"Cough, cough..." Wen Shifei coughed violently, her lungs aching. She covered her mouth and nose with one hand, groping for the slippery, cold walls of the tube with the other, struggling to move downward. The dizziness from mental exhaustion and the excruciating pain from the wound on her arm constantly assaulted her consciousness, causing her vision to black out.

Applejack was below her, using the butt of his shotgun to brace himself against the wall, trying to keep his balance while listening closely to the sounds behind him. "Damn it... I can't shake them off! They're chasing me so closely!"

Lu Cheneng was at the front, following closely behind the shadowy figure of the mysterious man. Every time his left Mithril arm touched the slippery tube wall, it brought a piercing backlash of energy. The burning sensation of the chip in his brain was like a malignant tumor, gnawing at his nerves. Sweat mixed with stained blood dripped continuously along his tense jawline. He clenched his teeth, using all his strength to maintain his balance and keep up with the ghostly speed. His sister was in that man's hands, he couldn't lose her! Absolutely not!

The only light came from the two crimson electronic eyepieces on the mysterious man's mask, like will-o'-the-wisp floating in the darkness, steadily guiding the way ahead. His movements were flawless. Even in such a slippery and steep environment, he held Lu Qingyi in his arms, maintaining an almost inhuman stability and speed, as if he knew the complex terrain like the back of his hand.

The pipes began to branch. Some were equally narrow maintenance passages, while others led to dark, cavernous gaps leading to deeper, vast spaces. From within, an even stronger ominous aura emanated, and one could faintly hear the sounds of flowing water and the rustling of some kind of rodent.

The mysterious man didn't hesitate at all. His electronic compound eyes scanned the forks in the road, always instantly selecting a path and diving in without hesitation. His choices seemed haphazard, yet he always deftly avoided those dangerous openings. And with each choice, the clamor of the pursuing troops behind him seemed to recede a little.

"He's taking us on a detour... to shake off the pursuers..." Wen Shifei panted, observing the mysterious man's choices with the dim light, feeling a sense of uncertainty. This person's familiarity with the abandoned structures deep within the fortress was simply terrifying! This was definitely not something an outsider could achieve in a short period of time!

Suddenly, the mysterious figure stopped at the corner of a relatively spacious pipe ahead. Its crimson electronic compound eyes swept over the three people struggling to keep up behind it, finally landing on Lu Chenen's mithril left arm, which was covered in energy cracks and continuously emitting scorching white gas.

"Energy leak. Attraction." A cold electronic voice rang out in the darkness, stating facts with indifference.

Lu Cheneng's heart trembled! Was the Mithril Arm's energy leaking?! He suddenly realized that the Mithril Arm had sustained heavy damage from fighting the monster and forcibly reversing the blade's momentum. The protective force field of the energy core had long been damaged. The energy fluctuations that continued to escape were like a beacon in the dark night for the pursuing chaebol soldiers equipped with sophisticated detection equipment!

"Needs... shielding," the mysterious man continued. His black-armored mechanical arm still held Lu Qingyi firmly, while his other hand quickly operated the tactical panel at his waist. The panel's dim blue light illuminated a corner of his cold, hard metal mask.

A few seconds later, he raised his mechanical hand, and the wrist armor slid open silently, revealing not a weapon but a small, square device that flashed a steady blue light. He pressed a button on the device, which landed on Shen En's mithril left arm.

Buzz——!

An invisible energy field with weak magnetic force instantly enveloped Lu Chenen's entire mithril arm!

A miracle happened!

The scorching white energy that continuously emanated from the surface of the mithril arm was instantly snuffed out, as if by an invisible giant hand! The spiderweb-like energy cracks still existed, but the violent energy leakage suddenly vanished! Even the insane burning pain in the core of the brain chip seemed to be slightly weakened by this strange energy field. Although the pain was still excruciating, it was no longer a constant and frantic tearing!

Lu Cheneng took a sharp breath, feeling as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders. The heaviness and sluggishness in his body were significantly reduced! He stared in shock at his temporarily "quiet" mithril arm, then suddenly glanced at the mysterious man. This man... who was he? Not only did he possess a weapon capable of suppressing the chaebol chip, but he also possessed a device capable of shielding against mithril energy leaks?!

"Hurry up!" Wen Shifei warned hurriedly. The sounds of the pursuers climbing and shouting from behind seemed clearer. It was obvious that they also had night vision or detection equipment and had not been completely shaken off.

The mysterious man put away his device, his electronic compound eyes scanning the crowd. Without any explanation, he turned and disappeared into the darkness ahead again. However, this time, his speed seemed to slow down a bit, as if he was confirming Lu Chen's entropy.

With the energy leak shielded, the group's pace increased significantly. Led by the mysterious figure, they were like blood cells traveling through abandoned blood vessels beneath the fortress, descending and descending, passing through narrow pipes, bypassing bottomless abandoned shafts, and even wading through a short, knee-deep, icy, and stench-filled sewage pit.

The sound of the pursuers behind was gradually blocked by the complex terrain and shielding effect.

Just when everyone's tense nerves relaxed a little, the mysterious man leading the way suddenly stopped.

Crimson electronic compound eyes watched warily at a massive gap in the pipe ahead. The gap led to a vaster space, where a faint, dark green light shone from an unknown source. Simultaneously, an extremely strong stench, a mixture of blood, decay, and the sweet stench of some chemical reagent, gushed out from the gap like a tangible wall, even more sickening than the odor within the pipe!

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