Panshi Fortress, B3 Energy Core Passage.
The Dragonborn's massive body stood at the end of the passage, only ten meters from the heavy alloy gate shimmering with a faint blue energy shield!
His chest, covered in black scales, heaved violently, each breath exhaling hot white steam with sparks.
A large section of the scales on his right forelimb was shattered, revealing dark red flesh beneath, writhing like lava—the result of repeated scorching by high-energy plasma beams.
A bone-deep laceration on his left shoulder, with the edges of the muscle still twitching slightly, oozing dark gold blood—this was a wound left by a strength-type ability user who, at the cost of self-detonation, used a specially made alloy chain saw!
But... these wounds! Not only did they not make him retreat! Instead... they completely ignited the... ferocity deep within his bloodline!
“Roar—!!!”
A roar full of endless savagery!
The Dragonborn suddenly opened his massive mouth! Deep in his throat! The dark red light instantly compressed and condensed to the extreme! Like a supernova about to explode!
It emitted a terrifying wave of destruction! The air in the entire passage twisted and boiled! The temperature skyrocketed!
He wanted one final strike! To completely tear apart this bothersome turtle shell! To devour the tempting flesh behind the door!
Command Center.
On the holographic sandbox, the crimson light spot representing the Dragonborn flared like a burning sun, its brightness soaring to a dazzling level! The energy readings jumped wildly! Instantly breaking through the Bone Eater Realm limit! Approaching... the Hundred Forms Realm!
“Warning! Target energy reaction has exceeded the critical value! Dragon's Breath charge peak! Expected to erupt in 3 seconds! Energy intensity... sufficient to penetrate three layers of composite armor!”
The staff officer's voice trembled with a hint of despair!
“Gate shield remaining energy... 37%! Absolutely unable to withstand the next impact!”
“All defensive weapons... overheating! Cooling down! Unable to provide support!”
One cold report after another was like a death knell! Striking at everyone's hearts!
Qin Weiguo stared intently at the dazzling crimson mass on the sandbox! His knuckles cracked as he squeezed his fists! His fingernails dug deep into his palms! Blood dripped between his fingers! But he was completely unaware!
Conventional weapons were ineffective! Ability users suffered heavy casualties! The energy shield was on the verge of collapse! The structure was about to fall apart!
What to do?! What else... could be done?!
Are we really going to watch this monster destroy the energy core?! Let hundreds of thousands of survivors become lambs to the slaughter?!
No! Absolutely not!
Qin Weiguo's eyes suddenly burst forth with a decisive ferocity, like a dying beast!
He suddenly turned! Stepping to the control panel!
His fingers, like iron tongs... pressed down hard on a... crimson button... protected by three layers of alloy covers!
“Activate... ‘Entropy Reduction Field’!”
His voice was hoarse and... frantic!
“Commander! No!”
A white-haired old staff officer suddenly lunged forward! Grabbing Qin Weiguo's arm tightly! His voice filled with extreme terror!
“The Entropy Reduction Field is still in the experimental stage! The energy model is unstable! Forcibly activating it... could trigger spatial collapse! The entire B3 level... and even... the entire lower level of the fortress... could be wiped out!”
“Wiped out... is better than being eaten by this monster!”
Qin Weiguo suddenly shook off the old staff officer's hand!
“Either... we take a gamble! Or... we all die together! Which do you choose?!”
He no longer hesitated! His finger... pressed down hard!
Buzz—!!!
A low hum spread throughout the entire command center!
Immediately after! An indescribably cold and deathly aura instantly enveloped the entire B3 level!
B3 Level Passage.
Deep in the Dragonborn's throat... the dark red light, compressed to the extreme... was about to erupt!
Just at this critical moment!
Buzz—!!!
The entire space... suddenly... solidified!
Not a metaphor! It was true solidification!
Dust flying in the air instantly froze! Suspended in mid-air! As if a pause button had been pressed!
Molten metal dripping from the walls instantly solidified! Maintaining its dripping shape! Like an insect in amber!
The dark red dragon blood flowing on the ground... instantly... solidified! Like red ice crystals!
Even... deep in the Dragonborn's throat... the destructive Dragon's Breath... about to erupt... that violent energy fluctuation... also... instantly... solidified! Like frozen flames!
