Chapter 203: Aftermath & Absolute Authority

Inside the residential suite, the metallic scent of burnt flesh, blood, and ozone hung heavy in the air, drifting down from the open doorway. Guo Jiong and Marcus carefully laid Ah Hua onto the thick, carpeted floor of the living area, placing a rolled-up jacket beneath his head to keep his airway completely clear.

Lin Qing knelt beside him instantly, pulling sterile bandages, trauma pads, and antiseptic spray from her field medical kit. With calm, methodical precision, she wrapped the neatly cauterized stump just below his right elbow, ensuring no raw tissue was exposed to the ambient dust of the battle.

Dr. Zhou rushed into the suite moments later, her medical coat rumpled and a heavy emergency field case clutched in her hand. She dropped to his knees beside Lin Qing, immediately checking Ah Hua’s vitals and scanning the cauterized stump with a portable bio-monitor.

"The amputation was fast—clean, precise, and absolute," Dr. Zhou breathed out, letting out a long, heavy sigh of relief as the monitor chimed with steady, rhythmic numbers. "The yellow-core pathogen didn’t cross the upper brachial artery. If you had hesitated by even ten seconds, Lin Qing, the toxic necrosis would have breached his central nervous system and reached his heart. He’ll need rest, intravenous fluids, and a specialized prosthetic fitting once the tissue fully heals, but his life is entirely out of danger."

Guo Jiong exhaled a long, shaky breath, wiping a heavy mixture of sweat and gunpowder residue from his forehead with the back of his sleeve. "Thank god..."

Beside them, Su Xiao and Gu An stepped forward, their earlier composure easing into quiet, childlike concern as they watched over the big fighter. Su Xiao reached out with trembling hands, gently tucking a spare wool blanket over Ah Hua’s shoulders, while Han Ye stood quietly nearby, his dark eyes observing the steady rhythm of Ah Hua’s breathing. Xiao Mei leaned against the wall, taking a quiet, deep breath as the frosty mist around her hands finally faded into thin air.

"Guo Jiong, stay here with Dr. Zhou and guard the kids," Lin Qing instructed, standing up and slinging her sidearm back into its holster. "Marcus, take Lu Ning down to the lower level max-security holding room beside Director Chen. Double-lock the power-dampening cuffs and set a two-man armed post outside her door. She stays completely isolated until further notice."

"Understood," Marcus replied grimly. He grabbed Lu Ning by her heavy shoulder straps, hoisting her limp, power-dampened frame roughly off the wall.

Lu Ning, her feverish energy completely drained and her spatial phasing powers locked away by the heavy lead-lined magnetic cuffs, gave one last whimpering, pitiful look toward the doorway. "Brother... please..." she rasped, her voice barely a whisper. But Lu Feng had already walked out into the corridor, not offering her a single backward glance or a trace of pity.

---

Lin Qing and Lu Feng down up the concrete stairwells toward the primary atrium, where the thunderous reports of heavy gunfire and shouting still echoed off the high steel walls.

As they moved through the corridors, the chaotic nature of the subterranean breach became painfully visible. Because the agile crawlers had split up and scattered through the ventilation network upon entering beneath the blast gate, the fighting had expanded across multiple sectors.

Near the Sub-Level 2 utility junction, three Depot guards assigned to inner perimeter patrol lay dead on the blood-slick tile floor. They had fought valiantly, their empty ammunition magazines scattered around them, having drawn two crawlers away from the adjacent mess hall. Their sacrifice had paid off—behind the locked, reinforced fire doors just ten yards away, civilian refugees and non-combatants remained entirely untouched, safe and uninjured, listening in terrified silence as the squad cleared the remaining threats.

Lin Qing paused briefly beside the fallen Depot guards, checking their pulses with a grim expression. "They held the line," she said quietly, her jaw tightening. "They kept the breach contained to the utility corridors."

"Their families will be taken care of," Lu Feng said, his tone firm and resolute as he reloaded his rifle. "Let’s finish this."

They reached the primary atrium choke point, where Han Zheng, Lieutenant Chen, Xiao Li, and Song Yan were holding the line with relentless discipline. The four-foot gap beneath the jammed heavy blast door was piled high with the lifeless bodies of crawlers and heavy variants that had attempted to force their way through the narrow opening.

