The Black Tortoise had been located, and Zhou Tianming's new system was finally complete.
Li Chi, severely injured, had held on until the system's completion before collapsing as his medication wore off and his wounds worsened. After taking more pills, he fell into a deep sleep.
Wei Jun and Zhou Tianming exchanged no further words, simply eating before lying down on their cardboard bedding to rest.
Around 7 PM, Zhou Tianming woke to find Wei Jun still asleep. Without disturbing him, he began gathering materials from the scattered debris.
At midnight, Wei Jun's eyes snapped open, and he stood abruptly.
"Time to move?"
Zhou Tianming glanced over at the noise.
"Yeah, the timing will be perfect when we get there." Wei Jun's gaze turned icy. "Leave the rest to me."
Nodding, Zhou Tianming handed him five or six rectangular metal blocks and a thumb-sized Storage Device.
The blocks were pitch black, about the length of a palm and two fingers wide.
Wei Jun took them curiously, weighing them in his hand. "They've got some heft. Not planning to have me bash heads with these, are you?"
"Close enough." Zhou Tianming picked one up and hurled it forcefully at the ground.
Crack!
The moment the block struck, a blinding flash erupted, accompanied by the sharp crackle of electricity.
"Materials were too scarce to craft a proper gun, and any crude handmade weapon would likely fail against their full-body armor."
Zhou Tianming pointed at the blocks. "So I settled on these throwable Electric Shock Devices. They pack enough weight—if the shock doesn't knock them out, the impact will. How you use them is up to you."
A satisfied grin spread across Wei Jun's face as he nodded. "Better than I hoped. I was planning to go in empty-handed."
"I'll provide drone support. Keep the comms open."
Wei Jun flashed an OK sign.
Before leaving, he checked on Li Chi, relieved to find his breathing steady.
Near the exit, Wei Jun paused at the scattered mechanical parts, crouching to select a few before departing.
Two hours later, Wei Jun arrived at the remote factory outskirts.
The compound blazed under the glare of over a dozen searchlights mounted on towering steel pylons, illuminating the surrounding area in stark daylight.
Zhou Tianming's drone reconnaissance revealed minimal patrols—no aerial drones in sight, the security laughably lax.
Wei Jun advanced through the darkness, swiftly neutralizing a patrol squad with the shock devices before appropriating their firearms.
Staring at the searchlight-bathed clearing, Wei Jun licked his lips and drew a deep breath.
With explosive momentum, he launched from the shadows toward the main entrance.
Distant sentries spotted him, alarms shattering the silence.
Wei Jun fired before reaching the doors, bullets shattering the lock mechanism with precision.
Without slowing down, he charged forward and leaped into the air, curling his body to gather momentum. As he reached the door, he straightened both legs and kicked forward with full force.
Bang!
The metal door instantly caved inward and flew off its hinges.
Behind it, a soldier who had been approaching had no time to dodge and was sent flying by the impact.
Wei Jun fired his gun mid-air before even landing, taking down the enemy. Upon touching the ground, he swiftly dashed forward to finish them off with another shot.
Without pausing for a second, he continued moving forward after the kill.
Outside the factory, Zhou Tianming controlled a drone hovering in the air, observing the surroundings.
Gunshots and screams echoed intermittently from inside the factory.
Yet, strangely, no reinforcements arrived from outside. Suspicion crept into his mind: "Be careful. This isn't normal."
"Relax, those guys are lying in wait on the Black Tortoise," Wei Jun replied casually.
Zhou Tianming choked back his words, his expression darkening. "You knew in advance?"
"..." Wei Jun remained silent, only the sound of gunfire crackling through the phone.
Though deeply dissatisfied, Zhou Tianming decided not to press further since the operation was already underway. He focused on his own task.
Inside the factory, Wei Jun wreaked havoc. After over twenty soldiers were killed, no more appeared. In the distance, he spotted the Black Tortoise quietly parked.
Approaching it, he noticed the side door was open, gaping like a dark maw.
Wei Jun smirked but didn't enter. Instead, he stealthily moved to the rear of the Black Tortoise, using the uneven surface of the spaceship to climb onto its back.
