Light Fortress

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"One minute."

Wei Shu's voice was the last tranquility in the noisy world.

He sat alone in the control room, linking to the Deep Sea, and once the access was granted, he seemed to become an extension of that omnipotent computer, with his consciousness and thoughts spreading outwards.

The entire map of Da Teng City lay before him.

Wei Shu saw the images transmitted in real time; he also saw A-009's frenzied lunges, all the images being transformed into data, which streamed in like a tidal wave, roaring and synchronizing as they uploaded... It was just a pity that at this moment, these data were meaningless, as A-009's power, speed, and resilience were far superior to Nan Jin's. The balance maintained by her force-depleting swordplay would soon be broken.

Wei Shu was well aware of this.

A minute in reality was very short... but at this moment, every second could be Nan Jin's limit.

With each attack from A-009, she was pushed closer to the edge of exhaustion. She could collapse at any moment before reinforcements arrived.

"A-009... why has it become so crazed?"

In a moment of utter silence, Wei Shu, linked to the Deep Sea, began to ponder this question.

Moving concurrently, he pulled up the footage from subway line 13 and sped it up... Under the Deep Sea link, a torrent of information flooded his mind.

Wei Shu furrowed his brows.

Much of the information was corrupted, the footage fragmented, cut off by some unknown external force.

Then, his pupils slowly contracted as he saw a surviving segment of the surveillance footage... In it, A-009 behaved uncharacteristically gently, conversing calmly with a boy named Gu Shen.

...

...

"60..."

"59..."

Nan Jin closed her eyes, feeling each second drag like an eternity as she counted down silently within herself.

She was still holding on, but her cheeks were covered with trails of blood and tears, and the two long swords vibrating rapidly in her hands were on the brink of shattering, their secret patterns almost completely eroded.

Like a drowning person with no way out, she could be submerged at any moment. The "one minute" promised by Wei Shu was the only lifeline she could grasp.

"40..."

"39..."

In her despair, an urgent voice arose.

"Nan Jin... give up resisting. Use Gu Shen as a shield when A-009 breaks through the Sword Domain."

Nan Jin quickly glanced at the boy behind her.

Gu Shen's head buzzed, oblivious to what was happening.

Over at the electrical side, Wei Shu's voice was quite certain: "…Trust me."

"Clang—" the final crisp sound, the long sword shattered.

Nan Jin, with no time to think, stepped back decisively to the boy's side.

Before her, the tall lady dressed in formal attire, having breached the Sword Domain, bore down with a hideous expression, raising her knife for a strike.

In the blink of an eye, Nan Jin grasped the collar of Gu Shen's back and hoisted him up.

"Bloody hell—" Gu Shen's mind went blank; the woman was incredibly strong, and he couldn't resist at all. He was like a sandbag, picked up and dangled in front of her in an instant.

Was this it, using him as a human shield?!

The tempest approached.

Gu Shen closed his eyes, ready to face the end of his life.

...

...

All sound ceased—

There was calm.

Nothing happened.

The tall lady, holding a sharp knife, hovered in front of Gu Shen, halting her downward slashing motion. Beneath the shadow of her wide-brimmed hat, two faint red glows slowly vanished.

Nan Jin was stunned... Wei Shu had told the truth. For reasons unknown, using the boy as a shield, A-009 halted its ferocious assault on its own.

The tall woman, who had ceased all actions, suddenly became still.

She neither attacked nor fled, simply maintaining the silent standoff. Gu Shen felt the focus of her gaze... the tall lady put away her boning knife,

"3...2...1..."

The mental countdown ended, and the promised one minute from Wei Shu was up.

Nan Jin lifted her head.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

The silence of the suburban night sky shattered, and in the distance the roar of helicopter rotors could be heard, one beam of light after another piercing the night clouds, converging on the three figures on the lawn.

The helicopter's side hatch slid open—

Nan Jin looked up into the light to see a familiar face.

The "reinforcement" Wei Shu had called for turned out to be...

With a complex expression, the woman exhaled deeply, her tense nerves finally relaxing.