Time... as if... at this moment... stopped flowing!
Space... as if... at this moment... was frozen into... a giant piece of... amber!
And the Dragonborn... his massive body... was... in the center of the amber... that... lifelike... yet... immobile... specimen!
Entropy Reduction Field! The absolute low-temperature freezing of time and space!
“Roar, ugh!”
In the Dragonborn's crimson beast eyes, the raging fury was instantly replaced by a feeling of shock and immense fear!
He could feel it! A power that seemed capable of erasing all traces of existence... was eroding his body! Freezing his energy! And even... freezing his... thoughts!
He wanted to struggle! To roar! To tear apart this damned confinement!
But his body couldn't even move a single claw! Not even a ripple could be stirred! His thoughts... became incredibly sluggish!
Roar! — (No!!!)
His soul... let out a silent... desperate roar!
“Field stable! Target... frozen successfully!” The staff officer's voice trembled with the euphoria of surviving a disaster and... incredible joy!
“Quick! Time is limited! Field core overload countdown... 30 seconds!”
Qin Weiguo roared hoarsely! There was no joy in his eyes! Only... cold... determination!
“Special assault team! Go! Target... Dragonborn heart! Weakness... reverse scale position! Dig it out... for me!”
The order was given!
On both sides of the passage! Three figures, who had been ambushed for a long time... shot out from the shadows... like ghosts!
Zhou Yunguang! Lei Zhan! And a person named Zhao Xiaodao!
The three! Were the only remaining... active... attack-type ability combatants in the fortress besides the protagonist!
Zhou Yunguang was covered in blood! His left arm hung limply! Clearly, he was severely wounded in the previous battle! But his eyes were cold as knives!
His right hand tightly gripped a... spiral light cone... entirely made of highly condensed white light energy!
The tip of the light cone... emitted a terrifying sharpness that could tear through anything!
He charged like a moth to a flame! Straight for the Dragonborn's... frozen... left chest! There... was the wound torn open by the self-detonating ability user earlier! Scales shattered! Flesh exposed!
Lei Zhan was shirtless! His bronze skin was covered in charred burns and bone-deep claw marks! His fists were clenched! Above his fists!
Faint blue electromagnetic pulse arcs danced and compressed wildly! Forming two... dazzling thunderballs... like miniature suns!
He roared! Like a humanoid tyrannosaurus! And slammed into the Dragonborn's... frozen... right forelimb wound! There... was the weak point repeatedly scorched by the plasma beam!
Zhao Xiaodao! A civilian youth who had just awakened his ability not long ago!
In his hand... he tightly gripped a... strangely shaped, silver short blade... through which high-frequency vibration waves flowed! That was his newly awakened ability—the High-Frequency Particle Blade!
Though weak... it carried... an unstoppable... penetrating property! His body moved like a nimble cat! Silently circling behind the Dragonborn!
His target... directly aimed at... the frozen, black-scaled... back of the neck! There... was the connection between the spine and the head! It was the fatal weakness... of all living creatures!
Three people! Three attacks! Carrying the fortress's last hope! They slammed... into... the world-destroying beast... frozen in the amber of time and space!
Time... seemed to stretch!
Field core overload countdown... 25 seconds!
Zhou Yunguang's light cone! First pierced into the Dragonborn's left chest wound!
The highly condensed light energy fiercely stabbed into the dark red flesh, solidified like lava!
Emitting a sizzling scorching sound! The light cone spun wildly! Trying to drill through the flesh! Straight to the heart!
Field core overload countdown... 20 seconds!
Lei Zhan's electromagnetic thunderball! Smashed fiercely onto the Dragonborn's right forelimb wound! The violent electromagnetic pulse energy instantly erupted! Destroying muscle fibers and nerve structures! Trying to... completely... cripple... this arm!
Field core overload countdown... 15 seconds!
Zhao Xiaodao's High-Frequency Particle Blade! The moment the blade tip touched the neck scales! High-frequency vibration waves erupted wildly! Emitting a piercing hum! The hard black scales... under the ultra-high frequency vibration... actually... began... to show fine... cracks!
Field core overload countdown... 10 seconds!
