Five military helicopters escorted Zheng Rong and Lance's main aircraft across the English Channel, heading toward the snow-covered underground city of Northern Ireland.

In the center of the barren island, a wide passage opened in the marble mountains, and the helicopters entered.

"Central Council requests a communication with General Lance. Over."

"Received," Lance replied in a deep voice.

"The following are instructions from the military and the council."

The static of electromagnetic interference buzzed, followed by the voice of an elderly man: "General Lance, the council requires the immediate trial of the scientific expedition team. However, the military has other plans."

Lance pressed the communication button and answered, "As long as Zheng Rong and Li Ying's personal safety is guaranteed, my loyalty is with the military."

"General Lance," the old man’s voice grew stern, "a soldier’s duty is to obey orders!"

Lance remained silent for a long time, and eventually, the elder conceded, coldly saying, "Then, hand over everyone in your custody to the council. Return everything obtained from the ancient ruins, including the Moses Stone Tablet, immediately!"

Lance responded slowly, "Orders acknowledged."

"Take him to the administrative district," Lance instructed. "He can only be handed over with the written signature of the council president. Keep in touch at all times."

The soldiers stood to attention and saluted.

Lance sighed. "Zheng Rong, take some time to rest. I swear on my life that I won't let Li Ying face the electric chair."

Zheng Rong looked at Lance as if he were a stranger.

Lance said nothing further. He picked up his briefcase, disembarked from the helicopter, and the hem of his military coat fluttered in the downdraft from the rotor blades.

The military helicopters landed one by one in the hangar, coming to a standstill, and Lance left in a ground armored vehicle.

The final helicopter came to a stop, its warning lights flashing red.

"Attention, SS-class dangerous individual: Second Corps, close-combat fighter unit, code 002. All units prepare."

Zheng Rong’s hands were cuffed as he coldly watched the helicopter carrying Li Ying. Liquid seeped from the cabin, and black blood seemed to be dripping down the landing gear.

Zheng Rong’s sharp instincts detected something unusual.

The soldiers approached, and as they opened the cabin door, everything changed in an instant! The first soldier who pulled open the door collapsed without a sound.

"Fire!" the hangar commander shouted. "Alert..."

Before he could finish, a gleaming dagger flew from inside the cabin, piercing his throat and pinning him to the wall!

Li Ying held a pistol in each hand, firing rapidly as he walked. The soldiers pushed the scholars aside, shouting, "Hands on your head, get down!"

Xiang Yu called out, "Zheng Rong!"

"Why are you in the helicopter?!" Zheng Rong asked.

Without missing a step, Li Ying walked forward coldly, his eyes sharp. He alternated between both pistols, each shot accurately hitting a target.

A soldier to the side raised his gun, but Xiang Yu swung his Zhanlu Sword in a backhand motion, causing him to stagger backward as the bullet fell to the ground. "Come with us!" Xiang Yu said.

"Surround him!"

"Wear your helmets!"

The soldiers shouted in panic.

"Call for special forces support!"

With a wicked smile, Li Ying bent his body, arched his back, and spread his arms wide, spinning elegantly on one foot like a dancer hidden in darkness and blood.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" He fired over a dozen rounds in quick succession, bullets whistling through the air, instantly clearing out everyone around the perimeter!

"Get down!" Zheng Rong yelled, tackling Xiang Yu to the ground.

Li Ying spun once, twice, and thrice on the spot. The gunshots were deafening, and when he finally steadied himself, the surroundings fell into utter silence.

Joseph stood up in disbelief.

Bang! Bang! Two loud shots sounded, causing Joseph to crouch down again in fear.

In a flash, Li Ying raised both hands, his wrists positioned in front of his temples. From both corners of the hangar, sniper rifles fired loudly! Bullets struck Li Ying's hands!

Li Ying flicked his wrists, causing the alloy bullets embedded in his gloves to fall out. Without even looking, he raised his guns and pulled the triggers simultaneously!

