Piercing alarms blared throughout the repository without warning! Red emergency lights spun and flashed frantically, illuminating everyone's faces in an erratic glow!
"Internal security alarm triggered!" Falco yelled. "Something's been activated!"
Click, clack, clunk—clang!
Heavy metallic thuds echoed from the shadows around the repository and from the entrance they had come through.
Hidden armored bulkheads slammed down, instantly sealing off all exits!
At the same time, multiple protective panels on the walls slid open, revealing more automated weapon stations. Thick gun barrels rapidly extended, and red aiming laser beams slithered through the air like venomous snakes, locking onto every moving target!
"Full defense system activated! We're locked in!" Dorio roared, immediately seeking the nearest server cabinet for cover.
Boom boom boom boom! Bang! Bang!
Deafening gunfire and explosions instantly swallowed the entire space!
The firepower was several times more intense than what they had encountered in the corridor!
A storm of bullets and explosive shockwaves tore through the fragile server cabinets, sending molten storage components and shattered circuit boards flying everywhere! Ricocheting bullets bounced wildly between the metal walls, emitting sharp whistles!
"Combat Servitor! Counterattack! Prioritize destroying those automated weapon stations!" Maine roared, ducking behind a heavy metal junction box and returning fire. Bullets constantly struck his cover, sending out dazzling sparks.
The two Combat Servitor immediately demonstrated their combat effectiveness.
They quickly calculated trajectories, precisely striking the weapon firing ports on the walls with heavy machine guns and grenade launchers.
One weapon station was directly hit by a grenade and exploded into scrap metal; another was completely destroyed by sustained heavy machine gun fire.
But the piercing alarms did not cease, and more threats were emerging.
Click, clack, clunk—clang!
A complete section of the repository wall suddenly slid open, revealing a hidden chamber behind it.
Accompanied by heavy, rhythmic hydraulic sounds, an entire squad of more advanced Militech Combat Robots marched out in formation!
They possessed more streamlined combat armor, wielded multi-barreled rotary machine guns, and had miniature missile launchers mounted on their arms. Their crimson optical sensors coldly scanned the area, quickly locking onto the intruders.
The leading robot was noticeably larger, equipped with a conspicuous command node antenna on its shoulder.
"Unauthorized intrusion detected. Executing extermination protocol. Eliminate all targets." The leading robot emitted a cold, synthesized voice.
A dense barrage of bullets instantly covered the area! Rotary machine guns spat out deadly streams of fire, forming a crossfire net!
"Find heavy cover! Don't expose yourselves in the open!" Maine shouted hoarsely, his voice almost drowned out by the deafening gunfire.
The battle instantly escalated to a fever pitch.
Human shouts, the cold synthesized voices of machines, deafening gunfire, explosions, and the grating noise of bullets striking metal blended into a symphony of death.
Dorio's heavy firepower roared frantically, attempting to suppress the robots' advance.
Rebecca and Pilar used the damaged cabinets as cover, firing nimbly, but the robots' armor was clearly more advanced than the previous "Hellhounds"; their light weapons had little effect.
A robot locked onto Sasha and Falco, who were desperately trying to decrypt data, and fired a miniature missile from its arm-mounted launcher!
"Watch out!" Maine exclaimed.
In the nick of time, a Combat Servitor maneuvered sharply, using its broad armored body to forcefully block in front of Sasha!
Boom!
The missile exploded violently, flames and high-velocity shrapnel instantly engulfing the Combat Servitor. A horrifying gap was blown open in its thick frontal armor, exposing its internal structure, with electrical sparks flashing wildly and one mechanical arm twisted and broken.
But it stubbornly remained standing, its damaged weapon systems still firing back.
"Sasha! Falco! How much longer?!" Maine shouted anxiously, while launching precise single shots at a robot's optical sensor.
"It's resisting! This AI... it's using the facility's security system to stop us! We need more time!" Sasha's voice trembled slightly, but her fingers moved so fast on the interface device that they almost blurred.
The other intact Combat Servitor, meanwhile, displayed astonishing combat efficiency.
It suppressed the area with heavy machine gun sweeps while delivering precise strikes with its grenade launcher.
