To avoid any mishaps, Luke made thorough preparations, not only setting up a strict defense mechanism at the base but also having her wear the Ghost Armor.
"Be careful."
Carol nodded, walked up to the metal sphere, and placed her right hand, adorned with the Power Ring, on its surface.
As the power of emotion permeated inward, the metal sphere hummed.
Luke's expression tensed, but after a moment, seeing that the metal sphere was only vibrating and doing nothing else, he relaxed slightly.
"Ava, what's the situation?"
"Brain waves are stable, heart rate is normal, no disturbances."
Luke said no more, standing to the side, watching quietly… Hal Jordan felt like he was about to collapse.
His physical strength was nearing exhaustion, and his vision was even blurring.
For eleven hours straight, starting at six in the morning, he had been hunted, like a bull surrounded by hyenas.
Yes, hyenas.
The Young Masters' Gang was a pack of hyenas; they tormented him relentlessly.
Several times, Hal had given up resisting, but those bastards wouldn't strike, leaving with eerie smiles, even dropping off food and water to prolong the chase.
Damn it!
Hal punched the wall, gritting his teeth in hatred, yet his eyes held deep despair.
The threat of death lingered around him, tormenting him every moment.
His body had broken down, and his mind wasn't much better; he even entertained thoughts of suicide.
"Rather than being played with by them, I'd rather die and be done with it."
Hal pulled out a dagger from his in my arms.
He had snatched the dagger from a limping member of the Young Masters' Gang.
Its blade was entirely black, and its edge was as white as snow; it was clearly a fine weapon.
Hal gripped the dagger and held it against his neck.
With a slight slice, blood would gush out like a fountain.
"That scene would surely be ugly."
He mumbled to himself, then after a few seconds of silence, tossed the dagger aside.
"What a pity, why didn't you stab yourself?"
A familiar voice came from behind him.
Hal was struck by lightning and quickly looked back.
In the silver-gray moonlight, a slender figure stood at the doorway.
It was none other than Dio Clay, one of the three most terrifying leaders of the Young Masters' Gang.
Hal instinctively grabbed the dagger, his muscles tensing, ready to give his all.
Dio lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, then threw it on the ground, took off his jacket, and with a flick of his wrist, two scalpels landed in his palms.
The scalpels were silver-white, their blades smooth as mirrors, brighter than the moonlight.
"Pray, pray to your most beloved God, pray that I won't sever your carotid artery."
Half an hour later, Dio dragged the blood-soaked Hal out of the village, blood oozing from his wounds, leaving a long red trail on the road.
Tony walked up, circled Hal, and clicked his tongue, saying,
"Seventy-two stabs and he's still not dead, you sicko, your knife skills are getting more and more twisted."
Wang Hu rumbled, "Why didn't you kill him?"
Dio gave the Vietnamese guy a cold look and said indifferently, "The Young Master said to leave him one breath."
"What's the boss up to again?"
"Go ask him yourself!"
With that, he dragged Hal in front of Danny, who was wrapped in bandages, and then stepped aside, making way.
Danny didn't ask Luke why he did this.
He pulled out a dagger and cut off four of Hal Jordan's fingers, then nodded to Dio and turned to leave.
Gangsters have their rules.
Luke saying he'd spare his life didn't mean Hal Jordan would leave unharmed.
Some things, once done, come with a price.
Among all those who provoked the Young Masters' Gang, his ending was considered good… Inside the underground base, after waiting for two hours, Carol finally woke up.
"How are you? Are you alright!"
Carol shook her head, her brows etched with deep fatigue.
"She told me many things, too many, my head hurts terribly, I need to rest for a while."
Luke frowned, "She?"
The girl nodded, her gaze fixed on the metal sphere.
"It's her, also known as the Defender, a single-universe battleship researched by Zamaron scientists for the elite warriors of the Green Lantern Corps…"
With that, she could no longer hold on, her eyelids drooped, and she fell into a deep sleep on the sofa.
Luke found a blanket to cover her, then sat beside her, staring intently at the metal sphere.
He had heard clearly just now; Carol referred to the metal sphere as "she," not "it."
Both words are third-person, but they have a fundamental difference.
Could this thing have a gender?
Luke stroked his chin, thought for a moment, then walked up to the metal sphere and spoke,
"You can hear me, right?"
"…"
"Do you want to talk to me?"
"…"
After a long silence, Luke decided to try a different method, placing his green flame-wrapped palm on the sphere's surface.
The anticipated scene did not occur; the metal sphere remained as it was, unchanged by the green flame's erosion.
"It possesses a mind similar to an intelligent being, yet lacks a corresponding soul."
"How strange."
Luke mumbled to himself, growing more and more curious.
The technologies he had encountered were all based on computers, everything revolving around data.
Psionic technology, however, was an entirely different technological model.
If this technology could be applied to the creation of Ghost III, the effect would surely be excellent.
Carol didn't rest for too long; she woke up after only forty minutes of sleep.
Luke poured a glass of mango juice and placed it in her hand.
"How are you feeling?"
The girl shook her head, her expression serious, "She recognizes me as the Queen of Zamaron, but she won't grant me access until I ascend the throne."
"So you can't use it to track Villon right now?"
"That's right."
"Then that's troublesome."
Luke frowned, then asked, "Is there any way to forcefully hack into it?"
"It's simply impossible."
Carol sighed, "Zamaron's psionic technology has tens of thousands of years of development history, perfected in all aspects.
It's not that easy to invade."
"It seems there's only one last option left."
Luke shrugged, took out a mechanical gun resembling a longsword from the warehouse, and turned on the power.
A large stream of blue particles erupted from the gun barrel.
The particle stream accelerated and vibrated, transforming into a Zhanblue light blade under the control of the magnetic field.
Carol's eyes widened, "Is this… a high-frequency particle blade?"
"You do have some knowledge."
Luke smiled, gripped the gun handle, and walked up to the metal sphere, "I originally planned to keep you, but unfortunately, I can only apologize."
The metal sphere seemed to sense danger, and faint energy ripples appeared on its surface.
Unfortunately, in front of the indestructible high-frequency particle blade, this defense was no different from tofu.
The particle blade pierced the sphere's wall, and under Luke's control, cut open a two-meter-high door.
Luke kicked open the "iron door" and stepped inside.
The interior was completely different from what he had imagined; it was very spacious, with only a piece of furniture resembling an electric chair and a bed that didn't look very comfortable.
The chair was in the very center, while the bed was tucked into a corner.
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