Two snipers perched high above had their heads blown open by Li Ying's precise shots from over a hundred paces away!

Li Ying panted slightly, his hands trembling uncontrollably, seemingly in pain.

The hangar was deadly quiet, and Zheng Rong whispered, "It’s safe now."

"He... all along... Oh my God..." Laine’s eyes were brimming with tears, and she was trembling uncontrollably. The hangar was littered with dead soldiers, every one of them slaughtered.

"He used to be strong, but not like this..." Zheng Rong said slowly, "Li Ying."

Li Ying stood silently, staring at the ground, as if deep in thought.

"Li Ying?" Zheng Rong took a step forward, but Xiang Yu alertly shielded him.

"Li Ying! Can you hear us?" Xiang Yu called out.

"How did you get here? I thought you escaped?" Zheng Rong asked.

Xiang Yu replied, "I hid in the tail cabin of one of the helicopters when they were inspecting the battlefield at the foot of Li Mountain."

Zheng Rong asked, "You killed everyone?"

Xiang Yu said, "While exiting, Li Ying somehow killed all the soldiers on the helicopter, and I emerged."

"Li Ying!" A strange feeling overtook Zheng Rong. "Wake up! What are you doing?"

Li Ying lowered his head slightly, his tall, slender figure standing amidst the pool of blood like a thorny bush.

The hangar’s lights flashed red, and the alarms blared urgently.

Zheng Rong pushed past Xiang Yu, taking one step forward, and then another.

"Li Ying..." Zheng Rong whispered.

A thin line of blood opened on the back of Li Ying's neck, and a silver beetle crawled out.

In an instant, Zheng Rong’s blood seemed to freeze. The parasitic beetle left Li Ying’s body, spread its wings, and buzzed as it flew rapidly into the hangar's ventilation system.

Li Ying finally snapped back to reality, yelling, "Stop it!"

Xiang Yu threw his ancient sword, and Li Ying fired several rapid shots, but the beetle slipped into the iron grille of the ventilation shaft and disappeared.

Zheng Rong trembled uncontrollably. "Li Ying... you..."

Li Ying seemed like a different person, frantically saying, "Get out of here! Everyone, leave immediately! They’re coming!"

"Who? The Maya aliens are coming?" Zheng Rong asked.

Li Ying answered, "Listen, Zheng Rong, there's no time to explain."

"Are you truly a traitor?!" Zheng Rong demanded.

"No! No, trust me, the information-gathering insect that just left my body completed its final mission. They now have the map of the Northern Ireland Human Refuge! Zheng Rong!"

"Get them out!" Zheng Rong ordered decisively. "Joseph! Xiang Yu, escort them to the council, spread the message! Go!"

Joseph took a deep breath and started running.

Xiang Yu hesitated, but Zheng Rong shouted, "Hurry! Tell Lance to evacuate the underground city immediately!"

Zheng Rong tossed a communicator, and Xiang Yu caught it, following Joseph as he led the team out of the hangar.

"What about you?" Li Ying asked softly.

"I'm staying here, to die with you and atone for your sins," Zheng Rong said, standing before Li Ying and touching his face.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

They stood at the center of the hangar, and Li Ying held Zheng Rong’s hand.

"Listen, darling," Li Ying whispered. "You can’t die; I still have things to tell you."

Zheng Rong replied, "I have to die. This place is about to become history. I've witnessed the fall of several underground cities—what else do you expect me to do?"

"Joseph will sort out the useful information," Zheng Rong's tone was as calm as if discussing something trivial. "My brother is dead, Lance betrayed me... if I could die with you..."

"I can understand Lance, but it’s not time yet," Li Ying interrupted. "Listen to me, darling. Don’t interrupt."

Li Ying turned his head slightly, his handsome profile as perfect as it had been years ago, taking Zheng Rong’s breath away.

"I am not your Li Ying," Li Ying said in a low voice. "The original Li Ying is already dead. Look."

