Elrios's Trail and the Alarm Sounds
The Salsa group (Arya, Yuyuer, Lin Ya, Rex, Salsa) stealthily advanced toward the core area deep in the cavern, which emitted a dark red glow and pulsed like a heart. Rex's armor activated full-spectrum interference and optical camouflage, shielding their signals. Salsa sent several of the smallest shadow falcons to fly along the ceiling shadows for reconnaissance.
They bypassed the dense pipelines and busy automated mechanical arms around the periphery of the core area, discovering a heavy metal door. There were no guards at the entrance, but the control panel beside it flickered with complex lights. On the door was a symbol: an abstract mark composed of gears and test tubes.
"Data room? Or control center?" Rex analyzed in a low voice, extending a data probe from his armor to attempt infiltration of the control panel.
Meanwhile, the Fa group (Fa, Celestia, Kayla, TISK, Zhamisi) moved like shadows through the forest of incubation tanks. Celestia relied on her wind perception and speed to scout ahead, avoiding patrol routes and surveillance probes (they discovered many places with moving mechanical eyes). Kayla and TISK handled the rear and any sudden combat. Zhamisi used her snake-like thermal sensing and sensitivity to toxins to watch for hidden biochemical traps or defensive creatures.
They searched several small rooms that seemed like monitoring stations or medical bays, containing only cold instruments and empty restraint chairs, with no signs of life. The incubation tanks held various twisted experimental subjects, but none were complete or damaged winged clan cell bodies, and there was no sign of Elrios. Despair struck again.
"Damn it! Is Elrios not here?" Celestia's voice carried anxiety.
"Keep searching! There must be a place for holding special individuals!" Fa commanded in a low voice, her star eyes scanning the surroundings. Her gaze fell on a distant area sealed by a heavy metal door. There were no incubation tanks there, and the wall material was noticeably different, emitting faint energy fluctuations, seeming like some independent, highly controlled zone.
They carefully bypassed a patrol squad and sneaked to the vicinity of that metal door. The door bore no Doomsday Rebirth organization's symbol, only a simple number "9". Fa's star eyes pierced through the door seam, vaguely seeing some unusual devices inside.
Just as they prepared to investigate further, a low conversation came from inside the door. Fa immediately signaled everyone to hide. They pressed against the wall, minimizing their presence, and listened carefully.
There were six people inside, including three men and two women. All wore masks styled after different birds—a crow mask, a nightingale mask, a vulture mask, a chicken mask, and a woodpecker mask. Their voices were cold and filled with superiority, reporting to the sixth unidentified person.
"Lady Dakli," a somewhat slick male voice said, "My people (crow mask) are fully investigating! The 'Fisherman' (Ohara's code name) in Tear Bay lost contact yesterday—likely fled or killed! There may be a vulnerability in the guide network that needs immediate patching. I'll quickly screen and activate backup weaknesses."
"Reporting to Lady Dakli, a new batch of 'premium materials' has arrived from the western border, including three mixed-bloods with beastman lineage, potential assessed at A-level. In three days, five more humans will arrive from the south." The woman in the nightingale mask said, her tone flat as if discussing cargo quantities.
"Lady Dakli, the latest twenty synthetic clones have successfully fused, and the data collection progress for 'Holy North Nest' is steadily improving." This was the woman in the vulture mask, her voice carrying a metallic chill.
"The previous winged clan samples are undergoing final live testing, with reactions matching expectations. Their life energy and wind element magic hold great expansion value for us." The man in the chicken mask continued, his tone laced with morbid excitement. "Especially those 'near-perfect mutants'; their potential far exceeds our estimates and will become our most important invasion weapons in the future. They've been successfully transferred to Lab 52 for deep cultivation and domestication, ensuring maximum utilization rate before the full activation of the 'Oracle Plan'."
"Lady Dakli, sensors near the deep-sea sewage outlet show slight abnormal fluctuations, but the automated defense system has scanned multiple times without detecting intrusion signs, judged as deep-sea creature activity. However, I've strengthened the energy array deployment in that area." The voice carried fervent magnetism—the man in the woodpecker mask added.
"Very good, you've done well. Continue monitoring and ensure 'their' stability. Don't let those others intrude; heighten alertness." The voice called "Dakli" was low and magnetic, yet carried a chilling pressure. "The final phase of the 'Oracle Plan' cannot afford failure. Once this succeeds, I'll request Lady Virginia to grant you corresponding rewards."
