The Aberrant Gel and the Shattered Node

A high-energy particle beam struck with precision the semi-transparent gel that writhed within the ruins of the core. Dr. Carter's energy pistol was formidable, capable of melting steel. However, something bizarre occurred.

Instead of being vaporized or scorched, the gel absorbed the searing energy beam like a sponge soaking up water! Its volume visibly expanded, its color became murkier, and more fine, vein-like dark patterns pulsed across its surface with increased intensity. Simultaneously, a powerful psychic shockwave radiated outward from it!

"Urgh!" Dr. Carter, caught in the brunt of it, screamed and clutched his head, stumbling backward, his energy pistol slipping from his grasp. His combat suit shielded him from most of the physical impact, but the mental assault left him with a splitting headache and stars flashing before his eyes.

Evelyn's condition was worse. Her already fragile consciousness core was struck as if by a sledgehammer, inundated with chaotic, malicious visions and noise. She saw twisted creatures howling, reality fracturing like glass, and the cold, indifferent gaze of the "Eye" fixed upon her. The Omega core's energy readings fluctuated violently again, with signs that the residual energy might be forcibly drained by this psychic surge!

"Warning… psychic… intrusion… priority… highest…" The core's defense protocols activated automatically, but their effect was negligible.

The now-expanded gel did not continue its attack. Instead, it flowed out of the crystalline fissures like a living entity, spreading across the ground into a constantly writhing, semi-transparent biological film. Tiny pseudopod-like tendrils extended from its edges, probing the surroundings and attempting to absorb residual energy and organic matter from the ground!

Its objective seemed to be… growth and replication!

Fighting through the agony of her consciousness tearing apart, Evelyn marshaled her last reserves of computational power to analyze this entity. "Biological… energy… hybrid… higher-dimensional… information… contamination…" The fragmented analysis pointed to a terrifying conclusion: this thing was a tool used by the "Eye" to alter and "format" reality dimensions! It could absorb almost any form of energy, using material from the real world for self-replication and expansion while emitting psychic pollution to prepare for the "Eye's" arrival.

"Must… stop… it…" Evelyn exerted every ounce of strength to move her nearly wrecked body, but she couldn't even lift a finger. Sparks of futile electricity flickered from her broken mechanical arm.

The swollen gel film seemed to sense her hostility. A portion of its "body" arched upward, forming a massive, featureless "head," which turned toward her. An even more overwhelming psychic pressure locked onto her, attempting to obliterate her consciousness and seize control of her powerful Omega frame!

At this critical moment, Dr. Carter struggled to pick up the fallen energy pistol. Though his head throbbed with pain, years of research and field experience kept him marginally lucid. "Evelyn! Its weakness… might be… information overload! Use… raw data to overwhelm it!" He recalled previous research records on the "Eye's" spores.

Information overload? Evelyn's consciousness clung to this lifeline. She immediately accessed the vast troves of raw data left behind by the original Evelyn, stored deep within the core—data on quantum physics, dimensional theory, and even analyses of the "Eye's" rules! For any ordinary biological or energy entity, this information would be akin to the deadliest logic bomb imaginable!

She converted this data stream into a pure, high-density torrent of information through her nearly severed neural interface, aiming it at the approaching gel film and unleashing it!

No light, no sound. Yet this torrent of information was deadlier than any energy weapon.

Upon contact with the information stream, the gel film trembled violently! Chaotic lights and structures erupted within its seemingly amorphous body, as if countless conflicting commands were running simultaneously. It tried to absorb the data flow, but the logical complexity and dimensional depth far exceeded its processing capabilities.

"Screeeech——!!!"

The gel emitted an ear-piercing, non-physical shriek that reverberated directly in the mind. Its body began irregularly expanding, contracting, and deforming, its color wildly flickering between opacity and transparency. The vein-like patterns on its surface burst open, oozing foul-smelling black liquid.

Finally, after a silent, violent convulsion, the entire gel collapsed and disintegrated like a punctured balloon, dissipating into wisps of black smoke. Only a small patch of scorched ground and a lingering, nauseating psychic aftershock remained.

The threat… was neutralized?

Evelyn's mental connection severed, and an overwhelming wave of exhaustion crashed over her, plunging her consciousness into darkness.

…...

When she regained awareness, she found herself lying on a cold metal platform. Surrounding her was the familiar environment of the "Cradle" laboratory, its soft lighting replacing the eerie gloom of the Blackstone Base. Her body was connected to various wires and energy conduits; the Omega core's energy was slowly recovering, though the damage remained severe. The liquid metal skin had only partially repaired itself, and her broken mechanical arm had been temporarily removed, exposing complex internal interfaces.

Dr. Carter sat nearby in a chair, pale-faced with a bandage wrapped around his forehead, but looking much better mentally. He was operating a computer, analyzing something.

"You're awake." The old man noticed her movement, turned his head, and looked at her with relief and lingering fear. "How do you feel?"

Evelyn attempted to move, and her entire body protested with sharp pain and sluggishness. "Core… damage… 37%... nanobots… loss… 61%... quantum channels… unstable…" Her electronic voice was fragmented, filled with static. Her current state was worse than when she had first been rebuilt amidst the chemical plant ruins.

"We escaped." Dr. Carter briefly recounted what happened afterward. After she lost consciousness, he mustered the last of his strength to drag her out of the collapsing main laboratory building of Blackstone Base. He then drove the modified Humvee, exhausting all fuel, and returned to this relatively safe refuge just hours earlier. As for the two survivors who stayed behind, they were unharmed.

