"Deep Rock Fortress"—this secret base, once belonging to Old Qiao, had now been completely taken over by Yu Sheng. Even the remaining clone troops around the fortress had chosen to surrender after receiving orders from inside.
Meanwhile, within minutes of the battle ending, Luo had seized control of the fortress's entire antenna system. She severed the connection between the local network and the Black Dot Group's central data network, replacing every network port with a complete set of false addresses and database interfaces—to ensure that no one would learn what had happened here.
In the fortress's Core Area, inside the hall Old Qiao had originally used to collect his "artworks," a new tank had been activated and connected to a rudimentary interactive system. Luo had transferred "Old Qiao" into the new tank. Among the cables and processors connected to the tank was the temporary prison she had prepared for her "old friend."
Nearly transparent biomass solution bubbled inside the glass tank. A shriveled, wrinkled brain floated silently within the container, while green characters flickered across the display beside it. That screen was currently Old Qiao's only means of external communication. All his senses had been stripped away, and his consciousness was sealed inside a disconnected brain.
Looking at the setup before him, Yu Sheng found it hard to imagine what that must feel like.
"It's a darkness and silence beyond all extremes. A sense of nothingness gnaws at the mind and will from every direction," Luo explained softly beside the tank, a trace of reminiscence in her voice. "Without stimulation from the real world as an anchor, the brain's perception of time quickly falls into chaos. Every second stretches infinitely. In that endless night, fear becomes almost eternal, and even death turns into a luxury."
She let out a soft