The shrill alarms in Kunlun Base's Life Support Center had finally fallen silent, replaced by a suffocating, high-tension quiet. Inside the regeneration pod, Chu Xuan lay still, the vicious, ash-gray stone markings that had been creeping up his neck halted just below his earlobes – a noose of fate barely held at bay. His eyes remained closed, his face deathly pale, but the rise and fall of his chest beneath the tangle of life-sustaining tubes was now undeniably stronger, each breath a laborious effort against the machinery.
Outside the pod, the monitor screens no longer screamed with lines hurtling towards oblivion. Instead, they trembled, clinging desperately to a fragile baseline just above the lethal threshold, like tiny boats surviving the churning aftermath of a storm.
"Petrification… halted!" The Chief Medical Officer's voice was hoarse, laced with disbelief, relief, and utter exhaustion. "Vital signs… stabilized at minimal survival levels! Elder Qin! He… he's holding on!"
Elder Qin's stooped frame jerked. Bloodshot eyes fixed on the screens, his gnarled fingers trembling as they touched the cold observation window. Through the thick glass, the frozen gray-white stone on Chu Xuan's jaw was a stark, painful mark – yet also a miraculous scar. They'd done it! The desperate gamble that risked Dragon Spine Valley, the Kunlun ley lines, even the very foundation of the Ark Project's primary site… the colossal cost had bought a sliver of hope!
"Devourer Physique… consuming Abyssal Filth… using poison against poison, filth to feed the stone…" Elder Qin murmured, his rheumy eyes reflecting a complex storm of fear, relief, and a deepening sense of being ensnared by profound mystery. "The secrets within this boy… are more terrifying than we imagined! That stone curse… it became armor to absorb destructive energy! Fortune and calamity intertwined…"
"Elder Qin," Zhao Qiming's steady voice cut through the tension. He handed over a freshly printed report, its edges still warm. "Preliminary report on the 'Leyline Conduit' project. Dragon Spine Valley… catastrophic losses. Seven 'Dragon-Guiding Pillars' destroyed, three structurally collapsed. The core 'Dragon-Binding Array' altar suffered over 40% burnout to its runic pathways. Repair… unlikely. Direct losses… incalculable. Geological integrity permanently compromised. The chosen site for the Ark Phase One core… is unusable."
Each figure on the report felt like an ice needle stabbing Elder Qin's heart. He took it, the paper rustling faintly in his grip. The sacrifice was immense. To save one man, they'd nearly crippled a cornerstone of humanity's future. Was it worth it? The thought flashed and was instantly crushed by a deeper resolve. Chu Xuan was that future. His value eclipsed any single location.
"Casualties?" Elder Qin's voice was low, gravelly.
"Engineering teams and 'Dragon Tooth' units reacted swiftly. Evacuation timely," Zhao Qiming reported, a thread of tension beneath his calm. "Seventeen critical, forty-three minor injuries… miraculously, no fatalities. However…" he paused, his tone hardening, "all were exposed to dispersed Abyssal Filth. Contamination levels are being assessed; long-term effects unknown. Additionally…" He gestured, and a researcher in heavy protective gear carefully brought forward a lead-alloy containment crate, humming with coolant lines and radiation warnings. "We recovered this… from the epicenter of the final eruption."
As the crate opened, a wave of cold, heavy air washed out, smelling faintly of sulfur and corroded metal. It wasn't pungent, but it carried an oppressive weight that settled over everyone. Inside the thick crystal lining of the crate lay a lump, roughly fist-sized and grotesquely irregular. It was a viscous, polluted dark brown, its surface pitted like filthy, hardened sludge. Deep within its core, a sluggish, deeper crimson fluid pulsed with agonizing slowness – congealed blood in amber, or magma trapped in the abyss. Thin wisps of dark brown vapor seeped from its surface, hissing faintly against the alloy walls.
"Abyssal Core?" Elder Qin's pupils contracted.
"Affirmative," the muffled voice came through the protective suit. "Preliminary assessment: a hyper-condensed, crystallized product of Abyssal Filth, accumulated in the deep ley lines beneath Dragon Spine Valley for untold millennia. Forced compression by the Dragon-Binding Array's surge and the… subject's absorption. Energy intensity… exceeds all instrument parameters. Highly unstable. Destructive and corrosive properties… incalculable. Temporary designation: 'Defiled Earth Crystal'."