“Ugh ah—!!!” Zhou Yunguang let out a beast-like roar! Pouring all his remaining ability... frantically into the light cone! The light cone's glow surged! Its rotation speed skyrocketed! Forcibly... drilled another... inch... deeper into the flesh!
Field core overload countdown... 5 seconds!
Pfft—!!
A viscous, dark-golden glistening blood spurted from the wound… but was instantly frozen! Congealing in mid-air! Forming a bizarre, dark-golden pillar of blood!
Force Field Core Overload Countdown… 5 seconds!
"Die, you bastard!!!" Lei Zhan's lightning orbs on his fists flared to their maximum brilliance! He brutally… pressed them deep into the wound!
Crack—!!!
A teeth-grinding crunch! The Dragonkin's right forelimb… its congealed, dark-red flesh and bones… under the violent energy impact… actually… shattered! Snapped!
A massive severed claw, covered in black scales, slowly slid from the body, trailing congealed dark-golden blood! It crashed heavily onto the frozen ground!
Force Field Core Overload Countdown… 3 seconds!
"Now!" Zhao Xiaodao's eyes blazed with light! He clenched his jaw fiercely! Using all his strength! He plunged the high-frequency particle blade deep into the cracked center of the scales on the back of its neck!
Pfft—!!!
The high-frequency particle blade pierced through the scales without resistance! It stabbed into the flesh! Even into the gaps of the cervical vertebrae!
The Dragonkin's congealed pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks! An indescribable agony and the shadow of death, like a cold tide, instantly engulfed its consciousness!
Force Field Core Overload Countdown… 1 second!
Whoosh—!!!
The Entropy Reduction Force Field… instantly… vanished!
Time, space, and energy returned to normal!
"Roar—!!!"
A shrill, distorted roar, filled with extreme pain and… disbelief… suddenly exploded from deep within the Dragonkin's throat! A wail! Resounding throughout the entire passage!
Severe injury! A fatal severe injury!
The tyrannical ferocity in its crimson beast eyes instantly dimmed! Replaced by endless pain! Weakness! And a trace of unbelievable bewilderment!
It… died? Died at the hands of… these… ants?
It felt no humiliation dying under that man's Qin sword, sharp enough to seemingly tear space, but dying at the hands of a group of ants, it only felt its shattered heart about to burst from rage.
"Now! Focus fire! Heart!" Qin Weiguo roared, his voice tearing from the command center!
On both sides of the passage! Dozens of soldiers! Simultaneously pulled their triggers! High-energy armor-piercing rounds! Like a torrential rain! They fiercely shot towards the massive bloody hole in the Dragonkin's left chest!
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud—!!!
The armor-piercing rounds were like red-hot steel needles! They fiercely plunged into the flesh! Tearing muscles! Piercing bones! Shooting with incredible precision towards that dark-golden heart!
"Roar… ugh…" The Dragonkin's massive body… suddenly… stiffened! It slowly lowered its head, looking at that… completely torn and shattered heart.
In its crimson beast eyes… that last trace of light… slowly… extinguished!
But its consciousness screamed frantically before falling into slumber! Utterly unwilling!
Its massive body crashed to the ground like a collapsing mountain! It landed heavily on the scorched earth! Emitting a dull, colossal thud!
The Dragonkin… fell!
Dead silence!
Inside the passage… a deathly silence!
Only the gurgling of flowing blood and the soldiers' heavy, ox-like breathing!
Won? Really… won?!
Everyone collapsed to the ground as if drained! Their faces filled with the bewilderment of surviving a catastrophe and an unbelievable ecstasy!
Command Center.
Everyone stared blankly at the massive crimson light dot representing the Dragonkin on the holographic sandbox… slowly… dimming… extinguishing… until… it completely vanished!
Won? Really… won?!
After a brief silence!
"Woo—!!!"
"We won! We won!!!"
"The Dragon is dead! The Dragon is dead!!!"
A massive cheer! Like a long-suppressed volcano! Suddenly erupted! Resounding throughout the entire command center! Staff officers! Technical personnel! Even Qin Weiguo! Couldn't help but fiercely pump his fist! His eyes filled with indescribable excitement and a trace of relieved exhaustion!
Just as Ling Chen expected, after this incident, his presence would largely disappear.
