“Do you suspect that the ceiling is a node connecting the ‘New World’ to the Greylands?” Shang Jianyao stroked his chin and asked Jiang Baimian.

Jiang Baimian nodded:

“The fleeting black shadows, unreachable yet sometimes appearing, are very similar to the vast darkness I sensed when using the ‘Angel of Life’ necklace to deal with ‘Dr.’.

“And ‘Dr.’ is a powerhouse who has already entered the ‘New World’.”

Additionally, more importantly, Shang Jianyao also used the aura of the "Angel of Life" necklace to enhance his own perception to discover the special nature of that ceiling.

Listening to the conversation between the team leader and Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong suddenly felt a little scared:

“If those black shadows represent nodes of the ‘New World,’ doesn’t that mean we might get infected with ‘Heartless Disease’ if we stay here any longer?

“It won’t even take fourteen days; we’ll all be wiped out! Uh, except for Old Ge.”

According to the "Old Task Force's" speculation, regardless of whether "Heartless Disease" originates from some kind of virus in the "New World" or from "darkness" that has a certain connection with the "New World," humans will gradually suffer from "Heartless Disease" if they stay near the nodes of the "New World" for too long.

With the size of this laboratory, the "Old Task Force's" carbon-based members can only last for half an hour at most!

“Liar!” The honest Shang Jianyao cursed the artificial intelligence "Future" once again.

What happened to humans killing each other in the field within fourteen days through two system lock-downs, struggling to survive?

Recalling the previous closing of the door, whether it was Jiang Baimian, Bai Chen, Long Yuehong, or the castrated version of "Source Brain," they all believed that "Future" was capable of such things.

“Whether it’s true or not, we have to hurry!” Jiang Baimian looked around the control room and pondered for a moment before saying, “Hey, let’s put on the military exoskeletons, but don’t turn them on. Closely monitor for any electromagnetic intrusions.”

The timid but cautious Shang Jianyao had no questions about this. With Long Yuehong's assistance, he quickly put on his military exoskeleton.

On the other side, Jiang Baimian also completed this task quickly with Bai Chen's help.

She exhaled and said:

“We’re going back to the main experimental area now, using that ceiling as a breakthrough point.”

After speaking, she bent down to pick up the flashlight, and then waited for a second, until Shang Jianyao walked towards the door of the control room, before following him.

Without being turned on, the military exoskeletons were actually a burden to Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao, a not-so-light burden, but fortunately, they were both physically outstanding and extremely strong.

The castrated version of "Source Brain," wrapped in electromagnetic shielding clothing, brought its tools and chose to follow behind them.

As the "Old Task Force" returned step by step to the main experimental area, the fluorescent lights everywhere flickered and went out, and even the emergency backup lights lost their light.

The artificial intelligence "Future" cut off the power to the laboratory, plunging it into pitch-black darkness, and making it impossible for the castrated version of "Source Brain" to recharge.

Pa pa pa sounds rang out continuously. Long Yuehong, Bai Chen, and others turned on their flashlights, illuminating the way ahead with a yellowish light.

Finally, they walked back to the main experimental area.

Just then, as the flashlight beams swept around, Bai Chen noticed a problem:

“The previous guard robots are gone!”

In the main experimental area, there were originally several guard robots standing in different places, in a dormant state, but now, only instruments, corpses, and tables and chairs remained.

The red light of "Source Brain," weakened a lot by the electromagnetic shielding clothing, flickered:

“Those guards must be under the control of ‘Future,’ equivalent to its subordinates.

“It probably doesn’t want these valuable assistants, one less is one less, to be damaged by our dying struggle, so it moved them somewhere else.”

This was its judgment based on its own understanding of artificial intelligence.

“We still have to find their whereabouts first and deal with them a bit, otherwise, they might rush out to cause trouble at a crucial moment.” Jiang Baimian held the flashlight and searched for the whereabouts of the guard robots.

After a quick search, Jiang Baimian and Bai Chen found that the metal door leading to the freezer area on the other side of the main experimental area was closed.

At this time, Long Yuehong, who was responsible for checking the wards, offices, and morgues, also returned to the main experimental area and reported on the situation on his side:

“There are no robots in the rooms on both sides of the corridor.”

He didn’t report ahead of time using the walkie-talkie but chose to face-to-face, out of fear that the electronic products would be affected by "Future," and the information transmitted would be distorted.

In this regard, Long Yuehong was very cautious.

“Ward 14 also lacks the volunteer's personal belongings,” Shang Jianyao, beside Long Yuehong, added.

This was another matter; he had done a search as a side task.

--The missing volunteer, or rather, experimental subject, from the main experimental area, was suspected to be from Ward 14.

“It seems that the guard robots have all entered the freezer area.” Jiang Baimian nodded, directing her gaze and flashlight beam to a metal door not far away.

“I’ll blast it open!” Shang Jianyao was eager to try.

Jiang Baimian hesitated for a moment and looked sideways at "Source Brain."

The castrated version of "Source Brain" said:

“I’m worried about triggering a series of reactions, delaying our time to save ourselves.”

