Inside the central control room of the Nursery Factory, the warden's wreckage smoldered with black smoke, like an abandoned steel toy. The "flame" within Jin Wanchao raged wildly, yet he did not pause for a second. He spun around abruptly and charged toward the living host that still pulsed inside the nutrient solution.
"Die… for me!"
He tensed his arms with explosive force. The steam-powered gauntlets sliced through the air with a piercing howl, slamming viciously into the grotesque giant brain!
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted. The nutrient solution burst apart instantly, and flesh-colored tubes snapped like severed blood vessels, spewing out repulsive fluid. With one brutal strike from Jin Wanchao, the pulsing brain shattered into pieces at once, dissolving into a paste of flesh, blood, and mechanical fragments.
In his "vision," the massive, chaotic current of energy writhed and struggled like a beheaded giant serpent before falling completely silent. Countless imprisoned consciousnesses, once wailing in agony, now transformed into faint specks of light, drifting out from the broken core like dust and filling the entire control room.
Beep—beep—beep—
"Alert! Alert! Core system offline! Energy circuit interrupted!"
"Factory self-destruction will commence in five minutes…"
The once shrill alarm now sounded like a bell proclaiming freedom.
Click! Click! Click!
Amid a chain of mechanical clicks, the alloy doors of thousands upon thousands of cells in the Nursery Factory sprang open all at once. The tightly shut iron gates groaned with a satisfying tone, like prisoners breaking free from their shackles.
A tremendous uproar surged from the depths of the factory like a tsunami. It was the instinctive reaction of the children newly liberated—murmurs of confusion, frightened sobs, and a faint glimmer of naive hope.
They stepped out of the dark rooms, all dressed in identical gray uniforms, their eyes hollow and faces pale from malnutrition. Like birds confined for far too long, they had just broken free yet did not know where to fly.
"Wanchao! We did it!" Little Axing was so excited he could barely speak. Tears glistened in his eyes as he watched the children pouring out like a tide.
Jin Wanchao had no time to reflect. He could clearly "see" the factory's self-destruction system speeding up. The pipelines that once fed energy to the control core were now rupturing under overload, jetting out scorching steam. Out-of-control robotic arms began attacking indiscriminately inside the factory, targeting any moving object.
"Lao Zhong! Lead the team to clear the obstacles! Escort the children to the safe exit in the North District!" Jin Wanchao roared. His "flame" surged into the broadcast system of the central control room at once, carrying his voice to every corner of the factory and every child.
"Children! Do not be afraid! I am Jin Wanchao! Your brother is here to take you home!" Jin Wanchao's voice possessed a strange penetrating power. No longer a cold mechanical tone, it carried warmth and tolerance, soothing every frightened child.
"Follow my voice! Head north! There is light! Your families are waiting for you!"
Empowered by Jin Wanchao's "Awakened Flame," his voice seemed to hold magic. At the sound of it, the hollow eyes of the confused children flickered with light for the first time. They stopped crying and scattering, and miraculously began to gather in the direction Jin Wanchao guided.
"This way! Hurry! Over here!" Aided by exoskeletons, members of the Chosen Squad cleared away out-of-control robotic arms and obstructions like bulldozers, carving a safe path for the children.
Countless children poured out from thousands of doors like a gray tide, converging and marching toward the same destination. Their frail bodies formed a unique current within the crumbling factory.
Jin Wanchao's "flame" acted as a giant lighthouse, guiding the way. He could "see" the "flame" within each child growing steadier and clearer than ever before, guided by his voice.
Yet amid the chaotic yet orderly evacuation, a terrified scream suddenly pierced the air from the flank of the procession.
"Ah—!"
Jin Wanchao instantly swept his "flame" toward the sound. He saw it: a thin girl had stumbled in panic and was clamped tightly by an out-of-control robotic arm. The hydraulic claw of the arm was tightening slowly, its immense force dragging the girl toward a massive gear assembly spinning rapidly nearby.
"No!"
Ahuo's eyes bloodshot with rage. He could clearly see the girl's face—it was his long-missed younger sister, Arou.