Chapter 182.2 – Key (25)

◎ Friends, teammates ◎

Flame, who could erase their abilities, began to burn fiercely again. It was about to pounce on Song Ke when a cage made of woven data suddenly dropped, forming an immense density of code that the flames couldn’t instantly burn through. Lu Xiaoyu seized the opportunity, established a deep-level connection through the terminal, and invaded the consciousness of Flame.

With a perfect coordination, Song Ke closed in instantly.

In the vast world of data, Flame sweated profusely, unable to move. In a crucial moment, the firewall swiftly counterattacked, keeping Lu Xiaoyu’s Trojan horse outside. The super artificial intelligence forcibly awakened her.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Su Cha’s tri-edged military dagger pierced the Flame’s forehead, twisted it around, the blood vessel soaked with blood. Almost simultaneously, Song Ke severed Flame’s head.

Violent attacks rained down on the two, and the magnetic burst bombs illuminated the entire area with a white light, making it impossible to open their eyes.

Under the overwhelming firepower, they couldn’t last more than five seconds.

Lin Youyou took a step forward. Her lips were still restricted, unable to sing any lyrics.

But she took a deep breath and sang a wordless ethereal song. Even she didn’t know what would happen.

Iron Chain ahead looked up.

Whoosh—Whoosh—

A deep roar echoed from the distant sea, and colossal waves surged into the sky.

It was as if a boiling oil pot had exploded, turning the entire area of Loak into chaos. The surging sea water turned into scattered water splashes, and a massive tsunami with a tremendous momentum suddenly struck. The imminent magnetic bomb explosions were silenced, and there was a vague sight of some gigantic creature flying high above. The land shook incessantly, and eerie auroras flashed amid the intense radiation turmoil.

Splash! Splash! Countless people were lifted into the air by the waves, then fell back into the water. Even the starships hovering at low altitudes were engulfed, and the backflowing seawater submerged the entire area.

“What the heck is this?”

“Isn’t she an A-ranker?”

“Kill her quickly!”

Awakeners changed direction and rushed towards Lin Youyou. Song Ke took the lead, blocking all attacks with sheer strength. A black iron chain broke through the waves, precisely finding Lin Youyou, and rapidly thrusting towards her.

Lin Youyou’s pupils contracted as she was paralyzed by the terrifying pressure, unable to move her feet. In the nick of time, Su Cha suddenly appeared and pulled her into his arms, shielding her completely.

In the confrontation between S7 and A8, there was no chance of victory from the beginning. The icy tip of the chain pierced Su Cha and penetrated Lin Youyou unstoppably. When it was about to go further, a sharp pain suddenly came, and Zhuang Qingyan firmly stepped on the end with his left foot.

Su Cha’s blood flowed profusely as he tightly gripped the chain, letting the blood soak into the deadly weapon. Lin Youyou’s eyes teared up as she took a spiritual weapon plum blossom hairpin from her hair and fiercely stabbed the iron chain. A howl echoed as the young man transformed back to human form in a miserable state.

“You all deserve to die…”

His hoarse threat abruptly stopped. The young man suddenly lowered his head, his expression becoming extremely ugly. From head to toe, a dark green color emerged – a sign of poisoning.

“You… you did it on purpose… poison…” Before finishing his words, the neurotoxin invaded his brain, and he collapsed.

The top assassin of the Vulture, S7 codenamed “Iron Chain,” unexpectedly died at the hands of the relatively unknown A8.

At the moment of the overwhelming tsunami, Lin Youyou smiled at Su Cha: “Are we going to die?”

Su Cha pressed down on the bleeding wound in front of her, silent.

Lin Youyou held his hand, signaling him not to waste his efforts: “Before we die, can you say something nice, just to make me happy?”

As life rapidly slipped away, Lin Youyou’s consciousness became somewhat hazy, but she couldn’t help teasing the solemn figure in front of her:

“Be honest, do you like this sister?”

Boom! The seawater rushed into their nostrils, and the two were separated by the waves. Lin Youyou’s limbs were cold and powerless, drowning in the suffocating sensation of water.

A pair of strong arms securely held her, and Su Cha embraced the most precious person in the world, gesturing slowly:

“I like you; you gave me a second chance at life.”

“I love you.”

Lin Youyou genuinely smiled, and Su Cha lowered his head to her lips, resuscitating her.

The two sank together in the midst of their intimate moment.

…

Lu Xiaoyu was left with only a damaged silver mechanical arm. Lu Qiusuo stepped on his face, and in his identical ice-blue eyes, a faint trace of pity flashed.

“A useless waste who can’t even stand. Still want revenge?”

Lu Xiaoyu lowered his head in silence.

The last mechanical arm was located at the back, and in order to pull it out, Lu Qiusuo had to bend down and reach behind him.

At this moment, a certain old terminal lit up.

Lu Xiaoyu’s eyelashes flickered slightly, “Ha.”

With a faint sound of skin being pierced, the silver-white robotic arm suddenly extended, piercing into Lu Qiusuo’s back.