...

```

...

"Nan Jin... I need to thank you on behalf of Da Teng City for successfully delaying A-009."

The moment he saw the helicopter arrive—

Wei Shu knew the mission to detain A-009 had ended.

Wei Shu exited the linked state from the control room, his complexion pale as paper.

With each link to Deep Sea, a massive amount of data was uploaded. Digesting such an immense volume of information was no easy feat. Veins bulged at Wei Shu's temples, accompanied by throbbing pain, and his back was already soaked with sweat.

Completely drained.

At this moment, the man could only sit weakly in his chair, finding even the act of moving a finger to be an effort.

The woman on the other end of the earpiece remained silent.

"..."

Wei Shu knew what this silence meant. He chuckled without sound, "I'm sorry for one thing. I've reported the operation to Mr. Shu through 'Deep Sea'. The level of A-009 is too high. If we failed, neither of us could bear the responsibility... If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Shu should have already arrived."

"... Yes, I have seen him."

Nan Jin didn't say much, tiredly ending the call.

She knew Wei Shu had made a very correct decision.

"Roar——"

Grass and debris flew about.

As the helicopter landed, an invisible, gentle force dispersed.

The oppressive sensation brought by A-009 was slowly suppressed by an even stronger force. The woman in the black dress tried to move, but dozens of thick vines exploded from below her feet, wrapping around her and binding her. Within a few seconds, she had become a frozen wood carving—

The vines wrapping around the tall lady kept growing, tightening, and constricting the dress, becoming more secure.

But if one observed carefully, as the vines wrapped, a faint hissing could be heard. That was the corrosive power of A-009 taking effect—the binding of these vines was powerful, but it also had a time limit.

Amid the light from the helicopter, an elderly man in a Zhongshan suit slowly stepped out.

"Teacher..."

Nan Jin had a complicated look, wanting to say something.

The old man smiled and waved his hand, motioning for Nan Jin to lighten up.

"Well done."

He walked slowly with his purple wooden dragon-headed cane towards the wood-carved lady, examining A-009 bound by the vines, taking note of the traces of the battle with Nan Jin.

The elder patted the tall lady's shoulder, laughing loudly, "My Disciple certainly lives up to expectations. Now you even have the courage to challenge A-009, huh? But while courage is a good thing, dying on a whim is not... Value your life! It is precious, and it's not worth losing here!"

"..."

Nan Jin felt a bit of regret and softly said, "Given another chance, I would do better."

"You've already done well."

The elder stared at the wood carving, furrowing his brow: "Compared to when I personally detained A-009 last time, she has become much stronger. That you could hold out until I arrived is already a miracle... However, I can't understand what could have riled her up in just three days?"

Indeed, something had changed... Nan Jin hesitated, then said, "The urgent report said that A-009's escape was due to a malfunction in Deep Sea."

"Impossible." Mr. Shu shook his head, stating definitively: "Deep Sea cannot malfunction."

As he spoke, the elder paused suddenly. He looked at the youth Nan Jin was holding.

Nan Jin also looked down, the young man she was holding sprawled on the ground, like a shrimp, clearly having passed out.

"..."

At the last moment, it was fortunate to have him... he saved her life.

It was hard to imagine A-009 not killing him.

"After A-009 escaped, she took the Line 13 train alone... This guy was with her in the same carriage for a good 20 minutes," Nan Jin recalled a particular scene, her expression slightly changing as she spoke, "When I cut open the carriage, I saw that A-009 didn't kill him. The two were coexisting peacefully."

"Oh?"

The elder's eyebrows lifted, interested.

"... Maybe just good luck," Nan Jin rubbed her temple, trying to explain for Gu Shen.

Mr. Shu watched Gu Shen for a while, smiling, "A normal person surviving under A-009's hand... that luck is... too good. Take him back for a slice study."

The unconscious individual's eyelids twitched and he immediately jumped to his feet, predictably to be pinned down again without delay.

Nan Jin's expression was strange.

This kid was actually feigning unconsciousness?

"Ah ha... thinking of running away?" Mr. Shu laughed heartily, "Don't be afraid, we are not good people at all."

He snapped his fingers.

With a "snap" sound, two vines sprouted from the mud, forming handcuffs that firmly locked Gu Shen's wrists.

"Not running, not running, I wouldn't dare to run, right?" Gu Shen promptly lay down and covered his head with his hands, adopting the classic posture of a man begging for mercy, "Although you are holding a cane, look at me, my butt has blossomed, could I run faster than you?"

Still daring to mock, Mr. Shu's lips twitched slightly, and he sneered coldly, "Just come back with me for a visit. Everyone is quite interested in you."

"Interested like slice study?" Gu Shen's face showed horror, becoming somewhat panicked.

"... Guess?" The elder stroked his chin, displaying a deeply meaningful "friendly" smile.

Several staff members placed the tall wood-carved lady into a huge, sealed container, and Gu Shen was taken along.

The helicopter roared to life again.

"... Let's depart."