With a deafening roar, louder than any before, the metal plate overhead emitted a teeth-grinding twisting sound, and dust fell like snow, blinding everyone.
That terrifying crack was like the slowly closing mouth of a giant beast, swallowing the last glimmer of light.
“72 hours…” Lu Zhaoming looked at the bright red countdown on the system interface, his heart felt like it was being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, and he could hardly breathe.
The Azure Core—its name sounds fantastical, but it's actually a deadly time bomb.
What's worse, it was still greedily absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy, like a starving ghost reincarnating.
"Ugh..." Su Li groaned, curled up on the ground, her face frighteningly pale.
Lu Zhaoming's heart sank, and he quickly squatted down to check.
The scars left from her previous tortures by experiments were now emitting a faint blue light, as if echoing that damned core.
"Damn human experimentation!" Lu Zhaoming cursed under his breath, took out a vial from his system space, and gently injected it into Su Li.
This medicine was urgently prepared by him based on the formula provided by the system, specifically for post-experimental sequelae, and it was extremely effective.
"How are you feeling?" His tone carried a hint of gentleness that was barely perceptible.
Su Li gently shook her head and weakly said, "I...I seem to...remember some things..."
Lu Zhaoming perked up. "What is it? Is it about the experiment?"
Su Li described in fits and starts that, in her hazy memory, there seemed to be a backup energy room deep inside the experimental base, which might be used to terminate the reboot process of the Azure Core.
Time is of the essence, and there is no room for hesitation.
Lu Zhaoming made a quick decision and decided to go to the energy room himself.
He settled Su Li in a relatively safe shelter, blocked the entrance with some miscellaneous items, and left some food and water.
"Wait for me to come back." His tone was firm, and his eyes were filled with undeniable power, as if he were making a vow.
Su Li looked at him with a complex expression, a mixture of gratitude, worry, and other indescribable emotions.
In the end, she simply nodded slightly. "Be careful, I...I'll wait for you."
At that moment, something seemed to subtly change between the two, and a subtle ambiguity filled the air.
The energy room was located on the lowest level of the base. Lu Zhaoming dodged the crumbling building debris and finally found the entrance.
Pushing open the door, a stench of decay hit me, and what greeted my eyes was a scene of utter chaos. All sorts of equipment were completely destroyed, and wires were coiled on the ground like snakes, with sparks flying everywhere.
Lu Zhaoming frowned. This was clearly sabotage; it seemed someone didn't want the Azure Core to stop operating.
He was preparing to use the system to repair the equipment when suddenly, a cold voice rang out behind him.
"You think you're the only one who knows the truth?"
Lu Zhaoming turned around abruptly and saw Qin Wan'er standing at the door with a cold smile on her face, holding an exquisite pistol in her hand, the muzzle pointed directly at him.
“The Azure Core… is my trump card!” she said, enunciating each word clearly, her eyes flashing with a crazed light.
Qin Wan'er's appearance made Lu Zhaoming realize that things were far more complicated than he had imagined.
This woman is indeed extraordinary; she might be a hidden "sixth brother"!
"What do you want to do?" Lu Zhaoming narrowed his eyes, his tone as cold as ice shards in the dead of winter.
"What for? To send you on your way, of course!" Qin Wan'er grinned maliciously, holding the gun even more firmly in her hand. "Don't think I don't know your background. A transmigrator? Heh, you're nothing but a stinking fish trying to stir up trouble!"
Before she finished speaking, she pulled the trigger.
Several gunshots rang out, and bullets whistled as they flew toward Lu Zhaoming.
He swayed slightly, narrowly dodging the attack, while simultaneously activating the system scan to try and find Qin Wan'er's weakness.
However, the other side was clearly prepared.
She pulled a remote control from her waist and waved it triumphantly. "Do you know what this is? It's the backup reboot password for the Azure Core! If I press the button, the entire base will be blown to smithereens!"
"Crazy woman!" Lu Zhaoming cursed inwardly. This woman was truly insane!
Just as tensions were running high and the atmosphere was extremely tense, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded in the energy room.
"Drip—drip—drip—"
The system's mechanical voice then sounded: "Warning! Abnormal energy accumulation detected. Please evacuate immediately!"
Lu Zhaoming's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't care less about getting entangled with Qin Wan'er and suddenly turned around to look.
On the already cracked wall, a new crack appeared, from which a ghostly blue light surged, like some sleeping monster about to awaken, radiating a chilling energy fluctuation.
"Hehehe... It's no use, it's all too late!" Qin Wan'er laughed maniacally, as if she had seen some hope.
"You..." Lu Zhaoming was about to say something when he found that his throat was as if something was choking him, and he could not make a sound.
He felt a powerful force tearing at his body, as if his internal organs were about to be squeezed out.
He turned his head with difficulty, using all his strength, only to see Qin Wan'er reveal a strange smile...
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