Chapter 927: Collision
Although this room was almost as s.p.a.cious as the station lobby, the volume of the "Erudite" filled its upper half. Underneath the layers of intricate and intertwined skeletons, there was still enough s.p.a.ce for researchers to move around.
The dimness was torn apart by the flashlight"s beam, revealing fragments of the night in the gaps. Occasionally, the metal-colored reflections flashed on the "Erudite""s skeletal structure, as if it was the only response to the unexpected visitor.
Lin Sanjiu stared at it for a while. Even though it wasn"t her first time seeing it, she couldn"t help but hold her breath in front of this intricately crafted Special Item, which was almost miraculous.
This thing before her was one of the foundations of the Munitions Factory—specifically, the Heaven Underworld division. However, it stood alone in the room, without any guards or strict access control, which puzzled and relieved her at the same time.
Could it be a fake?
"You"re like a skeleton frame," she approached it gently, running her finger over the smooth and cold surface of the "Scholar." "You shouldn"t weigh more than two tons, right?"
The next moment, her self-talk received a response.
The metal framework that had spread across the air just moments ago suddenly vanished. A card floated down from the sky and landed in her hand.
If Exodus could be turned into a card like the Scholar... she sighed inwardly, s.h.i.+ning the flashlight on the surface of the card. Silvan rarely asked her for help, so she hoped nothing unexpected would happen.
The two characters "Erudite" were clearly illuminated by the light. The description, function, and properties were all the same as what Silvan had told her—this was indeed the genuine article.
Lin Sanjiu could hardly believe her luck—did she really obtain the "Scholar" so easily? Just like that? No one rushed out, no traps, no entrapment?
She quickly stored the "Scholar" inside her body, not daring to linger for even half a second, and rushed towards the door. Outside, it was still dim and quiet, without a trace of human voices. Even when she leaped down the last few sections of the ladder and headed towards the Commander"s Tower in the distance, she felt like she was in a dream.
"Oh, right."
Lin Sanjiu suddenly halted her steps, turned around, and ran back towards the research building. This was one of the crucial areas in the Munitions Factory, and it was only natural to leave a few hairs behind. Thanks to the easy completion of the task, she remembered such a trivial matter.
The closer she got to the Commander"s Tower, the more she could feel the gradually intensifying unease and turbulence in the air. Although each alleyway remained quiet and empty, there was an increasingly fierce undercurrent, as if it was about to tear through the calm surface. Her five senses couldn"t detect it, but her intuition captured it.
When Lin Sanjiu arrived at the Commander"s Tower, she couldn"t help but freeze in place.
As she looked into the distance, it appeared to be a slender and tall black shadow, resembling a lighthouse, with nothing particularly special about it. However, it was only when she rushed closer that she realized the tower was floating high in the air.
Standing on the ground, one had to tilt their head and look up nearly 200 meters into the sky to see the dark bottom of the Commander"s Tower, which cut out a huge elliptical shape from the night.
Even as a posthuman, it was impossible to jump into the sky 200 meters high without any a.s.sistance. Lin Sanjiu looked around without much hope and discovered that the area was indeed empty. The tallest buildings were just a few single-story houses in the distance.
What should she do?
Just as this thought arose, there was a sudden explosive sound in the air, accompanied by dazzling flames and a rush of air breaking through the walls. Countless fragments of rubble and dust scattered into the night sky. Before she could react, the shrill sound of an alarm rang out, tearing through the silence. The "wuwu" sound accompanied several bright beams of light, illuminating the night half white.
"Intrusion alert!" A distant shout echoed from somewhere. "Gather immediately!"
This was really f.u.c.king great.
Just as Lin Sanjiu was about to turn and run, she suddenly remembered something and immediately stopped in her tracks. Then her weapon bag fell from her back to the ground, followed by her black field jacket.
Who would have thought that as a posthuman, sometimes the speed of changing clothes could determine one"s fate?
As she hurriedly pulled up her pants over her combat trousers and quickly zipped them up, a group of figures approached with heavy and rapid footsteps. A beam of bright light immediately fell on her, accompanied by a commanding shout, "Who"s there?"
Instinctively, Lin Sanjiu raised her hand to s.h.i.+eld her eyes from the intense light, and her deep blue Munitions Factory uniform became clearly visible in the beam. When Silvan took off his own uniform to give it to her, she had kept it for later use—she didn"t expect it to come in handy today.
"Which department are you from?" the person behind the light asked sharply, although the hostility in their tone immediately lessened. "Why are you alone here?"
"The Combat Department," Lin Sanjiu hastily replied, still using her palm to cover half of her face. Fortunately, she remembered Percival Levin"s department—she didn"t mention Silvan"s security department because she didn"t know how it was doing after losing its leader. "I... I was on duty tonight, and I happened to be nearby."
From the leader"s reaction, her answer seemed flawless. The person clearly had more questions to ask, but at that moment, another dull impact sound erupted from mid-air. Whatever the impact was, its force was surprisingly strong, causing even the slender tower floating in the air to sway slightly.
"Disperse and be on guard!" The leader immediately turned around and shouted at the other members of the Munitions Factory behind them. Except for one person who seemed to be their deputy and didn"t move, the rest of the ten or so people scattered around the Commander"s Tower. The leader gestured for Lin Sanjiu to come over. "You, come here. Temporarily join my team."
If she managed to blend in, she might have a chance to enter the Commander"s Tower. Lin Sanjiu immediately agreed, picked up her bag from the ground, and walked towards the leader.
"You know, this bag is used in the equipment storage to package weapons," the deputy turned slightly and spoke with a clear voice. "We never use it for personal belongings."
At that moment, it was too late to run.
In the distance, more members of the Munitions Factory were rus.h.i.+ng in their direction. The ten-plus individuals who had dispersed earlier had also blocked Lin Sanjiu"s retreat. Using the light in the leader"s hand, she looked up and sighed softly at the black-haired man in front of her. "Percival Levin, I"ve been looking for you."