Chapter 699: The Passage
Chapter 699: The Passage
At 3:30 p.m. on October 4th, a convoy of heavy vehicles emerged from the United Heavy Drive Corporation's branch office, guided by numerous consciousness bodies, and headed towards a designated Fusion Zone passage.
Passages to the Fusion Zone are typically categorized into three types: government public passages, corporate dedicated lanes, and emergency internal paths. The United Heavy Drive convoy was taking the corporate dedicated lane.
After about a quarter of an hour, the convoy arrived at the designated location just before 4:00 p.m.
Most entrances to the Fusion Zone are established near stations, and this location was no exception. The area had been evacuated and cleared in advance, and they would have twenty minutes of access.
After disembarking, the middle-aged female assistant led the way, flanked by two Blacksteel-grade fighters, "Falcon" and "Eel," both wearing heavy protective suits that covered even their heads and faces.
Following them were three newly recruited White Iron-grade fighters and one Bronze-grade fighter.
Within the United Heavy Drive's internal ranking system, Third Limit fighters are classified into three tiers: White Iron, Bronze, and Blacksteel. White Iron-grade fighters possess the ability to operate solo in the Fusion Zone, while Bronze-grade fighters can handle ordinary Vassal Samurai. Blacksteel-grade fighters have experience combating Ranked Vassal Samurai.
Due to the United Heavy Drive Corporation's significant influence in the industry, this ranking system is also adopted and utilized by some related mercenary organizations, making it a semi-official standard.
Additionally, the team included over twenty logistics and technical support staff.
At first glance, the presence of the two Blacksteel-grade fighters made this team slightly stronger than the standard execution squads of the Defense Department, but not by a significant margin.
Given their numbers, they opted not to use the elevator and instead headed down via the safety passage.
The group descended along a spacious and lengthy downward slope, their footsteps echoing clearly. At this moment, Yang Ling, utilizing Narcissus's invisibility ability, silently trailed at the rear of the group.
Despite her sizable shell, her movements were remarkably light and agile, making it impossible for even the closest team members to detect her presence.
After traversing the slope, the female assistant casually reminded everyone, "The detection passage is ahead; just go through one by one."
She then deliberately arranged for everyone to form a long line before entering the detection passage, and in an instant, a bio-field enveloped them, scanning each person.
Due to the distance between team members, when the first person had already exited the passage, half of the group had yet to enter.
At that moment, Yang Ling suddenly crouched low and quickly darted forward. Her path was carefully chosen, skirting along the side of each team member. As she approached, their bio-fields synchronized, obscuring her presence.
Although bio-fields vary in strength due to individual differences, her swift movement, combined with the active consciousness body's anti-interference bio-field, prevented any feedback signals from detecting her before she had passed.
In the thirty-meter passage, she lingered for less than a second, and her unique external structure ensured she didn't make a single unnecessary sound.
After everyone had passed through the passage, there were no bio-field alerts.
The female assistant, seeing that everyone had crossed, and the detection passage remained silent, raised her head. She assumed they had cleared this checkpoint, but when she led the group through the passage and emerged from the security gate, her expression momentarily froze.
Standing in front of a parked train was Chen Chuan, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a protective suit, exuding an intimidating aura.
Behind him were Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque, both fully geared up. The rest of the Handling Bureau members stood behind them in a line, and behind the station's fortifications, machine guns were set up, also aimed at the train.
In this open space and at such close range, these pre-aimed machine guns, if fired, would be difficult to withstand, even for Blacksteel-grade fighters in protective suits.
The female assistant raised her hand to signal the group to halt, then stepped forward alone. She bowed slightly to Chen Chuan and politely said, "Manager Chen, we have received approval from Central City and are on our way to fulfill our company's obligations in the Fusion Zone. May I ask what brings you here...?"
Chen Chuan replied, "We greatly appreciate your company's support for the Fusion Zone. I have reviewed your company's application list. Given the current tense situation, many armed forces that threaten Central City's security have entered the city. Therefore, we need to conduct additional screening and verification for all personnel entering and exiting the Fusion Zone. We hope you can understand."
The female assistant expressed her understanding, "Of course. Our United Heavy Drive Corporation has always respected and adhered to Central City's laws. We will cooperate with your bureau's inspection."
She gestured and maintained a sincere and candid expression.
