I handed over to another world

Li Rui lowered his voice, his pulse gun ready to fire at any moment, its beam scanning warily ahead at the dark purple passage that resembled the intestines of a giant creature.

They ventured deeper with great caution, but wherever the beam of light reached, there was only death and destruction.

In some places, faint human-shaped outlines can be seen wrapped in purple residue, but they are definitely not corpses, but more like... empty shells left behind after being swallowed by this substance.

There was no blood, no trace of struggle, only a complete and despairing "transformation".

"No signal detected for life...any frequency band."

Wang Zhe's voice was filled with suppressed disappointment.

“On a spiritual level… there is only a strong…echo of death…and…a lingering…distorted feeling…” Ella’s voice came through the communication channel, broken and tinged with pain, “like…the residue after something has been chewed up and spat out…”

Lin Han's protective suit scanning beam stopped on a hatch that was half-sealed by purple material, and the sign on the door was faintly discernible: "Core Data Room".

"Captain, this place...theoretically, should have independent physical isolation and emergency power sources, perhaps..."

"Attempt to break through... Wang Zhe, be careful of the stability of the surrounding space."

Li Rui gestured.

Wang Zhe stepped forward and took out a high-frequency vibration cutter from his equipment bag. The buzzing cutting sound was particularly jarring amidst the deathly silence of the wreckage.

The dark purple residue was unusually tough, making the cutting process slow.

Suddenly, Ella's voice became urgent and shrill: "Wait! Something! Faint...very faint...but not death! Deep in front of you! Towards the core! Is it...hiding?...No...is it...asleep?...mind...fragmented...but...it's human!"

This sudden news struck the three who had landed like an electric shock!

"Location confirmed!"

Li Rui immediately pressed for answers, his heart racing.

"The signal source is unstable...is it moving?...No...it's spatial distortion interference...approximate location...the safety isolation chamber near the main reactor!"

Ella's voice was filled with uncertainty, but that faint signal of "life" was so precious in the boundless silence.

"Change target! Proceed to the main reactor isolation chamber! Quickly!"

Li Rui made a decisive decision and abandoned the hatch in front of him.

They must arrive before the signal Ella detected disappears, and they must find the possible survivor before the protective suits run out of energy or the strange space changes again!
The team sped up through the distorted passage covered in viscous purple "ash," beams of light swaying in the eerily convoluted space.

The silence of death was broken by their rapid breathing and footsteps, each stomp seeming to disturb the slumber of this cursed land.

The goal is right ahead; is it hope?

Or is it the final trap in the abyss?

The answer lies behind that security isolation hatch, which was also sealed off by a dark purple substance!

The passageway leading to the main reactor isolation compartment is more twisted and narrow.

The dark purple "ash" covered a thicker layer, and stepping on it felt like sinking into a semi-solidified swamp, with each step producing an uncomfortable, sticky sound.

The sense of spatial distortion is also more intense, with beams of light sometimes elongating and sometimes compressing, making people dizzy.

"The signal... is still there... but it's weaker... like a candle flickering in the wind..."

Ella's voice was urgent in the communicator, "It's just ahead! Turn left! That biggest isolation door!"

Li Rui rushed to the corner first, and swung his powerful flashlight around.

A heavy, massive circular hatch marked with radiation hazard and safety isolation signs came into view.

It was also covered in a dark purple substance, but the edges seemed to have been forcibly torn, revealing a small metal gap.

"The door has been damaged! Someone tried to open it!"

Lin Han immediately noticed the abnormality.

"Wang Zhe, scan for signs of life behind the door! Lin Han, prepare the cutter!"

Li Rui gave the order, while warily raising his gun to aim at the crack in the door.

Ella sensed the signal of "life" behind the door, but the damaged door also meant that danger might have entered, or... the people inside had tried to escape.

Wang Zhe quickly operated the handheld detector: "The space behind the door... life readings... extremely faint! Almost impossible to detect! But... there is! There definitely is!"

His voice was filled with excitement and disbelief.

"Cut! Avoid the gaps!"

Li Rui pointed to the area around the door that was sealed off by a purple substance.

Lin Han immediately stepped forward, and the high-frequency cutter emitted a piercing buzz again, sparks flying everywhere. Under the powerful cutting, the tough purple substance finally began to slowly separate.

Time passed by, and every second felt like torture.

The energy alarm inside their protective suits began to beep softly, reminding them that time was running out.

"Open it!" Lin Han shouted, forcefully pulling the thick metal plate that had been cut open outwards!
A cold, pungent, stale smell surged out instantly—even in a vacuum, this sensation directly affected the sensors in the protective suit, and a powerful flashlight immediately shone inside.