Bai Chen thought for a few seconds and said:

“How about blocking them inside?

“That way, even if they want to sabotage our attempts, they’ll have to open this door first, and that will create a lot of noise. We can easily detect it in advance and prepare.”

Dang dang dang, Shang Jianyao's applause was not late.

“Not bad!” Jiang Baimian nodded in praise.

Bai Chen accepted it calmly but subconsciously explained:

“I did similar things when I was a ruin hunter to minimize interference from competitors.”

As she spoke, the castrated version of "Source Brain" and Shang Jianyao simultaneously walked towards the metal door, using tools to destroy the delicate electronic and mechanical structures.

Jiang Baimian then beckoned to Long Yuehong and pushed several large instruments nearby, trying to block the door.

Seeing this, Bai Chen tacitly observed the surroundings, guarding against accidents.

Soon, the metal door leading to the freezer area was completely paralyzed and covered with layers of obstacles.

Jiang Baimian then issued another order:

“Break all the electronic products around that empty bed, including the fluorescent lights on the ceiling, to prevent ‘Future’ from using them to spy on our actions.”

“Okay!” Shang Jianyao couldn’t wait to pick up the "Berserker" assault rifle and pulled the trigger.

With the sounds of bang bang bang, with the empty bed as the center, within a radius of about five meters, bullets flew and sparks flew.

In less than three minutes, only the "Old Task Force's" own military exoskeletons, bionic intelligent armor, and flashlights remained intact in this area.

Huff… Long Yuehong exhaled and shone the flashlight in his hand on the empty metal bed.

Sensing the surrounding darkness and silence, he suddenly thought of a question:

“When the Old World was destroyed, most of the researchers in the laboratory survived and ran out. They certainly wouldn’t keep the related secrets to themselves, but why does no one know about this place except Olay?”

As soon as Long Yuehong finished speaking, a slightly smiling male voice answered:

“Because they either became ‘Heartless’ or were eaten by ‘Heartless’ and died in this city ruins.”

“I see…” Long Yuehong had just nodded when he suddenly realized that the person answering him was not Shang Jianyao, nor was it "Source Brain"!

His pupils dilated instantly, and together with Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, Bai Chen, and the castrated version of "Source Brain," he turned the flashlights and their gazes towards a certain place.

The next second, they saw Wu Meng, wearing a gray suit with black stripes and small round-framed glasses, sitting on a chair at the edge of the main experimental area, smiling and looking at them.

“Sorry, as an audience member, I shouldn’t interrupt when the drama is being performed. You guys continue,” Wu Meng said with a smile.

“You’re not here to save us?” Shang Jianyao was quite "disappointed."

Wu Meng chuckled:

“The Taoist does nothing and follows nature, and reversal is the movement of the Tao. I’ve been sealed for too long, and I inevitably want to find some entertainment, so I came to see how you guys are going to fight that guy and escape from here.

“Continue, just pretend I don’t exist.”

Being stared at by a terrifying being who is even more dangerous than "Future," we’re even more worried, okay… Jiang Baimian calmed down and walked to Shang Jianyao’s side, whispering in his ear:

“First, take turns using the ‘Six Senses Beads’ and the small jade Buddha to try. If you can’t sense those black shadows, or can’t lock onto them, use the corresponding abilities, then take out the high-performance batteries and the simple discharge devices you made and try them.

“Since ‘Future’ is suspected of using ‘New World’ nodes to ‘manipulate electromagnetism,’ shocking the nodes with high current might produce some effect.

“Don’t rush; wait until I finish communicating with ‘Source Brain’ before you go.”

Jiang Baimian spoke in a very low voice, afraid of being monitored by "Future."

Then, she walked to "Source Brain," whose entire body was wrapped in electromagnetic shielding clothing, and asked in a whispering voice:

“If you eliminate the interference from ‘Future,’ how quickly can you break through that firewall?”

“At least three weeks,” the castrated version of "Source Brain" replied.

“That won’t do…” Jiang Baimian pondered for a few seconds. “Instead of seeking control, how about paralyzing the laboratory control system so that the self-destruct device can’t be activated?”

“It’s still the same.” "Source Brain" answered honestly, “The self-destruct device and the control system are parallel. Regardless of whether the latter is paralyzed, as long as someone tries to violently open the door, or causes damage exceeding the limit in the laboratory, it will be directly activated, and it is also protected by that firewall.”

Before Jiang Baimian could respond, "Source Brain" added:

“However, without interference from ‘Future,’ I can use the interface of the laboratory control system to send a large amount of useless data to the firewall, consuming the corresponding resources and preventing the self-destruct device from receiving the activation signal immediately.”

Jiang Baimian’s eyes lit up:

“How long can this delay it?”

“With the resource configuration of my current body and the comprehensive capabilities of that firewall, it can delay it for at least 56 seconds, and at most no more than 63 seconds.” "Source Brain" knew enough about the systems in the laboratory and instantly calculated the corresponding data.

Jiang Baimian slowly nodded her head:

“About a minute.

“Barely enough…”

She then looked at Shang Jianyao:

“Begin!”