As soon as Liam's words fell, a slow and heavy sound of footsteps came from the end of the cold ice tunnel. Every step he took made the ice tremble slightly, as if an ancient behemoth was approaching slowly. Dark energy spread along with the footsteps like thick black mist. Everywhere it passed, the cold air became even more piercing. The energy fluctuations on everyone's bodies couldn't help but become disordered. Kane clenched his energy rifle, and the gun body trembled slightly. He said in a solemn tone: "This energy... is too terrifying. It's stronger than any Shadow Organization member we've encountered before. It must be their leader!"
Elena quickly stuffed the AI device into her backpack, pulled Wang and Dr. Gray back two steps, stared closely at the darkness at the end of the ice tunnel, and said anxiously: "We can't fight head-on now. Everyone's physical strength and energy are greatly consumed. Liam just broke through his brain development and can't fully control the 32% progress. Once we fight, we have no chance of winning! The secret laboratory on the second basement floor is 300 meters ahead. We must rush there as soon as possible to get the spiritual energy crystal fragment, and then we will have a chance to compete with him!"
"Want to leave? It's too late." A deep and cold voice came from the darkness, without the slightest emotional fluctuation, but with a suffocating pressure, as if an invisible big hand was tightly holding everyone's heart. Immediately afterwards, a tall figure slowly walked out of the darkness. He was wearing a black robe embroidered with weird dark golden patterns. His face was covered by a hood, and only a pair of scarlet eyes could be seen. The dark energy around him was so thick that it could hardly melt away. Just standing there made everyone feel weak all over, and even breathing became difficult.
The energy in Liam's body suddenly became restless. The golden and black light on the collar flickered frantically, and the crack widened a little. A strong hum came from his brain. The dark energy rushed around in his body, as if stimulated to the extreme by the opponent's pressure. He gritted his teeth, forced his brain to control the energy in his body, and the golden and black energy formed a weak energy shield around him, barely resisting the opponent's pressure. He said in a firm tone: "Are you the leader of the Shadow Organization? We won't let your conspiracy succeed. You can never get the spiritual energy crystal fragment!"
The leader sneered, his scarlet eyes swept over everyone, and finally fell on Liam, his tone full of disdain and greed: "A small symbiotic energy host dares to be presumptuous in front of me? Your brain development has just reached 32%, and you can't even control the tip of the iceberg of dark energy. How dare you negotiate terms with me? The reason I didn't kill you immediately is to let you watch with your own eyes how I use the spiritual energy crystal fragment to complete the research and development of the dark brain chip, and how I use your symbiotic energy to realize the forced evolution of human brains and control the entire world!"
As soon as the words fell, the leader raised his hand and waved. A huge dark energy shock wave shot at everyone instantly, so fast that it was impossible to dodge. A look of determination flashed in Kane's eyes. He suddenly raised his energy rifle, injected all the remaining energy in his body into the rifle, and shot hard at the shock wave. With a loud "boom", the two energies collided. Kane was thrown away by the shock wave, hit the ice wall hard, and fainted. The energy rifle also fell to the ground and was completely scrapped.
"Kane!" Everyone shouted in unison, their eyes full of anxiety. Seeing this, Liam's energy surged again. Ignoring the sharp pain in his brain, he rushed to everyone's front, gathered all the golden and black energy in his hands, and formed a stronger energy shield than before. With a crisp "click", dense cracks appeared on the shield. Liam only felt a sharp pain in his chest, spit blood, and his body couldn't help but take a few steps back. The dizziness in his brain became more and more intense, and the dark energy began to stir again, showing signs of backlash.
Dr. Gray immediately rushed forward to support the crumbling Liam, quickly took out another energy syringe from his backpack, and injected it into Liam's body. He said anxiously: "Liam, hold on! You can't force your energy anymore. Your brain can't bear such strong pressure and energy impact. If this continues, you will lose control completely!" After the injection, the energy in Liam's body gradually stabilized, and the sharp pain in his brain also eased a lot, but his face was still as pale as paper, and he was weak all over.
