No matter how much the players were worried, a new day still arrived.
The morning sunlight shone through the thin mist onto the island. Shen Jue stood atop the newly built central control tower, overlooking the entire island.
Thanks to the pirates' tireless work day and night, 40% of the land has been developed.
Neat arrays of solar panels shimmer in the sunlight as an automated irrigation system delivers nutrients to the crop area.
"Island Master, the defense system has been fully tested and configured," Jack's voice came through the communicator. "Shall we demonstrate it now?"
Shen Jue responded and opened the holographic projection interface.
A pale blue light screen unfolded in front of her, displaying a three-dimensional model of the entire island.
She tapped a few icons and activated the first layer of defense.
In an instant, dozens of turrets rose from the edge of the island, and an energy barrier enveloped the entire island like a water curtain.
"Activate the second layer of defense," she continued, issuing the order.
A slight tremor came from the ground, and the automatic turret hidden in the vegetation slowly rose up.
These turrets are equipped with the latest energy weapons, enabling them to deal with both air and underwater threats in Shen Jue's absence.
A fortified position was essential, especially after witnessing the destruction of his elder brothers', second brothers', third sisters', and fourth sisters' islands. Shen Jue became even more devoted to his own island.
After the second layer of defense was activated, the game system's notification assistant spoke again.
[Warning! Unknown energy interference detected]
[Defense system stability: 89%]
[Energy Barrier Strength: Fluctuating]
"Island Master, the turrets in the East District are acting strangely!" Jack's voice was filled with panic. "They...they're automatically recharging!"
Shen Jue quickly pulled up the surveillance footage from the East District. He saw that the turrets were rotating uncontrollably, and the energy readings were far beyond the normal range.
"Immediately cut off the energy supply to the East District!" Shen Jue issued the order while rapidly tapping the control panel.
However, a blinding red light shot into the sky from the eastern district.
Shen Jue felt the ground beneath her feet shake violently, and the glass windows of the control tower groaned under the strain.
[WARNING! External energy intrusion]
System core stability: 72%
[It is recommended to activate the emergency response plan immediately.]
Shen Jue gritted her teeth. The energy equipment provided by the system was still malfunctioning. Fortunately, she often absorbed and studied in her spare time.
Shen Jue quickly typed in a string of emergency codes.
This was the backup system she was preparing; she didn't expect it to come in handy so quickly.
As the last character was entered, the entire island suddenly plunged into darkness. Three seconds later, backup power activated, and the defense system came back online.
Shen Jue breathed a sigh of relief, but soon realized that things were not so simple.
The data from the defense system is extremely unstable, with some data even starting to flow in the opposite direction.
She checked the system logs and found that an unfamiliar program was trying to access the main system.
"Island Master, you'd better take a look at this," Jack's voice came again. "We've found some...strange things in the East District."
Shen Jue quickly walked down the observation tower and headed towards the eastern area.
During the journey, her communicator suddenly vibrated; it was a message from her fourth sister, Balsa:
"Xiao Jue, some strange things are happening on my island. I can't contact Xing Ran right now. After thinking about it, the only one who can purify things is you. Could you come over and help me figure out what's going on?"
Shen Jue briefly explained the situation, saying that she had something to do and might have to wait a while before she could go.
He also instructed Balsa not to touch anything within the abnormal range on the island.
However, when she arrived in the East District, the scene before her made her temporarily forget her fourth sister's invitation.
The once neat array of gun emplacements was now entangled by some kind of black vines, the surface of which was covered with fine scales that gleamed with a metallic sheen in the sunlight.
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