The entire metal tunnel trembled violently! The air was squeezed and ionized by the violent energy, emitting a sharp explosion! The thick metal plates inside the tunnel groaned under the indiscriminate impact, and were instantly covered with spider-web-like cracks!

The first to bear the brunt were the six sweepers that surrounded them in a fan-shaped formation from the front!

The blazing white particle beams hadn't even been fired when they were instantly engulfed and annihilated by the surging, chaotic energy frenzy! The violent energy was like an invisible hammer, slamming down hard on their thick armor!

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Six extremely dull metal explosion sounds rang out almost simultaneously!

The two closest Scavengers' thick armor was instantly torn and twisted like paper! Their delicate internal structures were exposed, and like snowflakes thrown into a furnace, they melted and vaporized in the violent energy turbulence! Their dark blue compound eye arrays shattered like fragile glass under the energy impact! The entire mechanical body was violently thrown away and smashed against the wall of the rear passage, exploding into a cloud of dazzling sparks and metal fragments, completely paralyzed!

The other four, further away, were also violently sent flying by the violent impact! Heavy mechanical limbs scraped against the metal floor, creating dazzling sparks! The rotating particle cannon muzzles twisted and deformed, overloading and short-circuiting the energy circuits, emitting a piercing explosion! The armored surfaces were covered with charred marks and huge dents from the energy corrosion! Although not instantly destroyed, they were clearly severely damaged, their movements becoming staggering and sluggish!

After the energy storm, the tunnel lay in shambles. The metal walls were covered in scorch marks and massive dents from energy burns. The ground was littered with scavenger machine fragments and droplets of molten metal. The six remaining scavengers (four severely damaged, two relatively intact) had their dark blue compound eyes flashing wildly, as if reassessing the target's threat level. They temporarily halted their attacks, their cold scanning beams sweeping back and forth over Pei Du.

The price is heavy.

puff--!

Pei Du suddenly spat out a mouthful of "blood" mixed with dark golden law fragments and viscous, dark blue life-sustaining fluid! The blood splattered onto the dark red crystal visor inside his helmet, then flowed down through the cracks. The excruciating pain within him reached an unprecedented peak! Forcibly detonating the conflicting energy core was like setting off a bomb within his body! More and deeper, terrifying cracks appeared in the law structure of the core area! The dark red energy turbulence lost most of its restraints, crashing wildly through the body like an out-of-control wild horse! The cold, ancient will seemed to be wounded by this violent outburst, its whispers becoming weak and chaotic, but it did not disappear. Instead, like a wounded venomous snake, it dormant deeper, carrying a deeper malice.

Even more deadly was the crimson embers belonging to Xu Shuangyao...

In the destructive energy release just now, it was like a firefly thrown into a storm, its light... completely extinguished.

Deep within her core, that last cold connection with the remnants of her will... was completely severed.

An indescribable feeling of icy emptiness, as if the entire universe had lost its color, instantly consumed Pei Du's remaining consciousness. It was more painful than the disintegration of his body, colder than the threat of death. The figure that had vanished as Eden crumbled, the one who had imprinted his last hope and the icy key deep within his soul... the last trace of her in this world... vanished completely.

[The End Key…Authority Core…Signal…Disappeared…]

[Affiliate Agreement…Termination…]

A cold reminder, like a final epitaph.

"Frost... medicine..." A nearly inaudible whisper, a mixture of metallic friction and endless grief, emanated from within the helmet. The heavy steel body leaned against the wall, losing its last bit of support and slowly sliding downward. The helmet drooped limply, the mixture of liquids flowing from the dark red crystal visor like tears of blood.

Despair, like the black tide of entropy swirling outside the tunnel, completely drowned his soul. Within him was a chaotic furnace on the verge of exploding, outside him was a murderous machine lurking precariously, behind him was the black tide of extinction, and within him... only endless, cold, eternal... nothingness remained.

Just then!

Buzz——!!!

A vibration that was far more powerful, ancient, and majestic than the previous one when the scavenger was activated suddenly came from the bottom of the passage - the deepest part of the Ark's core!

This vibration was not a mechanical hum, but more like... the beating of an enormous metal heart that had been silent for billions of years... and was forcibly awakened!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Heavy and slow, yet carrying a force that shook space itself! Each beat sent a dull, ancient war drum-like resonance through the entire metal tunnel! The thick rust accumulated on the tunnel's inner walls rustled down, and the ground trembled with it!

This sudden vibration originating from the core of the Ark itself instantly broke the brief stalemate!

The remaining scavenger machines, their dark blue compound eye arrays suddenly shifted their focus from Pei Du and turned in unison towards the darkness below the passage! Their scanning beams became extremely rapid, and the mechanical humming within instantly rose in volume, filled with... chaos and incomprehensible logical errors!

[Core...abnormal...activated...! ]

[Threat level...re-evaluated...!]

[Highest priority...target...transfer...! ]

[Clear... the core... the source of interference...! ]

A cold electronic command echoed among the scavengers! They seemed to have instantly forgotten Pei Du, who was leaning against the wall, barely breathing. All the rotating particle cannons (including the four damaged ones) simultaneously turned their direction, and the blazing white light lit up again. This time, the target was directly aimed at the dark abyss below the passage, where a heavy heartbeat came from!

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!