Cold, rigid, repetitive search commands echoed through the empty, desolate main passage alongside heavy, synchronized metallic footsteps, like the drumbeats of death, drawing ever closer!
Ming Xin instantly suppressed the presence of himself and the Shadow Fiend Fragment to the utmost limit, like a rock in hibernation.
The "key" frequency within his soul fell completely silent as well, leaving only the most basic internal cycle needed to sustain existence.
The purification field emitted by the "Ning Guang" fragment was forcibly suppressed to its lowest level, maintaining only the faintest nourishment for his soul core. Its pale blue glow was almost entirely withdrawn into the fragment.
He could sense that more than one "unit" was approaching. Judging from the rhythm of the footsteps and the feedback from their energy signatures, there were at least three, perhaps more.
Their energy fluctuations bore distinct traits of "Order" and machinery. They shared the same origin as the wreckage's Energy Field, yet were more concentrated and sharper.
They were clearly automated constructs designed specifically to carry out certain tasks.
The search command had mentioned an "off-protocol visitor, 'Remnant Key,'" which meant the facility consciousness had not forgotten him despite the crisis in the core area.
Instead, the earlier energy fluctuations and abnormal structural stress might have marked him as an "unstable factor" requiring investigation.
Their objective was clear: find him, assess him, and then... most likely "handle" him according to protocol—containment, expulsion, or even direct elimination.
He could not be discovered! At least, not yet!
Ming Xin's mind raced. His hiding place was concealed, but it was not absolutely safe.
These units likely possessed more sophisticated scanning equipment capable of detecting energy residue, material anomalies, and even faint life or consciousness activity.
The energy fluctuations from the Ning Guang fragment's activation earlier had been suppressed