Inside the house, Lu Ye sat at the perception console. The Eye of the World slowly unfolded. Within a ten-meter radius, the magnetic field began to tremble. The sensory circuit narrowed automatically, entering a one-minute high-frequency scan.
Zhao Yang stood beside him, hat off, gaze steady.
"This ability… it's more than just detection."
Lin Lan reviewed the data.
"Magnetic feedback runs deep. It's like something is shielding itself."
He Xuan confirmed:
"Not military tech. Not leftover Maker systems." "It's natural—but it's not normal."
Lu Ye didn't respond. He simply stared at the coordinate on the screen— a long-abandoned research zone, once part of the Maker Initiative. Its magnetic structure had collapsed years ago. But now— it was glowing.
The squad geared up and headed out.
Chen Mo strapped on his gauntlets. Hu Hao synced his mental frequency. Zhao Yang deployed a blood mist shield. Lin Lan and He Xuan handled magnetic field analysis.
The target zone lay in the northern ruins—low terrain, heavy suppression. The air was unnaturally quiet. Not even low-level zombies stirred.
It felt like something had cleared the space.
Zhao Yang murmured:
"This place feels wrong."
Lin Lan nodded.
"The magnetic field is compressing itself."
He Xuan added:
"It's protecting something."
Chen Mo led the way. His gauntlets remained inactive, but his nerves were taut.
Hu Hao stayed in the rear, his mental energy slowly expanding, searching for residual consciousness.
At the deepest part of the research station, the squad found it— a translucent sphere, suspended in a magnetic fissure.
No attack. No feedback. But its presence destabilized the entire space.
The magnetic field didn't pass through it— it flowed around it.
Hu Hao attempted contact. His neural circuit jolted instantly.
"It's not alive," he whispered. "But it… remembers."
Lu Ye stepped closer. The Eye of the World activated automatically. Scan results appeared:
"Residual Consciousness Entity · ID: Unknown" "Origin: Maker Initiative · Abandoned Intelligence Node" "Status: Frozen · Unresponsive · Irremovable"
Zhao Yang frowned.
"We can't touch it."
Lin Lan agreed.
"But we can record it."
He Xuan initiated magnetic lockdown, marking the coordinates as Silent Field Point-01.
Back at the house, the squad began analyzing the data.
Hu Hao, recovering from the mental strain, spoke quietly:
"It's not an enemy." "But it's not neutral either."
Chen Mo leaned against the window, gauntlets humming faintly.
"It feels like… something forgotten."
Zhao Yang pulled his hat back on.
"We're not cleaners." "We're scavengers."
Lin Lan opened her notebook.
"The magnetic structure is frozen in a spiral pattern. That means it was once alive."
He Xuan added:
"Possibly an intelligence node—abandoned by the Makers, but still lingering in the field." "It hasn't corrupted. It hasn't mutated."
Lu Ye stared at the coordinate map.
"We need to find out why it's still here." "And how many more like it exist."
Zhao Yang murmured:
"If it's a memory… then whose memory?"
Hu Hao thought aloud:
"Maybe… not human."
Lin Lan officially marked the site as Silent Field Point-01, and opened a new mission thread.
He Xuan began building a magnetic tracking model, searching for similar residual structures.
Zhao Yang handled perimeter defense. Chen Mo and Hu Hao focused on stabilizing their Tier 3 Peak states.
Lu Ye initiated a second scan. The magnetic feedback was stronger.
"There's another one," he said quietly. "Farther out."
Lin Lan looked up.
"Then we start tracking."
Zhao Yang adjusted his hat.
"Let's move."
Chen Mo stood, voice steady:
"This time, we're not fighting zombies." "We're fighting… silence."
Hu Hao tightened his mental circuit.
"I can suppress it." "As long as it still remembers."