Chapter 57 Chapter 57 The Fourth Wish
There was a ladder inside the tower, but it was extremely narrow, only wide enough for one person. System 05 descended first, flashlight in hand, allowing him to see the scene below. The bottom was only about ten meters from the entrance. When he stepped onto the hard stone brick floor, the confined and narrow space made a thud. System 05 lowered his head and quickly found the entrance to the lower floor.
Chen Mu also climbed down the stairs. They opened the entrance, and below was another ladder, though the light was even dimmer, and the faint rustling of crawling insects could be heard. There were some infected insects down there, and just in case, System 05 had summoned the Avengers in advance.
The two climbed down one after the other, and were indeed attacked by infected insects and some mutated creatures they had never seen before.
This floor was only ten meters high, and the two found the entrance in the same place. At this time, through the thick walls, they could hear the sound of the sea flowing outside.
Thump, thump, thump. The only sounds within the tower were their footsteps and breathing. Darkness enveloped them, and wherever the flashlight shone, it was all monotonous white bricks. The further down they went, the heavier the invisible pressure grew. System 05 silently counted the floors until they reached the ninth floor, ninety meters below the sea. Instead of an entrance, they saw a metal door nearby. The display next to it had only a down button, much like an elevator.
System 05 intuitively thought that this was the place leading to Water City, but how could he get down? He couldn't open the elevator door with brute force. While System 05 was staring at the elevator door in thought, Chen Mu pressed the button.
"Uh-huh?!"
A moment later, the button lit up, and at the same time, a rumbling sound came from below. About ten minutes later, the rough mechanical friction sound became closer and closer.
It was incredible. After all these years, the elevator was still functioning. How did it store energy? As the elevator ascended, he heard a creaking sound from within. The moment the elevator doors opened, a swarm of black insects swarmed out, instantly obscuring the view. But they were greeted by the flames of the Avengers, and the narrow space suddenly filled with the smell of burning protein.
System 05 checked once more before entering the elevator with Chen Mu. The doors closed and the elevator began to descend at a steady pace. Bright red numbers on the nearby display indicated their current position: 100 meters underwater, 200 meters underwater, 500 meters underwater…
The process was so long. Even though they were in a completely sealed elevator, the thought of being five hundred meters above sea level was so nerve-wracking that it made him want to vomit. He also felt a sense of loneliness, far away from the safety of human society. This was a natural human reaction. System 05 took a deep breath, suppressing the fear that was bubbling up in his bones. He had been out of his human body for so long that this fear was like a thick layer of glass, having little effect on him. But he turned his head and saw Chen Mu's face was pale, his forehead was covered with sweat, his lips were tightly pursed, his pupils were slightly constricted, and he looked extremely painful.
System 05 immediately grabbed his hand. Chen Mu looked over and barely moved his lips, but no words came out. System 05 quickly searched the warehouse, finding a skill card that could help people relax. Then, he pressed tightly against Chen Mu. Despite the heavy clothes between them, the physical contact gave Chen Mu psychological support.
Humans are social animals.
Such a violent reaction shows that Chen Mu is still a human being and retains human instincts, but what about him?
The elevator reached 1,500 meters underwater and finally stopped.
System 05 stared at the elevator door. It would be disastrous if seawater rushed in after it opened, even though they had made ample preparations. With a click, the elevator door opened, revealing a clean, spacious, and bright lobby.
They tentatively walked out. Everything was fine. The strange feeling of fear had disappeared, and they could breathe freely, just like they were on land. The lights were bright, indicating that there was enough energy. There was even a gentle announcement on the radio:
"Welcome to the Energy Research and Development Center. For your safety, please abide by the rules in this area."
"First, please do not go to the dangerous area."
"Second, please do not touch the internal facilities at will."
"Third, please be sure to take relevant protective measures."
"Fourth, please follow the leader closely. If you have any questions, please ask the leader."
"Next, our guide will lead visitors around the Energy Research and Development Center. Please abide by the rules of the area. Violations will be at your own risk."
