Without any hesitation, I continued and chose free mutation!
A few minutes later, waves of tingling spread through the flesh beneath my skin. Then my whole body suddenly tensed, every pore opened wide, and every hair stood on end. I could even see strands of electricity flowing across the surface of my body!
Very soon, a ding-dong sound reached my ears.
[Congratulations, you have obtained the SS-rank Gene Enhancement Skill Bio-Electromagnetic Pulse: Greatly enhances cells, allowing them to generate powerful electromagnetic pulses that interfere with electronic equipment within 1 kilometer and have a high chance of directly destroying it. Cooldown: 60 minutes]
Holy shit, no way?
I was overjoyed. I had actually hit the jackpot! The limit of the Pandora Solution was an SS-rank enhancement skill. That was a grand prize with only a 1% chance, yet it had landed on me just like that?
Bio-Electromagnetic Pulse—just the name sounded incredibly cool. Once triggered, it could paralyze the electronic network within a kilometer. Its cooldown was not too long either; it could be used once every hour. It was an absolute bargain!
For a moment, my heart surged with wild joy. If my chances of successfully escaping prison had previously been 50%, then with this skill, they had risen to at least 80%!
After all, the Dark Tide base beneath Death Mine, known as Iron Blood Training Camp, was covered in electronic grids, and most of its machinery contained electronic components. One electromagnetic pulse would be enough to paralyze more than ninety percent of this place's defenses. Combined with Left Hand and me leveling up and awakening our Essence Furnaces, our chances of escaping danger had greatly increased!
Very soon, I calmed down.
There were still many challenges ahead. First, I had to deceive Instructor Lakuri. Otherwise, if he learned that I had awakened an SS-rank super Gene Enhancement Skill like Bio-Electromagnetic Pulse, I would definitely be sent directly to a higher-level Dark Tide facility. The future I faced might be even more grim than Puff's!
An hour later, two guards entered and wheeled me, outwardly unchanged, into the electric shock room.
"Why is there still no reaction at all?"
Instructor Lakuri's face twisted slightly as he snapped, "You piece of trash! Three consecutive injections of precious Pandora Solution, and you didn't gain a single enhancement! Someone, shock him hard!"
"Yes, Instructor!"
The two guards stepped forward and directly initiated the electric shock procedure.
The next moment, high-voltage currents coursed through my entire body. The electromagnetic pulse power hidden deep within my cells unexpectedly resonated in response, crackling as if it was about to burst forth.
Damn it, this won't do...
I desperately kept my mind steady and tried not to enter Combat Form, while also suppressing the Bio-Electromagnetic Pulse power inside me with all my strength. For a time, the currents inside and outside my body collided violently.
Three minutes later, the electric shock ended.
"Instructor Lakuri, it still had no effect."
The doctor in the white coat shook his head. "Perhaps this test subject's genes are simply too stubborn. The Pandora Solution did not trigger any mutation."
"You useless bastard!"
Instructor Lakuri flew into a rage. He stepped forward, grabbed me off the hospital bed, and viciously hurled me onto a nearby table.
A burst of agonizing pain shot through my face and chest. At the same time, I saw Instructor Lakuri's health bar, as well as my own rapidly dropping health bar.
"You trash, you've disappointed me too much!"
Instructor Lakuri's iron-pincer-like hand pressed down on the back of my head, smashing it viciously against the medicine bottles, syringes, and various containers on the table before heavily throwing me to the floor.
"147!"
My health bar instantly dropped by more than half.
And that was with Instructor Lakuri merely venting his anger, without any intention of killing me.
Lying on the cold floor, my whole body trembled, but I did not make a sound. The fury in my heart only burned hotter and hotter.
"Instructor."
A guard said, "No. 033 usually has decent training results, especially in actual combat. He ranks first or second alongside No. 066. It would be a pity to kill him directly."
"Hmph!"
Instructor Lakuri cast an ominous glance my way and sneered. "This kind of trash... Throw him into the Vanguard reserve camp tomorrow afternoon and let him fend for himself!"
"Yes!"
The two heavily armed guards escorted me back to the old storeroom and even kicked me twice in the back. I could not help but give a wry smile. At this point, I was probably someone anyone in the base could bully.
Late at night, I activated the star map.
"Old Six, you there?"
"I'm here, Third Brother!"
Left Hand went online instantly. "I saw them send you into the injection room. What happened afterward?"
"The situation is very bad."
I frowned. "Tomorrow afternoon, I'll be sent to the Vanguard reserve camp. We have to move our plan forward, or it may be too late. What do you think?"
"I've been ready for a while."
Left Hand said, "Actually, this timing is pretty good. Puff sent me a message saying that General Vega would take three hundred Gray Bug Regiment soldiers out of the Death Mine base at eight tonight to continue abducting test subjects from a large settlement. That settlement is far away, and the one-way trip will take at least eight hours!"
The biggest BOSS in Death Mine was General Vega, one of Dark Tide's leaders. He was also a genetically mutated cyborg. It was said that more than seventy percent of Vega's body had been replaced with steel and alloy. After undergoing multiple genetic enhancements, he was ridiculously powerful.
