Chapter 171: "Detonation after 10 seconds."
Although there were many monsters, their levels were not high.
Soon—
The battle ended.
Biao Zi looked at the pile of monster corpses in the corridor ahead, then turned to the team members behind him and said in a deep voice, "Report casualties."
"No injuries."
"No injuries."
"None."
Not a single person was injured. It was just that the corridor was a bit spacious. If the corridor had been smaller, the firepower net woven by the eight "Tidal Gatling Guns" would have been impenetrable as long as the Energy Stones weren't exhausted.
"Zhang Yi, collect all the monster corpses."
"Yes."
Zhang Yi, who had been holding back his excitement, immediately opened the refrigerator and stuffed all the monster corpses inside. This refrigerator was great. Among the things on the Stellar Train, it was one of his two favorites.
The first was the refrigerator, and the second was the Roujiamo.
"Continue forward."
In the following journey, they didn't encounter any more monsters. All the monsters that had been in the corridor had already charged at them earlier.
After advancing for about 10 minutes.
The scenery finally changed. Up until now, it had been nothing but corridors, as if a large maze had been built deep underground.
Ahead, there was a huge square.
Around the square were many cylindrical containers filled with an unknown green liquid. Each container had a monkey soaked inside, and there were also many shattered containers.
Clearly, the monkeys they had encountered earlier had escaped from those shattered containers.
"Is this some kind of biological experiment?"
Biao Zi glanced around, then looked toward the center of the square. In the center was a glass laboratory filled with screens and experimental equipment.
The laboratory was empty of living people.
No living people, but there were dead ones.
There were seven human corpses in white robes, the bloodstains long since dried. On the ground lay a dropped pistol—likely used for suicide.
「Take everything from the laboratory.」
Following the order, Biao Zi walked up to the glass laboratory, raised his giant axe, and struck with full force!
However.
This time, there was no crisp sound of glass shattering.
Instead, there was a dull thud. The axe handle vibrated rapidly in his hand, but the glass of the laboratory showed no signs of cracking. After several attempts, he finally gave up.
This glass was too hard to break.
But he noticed a card reader at the entrance of the laboratory. Opening his palm, as the "First Layer Palm" fragmented and retracted into his arm, a card appeared in his hand. This card had been given to him by Lord Mang.
He held the card and placed it on the reader.
"Beep."
A faint sound was heard, and soon the glass walls of the laboratory lowered.
"Start loading!"
Outside the military base.
Inside the Stellar Train, Chen Mang looked at the lines of text flashing on the control panel. Biao Zi and the others had returned safely, bringing back a blueprint, a large amount of experimental equipment, a chip, and a large machine resembling a printer but much larger from the core laboratory.
It was too big to fit into the refrigerator.
Zhang Yi had carried it on his back to bring it back.
This large machine was their biggest haul this time.
The chip contained all the experimental data from the laboratory, the last words of the researchers before their deaths, and the laboratory's logs. After Xiao Ai absorbed all the information from the chip, a summary appeared on the screen.
Ten minutes later.
The screen stopped displaying new information.
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent for a long time before finally picking up the blueprint in his hand.
「Stimulant Production Line.」
A yellow-tier Accessory Blueprint.
When injured, injecting oneself with this stimulant would numb the pain, boost mental activity for a period, heal some injuries, and restore a lot of strength—with no side effects.
It wasn't useful inside the Train, as there were better alternatives.
But it was invaluable for missions outside the Train.
Although not feeling pain wasn't always a good thing—it often meant a quicker death—this item could significantly reduce the casualty rate of Guardians on missions.
As for this military base.
Its sole purpose was to research and manufacture this「Blueprint.」
Yes.
Blueprints could be manufactured, and that large machine was the instrument for creating this Blueprint. Through extensive experimental data, they first researched how to produce the stimulant, then how to create a production line for it, and finally, after a lot of calculations.
This machine produced the「Stimulant Production Line」Blueprint.
And now that the machine was inside the Train, it meant...
After a long while.
Chen Mang turned to Xiao Ai, "Now that we have the machine inside the Train, can we manufacture Blueprints?"
"Yes."
Xiao Ai nodded, "The machine still has seventeen「Blank Blueprints.」All the data for manufacturing the「Stimulant Production Line」has been input into the machine. Once connected to the Circuit System and powered by the Generator, it can produce seventeen more「Stimulant Production Line」Blueprints."
"I mean, can we manufacture other Blueprints? For example, something I just thought of... like a「Lighter Production Line Blueprint」?"
"No. It requires extensive experimental data and a large number of researchers conducting various experiments. Maybe in the future. Besides, researching a simple「Lighter」accessory would be much easier than a「Lighter Production Line Blueprint.」"
"Hmm."
Chen Mang didn't say anything more. For example, a Level 1 Train could produce a white-tier「Single Bed」accessory, but just a single piece, not a「Single Bed Production Line.」After a moment, he suddenly laughed.
This haul was really good.
The card given to him by the「Ten Steps to Kill One Person」Train was truly useful. Without it, Biao Zi and the others wouldn't have been able to enter the laboratory.
The「Secondary Dimension」Train had also led him to a good place.
Both were good people. If he got the chance, he would offer incense to both of them.
Oh wait, the former wasn't dead yet. He'd do it after they died.
Although the machine couldn't be used for now, once he collected enough experimental data and found a large number of researchers, he would someday be able to design and create the accessories he wanted.
As for the story of this laboratory, it was quite simple.
A long time ago.
Or perhaps not that long ago, Biao Zi was searching among the residents for a forensic doctor to perform autopsies on the human corpses to determine the approximate time of death.
This laboratory had been tasked with researching the「Stimulant Production Line」Blueprint.
But because it involved biological experiments.
