiful face, tears now streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.
Finally, the screen froze. In a secluded corner of a maintenance tunnel, cluttered with various supplies, a small girl, no older than ten, with twin pigtails, was curled into a ball, hugging her knees, trembling uncontrollably. It was Luo.
And on the other side of the screen, the blood-red afterimage was hurtling directly towards that maintenance tunnel with alarming speed! Its target was unmistakably Luo!
"It's over! It's all over!" Ling completely broke down, tearing at her hair, letting out a desperate wail. "She's going to eat Luo! What do we do? What do we do?! Luo's armed form is the 'Nutrient Solution Synthesizer,' she's the 'tastiest' among all our sisters! Ye must have smelled her!"
"It's too late! We can't get there in time now!"
"Waaah… Luo…"
Despairing sobs filled the command room. They could only watch, helpless, as the death-like figure on the screen drew closer and closer to the oblivious little girl.
Just as everyone plunged into the abyss of despair, Xiang Lie's voice, steady as a mountain, cut through all the weeping and wailing.
"I'll go."
Instantly, all eyes turned to him.
Xiang Lie looked at no one in particular; his gaze was fixed on the screen, on the blood-red figure that was now only a step away from Luo. He turned his head, looking at the pale-faced Xiao Lin among the group.
"Sister Xiao Lin, where's your long spear?"
"I'm here." A tall, cool-tempered girl, appearing to be eighteen or nineteen, stepped forward. It was "Jing," the Weapon Girl who had been cooperating with Xiao Lin earlier. Her face was ashen, her lips even slightly purple, clearly from extreme energy depletion.
Xiang Lie walked up to her, asking with an undeniable authority: "Are you alright? Can eating meat… replenish your energy?"
"Jing" paused, then nodded: "Yes… but, can your body withstand it? Continuous armament drains the host enormously."
"No time to worry about that." Xiang Lie stated decisively. He turned to Ling, his mind clear, his words coming out in a rapid-fire burst: "Ling! Do you have any regular human food here? Lots of it, high-calorie!"
"Yes! Yes, we do!" Ling snapped out of her despair, nodding frantically. "Mister Yi… he eats regular food! The kitchen is over there! Put on this earpiece, and I'll guide you! It's… it's right on the way!" She immediately understood Xiang Lie's intention.
Xiang Lie took the earpiece and put it on, no longer hesitating. He walked up to "Jing" and, with a swift motion, scooped her into his arms. "Jing's" cheeks flushed a rare crimson, but she knew this was no time for shyness. She lowered her head, seeming to aim for the same spot Ling had bitten, preparing to bite into Xiang Lie's right trapezius.
"Wait!" Xiang Lie suddenly interjected, stopping her.
Under everyone's bewildered gazes, he solemnly adjusted his hold, offering his left shoulder to "Jing's" mouth. He spoke with a tone full of care and fairness: "Let's switch to this side, eat from Ah Zuo this time. Can't always have Ah You taking the hit, need to spread the love."
The command room fell into instant, stunned silence. Ling's mouth hung open, her tears forgotten. The little girls stopped their sniffling, staring at Xiang Lie as if he were a deity. They simply could not comprehend why anyone, at such a moment of life and death, would be concerned about which of their two muscles got bitten.
"Jing" was also momentarily taken aback, and a look of amused exasperation actually flickered across her usually cool face. She nodded, no longer polite, and bit down hard on the equally full and solid "Ah Zuo"!
"Ugh…!" This time, Xiang Lie felt as if a high-powered pump had been connected to his veins! "Jing" seemed truly starved; she bit several times before finally releasing her hold, satisfied.
Blinding black light shot skyward! As the light dispersed, a terrifying, jet-black long spear, its shaft glowing with a dark violet luminescence and radiating immense power, floated silently before Xiang Lie. Its condition was several times more potent than when it had been in Xiao Lin's hands!
Xiang Lie himself was deathly pale, feeling completely drained, barely able to stand. He took a deep breath and seized the hovering spear! It was icy cold to the touch, yet it felt as if it had merged with his very soul! The instant he gripped the handle, a colossal, boundless power, mixed with an overwhelming deluge of combat information, surged frantically into his mind! Sweeping strikes, thrusts, lunges, parries, evasions, blocks, grapples, and charges… countless exquisite spear techniques, like innate instincts, were instantly branded onto his soul. He could even distinctly feel every "breath" of the spear, every flow of its energy.
Power! Unprecedented power flooded his limbs! He felt his speed, his reactions, even his control over every muscle in his body, had elevated to an entirely new level!
But at the same time, an intense, continuous draining sensation emanated from all his muscles. It felt as if his prized musculature was transforming into fuel, providing energy for this immense power.
'MYO-GOD SYSTEM: WARNING! Non-trapezius muscle tissue detected to be consumed at high speed! Trapezius repairing… Trapezius repairing…' The cold, mechanical voice echoed incessantly in his mind, as if reminding him of the steep price of this power.
"The kitchen… this way! Quick!" Ling's urgent voice sounded in his earpiece just in time. Xiang Lie wasted no more thought. He gripped the long spear tightly, forcing down the pervasive weakness and hunger that coursed through him, and, like an arrow released from a bow, sprinted towards the direction Ling had indicated!