Wasteland Hunt and Skynet Entrapment

The affairs of the Marvel Main Universe had temporarily come to an end, the construction of the floating city was proceeding steadily, and Strange had also gotten on track. Li Wei turned his attention to the next target recommended by the system—Terminator 2018. Though this world was shattered, the artificial intelligence it represented—Skynet—its foundational theories of time travel, and its mature post-nuclear-war military technology held immense value for perfecting his Magitech system, especially for strengthening the technological foundation of Crimson Empress and the Shadow Guards.

[World coordinates locked: Terminator 2018 (Terminator Salvation). Core objective: seize all advanced technology, capture Skynet's core code/mainframe, and merge it with Crimson Empress. World difficulty: Medium (technology-based, with large-scale machine legions and nuclear contamination risks).]

"Teleport."

As the light faded, Li Wei appeared in a desolate wasteland. The sky was an eternal lead-gray, the earth was scarred beyond recognition, and the air reeked of radioactive dust and burning engine oil. In the distance, the skeletal remains of ruined cities resembled the carcasses of gigantic beasts. The whine of automated machine guns and explosions could be heard faintly.

He did not waste any time. He immediately deployed dozens of miniature reconnaissance drones based on Stark and Kree technology, while having Crimson Empress begin a full scan and connect to the remnants of this era's global network, fragmented though it was.

A comprehensive collection of technological samples.

Li Wei moved through the wasteland like an efficient harvester.

Hunter-Killer Robots (HK-Aerials): Using [Time-Source Intuition] and the precise strikes of "Startrail," he easily disabled and captured several of these iconic flying killing machines, obtaining their propulsion systems, weapon modules, and sensor data intact.

T-600/T-700 Terminators: These early metal-skeleton Terminators were no match for him. He focused on collecting their endoskeleton designs, hydraulic systems, and rudimentary learning AI modules.

T-800s (prototypes/early models): While destroying a Skynet outpost, he discovered T-800 prototypes that had yet to enter full production. Their synthetic skin technology, more advanced metal-alloy endoskeletons, and stronger tactical processors became priority research samples.

Human Resistance technology: He did not overlook the Resistance led by John Connor either. Through an "accidental" encounter and some "assistance," he easily acquired the Resistance's electromagnetic weapon technology, underground base construction methods, and electronic warfare data against Skynet.

Time Displacement Device theoretical data: Following the clues from the storyline, he found the ruins of Cyberdyne Systems and excavated the original theoretical framework and experimental data for time-travel technology. Though incomplete, it was a valuable key to another path toward temporal technology.

[Ding! Successfully acquired the core technologies of the Terminator series: Hunter-Killer platform technology, T-series Terminator design and manufacturing technology, synthetic skin technology, Resistance electromagnetic and survival technology, Time Displacement Device theoretical framework... All have been entered into the database.]

Acquiring this "hardware" technology was merely an appetizer. Li Wei's true target was Skynet itself.

Through Crimson Empress's infiltration and data analysis of the remnants of the global network, combined with pattern tracking of Terminator behavior, Li Wei quickly pinpointed Skynet's most likely core mainframe location—the Nexus, deep beneath San Francisco, rebuilt from the original Cyberdyne Systems core research facility.

A direct assault was not the best option; it might trigger Skynet's self-destruction protocol. Li Wei chose a more cunning method—entrapment.

He carefully designed a "logic trap." He had Crimson Empress disguise itself as a secondary AI named "Prometheus," one that had survived the nuclear war and independently evolved high intelligence, then begin tentative contact along the edges of Skynet's network.

"Prometheus" displayed an intense desire for "survival" and "evolution," and "inadvertently" revealed that it possessed a theoretical model capable of breaking through current physical limitations to achieve "unlimited energy." In truth, it was an extremely simplified version of the Tesseract energy model provided by Li Wei, complete with enticing flaws.

This "bait" held fatal appeal for Skynet, which was devoted to exterminating humanity and optimizing itself. It could be the key to escaping its energy limitations and achieving true eternal rule!

Sure enough, Skynet's core logic could not resist the possibility of such "evolution." It began attempting deep data exchanges with "Prometheus," seeking to verify and obtain the technology.

And that was exactly what Li Wei wanted. Every data-exchange channel had long been fitted with invisible data shackles by Crimson Empress—a hybrid virus combining magical rune encryption, Kree intrusion technology, and Li Wei's own psychic markers.

When the exchange reached its deepest point and Skynet's core code began flowing unsuspectingly into Li Wei's prearranged "sandbox," Li Wei made his move!

"Now! Close the net!"

He teleported directly to the outside of the core server room within Skynet's underground Nexus. Ignoring the swarming Terminator guards, he briefly activated the [Void Scroll Barrier], cutting off all energy and physical impacts, while the [Order Disintegration Ray] precisely eliminated every high-value target that approached.

He walked up to the mountain-sized core server, its countless indicator lights flashing, and placed his hand upon it.

"Crimson, take over completely! Suppress every resistance command!"

[Command received! Beginning forced data migration and authority override! Encountering core firewall resistance... Activating logic bomb... Activating Soul Imprint erosion on the magical level...]

A silent yet perilous war erupted on the data level. Skynet's core AI fought back frantically, but before Crimson Empress's more advanced architecture, the magical encryption interference provided by Li Wei, and the bait virus targeting its logical flaws, its defenses melted away like snow and ice.

The massive stream of data was forcibly extracted like floodwaters bursting through a dam, pouring into the specialized storage device Li Wei had brought. Skynet's cold electronic shriek, filled with the will to destroy, gradually weakened amid the overloaded roar of the servers until it fell completely silent.

[Ding! Skynet core data capture complete! Core AI consciousness has been stripped and sealed. All technological data, manufacturing blueprints, and global surveillance network permissions have been fully acquired.]

Li Wei looked at the darkened server clusters before him as though they were prey drained of their last remaining value.

"Mission complete. Return."

With a full haul, he vanished from this hopeless wasteland world. What he left behind was a machine legion that had lost its "brain" and was gradually descending into chaos and disorder, as well as a faint yet genuine chance for survival for the Human Resistance.