Finding a handle at the top, he pulled and twisted it. Mechanical whirring sounded as the ceiling of the storage area behind the ship slowly retracted and opened.
Wei Jun leaped down, entering the Black Tortoise through the storage compartment.
In an instant, the tables turned—the soldiers lying in ambush inside now had their backs to him.
Familiar with the ship's layout, Wei Jun effortlessly eliminated everyone inside.
He soon reached the bridge, where only a few emergency lights cast dim illumination.
Wei Jun connected the Storage Device to the spaceship from the pilot's seat. A progress bar labeled "System Installation" appeared on the display.
Minutes later, the first phase completed. Wei Jun immediately lowered the blast doors to block any subsequent enemy attacks.
The situation looked promising; everything was proceeding as planned.
Suddenly, the lights on the bridge went out, plunging the room into darkness.
"What the—?" Wei Jun exclaimed in surprise, frantically pressing buttons on the control panel to no avail.
"What's happening?" Zhou Tianming's voice crackled through the comms.
"The Black Tortoise has no power," Wei Jun replied bitterly.
"How is that possible?!"
...
Inside the secret base, Zhou Tianming frowned at Wei Jun's words.
Li Chi, who had just woken up, gaped in shock. "Impossible! The ship's power comes directly from the engine. How could it be out?"
Zhou Tianming considered the only plausible explanation. "They removed the engine."
"No way!" Li Chi argued. "The engine is the heart of the ship. It can't be dismantled in such a short time. They've only had the Black Tortoise for a few days. Unless they started disassembling it the moment they got it, there's no way they could've finished."
The moment they got it.
Those words sparked a realization in Zhou Tianming.
What if their target wasn't the AI, but the engine?
"The Black Tortoise's engine—" Before he could finish, a clattering noise interrupted him.
Zhou Tianming turned toward the source—the entrance tunnel of the secret base.
Just as Zhou Tianming was still wondering what that sound was, Li Chi was the first to react: "Bad news, we've been discovered. That's the sound of Wei Jun's commonly used alarm trap."
With a grave expression, Zhou Tianming scanned the area—the only potential weapons available were an iron rod and a malfunctioning Electric Shock Device.
On their side, they also had Li Chi, who was severely injured.
"Tian Ming, you need to leave now. Go out the other way. They might not know you're here. If I die, they'll leave."
In the passageway, chaotic footsteps grew steadily closer.
Zhou Tianming rushed to the entrance and toppled the two nearest piles of debris.
After a loud crash, the exit was completely blocked.
He wasn't about to bet on the enemy withdrawing just because they might not know he existed. The place was littered with signs of habitation—any halfway competent person could easily spot traces of a third occupant.
Rather than abandoning Li Chi, it was better to fight together. If they could find a usable weapon, even Li Chi could deal some damage and draw the enemy's attention.
All he needed was one moment—Zhou Tianming was confident he could take down the enemy.
The owner of this Secret Base had piled up all sorts of things here. They'd already searched through seven or eight piles, leaving three or four untouched.
"Tian Ming! Tian Ming!" Li Chi, frantic, used his only remaining arm to push himself up and shouted, "Why won't you listen to reason, kid? Just go, quickly!"
"The idea that they don't know I'm here is just your assumption. What if they do?" Zhou Tianming's tone was firm. "You'd just throw your life away for nothing? If that's the case, we might as well fight together. Uncle Li, if you can distract them, I can handle the rest."
Li Chi gritted his teeth, glancing at his broken body with sorrow, his remaining right hand clutching the fabric beneath him tightly.
BANG BANG BANG—
The sound of impacts came from the entrance, followed by gunfire.
After several consecutive shots, a few bullets pierced through the iron sheet at the entrance and embedded themselves in the clutter behind.
Fortunately, the piles of miscellaneous items—filled with all sorts of objects—blocked the bullets. Unless they blew it open, firearms alone wouldn't be very effective.
Ignoring the situation at the entrance, Zhou Tianming ran toward the remaining piles.
A heap of junk, crates of expired food...
And a rectangular wooden crate over two meters tall.
With great effort, he pried it open with the iron rod, revealing a bulky, worn-out spacesuit inside.