Jiang Lijin followed behind the major general of the medical department, stepping down the metal boarding stairs to the ground.
What met her eyes was a scene of extreme desolation. There was no smoke of gunpowder, no mecha wreckage, only oddly shaped weathered rocks and craters of various sizes.
No wonder the Federal Military had built their headquarters here. It was an abandoned barren planet on the edge of the Sirius galaxy, with no traces of war on its surface. Coupled with the energy barrier above that created a visual deception, even if the Zerg hovered at a low altitude, looking down they would only see a dead wasteland.
"Ms. Jiang, please stay close to me," the major general said rapidly. The tight rhythm of his military boots striking the ground was unnerving.
Jiang Lijin glanced back.
The airship they had just taken was being tightly clamped by two massive mechanical arms reaching up from underground. Accompanied by a dull metallic grinding sound, it was dragged directly into the subterranean hangar. The heavy alloy ground closed up again, seamlessly.
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that hidden beneath these ruins was a military nexus capable of supporting the entire frontline war effort.
The major general pointed at the colossal hemispherical building at the very front. "That is the A1 Core Area. The Commander-in-Chief is inside."
They walked briskly toward the nearest entrance. Only after passing through three extremely tedious biometric verifications did the one-meter-thick alloy gate slide open to the sides.
A broad, enclosed connecting corridor appeared before them.
Both sides of the corridor were lined with fully armed soldiers, and various high-tech detection instruments flashed with cold light. These soldiers were well-trained, not even casting a sidelong glance at Jiang Lijin.
As they continued inward, the situation changed.
The closer they got to the A1 Core Area, the more sharply the number of guards on both sides decreased. By the middle section, not a single person could be seen.
In stark contrast, the pressure in the air had multiplied exponentially.
It wasn't that Jiang Lijin had never felt the oppressive aura released by a male before. There was the time Arden tried to attack her, and when Baal and Tinia first visited her door. But back then, that so-called mental suppression felt to her, at most, like a slightly stronger draft of wind.
But now it was different.
It wasn't an illusion; the physical gravity was tangibly increasing, and the air turned viscous, but for her, that was all it was.
The major general walking ahead was in a much worse state.
His steps grew increasingly sluggish, and his originally straight back unknowingly slumped, as if he were carrying an invisible mountain. The brim of his military cap was already soaked with cold sweat, which dripped down his jawline.
Right at that moment, a long-absent electronic voice echoed in her mind.
Ding. Congratulations, Host, on unlocking a new map: Sirius Galaxy.
System permissions are updating...
Unlocking the new map rewards 100 points. Current point balance: 621.2. Of this, 500 points have been automatically used to deduct debt. Remaining available points: 121.2.
Immediately after, Xiao Yi's cheerful voice popped up. Host! We have points! It's finally not a negative number!
It paused, and its tone instantly became serious. Do you want to exchange for a one-time high-level protective shield? This thing is a life-saving artifact. Even if Baal deals you a fatal blow in his berserk state, it can hold out for at least ten minutes! It is on special offer right now, for only 100 points!
Jiang Lijin's footsteps paused slightly.
She had indeed considered whether to use the items from the system shop. After all, Baal's current state was an unknown, and she had to leave herself a way out. Besides, if she didn't have enough points, she could continue to go into debt; Xiao Yi had explained this rule to her before.
But she still hesitated.
First, making a protective shield appear out of thin air in the core monitoring area of the Federal Military was impossible to explain. Second, deep down she still harbored some resistance toward the system, preferring not to use it unless absolutely necessary.
She ignored Xiao Yi's sales pitch and turned to look at the major general who could barely walk.
"How exactly is Baal's condition?"
The major general stopped with great difficulty and turned his head. When he saw Jiang Lijin's calm and unchanged face, he was stunned.
He knew this woman was the only 3S-grade female in the interstellar region, theoretically possessing an extremely high immunity to mental suppression. But seeing her strolling casually in this gravity field that was enough to crush an ordinary person still felt absurd.
He didn't waste words, simply raising his wrist and turning on his optical computer.
A real-time surveillance video was projected in mid-air between them.
"See for yourself."
The footage showed a completely sealed metal isolation room.
The walls should have been smooth and silver-white, but now, the half-meter-thick alloy surface was covered with shocking, massive dents and spiderweb-like cracks.
