Flames rampaged like a deranged hydra, slithering through every corridor and bursting out of every gap, scorching everything in their path.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" The cigar-chomping, big-gunned muscleman looked utterly hopeless. "I'm not cut out for this kind of disaster!"
Before the flames hit, it was the heat. Before the heat, it was suffocation. Oxygen in the lab was vanishing fast, and the muscleman's face was turning red. He tried to grab an oxygen mask, but with the firestorm roaring in, that little struggle meant nothing. If he didn't suffocate, he'd just get the privilege of feeling himself burn to a crisp.
Just then, with a swoosh, a giant 'serpent' shot out from the corner of his vision. The muscleman felt a sudden tightness at the back of his neck, his whole body went numb, and before he knew it, he'd been yanked far away from the swelling sea of fire.
He twisted around and saw platinum flashing ahead, and instantly, his heart settled down.
At the front of the 'serpent,' Jill Young had a thick, sturdy, ridiculously oversized cable tied around her waist, stringing a dozen people together like a greedy snake. The cable was loaded with armor and gadgets, looking straight out of a sci-fi flick. And honestly, it was more than just a cable—this was the Salamander Line, a special ops platform developed by Eternal Night Holdings Group, designed for multi-role teamwork.
Official product name: Salamander Line.
Jill's nickname for it: The train runs fast, all thanks to the engine up front.
With a stomp, the ground exploded with a roar, and Jill Young shot forward like a dragon. Even with a dozen people in tow, she moved as if the weight meant nothing—blazing through the lab at breakneck speed, dodging and weaving with surprising agility.
The Salamander Line looked like nothing more than a cable as thick as a soup bowl, but it was packed with high-tech features. Not only did Jill Young have special gear at her spot, but every 'carriage' behind her had its own custom design and a strictly defined 'role.'
"Stop spacing out—get ready to attack!" Someone snapped the muscleman out of his daze, and he jolted upright. His spot was the Rescue Bay, where he could pop out a stretcher-sized rescue platform at a moment's notice. In front and behind him were the Shield Bay and Med Bay, and it was the girl from Shield Bay who'd just woken him up.
"On it, right away!" The muscleman—Wang Tiecheng, a Sunmoon Mountains alum—had learned plenty of kung fu, so even speeding along the cable, he was quick on his feet. He darted to the Weapons Bay and pulled out his gear from storage: a metal ring with locks at both ends. He clipped the ring to his waist, strapped custom wheels to his feet, and hooked the locks to both ends. Then, with a pull of the pin...
Bang! The Salamander Line grew another segment, and Wang Tiecheng wobbled for a second before steadying himself. The wind whipped at his face, so he slapped on his info goggles and couldn't help but grin—now he could finally keep up with the breakneck pace of battle.
"Ready to fire!" Jill Young barked, leaping up. The 'snake head' ricocheted off the wall and dove into a passage, with the 'snake body' slithering close behind. Inside, a dozen enemy Chosen were sweeping the place, moving in staggered formation—real pros, nothing like your average street thugs.
Only a true master could wrangle a bunch of wild personalities and train them into a team like this.
But with two quick buzzes, Jill Young swung her palms like a ping pong serve. Shockwaves barreled down the corridor, scattering the dozen foes like bowling pins. Then the Salamander Line thundered through, unleashing a torrent of firepower from every Weapons Bay. The fight was over in a flash—the Salamander Line plowed the field and sped off, leaving behind a dozen silent corpses.
"Whoa, this thing rocks! If I'd known it was this awesome, I would've practiced with it way more!" Feeling the Salamander Line's raw power, Wang Tiecheng couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. He was way better with guns, but barely got any kills this round—all because he wasn't used to the Salamander Line's way of fighting.
Just then, with a whoosh, Jill Young tossed another figure onto the Rescue Bay. A closer look revealed it was the old knight Paladin. Paladin was tough as nails—he snapped to attention instantly and started suiting up without a word.
"Paladin, take the rear and anchor us." Jill Young's order floated in on the wind. Paladin didn't say a word, just moved to the tail of the snake formation and locked in his pod. The toughest spots on the Salamander Line are the head and the tail—the head needs brute force, the tail needs control and stability. The longer the line, the higher the skill needed at the tail, otherwise the whole thing flips over.
Paladin was up to the task, instantly making the back half of the line way steadier. With everyone working together, this charging snake got even faster and more solid.
