Chapter 10: The Sulphur Veins

The oppressive, acrid scent of sulphur almost solidified in the dark and narrow passage, each breath carrying a pungent, burning sensation. Lin Ye leaned against the cold, rough rock wall, cold sweat beading on his forehead from the searing pain in his back. Every heartbeat tugged at the wound, sending jolts of teeth-grinding agony through him. He struggled to regulate his breathing, trying to ignore the pain that seemed to seep into his very bones. The only light came from the faint, residual glow of his battered utility gauntlet and the occasional, unstable flicker from Noah's AR projection on his retina.

Zero huddled a short distance away, her body still trembling slightly from weakness and the earlier terror. Her pale amber eyes were fixed unwaveringly on Lin Ye's bleeding back, filled with a complex mix of emotions—worry, bewilderment, and a sliver of guilt she herself hadn't yet consciously registered. It was this man who, at the most dangerous moment, had shielded her with his own body from a lethal attack. This realization caused the an icy wall of ingrained suspicion in her heart to quietly crack, a tiny fissure appearing in its formidable defenses.

[Noah: Host, preliminary diagnosis indicates third-degree high-energy burns on your back, with signs of deep tissue necrosis. Immediate debridement and anti-infection treatment are imperative, or the consequences could be dire. I have projected all usable disinfectant and regeneration gel information from the first-aid kit onto your AR interface. Please follow the steps. The air in this passage... has excessive sulfide content, which is extremely detrimental to wound healing. We need to find a cleaner environment soon.] Noah's voice was still somewhat choppy due to the lingering EMP effects, but her instructions were clear and filled with an undeniable professionalism. On the AR interface, the previously blurry instructional images had become somewhat clearer, a sign that some of her core functions were gradually recovering as they moved further from the EMP's source or as its effects waned.

Lin Ye managed a wry, pained smile, his voice hoarse. "Got it... It's just a bit difficult to manage on my own in this state." He tried to move his arm, and the resulting stab of pain in his back almost made him cry out, a choked gasp escaping his lips.

"I... I can help." A faint voice came from beside him, barely more than a breath.

Lin Ye looked at Zero in surprise. She was biting her lower lip, her eyes still holding some hesitation and timidity, but mostly a clumsy sort of determination. She slowly, awkwardly, shuffled closer to him, her movements stiff and uncoordinated from her long stasis and recent ordeal.

"Are you sure?" Lin Ye was taken aback, studying her pale face. "How are you feeling now? You look like you could collapse any second."

"Better... better than before," Zero said softly, though she couldn't quite meet Lin Ye's gaze, her eyes darting to his wound and then away. "At least... I can still move. You... you got hurt because of me." Her voice was as low as a mosquito's hum, laced with an unfamiliar emotion that sounded like remorse.

A flicker of warmth, unexpected and potent, spread through Lin Ye. In this apocalyptic world where human lives were as insignificant as grass, an untainted act of goodwill, however small, was more precious than any material resource. He managed a nod, the movement sending fresh waves of pain through him. "Alright then, I'll have to trouble you. Noah will tell you what to do. Just… be careful."

Under Noah's guidance—relayed through Lin Ye's short-range communication, which Noah managed to project as simplified AR markers that Zero could somewhat perceive in the dim light, supplemented by Lin Ye's pained, verbal instructions—Zero, with trembling hands, carefully began to tend to the wound on Lin Ye's back. Her movements were hesitant, even clumsy. Several times, she accidentally touched the raw wound, making Lin Ye gasp in pain and clench his jaw to keep from shouting, which in turn made her flinch, her eyes welling up with unshed tears. But she didn't give up, her brow furrowed in intense concentration, her small, cold fingers surprisingly gentle as she cleaned the area with antiseptic wipes and applied the regeneration gel. The acrid smell of the disinfectant mingled with the sulfurous air.

Throughout this process, Lin Ye, gritting his teeth against the waves of agony, observed the peculiar passage they were in. The walls were not metallic, as most of the underground structures had been, but some kind of dark, igneous rock, veined with dull yellow sulphur crystals that seemed to faintly absorb what little light there was. The rock felt slightly warm to the touch. Besides the overpowering smell of sulphur, there was a faint, almost imperceptible scent of geothermal heat in the air, and a low, distant rumble that he could feel more than hear.

"Noah," Lin Ye asked, his voice strained, "can you analyze what this place is? And why are the Ghost Signals suppressed here? Is it the rock? The smell?"