The leader watched this scene, raised the corner of his mouth in a mocking smile, and walked forward slowly. His scarlet eyes swept over the unconscious Kane, and then fell on Elena. He said in a cold tone: "Dr. Elena, I have long heard of your talent. Your achievements in energy monitoring and brain research are unparalleled. As long as you are willing to surrender to me and help me complete the research and development of the dark brain chip, I can spare all of you, and even make you the greatest scientist in the world. How about it?"
A look of disgust flashed in Elena's eyes, and she said firmly: "Dream on! I study brain development and energy technology to benefit humanity, not to help you realize such an evil conspiracy! Your forced development of human brains and control of others with dark energy will eventually lead to backlash and self-destruction!"
"Stubborn!" The leader's tone suddenly turned icy cold. He raised his hand and waved, and two dark energy beams shot at Elena instantly. Wang immediately rushed forward, stood in front of Elena, turned on the portable AI device, and activated the final energy defense program. With a "boom", the energy defense program was shattered instantly. Wang was thrown away by the shock wave, hit the ground hard, blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth, and the AI device also fell to the ground, with a broken screen and unusable.
Desperation enveloped them again. Elena looked at the unconscious Kane, the weak Liam, and the injured Wang, and a trace of despair flashed in her eyes, but it was soon replaced by firmness. She quickly took out a microchip from her pocket and stuffed it into Dr. Gray's hand. She said anxiously: "Dr. Gray, this is the Shadow Organization's R&D data I secretly copied when I cracked the main control system. It contains the core technology of their dark brain chip and the specific information of the spiritual energy crystal fragment. You take Liam and Wang to the secret laboratory on the second basement floor as soon as possible to get the spiritual energy crystal fragment. I'll hold him back!"
"No! Elena, we can't leave you here alone!" Dr. Gray said anxiously: "We must leave together. Even if we fight with all our strength, we will take you away with us!"
"There's no time!" Elena pushed Dr. Gray and said firmly: "Among us, only I can hold him back temporarily. You take the data and Liam away to have a chance to stop his conspiracy. Liam's brain development is our only hope. You must protect him, help him stabilize his brain energy, and let him improve his development progress as soon as possible. Remember, the spiritual energy crystal fragment can not only increase the speed of brain development, but also restrain dark energy. As long as we get the fragment, we will have a chance to win!"
After speaking, Elena turned around and rushed towards the leader, holding an energy bomb tightly in her hand. She said in a cold tone: "You want to catch me, it's not that easy! Even if I die, I won't let you succeed!" A look of surprise flashed in the leader's eyes. He obviously didn't expect Elena to be so decisive. He quickly raised his hand and released a dark energy shield. With a loud "boom", the energy bomb exploded. Elena was thrown away by the shock wave, hit the ground hard, spit blood, and lost her combat effectiveness, but a crack also appeared on the leader's dark energy shield.
"Elena!" Dr. Gray's eyes were full of tears, but he knew that now was not the time to be sad. He immediately supported the weak Liam, pulled the injured Wang, and ran towards the entrance of the second basement floor at the end of the ice tunnel. While running, he said to Liam: "Liam, hold on! We must get the spiritual energy crystal fragment, rescue Dr. Elena, and stop the Shadow Leader's conspiracy!"
The leader watched the back of the three fleeing, and a trace of anger flashed in his eyes. He wanted to chase them, but found that there was a crack in his dark energy shield, his energy was lost, and Elena's energy bomb also caused slight damage to him. He glanced coldly at the unconscious Elena, then at the direction where the three fled, raised the corner of his mouth in a weird smile, and said in a cold tone: "Run! Even if you get the spiritual energy crystal fragment, you can't escape from my palm. When I recover my energy, all of you will become sacrifices for my experiment!" After speaking, he walked to Elena's side, raised his hand and waved, and a dark energy was injected into Elena's body to control her. Then he sat on the ice wall and began to recover his energy.
Dr. Gray took Liam and Wang and ran along the ice tunnel as fast as possible. Soon, they came to the entrance of the second basement floor. There were two Shadow members guarding the entrance. When they saw the three, they immediately raised their energy weapons and shot at them. A look of determination flashed in Liam's eyes, and the energy in his body surged slightly. Although he was still weak, he forced his brain to control the golden and black energy in his body, and shot two energy beams at the two Shadow members. With a "boom", the two Shadow members were hit by the energy beams, fell to the ground, and lost their combat effectiveness.
