Amidst the wreckage of abandoned instruments, "Charlie," who once looked down upon all living things with superhuman intelligence and broke free from the shackles of creation with the powerful physique of a chimpanzee, now panted with difficulty in the broken glass and blood like a stray dog whose spine had been removed. His sophisticated casual wear had turned into tattered rags hanging off charred flesh. Charlie's eyes, once full of wisdom and scrutiny, were now completely submerged in murky fear.
The burly man carrying two revolving grenade launchers—Expert No. 1—walked up to Charlie with heavy steps. He stomped his military boots heavily on Charlie's palm, crushing it with force until the sound of splintering finger bones could be heard.
"Sir, can I have this monkey?" A gleam of sadistic excitement flickered in Expert No. 1's eyes. "He looks pretty sturdy. I happen to have some'stock' on hand with nowhere to use it."
Kross replied without looking back, "Fine, don't waste time. The rest of you, follow me."
Having received permission, Expert No. 1 let out a strange laugh. He grabbed Charlie by the scruff of the neck, lifting the hybrid mutant up like a dead chicken. Charlie tried to struggle, but the High-voltage Shock from earlier had completely destroyed his nervous system; he could only let out weak whimpers.
"Shh... don't be noisy, good monkey." Expert No. 1 pulled out pieces of grayish-white C4 Plastic Explosives from his tactical vest and skillfully slapped them onto Charlie's chest, back, and thighs like medicinal patches.
With every piece he stuck on, he would pat it hard, as if completing a work of art.
"This is for your pecs... this is for your butt..." Expert No. 1 muttered while sticking them on. Finally, he took a fist-sized piece of C4, forced open Charlie's blood-filled mouth, and stuffed it right in. "Here, hold this in your mouth. This is good stuff, very powerful."
Charlie's eyes bulged, his pupils reflecting Expert No. 1's hideous gas mask and the two demonic blue lenses of his night-vision goggles. He wanted to spit it out, but his lower jaw was tightly bound with a roll of duct tape. His much-vaunted high-dimensional intelligence seemed so pale and powerless at this moment. He had once thought he was a pioneer of evolution, a new species surpassing humanity, but before these true human war machines, he was still just an "object" to be disposed of at will.
Whimpering sounds came from deep within his throat—a mournful cry of despair.
On the other side, Kross led the other team members to the center of the laboratory, the area where Corpse King had just disappeared.
The metal floor here looked seamless, but Kross's keen intuition told him there was more than meets the eye below.
"Thud, thud, thud."
Kross crouched down and rhythmically tapped the alloy floor with the butt of his Electric Shock Baton. The echo was dull but carried a hint of hollow vibration.
"Hollow structure, about 30 centimeters thick, with a large space underneath."
Expert No. 3 quickly stepped forward. The Portable Scanner in his hand swept over the ground, and a structural map of the underground was soon constructed on the holographic screen, with a red laser pen drawing a demolition range on the floor.
"Sir, this is High-strength Titanium Alloy Composite Armor Plate. Ordinary door-breaching explosives might not be enough. It looks like we'll need a high-yield C4 precision demolition."
"Sir, let me do it! I've got the explosives all ready!"
Just then, Expert No. 1 ran over carrying Charlie, who was covered in C4 explosives and looked like he was wrapped up like a mummy. His steps were light, as if he weren't carrying a life but a package full of gifts.
Kross stood up and glanced at the "mongrel" whose eyes were full of despair and whose mouth was stuffed with explosives. A cold arc curled slightly at the corner of his mouth under his mask.
"Very creative," Kross commented indifferently. "Everyone, maintain a safe distance."
The members of the expert team immediately responded and backed away with extremely swift movements.
Expert No. 1 stood at the edge of the marked point, his arm muscles bulging. He looked at Charlie in his hand and chuckled.
"Off you go! In your next life, remember to be reincarnated as a human... oh wait, even as a human, don't run into me."
With a low growl, Expert No. 1 suddenly exerted force, slamming Charlie hard toward the position marked by the red circle on the floor.
"Bang!"
Charlie slammed heavily onto the alloy floor, his body curling into a ball from the intense pain. He raised his head and took one last look at the world. He saw the shattered dome above, the Black Watch Soldiers watching him coldly, and seemingly, the Creator in the void mocking him.
His "verification" had failed.
Expert No. 1 retreated behind a distant cover, his finger landing precisely on the Detonator.
"Goodbye, Theory of Evolution."
Thumb pressed down.
"Boom—!!!"
A dazzling fireball instantly consumed Charlie's body, followed by a deafening explosion.
The power of the C4 explosives was magnified several times within the confined space. A terrifying shockwave, mixed with fragments of flesh and metal debris, swept frantically in all directions. The indestructible titanium alloy floor cracked and collapsed like a fragile biscuit under the dual effects of high temperature and high pressure.
...
Thirty meters underground, main control room.
It was as quiet as the deep sea here, with only the low hum of countless servers running.
Corpse King Corpse King sat before the monitoring screens, holding a yellowed philosophy book. The violent vibration from above caused a layer of fine dust to fall from the ceiling onto his white lab coat, but he didn't even make a move to brush it off.
On the screen, the footage of the explosion above was being displayed. Charlie, whom he regarded as a failed hybrid product, was turned to ashes in the fire.
"Crude, but effective."
Corpse King pushed up his glasses, his tone devoid of any regret. Instead, he was recording something in a notebook. "The combat style of these people leans toward absolute violent aesthetics, lacking a sense of art, but their execution efficiency is extremely high. Record: Charlie sample destroyed, recovery value zero. Experimental conclusion: Pure intelligence enhancement is still fragile in the face of extreme violence if not supported by a matching disposition and absolute strength."
He closed the notebook and turned his gaze to another screen. It showed red signal sources waking up one by one.
"Since the door has been knocked open, let the guests come in for a visit."
Corpse King's slender fingers tapped a few times on the console, inputting a string of complex commands.
"Activate 'Corridor' defense protocol."