Afterward, she slowly turned around, lowering her head to look at the altar beneath her feet. The altar was engraved with ancient and intricate runes, resembling a forbidden ritualistic formation left behind by some ancient civilization.
Her gaze was as deep as an abyss, as if she could see through the power hidden within the runes, or as if she were contemplating a higher level of truth.
"When the energy gathers to overflowing, all things will submit to me."
She murmured softly, her voice as cold as a venomous snake.
"At that time, Elbaf, the New Navy, even the entire world, will be nothing more than a vessel for me."
Imu's voice echoed in the empty hall, as if carrying some kind of magic, causing the surrounding darkness to tremble.
She looked at the mirror again, her gaze indifferent and ruthless, as if she were staring not at living beings, but at pawns to be manipulated at will.
With a flick of her finger, the scene in the mirror instantly changed, transforming into a view of another secret laboratory on the Red Line.
In the laboratory, hundreds of instruments were operating, and in each huge container, artificial life forms that had not yet taken shape were floating.
Those bodies had not yet fully formed into human shapes, but each one emitted a powerful energy波动.
Imu smiled coldly and whispered:
"Since the harvest is insufficient, let's start with creation.
The outcome of this game was never in doubt."
Imu stood alone in this dim secret room, surrounded by flickering, strange lights of various colors, making it difficult to discern whether these instruments were technology or some unknown magical product.
In the center of the room was a towering cylindrical device, filled with an unknown liquid that sometimes rippled with dark red hues and sometimes bloomed with eerie blue glows.
Whenever the liquid surged, a deep humming sound would emanate throughout the room, echoing rhythmically like a heartbeat.
Imu raised her eyes and stared at the device before her, her gaze deep and cold.
Her slender fingers gently stroked the surface of the cylinder, and where she touched, a faint light extended along her fingertips, as if responding to her call.
"Power can only be held in one's own hands,"
she murmured, her voice like frost scraping across something.
She turned and looked at the huge capsules on both sides of the room, neatly arranged with biological weapons.
These weapons resembled humans in appearance, but each had extraordinary characteristics: crimson eyes, blade-like claws, and enhanced muscles that shimmered with metallic luster.
They floated silently in the culture fluid, like sleeping cheetahs, but the pressure they exuded was enough to suffocate ordinary people.
"Humanity?"
Imu scoffed lightly and reached out to open the control panel of the capsule.
She looked at the complex data on the screen, a sneer appearing on the corner of her mouth.
"A laughable thing, fragile and vulnerable."
She had never trusted anyone—not even the Five Elders, she merely regarded them as pawns on a chessboard.
Human loyalty was a joke in her eyes, and only these biological weapons and instruments, created by her own hands, were her true reliance.
"Only the power I control will not betray me."
She reached out and pressed a button, and the culture fluid in the capsules began to recede rapidly. The biological weapons slowly opened their eyes, and the scarlet light appeared exceptionally dazzling in the darkness.
They did not make any sound, but knelt on one knee in unison, lowering their heads and waiting for Imu's command.
"You are my creation, an extension of my will."
Imu slowly walked to these weapons, her voice cold and majestic.
"No need for thought, no need for fear, only obedience.
Now, it's time for you to prove yourselves."
She waved her hand, and the weapons stood up in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized, as if one soul controlled countless bodies.
Each weapon released an unspeakable sense of oppression. Compared to the Seraphim, these weapons were more ferocious and more cold-blooded, because they had no independent consciousness at all, only tools of slaughter.
Imu returned to the cylindrical device and gently raised her hand, the dark red light in the liquid began to surge dramatically, as if responding to her call.
A crack opened at the top of the device, and a beam of light shot out, directly covering Imu.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and a cruel smile appeared on her face.
"The life force of these humans will ultimately become my nourishment."
She slowly opened her eyes, and her deep pupils now flickered with a dark red light.
"Jhin, Elbaf, the Navy, the Revolutionary Army… all rebels are nothing more than sacrifices to my power."
She raised her hands, and the instruments throughout the room began to operate. The humming of the machines was like a low war song, and streams of energy flowed towards Imu, gathering on her.
Her figure was gradually enveloped in light, as if transcending human existence.
"It's time to end this game."
Imu's voice echoed in the room, cold and ruthless, yet full of absolute control.
Imu stood before the massive energy core device, the dim light rising from behind her, stretching her figure long and majestic.
Her fingers gently slid across the complex control panel on the device, and with each touch, the mechanical instruments throughout the room emitted a deep rumble, as if playing the overture to the coming catastrophe.
She slowly turned around, her gaze falling on the sleeping biological weapons before her, her tone cold and arrogant:
"Soon, you will soon be able to appear in this world."
Her tone was devoid of any warmth, as if reading out an unchangeable order.
One after another, the sleeping biological weapons opened their crimson eyes, as if demons from the depths of hell had been awakened.
Their very existence was a disaster, and Imu knew that only such power could completely cleanse this decaying world and pave the way for her rule.
"Your mission is not to fight."
Imu said in a low voice, her voice filled with cold determination.
"But to destroy."
Her eyes flashed with a crazed light, as if she could already see the whole world trembling beneath her hands.
With Imu's command, the floor beneath her feet slowly cracked open, revealing a bottomless black fissure before her.
A faint sound of seawater surging came from the fissure, a sound that seemed to come from ancient times, carrying an irresistible force.
Imu slowly walked to the fissure, raised her hand, and gently stroked the air with her fingertips.
An invisible force spread out, and the surrounding instruments suddenly accelerated their operation, causing the entire room to vibrate.
"This world was born from the ocean, and I will let it return to the ocean again."
Imu looked up at the ceiling, a certain indescribable obsession burning in her deep eyes.
"All the land, all the islands, will be swallowed by the sea.
At that time, only I will be able to stand at the pinnacle."
Her fingers slid across the control panel again, and the energy core began to operate frantically, releasing a blinding light.
Pillars of blue energy rose from the fissure, soaring straight into the clouds.
