Chapter 246: Cocoon Burning

The Data Cocoon suddenly contracted into a sphere three meters in diameter, and three hundred projections of Xiao Chengzhou simultaneously raised Donkey Meat Burgers that were sparking with electricity. Fragments of Xu Xiaochuan's school uniform were stuck in the Liquid Code, corroded into honeycomb-like scorch marks.

Xuanyuan Qing whipped out a Silver Bell Fragment, stabbing it into a crack in the sphere, and bronze debris suddenly adsorbed the surrounding Virtual Leek Filling. The scent of burnt Sugar-Fried Chestnuts filled the entire space, and the Data Stream began to devour the projections of Xiao Chengzhou in reverse.

"Old Xu mixed a Virus into the filling!" Xu Xiaochuan pulled a frozen-hard Donkey Meat Burger from his trouser pocket; the Chip inside the meat filling was burning hot. He slammed the burger onto the surface of the Data Cocoon, and the grease burned charred gullies along the patterns of the code.

Lin Yu's white hair suddenly turned into a Data Stream, and gold-black energy surged from the tattoo on his chest toward his fingertips. The console of the Zero Machine emerged from the Void, with twenty-year-old Fennel Scraps still stuck to the keys.

Xiao Chengzhou's projection suddenly split in two, and Data Tentacles extended from his gold-rimmed glasses: "You don't understand what eternal life is at all..." Before he could finish speaking, Lin Yu grabbed his virtual tie, and the gold-black energy burned along the pattern of the tie into the Core Code.

Xuanyuan Qing suddenly discovered that the Silver Bell Fragment was absorbing the energy of the Data Cocoon, and Xu Jianhua's fingerprint seeped out from the bronze cracks. She grabbed Xu Xiaochuan's wrist and pressed it against the surface of the bell; the leek juice on the cuffs of his school uniform suddenly activated a hidden program.

The entire Data Cocoon suddenly began playing the Wedding March, and Xiao Chengzhou's projections began to perform a Mechanical Dance. Three hundred clones simultaneously raised Steamers emitting blue light, and Antivirus Programs the size of fireflies flew out from the leek filling.

"The password is the number of days to pickle Laba Garlic!" Qin Tianluo suddenly pried open his own smoking Mechanical Skull, and "Xu's Secret Recipe - 28 days" was engraved on the Chip. The Holographic Keyboard projected by his Electronic Eye had keys shaped entirely like Bun Folds.

Xu Xiaochuan's worn-out sneakers kicked the console violently, and the tread of his soles jammed into the groove of the Shutdown Button. The Data Cocoon suddenly split into seventeen lightning-shaped cracks, and Xiao Chengzhou's screams gushed out, mixed with the smell of burnt leeks.

Lin Yu suddenly dragged the two of them and jumped into the crack, the gold-black energy condensing into a steamer-shaped shield. The virtual space began to pixelate and collapse, and behind them emerged the true form of the Zero Machine—a fifty-meter-high Circular Device covered in Sugar-Fried Chestnut shells.

Xuanyuan Qing's back slammed into a blue-glowing Server, and the Silver Bell Fragment suddenly melted and reorganized. The Bronze Solution condensed into the shape of Xu Jianhua's right hand, which was missing a finger joint, and gestured an "OK" sign toward the Void.

Twenty Monitors exploded simultaneously, and the real Xiao Chengzhou tumbled out of the Data Stream. His gold-rimmed glasses were half-shattered, and his Tactical Suit was stained with sweet-and-sour-flavored code residue.

"It's time to settle the bill for the buns." Lin Yu's gold-black energy wrapped around his ankles, and the three hundred clones suddenly turned their guns. The high-pressure steam sprayed by the Steamer Firewall burned the last of the Data Cocoon into a charred Donkey Meat Burger.

Xu Xiaochuan's sneakers sank into the sticky Data Swamp, and blue smoke smelling of leeks hissed from the toes of his shoes. Xuanyuan Qing tore off a moldy Ventilation Filter, and a thirty-year-old Work ID suddenly slid out from the rusted interlayer—it showed Xu Jianhua wearing a grease-stained white lab coat, with half a piece of Laba Garlic pinned to his chest.

"Go!" Xuanyuan Qing grabbed the Work ID and jammed it into the Elevator Control Panel, and the elevator car suddenly moved laterally. The hem of Xu Xiaochuan's school uniform was caught by a gear, and in the tearing, it revealed a floor plan of a donkey meat shop tattooed on his back. The blueprint projected red light onto the steel plate, illuminating the data flames in the eye sockets of thirteen Mechanical Soldiers.