Elder Qin stared silently at the ill-omened crystal in the crate. The source that nearly destroyed the valley, the poison that was also, paradoxically, the medicine holding Chu Xuan back from the brink? A bitter irony washed over him.
"Highest level containment! Establish an independent isolation lab! Codename: 'Abyss'! All personnel contact under highest protocols and rotation! No energy activation experiments without my direct order!" Elder Qin's command was iron. This was Pandora's Box, yet also the only tangible clue to Chu Xuan's condition and the Earth's core secrets. He cast one last deep look at the figure in the pod and turned, his steps heavy but resolute, towards the base depths. "Summon the core leads of 'Celestial Forge', 'Divine Farmer', and 'Candle Dragon' projects! And… notify the 'Weaver' system – highest authority access! We reassess everything! Chu Xuan's data, the Dragon Spine geological reports, the Defiled Earth Crystal analysis… all clues integrated! The Ark Project… continues! New site selection – initiate global scans immediately! All 'Leyline Nodes' mentioned in Chu Xuan's memos – top priority!"
Linhai City West Outskirts, Bunker Safe Zone. Beneath the frozen dungeon vortex.
The air in the temporary isolation ward hung thick, oppressive as the calm before a typhoon. Chen Mo lay on the bed, breathing shallowly, blood-flecked foam glistening at his lips. His left eye was shut, the faint azure beam gone, leaving only the web-like tracery of silver circuitry stark against the sclera – a silent testament to the impossible feat.
Beyond the one-way glass, Rock stood like an iron monolith, his bronze face impassive, sharp eyes boring into the unconscious youth as if trying to dissect his very soul. Dr. Boson hunched over a console nearby, fingers flying across a virtual keyboard, screens flooding with dizzying data streams. Sweat beaded his forehead, his eyes behind his glasses wide with shock and an almost manic intensity.
"All data… converges on one conclusion," Dr. Boson's voice trembled slightly. He looked up sharply at Rock. "Not energy neutralization, not spatial shielding… 'Rule Override'! He imposed an incomprehensible, higher-dimensional 'command' that overwrote the fundamental physical laws of that airspace! Time, space, energy flow… all 'paused'! It's… it's like slapping a 'HALT' tag on a running process in a computer program!"
Rock slowly turned his gaze towards the bunker's heavy alloy doors. Though layers of concrete and steel separated him, his mind's eye saw again the frozen apocalypse above the university district – crimson lightning like bloody ice sculptures, shattered buildings suspended mid-collapse, all frozen in the instant before annihilation. Only the hairline black fissure at the vortex's heart pulsed with slow, inexorable menace, radiating pure, terrifying nullity.
"Paused… not destroyed?" Rock's voice was a low, grating rasp, each word squeezed from his chest. "What does this mean? That this power… holds the authority to 'define rules'? Even temporarily? Locally?"
"Afraid so," Dr. Boson swallowed hard, face pale. "This is a thousand times more terrifying than mere destruction! Destruction breaks existing structures. Pausing… negates the underlying logic of 'existence' and 'change' in that region! The 'Weaver' system before this… is like a stone axe facing a starship's main cannon! Our previous 'Candle Dragon' plan… was a joke! Forcing the 'Weaver' to interface with this power… has only one outcome – the 'Weaver' system itself would be overwritten, formatted by that higher command logic! Along with the operator… atomized!"
Rock's fist clenched silently, knuckles popping. Power beyond comprehension! A seemingly ordinary esports youth harboring god-like, reality-warping might? The discovery brought not joy, but bone-deep dread and crushing responsibility.
"Immediately!" Rock's voice was forged steel. "Initiate Maximum Bio-Confinement Protocol! Codename: 'Silencing Shackles'! Apply! Containment field intensity… set to 300% theoretical maximum! All vitals, energy emissions data – real-time encryption, highest clearance, direct feed to Kunlun!"
His gaze swept the room, freezing the other researchers and guards in place. "All data, imagery, analysis of today's events – classified 'Abyssal Depth'! No dissemination, discussion, or backup without dual authorization from Elder Qin and myself! Violators… charged with treason!" A killing intent, cold and sharp, dropped the room's temperature.
"Furthermore," Rock's eyes returned to the unconscious Chen Mo, filled with profound complexity, "notify the 'Candle Dragon' project group… plan indefinitely suspended. Target status… codename updated to: 'Abyssal Watcher'. Threat assessment… reclassified: Apocalypse-Level (Latent)."
