This detail was exactly the same as the one in "Abyss."
'I must clear my thoughts now.'
Hanton's memory showed that because of the Valkyrie's enormous destructive potential, Kigrov had long made corresponding preparations. The chamber housing the Valkyrie was located at the very bottom of the spaceship, a separate module that could be ejected at any time.
Yang Ming's thoughts were exceptionally active, and he quickly realized some problems.
With the identity of the third officer, he could directly request an audience with Kigrov, but how would this evil and arrogant professor ever heed the advice of a 'senior technician' like himself?
How to prove that the Valkyrie was about to lose control?
Claiming to have suddenly acquired the superpower to foresee the future?
That would most likely result in being dissected for experiments by Kigrov, the kind that would split one's skull open.
The current problem was that Kigrov saw the Valkyrie as the masterpiece of his life, the only near-perfect semi-finished product of the Martial God project, and also the trump card that Kigrov used to demand a hefty sum of funds from the Empire's ministers.
Kigrov would not want to part with the Valkyrie.
That was the most fatal issue.
'There's no time left.'
Yang Ming looked up at the elevator and pressed the top button twice, then switched it to the bottom floor marked with a red exclamation point.
He should now check the status of the Valkyrie, look for evidence of her impending loss of control, then go convince Kigrov.
'There must be some signs.'
Yang Ming thought so.
The elevator moved silently and slowly downward, as Yang Ming watched the smooth alloy panels, his mindset gradually stabilizing.
Chi——
The elevator door opened, and microgravity gradually increased to normal gravity.
Yang Ming's military boots stepped into the line of sight of two guarding soldiers.
Shua, shua, both soldiers saluted at the same time.
"Captain!"
"Mm, good work on your shift," Yang Ming casually nodded and continued forward.
As one soldier was about to remind him that the area ahead was off-limits to non-experimental staff, the other soldier's gaze stopped him, and the two ultimately kept silent.
This was the ship's third officer, entitled to inspect every corner's fire safety equipment and ventilation ducts.
The scene before him made Yang Ming slightly uncomfortable.
The bottom cabin was like a round hall, with each area tightly segregated.
At the moment, Yang Ming was standing in the upper left position, with a spiral alloy stairway to his left hand.
On the left side of the bottom cabin, there was a row of canned-shaped sealed chambers, inside which were sealed a dozen men and women, filled with various input tubes, obviously in a dormant state.
The special bathrobes they wore preserved their dignity as genetic experimental subjects.
Among these Transformed, Yang Ming spotted a "Lost Voice" boss clone and two or three muscle men who looked like the clone's elite monsters. — When not out of control, they all still had the physique of normal humans.
The central area consisted of an array made up of dozens of precision instruments, with narrow passages connecting small laboratories in all directions, and researchers in protective suits bustling back and forth.
On the right side was a small 'playground', with several strong figures undergoing physical training, their heads always pointed at with laser guns.
The security level here was quite high.
Every entrance was guarded by soldiers, and on the ceiling and walls were arrays of high-energy laser guns for bio-use, controlled by the bridge.
The Valkyrie should be in a special cabin at the front left corner. Hanton had once come here to inspect the fire system.
Yang Ming quickly descended the staircase and followed a narrow path lined with experimental equipment.
The door to the cabin was ajar, and two researchers in protective suits were busy at the instrument table by the door, whispering something to each other.
Yang Ming thought he could hear the "thump, thump" of his heartbeat.
He reached the door, paused his steps, and glanced inside as if nonchalantly.
The cabin in front of him was about thirty to forty square meters, with a five-meter-diameter 'canned' bio-pool in the center. The familiar yet strange beautiful Valkyrie was quietly suspended in the pale green pool water.
She possessed an impeccable perfect figure, her pretty face full of girlish innocence, her orange-red hair floating upwards in the pale green nutrient solution;
The silver-white collar around her neck that probably was some kind of explosive device oddly complemented her transcendent beauty that went beyond gender.
However, right now, Yang Ming was more concerned about the nutrient liquid that was slowly draining away beside the Valkyrie.
"Hanton?"
A stern, sharp female voice came from behind, "You're not a member of the research team; by regulation, you can't enter the lower deck, much less this restricted area!"
Yang Ming turned his head to look at the middle-aged woman behind him and without any chitchat, pointed directly at the Valkyrie's nutrient pod and asked,
"I'm doing a fire safety inspection... What is this? Changing the nutrient liquid?"
The woman coldly replied, "Yes, changing the nutrient liquid and conducting a periodical test, please leave immediately."
"Can it be suspended?" Yang Ming asked directly.
The woman, walking in high heels, was full of skepticism.
Her expression softened slightly as she crossed her arms and furrowed her brows in response,
"This is a normal experimental activity on the schedule; what's the matter, Hanton? This doesn't seem to be within your job scope, and... your complexion looks rather poor. I heard you sustained a brain injury while working on the mecha's tail wing maintenance."
Yang Ming made his gaze appear as sincere as possible.
"That's right, I hit my head, and then I vaguely saw some images that, well, I'm quite concerned about, relating to a situation where the Valkyrie lost control..."
"Lost control?"
The woman crossed her arms, her figure slim under the white coat, and smiled while shaking her head, continuing,
"She's like a baby now; a pure and powerful baby. She won't break free from our control. And also, Hanton, we have no need to deliberately control her. She's my friend, my best friend."
Yang Ming sharply caught a hint of something amiss.
As she spoke these words, her thin face, unsatisfied and covered with light freckles, revealed an intoxicated look, filled with delusional devotion and a strange sense of piety.
Could it be?
Yang Ming clearly remembered that in the second phase of taking on the Valkyrie, the Valkyrie would unleash a move called 'Spiritual Control,' all-encompassing, leaving no blind spots, and players without mental protection gear were highly likely to fall into confusion, attacking teammates indiscriminately; a difficult point that often wiped out entire teams.
At this moment, Yang Ming suddenly had an unpleasant association.
He decided to probe this lady before him.
"Yes, she's so beautiful."
Yang Ming whispered his admiration, then squinted his eyes smilingly, trying to make himself appear sordid as he said slowly, "I'm falling in love with her."
"Hanton!" The woman beside him looked disgusted, "Please don't defile her purity with your filthy thoughts!"
"Isn't she just a test subject?"
Yang Ming looked puzzled, raising his voice on purpose,
"Although she is beautiful, she's ultimately just an unfinished product, essentially an artificial creation. It reminds me of those high-value non-intelligent mechanical companions that can even be customized in body shape and facial features, and special vocalizations."
"Shut up... just shut up! She is perfect! She is magnificent! A god! She is a god!"
The woman's voice suddenly became high-pitched.
She clutched her ears in apparent pain, uttering low growls,
"She is the most perfect deity! Hanton! You will pay for your frivolity and arrogance!"
This woman's mental state indeed had problems.
'Kigrov, take a good look, your subordinate is already the Valkyrie's little treasure.'
Having found the evidence he was looking for, Yang Ming immediately stepped back, keeping as far away from the woman as possible.
The nearby workers began to notice the commotion, with some of them casting scornful and disdainful glances at Yang Ming.
A peculiar feeling suddenly surged in the depths of Yang Ming's heart.
He looked up subconsciously, through the ajar special protective door to the chamber where the Valkyrie was, and immediately felt a chill run down his spine, and his heart skipped a beat.
Behind the translucent wall of the nutrient pod, the Valkyrie was opening her eyes, her nearly transparent eyelashes slowly lifting, and her ruby-like pupils twinkling with red light.
Visible light red ripples, like those on water, faintly undulated.
This was the Valkyrie's 'Spiritual Control'!