In the core area of Shengjing Underground City, a dedicated passage led to the Central Medical Center.
Unlike the noisy, chaotic, and smoke-filled B7 level 'Iron Wall' fortress, this passage was exceptionally wide, clean, and quiet.
The air, go through multiple layers of filtration, carried a faint scent of disinfectant and a hint of cold metal.
The passage's ceiling was a transparent, reinforced glass dome, allowing a view of the 'sky' simulated on higher levels, glowing with a soft halo.
But this cleanliness and quietness brought with it a suffocating sense of oppression!
On both sides of the passage, every ten meters, stood a Xuan Niao Guard, clad in pure white, lightweight energy armor, and wearing a pure white mask with no facial features!
They stood like statues, clutching energy rifles that glowed with a faint blue light, emitting a cold, deathly aura devoid of any life fluctuations!
Silencers!
The ultimate guardians of the Central Special Task Force! The embodiment of rules and order!
Their gaze, or rather, the hollow 'eyes' on their masks, were like the most precise scanners!
Silently sweeping over every moving object in the passage!
Any abnormal energy fluctuation or behavior would instantly provoke a devastating strike!
Ling Chen walked in the center of the passage. The four members of Ashes Squad carefully carried Old K on a stretcher, following closely behind.
Tang Yinmeng stayed close to Ling Chen, her molten-gold eyes filled with tension and unease; she felt her heart pounding in her chest!
The cold aura emitted by the Silencers made her soul tremble!
Ling Chen's deep, dark eyes calmly scanned the Silencers on both sides, his Soul Jade Physique's cold will operating at high speed, analyzing their energy composition, movement patterns, and the invisible monitoring network.
He tightly clutched the dark-gold token given by Associate Chairman Tieshan. The Xuan Niao insignia carved on its surface emitted a faint energy fluctuation, like a pass, causing the Silencers' gaze (if it could be called a gaze) to briefly linger on them before moving on.
“The token is valid.”
Ling Chen murmured inwardly. But he dared not relax his vigilance in the slightest!
His Soul Jade Physique shielded all possible energy fluctuations that could trigger detection, converging his aura to the extreme, appearing like the most ordinary Energy Condensation Stage ability user.
The passage was long, as if endless.
Only their heavy footsteps and Old K's barely audible, faint breathing on the stretcher echoed in the silence.
The tension in the air was almost palpable.
Finally! At the end of the passage!
A colossal gate, entirely cast from transparent crystals emitting a soft blue light, appeared before them! Above the gate!
A massive Xuan Niao insignia, glowing with a sacred white light, slowly rotated! Below it, several cold metal characters were engraved: 【Central Medical Center · Ark of Life】!
On both sides of the gate, stood two Silencers with even deeper and more terrifying auras!
Their energy armor gleamed with a more refined, faint blue light! Clearly, they were higher-level guards!
Ling Chen stopped.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the cold calculations swirling in his mind, and a perfectly timed hint of anxiety and worry appeared on his face.
He stepped forward, raising the dark-gold token high!
“By order of Associate Chairman Tieshan! Escorting the severely injured Old K! Requesting to see Dr. Bai Zhi of the Medical Department!”
Ling Chen's voice, hoarse and urgent, clearly echoed in the silent passage.
The senior Silencer on the left slowly raised his arm, covered in white armor.
A faint blue scanning beam instantly shot out from his wrist, sweeping over the token in Ling Chen's hand, then over Old K on the stretcher, and finally over Ling Chen and everyone behind him!
The scanning beam was cold and piercing, as if it could penetrate the soul!
The Soul Jade Physique's cold will instantly elevated its disguise to the extreme!
It simulated the energy characteristics of an Energy Condensation Stage Lv.1 Mud Swamp Domain! Weak! Stable! Completely normal!
The scanning beam lingered on Ling Chen for a moment, seemingly confirming something, then slowly moved away!
Buzz—!!!