"What the heck is going on?" Paladin asked. "I just heard a massive explosion—someone blowing up the lab? Does nobody realize if the lab explodes, we're all toast?"
Wang Tiecheng perked up his ears too, because honestly, he had no clue what was happening either.
"It's not a bomb—it's way scarier than that." Someone piped up, having joined the Salamander Line earlier, and he just repeated what the folks up front had told him: "It's called Spatial Collapse. The Tiberius Laboratory is being crushed from the inside out!"
"Spatial Collapse?" Wang Tiecheng chimed in. "Never heard of it. Is it like, you know, a collapse-collapse?"
"Sort of, but not really. A collapse is when a massive star compresses all its stuff into neutron matter or a black hole—it's spontaneous. But Spatial Collapse isn't a material reaction, it's a space thing. It happens when outside pressure crushes the space itself. This hyperspace lab was built in a pretty stable spatial zone, so we can't sense higher dimensions, but trust me, this place is ultra-dimensional. Normally, nothing changes in hyperspace, so it's steady. But when space gets disturbed, the extra dimensions start to shake."
"It starts at the edges and moves inward—three-dimensional space gets squashed, patch by patch. Anything caught in the collapse gets crushed into a tiny lump in no time, like a soda can under a hydraulic press. Boom! Instant destruction, totally unstoppable."
"Holy crap!" Wang Tiecheng was stunned. "So if we're caught in a Spatial Collapse, we're toast in a split second?"
"Exactly!" The explainer looked worried. "And get this—even worse, theoretically, Spatial Collapse could create neutron matter or even a black hole. If a black hole pops up in this lab..."
"Oh crap crap crap!!" Wang Tiecheng shivered in terror, sweating buckets—totally at odds with his dyed blond hair and nerdy glasses, like he should be starring in Contra, not freaking out here.
Even Paladin frowned. "How long can we keep running? Is there any way to get completely out of the Spatial Collapse zone?"
"No clue," the explainer admitted, glancing ahead at the platinum streak flying high. "We just gotta trust The Queen."
Up at the front.
Blazing ahead, Jill Young was multitasking like a champ—her mind racing through memories as she mentally mapped out the Tiberius Laboratory. According to the info streaming in, the lab was never fully finished. Out of the planned 18,000 meters, only 7,400 meters of height and width got built.
Sure, 'only' 7,400 meters, but that's still insane—close to 600 meters thick. The space was carved into strict zones: logistics, transport, storage, living, entertainment, leisure, research, computing, observation, energy, support, and more. At its peak, over 40,000 people lived and worked here, with room to spare. Basically, it was a super-luxe hyperspace base.
The place on fire now was one of the eight energy zones, and under the Spatial Collapse effect, it exploded into a sea of flames.
"If there's a way to cure Jonathan Black, it's probably in the research zone. If Aunt Joan's still alive, she'd be there too. If we can save Aunt Joan, the Spatial Collapse will break. If we can't find her... well, that's still our best shot at survival!" As her mental map branched out, Jill Young made up her mind.
Head for the research zone!
"Is the comm center up yet?" Jill Young sped up, calling back without turning her head.
"Almost—almost!" came a panicked reply. At the Comm Bay, a Chosen One was frantically fiddling with the device. The thing looked clunky and dumb, but after some hammering by the tech, it finally beeped back to life. The tech wiped sweat from his brow and yelled, "Got it!"
"Broadcast wide! Tell all our people to stay away from the edges—head for the research zone!" Jill Young ordered. "Contact Liu Xiaoying, see if she's in hyperspace. If she is, have her scan and share space info with the wide lens. If not, everyone fend for themselves. Check your maps, ask around, just get yourselves to the research zone!"
"Yes, ma'am!" The tech, now moonlighting as the comms guy, fired up the device to send the message. Just then, Jill Young's communicator flashed with a map, and Rachel Luo's urgent voice came through: "This is 'Rain Drop,' emergency broadcast: stay away from the lab edges—repeat, stay away from the lab edges!"
Nice work! Jill Young's lips curled up—no wonder she's the top disciple, quick on the uptake. But broadcasting from the signal source was risky; even if the enemy couldn't crack the encryption, they could still pinpoint her location.
Right then, shouts and a familiar "Boss mode!" echoed through the comms—then, with a beep, the transmission cut out.
Jill Young's eyebrows shot up. She glanced at the map—just before it vanished, a bright marker popped up, right in the research zone.