"If she walks any farther, she simply refuses to move, such a scaredy-cat."
"Actually, I'm a bit scared too," the child who had been silent in the corner finally added.
Was there a power outage? Hexia looked up towards the distant tunnel. This stretch was about more than 200 meters long, not particularly long, but it was pitch-dark inside due to the lights being out.
After observing for a short while and detecting no anomalies, Hexia walked forward and turned on the lighting setting on her personal terminal. A beam of light shone forth, yet compared to the seven or eight-meter diameter of the tunnel, the beam was not very large.
"Follow me," she said, turning around to see several pairs of hopeful eyes behind her.
She was still a little afraid of the children, the girl thought to herself.
Compared to mature and sensible adults, children's behavior could sometimes be unpredictable, and Hexia wasn't good at dealing with this kind of situation. If it weren't for today's chance meeting, she would usually stand far away.
"Wow, so amazing, a big sister with a personal terminal."
"There's light for illumination."
"Following her should be safe."
The girl who had been crying before quieted down a bit and, holding hands with her companions, followed behind Hexia. The current situation was much like a mother duck leading her four ducklings across a river.
But the children were quite cute today, and a sense of calm brushed through the girl's heart as she entered the pitch-black tunnel.
Her shoes clinked against the steel floor, echoing through the space. From time to time, the sound of dripping water and the flow of liquid in pipes could be heard. Leading the children, Hexia stepped forward in the darkness.
She had thought it was just a minor detour on the way home until she suddenly felt an unusual palpitation.
When they were a little more than fifty meters from the exit, a dark shadow suddenly darted through the cone of light from the terminal, lunging at the glowing device in the girl's hand. The massive force almost knocked Hexia over, and her wrist throbbed with pain.
The square personal terminal flew out of her grip and tumbled across the ground, rolling far away. Accompanied by sounds of crushing and shattering glass, the light went out instantly. Cries of utter panic from the children filled the tunnel, creating a chaotic scene.
This sudden upheaval left Hexia in a state of panic, but the screams of the children behind her constantly reminded her of the current situation.
Stay calm, stay calm, think of something, this is not the time to run away
These thoughts echoed in Hexia's mind as she trembled and leaned against the cold wall, the pain in her right hand still not subsiding. She could feel the wet and sticky blood flowing over her skin.
With her left hand pressed against her head, her joints stiffened, and amidst the trembling, Hexia finally regained some composure.
"Hu— Hu—" She felt her breathing had never been so heavy and tense.
With her chest heaving, Hexia slowly pushed herself up from the wall she had been leaning against and stood.
"You, come behind me," she said, her voice quivering.
But the children were still crying and screaming, paying no heed to her words.
"Shut up!" She stomped her foot and let out a sharp yell, hardly believing it was her own voice.
The children finally stopped their crying temporarily.
"Get behind me now!" Her voice was fast and breathless.
The children stumbled and groped their way through the darkness to get behind Hexia, who was then able to focus her attention on the enemy in the pitch-black environment ahead.
Even though she couldn't see clearly, the sound of chewing glass fragments and metal in the darkness was as piercing and frightening as ever.
A mutant beast? A malfunctioning machine? Or a deranged person? Hexia guessed at the identity of the attacker, regretting that her personal terminal was broken, otherwise she could have contacted the nearby Autonomous Unit for riot control.
But there was no other choice now. With her thoughts focused, the Transcendent Core within her began to operate, and faint blue light emerged from her eyes, forming a simple symbol.
Withering Sequence 2: Dark Visit, activate—
It was as if invisible shadows suddenly extended from her body. The previously dark tunnel was revealed in her vision as a different world.
This world was one of stark blacks and whites, countless web-like strands outlining everything, and right in front of her, not too far away, was a restless Soul Consciousness. It twisted and writhed, indistinct. As a Sequence 2, Dark Visit didn't have much combat power, but it was excellent for reconnaissance, suitable for all sorts of environments, and allowed the user to see spectral beings, shadowy creatures, and spiritual entities invisible to normal people.
Machines lack a Soul Consciousness; therefore, that was ruled out. Mutant beasts didn't have such pronounced consciousness or spiritual forms, so it was likely a crazed, out-of-control human, Hexia determined.
Similar to how humans could use the Aijieka Particles to let their spirits affect reality, practicing the Transcendent Sequence could lead to the construction of a flawed Transcendent Core. This, in turn, would cause psychological contamination over time, driving a person insane or turning them into a fool.
This was the reason why many individuals remained at a certain Sequence level their whole lives and did not advance further. Forced advancement could result in instantaneous self-destruction or mental derangement.
After observing for a few seconds, some information floated into Hexia's mind.
Physical appearance: 32-40 years old, body partially mutated
Transcendent Sequence: Dragon Sequence 3·Unknown (Grade: Flawed Copper Grade)
Attack methods: Fanged Teeth (Lv.2), Raptor Claws (Lv.1)