Just as Fa and the others listened carefully, Rex was hacking into the data room/control center door. Though his skills were advanced, the Doomsday Rebirth organization's system had higher-level traps and quantum-level anomaly detection.
The core alarm was triggered. This alarm not only sounded in the data room but also synced to Dakli's area. Dakli's communicator blared; she glanced at it, her face instantly darkening: "Hmph! More than one place! The database is being invaded! The loss of contact in Tear Bay wasn't an accident—it's an intrusion! Full island level-one alert! Seal all areas, activate the cleaners!" This command directly covered Fa's area.
Convergence and Rescue
When the alarm pierced the air, the entire underground facility of Dark Tide Island instantly plunged into chaos. The shrill alarm echoed through the thick metal walls, reverberating in the massive cavern, sending chills down spines. Fa's group was lurking outside the metal door marked "9", eavesdropping on Dakli's conversation with her five bird-masked subordinates. As the alarm rang, Fa's heart tightened, and she immediately asked through the mental link established by Salsa's shadow falcons:
"Salsa, how's it on your side? Need help?"
"No need," Salsa's electronic voice was calm and firm. "We can handle it. You continue searching for Elrios's whereabouts; we'll acquire the data as soon as possible."
Fa nodded, turning her gaze to her companions—Celestia, Kayla, TISK, and Zhamisi. Everyone was on edge, ready for any sudden situation. She said in a low voice: "Dakli has detected the intrusion; we need to act fast and find the imprisoned before she reaches the data center."
At that moment, urgent footsteps came from inside the door. Fa quickly signaled the team to retreat. Using Celestia's "Shadow Leap" ability, they instantly flashed into a dark corner, hiding tightly in the shadows of the incubation tanks. Through the tank wall reflections, they saw Dakli leading the five masked people rush out of the room, heading straight for the data center.
"They've left—now!" Fa decided decisively, her sharp gaze sweeping over Celestia, Kayla, TISK, and Zhamisi. "Dakli and her group are drawn to Salsa's side by the alarm! This is our best chance to rescue and search for Elrios! Quick!"
Celestia entered the door first. Fa followed closely, with Kayla, TISK, and Zhamisi like shadows. Inside was a small control hub-like area, filled with flickering monitoring screens and unknown instruments. On the monitors, they discovered a detention area holding innocents of different races.
"We have to rescue them first!" Fa said decisively. "Elrios might be there too."
The group quickly advanced toward the detention area. Along the way, they encountered several patrol squads, but under Fa's coordinated assault, these patrols were easily dealt with. When they reached the detention zone, they broke the cages—inside was a dim temporary prison! Over a dozen iron cages were haphazardly placed, holding terrified, ragged beastmen, humans, dwarves, and even a trembling young elf! They were evidently part of the "cargo sources" recorded in Ohara's ledger, not yet sent into the incubation tanks.
"Save us!" Seeing Fa and the others, the prisoners let out desperate pleas.
"We're here to destroy this place! If you want to live, follow us closely!" Fa said in a deep voice, her short blade slashing precisely to sever the cage locks. Kayla and TISK roughly tore open the cages, while Zhamisi vigilantly guarded the door.
"Quick! Follow us!" Celestia shouted to the rescued, signaling them to keep up. These fifteen survivors clung to the lifeline, their eyes flashing with hope, stumbling out of the cages and tightly following Fa's group.
"Now, we need to rendezvous with Salsa and the others," Fa said.
Salsa's Group's Overwhelm and Data Plunder
Meanwhile, in the data center, Salsa's group—Salsa, Arya, Yuyuer, Lin Ya, Rex—was engaged in intense combat with patrol teams.
Rex stood like a rock in front of the console, his data probe deeply inserted into the interface, armor vents expelling hot white steam. "Hack successful! Breached the firewall! Data download in progress, estimated remaining time... five minutes! Hold on!" His electronic voice remained steady.
Arya became the core of defense. Her form was agile like the wind, shuttling through narrow spaces and dense pipelines. "Light-Dark Spiral Arrows" shot one after another, wrapped in compressed light-dark energy, precisely hitting in front of or on the flanks of charging soldiers, exploding into small-range energy vortex barriers, effectively delaying and splitting the enemy's attack formation. "Wind Arrows · Chain Shot!" Followed by high-speed continuous fire like clinging maggots, targeting enemy joints and energy weapon weak points.