If he and the Gray Bug Regiment remained in the base, they would indeed have a major impact on our escape plan.
"Eight hours..."
I thought for a moment and said, "That's enough! Then we'll exploit the time difference and strike at exactly four in the morning tomorrow. But if we only act in the old storeroom, we'll be too weak and outnumbered. Before we move, it would be best to create a diversion. It'll be more suitable to act while the base is short-handed."
"Like this..."
Left Hand pondered for a moment, then smiled. "Would blowing up the ammunition warehouse east of the base be enough to lure the tiger away from the mountain?"
"You have a way to blow it up?"
"I do."
Left Hand smiled faintly. "I have a few trump cards I haven't shown yet."
"Alright."
I nodded. "Then we'll set the warehouse explosion for 3:55 a.m. Once things get chaotic over there, I'll cut off all the power lines in the base. Our rooms use a system that opens when the power is cut. At exactly four, I'll cut the electricity. Then we'll break out from two directions. The elevators definitely won't be usable, so we'll fight our way up through the tunnels. Are you coming with me?"
"No. Sticking together makes it too easy for them to wipe us out in one go."
Left Hand said, "I'll take the western tunnel, and you'll take the eastern tunnel. At least one of us can escape. If we're lucky, both of us can make it out alive."
"Alright."
I did not object.
"Third Brother..."
Left Hand said, "Are you really confident you can instantly cut off all the power in the base?"
"Yes."
I smiled. "That's another trump card I haven't revealed."
"Got it!"
Left Hand laughed readily. "When do we level up?"
"Ten minutes early. We'll level up at 3:50 and awaken our main classes and Essence Furnaces. By then, we probably won't be detected anymore."
"Alright."
"Activate the star map then. We'll keep each other updated at all times!"
"Got it, Brother. I'll follow your lead!"
Time passed bit by bit.
At around six in the evening, a guard brought dinner. It was actually leftovers: some bread crumbs and chicken bones that had been gnawed into a mess. There was also a bowl of soup that looked completely unappetizing, and the guards had most likely added something to it.
"No. 033, your deluxe meal is here."
The guard sneered. "You're about to go enjoy the good life in the Vanguard. Don't complain about this last meal at our base."
I said nothing and merely accepted the tray in silence.
Afterward, suppressing my disgust, I wolfed down every scrap of food and put it into my stomach.
I had no idea when my next meal would be, so the energy this meal could provide would be especially important. As for whether the food was good or bad, that was not even within my considerations.
Time trickled by bit by bit.
At around eight in the evening, a roar echoed through the base. Through the window of the old storeroom, I could see a massive transport aircraft rumbling on the huge elevator landing pad. Flames blasted from beneath its fuselage as it slowly rose and left the mine.
The information Puff had provided was completely accurate. General Vega had indeed left the base.
Thus, among the enemies remaining in the base, Instructor Lakuri was the strongest. He was a level 15 BOSS, while the other instructors were all level 15 elite monsters. In terms of attack and health, they were utterly incomparable to Instructor Lakuri.
I slept briefly, then woke at around three in the morning.
I sat in the old storeroom, staring at the time on my watch. I frowned, no longer feeling even the slightest bit sleepy.
At this moment, Left Hand was surely just as nervous as I was.
At last, it was nearly 3:50. I could level up!
I pulled up my character panel and confirmed the level-up. A stream of golden light immediately poured down, filling my entire body with a warm sensation. At the same time, a ding-dong ringtone sounded in my ears.
[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 5 and successfully unlocked your main class: Starry Sky Super Weapon · Sword Specialization · First Tier!] [Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 5 and successfully awakened the Essence Furnace (SS-rank)!]
"Huh?"
I stared in stunned disbelief, the golden light before my eyes nearly too dazzling to keep them open!
In the closed beta version, my Essence Furnace had only been A-rank. How had my luck suddenly turned around now that the game had gone online?!
I hurriedly opened my character panel again and found a blazing red furnace spinning beneath it. After I confirmed it, the furnace turned into a stream of golden light and descended into my body!
Immediately, my blood and energy surged. At the location of my xiphoid process, a fiery red vortex suddenly appeared, becoming a new organ within my body. It replaced my xiphoid process and began operating without pause, converting the spiritual energy in the air into the essence power players needed!
At the same time, the Essence Furnace's detailed attributes appeared before my eyes—
[Essence Furnace] (SS-rank) Level: 1 Strength: 4 Agility: 3.5 Stamina: 3 Spirit: 2.9 Conversion Rate: 99% Details: The Essence Furnace can level up by extracting experience from killing monsters. The higher the furnace's conversion rate, the faster essence power recovers each second.
"Buzzz~~~"
As I looked at the data before me, my mind went completely blank.
I had struck it rich. I had absolutely struck it rich!
The highest possible conversion rate for an Essence Furnace was only 100%, yet mine had reached 99%. Didn't that make me one person below the heavens and above everyone else?!