The massive crystal gate silently slid open to both sides! A more intense, purer life aura, mixed with the cold scent of disinfectant, rushed out!
“Permission confirmed. Target: Old K (Hunter Guild). Vital signs: Critical. Entry allowed. Medical Department Zone 3, Dr. Bai Zhi has been notified.”
A cold, electronic synthesized voice sounded.
“Quick! Get in!” Ling Chen immediately said to his team members!
The group quickly passed through the gate and entered the Central Medical Center!
Inside the gate, was an unimaginably vast circular hall!
The dome soared like an inverted crystal bowl, emitting a soft and sacred white light that illuminated the entire hall as if it were daytime!
In the center of the hall, was a colossal circular control console made of countless holographic screens emitting a pale green light!
Countless staff members in white research coats operated rapidly in front of the console like precise gears! The screens scrolled with massive amounts of vital sign data, energy spectrographs, surgical progress…
Around them, were layers of transparent glass corridors winding upwards!
Connecting countless independent medical units! Through the glass, they could see various high-tech medical equipment glowing with complex lights! Some medical pods even contained injured individuals in deep hibernation!
Technology! Life! Order! Coldness! Efficiency!
This was the pinnacle of Shengjing's technological might in the field of life, and also the most crucial and dangerous part of Ling Chen's plan!
It was said that the spiritual artifact, capable of turning decay into wonder and even bringing the dead back to life, was located here.
“This way!”
A guide in a white uniform with a Xuan Niao insignia on his chest approached expressionlessly! He glanced at Old K on the stretcher, then at the token in Ling Chen's hand!
“Follow me! Dr. Bai Zhi is in Emergency Room Three!”
The group dared not delay! They took a high-speed transparent maglev elevator and arrived at the Emergency Room Three area on the third floor!
At the entrance of the emergency room, several medical personnel in sterile protective suits and masks were already waiting with a suspended medical bed covered by a pale blue energy field!
“Quick! Transfer the injured person to the medical bed!” a doctor said quickly, his voice muffled through the mask!
The Ashes Squad members carefully lifted Old K onto the medical bed. The pale blue energy field instantly enveloped Old K's body, maintaining his last faint vital signs!
“Where is Dr. Bai Zhi?” Ling Chen asked the guide, his tone urgent!
“Dr. Bai is already inside preparing!”
The guide pointed to the closed alloy door of the emergency room!
“You wait outside!”
With that, the medical personnel immediately pushed the medical bed and quickly entered the emergency room!
The alloy door silently closed! The red 'Surgery in Progress' indicator light illuminated on the door!
“Captain…”
“Captain, you must hold on…”
The Ashes Squad members gathered at the emergency room door, their faces filled with anxiety and prayers! They could only place their hopes on the Dr. Bai Zhi they had never met!
Ling Chen stood aside, his deep, dark eyes calmly watching the closed alloy door! The cold will of his Soul Jade Physique silently penetrated the thick alloy, sensing everything inside the emergency room!
Inside the emergency room!
The light was soft and bright!
Various precise medical instruments hummed softly, surrounding the central suspended medical bed! Screens displayed Old K's life curve, flickering like a candle in the wind!
By the medical bed, stood a figure!
She looked very young, even a bit childish!
Her height was only about one meter fifty, and she wore a white sterile protective suit that was clearly a size too large! The baggy clothes made her appear even smaller!
Her soft, silver long hair was carefully tied back in a protective cap, with only a few playful strands escaping!
She wore a large medical mask that covered most of her face, revealing only a pair of large, clear, bright eyes like the purest sapphires, with a hint of innocent bewilderment and focus!
Was she Bai Zhi?
The genius doctor of the Xuan Niao Guard Medical Department? Associate Chairman Tieshan's old acquaintance?
She looked completely like an un-grown little loli!
But at this moment, those pure sapphire eyes were filled with a composure and focus utterly at odds with her appearance!