He took a Swiss army knife from his thigh pocket, slicing slowly from beneath his ear down to his neck, revealing a chip.

Zheng Rong took a deep breath. "What did they do to you?!"

Li Ying smiled, handing the chip to Zheng Rong, and pulled him closer by the waist. Their noses touched, foreheads pressed together.

"They transformed me, enabling my body to heal quickly after being injured. They also altered my will, my subconscious..." Li Ying murmured. "For a long time, I didn’t even know if I was still the same person, whether I was the killer 0639 or the special forces soldier Li Ying... My memory was rewritten countless times by them, but I still hid this chip and set up three trigger mechanisms. When Zheng Feng died, and when Lance attacked me without even listening to my explanation... You, darling, were the only one who believed in me."

Zheng Rong asked in confusion, "What? What do you mean?"

Li Ying gave Zheng Rong a long kiss, and as their lips parted, he said slowly, "This chip holds the last confidential information about 'them' from the human soldier Li Ying, for you."

"It stored brainwave data for four years. When you get back, make sure to convert it to a viewable format."

"Wait, is it a record in brainwave form?" Zheng Rong asked.

The hangar doors shook violently.

Li Ying said gently, "Yes, it was once written in memory. I slaughtered a human military base, found a way to analyze bioelectric waves, and performed surgery on myself to implant it. But since it was converted into chip form, those memories have already been erased from my mind. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you what’s on the chip."

"So, you expect that one day I’ll dissect your body myself?" Zheng Rong asked.

Li Ying smiled. "Maybe. But now it’s finally in your hands, isn’t it?"

Zheng Rong muttered, "Northern Ireland has a brainwave spectrum analyzer. The one at the Indian Ocean military base was destroyed by you. This is the last one in the world."

Li Ying’s expression became grave for a moment. "Where is it?"

"Stop talking and come with me!" Zheng Rong said.

The hangar doors shook violently again, turning the alloy doors a burning yellow. Meanwhile, the massive gate leading to the inner city of the underground city slowly lowered.

Zheng Rong grabbed Li Ying’s hand, and they sprinted through the streets of Ireland.

Alarms blared everywhere, and the ceiling of the underground city projected a holographic map of the city.

"Emergency evacuation, emergency evacuation. All local residents, please proceed to Zone Z according to your ID color grade to board the Ark for evacuation."

"Emergency evacuation. The nuclear self-destruct system will activate in two hours."

"Everyone, look up. Above you are pathways indicating the direction of the red dots, which are the positions of the Maya Star mechanical killers. Follow the map and do not approach red-dot clusters."

"Local defense forces, gather outside Zone C."

"Emergency evacuation..."

Explosions rang out everywhere as mechanical spiders swarmed in. The cries and screams of panicked humans filled the air. Zheng Rong paused at a fork in the road, catching his breath for a moment. He pulled out his ID card, inserted it into a roadside terminal, and pressed several buttons.

The screen displayed the situation on the surface.

Above Northern Ireland, the Maya Star mothership rotated slowly, with twelve runes emitting lights of various colors. The spaceship released tens of thousands of spider-like orbs, which upon landing, unfolded their eight sharp alloy legs and swarmed toward the underground city’s hangar entrance.

The red dots on the map multiplied, covering Zone C and advancing further inward.

In the distance, the human defense forces fired the first shot, darkening the entire sky.

"Warning, underground city nuclear self-destruct system activated. Countdown: 1,800 seconds..."

"No time left! Thirty minutes remaining!" Zheng Rong pulled out his ID card and ran toward Zone F.

Li Ying lifted Zheng Rong by the waist. One by one, the streetlights went out as they headed toward the computing and information center in Zone F. The building’s glass-domed roof, glowing blue, resembled a massive sphere.

The researchers had already fled, leaving the hall scattered with discarded papers.

The elevator chimed as it reached the first floor. Zheng Rong and Li Ying dashed inside, colliding with Jin Pak-ai, who was running out. They crashed into each other, scattering analysis papers everywhere, and Jin Pak-ai screamed.

