Rumble!
A clap of muffled thunder exploded as the sky suddenly darkened. Inky storm clouds surged and converged like a massive black curtain rapidly veiling the firmament, swallowing all light within its folds.
Deep within the narrow, frigid ventilation ducts of the Genesis Tech branch...
Hong Guoguo, who had just curled her petite body into a ball to narrowly avoid the scanning beam of a patrol robot squad, was so startled by the loud crash that her fur stood on end. The pair of fluffy cat ears atop her head instantly became puffed up.
Her heart hammered against her chest, and her slender cat tail wrapped tightly around her cold calves in a reflexive stress response.
"Wuu—!" She clamped her hands over her mouth to stifle a near-scream, suppressing the sound in her throat. Her amber pupils, already exceptionally round in the dim light, grew even wider with terror.
"W-why did such a huge bolt of thunder strike so suddenly..."
Her naturally sensitive hearing made the thunder sound particularly earth-shattering and piercing. Because she was inside the ventilation ducts, the sound carried a dull echo that made her scalp tingle, and the sensitive tips of her ears vibrated slightly.
Originally, when she saw Sister Hyacine and those armored warriors in a stalemate, she had immediately had the driver rush her to the Genesis Tech branch to see what was going on. She had sneaked in through the narrow ventilation ducts, and after eavesdropping on the information, her desperate desire to help led her to call Hyacine immediately.
However, the moment the call ended, the Genesis Tech alarm system detected the unauthorized communication. Now, to catch her, Genesis Tech had locked down this entire floor, leaving her unable to find an exit. She could only keep hiding from the patrol robots.
As for the thunder... she was terrified of thunder!
Now she had to dodge robots while being periodically jumped by the thunderclaps; it was a dual torture of body and mind. Left with no other options, Hong Guoguo could only begin to pray silently within the ducts.
"I hope Sister Hyacine can pull through... I thought I could go see if I could destroy that master device, but I probably can't help much now..."
"What's going on? Why did the sky turn dark so fast?!"
In the Genesis Tech branch combat command center, the smugness on Xu Zhe's face slowly froze, replaced by confusion. Logically, the weather lately should have been perfectly clear. Why had it turned pitch black so quickly?
But soon, a piercing alarm suddenly blared:
[Beep! Warning! Detected massive abnormal energy convergence! Energy levels climbing rapidly!]
[Energy source locked: High-altitude storm cloud zone! Threat assessment: Extreme!]
Looking at the red warnings flashing across the screen, Xu Zhe slammed a fist onto the control console, his face contorted.
Initially, after activating the Armor Repair Units and watching Hyacine foolishly being worn down, he had been quite pleased. But midway through, the alarm system discovered a little thief had snuck in and eavesdropped on him. He had arranged patrol robots to catch the thief and sealed all exits on that floor to ensure they couldn't escape.
But the thief hadn't been found yet, and now the previously stable situation was spiraling into chaos.
"Dammit! What on earth is happening! Did that doctor do this?!" Xu Zhe stared up at the screen at the storm clouds, which were churning like boiling water and flickering with internal electricity. Coupled with the piercing alarms, a powerful sense of unease seized him. "Launch the weather interference shells! Fast! See if we can disperse these dark clouds!"
[Weather interference shell launch command confirmed.]
In the rooftop defense array, a cannon barrel rose swiftly. Fire spat out as the specialized weather interference shell streaked toward the flashing storm clouds with a sharp whistling sound.
However, after the shell plunged into the storm clouds, it was like a stone dropped into the ocean; it failed to trigger even a ripple. A few seconds later, the screen flashed a blinding red:
[Dispersal shell failed! Detected target was completely annihilated by unknown violent energy within the clouds!]
"What? No effect at all?!" Xu Zhe's pupils shrank, and a chill raced up his spine.
While weather interference shells weren't weapons, their internal structure was designed to disrupt atmospheric energy fields, and the casing was made of a specialized, incredibly tough alloy. How could it be easily torn apart without producing even the slightest result?
Just what kind of terrifying thing was brewing deep within those storm clouds!
Rumble—CRACK!!!
To Xu Zhe's shock, a thunderclap of unprecedented magnitude erupted. Several thick white lightning pillars, carrying an aura capable of destroying everything, struck Hyacine's shimmering protective barrier with pinpoint accuracy!
Zzz-zap—Vroom!
A blinding glare exploded instantly, swallowing everything in the area of the barrier. The monitoring screens were overtaken by white noise, and short gasps and the wailing of overloaded instruments filled the command center.
The glare lasted for several seconds before slowly fading.
Why did the lightning strike in Hyacine's direction? Does this mean these anomalies weren't caused by that doctor? Then what happened to her?!
Thinking of this, Xu Zhe held his breath and looked eagerly at the screen.
Where the barrier had been, there was now only a massive, scorched, and terrifying crater with wisps of green smoke rising from its edges. The soil at the bottom of the pit even showed signs of vitrification.
"Where... where are the people? Where is that doctor... Hyacine?" Xu Zhe's voice was dry, carrying a tremor he didn't even notice.
He stared fixedly at the scorched earth, his heart pounding. Had that Hyacine, who had left him helpless, really been... turned to ash by that bolt of lightning?
This turn of events was too fast, too bizarre! If these storm clouds weren't Hyacine's doing, then... who was behind them?
In his thirty-plus years of life, he had never seen such a scene. A weird silence fell over the command center, broken only by the low hum of instruments and the heavy breathing of the crew.
However, before long, amidst this deathly silence, an even more horrifying sight occurred.
The thick dark clouds were suddenly split open as if by an invisible giant blade!
Skreeee!
Accompanied by a sharp, piercing eagle's cry, a creature so massive it took one's breath away emerged from the rift in the clouds, wreathed in ten thousand bolts of lightning!
The first things to come into view were two pairs of giant metallic scaled wings that blotted out the sun! The upper surfaces of the four massive wings were covered in constantly flickering lightning. With a single flap, the violent air currents, laced with stray electric arcs, sent most of the armored warriors below tumbling in disarray!
Then, the massive torso with a metallic luster was fully revealed. Spiral electric arcs coiled around the winding energy spine, making every vertebra flash with lethal lightning.
Most heart-stopping of all was the giant single eye on its chest—its rainbow pupil was like the eye of the firmament, looking down apathetically at the tiny ground below. The golden patterns flowing at the center of the pupil exuded a majesty that seemed to judge all creation!
[Beep! Warning! Detected ultra-high energy unidentified bio-entity approaching! Threat level: Unpredictable!]
The piercing alarm rang through the command center again. But Xu Zhe was deaf to it now.
He stared blankly at the terrifying shadow on the screen, his lips trembling, barely able to squeeze out a few words:
"This... what on earth... is this thing?!"