Chapter 3: The Secret of the Mechanical Heart
Yang Hao, Li Qiang, and Lin Xiao successfully protected the alien relic. Exhausted but overjoyed after narrowly escaping death, they collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. The sphere, emanating a mysterious glow, hovered quietly in the center of the room, its soft radiance illuminating their tired yet delighted faces.
"Can this thing really save humanity?" Li Qiang stared at the sphere, his voice tinged with a mix of skepticism and anticipation.
Lin Xiao stood up and slowly approached the sphere, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "This is definitely a product of technology far beyond our own. It might just contain the power to change the situation." As she spoke, she took out a portable scanning device and began scanning the sphere from all angles.
Yang Hao also stood up and walked over to Lin Xiao, staring fixedly at the constantly jumping data on the screen. "No matter what, this is our only hope right now."
As the scanning progressed, Lin Xiao's expression gradually grew solemn. "This... this is incredible!"
Li Qiang hurriedly leaned over. "What's going on? What did you find?"
Lin Xiao took a deep breath and pointed at the screen. "According to the scan results, there's a highly complex energy circulation system inside this sphere, and it seems to be communicating weakly with some unknown entity."
"Communication? With whom?" Yang Hao furrowed his brow, an uneasy feeling welling up inside him.
Before Lin Xiao could answer, the sphere suddenly emitted a bright light, causing the three of them to instinctively close their eyes. When they opened them again, strange images appeared on the surface of the sphere, like some kind of ancient memory.
In the images, a highly advanced alien civilization was facing a catastrophic disaster. A mysterious celestial body threatened their home. To preserve the spark of their civilization, they had created this sphere and stored a vast amount of knowledge and technology within it before launching it into the depths of the universe.
"So, this is the lifeline of an alien civilization, just like ours," Yang Hao murmured.
As the images continued to play, they discovered that the sphere not only possessed powerful energy-generating capabilities but could also produce various advanced technological devices based on external needs. It could even perform genetic modification and enhancement on living organisms.
Li Qiang jumped up excitedly. "Great! With this, we have nothing to fear from the neutron star!"
Lin Xiao remained calm. "Don't get too ahead of yourself. Although the sphere's energy is powerful, we know too little about it. Using it rashly could lead to unforeseen consequences. Besides, we need to find a way to leave here and start building the ark as soon as possible."
Yang Hao nodded and looked at the sphere. "No matter what, this sphere is our biggest trump card now. Let's take it back to the shelter and plan our next steps."
Just as they were about to leave with the sphere, suddenly, the laboratory's alarm sounded again. A cold electronic voice echoed through the room: "Warning, detection of an unknown biological entity approaching. Danger level: S...
The hearts of Yang Hao, Li Qiang, and Lin Xiao suddenly raced, and they tightly gripped their weapons in alertness, nervously scanning their surroundings. The laboratory lights flickered uncertainly amidst the alarm, casting eerie shadows that made the unknown danger feel even closer.
"What kind of unknown biological entity could have an S-level danger rating?" Li Qiang whispered, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, his eyes filled with unease. He clutched the iron rod tightly, his knuckles turning white, and his body leaned forward slightly, ready to attack at any moment.
Lin Xiao's face turned pale, and her voice trembled slightly. "No matter what it is, it's definitely not easy to deal with. We have to be careful." She instinctively moved closer to Yang Hao, clutching the device containing the data on the alien relic tightly, as if it were her last lifeline.
Yang Hao took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Don't panic. Let's find a safe place to hide first and observe the situation." With that, he led the way to the corner of the room, where a pile of collapsed experimental equipment could serve as a temporary shelter.
Just as they had barely hidden themselves, a heavy footstep echoed from the corridor, each step feeling like it was pounding on their hearts. Soon, a massive figure appeared at the entrance of the room. The creature stood over two people tall, its entire body covered in black scales that shimmered with a cold metallic luster. Its head was triangular, with a pair of red vertical pupils emitting a bloodthirsty glow, and its mouth was filled with sharp fangs, from which green, nauseating mucus dripped.
"What... what kind of monster is this!" Li Qiang couldn't help but exclaim.
The monster seemed to hear Li Qiang's voice and suddenly turned its head, locking its red vertical pupils onto their position. It let out a deafening roar and then charged forward like an arrow off the string.
Yang Hao shouted, "Scatter!" The three quickly ran in different directions, but the monster unhesitatingly pursued Yang Hao. Yang Hao ran wildly while searching for an opportunity to counterattack. He noticed that although the monster moved swiftly, it wasn't very flexible in turning, so he used the obstacles in the room to constantly change his route, trying to shake it off.
Li Qiang, seeing this, picked up a piece of metal debris from the ground and threw it at the monster. "Hey! Ugly beast, look over here!" The monster was enraged by the sudden attack and temporarily abandoned Yang Hao, turning instead to pounce on Li Qiang. Li Qiang deftly dodged the monster's attacks while shouting loudly, "Hao Zi, Lin Xiao, think of something quick! I can't hold on much longer!"
Lin Xiao hid behind a piece of equipment, her mind racing. She suddenly thought that the alien relic might be able to generate some kind of energy field to repel the monster, so she quickly operated the device, trying to activate the relic's defensive function.
Yang Hao, taking advantage of the gap when the monster was attacking Li Qiang, circled around to the monster's back and raised his weapon, slamming it hard onto the monster's back. However, his attack seemed to cause little damage to the monster, only making it more furious. The monster suddenly turned around and swung a claw at Yang Hao, who couldn't dodge in time and had a deep gash carved into his arm, blood gushing out.
Just as the monster was about to attack Yang Hao again, Lin Xiao shouted, "I did it!" A powerful blue light emitted from the alien relic, forming an energy shield that enveloped the three of them. The monster collided with the shield and was bounced back, letting out a pain-filled roar.
The three were temporarily safe, but they knew it was only temporary. How long the energy shield could hold was unknown, and they had to find a way to completely eliminate the monster and escape this dangerous place as soon as possible.