"Lin Qing! Lu Feng!" Han Zheng shouted over the roar of heavy automated turrets and thermal bursts. "The primary wave outside in the gorge is finally breaking! But this jammed blast door is keeping the entire sector open to secondary breaches!"

Behind the firing line, Jiang Feng and Sun Hao were already crouched beside the severed hydraulic housing, surrounded by tools and spare components. Sparks flew in blinding white bursts as Sun Hao operated a heavy cutting torch while Jiang Feng rewired the emergency manual override cables directly into the backup generator block.

"We need three minutes to force the hydraulic bypass!" Jiang Feng called out, his face slick with grease and soot. "Xiao Li, give us some leverage on the frame!"

"On it!" Xiao Li bellowed. Harnessing his physical strength enhancement and Stone Armor, he wedged a heavy titanium crowbar beneath the jammed guide rail, taking the warped pressure off the primary gear teeth with a grunt of immense effort.

Lu Feng stepped to the front of the line alongside Han Zheng, his rifle barking in steady, rhythmic bursts as he picked off three stragglers attempting to scramble over the mound of fallen beasts outside the threshold. His face was like sculpted stone—cold, precise, and devoid of the hesitation or conflict that had once weighed on him whenever his family was mentioned.

"Override complete in three... two... one!" Sun Hao yelled, slamming his palm onto the manual release lever.

CLANG-CLANK!

The massive, multi-ton blast gate groaned loudly as the hydraulic fluid surged through the freshly bypassed lines. With a deep, reverberating thud that shook the concrete floorboards of the entire atrium, the heavy steel door slammed down completely, sealing flush against the reinforced floor and locking out the outer dark and freezing mountain wind completely.

The secondary locking pins engaged with a series of sharp, pneumatic clicks. Silence descended upon the primary atrium, broken only by the heavy, echoing panting of the squad, the crackle of cooling metal, and the quiet hum of the ventilation scrubbers resetting.

---

An hour later, the Central Command Hub was lit by the calm, steady amber glow of secured system monitors. The primary breach had been fully contained, the perimeter sweeps across all sub-levels were completed, and the Research Center had returned to high-alert lockdown status.

Han Zheng stood at the central table, reviewing the post-battle damage assessment alongside Lin Qing, Lu Feng, Lieutenant Chen, and Song Yan.

"Total count for the breach," Han Zheng reported, his deep voice solemn as he looked over the digital pad. "We lost five Depot guards in total—two near the initial ventilation breach outside the residential suite, and three on Sub-Level 2 while they held off scattered crawlers outside the civilian dorms. Ah Hua suffered a severe forearm loss but is fully stable thanks to Lin Qing’s rapid field surgery. Crucially, all civilians and non-combatants remain completely untouched and unharmed."

Han Zheng paused, turning his gaze toward Lu Feng. The atmosphere in the command room grew heavy with anticipation.

"Regarding Lu Ning..." Han Zheng continued calmly. "She deliberately severed the primary override cables, directly causing the blast door jam and risking the entire facility and its population. Her actions constitute high treason, sabotage, and attempted murder during an active siege."

The room grew dead silent. Lieutenant Chen, Song Yan, and the other squad leads looked toward Lu Feng, wondering how the captain would handle the tribunal judgment for his own blood relative.

Lu Feng stood tall and rigid, his hands clasped behind his back, his posture unbending like iron. His eyes were clear, carrying no remaining trace of grief, weakness, or familial conflict.

"There is no need for special considerations, leniency, or delayed proceedings," Lu Feng said, his voice ringing clearly through the command hub with absolute, cold authority. "Lu Ning forfeited her status as a member of this base and as my family the moment she sabotaged that blast gate and targeted defenseless children out of pure spite. She is a convicted traitor."

He turned to Han Zheng and Lin Qing, offering a sharp, crisp military salute.

"I formally request to be assigned to the frontline defense, heavy perimeter patrols, and outer sweeps from this moment forward," Lu Feng stated without a single tremor in his voice. "As for Lu Ning’s containment and ultimate sentence, I defer entirely to the decision of the Commander. My sole duty is to the survival of this base and its people—nothing else."

Lin Qing looked at Lu Feng, recognizing the complete, tempered transformation of a soldier who had purged his final personal vulnerability to become an unshakeable pillar for their base. She returned the salute firmly.

"Request granted, Captain Lu," Lin Qing said softly. "Let’s secure the base."