He broke free from Wen Shifei's support, and though his steps were a little unsteady, he still strode forward, heading deeper into the factory, towards the direction where the humming sound was growing louder and louder. Ajie and Anvil followed closely behind, warily scanning the dark corners around them. No one knew how many of these terrifying mutant monsters might be lurking there.

The air deep within the factory grew increasingly foul, and the humming sound of rusting metal and high-voltage electricity grew ever clearer, as if a gigantic monster composed of steel and energy lay dormant just ahead. Pipes crisscrossed like the blood vessels of a behemoth. Some of the long-dried pipe joints now strangely oozed a dark purple, viscous, oil-like energy fluid, emitting a sickening odor and faint waves of mental pollution.

Finally, they passed through the last heavy metal gate covered with rusty valves (the gate had been forcibly torn apart by some huge force), and a huge space appeared before them.

This is the heart of the factory - the central control room.

It wasn't so much a control room as it was the heart of a vast, abandoned hive, constructed from machinery. The towering dome was covered in thick, rusted pipes and broken cables, like dying blood vessels and nerves. In the center, a massive "core," constructed from countless discarded consoles, server cabinets, and unidentified mechanical devices, stacked, twisted, and forcibly welded, stood tall. Over ten meters high, its surface thick with dust and oil, its cracks gleaming with an ominous, flickering, dark purple and blue light.

It was this massive "core" that continuously emitted a low, humming sound! It was like a living, rusting, metal heart struggling to recover! Countless thick cables, flashing with unstable arcs, extended from the core like umbilical cords, connecting to the surrounding walls and ground, as if greedily absorbing the remaining energy of the entire factory, as well as... some kind of energy from deep within the earth's veins?

And at the very bottom of the core, in a relatively "regular" area, Wen Shifei's gaze froze instantly!

There, embedded in the main console, covered in dust and stains, but relatively intact in structure! In the center of the console, a circular groove, clearly some kind of precision interface, was emitting a faint, blue light that longed to be filled!

The shape... size... of the groove...

Wen Shifei's heart began to beat wildly! She trembled and raised the blood-stained scalpel engraved with the flying bird symbol in her hand!

The abstract pattern of a flying bird at the end of the hilt seemed to come alive, flapping its wings as if ready to fly, illuminated by the faint blue light of the console!

"The key... that's it!" Wen Shifei's voice was filled with uncontrollable excitement and... a hint of fear at the unknown. She walked step by step towards the massive, roaring metal core, towards the interface emitting a faint blue light. Lu Cheneng, Ajie, and Tiezhen followed closely behind, vigilantly observing their surroundings and the roaring core. The purple lightning on the magic blade danced uneasily, as if sensing a vast, yet threatening, power of the same origin.

Just when Wen Shifei was about to insert the bird carving knife in his hand into the dark blue interface——

Boom!!!

The entire control room—no, the entire factory ruins—suddenly shook violently! It was as if a massive earthquake had struck! Rusted pipes and broken cables from the dome fell like raindrops!

With a teeth-grinding sound of metal tearing, the thick alloy wall on the other side of the control room was ripped open by an unimaginable force! Amidst the smoke and dust, a massive, ferocious mechanical figure, radiating dark purple energy veins, slowly stepped into the space!

It had a humanoid silhouette, but its entire body was covered in thick biometal armor studded with spikes and cannons. Its joints were thick hydraulic systems and wriggling biotubes. Its head was a single sensor eye gleaming with a cold purple light, and beneath it were cutting devices resembling insect mouthparts. One of its arms was a massive chainsaw sword with spinning energy serrations, while the other held a dark purple energy cannon, charging, its muzzle emitting destructive waves!

A cold, emotionless electronic synthesizer sound echoed through the loudspeakers in the roaring control room, with an indifference like looking down on an ant:

"Experimental material recovery protocol initiated. Target: Wen Yuan gene sequence carrier (Wen Shifei), highly compatible energy carrier (Lu Chenentang). Clear...obstacles."