Chapter 502: Pandora's Box
In the projected image, members of the Spirit Energy Clan were gradually approaching.
Having failed to find the switch to close the metal gate, Feng Qi turned his gaze to the control console just ahead of the metal box.
Two options lay before him, each fraught with immense risk.
First, he could sit and wait for the Spirit Energy Clan to arrive, then attempt to stall them through negotiation while waiting for Mu Qing to arrive. This would likely result in him being killed on the spot. After all, the Spirit Energy Clan’s primary objective in Future City was to retrieve the black shadow, the miracle item it had taken, and perhaps the mysterious figure known as Mo. A verbal delaying tactic would be unlikely to succeed.
Second, he could release Little Black to engage the three approaching Spirit Energy Clan members. This also carried enormous risk. He wasn’t sure if his presence on the Sacrifice Line would hold the same irresistible allure for Little Black as it had in the main timeline.
If Little Black’s true target was the Narrator or his main timeline self with a special constitution, he likely wouldn’t attract Little Black’s special attention.
Once he released Little Black, as long as he maintained a safe distance, he wouldn’t be the first to be attacked.
There was actually an even more extreme option.
He could press the special device Mo had given him before leaving, activating the spirit energy nuclear weapon hidden somewhere, and take the Spirit Energy Clan down with him in a mutual annihilation.
But doing so would mean losing all the intelligence he had gathered in Future City.
His future self would only be able to obtain information about the Silver Moon Clan and Tian Shu through the Scarlet Secret Base.
This would undoubtedly signal the failure of his war timeline.
Moreover, he couldn’t be certain that the spirit energy nuclear weapon would actually kill the Spirit Energy Clan. The outcome might not be mutual annihilation, but simply his own death on the spot.
How lonely the Road to the Underworld would be, with so few lackeys to hold hands with.
As his thoughts churned, his gaze swept over the scattered blueprints and documents.
He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
If he had more time, he would have liked to examine all the documents scattered on the floor.
Even if he couldn’t understand most of the material, it might prove useful in some future timeline.
For example, why could the Technology Research Institute block the perception of blue-skinned creatures?
He had asked the black shadow about this, but received no answer.
Since the black shadow didn’t know, Feng Qi suspected the answer lay with Mo.
Perhaps Mo had created some device within the institute to block blue-skinned creatures’ senses, preventing them from detecting Little Black’s presence.
This might also explain why no blue-skinned creatures had appeared when he infiltrated the institute in the past.
There were still too many questions to answer.
But he had no more time to hesitate.
With this thought, Feng Qi immediately turned and approached the glass partition.
Before him stood a meter-high control console, its metallic surface cool to the touch. The gray-white console was covered in several instrument panels and hundreds of buttons of varying sizes.
The machine appeared to be in sleep mode, its lights dim.
After carefully examining the instrument, Feng Qi felt a sense of helplessness.
He couldn’t understand a single character on the device, and there was no manual to guide him.
After a brief hesitation, he pressed the button at the center of the console.
Beep!
The sound was followed by a low hum as the instrument whirred to life.
The lights on the control console began to flicker and then illuminate in sequence, and the numbers on the dashboard spun into motion.
A projection appeared before him.
The image showed a black liquid slowly flowing within a container.
The liquid seemed to defy gravity, its flow constantly shifting direction, with nearly half of it suspended in the center of the container.
At the top of the projection, a thermometer-like gauge was displayed, its pointer resting at the lowest mark.
Feng Qi’s gaze shifted from the projection to the glass containment chamber in front of him, focusing on the metal box at its center.
Seeing the black liquid flowing in the projection, he was almost certain that Little Black was sealed inside the box.
However, he still had no idea how to open the metal box and release him.
Technology Research Institute, core zone.
Three Spirit Energy Clan members who had tracked the target to this area burst through the violently breached core zone gate and looked around in surprise at the scene of devastation.
The leading Spirit Energy Clan member raised his hand, and a string of golden characters flew from the golden leaf on his forehead, automatically arranging themselves into a circle in the air.
After a brief pause, a figure materialized at the center of the golden circle.
It was the Spirit Energy Clan man who had led the team.
Seeing his clansman on the screen, the Spirit Energy Clan member using the special communication method spoke gravely:
“sixth elder, I sense Hei Lin’s presence here. He must be nearby!”
“Don’t act rashly. We’re almost there!” the Spirit Energy Clan man, identified as the sixth elder, replied in a deep voice.
“Understood.”
As the words faded, the image dissolved.
The golden circular mirror twisted into flickering golden characters that returned to the golden leaf on his forehead.
At that moment, they chose to wait in place rather than advance recklessly.
A few minutes later, the sixth elder of the Spirit Energy Clan arrived with the remaining thirteen members.
After a brief exchange, they followed the sixth elder deeper into the core zone.
As they advanced, flickering golden characters appeared in the sixth elder’s eyes, constantly analyzing their surroundings.
After crossing over the dismembered mechanical warriors, the sixth elder suddenly stopped.
It turned to a clansman on its left and said, “Hei Sha, replay what happened here.”
Hearing the sixth elder’s command, the Spirit Energy Clan member known as Hei Sha immediately nodded.
He stepped forward, and dark, eerie patterns emerged along the edges of the golden leaf on his forehead. The space around them distorted and shifted.
After a brief pause, a three-dimensional virtual image materialized beside them.
The virtual scene showed mechanical warriors pursuing Li Xingchen, attempting to intercept the black shadow fleeing toward the top secret room.
But they were utterly powerless against the black shadow.
In the 3D image, a black line materialized in the shadow’s hand. With a single swing, several blocking mechanical warriors were instantly sliced to pieces.
At that moment, a deafening roar came from behind.
The sixth elder and the other members of the Spirit Energy Clan immediately turned to look.
They saw Feng Qi, in his Blood Source Form, smashing through the metal gates of the core zone and entering…
The events that had transpired here earlier were replayed in a three-dimensional virtual image, thanks to Hei Sha’s special ability.
The final scene showed Feng Qi chasing the black shadow into the Top Secret Zone.
“Go!” the sixth elder said in a deep voice, leading the way in the direction Feng Qi had gone.
The other Spirit Energy Clan members followed closely behind, heading toward the Top Secret Zone.
After advancing a distance, Feng Qi’s virtual image reappeared in their sight.
This time, the image showed Feng Qi still pursuing the black shadow amid a barrage of intense bombardment.
As they passed through the first checkpoint leading to the top secret room, they saw Feng Qi briefly immobilize the black shadow with telekinesis and successfully catch up.
Under the astonished gazes of the sixth elder and the other Spirit Energy Clan members, purple soul markings emerged on Feng Qi’s body, preventing the black shadow from further materializing its form.
Finally, under Feng Qi’s brutal assault, the black shadow lost all ability to resist and collapsed helplessly in a corner.
Seeing the exhaustion and mockery in the black shadow’s eyes, the sixth elder slowly crouched down, carefully scrutinizing the shadow’s expression in the virtual playback.
“Xiao Lin, why did you go through all this trouble?”
At that moment, Feng Qi, who had been unable to open the metal door, arrived before the black shadow. After a brief exchange, he shattered the shadow’s energy body with a single punch.
Realizing that Hei Lin, the clan’s traitor, had been killed by a mysterious force, the sixth elder of the Spirit Energy Clan rose to his feet, his icy gaze fixed on the now-open top secret room.
(End of the Chapter)