The metal wall of the compartment trembled more and more violently, and the Reapers' roars pierced through the wall, sharp and weird. Every impact was accompanied by the spread of cracks on the wall, and gravel fell rustlingly, hitting the ground with a crisp sound, breaking the short peace in the compartment. Liam gripped the black chip tightly, the blue-black halo around him became more and more intense, and the blue light of the Connection Core poured into his body continuously. His neural symbiosis stability climbed steadily from 69% to 71%, and his brain activation level rose from 16.8% to 17.2%—the moment he broke through the physical threshold, a sharp stabbing pain swept across his body, muscle fibers suffered minor tears, and his neural pathways felt a burning pain, an inevitable price of the initial symbiosis advancement.
An unprecedented power surged in his body, but the pain of neural backlash did not dissipate; instead, it intensified due to breaking the physical limit. Every part of his body was filled with strong energy yet wrapped in tearing pain. The blue-black halo at his fingertips condensed into a tight light blade, trembling slightly, exuding a deterrent force enough to tear metal. [Host, initial symbiosis advancement completed, primary energy absorption ability unlocked! You can actively absorb external energy (including Reaper bioenergy) and convert it into your own energy. Current brain activation level: 17.2% (has exceeded the physical threshold, continuous duration should not exceed 10 minutes), neural symbiosis stability: 71%, physical muscle fiber tear area: 5%. The battle must be ended and repaired as soon as possible! You can accurately control energy pulses, and the attack angle matching the weakness of the Reaper biochip has been synchronized and marked!] The AI's voice was obviously joyful, and at the same time, it quickly transmitted the weakness coordinates of the Reaper biochip. "Warning! Remaining duration of the metal wall: 3 minutes. The Reapers' support troops have assembled simple transformation weapons and are expected to launch a fatal attack immediately after breaking the door!"
Enduring the severe pain of physical tearing, Liam slowly opened his eyes, a sharp blue light flashed in his eyes, and the aura around him completely transformed. He was no longer tired and embarrassed as before, but instead calm and resolute. Cold sweat oozed from his forehead due to the severe pain. He lowered his head to look at Elena in the corner of the compartment. At this moment, her face already had a trace of blood, her breathing was steady, and her brows were slightly furrowed, obviously on the verge of waking up. The blue light of the Connection Core still lingered around her, slowly repairing the last damage to her neural pathways.
"Elena, wait for me a little longer. I will defend here until you wake up." Liam whispered, his tone firm. He carefully moved Elena to a hidden place behind the Connection Core, covering her with a thin protective halo with his own energy, which could not only isolate external impacts, but also continuously send weak energy to her, accelerating her wake-up. After doing this, he turned to face the trembling metal wall, gripped the chip in his hand, and took the initiative to guide the energy in his body to form a stronger resonance with the blue light of the Connection Core. The light blade at his fingertips became more and more dazzling. His brain activation level temporarily rose to 17.5% under the energy resonance, and the physical pain intensified accordingly.
"Boom——" With a loud noise, the metal wall was completely smashed, gravel flew, and a cold and piercing dark energy swept in, mixed with the unique stench of the Reapers, instantly filling the entire compartment. Three tall Reapers appeared at the door. Their figures were deformed, their skin was grayish black and covered with wrinkles, and there were no obvious facial features on their heads, only a weird red glowing biochip embedded in the center of their foreheads—that was their energy core, and also the weakness left by Marcus.
The Reapers let out sharp roars, raised the simple transformation weapons they had assembled, and the tops of the weapons glowed with dark red energy. That was corrosive energy fused with symbiont fragments. Once hit, it would not only cause fatal trauma, but also erode the nerves with dark energy, turning them into symbiont puppets. Without the slightest hesitation, they pulled the weapon triggers synchronously, and three dark red corrosive beams roared towards Liam, carrying the breath of destruction.
A trace of calm flashed in Liam's eyes. The super perception brought by 17.3% brain activation allowed him to accurately predict the trajectory of the beams. He quickly sideways to dodge, and at the same time raised his hand to release a blue-black intertwined energy pulse, accurately intercepting one of the beams. The two energies collided, making a harsh sizzling sound. The dark red beam was instantly torn apart, turning into dots of dark energy that dissipated in the air. The other two beams brushed past his shoulders, hitting the wall behind him, instantly corroding two black holes. The melted mucus of the wall dripped, emitting a pungent smell. During the dodge, the pain of muscle tearing further intensified, and the neural symbiosis stability temporarily dropped to 69%.