Afterwards, when the 19th day after the apocalypse was mentioned, everyone would remember that they had killed a giant dragon, not that a severely wounded person was eaten by a mutated dog.
But… the excitement in Qin Weiguo's eyes… lasted only a brief moment! It was quickly replaced by gravity!
"Report casualties!" His voice was hoarse.
On the holographic screen, cold numbers slowly refreshed!
Fortress Defense Battle · Final Casualty Statistics
Deceased:
Ability Users: 17 (including 3 Elite Condensation Realm)
Soldiers: 1482
Civilians: 193 (Logistics/Medical)
Severely Wounded:
Ability Users: 9 (Zhou Yunguang / Lei Zhan, etc.)
Soldiers: 1037
Lightly Wounded: Over 10,000
Missing: Wu Zhengde (Chief Scientist)
Fortress Damage:
B3 Level Structure Damage Rate 62%
Energy Core Shield Overload (Repair requires 72 hours)
Outer Defense Perimeter Gate Damaged
Entropy Reduction Force Field Core Meltdown (Semi-Scrapped)
The cold numbers! Like heavy hammers! Struck hard at everyone's hearts!
Victory… was built… upon mountains of corpses and seas of blood!
"Commander…" A staff officer's voice was dry.
"The Dragonkin's corpse… how should it be handled? Its blood… is highly corrosive and… has unknown contamination…"
Qin Weiguo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the heaviness and grief in his heart. His gaze swept over the image of the massive Dragonkin corpse on the holographic screen, a flicker of… determination… in his eyes!
"Immediately seal off B3 level! Mobilize the highest-level bio-isolation team!"
"The corpse… must be preserved intact! Especially the reverse scale pendant area! No secondary damage is allowed!"
"Freeze it with liquid nitrogen! Transport it in a special alloy coffin! Send it directly to the top-secret research institute on the ninth underground level!"
He paused, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Wu Zhengde's research authority on the missing Dragonkin corpse… is temporarily transferred…"
His gaze slowly fell on a young figure in the corner of the command center, wearing a white research uniform, gold-rimmed glasses, silently standing in front of an instrument, rapidly recording data.
"Lin Mo."
Qin Weiguo slowly spoke, "You… will be fully responsible."
Lin Mo slowly raised his head.
He looked very young, perhaps only eighteen or nineteen. His delicate face carried a scholarly air, and the eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were calm and unruffled, like a bottomless cold pool.
Even facing Qin Weiguo's command and the gazes from around him—some surprised, some questioning, some envious—his expression… remained completely unchanged.
"Yes, Commander."
His voice was calm and clear, without any emotional fluctuations.
He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose. The gaze behind the lenses slowly swept over the image of the massive and ferocious Dragonkin corpse on the holographic screen.
That gaze was terrifyingly calm! No fear! No excitement! No curiosity! Only a coldness and focus, like the most precise instrument scanning a specimen!
His fingertip tapped the control panel very slightly.
A line of encrypted data stream, visible only to him, flashed across his eyes instantly.
Target: Dragonkin Corpse (Suspected True Dragon Subspecies)
Priority: SSS
Research Plan:
Reverse Scale Structure Analysis (Spatial Folding?)
Dragon Blood Gene Map (Key to Immortality?)
Energy Core Remains (Antimatter Annihilation?)
Lin Mo. Wu Zhengde's only direct disciple. Obtained dual Ph.D. degrees at 18.
Possesses a rare innate ability—【Machine Heart】, this ability grants absolute rational thinking and extremely high intelligence, allowing the user to think with absolute rationality and extremely high computational power, like a machine. Even upon awakening, one can possess the computing power of a high-configuration computer, truly a silicon-based life form in a carbon-based skin (also possesses emotional thinking, but it is relatively weak compared to the super-high rational thinking).
He was… one of the core researchers… of the "reverse scale pendant Energy Reverse Engineering" project led by Wu Zhengde.
He was also… the only one… who, after Wu Zhengde's disappearance… could completely take over his research data and… that… secretly preserved… reverse scale pendant energy imprint map.
His lips… curved upward… ever so slightly… into a… cold… arc.
Dragon? How interesting.
PS: Thanks to "Luo Zhi Sang" for "Powering for Love" x3, and "Tian Chai Shao Lian" for "Powering for Love" x1.
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