The three quickly walked into the second basement floor. The second basement floor was darker than imagined. The air was filled with a faint smell of blood and chemicals. There were dense experimental instruments around. The indicator lights on the instruments flickered with weird lights. Some experimental data and broken test tubes were scattered on the ground. Obviously, there had just been a chaos here. Dr. Gray supported Liam and sat on a nearby experimental platform. He said anxiously: "Liam, rest for a while first to stabilize your brain energy. Wang and I will go to find the entrance of the secret laboratory to get the spiritual energy crystal fragment."
Liam shook his head and said firmly: "No, I can hold on. Let's go together so that we can be faster. Moreover, my brain can perceive the energy aura of the spiritual energy crystal fragment. I can lead the way." After speaking, Liam slowly stood up, the energy in his body surged slightly, and his brain concentrated on perceiving the surrounding energy fluctuations. Soon, he detected a weak and pure energy aura coming from the depths of the second basement floor—that was the aura of the spiritual energy crystal fragment.
The three walked forward slowly. Along the way, they saw many abandoned experimental cabins. There were some unconscious puppets soaked in the experimental cabins. Dark chip semi-finished products were implanted in their brains, and weak dark energy fluctuations emanated from their bodies. Obviously, this place was once where the Shadow Organization conducted brain experiments. While walking, Wang struggled to sort out the broken AI device and said weakly: "Dr. Gray, look at these experimental data. The Shadow Organization actually used living people for brain experiments. They forcibly implanted dark chips into the brains of living people to try to force the development of their brains. All those people finally became unconscious puppets due to energy backlash... It's too cruel!"
Dr. Gray picked up an experimental data, looked at it carefully, and his eyes were full of anger and distress: "These beasts! They are willing to sacrifice so many lives to realize their conspiracy. This kind of evil experiment must not continue! We must get the spiritual energy crystal fragment, crack their chip technology, stop their conspiracy, and avenge these innocent people!"
Liam clenched his fists tightly, and the energy in his body was slightly restless. The anger in his brain kept surging. He could feel that the energy aura of the spiritual energy crystal fragment was becoming more and more intense, and the dark energy fluctuations around him were also becoming more and more intense. Obviously, there were still many Shadow members guarding around the secret laboratory. He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said firmly: "Don't worry, we will definitely do it. The secret laboratory is ahead. Everyone be careful not to alarm the Shadow members inside."
The three walked cautiously. After turning a corner, a huge alloy door appeared in front of them. The door was carved with weird dark golden patterns, which were exactly the same as those on the leader's robe. There were two Shadow members guarding beside the door. They exuded thick dark energy and stared vigilantly at the surrounding environment. Obviously, this was the entrance to the Shadow Organization's secret laboratory.
Dr. Gray signaled Liam and Wang to hide behind the nearby experimental instruments, while he quietly walked behind the Shadow members, took out a tranquilizer needle from his backpack, and shot it quickly. One Shadow member fell to the ground instantly and lost his combat effectiveness. The other Shadow member noticed the movement, immediately turned around, raised his energy weapon, and shot at Dr. Gray. A look of vigilance flashed in Liam's eyes. His figure flashed, and he rushed to the Shadow member in an instant. His fist, filled with weak golden and black energy, smashed hard at the Shadow member's chest. The Shadow member groaned and fell to the ground, losing his combat effectiveness.
The three quickly walked to the alloy door. Wang tried to open the door, but found that the door was locked by an energy lock, and the core of the energy lock was star-patterned ore, which could not be cracked by ordinary means. "No, the door is locked by a star-patterned ore energy lock. I can't crack it, and my AI device is broken, so I can't start the cracking program." Wang said anxiously.
