Buzz——!
An indescribable, low humming sound, as if emanating from the cosmic primordial chaos, traveled not through the air but directly impacted everyone's bones, internal organs, and the depths of their souls! The massive factory frame, upon which the entire rooftop ruins lay, melted like biscuits tossed into a furnace. In the silent red glow, starting from the top, layer by layer, unstoppably descended... annihilated!
Steel, concrete, abandoned machinery, stacked containers... all matter, before this crimson orbital annihilation beam, was like ice and snow in the sun, vaporizing and disappearing in an instant! No explosion, no shock wave, only the purest annihilation, returning to nothingness!
"No--!!!" Wrench's desperate roar was drowned in the dead silence! He instinctively rushed towards Leah and the nurse who were performing the operation!
My mind froze at that moment. All that remained in my vision was the all-consuming crimson. Death, so near, so cold and absolute.
At this critical moment, when consciousness is about to be completely swallowed by the red light of death!
Buzz——!
A completely different, yet equally immense, force erupted from the core of the "Data Heart" deep within my chest! It wasn't the gentle energy of the "Oasis," but something deeper, more ancient, as if it had lain dormant for eons, forcibly awakened by the threat of death!
This force was cold and vast, carrying a sense of absolute control that transcended the laws of matter! It instantly took over my consciousness. The scarlet death light in my vision did not disappear, but the terrifying energy lines that composed it were forcibly "analyzed" and "disassembled"! No longer a torrent of destruction, it became countless basic data links that could be observed and... interfered with!
A single thought, like an icy decree, instantly generated and launched, driven by this vast power! Its target wasn't the devastating orbital beam itself (that was beyond the current limits of its power), but the spatial structure at the end of the beam, about to touch us! There, an infinitesimally small "spatial anchor" maintained the stable transmission of the beam's energy!
[Instructions: Forced injection of logical paradox (memetic level). Target: Orbital strike terminal-space stability anchor (Node ID: Ω-Ultimate).]
Buzz!
That space, enveloped in crimson light and on the verge of annihilation, strangely flickered... like a lightbulb with a faulty connection! The terrifying, relentless flow of energy that formed the annihilating beam, upon reaching that flickering space, experienced a tiny, yet devastating, chain reaction... a stutter!
It’s this “lag” of one billionth of a second!
The crimson orbital beam, powerful enough to flatten the entire factory, was like an invisible giant hand shifting its sights, its destructive path ever so slightly deflected! The death beam, which had originally enveloped the entire rooftop with pinpoint accuracy, brushed past the edge of the ruins where we lay, and fiercely "smashed" down!
Boom——!!!
This time, there was a deafening roar! It was like the earth's crust was being torn apart! The terrifying energy didn't annihilate matter, but was released in the most violent manner! The entire huge abandoned factory building we were in, along with the surrounding ground for hundreds of meters, was like being stomped by a giant! The ground heaved and collapsed wildly! The violent shockwave mixed with scorching earth, rock, and metal fragments, forming a devastating circular earth wave that swept in all directions with the force of a tidal wave!
"pay close attention--!!!"
I only managed one last roar before the violent shockwave blew me away! My body, like a leaf caught in a gust of wind, slammed hard against the parapet behind me! Instant pain shot through my body! My vision went black, and all I could hear was the roar of the world collapsing and an endless humming sound!
Consciousness sank and fell amidst the severe pain and shock...
I don’t know how long it took, maybe only a few seconds, maybe a century.
The biting cold and suffocating feeling pulled me back from the brink of coma.
I snapped my eyes open and choked on a mouthful of dirty water, slick with sand and the smell of rust. The cold mud nearly reached my chest. Above me, huge, twisted, and broken steel bars pointed like the fangs of a giant beast at the gray sky. Rainwater streamed down the broken steel bars, slamming into my face. All around me was dead silence, broken only by the sound of rain and the groaning of the slowly crumbling structure in the distance.
Am I still alive? How about everyone else?
I struggled, trying to stand up from the cold mud, my bones all protesting in pain. At this moment, a very light but unusually clear sound of footsteps, breaking the sound of dripping rain, came from not far away.
Snap… Snap…
His footsteps on the wet rubble were steady and slow, with a calmness like a cat playing with a mouse.
I raised my head with difficulty and looked through the gaps in the steel bars and the dense curtain of smoke, dust and rain.
A figure stood quietly on a relatively intact concrete platform not far away. He wore no protective gear, only a perfectly tailored dark gray couture suit. He looked strangely elegant and eerie amidst the apocalyptic ruins. Rain streamed down his meticulously groomed silver-gray hair, sliding across his handsome, almost perfectly handsome face, devoid of any human warmth. His eyes were pure, cold gold, like two balls of solidified liquid metal, looking down calmly and condescendingly at me struggling in the mud.
The corners of his mouth slowly curled up into a very faint arc, but one that was enough to freeze the soul.
"Truly... astonishingly tenacious." A gentle, melodious voice, as magnetic as a cello, pierced the rain and reached my ears. With an inhuman, pure admiration, as if evaluating an intriguing experiment, it spoke with an inhuman, pure appreciation. "It's able to disrupt the orbital lock of the 'Sky Punishment'... even if it's only a tiny deviation. It seems the authority granted to you by the 'Oasis' is... much deeper than we anticipated."
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