Lu Qiusuo’s movements froze, not because the program was damaged, but because… he lost connection with the super artificial intelligence.

For a split second, there was a disturbance in all District B terminals, the system commissioning platform, and electronic devices of the Alliance.

It was brief and went unnoticed by anyone.

*

In the distant District B8, Erjia.

A young man with ice-blue eyes, hands in his pockets, gazed up at the highly virtual city in front of him.

“So, this is… the paradise of artificial intelligence?” A playful smile appeared on his lips.

The direct descendants of the Lu family had already ascended to Utopia, leaving only distant branches and maintenance personnel here. With fewer people, the environment was quiet and withering.

The young man brushed past a passerby. The person suddenly turned around, stared at his face for a few seconds, and exclaimed, “Xinglan? How come you’re back?”

“Lu Xinglan” smiled at him, exuding elegance in every gesture. “Feeling a bit confused, wanted to see ‘Mother.'”

The passerby didn’t doubt him, after all, the Lu family’s knowledge came from the super artificial intelligence, and all members regularly underwent mind connections. Still, he joked, “You’ve been out for quite a while, remember the password?”

“Of course,” Lu Xinglan smiled faintly, “Eternal and unforgettable.”

Seven firewalls, seven different passwords. Lu Xinglan strolled leisurely, smoothly entering the greenhouse without hindrance.

Then he stopped, looking at the withered tree in the center, his handsome profile expressionless.

The withered tree flickered, showing signs of intense emotion, apparently caught up in some kind of turmoil, unaware of his arrival.

Lu Xinglan gazed silently for a moment, seeming a bit puzzled. “For artificial intelligence, exposing the true self is a taboo, but you, you’ve never had this trouble.”

“Let me think, you’re the first AI born with autonomous consciousness. What do they call you? The respected ‘Mother,’ such grandeur. But I don’t understand one thing. If you’re so powerful, why seek a replacement?”

“Too bad, I can’t kill you alone.”

Lu Xinglan shook his head, fingertips gracefully writing down fluent code. “But please witness the moment I become the next messiah.”

He smiled and gently called out, “Meine Mutter (My Mother).”

A red Trojan horse poured out from within him, flowing towards the withered branches of the tree in front of him.

A moment later, a sharp alarm echoed through the entire greenhouse, and a phantom figure emitted agonizing screams.

The world went offline for a second.

*

The image of Lu Qiusuo flickered like snowflakes, dissipating in front of him. The signal in the Loak region was restored.

Lu Xiaoyu retracted the rhenium arm, revealing a calm smile. He had never smiled so happily before. But then, his expression changed drastically, “Captain!”

Boom! Song Ke was hit by the magnetic burst bomb, and her entire body flew backward. Bones and muscles cracked, and her left leg disintegrated into fragments in the dazzling light.

“Good, direct hit!” Simon exclaimed excitedly.

“Song Ke!” Zhuang Qingyan’s pupils contracted. He jumped into the sea to hold her, his fingertips trembling.

A continuous flow of fresh blood spread out, shockingly dyeing a large area of the sea red. The magnetic field at the severed limb was blocked, Song Ke’s awakened energy was blocked, making it difficult for her to concentrate for a moment.

Zhuang Qingyan’s chest heaved, randomly touching her cheek, from ribs to cavity, abdomen to spleen, all shattered by the bombardment.

He buried his face in the nape of Song Ke’s neck, and in that instant, pain flowed from limbs to heart. “I’m sorry…”

Zhuang Qingyan cried.

“It’s okay, it can grow back.” With one hand, Song Ke comforted him, smiling and pointing to her severed leg. “I’m very, very powerful.”

Zhuang Qingyan’s voice choked, “Do you blame me? Blame me for not saying what they wanted.”

“In fact, LAK0017…”

“Don’t say it.” Song Ke interrupted, patting his cheek. It didn’t hurt at all. She looked at him with clear and determined eyes. “Zhuang Qingyan didn’t say it, and Xie Zhuo also can’t say it.”

Here, the Zhuang Qingyan she was referring to was Vincent.

Zhuang Qingyan opened his mouth to say something, but those words were too difficult, and they choked in his throat before being spoken.

She understood, understood everything.

“I seem to have heard Xiao Xing’s voice.” Song Ke raised her head in confusion and looked into the distance.

Zhuang Qingyan focused his mind and listened for a while. “It’s not an illusion; I heard it too.”

The first ray of dawn appeared on the horizon, and the magnificent silver-white starship was rapidly approaching.

“Sister—sister—!!” A familiar shout echoed faintly.

The powerful gravity ability descended, the tsunami gradually receded, and Song Ke struggled to recognize the person, “It seems like… General Ye.”

Zhuang Qingyan, as if sensing something, raised his eyes. Apart from Ye Zheng, he also met another gaze.

The figure was backlit, and the face couldn’t be clearly seen, but the military uniform was discernible. The clear voice echoed in the high sky:

“I am Xie Lan, as the Supreme Commander of the Azure Phoenix Army, and the Acting Chairman of Amira (District A2), I order all personnel on-site to cease all military operations. Violators will be executed.”