Chapter 251: The Hangar
“Everyone, shut up! If you don’t want to keep moving, find a room to hide in and don’t drag the rest of us down!” Lieutenant Colonel Cross’s angry shout echoed through the corridor, her authority as the base commander instantly silencing the sniffling female Riken.
“Not good, the hatch won’t open.” Normally, the hatches within the base were controlled by the AI, but with the power cut, the AI had also shut down, rendering the doors inoperable.
However, the base’s design had accounted for power failures. Every hatch was equipped with a basic manual opening mechanism, known as the “hand crank.”
Under the illumination of flashlights, a few burly wounded soldiers stepped forward. Despite their weakened condition, they were still stronger than the administrative personnel.
Removing a panel on the door revealed an old-fashioned crank. The men each took hold of a section and began turning it with all their might. Slowly, the crank rotated, and the hatch gradually opened.
The group hurried through, but the process was so slow that their progress was now falling behind the Swarm’s advance.
By the time they had passed through ten hatches, the Swarm had breached fourteen.
This couldn’t continue. If they didn’t find a solution, the Swarm would catch up before they even reached the hangar.
“Turn left here,” Cross suddenly ordered after passing through two more hatches.