Chen Chuan signaled, and Qin Qingque immediately stepped forward to cross-reference the original list with the current members of the United Heavy Drive team using the Dimensional Token.
Yang Ling was currently adhering silently to the side of the wall, having passed the field surveillance, but upon arriving here, she couldn't shake a sense of unease. The long, sharp claws at the ends of her slender limbs twitched anxiously. When she noticed Qin Qingque approaching her, she cautiously moved to the other side without making a sound.
She dared not look at Chen Chuan. Although she lacked the experience of a fighter, her active consciousness body stored a vast amount of information about fighters, allowing her to clearly understand how keen their senses were. Even the slightest change in the environment could attract their attention.
This was especially true for fighters skilled in field perception, who were highly sensitive to biological fields. Fortunately, Narcissus was an active consciousness body, capable of perfectly suppressing her own field.
As there weren't many people in the room, Qin Qingque completed all the comparisons in less than half an hour. She then returned and bowed respectfully towards Chen Chuan.
"Supervisor, all personnel have been verified, and they match the provided list."
The female assistant, Ling, stood by, observing without any particular expression. Upon hearing this, she slightly raised her chin.
Chen Chuan turned to Ling and asked, "Ms. Ling, I ask you seriously, aside from the personnel on the list, has United Heavy Drive added any extra personnel or combat creatures?"
Ling's heart skipped a beat, and she shook her head. "No."
Chen Chuan's gaze deepened. "Are you sure?" He looked at the seemingly empty space beside her and asked calmly, "Then why is this active consciousness body here?"
Ling's heart was filled with shock, but she feigned surprise. "Where is this active consciousness body? Is Supervisor Chen joking?"
Chen Chuan no heed and stared at that spot. A glint of light shone in his eyes, and a burst of mental power instantly spread outward.
The next moment, in the direction of his gaze, an invisible ripple appeared in the air, now discernible as the outline of a large creature.
An active consciousness body could hide from a field, but not from his mental power, especially now that he had merged with his second self. His mental power had reached an incredibly acute level, making it impossible for any anomalies to escape his notice.
Yang Ling had intended to conceal herself, but the mental impact caused her to lose control of her field, and her invisibility vanished. Her massive outer shell was instantly exposed in the air.
Upon seeing this, the members of the Handling Bureau behind Chen Chuan raised their guns, all aimed at her.
Yang Ling immediately felt threatened, and a thought emerged in her mind, instructing her to execute the backup plan.
The original plan was for her to accompany the team through the passage, ideally reaching the Fusion Zone. However, if they encountered obstacles or were discovered prematurely, they would switch to the second plan.
That is, to break through on her own.
Her mental power could locate the entry point to the Fusion Zone and even to another world. After merging with the active consciousness body, her mental power became even more formidable. Once close to the edge of the Fusion Zone, she wouldn't need to go there to tear open a rift for herself to pass through.
As long as they couldn't catch her, United Heavy Drive could still shirk responsibility. Even if she failed, as long as she entered the Fusion Zone, there was still a chance to obtain the relic.
At this moment, she lightly leaped, her figure becoming blurry, leaving only an afterimage in its place. At that instant, the sound of machine guns firing filled the air, along with other guns, all aimed at her. However, her speed was too fast, and not a single bullet hit her.
In reality, Narcissus's sturdy shell could withstand the dangerous Fusion Zone creatures, and she wasn't afraid of these bullets. But the impact of the bullets would undoubtedly affect her speed and movements, so she chose the safest option.
She wasn't a fighter herself and lacked combat experience. Even with her abilities, she wouldn't have been able to react to these events suddenly occurred. However, after merging with the active consciousness body, these were no longer problems.
With the help of the active consciousness body, all hesitation and weakness would be suppressed, and she would calmly make the most rational decisions based on the situation.
After two quick leaps, her speed increased further, and she darted through the gaps in the bullets, heading towards the direction of the train.
As she leaped forward, the ribbon-like fin-like structures on her back began to glow, and the surrounding air seemed to vibrate. The seemingly empty space ahead suddenly melted, revealing a deep void. She was about to cross over to the other side.
But her body suddenly froze in mid-air.
She turned to look back and saw that one of her hind legs was firmly grasped by a powerful hand. A dizzying spin followed, and with a loud bang, her massive body was slammed to the ground!
...
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(End of Chapter)
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