Before the Reapers could launch a second attack, Liam took the initiative to attack. His figure rushed out like an arrow, and the blue-black light blade at his fingertips condensed to the extreme, accurately locking on the biochip on the forehead of the leftmost Reaper. The primary energy absorption ability was activated synchronously, and the weak dark energy remaining in the air was quickly absorbed and converted into his own energy. His brain activation level stabilized at 17.2%, and the physical pain was slightly relieved. "Now is the time!" Liam shouted loudly, and the light blade, with a sharp momentum, stabbed fiercely at the Reaper's biochip.
The Reaper had no time to react, and the light blade instantly pierced its forehead biochip. The dark red chip shattered instantly, and black mucus gushed out. The Reaper let out a shrill scream, its body twitched violently, the dark energy around it dissipated quickly, and its huge body fell heavily to the ground. After twitching a few times, it completely lost its movement, turned into a pool of grayish black mucus, and merged into the ground. [Successfully killed one Reaper, absorbed its bioenergy, brain activation level maintained at 17.2%, neural symbiosis stability increased to 73%, physical damage initially repaired by 1%!]
Seeing this, the other two Reapers roared more sharply, and the killing intent in their eyes became more intense. They gave up long-range attacks, waved their transformation weapons, and rushed towards Liam side by side. The dark red energy at the top of the weapons became more dazzling, and every wave carried a strong wind, trying to tear Liam to pieces.
Liam dodged flexibly, relying on the precise neural control brought by the post-advancement 17.2% brain activation, constantly avoiding the Reapers' attacks, and looking for opportunities to fight back. The compartment was narrow, which was not conducive to maneuvering. The Reapers' attacks became more and more intensive. The dark red energy kept passing by his body, leaving black corrosive holes on the ground and walls. The stench in the air became more and more intense, and the dark energy continued to accumulate, causing a certain interference to his energy control. The physical pain persisted, his brain activation level began to fluctuate, dropping to a minimum of 16.9%, and his neural symbiosis stability also fell to 70%.
"I can't delay any longer. I must solve them as soon as possible, otherwise the body will not be able to hold on." Liam thought to himself. He suddenly stopped, took the initiative to gather the energy in his body, and the blue-black halo around him surged, forming a strong energy shield, blocking the simultaneous attacks of the two Reapers. The shock wave generated by the energy collision swept across the entire compartment, gravel splashed again, the blue light of the Connection Core trembled slightly, Elena's body also shook gently, and her brows frowned even tighter. This attack caused his brain activation level to temporarily drop to 16.7%, the pain of muscle tearing intensified, and a trace of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.
Taking advantage of the Reapers' attack being blocked, Liam suddenly exerted his strength, gathered all the energy in his body to his fingertips, and the light blade turned into a dazzling blue-black beam, locking on the biochips on the foreheads of the two Reapers at the same time—he was going to take a risk and end the battle before his brain activation level fell below the threshold. "Drink!" He shouted loudly, and the beam, with the momentum of destroying the world, rushed towards the two Reapers. His brain activation level climbed to 17.1% under full output, with a neural symbiosis stability of 72%.
The two Reapers sensed the fatal threat and tried to dodge, but it was too late. The beam instantly hit the biochips on their foreheads, and the dark red chips shattered at the same time, black mucus gushing out. They let out shrill screams, their bodies twitched violently, the dark energy around them dissipated quickly, and their huge bodies fell heavily to the ground. Like the previous Reaper, they turned into a pool of grayish black mucus and completely lost their movement. [Successfully killed the remaining two Reapers, absorbed their bioenergy, brain activation level stabilized at 17.0%, neural symbiosis stability increased to 75%, physical damage repaired by 3%, proficiency of primary energy absorption ability increased, and a large amount of bioenergy can be absorbed quickly!]
Liam trembled all over, most of the energy in his body was consumed, his brain activation level dropped back to 16.5%, breaking away from the physical threshold, the pain of muscle tearing was significantly relieved, and his neural symbiosis stability still remained at 75%, with the power after advancement still strong. He put away the light blade at his fingertips, slowly turned around, and looked at Elena in the corner of the compartment. At this moment, she was slowly opening her eyes, a faint blue light flashed in her eyes, and her eyes gradually became clear from confusion, obviously fully awake.
