"...you were actually a biological consciousness remotely controlling this mechanical shell. Then you're truly out of luck."
"Playing with, influencing, even... manipulating biological consciousness..."
Sleeper's symbiote substance rippled slightly, emitting an intangible, heart-stopping mental field.
"That is my specialty."
"No matter how many layers of energy shields you wrap around this tin can, no matter how many anti-intrusion firewalls you install..."
Its words, like a final verdict, directly penetrated the physical defenses, acting upon the distant controller's consciousness itself.
"Against'suggestions' launched directly at the consciousness level... they are utterly useless."
Sleeper drifted a step closer, its deep eyes locking onto Dr. 077's remaining sensor. Its lazy voice carried an undeniable compulsion:
"Now, heed my'suggestion.'"
"Self-destruct your core, then kill yourself."
A few simple words, yet they seemed to contain the power to twist reality, transforming into an irresistible command that crashed fiercely along the intangible consciousness link toward the distant Dr. 077's true body!
The battlefield fell into an eerie silence at that moment. Everyone's gaze focused on the rigid, damaged mechanical body, awaiting the final outcome.
"Core self-destruct command confirmed! Countdown: Five seconds!"
A cold synthetic voice emanated from Dr. 077's shattered mechanical body, carrying a sense of programmed finality.
However, the moment this irreversible destruction sequence truly activated, Dr. 077's originally shocked and confused electronic tone instead became strangely, completely calm.
It was a calm that had abandoned all struggle, even carrying a trace of eerie relief.
"Victor Black," his voice came through the pre-explosion whine, unsettlingly clear, "congratulations. You've won again."
A brief pause, as if gathering final strength or performing some covert operation.
"However," his tone suddenly shifted, adopting a spine-chilling, almost gleeful anticipation, "our game... isn't over yet."
"If you can survive... we'll continue next time."
"What trick are you trying to pull now?!"
Several Victors frowned simultaneously, internal alarms blaring. This calmness and prophecy before death was definitely not a good sign.
In response, Dr. 077 emitted an extremely brief, yet bone-chilling, ice-tinged low chuckle.
Simultaneously, an extremely faint yet exceptionally clear sound of a module fuse melting came from within the mechanical body—
That was him adding a critical system, perhaps the final anti-intrusion protection module, to the self-destruct sequence as well.
"Five..."
The countdown continued mercilessly.
"Four..."
The Victors instinctively stepped back, symbiote substance surging over their surfaces, forming protective stances.
"Three..."
Dr. 077's remaining optical sensor glowed steadily with red light, as if gazing at some future in the void.
"Two..."
"One."
"Zero."
There was no earth-shattering roar, only a dull "whirr—BOOM!" as if all energy was instantly compressed within the core and then released!
Blinding white light first swallowed the mechanical body's outline, followed by scorching flames and violent shockwaves violently expanding outward in all directions! Metal fragments shot out like shrapnel!
Explosive dust temporarily obscured the area.
"Cough... cough!"
The Victors waved away the dust before them, vigilantly staring at the explosion's epicenter.
"Probably just last-minute tough talk, you know," the Victor in Riot form shrugged, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere, "just pure trash talk to make himself look less pathetic."
However, before he finished speaking—
Something was wrong.
All the symbiotes—whether Venom's pitch black, Serum's pearly white, Riot's gray-black, Carnage's crimson, Scorn's silver-gray, Nightmare's purple-black, Howl's dark yellow, or Sleeper's deep blue-gray... their very beings almost simultaneously sensed an indescribable, instinctual, violent tremor!
The sensation wasn't a physical impact, but an intangible, extremely high-frequency wave, emanating from the explosion point like a ripple, instantly sweeping across the entire area!
This wave was silent, yet it seemed to carry some kind of specific interference or... repulsive force targeting the symbiote lifeform!
"Wait! This doesn't feel right!"
Venom was the first to growl, its huge white eyes widening.
The other symbiotes also sensed the lethal threat simultaneously. They tried to cling tightly to their host Victors—
But it was too late!
That intangible wave penetrated all physical defenses, acting directly upon their core existence!
"Motherfucker?!!"
Under the Victors' horrified gazes, and amidst the synchronized, explosive curses in their own consciousnesses, the symbiote substance covering their bodies lost its cohesion instantly, like sandcastles scattered by a strong wind!
"Pop!" "Pop!" "Pop!"... In a series of soft sounds like bursting bubbles, all the symbiotes were forcibly ejected from the Victors' bodies by an irresistible force!
Pitch-black Venom, pearly-white Serum, gray-black Riot, crimson Carnage, silver-gray Scorn, purple-black Nightmare, dark-yellow Howl, deep blue-gray Sleeper... eight clumps of variously colored, amorphous symbiote matter were exposed to the air, appearing exceptionally fragile.
And the eight Victors, now stripped of their symbiote coverings, simultaneously felt intense exhaustion and a soul-wrenching emptiness, staggering and barely able to stand.
They looked at each other, their faces etched with the same shock and confusion.
The battlefield fell into dead silence. Only the embers of the explosion drifted down gently.
Dr. 077's final "gift" had taken effect.
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