Chapter 264: System Problem

At the same time, Xuanyuan Qing was tangled with several cyborgs, but caught a glimpse of that huge flesh-and-blood computer, its energy supply seeming not quite right. Especially the key pipes maintaining its "life," the light at the interfaces dimming every few seconds, flickering unsteadily.

"Xiaochuan!" she roared in the gap between the gunfire, "The life support system of that thing has a problem!"

Xu Xiaochuan was struggling to dodge the wildly swinging energy tentacles, the resonance between the receiver on his back and that deformed heart growing stronger. It burned so much he winced. Just then, a strange code suddenly bored into his brain, but it felt damnably familiar—it was the backup plan Zhou Lin left behind, transmitted to him now through his old man's DNA.

The code repeated one meaning over and over: "Love."

Not the logical definition in program code, but real, human-to-human love. Xu Xiaochuan suddenly remembered what his old man used to mutter: "Donkey meat burgers, the secret recipe isn't in the ingredients, it's in the heat control."

That old man wasn't talking about cooking at all!

"Fuck, I get it!" Xu Xiaochuan shouted at the lump of rotting meat. "The three interfaces of the core life support system are backdoors Zhou Lin left on purpose!"

He pointed at three places at the bottom of the "heart" flashing with eerie red light. "Right there! We have to destroy all three of those things at the same time to release the virus she left behind!"

In the cockpit, Zhou Weihong's digital image twisted abruptly, his features nearly squashed together. "No! Stop them!"

More energy tentacles shot out from the surface of the core, lashing out wildly like they'd gone mad. Xiao Chengzhou also realized what was happening and immediately ordered his cyborgs: "Concentrate fire! Protect those three interfaces!"

"Someone has to draw the aggro!" Lin Yu roared while dodging Xiao Chengzhou's tricky attacks.

Xu Xiaochuan and Xuanyuan Qing exchanged a glance, no words needed. Xuanyuan Qing nodded, the last bit of bronze liquid at her fingertips flicking out, drawing an nearly invisible arc in the air.

"I'll draw them away," she said, her voice a bit airy but steady, "you go dismantle that thing."

Lin Yu's white hair exploded instantly, a visible shockwave sweeping out and sending the surrounding cyborgs stumbling. "I'll hold off this guy and these tentacles; you two hurry up!"

Xuanyuan Qing leaped, the bronze liquid at her fingertips turning into a blade, precisely slicing through a main power cable above her head. Blinding electric sparks crackled and fell, the light in the entire underground space instantly flickering, creating chaos.

Now's the time! Xu Xiaochuan lunged toward the beating flesh-and-blood core. The resonance between the receiver on his back and the core was nearly sucking him in, the blue light nearly about to burn through his skin. With every step closer, he could feel more clearly the emotional fragments being twisted and imprisoned inside the core wailing—these were memories Zhou Weihong had stripped from countless people over the years.

"Upload progress 90%, core fusion about to complete," the emotionless female system voice sounded again.

Xu Xiaochuan gritted his teeth, his tattered school uniform long since soaked through with sweat and someone's blood, sticking stickily to his body. He had to destroy those three red dots before Zhou Weihong succeeded completely!

The first interface was right before his eyes, flashing red, connected to a pipe as thick as a bucket. Xu Xiaochuan reached out to grab it—

"Bang!"

An energy tentacle lashed solidly against his back, the force outrageously strong, sending him flying several meters like a broken sack, the back of his head hitting the ground, stars dancing before his eyes.

"Xiaochuan!" Xuanyuan Qing's voice came from afar, laced with urgency.

Xu Xiaochuan shook his head, his back hurting like it was broken, but the resonance of the receiver was even stronger, as if pointing him the way.

"I'm fine!" he roared, crawling up with hands and feet, lunging toward the interface again.

This time he caught it! The moment his palm touched the pipe, the blue light of the receiver collided violently with the red light of the interface! The membrane on the surface of the pipe shook violently, as if a living thing were screaming.

"First one!" Xu Xiaochuan pulled hard, forcibly tearing off a section of the pipe, blue viscous liquid spraying everywhere.

That huge flesh-and-blood heart let out a piercing screech, more energy tentacles lashing out wildly. In the cockpit, Zhou Weihong's image shook even more violently, his voice filled with frustration and an undisguisable panic.

"Stop! You'll destroy everything!"

Xiao Chengzhou also panicked, his mechanical right arm clicking and deforming into a high-energy pulse gun glowing with blue light, the muzzle aimed directly at Xu Xiaochuan. "Don't let him get near the next one!"

Lin Yu's white hair surged instantly, pulling up a barrier between him and Xu Xiaochuan. "Your opponent is me!"

On the other side, Xuanyuan Qing had already nimbly climbed to the side of the "heart," the last bit of bronze liquid at her fingertips turning into a thin needle, which she slammed into the control panel of the second interface.

"Sizzle—" A series of electric sparks exploded, the red light of the interface turning an abnormal purple.

"Second one is wasted too!" she shouted, her voice laced with panting after exhaustion.

Only one left! Xu Xiaochuan looked up, fuck, the third interface was at the very top of the core, nearly level with Zhou Weihong's transparent canopy. To get up there, he had to climb the writhing, slippery rotting meat on the surface of this thing.

"Upload progress 95%, core fusion about to complete," the female system voice sounded again, this time seeming a beat faster.

Xu Xiaochuan cursed, took a deep breath, and started climbing with hands and feet. The surface of the thing was sticky and hot, the feel disgusting to death. With every inch he moved up, he could feel the pain and struggle of countless consciousnesses beneath his feet.

"You think you can stop me like this?" Zhou Weihong's voice came from overhead, carrying thick mockery. "I've studied this for thirty years, how could I not have anticipated someone would sabotage it? Those interfaces were just bait! The real core is here!"

He pointed to the center of his cockpit, where a smaller, similarly beating heart-shaped object was suspended, its pulsation perfectly synchronized with the big monster outside.

Xu Xiaochuan didn't stop, continuing to climb, nearly reaching the third interface. "Then why the fuck are you trying to stop me?"

Zhou Weihong's digital image lagged significantly, as if stumped by this profanity. Taking advantage of this moment of hesitation, Xu Xiaochuan seized the opportunity, grabbing the control lever of the third interface!

The blue light of the receiver on his back surged! It collided with the energy of the interface instantly! An indescribable energy wave exploded along the connection point, spreading along the pipe and instantly through the entire flesh-and-blood core!

"No!" Zhou Weihong's image twisted violently, letting out an unwilling roar, "Upload interrupted! System unstable!" ===== CHAPTER 265 =====