Kunlun Base, "Celestial Forge" Laboratory.
The massive isolation platform was bathed in blinding energy fields. At its center, suspended, lay the immense, ancient blade from the depths beneath the Hall of Supreme Harmony – the "Zhen Yue" (Pacify Mountains) Greatsword. Its dark cyan blade was unedged, a dragon-spine ridge running its length, ancient and desolate. The intricate ice-crack patterns etched into its surface seemed deeper, more fathomless under the intense light, like gateways to a bloody otherworld.
Researchers, armored like bomb disposal experts, maneuvered non-contact probes with extreme caution around the blade. High-energy particle streams, multi-dimensional resonance waves, spiritual field detectors – every cutting-edge tool was deployed, trying to decipher the secrets of this slumbering relic.
"Final spectral analysis confirmation: 99.998% match with Sky Ascent Token fragment. Core elemental composition… incomplete, numerous unknown isotopes. Verdict: Star Sea Celestial Domain 'Starfall Divine Iron'… confirmed!" A researcher's voice held awe.
"Internal structural tomography: Dao pattern network critically damaged… integrity below 4.7%. Primary damage mode… physical fracture from high-energy impact and energy overload meltdown… residual patterns show… biological contamination erosion?!"
"Core energy signature monitoring: Persistent dormancy… no active radiation. But core region detects ultra-high 'pollution source' activity… energy signature… mismatches known Netherdeath Qi, Abyssal Demon Energy, Vampiric Taint! Closer to… a highly mutated, purely destructive… flesh-blood life essence?! Pollution intensity… unclassifiable! Extreme hazard!"
"Physical strength limit test (non-contact field compression): At maximum output… zero deformation! Micro-structure scan… atomic lattice arrangement completely unknown! Theoretical physical strength… beyond current paradigms!"
"Warning! Warning! Attempting micro-injection of guided spiritual energy (0.001 standard unit)… pollution source activity spiking! Feedback energy exceeding safety thresholds! Abort injection!"
The litany of cold, terrifying results echoed in the observation chamber. Elder Qin and "Celestial Forge" lead, Academician Zhou, stood behind the thick window, faces grim.
"Demonic blood contamination… divine iron defiled…" Academician Zhou adjusted his glasses, his gaze sharp as an eagle's talon. He pointed at the simulation screen showing the writhing, corrupted energy source. "The Taizu Emperor's records were correct! That 'Heavenly Direwolf' he slew, its primordial blood's corruption is unimaginable! Six centuries of Dragon Qi suppression only made it dormant, not purified! This blade is a double-edged sword, a demon weapon quenched in potent venom! Reckless use… consequences are unthinkable!"
Elder Qin remained silent, his age-spotted hand gripping the warm Sky Ascent Token fragment in his pocket. Star Sea Divine Iron was before them, the Hongwu Emperor's weapon in hand, hope against the alien threat seemingly within grasp… yet choked by this terrifying corruption! The key was here, the lock rusted shut!
"Any way?" Elder Qin's voice was hoarse, edged with exhaustion. "Purification? Or… suppression?"
Academician Zhou gave a bitter smile, pointing at the corrupted energy simulation. "Elder Qin, look at this signature… pure, savage, brimming with a lifeform's most primal urges of consumption and destruction! It's formed a deep 'symbiosis' with the blade's residual Dao patterns, even parts of the Starfall Iron's micro-structure! Forced purification? Any current tech – particle bombardment, spiritual cleansing fields – insufficient strength is useless; exceed a critical threshold… and we risk detonating this 'symbiote'! The yield…" He shook his head, leaving the horror unspoken.
"Suppression? Overwhelm it with greater force?" Elder Qin pressed.
"Theoretically possible," Zhou pointed to the intense containment field. "As we are doing now, high-strength isolation. But it consumes massive, sustained power. To wield it in combat? The instantaneous power draw… might drain half of Kunlun's fusion reactors! Not worth it! And…" he paused, tone heavier, "this is only temporary 'quarantine'. The pollution source itself isn't diminished. Any field fluctuation or power interruption…"
The consequences were equally unthinkable.