Lin Ya pressed both hands to the ground, emerald glow surging into the metal floor. "Root Entanglement · Metal Parasite!" The hard metal ground eerily cracked, countless reinforced vines glistening with metallic sheen bursting forth like flexible giant pythons, wrapping around soldiers' legs, arms, even climbing their metal armor, madly absorbing energy and releasing paralyzing toxins. At the same time, "Nature's Whisper · Soothe!" Gentle green light wrapped around Yuyuer, Arya, and Salsa, providing mild healing.
Yuyuer's crystal ball shone with bright blue light. "Illusory Tide · True Nightmare!" He no longer created illusory clones but projected powerful illusionary forces directly into the charging soldiers' minds! In their eyes, teammates ahead might suddenly turn into ferocious monsters, the ground underfoot into lava, or even their weapons into devouring venomous snakes! This mind-striking illusion caused the soldiers' formation to collapse instantly, with many falling into mad self-slaughter or random firing!
And Salsa was undoubtedly the most chilling presence on the battlefield!
"Awaken! Shadow Warriors!" Salsa's mechanical cat shell emitted a sharp soul howl, each claw swipe sending a dense shadow energy into fallen soldiers' corpses.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Accompanied by tooth-grinding bone friction and eerie soul fire ignition, the fallen soldiers staggered back to their feet! Their eyes were replaced by purple-black soul flames, movements stiff yet filled with deathly power, grabbing their former weapons and unhesitatingly pouncing on old comrades! One, two, five, ten... Salsa's undead legion grew like a snowball! Skeleton soldiers, gun-wielding undead infantry, even a few converted mechanical sentries joined this army of death!
She was like the queen of the underworld, elegantly sitting on a scrapped instrument, her mechanical cat tail swaying lightly, commanding this ever-expanding undead flood. The undead knew no pain, feared no death, using cold bodies to block enemy fire, rusted weapons to tear defenses, planting deep fear in every living enemy's heart! Battle, for her, became a grand "recruitment" ceremony.
"Haha! Exhilarating! Bring more!" Salsa's electronic voice was filled with gleeful evil.
Under Villanette's guidance, this group's combat power had significantly improved, facing the patrol siege with ease. "Data download 90%... 93%..." Rex's electronic voice steadily reported progress. Five minutes later, Rex completed the download and controlled the central computer, turning the lab's automated defense system against the patrols. Laser beams and electromagnetic pulses madly assaulted the enemies, catching them off guard.
"Success!" Rex's electronic voice carried a hint of excitement. "Now, we can retreat!"
Dakli's Fury
Just as the data download completed and they were about to retreat, a furious shriek came from the data center passage!
"You damned intruders! How dare you destroy our life's work!!"
Dakli, leading the five bird-masked people, stormed in like a vengeful tempest! She witnessed the ground littered with "scrapped" patrols and converted undead, and Salsa's group standing at the data room door as if mocking her, rage completely consuming her reason.
"Crush them for me!" In Dakli's roar, she underwent a terrifying transformation first!
Her cloak was torn by violent power! Her body rapidly expanded, muscles bulging and ripping her tight clothes, revealing a rugged ink-green skin like a beastman's robust torso, knotted muscles containing explosive strength! Yet her head retained elven features—pointed ears, delicate features, now twisted in anger, emerald pupils contracting into vertical slits, burning with wild fury! Even weirder, her arms turned into massive wooden limbs covered in hard wood knots, fingertips extending sharp wooden spikes! This was a terrifying fusion of beastman brute force, elven wood magic, and some plant-based magical beast traits! A violent natural force mixed with bloody killing intent surged forth!
As Dakli transformed, the five bird-masked people behind her emitted inhuman howls, their bodies under the masks undergoing dramatic changes:
Crow Mask: Body expanded and elongated, arms turning into huge black wings, legs into sharp bird claws, body wrapped in ominous shadow energy, like a death omen raven.
Nightingale Mask: Form became slender and light, surface covered in fine feathers, throat bulging with high-frequency vibrations, clearly possessing powerful sonic attack capabilities.
Vulture Mask: Skin became ashen and wrinkled like corpse hide, arms into massive bone wings covered in rotting flesh-like feathers, emanating intense death and disease aura.
