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The three of them passed through the corridor and arrived at the core area.
A heavy, circular blast door stood coldly before them. Cast from high-strength composite metal, its surface was as smooth as a mirror. The only decoration was a red emergency indicator light directly above the door, flashing tirelessly.
It was like an ominous eye, peering at them from the darkness.
"Whew... whew..."
Bruce leaned against the railing on the side of the walkway, panting heavily, sweat having already soaked through the tactical vest on his back.
The battle with the Insect Queen just now, though brief, had been a dance on the edge of death every second.
That massive size and overwhelming power made any technique seem pale in comparison.
He felt as if every inch of his muscles was screaming in exhaustion.
"I swear, once this mission is over, I'm taking a month-long vacation," he said weakly, looking at the closed door.
"To Hawaii, or anywhere with sun, beaches, and bikini-clad beauties. I don't want to see any creature with more than four legs for the rest of my life, especially the kind that spits acid."
Phoenix ignored his complaints.
She was focused on checking the grenade Launcher in her hands, carefully loading the last spare grenade before slinging it back over her shoulder.
She looked up at the door, a hint of solemnity crossing her cold eyes.
"This door is the final barrier to the core area, with the highest security level. From the outside, there are no manual opening devices; it should be an electronic door controlled entirely by the internal master control room." She walked to the door and knocked on the surface with the knuckles of her tactical glove, producing a dull 'thud-thud' sound. "The material is titanium alloy sandwiching, possibly with a ceramic blast-proof layer inside. Conventional demolition likely won't work."
Noah didn't speak.
He walked to the door, reached out, and pressed his palm gently against the cold metal surface. A faint vibration traveled through the heavy alloy from the other side of the door to his palm.
It was rhythmic, like the sound of some large equipment running.
"We don't have time to waste here." Noah withdrew his hand, his tone flat. "That guy Morpheus probably already knows we're here. Either he'll send more 'welcome parties,' or he'll choose to seal this place off completely."
Bruce took a deep breath, forcing himself to pull it together despite his fatigue. He stood up straight and slapped his cheeks to wake himself up further.
"Alright, alright, you're right." He walked to the edge of the door, carefully observing the connection between the door frame and the wall.
"If conventional demolition won't work, we'll use unconventional means. Phoenix, do you have any directional plastic explosives left? We could place a ring around the door hinges and try to blast through the structurally weakest points."
Phoenix shook her head. "I brought some, but they were used up in the previous battles. The only explosives we have left are a few grenades and my one grenade shell."
"Damn it!" Bruce cursed under his breath.
The three fell into a brief silence.
They were like flies trapped in a bottle—they could see the exit but couldn't find a way out.
The surrounding air was still permeated by that nauseating mix of fishy sweetness and rot emanating from the insect nest, constantly grating on their tense nerves.
Just as the three were racking their brains for a solution...
"Creeee-aaaak—"
A piercing sound of metal grinding against metal rang out without warning.
The circular blast door they had been unable to budge was actually... slowly opening from the inside.
The three reacted almost instantly, immediately fanning out into a triangular formation, their weapons all pointed at the gradually opening darkness.
Bruce's heart was practically leaping out of his throat. He stared intently at the widening gap in the door, his finger already on the trigger.
"A trap?" he asked in a hushed voice.
"Prepare for combat!" Phoenix's voice was short and powerful.
From the darkness behind the door, a slender figure dressed in a sophisticated white suit slowly walked out.
He was tall, with a poised and coordinated build. Not a single wrinkle could be found on his white suit, creating an absurdly sharp contrast with the filthy, bloody, and dilapidated environment around him.
A gentle, elegant smile played on his face, as if he were hosting guests in his own living room. His steps were calm and unhurried, as if he didn't see the three black muzzles that could turn him into a sieve in an instant.
Morpheus D. Duval.
He had actually appeared here in person.
"Good evening, you three." Morpheus stopped, standing about a dozen meters away. He spoke with his magnetic voice, smiling as if engaged in an elegant social event.
"I apologize for greeting you in this manner. It's mainly because my worthless children seem to have caused your journey a bit of... trouble."
His gaze swept across the three of them one by one.
When he saw Bruce and Phoenix, his eyes were like those of someone looking at two ordinary pieces of furniture. But when his gaze landed on Noah, his eyes instantly erupted with an irrepressible, feverish, and morbid brilliance.
It was the kind of look a connoisseur gives a priceless treasure, an artist gives a perfect muse, or a madman gives another madman.
"Oh... look at you..." Morpheus's voice was full of admiration and obsession.
"What a perfect creation. Strength, speed, skill... you fuse them so harmoniously, so... elegantly. You are the most perfect work of art I have ever seen."
Bruce was bewildered by the neurotic speech, but the muzzle of his gun didn't waver in the slightest.
"Morpheus Duval! You're under arrest! Put your hands up and get on the ground immediately!" he barked, trying to use standard agent protocol to control the bizarre situation.
Morpheus seemed to not hear him at all. His entire attention was focused on Noah.
He even took two steps forward, opening his arms in a gesture of embrace.
"Do you know? When I saw the footage of you kicking through the Insect Queen's limb, I trembled with excitement. That is true aesthetic violence! Compared to you, those so-called BOWs I created before are simply a pile of crude, nauseating garbage!"
"This guy is a lunatic," Phoenix whispered to Noah and Bruce.
"His mental state is extremely unstable. Don't let his words provoke you; be ready to fire at any moment."
