Dr. Silas didn't attack. He adjusted his glasses. "The Bloom isn't poison. It's a key. One your sister's unique biology accidentally activated."
[ANALYSIS: SUBJECT 'SILAS' - BIO-ENERGY: NEGLIGIBLE | CYBERNETIC THREAT: HIGH]
Lin Mo kept moving. The Bloom pulsed, resonating with the ring. Yu's time was bleeding away.
"Chen Bailong thought it was a weapon," Silas continued, watching Lin Mo circle. "Fool. Its pollen opens dimensional rifts. Stable ones. Your sister? She's a living anchor point."
Lin Mo lunged – not at Silas, at the stasis field controls.
Silas didn't move. The floor lurched. Magnetic plates slammed Lin Mo against the wall. [KINETIC RESTRAINTS: 8 TON CAPACITY]
"Predictable," Silas sighed. "The ring's hunger overrides tactics. A flaw." He approached, a neural-scalpel humming to life in his hand. "I'll take that. And your sister. Her body is priceless for my research."
[ENERGY: 0 UNITS | RESTRAINT STRESS: 98%]
The ring offered no solutions. Only raw data:
[BLOOM POLLEN CONCENTRATION: 0.0003% IN AIR]
[RESONANCE FREQUENCY: 47.1 TERAHERTZ]
Lin Mo did the only thing left. He hummed. Low. Guttural. Forcing his battered vocal cords to vibrate at the ring's projected frequency.
The Bloom shivered.
A hairline crack split the stasis field.
Minute pollen particles drifted out. Touching Lin Mo's skin.
[WARNING: DIMENSIONAL INSTABILITY DETECTED]
Behind Silas, the air ripped. Not a controlled Void Cut. A feral, snapping maw of distorted space.
Silas turned, eyes widening with scientific delight. "Fascinating! Unstable portal!"
The maw lunged. Not for Lin Mo. For the closer energy source – Silas's glowing cybernetics.
It swallowed him whole with a sound like tearing metal.
The restraints failed. Lin Mo fell. He grabbed the Bloom as the portal collapsed, leaving only ozone and silence.
[ENERGY SIGNATURE ACQUIRED: CATALYST BLOOM]
[SYNTHESIZING COUNTER-AGENT: ESTIMATED 45 MINUTES]
He ran. Yu had minutes. Not hours.