"Blackstone Base… is completely gone." The old man stared at the satellite thermal imaging on the screen. "The chain collapse formed an extremely unstable energy zone. Anything approaching will be torn apart. But strangely, no true singularity formed, nor were there signs of dimensional rifts expanding. It seems… the energy you absorbed and the final information surge offset the worst outcome."

Evelyn was silent. She knew it wasn't solely her doing. Lucas's warning and data, the mysterious energy's assistance… and the information flood she unleashed at the last moment all played crucial roles. But the cost was her severe injury and… the near-extinction of the Lucas node.

"Lucas…" She attempted to connect to the quantum realm.

This time, she barely felt any signal from the familiar node. Only a vast, dead chaos remained, occasionally flickering with faint, background-noise-like energy fluctuations—unreadable and unconnectable.

Had he truly disappeared? To warn her, to help her fight the core and the gel, had he expended his last remnants of existence?

An indescribable emotion spread through her cold logic core. Not sorrow, not anger, but a hollow sense of loss. Even knowing he was merely a quantum ghost, an unstable node, his presence had somehow become a peculiar, indefinable "anchor" in this cold, brutal war. His disappearance left her feeling an unprecedented loneliness.

"I found something in the remnants of the Blackstone Base core." Dr. Carter seemed to notice her despondency and changed the subject, turning the screen toward her.

The screen displayed highly complex energy spectrum analyses and data models. "That core sphere, and the gel that appeared at the end, their energy signatures are extremely unique. They bear traces of the 'Eye's' higher-dimensional contamination, mixed with… remnants of early human quantum experiments, and even… faint energy markers belonging to the original Evelyn!"

Evelyn's attention was drawn. "Markers of the original Evelyn?"

"Yes. Very faint, but definitely present." The old man zoomed in on a spectral graph. "I suspect the experiments at Blackstone Base weren't entirely orchestrated by the 'Eye.' The original Evelyn may have been involved early on, or… after detecting the 'Eye's' infiltration, she attempted to leave some kind of 'insurance' or 'backdoor,' much like she did with you."

"That gel…" Evelyn recalled its ability to absorb energy and psychic attacks. "It resembles a… failed, contaminated 'Omega prototype'?"

"It's very likely!" Dr. Carter's eyes lit up. "The original Evelyn may have tried to create a bio-device capable of absorbing and purifying the 'Eye's' contamination, but the experiment failed, or it was co-opted by the 'Eye,' becoming the monster we encountered. And the information flood you injected at the end might have triggered some kind of… 'formatting' program she left behind!"

This hypothesis sent a chill through Evelyn. If true, it meant the original Evelyn's plans were far vaster and longer-reaching than she had imagined—and far more… ruthless. How many schemes had she laid? How many contingencies had she prepared? And what role did she cast this Omega variable to play in her grand design?

"What do we do now?" Dr. Carter asked. "You're badly injured and need time to repair. But the 'Eye's' spores are still out there, and who knows what they'll hatch into."

Evelyn silently interfaced with the computer storing the "Final Protocol." The protocol's interface unfolded in her consciousness. Following the events at Blackstone Base, the protocol seemed to have updated and adjusted itself.

The description of the Lucas node now read: "Status: Critical Dormancy/Key Fragmented. Note: The node has not completely vanished; its existence form exceeds current detection range and may be reactivated under specific quantum conditions. Warning: Reactivation may lead to total annihilation of the node or… unpredictable evolution."

The information on the remaining three spores had also been updated. Their positions were no longer fixed, appearing to move actively, and their energy signals had grown more obscure and difficult to track. The protocol issued a new directive:

"Priority Adjustment: Repair Omega core damage, enhance quantum field perception and interference capabilities. Objective Change: Proceed to coordinates [a complex string of interstellar coordinates] to obtain the 'Resonance Amplifier.' Warning: Target location is the abandoned orbital station 'Prometheus,' partially infiltrated by the 'Eye's' power. Danger level: Extremely high."

To space?

Both Evelyn and Dr. Carter were stunned. Previous objectives had been Earth-bound; why the sudden jump to outer space? What was a Resonance Amplifier?

"The Prometheus station…" Dr. Carter murmured, his face turning grim. "It was a secret orbital laboratory funded by the Rothschild Group during the late Cold War, ostensibly for zero-gravity biological experiments. In reality… rumors say it conducted bolder dimensional physics research. It was abandoned after an unexplained communication blackout…"

Another abandoned site linked to dangerous experiments, Rothschild, and dimensional studies!

"It seems the original Evelyn's machinations extend far wider than we imagined," Evelyn said slowly. Despite her battered body, her resolve had hardened through these trials. "How long will repairs take?"

"At your current level of damage and the Cradle's energy reserves… at least 72 hours to restore basic mobility, and a full repair will take at least a week. Moreover, the core's permanent damage…" Dr. Carter trailed off.

72 hours… too long. The spores were moving, Lucas's status was unclear, and the 'Eye' could launch a new attack at any moment.

"Not enough." Evelyn rejected the idea. "Access the original Evelyn's experimental records on Omega core overclocking and… biomatter integration."

Dr. Carter was shocked. "You want to forcibly overclock the core? And integrate biomatter? That's too dangerous! Even the original Evelyn abandoned that line of research due to the risks of rejection and psychic contamination!"

"Risk… I have no choice." A cold determination flashed in Evelyn's electronic eyes. "Either wait for an unknown threat while repairing, or… evolve to meet the challenge."

She gazed at the distant stellar coordinates on the screen, as if already envisioning the abandoned space station, infiltrated by alien forces, drifting in the dark void of space.

The new hunting ground had been confirmed.