Hearing the bloodcurdling scream, Xiang Yi immediately knew something was wrong.
The device in the mine tunnel was their only hope for survival.
But now that something had happened over there, that hope was most likely gone. He couldn't keep pinning his hopes on the device; he had to think of a new way to stay alive.
But when Xiang Yi glanced back toward the exit, the scuttling sound was rapidly approaching like a death knell, and he saw no hope of getting past it.
Besides, he was in terrible shape. Blood loss and multiple injuries left him unable to act on his own.
His only option was to follow the leader, who was about to turn back, and see what had happened in the mine tunnel.
The group had only gone back about twenty meters when they heard footsteps echoing from deep within the tunnel.
One of the men in white coats who had stayed behind came running out, clutching the special device. Light smoke was wafting from it, suggesting a malfunction.
Upon seeing the leader, the man looked as if he'd found his savior. The terror on his face was partly replaced by a rush of relief.
But before he could say a word, his expression froze, and he fell stiffly forward.
The smoking device he was clutching flew from his hands, bounced a few times on the ground, and landed in front of Xiang Yi.
The back of his protective helmet was shattered. A Blood Crystal Worm, its lower half still exposed, was burrowing into his brain.
Witnessing this firsthand, the leader's face turned grim.
He drew a pistol from the waist of his protective suit and aimed it at the man's body.
A single bullet shattered the corpse's head. Sensing danger, the Blood Crystal Worm inside shot out from the mangled flesh and scuttled rapidly toward the leader.
In that moment, Xiang Yi got a clear look at the Blood Crystal Worm.
It was a hybrid of a worm and a centipede, with the body of a worm and spiral-shaped mouthparts. Dense, arthropod-like limbs grew irregularly from various points on its segmented body. Its appearance was utterly nauseating, enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.
Fortunately, in the next instant, a precise shot blasted the Blood Crystal Worm to pieces.
The two severed halves of its body twitched violently a few times before falling still. It looked well and truly dead.
Seeing this, the leader turned to pick up the device that had fallen, only to find that Xiang Yi was already holding it. Moreover, its casing was open, exposing the complex circuitry within.
The leader froze for a moment, completely unable to understand how Xiang Yi had managed to open the device with his bare hands.
"What are you doing?"
The sharp question rang in Xiang Yi's ear, but he didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the device's panel in his hands.
[Edge Company Continuous Psychic Pulse Disturbance Field Generator]
[Energy Core: Edge Company Micro-Device Universal Stable Power Supply]
[Signal Source Module: Edge Company Level 1 Spiritual Energy Band Signal Generator]
[Functional Module: Edge Company Level 1 Spiritual Fluctuation Frequency Modulation Device]
[Structural Type: Edge Company Continuous Psychic Pulse Generator Universal Frame]
[Additional Attachment: Edge Company Experimental Spiritual Signal Amplifier]
A 3D projection below the panel displayed the device's incredibly simple internal structure, highlighting the damaged area on the power supply module.
On the output line of the Energy Core module, three words were clearly marked: [Circuit Overload Damage].
As Xiang Yi focused his consciousness, his Spiritual Power gathered into a new force.
The option [Repair] floated before his eyes.
Repairing the [Circuit Overload Damage] didn't require any advanced techniques or additional materials.
The circuit had simply overheated, causing the wire to fuse. The material itself was still there; it could be mended.
All Xiang Yi had to do was give the final confirmation. By expending a certain amount of Spiritual Power, he could fix the overloaded device and make it functional again.
But he didn't do it right away.
After the leader finished speaking, Xiang Yi paused and looked up. "I'm trying to fix this thing."
The leader found this hard to believe. The old prison guard at his side went a step further, aiming his gun at Xiang Yi and roaring, "Put that thing down!"
This time, the old prison guard had already clicked off the safety as he spoke. Clearly, the others also didn't want a prisoner like Xiang Yi holding such an important piece of equipment, even if it looked broken.
Seeing this, Xiang Yi said nothing more. He simply bent down slowly to place the device on the ground.
Just then, the old prison guard felt a sudden chill on the back of his leg.
He looked back and saw that a Blood Crystal Worm had crept up to his feet and torn through the protective fabric on his leg.
"Ah!"
He cried out, trying to shake the Blood Crystal Worm off his leg, but its countless limbs had already latched tightly onto the torn suit, piercing his calf. Its sharp mouthparts then mercilessly bit into his flesh.
The intense pain drove the old guard into a frenzy. He raised his hands and repeatedly hammered at his own calf, trying to smash the Blood Crystal Worm.
Everyone's attention was instantly focused on him.
Seeing this, the few men in white coats nearby raised their own weapons to help, but they didn't dare get too close, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire from the guard's frenzied movements and the gun still in his hand.
In those few seconds of hesitation, the Blood Crystal Worm had already crawled up from his calf, inside his suit, to the back of his head. Its spiral mouthparts swiftly bored through skin and bone, burrowing into his brain.
The old guard's eyes rolled back. He collapsed, convulsing, as the visor of his helmet rapidly filled with blood.
But the others had no time for him now, because several more Blood Crystal Worms had emerged from the darkness.
The remaining few people were all frantically shooting, trying to clear out the scattered Blood Crystal Worms. They had no time to spare for anything else.
Seeing his chance, Xiang Yi stopped what he was doing, scooped the device back into his arms, and, after confirming no one was watching him, decisively activated his Spiritual Energy.
'The others can't see my panel, but they'll be able to see the device actually change. I have to be careful.'
A familiar feeling of emptiness instantly flooded Xiang Yi's mind.
The energy drawn from his consciousness, guided by his Spiritual Power, converged on the Mind Pulse Generator in his hands, completely repairing the internal overload damage.
Xiang Yi forced open his eyes, which felt heavy and ready to close. He took a ragged breath and looked around.
The four other survivors were desperately firing at the Blood Crystal Worms, their faces etched with varying degrees of despair.
For some reason, the sight made Xiang Yi want to laugh.
Of course, he didn't. Instead, he pressed the button on the Mind Pulse Generator in his hands.
The irritating sensation—more intense because of the proximity, yet strangely reassuring—immediately enveloped him.
The growing horde of Blood Crystal Worms shrieked as if they had encountered a natural predator, frantically scrambling to escape the area now covered by the Psychic Pulse.
"What's going on?"
The leader was the first to react, whipping his head around to look behind him.
He saw Xiang Yi, and he saw the generator in Xiang Yi's hands—no longer smoking, but operating normally.
"You..."
"It's fixed. But maybe not completely."
Xiang Yi said, tapping the generator's casing.
In the time it took to say those few words, smoke from an overload once again began to rise from the generator.
The irritating sensation that had enveloped Xiang Yi vanished, and the Blood Crystal Worms outside began to advance on their group once more.