Chapter 267: Self-Destruct Countdown!!

Seeing the situation was completely out of control and beyond saving, Xiao Chengzhou flashed a hint of ruthlessness in his eyes, retreated abruptly, and pressed a hidden button on his wrist without hesitation: "Retreat! Activate Plan B!"

The remaining cyborgs abandoned the fight immediately, retreating toward the passage they came from without any hesitation.

"Don't let him run!" Lin Yu roared, wanting to pursue, but his energy was exhausted, his white hair having shrunk by more than half, its luster dim, his speed clearly slowing down.

Just then, in the deepest part of the core, that cluster of soft white light flashed abruptly without warning, instantly turning into blinding ghostly blue, then immediately into ominous blood red!

"Warning! Core emotional data overflow! System balance collapse! Self-destruct program activated!"

Zhou Weihong's image struggled frantically in the cockpit, letting out a desperate roar: "No! Lin! You can't do this! We were about to succeed!"

The female voice was no longer gentle, her tone filled with a kind of determination and relief: "I'm sorry, Weihong. All of this, it's time to end."

The flesh-and-blood core began to vibrate violently, the flesh membrane on its surface peeling and dissolving in large patches, revealing the tangled and twisted circuits and energy conduits like blood vessels underneath, constantly erupting with blinding electric arcs and violent energy flows.

"Self-destruct program countdown: 60 seconds."

"Run! This damn place is going to explode!" Lin Yu roared, his voice somewhat distorted.

Xu Xiaochuan slid down from the top of the core, the blue light of the receiver on his back having extinguished completely, as if it had burned out its last bit of energy. He fell heavily to the ground, his legs soft, barely able to stand, yet gritting his teeth and forcing himself to crawl up.

The three of them didn't hesitate, running toward the passage entrance with all their might.

The energy fluctuations behind them grew more violent, scorching air waves slapping against their backs one after another, nearly about to ignite them.

"Go! Faster!" Lin Yu was at the back, stretching his remaining white hair as much as possible, barely blocking the metal fragments and gravel flying like a rainstorm from behind.

The entire passage was deforming and collapsing in the violent vibration, dust and stones falling from overhead like rain.

"Self-destruct program countdown: 30 seconds."

The entire space was shaking and decomposing, steel bars twisting, concrete blocks falling, the drumbeat of death knocking louder and louder.

The flesh-and-blood computer's surface flesh fell off layer by layer, revealing the tangled circuits and energy conduits underneath, spraying blue energy flows from the broken ends, the air smelling of a burnt mixture of roast meat and ozone.

"Lin! Stop! I did all this for you! For Xiao Ya!"

Zhou Weihong's digital image twisted beyond recognition in the cockpit, his voice torn into electronic fragments, carrying the panic of scraping bone.

In the white light, a woman's silhouette emerged vaguely, gentle yet carrying a kind of programmatic coldness.

It was the backup plan left by Zhou Lin, a piece of consciousness backup that had been activated.

"Weihong, it's been thirty years."

Her voice was very light, yet it drowned out the roar around them.

"Look at what you've become? And what you've turned Xiao Ya into? This isn't living, this is being in prison."

"25 seconds."

Xu Xiaochuan stumbled toward the passage, the receiver on his back, although not lit, sending bursts of dull, excruciating pain from his spine, as if being twisted repeatedly by red-hot pliers.

He stopped abruptly, turning to look at the flesh-and-blood lump that was about to be finished.

He could feel that in the deepest part of the core, two consciousness energies were colliding fiercely.

"Child! Run!"

Zhou Lin's voice bored directly into his brain.

"This place is going to explode completely!"

"20 seconds."

On the other side, Xiao Chengzhou crawled out from a pile of junk, his suit long since reduced to rags, revealing large areas of mechanical modification underneath.

He scanned the surroundings coldly, quickly judging the situation.

The core was about to be finished, Zhou Weihong's digital image couldn't hold on much longer, and the three guys who had broken in were all exhausted.

Opportunity!

He lunged toward the core abruptly.

"The core is finished, but the data backbone can still be saved!"

Xiao Chengzhou's metal arm clicked and deformed, extending a data interface, lunging straight for the top of the computer core.

"Professor Zhou, your era is over, your achievements, I'll take them!"

"You dog!"

Lin Yu's nearly exhausted white hair exploded again, turning into a phantom, blocking Xiao Chengzhou and the core firmly.

"Still not giving up?"

"15 seconds."

Xuanyuan Qing leaned against the passage entrance, the bronze liquid at her fingertips nearly imperceptible, but she could still "hear" that inside the core, Zhou Lin's program and Zhou Weihong's consciousness were engaged in a final slaughter.

Zhou Weihong was collapsing, and the program left by Zhou Lin was also fading rapidly.

"Qing'er, get Xiaochuan out!" Lin Yu roared, forcibly squeezing out the last bit of Void energy from his palm and colliding with Xiao Chengzhou. "I'll take out this madman!"

Xiao Chengzhou's mechanical body was mostly machine, his speed and strength terrifyingly strong. His electronic eyes flashed red. "A failed product that's nearly out of fuel, daring to block me?"

"10 seconds."

Zhou Weihong's data image shattered completely, turning into countless flickering fragments, disappearing into the energy storm.

His final voice carried endless despair and confusion: "Lin... I just wanted you to live... just wanted Xiao Ya to come back..."

Zhou Lin's program turned toward Xu Xiaochuan, sending the final message: "Thank you... Xu Jianhua's child... the Zero Machine cannot fall into anyone's hands... purify it completely... don't let anyone... steal anyone else's emotions again..." ===== CHAPTER 268 =====

All the emotional data collected over thirty years, the memories of thousands upon thousands of people, and those fragments of information scattered in the nooks and crannies of Si Jiu City.

"I must..."

Xu Xiaochuan clenched his fists, the veins on his forehead bulging.

"Completely format it!"

He roared a command at that connection.

Relying on the highest authority left behind by his old man, plus the guidance of Zhou Lin's program, he was going to make the Zero Machine execute the most thorough, irreversible formatting!

"Xiaochuan!" Xuanyuan Qing grabbed his arm tightly, "It's too late! Run!"

"Five seconds."

Lin Yu had exhausted his final strength, yet he had successfully forced Xiao Chengzhou back by half a step.

A beam of dark golden light shot from his palm, striking the mechanical core in the center of the opponent's chest.

"This... impossible!" Xiao Chengzhou's mechanical eyeballs flickered wildly, electric sparks dancing across the surface of his body, "You... you should have run out of energy long ago..."

"Holding you back is enough for me." Lin Yu panted heavily, the white hair on his head almost entirely gone.

Xiao Chengzhou's mechanical body cracked inch by inch, emitting a harsh metallic noise; he reached out unwillingly, pointing at Lin Yu: "Arrogant... you cannot stop the true evolution..."

"Three seconds."

Zhou Weihong's data image shattered completely, turning into countless flickering fragments that vanished into the energy storm.

His final voice carried endless despair and confusion: "Lin... I just wanted you to survive... I just wanted Xiao Ya to come back..."

Zhou Lin's program turned toward Xu Xiaochuan, transmitting the final message: "Thank you... Xu Jianhua's child... the Zero Machine cannot fall into anyone's hands... purify it completely... don't let anyone... steal other people's emotions ever again..."