Floating life reflects two lotuses

Chu Wanlian stood in the laboratory's observation room, looking through the protective glass at the core area of ​​the laboratory. There, a complex scene of instruments and runic devices intertwined unfolded. The runic devices were slowly activating, their surfaces gleaming with an ominous blue light, like a slowly beating heart.

"Is this the core device of the soul passage?" she murmured to herself, her gaze fixed on the array with a complex expression.

“Yes, the lab’s ultimate trump card.” Li Chenyao’s voice sounded behind her, carrying his usual composure and depth.

Chu Wanlian turned around abruptly, her expression involuntarily tightening: "President Li, what are you doing here?"

Li Chenyao raised an eyebrow, a slight, enigmatic smile playing on his lips: "This is my territory, why can't I be here?"

Chu Wanlian gave a dry laugh and looked away: "Of course, you have the right to supervise everything."

Li Chenyao leaned against the table in the observation room, his long fingers tapping lightly on the surface. His tone was inquisitive: "You seem very interested in these devices, even more so than I, the director?"

Chu Wanlian was momentarily speechless, but quickly adjusted her tone: "These devices involve the intersection of high-energy physics and spiritual science. As a researcher in the project team, it's always good to know more."

Li Chenyao chuckled noncommittally: "Curiosity is a good thing, but I hope it won't cause trouble."

Chu Wanlian stiffly forced a smile, just as she was about to find an excuse to leave, when the runes in the core area of ​​the laboratory suddenly flickered, followed by a low humming sound, as if some kind of power was awakening.

"It's started?" Chu Wanlian whispered subconsciously, her hands clenching involuntarily.

“Yes, a formal soul channel experiment.” Li Chenyao straightened up, put his hands in his pockets, and stared intently at the core device through the glass, a complex look flashing in his eyes.

Suddenly, the laboratory's loudspeaker announced: "The Soul Channel Experiment is initiating. All personnel are requested to enter observation mode to avoid interfering with energy fluctuations."

Chu Wanlian composed herself and turned to look at the monitoring screen on the control panel. The energy fluctuation image on it showed abnormally high peak values, almost breaking through the safety line.

"This fluctuation is too strong, could there be a problem?" Chu Wanlian couldn't help but ask.

“This is part of the experiment.” Li Chenyao’s tone remained calm, but she sensed a hint of worry in his slightly furrowed brows.

The blue light from the runes grew stronger, and the air in the laboratory seemed to become oppressive. Suddenly, a dazzling light burst forth from the core device, and the entire room seemed to be instantly engulfed in blue light.

Chu Wanlian felt a sharp headache, as if her body was being torn apart by a powerful force. She covered her forehead with both hands, staggered back two steps, and heard Li Chenyao's voice calling, "Chu Wanlian! What's wrong with you?"

She couldn't answer, and the scene before her seemed to blur. A moment later, she found herself standing in an unfamiliar place. It was a dimly lit environment steeped in history, filled with dust and a musty smell.

"This is... an imperial tomb?" She was stunned, her gaze falling on a fragment of runes not far away.

Xiao Jinlian's figure emerged from the darkness, standing in the core area of ​​the Sacrifice Grounds, clutching a fragment of a rune tightly. Her face was weary, but her eyes shone with determination.

"Xiao Jinlian!" Chu Wanlian called out instinctively.

Xiao Jinlian looked up, her gaze meeting Chu Wanlian's across the distance of time and space. Her lips parted slightly, as if she too could see Chu Wanlian's figure.

"Chu Wanlian?" Xiao Jinlian's voice came softly, tinged with disbelief, "How did you get here?"

“I don’t know, the runic device in this laboratory… seems to have drawn my soul here,” Chu Wanlian replied anxiously.

Xiao Jinlian frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Listen, I can only say this once. The true purpose of the spirit offering ritual is to seal the curse. Don't believe any plans that try to control the energy of the runes; that will only bring greater disaster!"

"But the people in the lab want to use runes to open a soul passage..." Chu Wanlian was about to ask more when she suddenly felt a huge force pulling her backward, and her vision blurred again.

When Chu Wanlian suddenly opened her eyes, she found herself back in the laboratory. Li Chenyao was holding her tightly, his face showing rare concern.

"What happened to you just now?" Li Chenyao's voice was low, but it was filled with obvious anxiety.

Chu Wanlian struggled to stand firm and raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead: "It's just... the energy fluctuations are too strong, I'm a little dizzy."

"Just dizziness?" Li Chenyao narrowed his eyes, clearly not believing her explanation. "Chu Wanlian, you'd better not hide anything."

Chu Wanlian took a deep breath, trying to make her tone sound calm: "President Li, I'm not hiding anything. It's just that the fluctuations just now did make me a little uncomfortable."

Li Chenyao stared at her for a few seconds, but ultimately said nothing. He simply turned and instructed the technicians beside him: "Immediately suspend the experiment and adjust the parameters of the core device."

A staff member's voice came over the loudspeaker: "The test data is abnormal, the system will be shut down soon."

The laboratory gradually returned to calm, but Chu Wanlian's heart remained turbulent. The brief resonance she had just experienced not only made her feel the crisis of the ancient times, but also made her realize that the power of runes was far more complex and dangerous than she had imagined.

“Xiao Jinlian…” she murmured the name, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes. Xiao Jinlian’s words echoed in her mind: “Don’t trust any plan that attempts to control runic energy…”

"What are you thinking about?" Li Chenyao's voice interrupted her thoughts again.

Chu Wanlian raised her head and forced a smile: "It's nothing, I was just thinking about the abnormal data from the experiment."

Li Chenyao gave her a deep look, as if trying to read something from her expression. But in the end, he simply nodded: "I hope so."