The sight before them made everyone gasp in shock.

The isolation chamber had a large interior space and was originally intended to be an emergency shelter.

But at this moment, it looks more like some kind of bizarre nest.

Dark purple "ash" covered the walls, floors, and most of the equipment.

However, in the center of the compartment, these substances became unusually "active." They were no longer lifeless remnants, but formed a... translucent, pulsating purple "cocoon."

This "cocoon" is about the height of a person, with a dull luster on its surface, like a huge and evil heart beating weakly.

Inside that translucent purple "cocoon," a human-shaped silhouette could be vaguely seen curled up!
"survivor!"

Wang Zhe cried out in disbelief.

"No...wait!" Li Rui's voice was filled with vigilance. "Ella! Confirm the signal source! Is it inside that 'cocoon'?"

Ella's voice was filled with immense confusion and a hint of fear: "The signal... came from there... but... it's strange... very chaotic... fragments of human consciousness... are... wrapped... twisted... like... like insects encased in amber... is it protecting them? Or is it digesting them?"

"Captain! The protective suit's energy is at 30%! The stability of 'Island' is starting to decrease!"

Lin Han urgently reminded him that the energy was being rapidly depleted due to the consumption of the cutter and the maintenance of the protective force field.

Li Rui's eyes were sharp as an eagle's, and he made a decision in an instant: "Wang Zhe, guard the door and watch out for any unusual movements! Lin Han, come inside with me! Watch your step and your surroundings!"

The two carefully stepped into the isolation ward.

The sticky feeling underfoot intensified, and the sweet, rotten smell in the air grew stronger, causing physical discomfort even through the protective suits. They approached step by step the pulsating purple "cocoon" in the center.

When you get closer, you can see the human figure inside the cocoon more clearly.

It appeared to be a person wearing a tattered spacesuit, curled up with their face buried in their arms, making it impossible to see their features.

The spacesuit was also covered with a thin layer of purple material, as if it were coexisting with the outer cocoon.

"Are you still alive?"

Lin Han's voice trembled slightly as he focused the flashlight beam on the person.

Just as the beam of light shone on them, the body curled up inside the cocoon seemed to move extremely slightly!
"He moved! He moved!" Lin Han exclaimed.

Almost simultaneously, Ella's voice changed, filled with terror: "Watch out! The cocoon is awakening! Thought fluctuations... are... converging! It... it senses it!!"

As if to confirm Ella's warning, the pulsating purple "cocoon" in the center suddenly lit up!
The surface luster instantly became blinding, and the purple substance inside flowed rapidly like living water! An invisible, suffocating sense of oppression instantly enveloped the entire isolation chamber!
The humanoid figure curled up inside the cocoon suddenly raised its head!
Under the beam of the flashlight, a face contorted in extreme pain was revealed.

His face was covered with dark purple, vein-like raised lines, and his eyes had no whites or pupils, only a burning, pure purple light!

The mouth opened silently, as if trying to roar, but no sound came out. Only endless pain and an inhuman, cold malice emanated from it!

"Back off!!"

Li Rui roared and pulled Lin Han backward, raising his pulse gun at the same time!
The "person" or "thing" inside the cocoon, with its eyes burning with purple flames, locked onto the intruder.

Its body began to struggle violently, trying to break free from the purple "cocoon"!

The entire cocoon then expanded and contracted violently, as if something terrifying was about to break free!

"Energy remaining 25%! Spatial readings extremely unstable! Something...something is tearing at our defenses!"

Lin Han's voice was filled with despair. They had found survivors, but what they found seemed to be even more terrifying monsters bred from the corruption of the abyss!

"Fire!"

Without any hesitation, Li Rui's low roar boomed through the communicator!

The pulse gun in his hand instantly spewed out an invisible, strong entropy field energy, and a shock wave that distorted the air and vibrated at a high frequency slammed into the violently expanding purple "cocoon"!

"boom!"

A dull thud, like a heavy hammer striking tough leather.

The surface of the swollen cocoon was violently dented, the flowing purple light suddenly dimmed, and the struggling humanoid inside let out a silent, even more painful spasm.

But the cocoon did not break. Instead, as if it were enraged, the dent quickly rebounded, and the purple substance on the surface surged up like boiling viscous liquid!
"The energy impact is effective! But it's not strong enough!"

Lin Han roared, raising his pulse gun at the same time, "Aim at the same point! Keep firing!"

Two strong entropy field shock waves bombarded the same location on the cocoon!
This time, the effect was even more obvious.

