Qin Xuezhong didn't hesitate for even a second and pulled the trigger directly.
With the enhancement of this powerful puppet body, she could even feel the recoil passing through her shoulder, gradually dissipating among her solid muscle fibers.
Her body didn't even shake.
Her aiming posture was standard, and the gun was in excellent condition. In a flash, she felt as if she could see the bullet flying toward Tang Kede.
Then it passed right through him.
Not a trace was left.
—It was a holographic image so realistic it was indistinguishable from reality!
Qin Xuezhong's unease intensified.
She first tried to detach from this body, only to find that she couldn't immediately return to her consciousness void!
It wasn't that she couldn't go back, but there were exaggerated data walls surrounding the core room, and even with her abilities, it would take several minutes to break through.
Moreover, amid such complex data walls, her consciousness tendrils couldn't find a way to attack Tang Kede or incapacitate the mainframe.
Just then, a buzzing sound, as annoying as flies, filled the air around her.
Looking up, she saw a swarm of small drones flying toward her from all directions, and it was obvious they weren't friendly.
Perhaps it was a result of her training or the instinctive response of this body, but Qin Xuezhong quickly assessed the damage her weapons could inflict and the number of drones heading her way.
At the moment, she could barely hold out for five minutes.
While using her consciousness tendrils to break through, she quickly began shooting at the drones.
Tang Kede, standing on the platform, watched with delight, laughing, "Hahaha! Excellent! Your reflexes and calculations are just incredible."
Qin Xuezhong felt nauseated.
This old man wanted to merge his consciousness with hers and occupy this body?
She didn't say a word, silently firing to buy herself time.
"Ah... I love your expression right now!" Tang Kede exclaimed, a perverse look on his face. "Strength in despair is so beautiful. All of humanity's great achievements are born in such circumstances, just like me."
Qin Xuezhong rolled her eyes—she didn't want to waste any time on pointless banter.
Noticing her eye roll, Tang Kede continued, "Don't be disbelieving. If it weren't for my illness since childhood, I could never have researched so much technology to save myself."
Then, his expression turned more regretful and furious. "It's a pity that you people, merely having a facade, have brought no benefit to the Federation, to humanity, or to this world! So, let me use your consciousness and body to continue living—that's the greatest contribution to this world."
"Don't resist; it's all futile."
Tang Kede said this casually, waving his hand as more drones flew out, followed by several unmanned combat mechs!
Qin Xuezhong's expression didn't change as she shot more calmly and efficiently, occasionally tossing distraction grenades and changing positions to dodge the oncoming attacks.
It was clear that these drones didn't intend to harm this body.
They only sought to limit Qin Xuezhong's movements using low-temperature gel rounds and various ropes.
Even though she shot down most of them, many still landed around her, forcing her to spend some time clearing them away.
But her mood became increasingly relaxed because her consciousness tendrils were almost breaking through the data wall; she could return to her body at any time.
Tang Kede noticed this as well.
He chuckled, "See? You've already given up inside. Why struggle in vain? But… I really like it... What I love most is watching a conscious person stare blankly as I slice open their skull, revealing their brain."
Tang Kede closed his eyes, as if savoring a memory, then continued, "Humans display the most captivating strength and thoughts in the face of life and death, impacting the brain and nerves. It's the most fascinating... and the most easily invaded."
As Tang Kede's speech grew more chaotic, he kept his eyes closed and head tilted back, waiting for Qin Xuezhong to be completely controlled.
Just as Qin Xuezhong was about to leave, a strange voice rang in her head.
—It was a male voice, low and somewhat unclear.
But his tone was calm, succinctly saying, "Jump down, jump down first, activate the flight function on the combat armor. I'll guide you; it's the only way to escape."
Qin Xuezhong remained unmoved, coolly replying, "Who are you?"
"I am your current body. I'm saving you, and I'm saving myself," the voice became clearer, tinged with urgency.
Qin Xuezhong thought for about a second and decided to give it a try.
After all, she could always escape. If this person's plan actually worked, she might as well explore this strange place.
Without hesitation, she tossed out several light-shock grenades. In the intense white light, all the drones momentarily froze.
Taking advantage of this window, she rolled aside and jumped.
With this body's immense strength, she lightly pushed off and flipped over the railing, plummeting downward.
She faced downward, spreading her arms and legs. The pressure sensors on the combat armor detected the force generated during the rapid descent and deployed three wings between her armpits and legs.
