Even if he couldn't cripple the entire Silent Graveyard system, Yu Xiao had to at least open the hangar!
[Network intrusion in progress... Estimated time to crack: 3 minutes 17 seconds]
On the other end of the communicator, Uncle Gao had already opened a line to General Chen.
"I told you not to move!"
The moment Bai Ying made a move, Poison Scorpion fired, aiming right where Bai Ying had been about to step!
The blue pulse melted the tiles on the spot, exposing a patch of steel that was still glowing hot!
At the same time, the two soldiers behind Bai Ying launched a sneak attack!
Bang!
A foot reinforced by an exoskeleton kicked Bai Ying to the ground, breaking her ribs on the spot!
"Cough!"
Bai Ying felt as if a giant pendulum had slammed into her back. A moment later, searing pain tore through her!
"Get up!"
Before Bai Ying could react, someone yanked her arms behind her back while another soldier pinned her calves under his foot. They hauled her up onto her knees!
Poison Scorpion grabbed Bai Ying by the hair and stared down at her prey with her pale gray, serpentine eyes.
"You really aren't afraid of dying, are you?"
Bai Ying gritted her teeth and glared at the woman before her, her red eyes seeming ready to bore right through her!
"Not being afraid to die isn't enough. You also need to know how to read the situation, when to yield and when to stand firm. Understand?" Poison Scorpion sounded like she was lecturing a disobedient child. "This isn't your business to meddle in. Let the adults handle adult matters. All you need to do is what we tell you."
Bai Ying sneered.
Slap!
Poison Scorpion struck Bai Ying across the face. If the person behind her hadn't been holding her up, she would have fallen to the ground.
"I hate disobedient children most of all."
Blood dripped from the corner of Bai Ying's mouth, and her disheveled white hair hid one side of her face.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What's wrong, sweetheart? Did I hurt you?" Poison Scorpion put on a look of concern, crouching down to gaze at Bai Ying with feigned remorse. "Turn around and let me see. Did I break the skin?"
Bai Ying slowly turned her face toward her. There wasn't a trace of tears in her eyes, and her red gaze remained as unwavering as before.
Ptooey!
As Poison Scorpion's expression twisted, Bai Ying spat a mouthful of blood onto the carpet.
The next second, Poison Scorpion pulled the dagger from its sheath at her thigh!
"Looks like you only respond to force!"
Rumble!
Just as Poison Scorpion's blade was about to slash across Bai Ying's cheek, a thunderous explosion suddenly erupted nearby!
A towering blaze lit up the tower swallowed by darkness, followed by piercing alarms and the screams of the crowd!
"Hello, is that Gao Tianzhi?" By sheer coincidence, General Chen picked up the call at that very moment.
Rumble!
Before anyone could react, a second explosion followed close behind, bringing another raging blaze with it!
"What's going on?" Uncle Gao tossed the communicator back onto the table and strode straight over to Poison Scorpion, not a trace of composure left on his face.
"It's the power plant!" Faced with Uncle Gao's question, Poison Scorpion was just as baffled. But she quickly deduced something from the direction of the blast. "I don't know the exact cause yet. I'll—"
Before she could finish, a report came through her earpiece from one of her subordinates.
"Xingtian!" Poison Scorpion stared at Bai Ying in shock and fury. "How could he act on his own? Tell him to stop!"
"Stop?" Bai Ying slowly raised her face, looking at Poison Scorpion and Uncle Gao with something close to pity.
"I'm right here. How am I supposed to make him stop?"
Meanwhile, Yu Xiao was in the hangar, cables plugged all over his body. The white light pulsing along them nearly lit the entire hangar as bright as day!
He had already heard what was happening with Bai Ying through the communicator, but cracking the hangar doors would take another two minutes!
Fortunately, the security on the charging cables' network wasn't very strong. He cracked them all in a mere ten seconds.
Once he'd plugged all the cables into his own ports, Yu Xiao immediately drew on the vast amount of electrical energy he had absorbed at the Xuanse Cangqiong base and sent it back through the network to the Silent Graveyard power plants!
At this point, Yu Xiao was actually grateful for the Silent Graveyard's complex network architecture.
Every cable connected to him came from a different subsystem. That meant he could use this method to take out all the power plants in different locations at once!
The surging electricity raced backward through the cables. The instant it reached the generator units, it overloaded almost every capacitor on the spot!
Yu Xiao felt like a conductor standing in a concert hall. With the slightest wave of his hand, he could make the corresponding "sections" play a thunderous, almost artistic note.
He was patient, too. Rather than rush, he planned to detonate the generator units one group at a time, in a steady rhythm, keeping the Silent Graveyard shrouded in unease and dread.
[Hostile mech approaching. Analyzing...]
Just as Yu Xiao was about to detonate the next generator unit, he suddenly received an alert from the intelligent AI!
[Mech codename: Cobra] [Mech model: Specialized Third-Generation Duelist Mech] [Pilots: Blake Hart, Rehn Hart] [Mech specifications: Third-generation variable-frequency nuclear-powered armor, height 80 meters, weight 12,740 tons] [Equipment modules: "Spark" 2.0 holographic bionic interaction system, "Fang" chemical wrist blades, anti-energy light armor, "Black Blood" corrosive energy rifle] [Combat rating: Class C (4,900 points)]
"How am I supposed to fight that?!"
Just reading that long list of equipment modules gave Yu Xiao a headache. And his opponent's combat strength was three times his own!
[Calculating the strength of both sides based on available information. Searching for viable tactical recommendations...]
The unexpected prompt rekindled Yu Xiao's hope. He hadn't expected the newly installed AI to provide tactical guidance, too!
As long as there was a viable plan, Yu Xiao believed he had a chance of defeating a stronger opponent!
[Tactical recommendation: Retreat]
"Pfft!"
Yu Xiao nearly spat a mouthful of coolant onto the metal wall.
What kind of tactical recommendation was that?!
If even an advanced AI like this was telling him to run, then this fight had to be a foregone conclusion, with practically no chance of a comeback!
Against a powerful monster, Xingtian might still win through clever tactics. But against another mech piloted by a human, Xingtian had no chance of gaining an advantage through trickery.
But as things stood, even retreating would require him to wait another minute for the cracking process to finish!
As Yu Xiao frantically tried to figure out how to handle the powerful enemy, he heard heavy footsteps outside the hangar!
Beep!
An authorization chime rang out, and the door that had been keeping Xingtian isolated from the outside suddenly opened!
A figure nearly a third taller than Xingtian appeared before Yu Xiao, like a towering mountain that completely blocked his only way out!
"A first-generation mech that can act on its own. How interesting."
Cobra raised her gun toward Xingtian!
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