In the distance, there was a door that looked extremely ordinary. Lin Xian instinctively walked towards it, only to realize that the door had neither a handle nor a keyhole—just a door-shaped apparatus.
At that moment, structures began to rise from the floor on both sides, resembling buildings. Lin Xian raised his knife in caution and discovered that what was rising was a gigantic chamber filled with green transparent liquid, one on each side. As the liquid chamber gradually rose, two strange monsters came into view.
One was a dark green monster resembling a starfish, with a body diameter of only about a meter, but covered with black spikes as thin as steel needles, completely filling the chamber. The center of the starfish was full of black eyes, appearing extremely bizarre.
The other one looked somewhat like the White Giant Monster Lin Xian encountered in Jiang City, though much smaller in size, with slender limbs. It was submerged at the bottom of the liquid chamber, hugging its legs with its head buried below its knees. For some reason, even though it just sat there hugging its legs, it gave off a very dangerous vibe.
Watching this scene, Lin Xian frowned slightly. Without needing to guess, he could tell that these two were definitely not for his viewing pleasure.
Without a second of hesitation, he directly walked towards the ’door’.
The moment Lin Xian touched the door, a red alarm began to sound throughout the room, woo~ woo~ woo~
[Countdown begins, 5 minutes remaining.]
Lin Xian turned to look and saw that, at that moment, the green transparent liquid in the two large chambers was slowly descending, like some kind of countdown. He immediately reacted, engaged his Mechanical Heart, and began scanning the door.
As the scan unfolded, Lin Xian’s frown deepened.
It was indeed a door, but one with a very complex mechanical structure, featuring 12 mechanical locks, each mechanical structure intricately connected to 12 switches behind the door. After scanning, Lin Xian was utterly baffled because this mechanical structure was not designed for easy operation, but rather to be incomprehensible.
At this point, Lin Xian finally confirmed his suspicion: these things were designed to test his mechanical superpower.
And those two monsters were there to ’cheer him on.’
"You want me to unlock... "
Lin Xian’s heart sank as his Mechanical Heart began to work.
The alarm sound echoed unceasingly, and the green liquid in the two experimental chambers started depleting. As the liquid halved, the black spikes of the starfish in the first chamber began to move slowly, the tips scraping against the chamber’s edges, emitting a creaking sound.
[3 minutes remaining in the countdown]
In the brightly lit room, several researchers were watching the surveillance screen, their eyes fixed on Lin Xian.
"Report the test progress."
"Escape door opening progress, 0%"
"What’s going on? Not a single lock opened?"
"Let’s wait a bit longer."
[1 minute remaining in the countdown]
"Report, escape door opening progress, 0%"
"Hmm? What’s the matter? Has he given up?"
"Quick, inform Miss Hua."
Hua Xiaoling, wearing a black coat, stood in front of a silver door, behind which was the room where Lin Xian was.
The report from her subordinate came through her earpiece.
"Manager Hua, 1 minute remains. Escape door opening progress is at 0. Should we initiate the emergency procedure?"
Hua Xiaoling’s eyes did not waver; she remained silent, merely watching the large door ahead.
[10 seconds remaining in the countdown]
"Escape door opening progress, 0%, it’s impossible to open now." Security manager Feng Chun’s face turned ghastly pale.
Inside the glass chamber, the green liquid nearly depleted, the giant starfish continued to twist its spikes, emitting a strange cry, and the white humanoid monster slowly lifted its head.
Confusion began to form in Hua Xiaoling’s eyes as the countdown started at the testing site.
At the last second, the silver gate in front of Hua Xiaoling suddenly turned into ashes, flying past her as she stretched out her hand unconsciously to catch some of the ashes falling into her palm. She saw it vanish into even finer dust and disappear into the air.
Seeing this, her eyes were filled with surprise as she looked up to find a somewhat slim silhouette standing in front of her.
A sharp blade fell on Hua Xiaoling’s neck, its razor edge shaved off several strands of hair, which slowly fell to the ground.
In an instant, dozens of armed personnel behind her raised their guns in unison, aiming at Lin Xian.
The light from the automatic cannon in the room also fell on Lin Xian’s forehead.
Yet Lin Xian’s expression did not change; he coldly stared at Hua Xiaoling.
"If I don’t see my teammates in 1 minute, you will die."
At this moment, Hua Xiaoling looked at Lin Xian, her expression void of any fear, as her eyes gleamed with a hint of yearning and eagerness. She slowly raised her hand, and everyone behind her lowered their weapons. She then took out a mobile terminal and handed it to Lin Xian.
"They are all very safe."
Lin Xian frowned, cautiously taking it. He found a segment of surveillance footage showing that building and KIKI were waiting in a room, while in another room, Lu Xingchen, Sha Sha, and Shu Qin were receiving treatment in the Medical Cabin.