Chapter 108 - 103: The Final Battle

The passages from the eleventh to the twentieth underground floors were sealed off layer by layer. None of Nan Jiamu’s group possessed Victor’s freakish Strength that could tear through alloy doors, and Adeline’s Shadow Instant Teleportation couldn’t pass through walls indefinitely. Coupled with the fact that everyone was exhausted and injured, they also had to continuously carry out demolitions to block the pursuers behind them.

It took Adeline’s earnest persuasion for Nan Jiamu to agree to split them into two teams: one would rest and recover their stamina, while the other would scout ahead and clear obstacles, alternating roles. Just like that, they spent several hours before finally arriving outside the secret laboratory on the twentieth underground floor.

[00:30:59]

Standing right outside this massive Gate of Destiny, the countdown to their return had entered its final stage. Everything seemed so deliberately perfectly timed. Before Nan Jiamu could even think of a way in, the sealed doors silently opened. Adeline clenched her fists in anxiety, and the rest of the squad tensed up. Swallowing subconsciously, they stared unblinkingly at the entrance.

The laboratory hall was a complete mess. Equipment consoles were scattered and smashed, glass shards littered the floor, and Julian’s corpse had been tossed to the side. In the center of the wreckage stood a woman in a black jacket and cargo pants. She had a sleek, fiery-red bob and wore no mask. Her indifferent gaze exuded a bizarre, oppressive aura that sent shivers down everyone’s spines.

Everyone stared at Yin Zhen in shock. Trouble cried out in disbelief, "Lucia?!"

The fog of confusion in Nan Jiamu’s mind instantly cleared for the most part. Taking a step forward, she suppressed her anger and demanded, "Blossoming Prosperity, your true Identity really is Lucia. Have you betrayed Ancient Abyss as well?!"

The others had absolutely no idea what was going on. Adeline looked at Yin Zhen with a conflicted expression; the situation had spiraled completely out of control.

Right at this moment, Ian—who had been unconscious and carried by Trouble the entire way—suddenly leaped up. He snatched the gun from Trouble’s waist with a speed that didn’t belong to a researcher cooped up in a lab all day, but rather a well-trained warrior. Jamming the muzzle under Trouble’s jaw, he dragged him through the doorway, using Trouble as a human shield.

"Don’t move!" Ian’s voice was hoarse, but his finger was steady on the trigger, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent.

Everyone froze, their hands resting on their respective Weapons. They had even given Ian an extra shot of anesthetic on the way; they never expected him to wake up so soon. Ian wasn’t going to let them use him to threaten Zoe and Yin Zhen. He continued to back away, dragging Trouble with him.

Yin Zhen slowly walked over and arrived at Ian’s side. With a gun pressed against him, Trouble didn’t dare to move or turn his head. He could only glance at Yin Zhen out of the corner of his eye. "Healer... is it really you?"

"It’s me," Yin Zhen said, reaching out to press down on Ian’s gun. "Let him go and go check on Zoe. The rest is my personal business."

Ian looked at her with a complex expression. Yin Zhen, however, didn’t look back; her gaze remained fixed on Nan Jiamu opposite her. After a few seconds of hesitation, Ian released Trouble, took two steps back, and walked toward Zoe.

Trouble stumbled back to Nan Jiamu’s side. He looked at Yin Zhen, then at Nan Jiamu, entirely at a loss for words. He was completely bewildered by the current situation.

The laboratory doors silently closed behind them. Quit Game whispered to Signal next to him, "Did we just walk into a trap?"

Before his voice could even fade, everyone saw Yin Zhen suddenly draw her gun and aim it at Nan Jiamu. The moment the trigger was pulled, Nan Jiamu’s body flipped sideways at an impossible angle. The bullet grazed her ear and exploded in a shower of sparks against the alloy door behind her.

"Captain!" Signal was the first to react. He drew his gun and was about to charge forward, but was stopped by Nan Jiamu’s sharp shout.

"Leave me! Go kill S704!" Nan Jiamu vaulted up with one hand on the ground, her other hand already drawing the sidearm from her waist. Her movements were smooth and flowing, and she fired without a hint of hesitation. "Today is the final battle!"

A cold, emotionless smile tugged at the corners of Yin Zhen’s mouth. Shadows spread beneath her feet, and she transformed into a puff of black smoke, vanishing from her spot. The next second, she appeared behind Nan Jiamu, thrusting a dagger enhanced with Molecular Sharpening at the back of Nan Jiamu’s neck.

CLANG!

The dagger struck a faint blue Energy Shield—the defense deployed by Nan Jiamu’s last spare Tactical Ball. As the Tactical Ball let out an overloaded hum in mid-air, Nan Jiamu fired a backhand shot. The bullet passed through the fracturing Shield, aiming straight for the center of Yin Zhen’s brows.

