Pshhh…
The Yin lightning needle instantly pierced the Hegu point on the back of the hacker's hand. A gentle Yin energy immediately flowed into his body. Under the tempering influence of the moist, gentle Yin energy, the potent Yang energy gradually lost its ferocity, eventually blending with the Yin and dissipating into a wisp of chaos.
"I… I, what am I…"
The hacker felt the soul-deep pain from moments ago vanish like a flimsy illusion, replaced by a feeling of clarity and refreshment. Apart from his brain feeling a little hot, everything else was fine.
Wait a minute? Brain feels a little hot?
The hacker saw the group of people before him suddenly adopt looks of terror. That silly-looking, not-so-bright girl was even hiding behind the dazed-looking girl, her face a mask of fear.
"Waaah!! This guy's brain is on fire! Is he going to explode?!"
The reflection of flames flickered in March's large, pink-and-blue eyes. How could someone's brain literally be burning?!
"Don't panic! I'll handle it!"
Wende saw the flames on the hacker's head and reacted instantly. His external chip must have burned out. Although he was curious as to why the guy was still fine, if it kept burning, something bad would really happen!
"Jingliu!"
He turned his head decisively and gave Jingliu a nod.
"..."
Jingliu was silent for a moment, her crimson eyes filled with a look that said, "Are you serious?"
"Of course. It's the simplest and most direct method."
Wende nodded, his eyes completely serious.
"Sigh, alright. Since you're the one asking."
Shaking her head helplessly, Jingliu had no choice but to walk behind the hacker. Then, to the dumbfounded expressions of the others, she froze his head solid.
"!!!!" x N!
In the end, thanks to the tireless efforts of Doctor Wende and his assistant Jingliu, the patient was successfully cured! Congratulations, congratulations!
"Huff… huff… I, I… what kind of evil karma did I accumulate to run into you people!!!"
The hacker, having just regained his senses, looked at Wende and, to everyone's surprise, began to wail in public.
His chip! The chip he had painstakingly saved up for over a decade to buy! It was fried just like that! And that was fine! But he was almost killed by this 'daddy' too! More importantly, he couldn't even beat this culprit in a fight, terrified that he would get another dose of that needle from before. That was a fate worse than death!!
Why did he have to chase after those wolves for fun?! If he hadn't, wouldn't he still be in the base playing virtual games, enjoying the good life?!
And so, tears of regret began to flow.
"Why is he crying?" March asked, turning to Tingyun behind her. When it came to human emotions, Miss Tingyun was the most reliable person to ask!
"Er… perhaps he's weeping with gratitude…"
Looking at the man's expression, which was caught between laughter and tears, Tingyun's mouth twitched. What was she supposed to say? It seemed like anything she said would be wrong.
"Hello. We'd like to ask you a few questions."
Wende chuckled and clapped his hands, squatting down in front of the hacker with a very benevolent expression.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!! I'll tell you everything! I'm begging you! Just spare me!"
"Er… I…"
"I'll talk!! I really will! Just ask whatever you want! I'll hold nothing back! Nothing at all!"
"Alright then…"
Seeing the hacker's agitated state, Wende had no choice but to have another "Communication Master" step forward to inquire.
Patting Stelle's shoulder, Wende gave her an affirmative nod.
"Huh?"
Stelle looked bewildered before being pushed to the front by Wende.
Was she truly worthy of the title "Communication Master"? With just a few words, she got all the information about the underground reservoir out of him… No, it was less like asking and more like the hacker just spilled everything he knew…
After organizing the intelligence, the Express crew had a slightly better understanding of the situation.
First, there was a hacker organization in the reservoir. They were occupying the place under the name of that Legend and had modified it. Second, the modified reservoir had multiple exits, but only one was obvious. They had just passed a hidden one without noticing.
Finally, according to the hacker, the path they were currently on led directly to the Legendary Tower. When he mentioned this, the hacker looked terrified, though they didn't know what he was afraid of…
After Stelle's "conversation" concluded, the hacker ran off on his own. The crew didn't stop him and decided to continue forward.
Although they heard that this place had also been attacked, it didn't seem serious, and the people here didn't appear to welcome them anyway. It was better to head straight to the Legendary Tower and retrieve the Stellaron!
With a clearer goal in mind, the group's pace quickened. They even stopped for a simple meal along the way—fire from Stelle's flame lance, water from an ice blade condensed by Jingliu. Although she was a bit reluctant at first, as soon as Wende stepped in, she eventually lowered herself to do it…
After all, she needed to eat now too.
Ten kilometers remaining to the Legendary Tower…
---o---
"Great-grandpa, what does It really want? Can't we just ignore It?"
The "Mechanical Ascension" Legend, replicated by the Fragmentum but possessing memories from his Aether Cartridge, asked the "Sage Hacker" Legend leading the way with a confused expression.
"You can try. The moment you do, you'll know why we have to listen to It."
The "Sage Hacker" shook his head helplessly. It wasn't that he hadn't thought of it, but under the Stellaron's influence, the moment they did anything against its will, they would completely lose consciousness and become nothing more than puppets.
By submitting now, they at least retained some semblance of free will… which was much better than being stuck inside a cartridge…
"So, what does It want us to do?"
The friend of "Mechanical Ascension," the "Cyber Psycho," frowned and asked the "Sage Hacker." Even now, they still had no idea what the [Stellaron] wanted from them…
"Do?"
The "Sage Hacker" stopped in his tracks and pushed open the door before him.
They were at the highest point of the Legendary Tower, the pinnacle of the entire Neon Metropolis. From here, you could overlook every corner of the city, provided your equipment was good enough…
"This is…"
"Mechanical Ascension" and "Cyber Psycho" stared at the scene before them, so shocked they couldn't speak.
The Neon Metropolis, which in their memories had been a grand city, in no way inferior to the Corporation's headquarters at Pier Point… how had it become like this?
As far as their eyes could see, more than half of the city was submerged in flames…