Zheng Rong was furious. "Didn’t Xiang Yu take you all away? What are you doing back here?!"

Jin Pak-ai scrambled on the floor, searching for something. Li Ying reached out his long fingers, gently brushing across the tiles, and picked up a pair of pale blue contact lenses, holding them out to her. Jin Pak-ai went cross-eyed trying to see them.

Zheng Rong was exasperated.

"I-I-I... Dr. Zheng Rong, I came back to retrieve some data," Jin Pak-ai stammered. "This computer information is very precious..."

A loud explosion shook the information center, and alarms blared around them. Jin Pak-ai screamed, sitting down on the floor in fright.

"You’re risking your life for data, seriously?" Zheng Rong shouted into her ear amidst the deafening noise.

The mechanical killers broke through the human defensive line, and Zones C and A fell in succession. "Do you know where the brainwave spectrum analyzer is?" Li Ying asked.

Jin Pak-ai regained her composure and answered, "It’s on the top floor... What do we do now?"

"Follow me," Zheng Rong said.

The elevator ascended to the top. "Access code!" Zheng Rong demanded.

"What are you trying to do?" Jin Pak-ai asked. She took out her ID card, inserted it into the card reader, and leaned forward to let the light scan her eyes. Several alloy doors swung open, revealing a massive machine at the center of the top-floor hall.

"The power still works." Jin Pak-ai pulled down the lever, and the central computer processor lit up.

"Let me see..." Jin Pak-ai took the chip, muttering, "This type of interface is from the Indian Ocean Computer Center... Where did you get it? And why is there blood on it?"

Li Ying held Zheng Rong close, and neither answered her.

"Can you convert it into visual and audio information?" Zheng Rong asked.

Jin Pak-ai removed a key from around her neck and opened a hidden safe on the side of the hall, retrieving a card reader.

"Such an important thing wasn’t moved to safety?" Zheng Rong asked, touched.

Jin Pak-ai’s face remained calm. "It’s my personal belonging." She inserted the chip into the card reader and connected it to the central computer.

The ground trembled again, and the warning lights switched to blue.

"They’re here," Li Ying said.

Countless electrical waveforms flickered across the massive display wall, intertwining like a stunningly intricate world.

Jin Pak-ai input a few commands. "This is the latest achievement from last year: the Bio-Consciousness Data Research Project... How did you even get this chip?"

"You know about this project too?" Zheng Rong asked.

"My husband is Indian," Jin Pak-ai said. "He was in charge of the research team, but the Indian Ocean military base was attacked by the Maya..."

Li Ying interjected, "I killed an Indian man and took the neural central metal probes and the entire chip set from his lab."

"Shut up!" Zheng Rong snapped in displeasure.

Jin Pak-ai paused but did not respond.

The explosions drew closer, and none of the three spoke. Li Ying whispered, "Kiss me, darling."

Zheng Rong’s eyes reddened, ignoring Li Ying, clearly angered by his poorly timed confession.

"I’m truly sorry, Ms. Jin Pak-ai," Li Ying said softly.

Jin Pak-ai's hands clenched tightly, and she sobbed quietly.

Li Ying said again, "Kiss me."

Zheng Rong sighed. Li Ying turned his head, brushing his cheek against Zheng Rong’s ear, a low, murmuring whimper escaping his throat, like a dog seeking forgiveness.

Zheng Rong turned away, placing a light kiss on his lips.

Li Ying glanced at the screen, where the data transfer was only 7% complete. He released his hold. "I’ll go down to stop them."

"Are you crazy?!" Zheng Rong shouted, grabbing Li Ying’s wrist firmly.

Li Ying swept his hand across Zheng Rong’s wrist, lightly cutting it, and when Zheng Rong reached to grab his collar, Li Ying suddenly rolled away to dodge.

Li Ying smiled. "I’ll survive."

He turned and rushed out of the computer information processing center.