Dr. Gray frowned, his eyes fell on Liam, and he said hesitantly: "Liam, now it's up to you. Your brain has been developed to 32%, and you can deeply connect with symbiotic energy. The energy aura of the spiritual energy crystal fragment is also attracting you. Maybe you can use your symbiotic energy, combined with the perception of your brain, to crack this energy lock. But doing so may cause considerable impact on your brain. Can you hold on?"
Liam nodded and said firmly: "I can hold on! To rescue Dr. Elena and stop the Shadow Leader's conspiracy, I can overcome any difficulty no matter how big it is!" After speaking, he walked to the alloy door, stretched out his hand, pressed it against the door, closed his eyes, concentrated his energy, and urged the symbiotic energy in his brain to spread towards the energy lock. The golden and black energy flowed slowly along the dark golden patterns on the door, colliding with the star-patterned ore energy of the energy lock, emitting a faint light.
A slight sharp pain came from his brain. Liam gritted his teeth and insisted, constantly urging the symbiotic energy to try to crack the energy lock. He could feel that the connection between his brain and symbiotic energy was becoming closer and closer, and the energy aura of the spiritual energy crystal fragment was becoming more and more intense, as if helping him crack the energy lock. Dr. Gray and Wang stared closely at Liam, holding their breath for fear of disturbing him.
With a crisp "click", the energy lock on the alloy door was cracked instantly, and the door opened slowly. A strong energy aura rushed towards them, including both the pure energy of the spiritual energy crystal fragment and the weird energy of the dark brain chip. Liam opened his eyes, his face was still pale, but there was a firm light in his eyes. His brain development progress had increased by another 2% to 34% in the process of cracking the energy lock just now!
"Great! Liam, you succeeded! Your brain development progress has improved again!" A look of surprise appeared on Dr. Gray's face, and he quickly stepped forward to support the weak Liam.
Liam smiled, and said weakly but firmly: "Let's go in quickly. Get the spiritual energy crystal fragment and rescue Dr. Elena as soon as possible. The Shadow Leader will recover his energy soon. We don't have much time left."
The three walked cautiously into the secret laboratory. The interior of the laboratory was larger than imagined. There were dense experimental instruments and experimental cabins around. Some unconscious puppets were soaked in the experimental cabins. Dark chip semi-finished products were implanted in their brains, and weak dark energy fluctuations emanated from their bodies. In the center of the laboratory, there was a huge experimental platform. On the experimental platform, there was a transparent container. Inside the container, a crystal fragment emitting pure light was quietly lying there—that was the spiritual energy crystal fragment they had been looking for so hard!
Just as the three were about to step forward to get the spiritual energy crystal fragment, all the lights in the laboratory suddenly turned on. A cold voice came from the corner of the laboratory: "Do you think you can easily get the spiritual energy crystal fragment? All of this is a trap I designed long ago!"
The three's faces changed drastically. They suddenly turned around and saw several Shadow members standing in the corner of the laboratory. Leading them was actually Logan, the Mechanical Hunter who had escaped earlier! His mechanical prosthetic had been repaired, exuding thick dark energy. He stared at the three coldly, with a mocking smile on his lips. Behind Logan, there was another huge experimental cabin. Inside the experimental cabin, there was actually a man who looked exactly like Liam. His body also exuded symbiotic energy fluctuations similar to Liam's!
Liam looked at the man in the experimental cabin, his eyes full of shock and confusion, and said tremblingly: "You... who are you? Why do you look exactly like me? Why is the energy in your body so similar to my symbiotic energy?"
Logan sneered and said in a mocking tone: "Who is he? He is a clone cultivated by the leader using your genes, combined with dark energy and the energy of the spiritual energy crystal fragment! His brain has been forcibly developed to 40%, and he is completely controlled by dark energy. He is the perfect experimental product used by the leader to replace you! Today, not only can you not get the spiritual energy crystal fragment, but you will also die here and become his nourishment!"
As soon as the words fell, the glass of the experimental cabin slowly opened, and the clone walked out slowly. His eyes were empty, and he exuded thick dark energy, walking slowly towards Liam. Liam looked at the clone in front of him, and the energy in his body became restless again. The hum in his brain sounded again. A new crisis was quietly breaking out in the secret laboratory, and Liam's brain development path would face unprecedented challenges.