"Liam..." Elena spoke weakly, her voice still hoarse, but a little stronger than before. She supported herself on the ground and slowly sat up, looked at the messy compartment in front of her, then at Liam who was emitting a blue-black halo all over his body and sweating on his forehead, and a trace of surprise and worry flashed in her eyes, "You... you have completed the symbiosis advancement? You look very pale. Did you hurt your body during the breakthrough?"
Liam nodded, quickly walked to Elena's side, carefully helped her up, and his tone was gentle yet tired: "Yes, I have advanced. The Reapers have been solved by me, and you finally woke up. How do you feel? I just broke through to above 17% activation, and my body can't stand it very well." As he spoke, he used his own energy to supplement Elena's energy, and at the same time guided the energy to repair his own muscle damage. His brain activation level stabilized at 16.5%, with a neural symbiosis stability of 74%.
"I'm fine, just a little weak." Elena smiled, her eyes fell on the Connection Core, then on the countermeasure plan and weakness analysis report on the screen, and a trace of light flashed in her eyes, "Great, we have obtained the complete data and weaknesses. As long as we can manufacture counter-weapons, we can temporarily block the Reapers' invasion." She paused, and her tone became heavy, "However, the Reapers' support troops will not only be these three. Their main force should have arrived over the Pentagon. We must leave here as soon as possible, find a place where we can manufacture counter-weapons, and contact the human resistance forces at the same time to fight the Reapers together. Your physical condition after the breakthrough also needs to be repaired with equipment as soon as possible."
[Warning! A large number of Reaper energy fluctuations have been detected, rapidly approaching the underground safe area, with no less than 10 in number, suspected to be the Reapers' main force, expected to arrive in 5 minutes! In addition, it is detected that Director Hale's vital signs are still present, suspected to be rescued by the Reapers' main force, currently at the entrance of the underground safe area, with weak energy fluctuations, suspected to be seriously injured! Current host brain activation level: 16.5%, neural symbiosis stability: 74%, physical damage repaired to 80%, can support short-term combat, but cannot break through the 17% threshold again!] The AI's warning sounded again, urgent, breaking the short joy of the two, "It is recommended to evacuate immediately. The underground safe area has been exposed and cannot be stayed any longer!"
Liam and Elena's hearts tightened, and they looked at each other, seeing the solemnity in each other's eyes. Hale was still alive and was rescued by the Reapers, which was undoubtedly adding insult to injury—Hale knew the secret of the Connection Core and their plan. Once he recovered his strength, he would definitely join forces with the Reapers again to hunt them down. And the arrival of the Reapers' main force put them in a new desperate situation.
"We must leave immediately!" Liam did not hesitate, enduring the remaining physical pain, carefully helped Elena up, and at the same time reached out to hold the Connection Core, trying to take it away—the Connection Core was not only an energy source, but also the key to manufacturing counter-weapons, and must not be left to the Reapers and Hale. [Warning! The Connection Core cannot be moved. It is connected to the energy hub of the underground safe area. Forcible movement will cause energy leakage, trigger an explosion, and completely expose our evacuation trajectory!]
Liam's heart sank, and he had to give up the idea of taking the Connection Core away. He quickly copied all the countermeasure plans, weakness analysis reports and counter-weapon drawings on the screen to the small data storage device, and held it tightly in his hand—as long as he had these data, they still had hope. "Elena, let's go. Evacuate from the emergency passage of the compartment. There should be a way to avoid the Reapers' main force!"
Elena nodded, struggled to support her body, and followed Liam towards the emergency passage deep in the compartment. The emergency passage was narrow and dim, filled with a damp smell, and the steps under her feet were uneven. Every step was extremely difficult. Liam's body had not yet fully recovered, and every step was accompanied by slight pain. His brain activation level maintained at 16.5%, with a neural symbiosis stability of 73%. Behind them, the Reapers' roars became closer and closer, and the vibration of the ground became more and more intense. Obviously, they had entered the underground safe area and were quickly approaching the compartment, searching for the Connection Core and their traces.
"Liam, look!" Elena suddenly stopped, pointing to a hidden corner ahead of the passage, where a faint green light was flashing, "That's the signal of the emergency communicator. Maybe we can contact the human resistance forces through it!"