A terrifyingly huge black python was thrashing madly within the narrow space.
Its body smashed ruthlessly against the walls, every impact causing the entire surveillance feed to tremble violently.
That was Baal's spiritual entity. It had gone completely mad, displaying a suicidal posture of fighting until death.
Shifting the gaze downward, a male was curled up in the corner beneath the black python.
Baal.
The military uniform on his body had long been reduced to a pile of tattered rags, the collar roughly torn open to reveal a chest covered in bloody scratches. He knelt on one knee, his hands tightly clutching his head, his fingers almost digging into his scalp.
Those originally deep eyes were now bloodshot to the extreme, revealing a desperate madness.
"He is trying to suppress his spiritual entity," the major general's voice trembled severely, causing the projected image to shake along with it. "But he failed. The mental energy riot keeps his brain in a constant state of burning agony. If there is no external intervention soon, his mental domain will collapse entirely. When that happens, everyone in the headquarters will be buried with him."
Jiang Lijin stared at the screen.
A detail at the edge of the screen caught her attention. Outside the isolation room, separated by a heavy, transparent bulletproof wall, stood a male.
He wore a crisp military uniform, standing extremely straight with his arms casually crossed over his chest. He just stood there quietly, watching the black python frantically ramming the walls inside, and watching Baal struggling in agony.
His eyes were as calm as a pool of dead water.
"Who is that?" Jiang Lijin pointed at the person in the corner of the screen.
Following her finger, the major general took a look and quickly explained, "That is Adjutant Gary. Currently, in the entire base, he is the only one who can withstand the Commander-in-Chief's level of mental suppression and stay in the innermost layer to monitor."
Speaking of this, the major general specifically added, "Adjutant Gary is a 2S-grade."
It was too bizarre! A strong sense of incongruity rushed to her head.
Jiang Lijin frowned slightly. Although she hadn't witnessed Baal's berserk destructive power with her own eyes, Chiron's attitude before she came said it all. Even Chiron, the director of the Imperial Hospital who was used to seeing his kind go berserk and was a 3S-grade himself, treated Baal's condition as a grave threat, even specially pressing a forced hibernation shot into her hands.
How could a 2S-grade adjutant stand so close to the source of radiation and still appear so indifferent?
Even if he was exceptionally gifted and could withstand the pressure, his superior was dying, and his aloof, unconcerned posture was far too abnormal.
Jiang Lijin withdrew her gaze, keeping her suspicions to herself.
She glanced at the major general in front of her.
The medical department officer had reached his physical limit. His legs were trembling, his back was hunched over like a shrimp, and he was gasping for air, at risk of passing out at any second.
"Alright, stop pushing yourself," Jiang Lijin said. "Just point me in the right direction, and I will walk there myself."
The major general was taken aback and instinctively tried to refuse. "Ms. Jiang, I..."
"I what?" Jiang Lijin interrupted him mercilessly. "Take two more steps and you will collapse on the ground. If you actually faint halfway there, I will have to go through the trouble of dragging you back. I do not have the energy for that."
Although her words were bluntly harsh, they were the absolute truth.
The major general gritted his teeth, knowing full well that he was indeed a burden. He fished a solid black access card out of his uniform pocket and handed it over.
"This is the clearance card for the final gate. Just keep walking straight, it is at the very end."
Jiang Lijin took the card and, without looking back, headed straight into the depths of the corridor.
The further she went, the more terrifying the invisible physical gravity became. Jiang Lijin could clearly feel the resistance in the air, as if she were walking against the wind in a typhoon.
For an ordinary person, the atmospheric pressure here would be enough to crush their internal organs, but to her, it merely made her chest feel a little tight and her breathing slightly more labored.
At the end of the corridor, a heavy black alloy door blocked her path. A glaring red light shone above the door.
Jiang Lijin stepped forward and pressed the black card against the sensor pad.
"Beep—Authorization confirmed."
Accompanied by a synthesized mechanical voice, the heavy metal doors slowly slid open to both sides.
Jiang Lijin already had one foot inside the door, but she frowned slightly, her gaze instantly turning icy cold.
In her mind, she called out to Xiao Yi in an unquestionably calm tone.
[Exchange for that protective shield for me immediately.]