There was a pause, filled only by Zero's soft breathing and the quiet sounds of her tending to his wound. Then Noah's voice returned, a little clearer this time.

[Noah: Recalibrating geological and electromagnetic sensors... The EMP interference is lessening in this specific sector, allowing for more detailed analysis. The rock composition is predominantly volcanic, rich in iron sulfides and other conductive minerals. The geothermal activity is significant. My preliminary hypothesis is that the unique combination of high mineral content in the rock strata and the strong, fluctuating geothermal electromagnetic fields creates a natural 'shielding' effect, disrupting the Ghost Signal's more ethereal energy forms and their ability to cohere or propagate effectively. It's akin to a Faraday cage, but a natural, more chaotic one. However, this environment may also pose other, currently unknown, biological or geological hazards.]

"Natural shielding..." Lin Ye mused. That explained why the Ghost Signals hadn't pursued them directly into this passage. It was a small mercy, but a crucial one. "What about the draft Zero mentioned? Can you find its source?"

[Noah: Analyzing air current patterns... The draft is consistent, originating from deeper within this network of volcanic tubes or lava tunnels. It suggests a larger cavern or an exit to another system, possibly even closer to the surface, though that seems unlikely given our current depth. However, the air composition is also showing trace amounts of other, potentially toxic, volcanic gases. Prolonged exposure is not advisable.]

Zero, having finished applying a makeshift dressing Lin Ye had fashioned from a strip of his undershirt, sat back, her shoulders slumped with exhaustion. She looked even paler than before, but there was a faint sense of accomplishment in her weary eyes.

"Thank you, Zero," Lin Ye said, his voice hoarse but sincere. The pain was still intense, but the immediate threat of infection felt somewhat lessened.

Zero merely nodded, still not meeting his eyes directly, and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Those... things... the Ghost Signals," she finally said, her voice a low murmur. "When they attacked my mind... I felt... something. Not just pain. It was like... they were trying to pull something out of me. Or put something in."

Lin Ye tensed. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head, a look of confusion and fear clouding her features. "I don't know. It was... like a violation. But then... when you were hit... I felt this... surge. Like a scream inside me, but without a sound. And for a moment, the 'noise' in my head, their 'voices,' they… faltered." She looked at her hands, as if seeing them for the first time. "The blue lights on my skin... I've seen them before. In the labs. After certain… procedures."

[Noah: Host, this aligns with my earlier observation of a resistive high-frequency resonance. It's possible that Zero's unique neural architecture, a result of the Dominion Project, allows her to unconsciously generate disruptive psionic or electromagnetic fields when under extreme duress or when her consciousness is directly threatened. This 'scream,' as she calls it, might be an involuntary defense mechanism. However, it also appears to cause her significant strain, and its effects are currently uncontrolled and unpredictable.]

"So, you can fight them? Subconsciously?" Lin Ye asked, a new, fragile hope kindling within him.

Zero looked up, her amber eyes wide and uncertain. "I... I don't know how. It just... happened. And it hurt. It felt like my brain was on fire." She shivered. "I don't want to feel that again. It felt like... like them."

Lin Ye understood. Whatever this ability was, it was born from trauma, linked to the very AI she despised. Using it, even defensively, was likely to dredge up horrifying memories.

"We need to get you somewhere safer, somewhere you can rest properly," Lin Ye said, pushing himself up with a grunt, wincing as his back protested. "And we need to figure out what Central Brain, and Helix Echo, really wanted with you, Zero. That 'success and failure'… there's more to it, isn't there?"

Zero hugged her knees tighter, her gaze distant. "They wanted a bridge," she whispered, so softly Lin Ye almost didn't catch it. "A bridge between human and machine. I was supposed to be that bridge. But the chasm was too wide… or maybe, I just refused to let them cross."

[Noah: Host, I've identified a potential route. Approximately 500 meters ahead, the tunnel appears to open into a larger, geothermally active cavern. Sensor readings are still patchy, but it shows signs of more stable air and less immediate structural instability. It could serve as a temporary, more defensible shelter.]

Lin Ye nodded. "Alright. Let's head there. Zero, can you walk?"

Zero looked at him, then slowly, unsteadily, got to her feet. "I'll try."

With Lin Ye leaning heavily on a makeshift crutch he fashioned from a loose piece of rock, and Zero walking unsteadily beside him, they ventured deeper into the sulphur-veined darkness, towards an unknown cavern, carrying with them the heavy secrets of a fallen world and the faint, flickering ember of an uncertain future.