51: The statues are revived, A Song of Ice and Fire

"Purge... commencing."

The moment the cold, mechanical voice fell, the entire corridor seemed to come alive.

Click, click, click—the dense sound of gears interlocking set one's teeth on edge.

The twelve obsidian statues on either side, which had been motionless, suddenly jolted.

Dust rustled off their bodies.

Their originally dull, black metal surfaces began to flow with magma-like red light.

That was their internal energy cores running at overload.

Boom!

The two guardians closest to the group moved first.

Their three-meter-tall bodies were not as cumbersome as imagined; instead, they carried a suffocating sense of oppression, charging over like two heavy tanks.

The thermal battle-axes in their hands carved a red afterimage through the air, stirring up scorching heat waves.

"Fall back!" Lin Qinghan shouted sharply.

She did not retreat; instead, she charged toward the two steel giants.

The black Nano-Combat Suit tightly wrapped around her slender body, outlining breathtaking curves.

In the instant of her charge, the high-frequency vibration blade in her hand suddenly unsheathed.

Zheng—a clear, resonant blade-hum.

The surrounding temperature plummeted.

A wave of white cold air erupted from her as the center.

S-Rank Talent: Ice Age!

Although she couldn't yet unleash the full power of this talent, it was enough for crowd control.

Crack!

The ground beneath the two guardians charging at the front instantly froze.

That cold air spread rapidly along their metal leg armor, freezing their knee joints in the blink of an eye.

Their previously unstoppable charge came to an abrupt halt.

Due to inertia, the two behemoths slammed heavily onto the ground, sliding several meters away.

"Hee hee, the big guys fell over~"

Su Ruan's crisp laughter seemed particularly eerie on the battlefield.

She stood behind Gu Pingsheng, holding that mechanical Bunny.

"Bunny, go keep them company."

She tossed it casually. The mechanical Bunny, originally only palm-sized, swelled in size against the wind in mid-air.

Click, click, click—the sound of metal deforming rang out.

Upon landing, it had already transformed into a two-meter-tall steel beast.

Its red electronic eyes flickered with a crazed light.

Roar! The mechanical Bunny let out a roar and lunged directly at one of the guardians on the left.

The two steel beasts wrestled together, sparks flying everywhere.

Su Ruan was not idle.

Her ten fingers danced rapidly in the air, as if playing a silent piano piece.

And connected to her fingertips were ten transparent Silk Threads that were almost invisible to the naked eye.

S-Rank Talent: Soul Stitching!

Those Silk Threads, like nimble snakes, burrowed into the joint gaps of that guardian.

"Left hand... lift up."

Su Ruan tilted her head, a sweet smile hanging on the corners of her lips, yet her eyes were terrifyingly cruel.

As her fingers hooked, the guardian that was preparing to swing its axe at the mechanical Bunny suddenly froze.

Its left hand uncontrollably lifted up and punched itself hard.

Bang! This punch was full of force, directly knocking its head askew.

"So obedient." Su Ruan giggled.

The battlefield was instantly divided into several sections.

Lin Qinghan held off the frontal assault alone, while Su Ruan controlled the enemies on the left.

But there were too many guardians. The remaining eight bypassed the front line, wielding their battle-axes as they charged toward Gu Pingsheng and Gu Nian in the rear.

"Captain..." Although Gu Nian tried her best to stay calm, her face still paled as she watched the approaching steel monsters.

She subconsciously grabbed the corner of Gu Pingsheng's clothes.

"Don't be afraid." Gu Pingsheng patted the back of her hand.

There was not a trace of panic on his face; instead, he carried a hint of the excitement a hunter feels when seeing prey.

"Perfect, I'll use you to test a new move."

Zzzzt—blue-purple electric arcs suddenly leaped across his body.

His hair moved without wind, and thunder seemed to surge within his eyes.

Talent Skill: Thunder Qilin!

Gu Pingsheng raised the infinite desert eagle in his hand.

The muzzle was not aimed at the heads of those guardians, but at the energy cores on their chests that were emitting red light.

"Bullet Time." He silently chanted in his mind.

Everything around seemed to slow down.

The guardians' axe-swinging motions turned into slow-motion replays, and the dust floating in the air became clearly visible.

Gu Pingsheng could even clearly see the energy fluid flowing within the gaps of their armor.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The gunshots rang out.

But under the enhancement of lightning, the gunshots were no longer crisp explosions, but roars like thunder.

Each bullet, as it flew out of the muzzle, was wrapped in violent lightning power.

Blue-purple streams of light cut straight trajectories through the air. Precise. Lethal.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

The energy cores in the chests of the three guardians charging in the front exploded almost simultaneously.

The lightning burrowed into their bodies along the wounds, instantly destroying all circuits.

Rumble!

The three behemoths didn't even manage to reach within five meters of Gu Pingsheng before they collapsed heavily to the ground, turning into a pile of scrap metal.

The remaining five guardians did not possess the emotion of fear. They stepped over their companions' corpses and continued to charge.

