Chapter 62: Activate Plan B!

"Area A, set." Lin Xue's voice came through the earpiece, with a faint electric hiss.

"Areas B and C are also secured." Zhang Jun kicked open a ventilation flap, shoving the last bomb into the control circuit interface, "This junk is set for five minutes, that'll give them a good drink."

"The augment troops' vanguard has reached the east gate." Ke Long Wang Jun's voice was cold as iron, "Twenty‑seven units, standard model, equipped with energy weapons."

Zhang Jun crouched high in the ventilation shaft, peering down through the grating. The waste‑processing center resembled a massive metal stomach; the acid pool in the center churned with purple bubbles and gave off a pungent odor, while a nearby robotic arm tirelessly poured scrap into it.

"First wave, detonate." Lin Xue's voice was flat.

A series of muffled booms echoed from afar, the ground beneath trembled sharply, the overhead lights flickered twice and switched to a harsh red emergency mode. The surveillance feed showed the east‑zone passage collapsed by more than half, and the augment troops indeed turned and surged toward the south zone.

"The fish is on the hook." Zhang Jun leapt down from the vent, landing as lightly as a cat, "Old man, is your shooting still decent?"

"Three kilometers out, hitting a mosquito's wing." Ke Long Wang Jun's tone, rare with a hint of pride, "Back on Kunlun Mountain, two thousand meters away, I blew a blind zombie's skull."

"Alright, alright, the bull's hide is torn, it'll blow the barrel soon." Zhang Jun's tactical gloves scraped against the nearby metal railing, "The augments have fifteen seconds left to the waste center, bait is ready."

Lin Xue's voice cut in abruptly, urgent: "Detected abnormal energy fluctuations! There's a spatial rift outside the south zone! Something's coming through!"

"Damn!" Zhang Jun jerked his head up, looking at the wall monitor, "Old man, what's that thing?"

On the screen, the air over the south‑zone plaza's center was torn like a ripped cloth; from the purple fissure a massive mechanical arm slowly emerged, its surface covered with blue‑purple, scale‑like plates. The arm was more than three times the thickness of a regular augment, its fingertips glinting with cold metal light.

"Dimensional gate!" Ke Long Wang Jun's voice, for the first time, carried a near‑panic tone, "Something's coming through! Activate Plan B! Blow everything up!"

Lin Xue's fingers flew across a tiny control panel on her palm: "All zone bombs synchronized, ten‑second countdown!"

The waste‑processing center's massive metal doors burst open, and twenty‑seven augments streamed in like fish, their purple compound eyes flashing in the darkness. The lead unit was noticeably larger, its trident emblem on the chest emitting a ghostly blue glow—a command model.

"Welcome," Zhang Jun said from the platform, slowly raising the Heavenly Sword, its blade reflecting the eerie glow of the purple liquid pool below, "Acid‑wash service, satisfaction guaranteed."

Deafening explosions rang out almost simultaneously.

The entire south zone shook; concrete walls shattered like cookies, rebar twisted and snapped outward, broken cables sprayed deadly sparks. The pipe above the acid pool burst in response, and the highly corrosive purple liquid cascaded down like a waterfall, instantly flooding most of the hall. The augments were tossed about by the shockwave, many plunging straight into the acid pool, their metal shells hissing and belching plumes of blue smoke.

Using the blast wave, Zhang Jun vaulted upward, the Heavenly Sword tracing a mournful arc in the air, precisely severing the neck connectors of three augments. He landed, rolled into a cover, flipped his wrist to draw a tactical dagger, and drove it hard into the cooling grille of a fourth augment's side.

"Four down, twenty‑three iron clods left!" he shouted over the comms channel.

"Eight on the east side are frozen." Lin Xue's voice came, still cold, "They won't hold long."

Gunfire sounded muffled, echoing from far away.

Three augment heads exploded, parts splattering with purple slurry.

"Fifteen units." Ke Long Wang Jun's voice came through the communicator, the ground flat, "The command model evaded."

Zhang Jun was about to curse when the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end.

Almost as if his body moved before his mind, he flailed and fell to the left.

Where he had just stood, the wall erupted into a charred gaping hole, the energy blast's heat warping the air.

The command‑type augment materialized behind him like a specter; its arm‑blade deployed a chainsaw that spun at high speed, emitting a noise that made teeth ache.

"Damn!" Zhang Jun's Heavenly Sword flicked back to block, sparks splattering over him, the shock numbing his thumb pad, "Is this iron can tripping on drugs? Its speed's off!"

Its movements were too fluid, not like a machine at all, more like a leaping leopard.

It dodged the blade, its shoulder dropped, and a solid alloy fist hammered into Zhang Jun's chest.

"Crack!" a crisp sound rang, Zhang Jun was blasted outward, his back slamming into the cold metal wall, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

"Data abnormal," the communicator crackled, Ke Long Wang Jun's voice heavy, "That's not a standard unit, it's a prototype!"

Zhang Jun coughed up a froth of blood, a bulge in his tactical vest gave way, his ribs searing: "What the hell is that?"

"Lin Zhen's earliest test subject, half‑biological half‑mechanical," Ke Long Wang Jun sped up, "It has a brain, can learn, very troublesome."

The prototype tilted its metal head, emitting a synthetic voice, dry as sandpaper, "Codename S01, mission: eliminate the Primordial Bloodline holders."

"They really do respect me!" Zhang Jun rolled to dodge the chainsaw sweep, the Heavenly Sword skimming the ground, trailing sparks, "Lin Xue, can you hold it on your side?"

The communicator crackled with chaotic ice‑crystal bursts and metal clangs.

"The east side can't hold," Lin Xue's voice was hurried, with suppressed breathing, "Twelve units have broken through, looking for you!"

"Old Wang!"

"Sniper point blown, three units climbing the building, I'm switching positions!" Ke Long Wang Jun's side echoed with explosion booms.

Zhang Jun gritted his teeth, watching the advancing prototype S01 and more augments pouring in from the distant passage. The acid pool was ruined, unusable now.

His gaze swept overhead, the massive main cables tangled and crossed.

"Xue Er, remember that move from last week at the Profound Heaven Building?"

Lin Xue paused a second: "Need thirty seconds to prepare."

"Give you twenty seconds!" Zhang Jun flexed his tingling wrist, "Old man, can you hack into the main control room and start the waste compactor for me?"

"Yes," Ke Long Wang Jun replied immediately, "but someone has to go to the lower panel and manually activate it."

Zhang Jun locked his gaze on the dust‑covered emergency console in the corner: "Copy that."

He lunged forward with a hard kick, the Heavenly Sword no longer blocking but turning into a beam of light, piercing S01's chest energy core.

S01 sidestepped, apparently having anticipated his move.

Yet Zhang Jun's wrist twitched, the blade tip curving oddly upward, scraping its alloy shell and outright destroying its left‑face sensor.