Yin Zhen tilted her head, and the bullet grazed her cheekbone, leaving only a white mark on her skin reinforced by Iron Bone. Yin Zhen closed in, thrusting her dagger at Nan Jiamu’s throat again as blood silk violently shot forth simultaneously.

Instead of retreating, Nan Jiamu lunged forward, crashing right into Yin Zhen’s chest. Data Fire erupted from her palms, blasting toward Yin Zhen’s face. Yin Zhen leaned back to dodge the frontal impact of the Data Fire and swept her right leg at Nan Jiamu’s lower body. Nan Jiamu leaped up, firing her gun in mid-air.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

All three shots hit the spot where Yin Zhen had just been standing, the bullet craters forming a straight line. From the first shot to their close-quarters melee, the two had exchanged blows seven or eight times in a flash. Their speed was so fast that Trouble and the others couldn’t even tell who had the upper hand.

"You two..." Adeline took a step forward, wanting to tell them to stop fighting. But Yin Zhen suddenly turned her head. Within those pale red irises surged a hatred that had been suppressed for far too long, like two clusters of fire burning from the abyss.

"Scram!"

Adeline was startled by that look. She had seen Yin Zhen’s indifference, her ruthlessness, and the almost morbid excitement she showed when facing formidable enemies, but she had never seen this kind of look in her eyes. She instantly realized that there was a mortal feud between Yin Zhen and Nan Jiamu. This was the fundamental reason why Yin Zhen wanted to kill Nan Jiamu at all costs.

Nan Jiamu was also looking at Yin Zhen. She couldn’t understand why this "Blossoming Prosperity" held such intense killing intent toward her. Who exactly was she?

"Why did you betray Ancient Abyss? Who are you?"

Yin Zhen raised her hand, and all the metal fragments in the entire laboratory trembled as they levitated from the floor. Blade remnants, bullet casings, broken steel rebars—countless pieces of metal hovered around her, their edges slowly becoming razor-sharp. Magnetic Control and Molecular Sharpening were activated simultaneously.

"Because you deserve to die!"

Nan Jiamu’s pupils contracted sharply. Under her command, the Tactical Ball deployed its final Energy Shield, a blue glowing barrier enveloping her entirely.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The fragments slammed into the Shield like a torrential rainstorm. Cracks rapidly spread across the surface of the Tactical Ball as it let out a shrill whine, on the verge of collapsing. Nan Jiamu ignited Data Fire in her hands, erasing all those fragments from this world.

At the same time, Trouble and the others charged toward the depths of the laboratory from the flank. Gritting her teeth, Adeline cursed at Yin Zhen and Nan Jiamu before ultimately chasing after Trouble’s group.

Deep inside the laboratory, Zoe stood in front of the nutrient pod housing the white brain. She remained completely motionless, keeping one hand slightly raised. Her eyes were open, but her pupils were unfocused, as if she were looking at a place very, very far away.

When Ian ran up to her side and his hand brushed against Zoe’s shoulder, he stiffened as if struck by lightning. Then, his eyes also lost their focus. By the time Trouble and the others rushed over, Ian and Zoe were like two statues, completely unresponsive to the commotion around them.

The four of them decisively raised their guns and aimed at them. Before coming here, they had already prepared themselves mentally: regardless of whether Zoe and Ian were innocent, for the sake of Ancient Abyss, these two had to die!

Suddenly, a red laser flashed past them as fast as lightning. The barrel of the submachine gun in Signal’s hands was cleanly sliced off.

CLICK CLACK!

The Weapon arrays on the ceiling fully activated. Dozens of gun muzzles flipped out from hidden compartments, and infrared targeting dots—like densely packed dark-red stars—fell upon Trouble, Signal, Quit Game, and Ye Se.

"Illegal intruders, please exit the core area immediately, or you will be killed on sight." A cold, mechanical voice broadcast from every speaker in the laboratory. The projection of blonde Lucy silently appeared behind Zoe and Ian; her real body had long been hidden away, ensuring she wouldn’t be seen by anyone. "Repeat, please exit the core area immediately."

Bullets struck the ground at their feet, and more than a dozen laser grids rose from the floor, crisscrossing and forcing the four of them back into a corner, cutting them off from Zoe and Ian.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ye Se swore.

Adeline darted into the corner, shadows condensing into a Shield in front of her, blocking out the targeting dots that fell upon them. Her gaze bypassed the layers of blockades, landing on the two women who were still fighting to the death in the distance.

"I’d like to know that too!" Suppressing her anger, Adeline desperately wanted to rush over, twist their ears, punch them both in the head, and force them to crouch down with their heads in their hands to explain everything to her!