Chicken Mask: Build became short and sturdy, surface covered in metal-gloss hardened feathers, arms into robust clawed wings, head with protruding beak, like an armored fighting cock.
Woodpecker Mask: Arms mutated into long, sharp, high-speed vibrating drill-like beaks, legs strong, eyes sharp, filled with penetrating destructive power.
Six powerful, twisted hybrid creature auras instantly pressed toward Salsa's group!
"Watch out! It's a high-level fusion-modified entity!" Rex's alarm sounded urgently.
"Bring it on!" Yuyuer roared in the mental link.
"Prepare for battle!" Arya's storm bow was drawn full again, light and dark elements madly gathering at her fingertips.
Salsa's eyes shone with ghostly light, all converted undead soldiers and shadow falcons turning in unison, casting their soul-fire "gazes" at the new enemies.
Dakli and the five mutated bird-masked people charged like six twisted storms, carrying violent auras straight at Salsa's five-person group in the data center core. The air was torn, mixed with beastman bloodiness, elven magic frenzy, plant decay, and metal chill.
"Kill them!" Dakli's roar was like snapping giant wood, her massive wood-knot arm swinging fiercely, several spear-like sharp wooden spikes tearing the air with whistling sounds toward the forefront Arya!
"Wind Barrier!" Arya reacted swiftly, her storm bow instantly drawn, a compressed wind wall condensing from thin air. The wooden spikes collided with dull explosions, the wind wall rippling violently, wood chips flying. At the same time, her bowstring vibrated again, "Dark Erosion Arrow · Chain!" Three arrows wrapped in light-devouring shadow energy slyly shot toward Dakli's wood-knot joint connections.
"Hmph!" Dakli's other beastified giant claw slammed the ground, cracking the hard metal floor, a shockwave spreading and deflecting the dark erosion arrows. Her emerald vertical pupils locked on Arya, filled with brutality.
Crow Mask (Shadow Harbinger Bird): His wings flapped, form turning into a blurry shadow, extremely fast, bypassing the front battlefield, attempting a flank attack on Salsa's main body controlling the undead legion. His sharp claws flickered with dark energy, capable of rending souls.
Nightingale Mask (Sonic Hunter): Her slender form hovered mid-air, throat vibrating intensely, visible high-frequency shockwaves fanning out from her! Air twisted, metal instruments emitting piercing wails. This was an indiscriminate area attack, intended to paralyze enemies' senses and internal organs.
Vulture Mask (Plague Emissary): His rotting flesh bone wings flapped, gray-green mist spreading with nauseating stench. This mist not only obscured vision but contained strong corrosiveness and neurotoxins, causing rot and suffocation on contact.
Chicken Mask (Heavy Armor Charger): Like a tank clad in metal feathers, he roared low, hardened feathers glistening coldly, wings shielding head and chest, charging barbarically toward Rex's console position! The ground trembled under his heavy steps.
Woodpecker Mask (High-Speed Driller): His arm-turned vibrating drills emitted high-frequency buzzing, tips flashing glaring red light. He locked on the casting Yuyuer, form blurring into afterimages, drills aiming straight at Yuyuer's heart, speed almost beyond naked eye capture!
Salsa Group's Coordinated Counterattack
"Shadow Legion, tear them apart!" Salsa's voice was cold and authoritative. Her mechanical cat tail flicked, pointing at the charging enemies. Instantly, the hundreds of converted undead soldiers and mechanical sentries emitted silent roars, fearlessly meeting the foes! Skeleton soldiers swung rusted weapons at the chicken mask, trying to block his charge; undead infantry focused fire on the airborne nightingale and vulture, though energy beams had limited effect on their soul bodies, creating interference; dozens of converted mechanical sentries spewed cold shadow breath, crashing toward the high-speed woodpecker.
Against Crow Mask (Shadow Harbinger Bird): Salsa sneered coldly: "Shadows? Playing with shadows in front of me?" She didn't even move her mechanical cat shell, just a thought. The shadows on the crow mask's charge path suddenly came alive! Several chains made of pure shadow energy burst from the ground like venomous snakes, wrapping around his black wings and bird claws. The crow mask struggled in horror, but the chains' soul-freezing effect slowed his movements.