Noah didn't speak, merely looking at Morpheus before him with cold detachment.
He could feel that although the man before him looked like a frail scholar on the surface, there was an extremely dangerous, restless power lurking within his body.
That feeling was something he had only experienced when facing the fully mutated Alexia in the Antarctic.
"Drop your weapon and come with us," Noah finally spoke, his voice ice-cold. "This is your last chance."
"Chance?" Morpheus seemed to have heard some grand joke and couldn't help but laugh. His laughter echoed through the empty treatment plant, sounding particularly piercing.
"No, no, my dear artist. You misunderstand. I'm not here to give you a chance."
His smile vanished abruptly, replaced by a hair-raising fanaticism.
"I am here to... offer myself as the highest tribute to you, a perfect work of art."
Before his voice could fade, Morpheus made a move that no one expected.
He suddenly turned and grabbed a temporary power strip on the wall used for maintenance equipment, which was still connected to several thick high-voltage cables.
Sizzle!
Accompanied by a burst of blinding electrical sparks, he actually tore those cables out of the socket with his bare hands!
"What does this guy want to do? Perform an electrocution magic trick?" Bruce couldn't help but snark. "I admit it's creative, but has he forgotten we have guns?"
However, in the next second, the bit of playfulness on Bruce's face completely froze.
Morpheus tightly gripped those high-voltage cables, their copper cores exposed and still flickering with blue electric arcs, in his own hands!
Zzzzt—Zzzzt—!!!
Violent current surged through his entire body instantly!
His body convulsed violently, and his white suit became charred and shredded in an instant under the impact of the current. Visible blue electric arcs, like hideous venomous snakes, scurried madly across his body!
A normal person would be burned to a crisp within a tenth of a second under such voltage.
But Morpheus wasn't.
Not only did he not die, but amidst an expression of mingled pain and ecstasy, he threw his head back and let out a roar of pleasure!
"Aaaaaaah—!!!"
Along with his roar, the bones within his body produced a tooth-aching 'crack-pop' sound. His muscle tissue began to swell, tear, and reorganize in a way that completely defied biological common sense!
His height shot up rapidly, and his body's silhouette became increasingly bulky.
The already shredded suit was completely torn apart, revealing the horrific mutating body beneath. His skin, under the stimulation of the current, turned a bizarre, bloodless, ghastly white, like the highest grade of white marble.
The most terrifying change occurred in his body structure. His body curves actually began to twist toward feminine traits! His pectoral muscles bulged high, his waist became slender, and his pelvis widened accordingly... he was transforming from a man into a... monstrous woman.
His voice changed as well, shifting from his originally magnetic baritone to a sharp, high-pitched, bizarre female voice mixed with electrical static!
"Do you feel it! This power! This evolution! This is true perfection!"
In just a dozen seconds, the refined Morpheus D. Duval had completely vanished.
In his place was a 'Female Tyrant' over two and a half meters tall, with skin as white as snow and muscle lines full of explosive power!
It retained Morpheus's facial features, but that face had become bloodless, and terrifying blue electrical light flickered in its eyes.
It, or rather'she,' had actually retained her consciousness and intelligence completely after the mutation!
"This... this is impossible..." Bruce stared dumbfounded at the horrific scene before him, his mind a blank.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Phoenix was the first to fire! The MP5 spat out lethal tongues of flame!
The bullets were accurately aimed at the White Tyrant's head. However, the moment they contacted its skin, it was as if they hit an invisible wall of electricity; their speed plummeted, and they were easily deflected by that incredibly tough muscle, leaving only a few shallow white spots.
"Useless," Morpheus's sharp female voice rang out, full of disdain.
"These toys are no longer effective against me."
Before her voice could fade, her figure suddenly vanished from the spot!
Incredibly fast!
Almost like teleportation!
In the next second, she appeared right between Bruce and Phoenix!
Zzzzt!!!
A dazzling ring of lightning erupted outward with her as the center!
Bruce and Phoenix didn't even have time to react before they were instantly struck by this violent current!
"Ah!"
"Ugh!"
The two let out muffled groans, their bodies convulsing violently as their weapons fell from their hands, and they collapsed straight to the ground, completely incapacitated.
The powerful current had directly paralyzed their nervous Systems.
In the blink of an eye, only two people remained on the battlefield.
Morpheus slowly turned around, her eyes flickering with blue electrical light as she looked with interest at Noah, the only one still standing.
"Now, it's just the two of us, my dear artist." Her voice carried a hint of morbid pleasure.
"Let me see whether my 'gods blood' is superior, or your primitive Martial Skills are more perfect."
Noah slowly loosened his wrists and neck, his joints producing a series of fine popping sounds.
From his Tactical Backpack, he took out a pair of black knuckle dusters made of special alloy and unhurriedly put them on his hands.
Then he tore off a part of his shirt and carefully wrapped the cloth around the surface of the knuckle dusters as a crude layer of insulation.
Having done all this, he looked up, and in those pitch-black eyes, the pure flames of a Martial Artist ignited.
The smile on Morpheus's face grew even more brilliant.
"Interesting preparations."
In the next second, both of them moved at the same time!
Morpheus's figure turned into a bolt of blue lightning, throwing a punch that even carried the piercing hiss of electricity!
Noah didn't dodge. He lowered his center of gravity and threw a punch to meet it!
Boom—!!!
The two fists collided fiercely in mid-air!
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