The atmosphere in the laboratory had become even more tense due to the rune fluctuations earlier. Chu Wanlian stood in front of the control panel, her eyes fixed on the constantly fluctuating energy index on the screen. The index was approaching the warning line, and each new value jump felt like a countdown to detonating a depth charge.

“If we don’t take action soon, this lab might really get out of control,” Chu Wanlian said in a low voice, her fingers flying across the console as she typed commands, but the piercing alarm of the system made every step she took extremely difficult.

Li Chenyao stood beside her, his face ashen, his voice low and decisive: "The current energy fluctuations have exceeded our predictions. The core device must be shut down immediately."

"The problem is that it's out of control now!" Chu Wanlian slammed her fingers on the keyboard in frustration, saying anxiously, "The rune array's automatic defense mechanism has been triggered, and it has locked the system!"

Li Chenyao calmly analyzed the situation before him. He walked to the backup control panel, opened a document, and quickly browsed through it: "This formation is designed based on the superposition of rune energy. To shut it down... we need to synchronize three sets of commands. But we only have two operators."

Chu Wanlian glared at him, her voice unconsciously rising a few decibels: "I'll handle two groups by myself, you take charge of the third group."

Li Chenyao did not refute, but nodded directly: "Okay, let's split up."

Chu Wanlian quickly moved to the control panel on the right, took a deep breath, and began to activate the reverse adjustment mode of the rune energy. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, alarms blared in her ears, but she tried to concentrate and pressed the synchronization key for the first set of key parameters.

"First group complete!" she shouted.

On the other control panel, Li Chenyao's gaze was calm as he steadily adjusted the energy parameters. His voice was low and powerful: "The second group has reached 80% progress, 20 seconds left."

Chu Wanlian turned her head to look at the main screen. The blue light at the center of the rune array had become extremely dazzling, its brilliance seemingly capable of devouring everything. She gritted her teeth and quickened her movements.

"Second group complete!" Li Chenyao shouted, his voice tense. "Chu Wanlian, the third group requires two people to operate simultaneously."

"I'm here!" Chu Wanlian rushed to his side, and a complex rune structure popped up on the screen. Her eyes widened, and she immediately understood the difficulty involved.

“We must enter the password sequence simultaneously; any delay will result in failure.” Li Chenyao’s eyes were fixed on the screen, his voice firm.

"No problem, I can cooperate." Chu Wanlian took a deep breath, gripped the mouse, and slid her fingertips across the screen, quickly inputting a sequence of symbols.

The two held their breath, their fingers typing intricate rune commands in near-synchronized rhythm. The countdown on the screen was closing rapidly; they had to complete all the input within the last five seconds.

"It'll be soon!" Chu Wanlian whispered.

“The last group!” Li Chenyao said in a deep voice.

"Done!" The two of them pressed the last confirmation button at the same time.

The moment the confirmation button was pressed, the lights in the entire laboratory suddenly dimmed, the blue light at the center of the rune array abruptly contracted, and then suddenly burst out with a violent light wave, causing the two of them to stagger back several steps.

Chu Wanlian steadied herself by holding onto the control panel and looked up at the core area. The blue light gradually weakened, but the energy of the rune array did not completely disappear; instead, it began to operate in a more dangerous way.

"Something's wrong!" she exclaimed. "The device is still running on its own!"

Li Chenyao, his face cold, quickly checked the data: "The remaining energy is locked within the formation. We only stopped its external spread, but its internal circulation continues. If it's not completely shut down, it will continue to accumulate power and eventually erupt."

"Then we'll have to destroy the device directly!" Chu Wanlian said as she quickly ran towards the center of the laboratory.

Li Chenyao stopped her, his tone more stern than ever before: "You can't go in. The energy fluctuations will affect your soul state."

Chu Wanlian looked up at him, her gaze resolute: "Li Chenyao, you can stop me, but can you stop the lab from exploding?"

Li Chenyao paused for a moment, his hands moving slightly. In the end, he didn't say anything more, but turned around and followed her: "Okay, I'll go with you."

As the two approached the core area, blue light flickered like flames, and the air was filled with a scorching heat.

Chu Wanlian's gaze swept over the rune device, quickly locating the core energy source: "There! Destroying that energy core will completely shut down the device."

Li Chenyao glanced at her, picked up a metal rod from the lab, and smashed it towards the energy core without hesitation. However, the metal rod was violently bounced back the instant it touched the energy core.

“It has a protective shield!” Li Chenyao said through gritted teeth.

"Try this set of rune commands!" Chu Wanlian shouted, pointing to the control panel next to the device.

Li Chenyao immediately rushed over to input the rune commands, while Chu Wanlian stood near the core area, her eyes fixed on the changes in the device. Every second felt like an eternity; sweat streamed down her forehead, but her gaze never wavered.

"Defense shield deactivated!" Li Chenyao shouted.

Without hesitation, Chu Wanlian raised her hand and forcefully pulled the control lever to the stop position. The core device emitted a piercing roar, and then the blue light quickly disappeared, plunging the entire laboratory into a deathly silence.

The two slumped to the ground, their chests heaving violently, and a tense silence filled the air.

"Finally... it's resolved," Chu Wanlian said softly.

Li Chenyao leaned against the wall, looking at her with a complicated expression: "You could have chosen not to take the risk just now, why did you insist on doing it?"

Chu Wanlian raised her head, her gaze resolute: "Because this is not just an experiment; it could affect much more. I can't just stand by and watch it get out of control."

Li Chenyao was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "You are stronger than I thought."

He stood up, reached out and pulled Chu Wanlian up, and said in a low voice, "But the matter of the laboratory is far from over. We must find the real mastermind behind it all."

Chu Wanlian nodded, a new determination igniting in her eyes: "I will definitely find out the truth about the runes."