This is really not mechanical ascension-Chapter 69 - Action, Trap!

I will volunteer to stay behind.”

“An hour after they leave, which will be at nine o’clock, the building’s third-level alarm will be activated, and the security system will restart.”

“At that time, the top floor security will be diverted, all surveillance probes will be shut down, and we will have fifteen minutes to operate.”

He looked around and said in a deep voice, “Did everyone understand?”

Everyone nodded, Li Ming feeling surprised in his heart.

The person Qin Xiao had arranged by Chen Songnan’s side must hold a significant position to be able to do this.

“What if we encounter resistance during the operation?” someone asked.

“Kill!” Zhao Xiong’s expression was icy.

“Remember, this operation is our own initiative; even if we are caught, it has nothing to do with Minister Qin.”

Although the subsidiary of Star Creation Company was not without its security forces, they had already come in under the guise of their official identities—the hardest step was already taken.

Everyone’s expression tensed slightly, unable to help clenching their fists.

“Tomorrow, the two of us will take the lead,” Zhao Xiong looked at Li Ming, a trace of jealousy inevitably rising in his heart when he saw the other’s excessively young face.

He had toiled in the city’s guard for over a decade, clawing his way to this current position, to execute such a dangerous mission before he finally caught Qin Xiao’s eye and was granted an E-level gene seed.

Yet this young man, who had only joined the city’s guard for a month, was already standing on the same level as him.

“Okay,” Li Ming nodded, his mind contemplating that Zhao Xiong seemed to know he was already an E-level Life Form, probably informed by Qin Xiao.

And Zhao Xiong?

He might also have become an E-level Life Form by now—after all, one must offer some benefits to make others risk their lives.

Li Ming thought of another matter and asked, “Chen Songnan’s office is on the top floor; on the way up, there must be quite a few doors that require special permissions to pass, right?”

Zhao Xiong glanced at him: “That’s right, after the security system restarts, those doors will all lock down, but I have a way through.”

“What way?”

“You don’t need to know so much; just follow my lead,” Zhao Xiong’s voice grew colder.

Li Ming exchanged a glance with him and ceased their conversation.

Data review was extremely tedious, and Xu Wei interviewed many people.

It wasn’t until ten o’clock at night that the review team returned to rest.

Early the next day, Chen Songnan awoke everyone, just as Zhao Xiong had said the day before—the transport provided could carry at most 40 people.

Yet just the accompanying personnel from Star Creation Company alone numbered no less than 15 people.

“I’ll take the team and stay behind; there are still a few staff members reviewing the data,” Zhao Xiong followed the plan.

“That works for me.” Wang Zhiheng didn’t think too much, and Chen Songnan did not speak.

The transport plane took off, its engines roaring, becoming a streak of light that quickly disappeared from everyone’s view.

In the conference room, aside from Li Ming and Zhao Xiong, the others were very anxious, their hands slick with sweat.

“Please be aware, geomagnetic fluctuations detected, prepare for impact!”

“…”

Alarms sounded repeatedly, and the conference room was lit with flashing red lights.

Then, the illumination extinguished momentarily, the backup generator kicked in, and the lights came on again dimly.

The time was exactly nine o’clock when Zhao Xiong suddenly stood up, a sharp glint in his eyes: “Move out!”

Just at that moment, his movement halted slightly, because Li Ming had somehow produced a black hood from somewhere and put it on his head.

“What’s this?” He frowned, having already stated that all surveillance devices would be shut down—Li Ming’s action was clearly a sign of mistrust.

“Just to be safe,” Li Ming responded briefly.

Everyone who could join the city’s guard had decent physical capabilities.

Several members of the team had a similar build to his, dressed in city guard combat gear—without seeing faces, it was hard to tell them apart.

The others looked at each other, all feeling somewhat regretful—how had they not thought of this?

Zhao Xiong didn’t waste time, giving him a cold glance before moving quickly.

This was already the upper floors, less than ten stories from the top floor, basically devoid of regular staff—they entered through the emergency staircase, heading straight to the top floor.

Along the way, several were on high alert.

The doors in the evacuation passage were tightly shut, made of metal and flashing red lights, appearing to be locked.

However, Zhao Xiong took out a black magnetic card, swiped it over the device on the wall, and with a beep, the doors slid open on both sides.

“This must be some sort of backdoor; even if the security system restarts, the emergency escape routes can’t be locked.

There must be another backup system,” Li Ming surmised silently.

Someone in the team threw out a spherical metal object, from which the smart terminal quickly generated a Mimicry map.

“The corridor is clear,” he reported.

“Let’s go,” Zhao Xiong led the way, with Li Ming close behind.

Chen Songnan’s office on the entire top floor was solitary, covering a large area.

The doors with black backgrounds and gold patterns were solemn and majestic.

Zhao Xiong took out his magnetic card, ready to proceed, but was stopped by Li Ming.

“We’re running out of time, what are you doing?” Zhao Xiong’s brows were tightly furrowed.

“Something feels off,” Li Ming surveyed his surroundings, “Don’t you think it’s a bit too easy here, not even a guard in sight?”