Elder Qin stared at the blade within the field, its ice-crack patterns like mocking scars in the light. Hope had become a hot potato, a timed bomb. He took a deep breath, forcing down frustration. "Continue research! Exhaust all non-destructive analysis! Focus on finding the 'balance point' between the pollution, the divine iron, and the residual patterns! Also…" A flicker of resolve crossed his eyes. "Contact the 'Divine Farmer' team, Dr. Lin Weiwei! Her expertise in life energy and xenobiotic energies is deepest. See if there's… a poison-versus-poison approach!"
An assistant researcher rushed into the observation room, holding a fresh report, his expression a mix of bewilderment and disbelief.
"Elder Qin! Academician Zhou! Urgent brief from Dr. Lin Weiwei of 'Divine Farmer'! And… a highest-level encrypted data packet from the Linhai West Outpost Safe Zone!"
The "Divine Farmer" lab occupied a surprisingly verdant sector deep within Kunlun Base. Huge transparent cultivation vats held exotic plants basking in simulated sunlight, some leaves shimmering with faint spiritual light.
Dr. Lin Weiwei, clad in pristine white research attire, stood before an isolated analysis platform, her brow furrowed. Holographic windows hovered above it. One displayed Chu Xuan's latest full-body scans, particularly the staggeringly complex energy flow model within his petrified left arm. Another showed analysis reports on soil and biological samples from Dragon Spine Valley, tainted with trace Abyssal Filth.
Her fingers flew across a virtual keyboard, accessing the newly received, top-secret data packet from Linhai. Unlocked, the first thing that leapt out was a fleeting but paradigm-shattering energy waveform – the residual signature of the "Rule Override" Chen Mo had unleashed to freeze the university district dungeon!
"This… how is this possible?" Lin Weiwei's usually calm eyes widened, pupils reflecting the impossible energy curve defying known physics. "Trans-dimensional rule command? Temporal-stasis?" Instantly, she connected it to Chu Xuan's bizarre ability to draw Abyssal energy across space!
A hypothesis, bold to the point of madness, struck her like lightning!
She immediately overlaid Chu Xuan's petrification curse energy model with Chen Mo's waveform, aligning them with nanosecond precision.
Hum!
On the hologram, the ash-gray model representing Chu Xuan's curse visibly resonated as it touched the waveform representing "Rule Override"! Ripples spread across the model's surface, like a pond disturbed by a pebble!
"Resonance?! Shared origin?!" Lin Weiwei gasped, her heart pounding. Though faint, it proved an underlying rule-based connection existed between Chu Xuan's curse and the power Chen Mo wielded!
She flagged the discovery and pulled up another piece of data – an encrypted, previously overlooked fragment from Chu Xuan's "Reclaimer Memos":
"…Devourer Physique… devours… all things… yet Heaven and Earth are flawed… only ultimate 'Thought'… can shatter shackles… Shame, Rage, Desire, Frenzy… the heart-mind of all living things… the quenching spark…"
Ultimate Thought! The heart-mind of all living things! The quenching spark!
Lin Weiwei's eyes blazed with sudden clarity! She snapped her gaze back to Chu Xuan's energy model, focusing on the strange, precarious balance state within his petrified left arm – a fusion of curse, Devourer Physique, and Abyssal energy.
"I see! I understand!" She was almost vibrating with excitement, fingers flying over the virtual keys. A new report rapidly formed: Project "Shatter Shackles" – Feasibility Analysis & Emergency Implementation Plan.
"The essence of the Devourer Physique is consumption! Consuming matter, consuming energy! But Chu Xuan's memo hints its true potential lies in consuming more fundamental 'Thought' – collective emotional energy! Particularly… Shame and Rage!" Her thoughts cascaded. "His petrification curse is currently 'fed' by Abyssal energy, forming a dangerous, fragile balance – a shackle! Conventional energy can't break this shackle; it might only feed the curse! Only… emotional energy of an equally potent, rule-defying intensity, concentrated and focused, can act as the 'quenching spark'. When the Devourer Physique consumes it, the rule-shattering impact of that ultimate emotion could detonate the curse-Devourer-Abyssal balance from within! Shatter the genetic shackles! Unleash his true potential!"
She pulled up real-time global sentiment analysis. The internet was ablaze with fear, despair, fury, doubt, and confusion over the university district disaster, the frozen apocalypse, and Chu Xuan's uncertain fate. Western media, especially, demonized him, painting him as a life-devouring demon, the architect of doom. Misled masses, their fear twisted into rage, were drowning in a tsunami of hatred and condemnation!