She was completely engrossed, staring at Old K's full-body three-dimensional energy spectrograph projected above the medical bed!
On the spectrograph, the green light representing Old K's own life energy was so faint it was almost extinguished!
And a violent, dark-red energy was furiously eroding that faint green light!
“Such… such severe lava energy erosion…”
Bai Zhi's voice, clear and pleasant like a mountain spring, but with a hint of solemnity, came through the mask!
“Ruptured internal organs, shattered bones, severed meridians, collapsed ability core, life essence almost depleted…”
She extended a small hand, wearing thin sensing gloves that emitted a faint milky-white glow!
She gently hovered her hand above Old K's chest!
Buzz—!!!
An indescribably gentle, pure, vibrant milky-white light, like the first ray of spring sunshine and the power of all things reviving, slowly flowed from her palm!
Like a warm stream, it gently infused into Old K's body!
All Things Revive!
Bai Zhi's innate spiritual skill! An extremely rare and precious healing divine skill capable of nourishing life essence, repairing damage, dispelling negative energy, and even, to a certain extent, reversing life decay!
The milky-white light, like the gentle hand of a loving mother, softly caressed Old K's ravaged body!
A miracle occurred!
The violent, rampant dark-red lava energy within Old K, upon contact with the milky-white light, was like ice and snow meeting sunshine!
It actually began to slowly melt and dissipate! The erosion speed noticeably slowed!
His faint, almost vanished life aura, as if infused with new vitality, began to fluctuate and strengthen ever so slightly!
The painful, distorted expression on his face also slowly relaxed, as if he had fallen into the deepest slumber!
“It's working!”
The medical personnel nearby exclaimed in surprise!
“Lava energy erosion speed has decreased by 50%! Vital signs are stable!”
“Mm…”
Bai Zhi softly hummed, a hint of joy flashing in her sapphire eyes, but then it turned solemn again!
“But he is too severely injured, his essence is almost exhausted. My Revival Power can only temporarily stabilize his injuries and slow the erosion.”
“To achieve complete healing, a 'Life Remodeling' surgery is necessary: stripping the lava energy, repairing the body, and reconstructing the ability core. This requires a large amount of life crystals and the most precise energy guidance…”
She looked up at the medical supervisor beside her!
“Prepare for 'Life Remodeling' surgery! Activate the highest-level life support system! Connect the energy guidance matrix! Request three S-grade life crystals!”
“Yes, Dr. Bai!” The medical supervisor immediately began operating!
The emergency room instantly became busy! Various instruments lit up! Complex energy conduits connected to the medical bed! A massive transparent medical pod, like a crystal coffin, slowly descended from the ceiling!
Enveloping Old K along with the medical bed!
Pale green liquid, emitting a rich life aura, began to be injected into the medical pod!
At the same time, countless fine milky-white energy beams, like the most precise surgical scalpels, began to scan and pinpoint locations inside Old K's body, preparing for the most intricate repair surgery!
“Surgery begins!”
Bai Zhi's voice carried an undeniable firmness! Her small hands once again glowed with milky-white light, ready to guide the vast and precise energy!
Outside the emergency room!
Ling Chen's deep, dark eyes slightly narrowed! The cold will of his Soul Jade Physique clearly “saw” everything happening inside the emergency room!
“Life Remodeling…”
Ling Chen murmured inwardly, an imperceptible flicker of a different emotion in his eyes!
This seemingly harmless little loli actually possessed such a powerful healing ability!
And it seemed extremely pure! Her energy even produced a faint attraction to the cold will of his Soul Jade Physique!
Bai Zhi, who was called the nemesis of Death in his previous life, was indeed worthy of her reputation.
However, this did not affect his plan!
Old K would not die for now!
And he would receive the highest level of treatment! This meant that Ling Chen, as the escort and nominal savior, would have ample reason and time to stay here!
He might even be able to contact more core figures!
Just then, the emergency room door suddenly opened!