The surging purple substance was forcibly torn open, revealing a gap the size of a bowl, exposing the chest of the "person" inside wearing a spacesuit.

Dark purple, vein-like patterns writhed like living things beneath the tattered spacesuit, and the skin in that area exhibited an eerie, translucent purple crystalline appearance.

A thick, dark purple liquid with a sweet, rotten smell gushed out from the gap!

Like a high-pressure water gun, it shot straight at Lin Han, who was closest to it!

"Watch out!" Li Rui shoved Lin Han's shoulder, and the two of them tumbled to the side and backward to avoid the attack.

The viscous purple liquid grazed Lin Han's protective suit shoulder armor, splashing onto the metal wall behind him with a hissing corrosion sound. The hard alloy instantly emitted white smoke, leaving pitted marks!
"Slight corrosion at the external contact points of the protective suit! Energy level dropped to 22%!"

Lin Han reported, still shaken.

"Wang Zhe! Fire support! Suppress it!"

Li Rui rolled to his feet, continuing to fire to suppress the more purple material trying to pour out of the breach, while shouting to his teammates at the door.

"understand!"

Wang Zhe's voice came through, followed by an even stronger pulse of energy that shot in from the doorway, precisely striking the edge of the cocoon's opening and preventing it from healing quickly.

The firepower of the three pulse guns temporarily suppressed the cocoon's abnormal movements and ejections, but the struggle of the "person" inside the cocoon did not stop.

Its eyes, burning with purple flames, stared intently at Li Rui and Lin Han through the gap, filled with endless resentment and an inhuman hunger.

Its arms, covered in thick purple crystals and slime, were frantically tearing at the inside of the cocoon, trying to widen the gap and break free!

"Ella! What exactly is it? Its weakness?!"

Li Rui asked urgently while firing.

"The core...the core is chaotic! Fragments of human consciousness...are...enveloped and driven by some more powerful corrupting will! It is...absorbing the cocoon's energy to transform! Physical attacks...can only delay! Energy...energy is its nourishment...and is also consuming it! It is...consuming the cocoon's power to resist us!"

Ella's voice was filled with painful analysis, "The cocoon... the cocoon is its breeding ground for transformation, but also... it's a constraint! Break the cocoon! Before it completely breaks free! Its... its spacesuit! Look at its left arm! The location of the emergency medical kit! There's... there's a faint biosignal! That... that might be the last anchor point of human consciousness?!"

Li Rui's gaze instantly focused on the left arm of the "person's" spacesuit.

Sure enough, on a raised area covered by purple crystals, an extremely faint green signal light, representing a vital sign, was flashing at an almost imperceptible frequency!

"Lin Han! See the signal light on the left arm? That's the target! Aim there! Not to kill it! To... to jam it! Use the lowest power pulse to try and impact that signal point! Ella said it's the consciousness anchor point! Wang Zhe, continue to suppress the cocoon and create an opportunity for me!"

"understand!"

Lin Han immediately adjusted the pulse gun power, took a deep breath, suppressed the fear and discomfort in his heart, and aimed the gun at the faint green dot that was faintly visible under the frantic struggle and purple slime.

"Captain! Only 18% energy left! The 'Island' force field can't hold on much longer!"

Wang Zhe's voice was anxious, and his continuous barrage of firepower made the alarm on the protective suit even more piercing.

"Now!" Li Rui roared, abruptly ceasing his firing and dashing forward, completely ignoring the splattering slime and the inhuman malice rushing towards him!
He needs to be close enough!
Lin Han held his breath and pulled the trigger! An extremely thin pulse of light, with its energy compressed to a minimum, shot towards the flashing green dot like a precise scalpel!

"puff!"

With a soft click, the ray struck precisely!

The frantically struggling "person" inside the cocoon suddenly froze! Its burning purple flames instantly lost focus, and its violent struggles came to an abrupt halt.

The purple crystal covering the left arm seemed to dim for a moment, and the faint green signal light suddenly flashed rapidly a few times!
"efficient!"

Ella's voice held a hint of incredulous surprise, "Fragments of human consciousness... have been... briefly activated! The corrupting will has been suppressed! Now!"

In that precious gap of less than half a second, Li Rui had already rushed to the gap in the cocoon!
Without hesitation, he plunged his heavily gloved hand into the gap that had been torn apart by the pulse gun and suppressed by Wang Zhe's firepower, aiming directly at the left arm of the "person" inside the cocoon!

He was going to find that signal source, to grasp that last trace of humanity! (End of Chapter)