"See! This is 'Ultimate Thought'!" Lin Weiwei pointed at the near-peak curve representing global negative sentiment, particularly the directed shame and rage at Chu Xuan. "Fear, rage, loathing… especially the directed humiliation and fury stirred against Chu Xuan personally! It's a ready-made, colossal, rule-shaking source of emotional energy!"
A plan, audacious to the point of absurdity yet chillingly logical, crystallized in her mind.
Kunlun Base, Core Command Chamber.
The massive holo-table displayed a grim, three-dimensional reconstruction of the ravaged Dragon Spine Valley. The shattered altar, collapsed peaks, and monstrous fissures screamed of the cost. Elder Qin, Zhao Qiming, Academician Zhou, and Lin Weiwei's holographic presence all wore expressions of profound gravity.
"In summary," Lin Weiwei's hologram spoke beside the holo-table, her voice calm, clinical, and utterly authoritative, "Chu Xuan's body exists in a perilous equilibrium formed by the Petrification Curse, the Devourer Physique, and Abyssal energy. Conventional medicine and energy input cannot break this deadlock; they risk reinforcing it, leading to the curse eventually consuming him."
She displayed the energy model resonance overlay. "The anomalous energy signature from Linhai resonates with the deep rule-structure of Chu Xuan's curse. Correlating this with the 'Ultimate Thought' fragment in his memos, I hypothesize: Only by utilizing a similarly 'rule'-imbued, vast, and intensely concentrated source of collective emotional energy – specifically, shame and rage deliberately focused against him personally – as a 'quenching spark', can we leverage the rule-shattering impact at the moment of its consumption by the Devourer Physique to detonate the current equilibrium from within. This is our only chance to shatter his genetic shackles and awaken his vital force!"
She projected the global sentiment data stream. The curve representing negative emotion, especially the directed shame and rage targeting Chu Xuan, writhed like a venomous serpent on the screen.
"And the current global media climate, particularly the West's targeted vilification, provides precisely this concentrated 'Ultimate Thought'! What we must do is not clarify, not suppress… but…"
Lin Weiwei took a deep breath, enunciating each word of the earth-shattering proposal:
"…fan the flames! Thrust Chu Xuan into the global media storm! Manufacture an unprecedented, personally targeted 'emotional maelstrom' of shame and hatred! Then… have him perform an action, in the most public, undeniable manner possible, that perfectly embodies their vilification! Ignite this global shame and rage to its absolute peak! Make it the 'quenching spark' to shatter his shackles!"
"What action?" Zhao Qiming's brow furrowed, his voice tight. He sensed the impending shock.
Lin Weiwei paused, seeming to choose her words carefully. Finally, she pulled up a video clip – ordinary, even comical to most: the anime dance, "Gokuraku Jodo" (Paradise/Extreme Bliss Land). Colorfully dressed girls danced with playful, slightly sensual movements.
"Based on Chu Xuan's memo fragment prioritizing 'Shame', and considering global internet culture, the action most likely to instantly, universally provoke massive 'shame' emotion (whether for the performer or some viewers)…" Lin Weiwei's voice held a chillingly rational tone, "…is to have him – our symbol of power, stoicism, humanity's future, the 'Doomsday Chief Engineer' – perform this dance, 'Gokuraku Jodo', in its entirety… on a global live broadcast."
Silence.
A silence so profound the fall of a pin would echo like thunder.
Elder Qin's teacup hung frozen mid-air, droplets spilling unnoticed. Academician Zhou's jaw hung slack, glasses sliding down his nose. Even Zhao Qiming, renowned for his unflappability, felt a muscle near his eye twitch uncontrollably.
Chu Xuan… on global live TV… doing that dance?
The image was too grotesque, too jarring, too utterly, devastatingly humiliating for anyone who understood who Chu Xuan was and what hung in the balance!
"This… this is too…" Academician Zhou struggled for words, his scientific sensibilities reeling.
"Insane?" Lin Weiwei's hologram coolly interjected. "Yes. Logically feasible. It's the only way to rapidly, centrally, massively harvest 'Ultimate Shame Thought Energy'. The sheer, cognitive-shattering dissonance between Chu Xuan's identity, mission, and established image of cold power, and the act of performing this dance, is the perfect catalyst to ignite global 'shame' and 'rage' (at his perceived debasement, his madness, the shattering of hope). Global live broadcast is the only amplifier strong enough to synchronize and maximize this emotional energy." She displayed complex energy conversion models. "Projections show that when over a billion people simultaneously experience intense shame or rage from this act, the coalesced 'Thought Energy' will reach critical mass. Guided and focused by the large-scale spiritual energy array we'll activate at the Ark base inauguration site, then actively consumed by Chu Xuan's Devourer Physique… there's a 78.3% probability it will impact the curse's equilibrium node and shatter the genetic shackles!"
