Chapter 289

A loud "Boom—" came from the direction of the hidden door; the door panel was clearly deformed!

Lin Yu no longer hesitated, pressing that nauseating piece of tissue into the groove on his palm, then forcefully pressing the black "brain" onto it.

"Zzz—" The scanner suddenly lit up with a blinding red light, flashing rapidly like an alarm!

"Attempting... to bypass verification..." Xiao Ya's voice also carried a trace of electrical fluctuation, as if this operation was an immense burden on her, "Energy... insufficient..."

The red light flashed a few times, then turned yellow, pulsing slowly.

"Boom!!" The hidden door was completely smashed open! Heavy footsteps and shouts surged in instantly! Several blinding tactical flashlight beams swept toward the depths of the passage!

"Over there! Catch them!"

Lin Yu turned abruptly, raising his black gun, ready to face the final battle.

Just then, the yellow light on the scanner suddenly extinguished, replaced by a soft green glow!

"Click... hiss..."

That thick, lead-gray metal door emitted a dull unlocking sound and slowly slid open a gap to the side, just enough for one person to pass through.

"Go, quickly!" Xiao Ya's voice rang out urgently.

Lin Yu didn't have time to think; he hoisted the nearly unconscious Xuanyuan Qing up, used his shoulder to push open the heavy door gap, and squeezed inside.

It was not a smooth path behind the door.

A strong smell of ozone rushed toward them, accompanied by a harsh "zz-zz" sound. Before them was a narrow metal passage, but both sides and the ceiling were covered with dense, high-voltage electric grids flashing with blue arcs! Those arcs were like dancing poisonous snakes, turning the entire passage into a deadly cage.

"Stop!" The pursuers behind had already rushed to the door, their gun muzzles aimed at Lin Yu, who had just squeezed into the door gap.

Lin Yu had half his body inside the door and half outside, Xuanyuan Qing on his shoulder, the pursuers' gun muzzles behind him, and the death-trap electric grid in front.

Behind the door, the high-voltage electric grid suddenly lit up, a blinding blue.

Zzz-la—!

The air was full of the burnt smell of ozone, and electric arcs darted wildly across the metal grid, sparking tiny embers.

Lin Yu pressed his back hard against the door gap, with the groggy Xuanyuan Qing on his shoulder.

In front was the electric grid, behind was the gun muzzle.

The pursuers' tactical flashlight beams had already poked through, and the dark gun muzzles were almost touching his lower back.

"Five seconds, door locks."

From the speaker, Xiao Ya's voice came through coldly.

"Four, three..."

Lin Yu pursed his lips tightly, the layout of the electric grid flashing through his mind.

The passage was about ten meters long; walls, ceiling, and the protruding metal grilles on the ground were all filled with jumping electric arcs.

The narrow path in the middle was also completely swallowed by the electric light.

"Two..."

Behind him came the crisp sound of gun bolts being pulled.

Lin Yu backhanded the last piece of C4 onto the edge of the door gap, kicked out fiercely at the figure trying to squeeze in from outside, and turned to charge into the electric grid!

"One!"

Behind him, the metal door "clicked" and closed heavily, followed by a dull thud and a suppressed curse—someone had been caught in it.

The C4 outside the door began its countdown in silence.

The crisis before him was even more deadly.

The sound of electricity cracking was right in his ears, and every flash made his skin go numb.

"Electric grid..." Xuanyuan Qing's head moved; awakened from her coma by the intense pain and bright light, her voice sounded like sandpaper rubbing against something, "They... have a pattern..."

——

In the laboratory, Xu Xiaochuan was drenched in sweat, standing before the console, swaying unsteadily.

His hands were still pressed against the sensor board, and the skin in contact had already begun to turn black, sizzling.

A burnt smell mixed with bone-piercing pain climbed up his nerves, but he held on tightly, refusing to let go.

"Lin Shu has entered the electric grid passage," Xiao Ya's holographic image flickered violently, "Main system defense mode activated; the electric grid energy is at a lethal level."

"Show me!" Xu Xiaochuan roared, his voice hoarse, "Let me see them!"

The console screen switched to the passage surveillance, the image filled with static due to strong electrical interference; he could only vaguely see Lin Yu carrying Xuanyuan Qing, trapped at the passage entrance.

"The energy interference is too strong; the electric grid control authority is with the main system, I can't get it—"

"Don't control it!" Xu Xiaochuan interrupted her, the burning pain from his palms making his vision go dark, "Interfere! Just like before!"

Xiao Ya's virtual face stuttered for a moment, then understood. "Active interference will trigger a higher-level defense."

"Screw that!" The veins on Xu Xiaochuan's forehead throbbed, "Thirty seconds! Make a path for Lin Shu!"

The data stream on the screen went completely wild, the alarm screeching as if to tear one's eardrums apart.

A more violent current surged from his fingertips through his entire body; Xu Xiaochuan let out a muffled groan, his consciousness stirred into chaos, as if it had merged with Xiao Ya's data stream, stubbornly resisting the main system's frantic counterattack.

——

In the electric grid passage, Lin Yu's heart skipped a beat; the rhythm of the electric arcs had changed!

The originally wildly jumping blue light suddenly became intermittent, with an extremely brief pause between each flash.

"Frequency... ten seconds once..." Xuanyuan Qing's voice was against his ear, light and hoarse, "Count... down..."

Lin Yu immediately followed suit, counting silently in his heart.

Once the flash cycle ended, the electric grid on the left side of the passage really did dim for less than half a second!

"Ten... nine..." He stared intently at the electric arcs, preparing to charge through in the next interval.

At the other end of the passage, a pair of infrared cameras turned toward them, coldly facing them.

"Seven... six..." Xuanyuan Qing's voice was tight; her whole body was tensed, as if something in her body was twitching in sync with the electric grid's frequency.

Adrenaline pushed her senses to an inhuman level; she could "hear" the flow of energy.

"Three... two... one!"

Lin Yu catapulted himself out!

In the first interval, the moment the blue light vanished, he rushed out three meters, pressing himself hard against the cold wall before the arcs lit up again, his heart pounding wildly, his back instantly soaked.

Xuanyuan Qing was panting even harder, adrenaline rampaging through her blood vessels. "Next... interval... changed... eight seconds..." Her words were intermittent.

Lin Yu immediately adjusted his breathing and started counting down again.

However, just then, the electric grid in the passage suddenly went haywire!

The originally regular flashes were completely disrupted, the energy fluctuations completely out of control, without any pattern!

"Damn it!" Lin Yu cursed; someone was meddling, he didn't know if it was a helper or an enemy.

Just at this critical moment, Xuanyuan Qing suddenly raised her trembling hand, pointing to an inconspicuous depression on the right wall of the passage: "There... there's something..."

Lin Yu looked in the direction she pointed; under the light of the electric arcs, there was indeed a metallic reflection on the edge of that wall that didn't belong to the wall material.

"Xu Jianhua..." Xuanyuan Qing's lips trembled as she spoke with effort, "Air... air duct... mark..."

Lin Yu understood instantly.

Xu Jianhua—that old fox, he might have left a backdoor here too!

He turned cautiously, sliding his back against the wall toward the depression, while keeping an eye on the electric grid constantly exploding above his head.

The moment his hand touched that panel, the electric grid in the entire passage exploded with light!

The blinding blue light almost merged into one, the "zz-la" sound of electricity was deafening, and the burnt smell in the air was so strong it was nauseating.