One of the guardians suddenly accelerated, its battle-axe carrying a whistling sound as it hacked toward the back of Lin Qinghan, who was busy with crowd control.

"Watch out!" Gu Nian exclaimed.

Lin Qinghan was fully focused on dealing with the enemies in front of her and had no time to turn around.

Just at this critical moment, a black shadow suddenly darted out from the shadow beneath Lin Qinghan's feet. It was An An.

The black dagger in her hand carved an eerie arc through the air.

It did not block the heavy battle-axe, but instead precisely pierced into the weak joint under the guardian's armpit.

Zzzzt—sparks flew everywhere. The guardian's movement paused slightly.

And it was precisely this momentary pause. Bang! A thunderous gunshot rang out. Gu Pingsheng's bullet arrived.

It pierced directly through the attacker's head. The tremendous impact caused its skull to explode like a watermelon; the headless corpse swayed for a moment before crashing to the ground.

Lin Qinghan turned her head, meeting Gu Pingsheng's deep eyes.

He still maintained his gun-raising posture, the muzzle emitting wisps of smoke. Across the flying flames of war.

He raised an eyebrow at her, a roguish smile curling the corner of his lips.

"Focus, Lieutenant."

Lin Qinghan's heart skipped a beat. The feeling of being protected sent a ripple through her previously cold heart.

She bit her lip and said nothing. She only swung her blade faster and more fiercely.

As if she wanted to vent the momentary palpitation she had just felt entirely onto the enemies before her.

The battle lasted less than five minutes. When the last obsidian guardian turned into scrap metal under the pincer attack of Su Ruan's mechanical Bunny and Lin Qinghan's ice blade, the entire corridor finally quieted down.

The air was filled with a mixed scent of scorched smell and cold air.

"Hoo..." Lin Qinghan sheathed her blade. She breathed slightly, her chest heaving violently.

A few strands of hair were dampened by sweat, sticking to her fair cheeks. The originally aloof and inviolable lieutenant now exuded a unique, disheveled beauty.

Gu Pingsheng walked over. He didn't speak, just naturally reached out and helped tuck those messy strands of hair behind her ear.

His fingertips brushed across her burning earlobe. Lin Qinghan's body stiffened for a moment.

She subconsciously wanted to dodge, but in the end, she didn't move. Only her cheeks, which were already flushed from intense exercise, turned even redder.

"You've worked hard." Gu Pingsheng said in a low voice. His voice carried a hint of imperceptible tenderness.

Lin Qinghan lowered her head, not daring to look into his eyes. "It's... my duty." Her voice was as small as a mosquito's buzzing.

Gu Pingsheng smiled and didn't tease her further. He turned and walked toward the pile of scrap metal.

As a qualified player, naturally, one must loot the corpses after defeating monsters.

He squatted beside the remains of a guardian and picked up a broken battle-axe.

【Damaged Thermal Battle-Axe (White · Common)】

【Description: Standard weapon of the obsidian guardians, damaged, unusable.】

"Trash." Gu Pingsheng curled his lip. But he didn't throw it away, instead holding it in his hand.

"System." "Hand of God, activate."

Hum—a flash of golden light. The originally tattered battle-axe instantly disappeared.

In its place was a sci-fi-styled handle. A half-meter-long purple laser beam spewed from the front of the handle, emitting a low humming sound.

【High-Energy Laser Cutter (purple · Rare)】

【Description: Utilizes high-frequency laser technology, capable of easily cutting through most alloy armor. Can also be used as a melee weapon, ignoring most physical defenses.】

"Good stuff." Gu Pingsheng swung it twice. The laser beam cut through the air, leaving a purple afterimage. This thing was absolutely invincible for opening cans (armor-piercing).

"Captain..." Just then, An An's voice came from the corner.

She was squatting behind a collapsed stone pillar, holding an old, tattered notebook in her hand. And at her feet was a long-weathered human skeleton.

The skeleton was wearing a strange uniform, its hand tightly clutching that notebook, as if it were something more important than life itself.

"What is this?" Gu Pingsheng walked over and took the notebook.

The notebook's cover was rotten beyond recognition, but the paper inside was a special material that remained well-preserved.

He flipped to the first page. Although the text on it was ancient, under the system's automatic translation, it was not hard to understand.

Gu Nian also leaned over. She was an expert in this field.

"This... this was left by a survivor of the previous civilization."

Gu Nian quickly browsed through the content, her expression gradually becoming serious.

"The owner of the diary is named 'Adam' and was the chief engineer of this 'Mechanical Divine Court'."

"He says in the diary..." Gu Nian raised her head, looking at Gu Pingsheng, her voice trembling slightly.

"This is not some temple." "But a... prison."

"A prison?" Gu Pingsheng raised an eyebrow. "Imprisoning whom?"

Gu Nian took a deep breath and pointed to the even larger black gate at the end of the corridor.

"It says here that a... 'God' is sealed here."

"A... 'God' that they created with their own hands, but which nearly destroyed the entire civilization."