"And the remaining 21.7%?" Elder Qin finally found his voice, rasping.
"The equilibrium detonates, but fails to break the genetic shackles… the Petrification Curse consumes all remaining life force instantly," Lin Weiwei stated flatly, her tone chillingly devoid of inflection. "Or… the Devourer Physique loses control during consumption, backlashing upon itself or the surroundings… consequences equally catastrophic."
78.3% vs. 21.7%. A life-or-death gamble, with global live-streamed anime dancing as the stakes!
Elder Qin closed his eyes. Images flashed: Chu Xuan dying in the pod, the ruins of Dragon Spine, the Direwolf specter's howl in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the filthy glow on the Zhen Yue sword… Earth had no time! Chu Xuan had even less!
He snapped his eyes open. A final, desperate light, like a dying candle's last flare, burned in their depths. He slammed his teacup down on the table.
"We do it!"
Deep within Kunlun Base, Life Support Center.
Inside the regeneration pod, Chu Xuan's consciousness drifted in endless darkness. Cold. Stiff. Heavy. Encased in eternal ice. Only his left arm burned and froze simultaneously – a battlefield where Abyssal needles stabbed his marrow and icy venom dissolved his flesh. The war between the curse and the filth raged within him.
A sliver of light pierced the void.
Not from outside. It emanated from deep within his own mind, from the cold, half-forgotten presence – the cracked system interface!
[Warning! High-Concentration Rule Disturbance Source Detected… Approaching…]
[Source Analysis: Non-Physical Energy… Highly Aggregated Psychic Fluctuations… Signature: Shame/Rage/Cognitive Dissonance…]
[Correlation Check: Petrification Curse (Curse Origin: Fragment of Hongmeng Shackle) Underlying Rule Structure… Resonance 12.7%… Rising…]
[Devourer Physique Activity Slightly Elevated… Potential Consumable Target Detected: "Collective Thought · Ultimate Shame"…]
[Energy Conversion Projection: Consuming Target… Probability of Destabilizing Current Petrification-Abyssal-Devourer Equilibrium… Outcome Forecast: Genetic Shackle Shattered (71.4%) | Curse Backlash Annihilation (28.6%)…]
[Recommendation: Actively Guide Consumption… Target Coordinates Locked…]
The icy system prompts were like signposts blazing in the dark, jolting Chu Xuan's numb awareness.
Shame? Rage? Collective Thought? Detonate the balance? Shatter the shackles?
Broken information flooded his sluggish mind. He couldn't grasp it all, but a primal urge – the Devourer Physique's innate hunger and craving – ignited like wildfire within his dormant will.
Break these damn shackles! Live!
A feeble, yet ironclad determination, a seedling fighting through concrete, pushed its way out.
Outside the pod, instruments monitoring Chu Xuan's brainwaves suddenly spiked with intense, unprecedented activity!
"Report! Target conscious activity surging! Brainwave frequency exceeding thresholds! Detecting… strong volitional signal! Directionally focused!" The medical officer's voice was stunned.
Elder Qin, Zhao Qiming, and Lin Weiwei, gathered nearby, snapped to attention.
"He… he received it! He's responding!" Lin Weiwei exclaimed, elated.
Elder Qin stared at the screen, at the signal representing Chu Xuan's desperate will to live, pulsing defiantly. He drew a deep breath, the last vestige of hesitation vanishing, replaced by the resolve of a commander burning his ships.
"Alert all global media!" Elder Qin's voice rang out, cutting through the silence of the Life Support Center like a war horn heralding a bizarre apocalypse. It carried the weight of irrevocable command:
"'Life Ark' Base One will commence global operations in 72 hours! The inauguration ceremony will be held at the new Kunlun site: 'Coiling Dragon Valley'!"
"The 'Doomsday Chief Engineer', Chu Xuan, will attend in person… and deliver a Special Address and Action Demonstration!"
"Broadcast it worldwide! Highest priority!"