The firefight ahead intensified. Rex's blaster was devastating, but it consumed ammunition rapidly. Furthermore, the aggregates were learning at an alarming rate, beginning to use the corridor's terrain, spreading out and firing simultaneously from different angles, forcing Kael and Rex to constantly shift positions and evade. The pressure mounted suddenly.
*WOO-OO! WOO-OO! WOO-OO!*
A piercing alarm blared through the corridors! Red emergency lights began to rotate and flash!
Deep in the corridor leading towards the labs, a heavy isolation blast door, previously sealed shut, began to rise slowly—forced open by Lia's actions (or rather, by temporarily misleading the judgment of the network sentience she was battling).
The door was only halfway up when even more frantic and密集的 cracking sounds, along with the flicker of countless gray-white lights, came from behind it! Clearly, there were *more* "things" on the other side!
"Dammit! You're drawing them all to us!" Rex bellowed, continuing his suppressive fire.
Strangely, the crystalline aggregates that had been furiously attacking Kael and Rex hesitated momentarily, their actions becoming confused upon hearing the alarm and seeing the rising door. They seemed distracted by this new development. Some continued their assault on the team, while others began turning towards the opening blast door, displaying a sense of... confusion?
The sentience lurking in the network also seemed momentarily thrown into disarray by this unexpected "internal command."
In this brief window of confusion—
A sharp light flashed in Lia's eyes!
"Now! Commander, third corridor on the left, fifty meters down! There's a small armory! Its independent control system isn't fully compromised! I can attempt to briefly activate a set of auto-turrets! But it won't last long!"
"Guide the way!" Kael ordered instantly.
"With me!" Lia severed the network connection—the backlash from the malevolent data stream made her stagger again—and spun around, sprinting towards another branch of the crossroads (not the way they came).
"Rex! Covering fire! Leapfrog retreat!"
"Copy!" Rex roared, unleashing a full barrage from his blaster to create a temporary wall of fire, forcing the nearest advancing aggregates back once more, before turning without hesitation and stomping heavily after Lia.
Kael covered the rear, his pulse rifle firing precise bursts at any aggregates attempting to pursue or launch energy rays.
Lia led them into a narrower auxiliary corridor. The crystalline growth here seemed less dense, but the rustling persisted. As she ran, she called out directions rapidly: "Right ahead! Avoid the conduits on the floor! Left!"
The sounds of cracking and energy rays striking walls followed close behind.
"Here!" Lia skidded to a halt before a metal door marked with weapon sigils. The door was partially blocked by crystals but not yet fully covered.
"Rex!" Kael shouted.
"Move aside!" Rex charged forward, driving his power claw into the door seam and exerting full force! The sound of twisting, tearing metal filled the air as he ripped the entire door open, revealing a dark space within.
Lia was the first inside, immediately darting to a console. "Initializing... Bypassing physical damage... Activating!"
Inside the armory, armored panels on the ceiling slid back, deploying three twin-linked light auto-pulse turrets. The turrets' sensors glowed red, humming with mechanical rotation as they instantly locked onto the corridor entrance!
"Get down!" Lia yelled.
*ZHIU-ZHIU-ZHIU-ZHIU—!!!*
Firepower several times more intense than the pulse rifles erupted instantly! Three concentrated streams of energy bolts slammed into the pursuing crystalline aggregates, immediately shattering the two leading ones to pieces! The turrets' fire was sustained and ferocious, effectively sealing the corridor entrance and temporarily suppressing the pursuing masses.
The deafening roar of the guns and the constant shattering of crystals filled the confined space.
"Nicely done, Lia!" Rex leaned against the wall, taking the chance to quickly swap the power cell on his blaster.
"The defense system's battery is low and it's being actively eroded by that network sentience!" Lia's voice held no triumph, only urgency. "They'll hold for three minutes at most! We must move now!"
Kael looked out at the temporarily suppressed creatures, then scanned the armory interior. It was relatively safe, but no place to stay.
"Lia, during that network contact, besides the armory, what else did you learn? About that 'sentience'?" He needed more information.