A trace of light flashed in Liam's eyes. He helped Elena quickly walk to the corner, and sure enough, an old emergency communicator was placed there, with a faint green light flashing on the screen, slowly receiving signals. He quickly connected the small data storage device to the communicator, and at the same time tried to start the communicator, trying to send a distress signal and the Reapers' weakness data. His brain activation level rose to 16.8%, enhancing neural control and accelerating the communicator's startup process. [Starting emergency communicator, signal weak, it is expected to take 2 minutes to complete signal connection and data transmission! Warning! The Reapers' main force has arrived at the compartment and is searching for the Connection Core. It is expected to find the trace of the emergency passage in 3 minutes! The host's current physical condition can support energy output, but high-intensity combat should be avoided!]
"We only have 2 minutes left, we must speed up!" Liam said anxiously, cold sweat oozing from his forehead again. While helping the communicator transmit data, he vigilantly stared at the rear of the passage, gathering energy at his fingertips. His brain activation level stabilized at 16.8%, ready to deal with the possible Reapers at any time. Elena also struggled to support her strength, tapping quickly on the communicator screen with her fingertips, helping to optimize the signal and speed up the data transmission.
At the rear of the passage, the Reapers' roars were already close at hand, and dark energy completely covered the rear of the passage. Several dark red beams pierced through the darkness, rushing straight towards Liam. A trace of determination flashed in Liam's eyes. Enduring the physical pain, he quickly rushed out, and the light blade at his fingertips, with a sharp momentum, met the Reapers' attacks—he wanted to defend here, defend Elena, defend the last glimmer of human civilization, and never flinch even if it meant further physical damage.
The screen of the emergency communicator was still flashing green, and the data transmission progress was constantly climbing, 70%, 80%, 90%... And ahead of the passage, the battle between Liam and the Reapers had already broken out. Blue-black and dark red energies intertwined and collided. Roars, energy collision sounds, and the hum of the communicator intertwined, forming the most tragic battle movement in desperation. Elena stared closely at the screen, with only one belief in her heart: the data must be transmitted, and Liam must survive.
At the moment when the data transmission progress reached 100%, the emergency communicator made a slight prompt sound, and the signal was successfully sent to the distant human resistance forces. Elena breathed a sigh of relief. She raised her head, looked at the battle ahead of the passage, and saw that Liam was being besieged by three Reapers. He already had several wounds on his body. His brain activation level dropped to 16.6% due to energy consumption and physical damage, with a neural symbiosis stability of 69%, but his eyes were still firm, the blue-black halo around him was still dazzling, and he was still struggling to resist, never giving up.
"Liam, the data has been transmitted! We succeeded!" Elena shouted loudly, her voice filled with joy and excitement.
Liam heard Elena's shout, and a trace of light flashed in his eyes. He suddenly exerted his strength, gathered the last of his energy in his body, and the light blade at his fingertips turned into a dazzling blue light, instantly piercing the biochip of one Reaper, and at the same time sideways to dodge, avoiding the attacks of the other two Reapers. [Absorb Reaper bioenergy, brain activation level stabilized at 16.7%, neural symbiosis stability 74%, physical damage repaired by 5%!]
"Let's go!" Liam shouted loudly, quickly rushed to Elena's side, took her hand, and turned to run towards the exit of the emergency passage. The Reapers behind roared and chased after them, and dark red beams kept blooming behind them, but they could never hit their figures.
The exit of the emergency passage was ahead. Through the exit, a faint light outside could be seen, which was the light of hope. Liam and Elena ran forward with all their strength. They knew that the battle was not over yet. The Reapers' main force was still strong, Hale was still alive, and there were countless difficulties and dangers waiting for them in the future. But they were no longer afraid, because they had obtained the Reapers' weaknesses, had passed on the hope, because they fought side by side, guarded each other, and because in their hearts, there was always a firm belief in protecting human civilization.
When they rushed out of the emergency passage and stepped into the light outside, the Reapers behind were still chasing frantically, but they did not look back, only ran forward with all their strength, towards the direction of hope, towards the direction of the human resistance forces, and struggled forward. A bigger war was about to begin, and they would become the firmest warriors in this war, using the power of symbiosis to fight darkness and guard light—and Liam also knew that next, he must find a safe stronghold as soon as possible to repair his physical damage, so that he could continue to improve his brain activation level and unlock stronger power without endangering himself.