At the same time, a massive shadow beast (fused with beastman traits variant) silently coalesced from the shadow above the crow mask's head, slamming down with icy breath and sharp giant claws! "No—!" The crow mask only managed a short scream before being torn to shreds by the shadow beast along with the chains, remnants swiftly devoured by dense shadow energy. Salsa's undead legion gained another twisted shadow raven soul.
Against Nightingale Mask (Sonic Hunter) and Vulture Mask (Plague Emissary):
Facing the sonic attack, Lin Ya pressed both hands to the ground: "Root Entanglement · Sonic Resonance!" The ground cracked, numerous reinforced vines glistening with emerald light bursting forth, not directly attacking but vibrating like tuning forks, emitting natural, harmonious buzzing. This natural sound oddly neutralized and interfered with the nightingale mask's destructive high-frequency shockwaves, greatly reducing their power; Arya and the others felt only mild tinnitus and discomfort.
Facing the plague mist, Arya took a deep breath, aiming her storm bow at the mist center: "Light Purification · Dispersing Wind!" A pure holy light-condensed arrow shot out, exploding in the mist! No violent impact, only soft yet firm glow spreading like tides, wherever it passed, the gray-green plague mist melted like snow, emitting sizzling purification sounds, the stench replaced by fresh air. The vulture mask emitted an angry hiss.
Yuyuer's Water Magic Counter (Against Nightingale and Vulture): He seized the moment they were pinned, pointing his dragon bone staff at their heads: "Illusory Tide · Deep Sea Cage!" Massive, twisted water orbs appeared from nowhere, enveloping the nightingale and vulture! Inside wasn't ordinary seawater but mixed with Yuyuer's mental illusions, making them feel like plunging into ten-thousand-meter deep sea, enduring immense pressure illusions and disorientation, while the water currents rotated violently, attempting to tear them apart. The nightingale's sonics weakened drastically in water medium and hard to control direction; the vulture's toxin mist was diluted and isolated by the flow.
Against Chicken Mask (Heavy Armor Charger): Rex's electronic eyes locked on the charging steel fortress. "Target analysis: High physical defense, weaknesses: Joint connections, energy core vents. Execute plan: Frost delay, overload strike." His armor's micro-reactor went full power, arm ion cannons switching modes. Left arm sprayed extreme cold liquid nitrogen like frost breath, covering the chicken mask's charge path and leg joints! Frost condensed rapidly, greatly slowing his speed, hardened feathers frosting over.
At the same time, right arm ion cannon lit with blinding blue light, a highly condensed plasma beam precisely shooting toward the chicken mask's exposed energy core vent gap under the chest plate during charge! "Boom!" The overloaded plasma beam instantly melted through the metal grid, triggering a chain explosion in the internal energy core! The chicken mask's massive body was blown to pieces, metal fragments and charred feathers scattering everywhere.
Against Woodpecker Mask (High-Speed Driller): The woodpecker mask's target Yuyuer seemed defenseless, still maintaining the water prison trapping the nightingale and vulture. The high-speed vibrating drills were about to pierce him!
Suddenly, Yuyuer's figure rippled like water waves. The drills passed through without blood or flesh splatter—it was an illusion! "Illusory Tide · Mirror Flower Water Moon!" Yuyuer's true body had already quietly shifted several meters away during casting using water refraction and illusions.
The real killing blow came from Lin Ya and Rex's coordination. Just as the woodpecker mask paused slightly from the missed attack, Lin Ya shouted low: "Nature's Grip!" The ground burst with several thick, metal-glistening vines, lightning-fast wrapping the woodpecker mask's legs and drill arm roots! The vines secreted potent paralyzing toxins injected rapidly.
Rex's armor shoulder plates slid open, revealing honeycomb launch ports. "Micro frost missiles, salvo!" Dozens of finger-sized micro missiles whistled out with white trails, not directly attacking the body but precisely hitting the woodpecker mask's high-speed vibrating drill joint connections! "Ding ding dang dang!" Dense explosions accompanied extreme cold frost energy instantly covering the drill roots. Ultra-low temperature made the precise mechanical structures brittle and jammed! The high-speed rotating drills emitted piercing metal friction, sparks flying, then abruptly stalled! The woodpecker mask stared in terror at his failed weapons.
Arya's arrow followed: "Dark Erosion Arrow · Heart Pierce!" A condensed-to-extreme shadow arrow silently pierced the woodpecker mask's slightly open beak due to shock, exiting the back of the head. Shadow energy instantly devoured his vitality.