Upon hearing the countdown to the self-destruct program, Lu Zhaoming's mind raced.
He quickly scanned his surroundings, assessed the situation, and ordered the blacksmith and Afu, "Brothers, find an exit for me, and be quick!" Before he finished speaking, he glared at Professor Lin and, without waiting for the other to speak, coldly added, "Professor, you help look too, time is running out!"
Professor Lin's face turned deathly pale, but he still nodded and shakily joined the search for the exit.
Lu Zhaoming was not distracted for long. He quickly ran to the self-destruct device, his brows furrowed, and his eyes flashing with determination.
He reached out a hand and touched the cold metal surface, his fingers gliding over it as if trying to sense its internal structure.
“Once this device is activated, it is almost impossible to shut it off manually.” Professor Lin’s urgent voice came from behind, his tone tinged with despair.
Lu Zhaoming's lips curled up slightly. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, switched to Judgment Eye mode, and the internal structure diagram of the device instantly appeared before his eyes.
He quickly scanned and analyzed the data, discovering a crucial path—by reversing the energy flow, the explosion could be temporarily delayed.
"Beep beep—Warning!" The system issued another cold warning, but Lu Zhaoming was already confident.
His fingers moved swiftly across the surface of the device, precisely touching every key point.
The flow of energy was gradually reversed, and the light from the device dimmed slightly, but did not stop completely.
Just as Lu Zhaoming was operating the device, the white-robed troops led by the Green Snake finally broke through the core area and entered the secret passage.
The green snake's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and with a cold smile, it slowly walked towards Lu Zhaoming: "Lu Zhaoming, you really are here. Today is your death day!"
Lu Zhaoming did not panic. Instead, he raised the corners of his mouth, looking confident: "Green Snake, you've come at the right time." He deliberately stalled for time, pretending to fight with all his might, but his eyes were secretly signaling to Qinglian and the blacksmith to prepare for evacuation.
Qinglian understood immediately and quickly relayed the message to the blacksmith and Afu. The three of them began to make preparations in secret.
The blacksmith quietly checked his tools to make sure they were ready to use, while Afu kept a close eye on every corner of the secret passage, looking for any possible escape route.
Seeing that Lu Zhaoming remained unmoved, Green Snake was enraged and ordered the white-robed troops to launch an attack.
In an instant, lasers flew everywhere in the secret passage, and explosions were heard incessantly.
Using his Eye of Judgment, Lu Zhaoming precisely dodged every attack while silently calculating the energy critical point of the self-destruct device.
“The situation is getting worse and worse, Lu Zhaoming!” Professor Lin’s voice trembled slightly, but Lu Zhaoming just smiled faintly: “No, quite the opposite, the scales of victory are about to tip.”
Just then, a system notification sounded in Lu Zhaoming's mind: "Judgment Storm II new form unlocked, ability amplification effect enhanced."
"Back off!" the green snake cried out in alarm, but it was too late.
The energy fluctuations of the self-destruct device grew stronger, causing the entire secret passage to shake violently. Gravel fell from the ceiling, and the surrounding walls cracked, emitting dull thuds.
Green Snake's expression changed drastically, and she tried to retreat, but Lu Zhaoming coldly said, "Since you're here, don't even think about leaving."
Lu Zhaoming used the mechanisms within the ruins to quickly trigger the hidden traps.
A massive iron net descended from the ceiling, trapping the white-robed troops in the collapsed area.
The green snake, entangled in the iron net, struggled and let out a desperate roar: "Lu Zhaoming, you can't escape!"
Lu Zhaoming gave a cold laugh, turned around and gestured to the blacksmith and the others: "Let's go!" He led the way into the depths of the secret passage, with the ruins collapsing behind him.
Just as they were about to leave, the system notification sounded in Lu Zhaoming's mind again: "Energy interference has been cleared. You can try to absorb the remaining energy of the Life Matrix to upgrade."
Lu Zhaoming executed the command without hesitation, and the system instantly completed an optimization, unlocking the ability amplification range expansion function.
This change boosted Lu Zhaoming's confidence, and he secretly plotted how to use his new abilities to fight against the White Robe's higher-ups.
Just when everyone thought they had safely evacuated, a huge metal door suddenly appeared at the end of the secret passage.
Just when everyone thought they had safely evacuated, a huge metal door suddenly appeared at the end of the secret passage, like a lurking steel behemoth, blocking their way.
The door was covered with dazzling runes, like distorted human faces, silently mocking their wretched state.
"Holy crap, what the hell is this?!" The blacksmith's eyes widened, his rough voice echoing in the narrow passage, making everyone's eardrums hurt. "It looks really intimidating!"
Professor Lin walked forward shakily, wearing thick glasses, and leaned closer to examine the runes. His old face instantly lost all color.
"This...this is the last line of defense! It can only be opened after verification! Otherwise..." He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone could hear the despair in his voice.
Lu Zhaoming stared at the door, feeling the cold texture of the metal, and an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.
A faint smell of blood, mixed with the stench of dust, filled the air, making it hard to breathe.
“If the verification fails, we might be trapped here and die,” he said in a low voice, his tone unusually grave.
Ah Fu swallowed hard and asked cautiously, "Brother Lu, should we go back the way we came? Maybe there's another way out over there..."
"What kind of way out is this!" the blacksmith spat. "I'd rather die here than be captured by those white-robed scum and used for experiments!"
Qinglian stood silently beside Lu Zhaoming, her eyes resolute.
Faced with the massive metal door, Lu Zhaoming quickly calmed down. He reached out and gently stroked the strange runes on the door, as if sensing the breath of history...
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