468: Eighteen Locks

At this moment, the camera on the large light screen suddenly zoomed in on the small atomic clock screen on the wall, with the time ticking bit by bit toward midnight: 10, 9, 8... 4, 3, 2, 1!

As the countdown ended, the camera "whooshed" back to the center of the space, revealing the three youths putting on their helmets almost simultaneously, the visor areas lighting up slightly and flickering with a faint glow...

The trio's movements were surprisingly synchronized; they all extended their hands as if playing a song in the air, their fingers moving so fast that they almost blurred into afterimages!

"What is this..." The people watching in the great hall were stunned and all looked toward Zhu Nan.

Zhu Nan cleared his throat and said slowly, "After they put on the helmets, a virtual operating screen appears before their eyes. This operating screen is only visible to them; we bystanders can only see their movements without knowing how they are operating it. However, the concrete results will be displayed on the large light screen in front of them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the camera in the great hall divided into three sections, corresponding respectively to the three evil cults: Blood Wolf Hall, Shadow Moon Hall, and War Bear Hall!

Seeing the images and text popping up on the light screen, everyone felt a jolt in their hearts, knowing that the real show had begun!

At this moment, the screen in the middle was the first to show activity—this was the target Shangguan Zhi was responsible for. Initially, the image on the screen was blurry, but it then revealed towering mountains, forests, and rivers. These scenes flashed by as the camera rushed at incredible speed toward a specific point located within the mountains!

"Found it!!!" Zhu Nan shouted excitedly.

"There!"

"Right there!!!"

"I didn't expect Shadow Moon Hall to be hidden so deeply; no wonder we could never find it!"

"Good heavens, this is..."

Amidst the exclamations of the crowd, the camera crossed a dim hilltop and wove through the dense forest, where the surrounding vegetation was incredibly lush and flying backward at a frantic speed...

"Whoosh..."

"Rustle, rustle..."

With a "whoosh," the camera seemed to pause slightly, and everyone finally saw a clear image: a massive complex of buildings nestled within the dense mountain forest, looking like a secluded paradise far from the strife of the world.

However, to everyone's astonishment, there were quite a few people active in the area, mostly women. Anyone with a discerning eye could immediately tell that they were all Xuan Practitioners, equipped with Profound Weapons. They moved with agility and looked quite energetic, clearly not ordinary people.

The camera seemed to have determined the route and began moving again. Before long, it locked onto a building, and upon closer inspection, the sign above the entrance read: "Information Center, No Unauthorized Personnel!"

Several soldiers were guarding the gate, and after entering, two sword-wielding women were on duty inside, indicating extremely tight security.

The camera seemed to slow down a bit but entered the interior without obstruction. The space inside was vast, with countless small rooms and many staff members walking around...

Watching this, everyone involuntarily held their breath, fearing that any sudden movement on their part might cause Shangguan Zhi, that young girl, to be discovered. But as it turned out, everyone was overthinking; after the camera wandered around the interior space, it suddenly split, with countless small lenses rushing toward countless rooms. Soon, the screen was densely packed with small lenses, leaving everyone dumbfounded!

Can it even be operated like this?

Zhu Nan said excitedly, "Your Highness, Elder Xu, Shangguan Zhi just used slicing technology to divide a single data link into countless streams, infiltrating the enemy's small rooms where data is stored. This can greatly increase the speed of stealing information!"

"Good heavens!!!" Everyone couldn't help but shout, feeling that their horizons had been broadened tonight.

"Everyone, please focus your attention on that small lens in the middle. That is the core area where the opponent stores their database, which Shangguan Zhi discovered. Current findings show there are a total of eighteen locks. If we cannot break through these eighteen data locks, it will be impossible to obtain the data inside!" Zhu Nan said fiercely.

"What? Eighteen locks?!" The crowd was shocked, and even Xu Chuanzhong's expression darkened, sighing that it was not good.

At this moment, the small lens was enlarged. An archway appeared, covered in a mess of symbols, the meaning of which was unknown.

Just as everyone was feeling bewildered, a progress bar suddenly popped up below the archway, with a green block moving rapidly across it. Before long, it reached the end, and with a "whoosh" sound, the jumbled symbols on the archway gathered together, displaying a single character: "1"!

Then, the character "1" vanished, and a second archway appeared, likewise covered in a mess of symbols...

Everyone now understood: Shangguan Zhi was cracking the keys for these archways. If she could break them, the symbols would form the sequence number for that archway; otherwise, there would be trouble!

And each archway was, of course, a lock; there should be eighteen archways in total.

Everyone watched intently as the green progress bar below the archway surged forward at lightning speed, one after another, level after level. Watching it made everyone's hearts race and their blood boil—it was even more thrilling than eating any delicacy or drinking fine wine!

As the progress bar continued to advance, everyone couldn't help but shout: "3", "4", "5"... "8", "9", "10"... "13", "14", "15"... "18"!!!

With a "boom," the final archway was broken open without hindrance, and countless bizarre streams of information suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes. Looking at these images and texts flashing by as fast as electric currents, everyone was stunned. How were they supposed to steal this stuff?

Just as they were at a loss, a web of light suddenly emanated from the front of the lens, penetrating the information stream with lightning speed, causing the entire sea of information to glow slightly...

After a short while, this web of light retracted, flowing back rapidly!

At this moment, the fluctuations in the sea of information seemed to disturb someone, and suddenly, a sharp claw reached out from the ocean, pursuing the direction in which the web of light was retreating!

The crowd was shocked, realizing that the administrator of the opponent's database must have discovered the intrusion and was counterattacking. Suddenly, a bright beam of light was emitted from the front of the lens, and with a "boom," the pursuing claw dissolved rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, disappearing without a trace!

"Good!!!" Zhu Nan shouted excitedly.

Everyone looked at him in surprise, and Zhu Nan explained, "The opponent did indeed discover that the database was being invaded and stolen, and they were about to destroy the information we had obtained, but Shangguan Zhi shattered it with a laser gun shot!"

"Laser gun?!"

"Is that the beam of light?"

"Yes!"