It had taken them less than three minutes to get this far and the calm was making Li Ming uneasy.

Zhao Xiong’s expression changed slightly.

It was indeed too smooth, but looking at the massive door in front of them, Qin Xiao’s promise echoed in his ears, and he said in a deep voice:

“We’re just the last step of the operation.

Do you know how many stages have been passed, how many steps have been prepared?”

“Just for this magnetic card, who knows what price has been paid.”

The operation was thoroughly planned.

They were just there to take something, and it had been set up over a long period of time.

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Zhao Xiong walked past Li Ming, swiped the card, and the thick black gold door slowly opened.

Zhao Xiong and Li Ming had already taken positions on either side of the door.

Zhao Xiong threw something inside, and Li Ming keenly felt an electromagnetic field rapidly spreading.

A small EMP?

Li Ming peeked inside and spotted the Silver Grey Mother Ore in a glass display case, right behind the massive office desk.

There was no movement, the room seemed utterly empty, Zhao Xiong hesitated slightly before saying to Li Ming, “You go in and get the stuff, I’ll watch from here.”

“Not going,” Li Ming thought he must be out of his mind to listen to Zhao Xiong’s orders.

Those two words earned Li Ming an angry glare from Zhao Xiong, but now was not the time to act out.

He darkly instructed the two people behind him, “You go.”

The others didn’t have the capability to resist Zhao Xiong and inwardly groaned, carefully making their way into the room.

Reaching the large black metal office desk, they fiddled around for a bit and produced a safe nearly half their height.

Zhao Xiong breathed a sigh of relief, gave Li Ming a provocative look, and sneered.

Once the mission was over, he would undoubtedly report this to Qin Xiao.

Li Ming also harbored some doubts.

Was he overthinking things?

However, just as the teammate carrying the safe stepped out, Li Ming and Zhao Xiong both looked up at the same time, their faces drastically changing.

Boom!

The heavy metal door slammed shut in an instant.

Another teammate, half a step behind, was caught directly in it, turning into a mass of gore, with blood and bits of flesh spattering everywhere, creating a bloody umbrella-shaped pattern on the floor.

The teammate holding the safe froze on the spot, and the rest were no less shocked, their hearts nearly leaping out of their throats.

Click, click, click–

At the same time, the ceiling panels opened, and a series of hanging machine guns extended their barrels, then swiveled to lock onto everyone present.

The orange-yellow ammo belts turned everybody ice-cold.

In truth, as soon as the barrels appeared, both Li Ming and Zhao Xiong reacted, nearly simultaneously bursting into action towards the emergency exit.

Beep–

As the magnetic card swept across, it had no effect.

Zhao Xiong’s forehead was covered in cold sweat as he smashed his fist against the door, leaving an imprint but finding it hard to break through in such a short amount of time.

The machine-gun mounts fully unfurled and had already started spinning.

Zhao Xiong’s eyes turned icy as he suddenly lunged at Li Ming’s back as if to use him as a shield.

Seeking death!

Li Ming immediately sensed his intent but didn’t engage in a fight with him.

Instead, he shot toward another corner, not giving Zhao Xiong a chance.

“Fuck!” Zhao Xiong didn’t stop; he dashed towards the teammate closest to him and, under their terrified gaze, he threw them directly at a gun turret.

Hum–

A cyan shield rippled around the gun turret, indicating a protective barrier.

In this moment of life and death, Zhao Xiong roared and rushed towards the remaining few, forcefully using them as his shield.

Peering through the gap, he saw Li Ming in the corner, then his pupils violently dilated!

Li Ming pulled out a large black metal object from his chest, about the size of a grinding stone.

Zhao Xiong struggled to comprehend how such a large object had been concealed within Li Ming’s chest.

What mattered more was that the object quickly unfolded, with layers upon layers of metal spreading out, eventually forming a diamond-shaped apex that fit perfectly into the corner, enveloping Li Ming within.

What the hell is that!?

Zhao Xiong was dumbfounded, but reality didn’t give him time to ponder.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Machine guns from the ceiling spat out scorching flames, the sound full and powerful, drowning out screams.

Shell casings rained down, clinking on the floor.

Blood sprayed wildly; Zhao Xiong was filled with fury.

He understood it now; this was a trap.

Qin Xiao had been fooled, and they were mere cannon fodder.

With the flesh shield in tatters before him, Zhao Xiong could vividly feel bullets piercing his skin, blocked by his muscles.

Even as an E-level Life Form, relying solely on his body, he couldn’t possibly survive the relentless stream of bullets!

Out of nowhere, his spirit surged, his eyes widened in shock as he saw that the black shield in the corner had an opening in the center from which emerged a long purple gun barrel.

At one meter in length, only a sniper rifle would have such a long barrel.

Such a long barrel?

Where did he hide that?

Zhao Xiong was beyond confused.

Then, the gun barrel aimed at the machine-gun base on the ceiling and with a pop!

Crack!

The barrier rippled, followed by another shot as the screen cracked, and with the third shot, the machine gun burst into electrical sparks and died.

A glimmer of hope appeared in Zhao Xiong’s eyes.