150: Escape from here

A few days later.

In the Tianshu City secret research institute, under the cold lights, fine beads of sweat trickled down Lu Zhifei's forehead.

She held her breath, carefully connecting the final miniature energy conduit into the third arm, which shimmered with a metallic, ghostly light and was filled with a sense of future technology.

This arm was a masterpiece she had poured countless efforts into, secretly crafting it right under the nose of the Empire by utilizing limited resources and fragmented technology obtained from analyzing Divine Weapons.

It could not only perfectly assist her in manipulating the laboratory's precision instruments, but at critical moments, it could also transform into a lethal weapon, becoming her hope for escaping this cage.

"Click."

Accompanied by a faint sound of a latch locking, the indicator light on the wrist of the third arm changed from red to a steady green.

Data streams flowed smoothly within the arm's built-in microprocessor, perfectly synchronized with her neural connections.

Success!

A wave of irrepressible joy surged in her heart, but Lu Zhifei forced herself to calm down.

Now was not the time to celebrate; the core arm of the Dawn Morningstar Fusion was the ultimate goal.

However, at the very moment she prepared to begin the next step of her plan—

"Woo—woo—woo—!!!"

A sharp, piercing alarm, like the scream of the Grim Reaper, resounded without warning throughout the entire research institute!

On the walls, the blood-red lights representing the highest alert level flashed frantically!

"Alert! Alert! An abnormally high energy reaction has been detected in the A-7 experimental area! Suspected illegal modification and energy theft! All security units, seal this area immediately! Repeat! Seal it immediately!"

The cold, synthesized electronic voice echoed over the broadcast.

She had been discovered!

Lu Zhifei's heart sank, but immediately, a ruthless determination to burn her bridges flared in her eyes.

Years of calculation and endurance had long since honed her will to the hardness of iron.

Since she could no longer hide, she would fight her way out!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Heavy thuds came from the laboratory's thick alloy door; clearly, the guards outside were attempting to break in by force.

Lu Zhifei did not hesitate any longer; she quickly went to the experimental table in the center of the room.

With a faint sound of mechanical operation, the third arm she had secretly crafted popped out from behind her.

Like a living creature, it precisely docked with the neural interface reserved on the back of her right shoulder.

A warm current surged through her entire body; that was the energy core of the third arm beginning to operate, establishing an initial energy cycle with her body.

The feeling of having an extra arm was somewhat peculiar, but more than that, it was a sense of control as power surged.

As a Lv35 Epic-level Mechanic, the boost this arm provided her was comprehensive.

Computational power, control precision, reaction speed, and even close-quarters combat ability all experienced a qualitative leap.

"Bang—!!!"

Under continuous heavy blows, the alloy door finally could not bear the weight and collapsed inward with a roar.

More than ten guards wearing black standard combat uniforms and holding energy rifles swarmed in, their cold gun barrels pointed straight at Lu Zhifei.

"Researcher Lu Zhifei! Cease resistance immediately! Hand over your illegally manufactured item!" the leader of the guards shouted sternly.

A cold arc curled the corners of Lu Zhifei's mouth, her eyes like blades dipped in poison.

"Want it? Then come and take it yourself!"

Before the words had even faded, her newly born third arm raised abruptly, the armor at the front of the arm instantly deforming to reveal a hidden miniature energy emitter underneath.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Three dazzling energy beams shot out at tricky angles, precisely hitting the energy rifles of the three guards in the front row!

With a flash of explosion fire, those three rifles were directly melted by the high temperature.

"Fire!"

The guard leader's expression changed, and he roared the order.

Dense energy beams instantly submerged the position where Lu Zhifei was located!

However, in the second before the gunfire erupted, Lu Zhifei had already pounced like a cheetah toward a row of experimental instruments nearby.

Her hands and the third arm moved simultaneously, her fingers dancing into afterimages on those complex control panels.

Zzzzt—!!!

A temporary shield composed of a high-intensity energy field instantly opened in front of her, blocking most of the incoming energy beams.

At the same time, the ground beneath her silently cracked open, and several fist-sized, miniature turrets resembling mechanical spiders rose quickly, their cold muzzles spitting out dense live ammunition and electromagnetic pulses!

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

"Ah!"

Caught off guard, several guards were hit by the live ammunition and fell to the ground, screaming.

More guards were interfered with by the electromagnetic pulses, and the energy rifles in their hands temporarily malfunctioned.

Lu Zhifei seized this opportunity; the third arm swung violently, and an alloy whip flickering with electric arcs whistled out, wrapping around a guard's neck like a venomous snake and pulling hard!

The guard screamed as he was dragged over, becoming her human shield.

Immediately after, her other two hands were not idle either; she took several round metal balls from the tool kit at her waist and tossed them casually.

Those metal balls spun in the air, and as if they had eyes, they rolled precisely to the feet of the remaining guards.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Violent explosions rang out one after another; those were her specially made miniature stun grenades and high-explosive fragmentation grenades!

Smoke filled the air, and screams were incessant.

In just over ten seconds, the first wave of guards who broke into the laboratory had been completely eliminated by Lu Zhifei using thunderous means!

She didn't even use very powerful firepower, relying more on exquisite calculations, utilization of the environment, and the super-strong auxiliary ability brought by that third arm.

However, when the smoke dissipated slightly and Lu Zhifei looked at the corpses of the guards lying on the ground, her pupils shrank sharply!

She saw that those guards, who were originally in human form, twisted and deformed like melting wax figures after death!

Skin tore, bones dislocated, and they finally turned into strange, foul-smelling Zerg corpses!

Pseudo-humans!

It really was pseudo-humans!

This research institute, from top to bottom, had probably long been completely infiltrated by the Zerg!

This realization made Lu Zhifei's heart sink to the bottom, but it also ignited her even more intense murderous intent and determination to escape!

"Alert! The target has been confirmed to be highly dangerous! Initiating the highest-level extermination program!"

The voice in the broadcast became even colder, and the entire research institute entered a state of war.

From the walls on both sides of the passage, automatic machine gun turrets extended, and energy barriers flashing with red light began to block every intersection.

More "guards" and some clearly modified battle robots with scarlet electronic eyes swarmed in from all directions, attempting to completely encircle and kill her there.

"Want to stop me? Keep dreaming!"

Lu Zhifei's eyes were cold; the third arm waved, and several miniature drones flew out like a swarm of bees, circling around her to provide fire support and battlefield information.

At the same time, she activated another secret weapon—modified cleaning robots!

Those disc-shaped robots that were usually responsible for cleaning the laboratory now had their cleaning brushes at the bottom transformed into high-speed rotating alloy chainsaws, and the sensors at the top were retrofitted with miniature explosives!

Buzz—

Dozens of "cleaning bomb robots" rushed fearlessly toward the incoming enemies and defensive facilities as if they had been injected with adrenaline, and then exploded!

The sound of explosions, gunfire, the shattering of energy shields, the tearing of metal...

For a time, this secret research institute, which represented the pinnacle of human technology, completely turned into a chaotic battlefield.

Lu Zhifei, like a Valkyrie on the battlefield, relied on the exquisite skills of an Epic-level Mechanic and an endless stream of technological creations to force her way out of a bloody path.

Her goal was only one—the core area of the research institute, the main control room where the core arm of the Star Core Divine Weapon "Dawn Morningstar" was stored!

She had to complete the final Fusion there!