In the laboratory of the temporary stronghold, blue and purple lights intertwined. Liam lay in the medical cabin, the myocardial support device on his chest emitting a faint hum, and the energy of the pure symbiosis source slowly flowed into his body through the catheter. He attempted to use the device to break through to 17.8% activation without the β-7 crystal—his brain activation level steadily climbed to 17.7%, with a neural symbiosis stability of 87%, but a sudden tearing pain struck his chest, his heart clenched as if by an invisible hand, and ventricular fibrillation erupted instantly.
[Warning! Host suffering from sudden ventricular fibrillation! Myocardial energy overload, high risk of energy loss!] As soon as the AI's alarm sounded, the blue-black halo around Liam exploded wildly. An uncontrolled energy beam pierced the laboratory's concrete wall, sending gravel flying, narrowly missing Technician Wang who was debugging the weakened counter-weapon. Elena reacted quickly, pressing the sedative injection button on the medical cabin immediately. Liam's body gradually calmed down, and his activation level plummeted back to 17.3%.
"It's too dangerous!" Elena wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, pulling up the myocardial scan. The red damaged area expanded to 10%, "The screen shows that without gene editing with β-7 crystal, the myocardium cannot withstand the energy impact of the pure symbiosis source. Forcing a breakthrough has a 50% chance of sudden death. We must find the crystal, otherwise we can't try again."
To understand the nature of "myocardial evolution", Elena secretly invited Dr. Gray, the cardiologist who had misdiagnosed Liam earlier, to the stronghold under the pretext of "researching a rare heart disease". Looking at the myocardial data on the screen, Dr. Gray's pupils contracted sharply. After repeated comparisons, he said in shock: "This is not a common heart disease. It's the myocardium actively 'evolving', but it lacks a key 'catalyst'. Just like forcing an immature fruit to ripen, it will only rot and burst." His words indirectly confirmed the irreplaceability of the β-7 crystal.
Misfortune never comes singly. Gunshots suddenly rang out outside the stronghold—three Reaper remnants attacked the supply convoy. The soldiers fought back with weakened counter-weapons. Although they successfully repelled the attackers, two weapons overheated and were scrapped, and one soldier was seriously injured by a corrosive beam. Holding the scrapped weapon, Wang's eyes turned red: "Without β-7 crystal, the weapon can't last 10 minutes of continuous combat. We can't protect anyone!"
Worse news followed. Professor Marcos' communication was suddenly interrupted. It was reconnected half an hour later, with his arm wrapped in bandages and his tone urgent: "It's bad! One crystal in the mine was destroyed by Reaper remnants, and only 4 are left! They also set up an energy interference field around the mine, which will suppress symbiotic energy, temporarily lowering your activation level below 17% and greatly increasing the difficulty of infiltration!"
Leaning against the medical cabin, Liam felt the dull pain in his heart intertwined with the urgency of the situation, weighing heavily on him. Dr. Gray had stayed in the stronghold for half a day. Seeing the soldiers' wounds, the scrapped weapons, and recalling the recent "military exercise" and "unknown biological attacks", doubts arose in his mind. While Elena was busy, he secretly sent an anonymous message to the FBI: "There is an unknown danger around the Pentagon, involving genetic modification and energy weapons, which may threaten public safety."
In the evening, Dr. Gray received a video call from his daughter. The girl on the screen complained about the pressure of preparing for the college entrance examination: "Dad, I study until midnight every day. I'm really tired." Looking at the soldiers struggling to survive in the stronghold, then at his daughter's tired but peaceful face, Dr. Gray's eyes turned red: "Honey, hold on a little longer. The peace you have now is bought with the lives of many people." After hanging up the call, he walked to Elena and said firmly: "I know what you're fighting against. Although I can't help much, I can cover for you and try my best to research a solution for myocardial evolution."
To deal with the energy interference field in the mine, Elena proposed neutralizing it with a small amount of energy from the pure symbiosis source, but this would reduce the purity of the symbiosis source by 10%. Liam nodded without hesitation: "The crystal is more important than purity. Without the crystal, even the purest symbiosis source is useless." He lay back in the medical cabin, this time only trying to reach 17.8% without forcing a higher breakthrough.
The energy of the pure symbiosis source was precisely controlled, slowly nourishing the myocardium. Dr. Gray monitored the data in real time: "The myocardial cells are slowly adapting to the energy, and the necrosis rate isn't rising!" The activation level climbed bit by bit—17.6%, 17.7%, 17.8%—finally stabilizing at 17.8% with a neural symbiosis stability of 88%. Liam didn't feel any discomfort, but the sense of load on his heart remained.
[Host's activation level stabilized at 17.8%. No fatal risks detected, but myocardial adaptation rate is only 65%, making further improvement impossible. The energy interference field neutralization plan is feasible, but the purity of the pure symbiosis source has dropped to 80%.]
Just then, the stronghold's early warning system alarmed again: "5 Reaper remnants detected approaching, with energy intensities of 35-40 units, suspected of tracking the pure symbiosis source energy!" The soldiers immediately picked up the remaining weakened counter-weapons, standing on high alert. Clenching his fists, Liam's 17.8% activation level enhanced his perception, but without crystal-enhanced myocardium and reliable weapons, the battle would still be extremely difficult.
He walked to the window, looking at the darkening city outside. Dr. Gray's words echoed in his ears: "Peace is bought with the lives of many people." Liam's eyes became more determined: "No matter how dangerous the mine is, I must get the β-7 crystal—to protect this peace and break the shackle of my heart."