During the experiments, it was easy to create some extremely terrifying monsters. This had happened many times before. To prevent such incidents, the military base was built underground, and heavy firepower weapons were placed on the surface to deal with any monsters that might escape from the laboratory.
Inside the experimental base.
The glass laboratory at the core of the square had an extremely high defense level. In case of any problems, the bombs embedded in the walls of the laboratory corridors would detonate, burying all the created monsters deep underground.
The researchers and experimental data, however, would survive inside the laboratory, waiting for rescue.
Later.
Later, something did go wrong, but it wasn't a problem within the laboratory. The city was hit by a devastating attack from countless monsters, turning the entire city into a monster's playground. All living beings were slaughtered.
This underground laboratory managed to escape unscathed.
But after losing contact with the outside world for a long time, the monkeys used in the experiments began to mutate, killing the assistants and staff outside the laboratory. Trapped and with no hope of rescue, the researchers chose to end their lives in despair.
But the experimental data and equipment were preserved.
That.
Was the entire story of this underground secret laboratory. Hidden in the machine's AI was a "Research AI," according to Xiao Ai. This AI had no human emotions and was solely responsible for calculating data. Once the machine was restarted, the "Research AI" would awaken again.
"Whew."
Chen Mang exhaled softly, then stretched his body and continued piloting the Stellar Train through the air toward the next anomaly on the map.
This was the first time he had seen humans in the ruins of a mechanical civilization.
He had thought that mechanical civilizations were full of robots, but it seemed there were humans too. He just didn't know whether humans or robots were dominant in this civilization.
It didn't seem like humans were in charge.
At least, if humans had built this city, they probably wouldn't have designed it this way.
All the office buildings looked almost identical, from the streets to the high-rises, all in a deep black color. The roads were perfectly straight and standard, with no greenery or parks.
It was extremely dull and monotonous.
This didn't align with human aesthetics.
Even if it had been designed as a refuge city, they couldn't have completely ignored the livability aspect, right?
The Train continued forward.
Soon, it arrived at the second anomaly, located in the city center.
It was a deep pit.
The pit was about a hundred meters in diameter.
Chen Mang piloted the Stellar Train through the air, slowly descending into the pit. The walls of the pit were lined with Incandescent Lamps. It wasn't very deep, only about a hundred meters.
At the bottom of the pit, he saw a missile standing upright on the ground.
Seven meters long, three meters wide.
It didn't seem to have a very large yield. Next to the missile was a line of text displayed on a light screen.
-
「Nuclear Warhead capable of destroying the entire city.」
「Press the red button to initiate a 10-second countdown to detonation.」
「Detonation will occur after 10 seconds.」
-
Found it. This was the mission objective of the map.
But Chen Mang's face showed no joy. Instead, he expressionlessly looked around. The pit was empty, with nothing but the missile and a button on a nearby pillar.
Escape?
Where to?
There was no escape route indicated, and 10 seconds wasn't enough time to get anywhere.
After a moment.
Chen Mang silently ordered a team to stay behind and guard the square while he went to check the third anomaly for any possible escape route. He was now very glad he had cleared the map earlier.
Otherwise, such a deadly weapon would be sitting here, exposed.
Anyone who pressed the button would take him down with them.
How unjust would that be?
At least they could have put a cover over the button. He was worried that if some monster appeared and accidentally hit the button, how unlucky would that be? He left a team here to guard it, making sure nothing could press the button.
He went to check the escape route.
The third anomaly was very far from the second, about thirty thousand meters in a straight line.
The Stellar Train slowly stopped in front of a tunnel.
The tunnel was entirely made of glass, starting from the ground and descending at a thirty-degree angle straight into the ceiling of the underground space.
This tunnel was the escape route.
From high above, it was located in a patch of rubble at the back of the city, quite noticeable.
-
「High-Speed Train Tunnel.」
「After inserting a Level 3 Energy Stone, the Train will hover in the center of the tunnel using magnetic levitation and escape the city at high speed, breaking through to the surface.」
「In a damaged state, only one Train can pass through.」
-
This was the escape route in this Fortuitous Encounter map, a route that had been prepared when the city was first built.
In other words.
Whether he had chosen to clear the map or not, only one Train could pass through this map in the end. The other four Trains were destined to perish here.
In the future, he would have to avoid going on Fortuitous Encounter maps with Er Dan.
He didn't want to fight with friends. Er Dan probably hadn't experienced this kind of Fortuitous Encounter map before, otherwise he wouldn't have so carelessly joined him on this map.
And also—
This「High-Speed Train Tunnel」was located at the edge of the city, far from the nuclear detonation point.
A straight distance of thirty thousand meters.
It was impossible for the Train to appear at the tunnel entrance ready to depart just 10 seconds after the nuclear detonation.
There was only one solution.
Choose a sacrifice. Let the sacrifice press the nuclear button, and at the moment the countdown begins, the Train enters the tunnel and starts escaping.
Of course.
If he wanted to be extra cautious, he could choose two sacrifices. That would be more auspicious.
"It's huge."
Chen Mang, who had stepped out of the Train, stood on the open ground, gazing at the underground city in the distance. He couldn't help but marvel, although he didn't know how deep underground this was, to dig out such a vast space and build a city inside it.
The infrastructure capabilities of this mechanical civilization were impressive.
"Shan Mao Zi, what do you think you're doing?"
Biao Zi, sitting inside his mech, glared down at Shan Mao Zi with a dark expression. "It's not your turn to play the hero. What the hell are you trying to prove by acting like a big shot here? Put the gun down!"
"I said put the gun down, did you hear me?"
Shan Mao Zi was standing in the square, pointing the gun barrel at his own head, his eyes red and his voice hoarse.
"Biao Ge."
"We both know what's going on here."
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