One grenade exploded at a robot's feet, cracking its chassis; another directly hit the head sensor cluster of the leading commander robot, utterly destroying it.
Without its command node, the remaining robots' coordinated movements seemed to show a detectable delay and confusion.
"Good opportunity! Concentrate fire on that damaged unit!" Maine seized the fleeting tactical advantage.
All remaining firepower of the team immediately converged, finally reducing one hindered robot to smoking, sparking scrap metal.
But the remaining robots continued to advance steadily with their powerful firepower and armor, the sustained fire from their rotary machine guns pinning the squad down, almost preventing them from raising their heads.
"This isn't working! Ammunition is running out too fast!" Dorio yelled, replacing a new drum magazine. "Their numbers are disproportionate to ours!"
Just then, the severely damaged Combat Servitor suddenly emitted an unusual, low, ominous hum.
Its internal power core seemed to be overloading, emitting a dazzling red light.
"Warning: Core power severely damaged. Executing final protection protocol." Its cold synthesized voice sounded again.
Under everyone's stunned gaze, this severely damaged Combat Servitor suddenly charged out from behind its cover, rushing directly towards the densest area of the robot formation with almost resolute speed!
Its charge trajectory was so unexpected that most of the robots' firepower landed behind it!
The next second!
Boom!!!!!!!!!!
A deafening explosion shook the entire repository!
The powerful shockwave violently threw robots near the explosion's center, slamming them against the walls, instantly shattering them into pieces, with parts scattering everywhere!
Automated weapon stations within the blast radius also smoked and went silent.
It chose a self-destruct attack!
As the smoke cleared slightly, the robot squad was seen to have suffered heavy losses, with only two or three units, with missing limbs and severely deformed bodies, still struggling to move.
"Now! Finish them! Leave none alive!" Maine was the first to recover from the extreme shock, roaring hoarsely.
The surviving squad members concentrated all their remaining firepower, quickly and thoroughly eliminating these remaining enemies.
Silence temporarily returned to the repository, with only the crackling of short-circuiting cables, the hissing of burning flames, and the persistent flashing of the stubborn red alarm light.
The air was filled with the strong, pungent smell of gunpowder, molten metal, and ozone.
"Everyone... report status." Maine panted, looking around at the scene of utter devastation.
"Fine."
"Scratches, not affecting movement."
"Threat temporarily cleared." The last intact Combat Servitor reported, its armor now covered in shocking bullet marks and dents.
Maine looked at the wreckage of the Combat Servitor that had chosen to self-destruct to cover them, exhaling a shaky breath, still shaken.
"Damn it... I'll have to get the Boss to pay us more later..." He once again deeply realized that without these two loyal Combat Servitor, they would have been completely annihilated here today.
"Sasha! Falco! What's the situation?!"
"Done!" Sasha finally looked up, her face showing deep fatigue and a lingering trace of fear. "Core data replica encrypted, downloaded, and remote upload completed! The physical access lock for the deep isolation zone has also been disengaged! We can try to enter now!"
"Pilar! Dorio! Stay vigilant! Prepare to advance to the deep isolation zone! Quickly! Who knows if this damned place's defense system will launch another round!" Maine ordered decisively, his gaze fixed on the now unlocked, even heavier isolation door.
The squad members quickly organized their gear and, under the escort of the last Combat Servitor, cautiously approached the door leading to their true objective.
Throughout the process, they seemed to feel an invisible, cold gaze emanating from behind the door, a malicious presence quietly permeating from the digital depths.
"Passage cleared, entry authorized." The Combat Servitor reported after scanning.
"Good! Let's go! Maintain maximum vigilance!" Maine took a deep breath, leading the way into the deep passage.
The squad, with a mix of tension and anticipation, cautiously entered the new area, leaving the still blaring, chaotic repository behind them.
Their mission had made crucial progress, but they were about to face a digital entity from an old era, full of unknown malice, and every step they took was like walking on the edge of a cliff.
Meanwhile, on the other end, Osiris looked at the successfully received core data stream, an undisguised, almost greedy smile of satisfaction spreading across his face.