Cyberpunk: Spartan Walker

He sighed and stretched out his fingers blankly to trace these strange symbols. They are as smooth as glass, yet their edges are sharp. These crystals may be a natural phenomenon. He had seen such mineral composition in the museum

Suddenly, Fred felt a burning pain in his fingertips. He quickly retracted his bare arm and saw a small trail of blood on the rock.

The glittering symbols on the walls became shaped like grease. The light on his helmet shone on it, and the reflection was particularly bright.

He turned off his helmet's light. The symbols in the rock emitted a faint glow of their own accord: like the soft red glow of heated metal. The light gradually intensified, starting from where the blood dripped and slowly expanded to the spiral pattern on the wall. The temperature of those symbols also continued to rise, from a pleasant orange to a golden yellow.

A new symbol appeared in the center of the spiral that didn't exist a second ago. Maybe it was already there, just hidden underneath. It gets hotter and hotter, and the image becomes clearer and clearer, until finally a triangle of white light flashes before our eyes.

Fred could not resist the appeal of the central pattern, and he stretched his hand toward it, feeling no heat. He slowly extended his arm and touched the symbol with his bare fingertips.

Warm white light diffuses along the spiral formed by the symbols, then traces a path down the corridor into the distance. The entire cave seemed to be filled with vivid light and shadow all of a sudden. Even as the dwindling light seeped into his helmet, his eyes had to blink a few times before narrowing.

The wall in front of him rumbled, and no less than ten line-like cracks appeared in the central pattern. They curved to form a radial pattern - and then parted to both sides, revealing a corridor hidden behind.

Fred realized then that he had been holding his breath. He exhaled.

The new corridor is twenty meters high - so big that even a giant could walk in it. It disappears in a straight line into the distance, with a gentle slope, continuing deeper underground.

The floor is paved with uneven blue tiles that create a pattern of waves crashing on the beach. A four-meter-tall golden symbol is embedded in the center of the glass-smooth wall. These huge triangles, squares, bars, and circles emitted the same soft light. Fred felt his feet slowly leaning on them.

He paused, shook his head, and looked away. He checked the radiation meter. It clicked upward for a while, then dropped back to normal.

He opened the communication channel. Dr. Halsey, I think I found what you've been looking for. Please reply.

There was a long pause. The communication channel was open, but Dr. Halsey did not respond.

Dr. Halsey, please reply.

Okay, she finally said over the comm channel, Don't move, Fred, and don't touch anything. Good job. Other Spartans, meet me at Fred's location.

Fred wanted to take a closer look at the golden symbols and their glow, but something warned him of the dangers of doing so. He had long ago learned to listen to his inner voice when on patrol or in the heat of battle, which had saved him from dozens of ambushes.

He turned his eyes to the dirt floor of the tunnel. Those symbols are so charming and familiar. They reminded him of the Greek mythology taught by Deja, the Spartan's first teacher: There is a story about a kind of natural beauty that people will never forget after seeing it. Specially designed to lure weak-willed people into death. They are sirens.

He checked the rifle. The ammo gauge read 60, but he opened the magazine to see what he believed, and loaded the magazine again. These simple actions clear his mind.

He noticed six dots appearing on the motion detector—they flashed green, indicating friend rather than enemy.

The Spartans trotted to his side, their weapons ready to face the enemy.

What is this? Will whispered. Golden light reflected on the visor of his helmet.

Careful, Fred warned him, use the display to filter the light. Switch to black and white image enhancement.

He received six blue acknowledgments, and Fred adjusted his display to this state. What's interesting is that he didn't think of this for himself just now. He only woke up when the team's safety was threatened.

Dr. Halsey ran down the tunnel and stopped beside the Spartan, panting.

Yes, she said breathlessly, yes, it must be it, what Exxon has been looking for. Most likely. She looked at it, It is also what they are looking for, I guess. .”

Dr. Halsey ignored the strange symbols and lights and strode into the new corridor. Hurry! she told them. I'm afraid we've triggered something and our visitors upstairs may know about it.

Fred gathered the team and formed a formation with Dr. Halsey at the center. Kelly took the lead, and the rest of the team formed a quadrilateral around the doctor.

Dr. Halsey handed Fred his missing arm cuff. He caught it, twisted his fingers and inserted them into the armor, tightening and sealing the locking ring at his wrist. Diagnostics activated, confirming that his armor was intact. His motion detector feeds a signal into the heads-up display.

As they made their way down, the corridor changed. The golden light on the ceiling gradually dimmed, the entire area was shrouded in inky black, and more and more twinkling little stars appeared.

Fred added more colors to the display, wanting to see it more clearly. The moon rotates overhead, and the silver-gray planet, which is cratered by meteor impacts, moves in its orbit. Along the wall are green grass shaped like bamboos, which sprout and grow taller until they break out of the curved wall.

Le Kuixing Dr. Halsey muttered, staring at a golden symbol on the ceiling.

What? Fred asked subconsciously.

I have seen this symbol in relevant information. It refers to the name of a place. She shook her head again, as if explaining this to Fred was of no use. Go on, you will have a chance to explore if you survive. after all.

Dr. Halsey brushed her fingertips along the wall, and the grass swayed as she touched it. Semi-solid holography, she said as she walked, The holographic imager cannot be seen, which is interesting. We will study it later, she quickened her pace as she spoke, if we have time.

The holographic environment becomes like a desolate moon surface: there are many and deep pits, and the light is pale. Then it turned into a volcanic world again, with lava flowing around them. The moving air is hot. No matter what changes happened, those golden symbols still remained on the wall, guiding them out of the illusion.