117: clown

"Heh, a sneak attack? Stealing things?"

In the Operations Center, Su Yuan almost burst out laughing as he listened to the battle plan coming from India's team channel.

"This logic is truly bizarre." Li Guodong shook his head repeatedly. "They want to challenge three S-rank mechs with a single B-rank item? Where did they get the courage?"

"Don't mind them, they're just a bunch of clowns." General Lin Zhan looked disdainful. "Little Su, should we warn Wang Yi and the others?"

"No need." Su Yuan waved his hand, a playful smile appearing on his face. "Warning them would be no fun. I want to see what kind of expressions they'll have when they fall from heaven to hell just as they think victory is within their grasp."

He didn't even bother to use any complicated methods.

When dealing with such blind fools, the simplest and most direct method is often the most effective.

He once again opened the environment control options on the Administrator panel.

"Last time it was oxygen deficiency. This time... let's try something else."

Su Yuan's gaze swept across the control list.

[Regional Water Pressure Adjustment], [Regional Water Temperature Adjustment], [Regional Ocean Current Adjustment]... His finger finally stopped on the option for [Regional Dissolved Oxygen Concentration].

But this time, he didn't choose to lower it.

"Since you like 'Shiva' so much, I'll let you experience what it feels like to have 'desire burning through your body.'"

With a thought from Su Yuan...

[Command: Instantly increase the dissolved oxygen concentration in the target area (the area where the India team is located) to 50 times the normal value.]

...Inside the dungeon.

Rajesh and his team members were holding their breath, lying in ambush behind a massive coral reef, waiting for the best moment to strike.

Suddenly, they felt something strange happening to their bodies.

An indescribable feeling of excitement and heat, as if they had inhaled pure oxygen, spread from their lungs throughout their entire bodies!

"Hmm? What's going on? Why do I feel... so hot?" one team member asked in confusion.

"Me too! And my heart is beating so fast! I feel... I feel like I have endless strength!"

"Hahaha! This must be Shiva granting us power! He's wishing us success!"

Rajesh felt the surging sense of power within him and let out a laugh of wild joy.

He thought this was a miracle descending.

He didn't realize at all that this was actually a precursor to death.

For living organisms, the higher the oxygen concentration, the better it isn't. When the oxygen concentration in the blood exceeds a critical value, "Oxygen Toxicity" occurs.

At best, it leads to over-oxidation of cellular tissues and functional damage; at worst, it directly ignites the organic matter inside the body, causing... spontaneous combustion!

"Now's the time! The Dragon Country people have entered the tower! Let's go!"

Rajesh saw the three mechs of the Dragon Team disappear into the entrance of the Energy Tower. He let out a roar and led his team members, who were also in a state of extreme excitement, as they charged out from behind the coral reef.

However, they had barely charged ten meters.

"Ah—"

A team member suddenly let out a shrill scream.

Without any warning, a strange blue flame erupted from within his body!

The flame seemed to ignite the air, instantly enveloping his entire person!

"Save... Save me!"

He struggled and rolled in agony within the flames, but the fire was like a maggot on a bone, impossible to extinguish.

In just a few short seconds, he was burned alive into a charred, human-shaped piece of charcoal.

"What?!"

Rajesh was scared out of his wits by this sudden scene.

Before he could react, another team member beside him followed suit, turning into a human torch amidst a scream.

Then came the third, the fourth... Fear, like a cold tide, instantly submerged Rajesh.

He finally realized that this wasn't a miracle; it was a curse! A divine punishment!

He wanted to run, but his body also began to emit scorching high temperatures uncontrollably.

He could feel his blood seemingly burning.

"No... No—"

In endless fear and despair, his vision was completely swallowed by a field of blue flames.

By the distant coral reef, Chen Hu was piloting his titan mech. He had just finished off a small Mechanical Sentry trying to sneak up from behind and was preparing to return to the team.

He accidentally glimpsed those few strange blue fires in the distance and the figures struggling within them.

"Hmm? What's that? Someone's playing with fire?"

He scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

He casually reported the situation to Wang Yi.

Wang Yi took a look through the shared vision and frowned. "Don't worry about it. It might be some kind of defense mechanism here. We've already reached the core area of the Energy Tower. Be careful."

"Oh."

Chen Hu shrugged and didn't think more of it, turning to catch up with the main group.

He was like a passerby who had accidentally glimpsed a small accident that had nothing to do with him.

He had no idea that just now, the national destiny players of a country had been wiped out in the most ridiculous and frustrating way possible.

The interior of the Energy Tower was a whole different world.

It didn't look as sci-fi as it did from the outside; instead, it was filled with a sense of ancient and mysterious ritual.

On both sides of the wide circular passage, countless unintelligible murals were engraved, depicting the Atlantis people sacrificing to the ocean and battling certain giant sea monsters.

"This place... feels like a temple," Zhao Zihan's voice sounded in the channel.

"Be careful. I keep feeling like the things in these murals could come to life at any moment." Chen Hu warily scanned the surroundings.

The three mechs advanced cautiously through the narrow passage.

According to the map provided by Su Yuan, the Energy Hub was at the very bottom of this tower.

They didn't encounter much resistance along the way. Aside from a few scattered mechanical sentries, which were easily handled by Chen Hu.

Soon, they arrived at an incredibly vast, circular hall that looked like a giant cavern.

In the center of the hall was a massive, bottomless Energy Well emitting a faint blue glow. Countless thick energy conduits extended from the well, connecting to the walls around the hall like the roots of a giant tree.

This was the Energy Hub for the entire city.

And guarding this place was the final and most powerful mini-BOSS of this dungeon.

"Rumble..."

With the arrival of the Dragon Team, the entire hall began to shake violently.

Within the Energy Well, the originally calm blue energy began to churn violently, like boiling water.

A massive dark shadow slowly rose from the depths of the Energy Well.

"Roar—"