Qin Xuezhong felt herself float up.
Before crossing over, she had seen wing-suit flying in videos. It was said that this sport required excellent physical fitness to control one's body in the air.
Now, it felt incredibly easy for her. She felt like a bird, effortlessly adjusting her flight direction with a slight shift of her body.
"Good route, keep it steady. Continuously aim for those platforms, descending in a circle. If drones get close, you can retract your arms and dive down a bit," the man's voice was quick and clear, directing Qin Xuezhong.
As she descended rapidly, the surrounding circular structures began to blur together, and after a short while, Qin Xuezhong felt a bit dizzy.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"To the bottom."
Qin Xuezhong was taken aback and looked down.
In the center, surrounded by countless points of light, was an unfathomable darkness.
The edges of the wings occasionally ejected strong reverse air currents, slightly slowing her descent.
Having sprinted a long distance in the middle, no drones were following her.
Qin Xuezhong landed clumsily, stumbling a few steps from the residual speed.
The surroundings had changed; there were no longer dense arrays of servers, but instead a solid wall of concrete.
Several large machines were distributed around.
"We should have about half a minute. Hurry," the man's voice remained calm throughout.
"Okay."
For some reason, Qin Xuezhong felt a peculiar sense of reassurance.
It was as if she had encountered a good teacher or leader, someone to guide her so she didn't have to worry; just following the instructions would lead to results and learning.
"On the left, move a bit closer. There should be a row of construction passages. According to my previous data, that should be passable."
Qin Xuezhong complied.
However, as she got closer, she saw that there were no construction passages; instead, there was a row of heavy blast doors covering the entire wall.
"What now?" Qin Xuezhong asked.
She was ready to disconnect and retreat if this passage didn't work.
After all, this person was a puppet, and neither the mainframe nor Tang Kede would want to destroy him.
"Damn! They changed it so quickly!" A rare hint of despair seeped into the man's voice.
"How old is your data?" Qin Xuezhong asked, unbothered.
After a brief silence, the man replied, "Half a year ago…"
Qin Xuezhong nearly laughed.
The man continued, "I wake up very rarely each year, and I'm mostly monitored by the mainframe, so I can only collect data bit by bit…"
His voice grew lower, taking on a tone of resignation.
He finally said, "I'm truly sorry. I might be able to return, but you... are probably in danger. Do you have any unfulfilled wishes? Or messages for someone? If I have the chance, I'll help you deliver them."
Qin Xuezhong chuckled.
—This man was somewhat interesting, thinking of helping her even when he was in such a predicament.
But he had no idea she could leave at any moment.
"Enough with the other stuff," Qin Xuezhong interrupted his apologies. "Is there a way to open these doors?"
The man hesitated for a moment, surprised by her calmness.
Then he said, "There's a device over there, a laser emitter that adjusts the entire space. It has a high power output. If you can hack it and adjust the frequency, you can burn through the blast doors. But…"
Qin Xuezhong understood his implication—impossible.
This was the core room of the mainframe; even a coffee machine was probably heavily encrypted.
To hack into a core component of the core room in just a few seconds was pure fantasy.
Qin Xuezhong smiled slightly.
She knew it was her time to shine.
She rushed to the machine, found the panel interface, and directly brute-forced the firewall, taking control of the entire machine.
She aimed the emitter's tip at the center of the blast door, found some cover, and confirmed the launch.
Several scorching lasers erupted from the emitter's edge, creating such heat that the air warped around it.
"Close your eyes," the man said, his voice filled with shock, still remembering to remind her quietly.
Qin Xuezhong closed her eyes.
The lasers at the emitter's edge didn't fire directly; instead, they passed through a complex prism structure, converging on the central reflective device before shooting out.
The massive light resembled a newborn sun, crashing against the blast door.
A passage opened.
The electromagnetic waves unleashed from the close-range explosion burned down all the drones that had begun approaching the lower levels.
Qin Xuezhong felt her body stiffen for a moment— the man was so shocked that it caused a brief freeze in his consciousness space, affecting her control of the body.
"Wake up, it's time to go," Qin Xuezhong reminded him.
The man seemed to awaken from a dream.
He suddenly realized that even after such intense physical activity, the brain disease he was supposed to be experiencing hadn't manifested at all.
His long-silent heart gave a tiny leap of joy.
He followed Qin Xuezhong's gaze to the newly blasted passage, as if he saw new hope.