Qin Tianluo's Mechanical Spine suddenly hung down from the ventilation duct, and the blue liquid sprayed by the Hydraulic Pipe burned through three mechanical skulls. His only remaining Electronic Eye popped out a Holographic Map before it burst, with a bright red X marked at the position of the seventh rib.

"Old Qin!" Xu Xiaochuan's fingernails dug into the gap of the elevator door, and acid was corroding the soles of his canvas shoes. Xuanyuan Qing suddenly whipped out half of a Silver Bell Chain to entangle a Mechanical Arm, and the bronze surface split into two Light Spears after absorbing the blue liquid.

The laboratory dome cracked open, and three hundred Elliptical Instruments poured down. Xiao Chengzhou's synthesized voice echoed, mixed with the sound of shattering glass: "Zero Machine self-destruct countdown: seven minutes and twenty-three seconds—"

Lin Yu's Tactical Boots sank into the Data Swamp, and gold-black energy flowed backward along his hair into the Void. Twenty-seven of Xiao Chengzhou's data clones were tearing at his Memory Bank, and every wound oozed grease from a Donkey Meat Burger. He suddenly grabbed the temple of a clone's gold-rimmed glasses, and Surveillance Footage of Xu Jianhua falling from the building seeped out from the cracks in the lenses.

"You tampered with the experimental data!" Lin Yu's fist broke through the Data Stream, shattering the Projector's Core Code. The clones suddenly convulsed collectively, and the Barcodes on their chests oozed mucus that smelled of Sugar-Fried Chestnuts.

Xuanyuan Qing's back hit a Liquid Nitrogen Tank, and the crisp sound of her Safety Suit cracking from the cold mixed with the howling of Mechanical Dogs. Xu Xiaochuan suddenly tore open his school uniform and slapped it against the wall; the fabric fibers absorbed the blue light and revealed a hidden route—the destination was the Zhu Lacquer Steamer at the Zero Machine's heat vent.

"The password is Old Xu's finger-guessing chant!" He kicked open the deformed Ventilation Grille, and thirty-seven Mechanical Soldiers suddenly turned their guns. The moment the Steamer Lid exploded, the leek filling condensed into a Data Stream and entangled their treads.

Qin Tianluo's remains suddenly fell from the ceiling, and his mechanical finger bones jammed into a crack in the main console. Amidst the alarm of energy overload, his final Electronic Eye reflected the smiling face of an eight-year-old Xu Xiaochuan: "Tell Old Lin... the steamer must turn clockwise..."

Hydraulic oil mixed with blue blood sprayed all over the teenager's face. Xu Xiaochuan's school uniform pocket suddenly vibrated, and the Firecracker he had hidden three days ago exploded among the mechanical swarm, creating data fireworks. Xuanyuan Qing took the opportunity to throw the Silver Bell Fragment toward the heat vent, and the bronze melted into the shape of a key after absorbing three hundred laser beams.

Xiao Chengzhou's true body suddenly leaped out from the Data Sea, and Centipede Tentacles extended from his cracked gold-rimmed glasses frame. Lin Yu's white hair suddenly ignited into gold-black flames, and Void Energy flowed backward along the tentacles into the opponent's Core Code. Twenty-year-old experimental records flashed in the Data Stream—Xiao Chengzhou's clone was pushing Xu Jianhua off the rooftop.

"You are the defective product!" Lin Yu's fist wind tore open the virtual projection, revealing the pulsating tumor-like core behind it. The Zero Machine suddenly tilted forty-five degrees, and Xuanyuan Qing swung over holding a flaming cable, her boot soles scraping against the Data Swamp and kicking up a burnt leek smell.

Xu Xiaochuan's sneakers were stuck outside the protective cover of the Restart Button, the surface of which was covered in Alloy Armor shaped like Sugar-Fried Chestnut shells. He felt Qin Tianluo's mechanical finger joints still clutching half a Donkey Meat Burger, and the Chip inside the meat filling suddenly began playing "The Most Dazzling Folk Style."

Three hundred clones suddenly began to tap dance in unison, and Xiao Chengzhou's Data Stream twisted into a pretzel shape amidst the chaos. When Xuanyuan Qing jammed the Silver Bell Key into the lock of the protective cover, the sound of a steamer releasing pressure whistled through the entire laboratory.

Lin Yu's temples throbbed violently. He saw himself twenty years ago being injected with blue liquid, and Xu Jianhua's right hand, missing a finger joint, suddenly turned the needle and stabbed it into the neck of Xiao Chengzhou's clone. The metal frame of the Zero Machine began to carbonize, and Void Energy surged along the cracks toward the Restart Button.