After the central broadcast stopped, a cylindrical machine moved over, roughly to the waist of System 05, with a circle of blue light above it indicating that it was in operation.
"Hello, visitors. I am the guide. Welcome to Water City—Energy Research and Development Center. The current time is—August 3, 2177—and our itinerary for today is…"
The leader welcomed the two with a warm and enthusiastic tone, just as he had a hundred years ago. The changes in the outside world had not affected this place or these machines. No matter what happened, they would continue to do their work step by step.
There are many rooms on both sides of the corridor. The guide gave them detailed explanations, but the visitors' privileges were very low, so the guide would prevent them from entering and they could only take a quick look.
System 05 stopped in front of a room and looked inside. The leader also stopped, and System 05 asked, "Where is this place?"
"kitchen."
"Can I go in and take a look?"
"Yes," the leader said, "The R&D center's cafeteria has a rich menu. You can dine there if you purchase value-added services."
The guide stood at the door and tried to open it. The blue light flashed again and again, but the door remained unresponsive. After several attempts, the guide said, "It seems there's a malfunction. I'm going to ask the supervisor to check it out."
It probably sent out a request and waited there motionless. It seemed that this machine had some intelligence but not much. All the doors were closed and System 05 could not open them. However, when he walked again, the leader no longer caught up with him.
Is this a card bug?
The leader couldn't wait for the supervisor's reply. System 05 touched its cylinder, but it didn't move.
"I have an idea." System 05 turned to look at Chen Mu and said, "This carrier should be more useful than the robot dog."
Chen Mu instantly understood what he meant and squatted down behind the Leader, observing it carefully for a moment. The Leader was a seamless cylinder. Previously, Chen Mu would have been unable to open it. However, after a year of researching robot dogs and having seen many relics, he followed the design principles and found the switch to open the Leader.
When he opened the shell, the stuck leader asked in panic: "What are you doing? Please stop immediately, otherwise I will call the police."
System 05 leaned over and replaced his chip.
"Warning, warning—the leader is under attack—"
The leader's blue light ring went out, but the warning had already been issued. The broadcast voice that had welcomed them sounded sharply, saying: "Your behavior has seriously violated the regulations. Please stop immediately - Guardians are dispatched -"
The space lit up red, and System 05 saw the armed Guardians approaching from the end of the corridor. At this moment, the Leader woke up again, looked at System 05, and said, "Hello again. It seems you've made some progress."
Although it was the same voice, System 05 knew it was the familiar spaceship intelligence just by the tone of voice.
System 05 said quickly, "We've found the energy center. Do you have a way to deal with those guards?"
"certainly."
The leader's blue light circle kept flashing. System 05 did not hear any sound, but the frequency of its heart suddenly changed, as if it was beating to some rhythm. The next second, the guards stopped and the red light disappeared.
The ship's intelligence said, "I have obtained access to the energy center."
“Where is the micro energy station?”
"In the lower warehouse." The ship's intelligence immediately moved its body and urged, "This body can only last two hours. Hurry up."
It was so fast that System 05 and Chen Mu could barely keep up. The spacecraft, with its authorized intelligence, moved freely through the research center. They descended two more floors, reaching an area clearly off-limits to visitors, but the warning never sounded again.
"Is this place always running?" System 05 looked at the bright lights. Although there was no one in the center, the various machines never stopped.
The spaceship's intelligence said, "One hundred years ago, there were three energy research and development centers in the world. The energy they provided daily was enough for 7,326 cities worldwide to consume for a year."
They soon arrived at the warehouse on the ground floor. The spaceship intelligently opened the door, and inside was a huge transparent container. Half of the container was filled with water, and in the center was a half-meter-high cylinder that was emitting a faint blue light.
"This is a micro energy station, enough to power the spacecraft to reach the moon."
“How do I get it out?”
"It's easy to take it out, just turn off the power," the spacecraft's intelligence said, "but it's running, providing energy for this research center. Once it's taken out, it will be shut down immediately."
"Is there no backup energy here?"
“It’s the last resort.”
If the elevator doesn't work, how can they get back from this place 1,500 meters underwater?
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