Chapter 55: Trapped in the Enemy’s Lair, Unraveling the Truth Behind the Mutation

A ghostly green glow illuminated Mao Yu's sharp and defined face, while the air was thick with the pungent mixture of formaldehyde and unidentified chemical agents, causing him to instinctively frown.

Dozens of figures in black robes tightly surrounded him. Judging by the grand scale, anyone unaware might have thought he was attempting to transcend his mortal limits and ascend to immortality.

"You've made such a huge fuss, someone might mistake this for a fan meeting," Mao Yu shrugged, his tone relaxed, though a light film of sweat had formed on his palms.

The black-robed figures wasted no words and attacked directly!

All sorts of supernatural abilities rained down upon Mao Yu as if they cost nothing—fireballs, ice arrows, wind blades...

It was practically a visual feast, though unfortunately, Mao Yu was the protagonist of this "feast" and lacked the mood to appreciate it.

He dodged left and right, leaping about in the confined space like an agile monkey, leaving the surrounding imprisoned esperes staring in stunned amazement.

"Damn, that footwork is so slick!" an esper trapped inside a glass container couldn't help but exclaim.

"That operation is even flashier than I was in my prime!" another esper echoed.

While evading the attacks, Mao Yu observed the black-robed figures.

Their movements were uniform and their attacks coordinated seamlessly, marking them clearly as a well-trained, professional team.

He felt like an unlucky fellow surrounded by a swarm of bees, the buzzing sound of attacks making his head ring.

"Which villainous organization sent these guys?" Mao Yu thought to himself.

Suddenly, a black-robed figure flashed behind Mao Yu, forming a black energy dagger in hand and lunging directly at Mao Yu's heart!

At the critical moment, Mao Yu lunged fiercely forward, narrowly dodging the fatal blow.

He rolled across the floor a few times, sprang back up to his feet, and countered with an energy shockwave that sent the sneak-attacking black-robed figure stumbling back several paces.

"Is that it? You can't even touch the hem of my clothes!" Mao Yu taunted, curling his finger in a provocative gesture.

However, no sooner had the words left his mouth than he felt the surrounding air suddenly grow heavy and viscous, an inexplicable pressure making it somewhat difficult to breathe.

He looked up and saw that the eyes of all the black-robed figures had turned an eerie shade of red, and their bodies were radiating a heart-palpitating energy fluctuation.

"What... is going on here?" Mao Yu muttered to himself, a bad premonition rising in his chest.

One of the black-robed figures suddenly spoke, its voice hoarse and low: "You... are strong... but..."

"But... you're going to die right here today!" Before the hoarse voice fully faded, all the black-robed figures let out a simultaneous roar, the energy fluctuations around them growing even more violent, as if they were ready to detonate at any moment.

Mao Yu instantly felt immense pressure—these guys were about to unleash their ultimate moves!

Right at that moment, Mao Yu noticed a subtle anomaly in the energy fluctuations across all the black-robed figures, resembling the sparking of a short-circuited electrical wire.

This discovery sparked a thought in his mind: Could this be their weakness?

"System, scan and analyze the energy fluctuation anomalies of these black-robed figures!" Mao Yu silently chanted in his mind.

"Ding! Scan complete. Target weakness identified: energy core overload protection mechanism has failed. Host is advised to use a high-frequency energy shock, which will instantly overload their energy cores and cause paralysis." The system's cold, mechanical voice echoed in Mao Yu's mind.

"Awesome! I've been waiting for those exact words!" The corners of Mao Yu's mouth curled up slightly into a confident smile.

He took a deep breath, channeled his entire body's supernatural energy, and conjured a dazzling ball of white light between his hands.

"Overclocked energy cannon, fire!"

A thick beam of white light surged from Mao Yu's hands, instantly striking the energy anomaly points on all the black-robed figures.

"Sizzling..." A harsh sound of electric current rang out, and the energy fluctuations on the black-robed figures flickered violently a few times before instantly extinguishing like a lightbulb cut off from its power source.

One by one, they collapsed limply to the ground, losing consciousness.

"Done!" Mao Yu clapped his hands and said with an easygoing expression.

He looked around, and the imprisoned esperes looked at him with newfound reverence.

"Boss, awesome!" One esper couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"Basic operation, just a basic operation." Mao Yu waved his hand with feigned modesty, then began searching the laboratory for clues about the truth behind the mutations.

Suddenly, a harsh alarm sounded, and the laboratory lights turned to a flashing red.

"Warning! Laboratory self-destruct sequence initiated. Countdown begins: 10 minutes!" The cold mechanical voice echoed through the lab.

Mao Yu's expression shifted—this was no laughing matter!

He hurriedly accelerated his search, fine beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

Time ticked away second by second, and the atmosphere in the laboratory grew increasingly tense.

Finally, in the very last minute, Mao Yu located a hidden safe.

He entered the password and opened the safe, revealing a document and a USB flash drive inside.

"I hope this is what I'm looking for." He grabbed the document and the flash drive and turned to run.

"5, 4, 3..." The countdown grew increasingly urgent, and Mao Yu's heart leaped into his throat.

"2, 1..."

At that exact moment, Mao Yu suddenly stopped in his tracks, glanced back at the laboratory about to self-destruct behind him, and a strange smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Heh, you want to blow me to pieces? Not that easy!"

He plugged the USB drive into the laboratory's control terminal...

Mao Yu inserted the USB drive, a mischievous grin curving his lips—not the wicked smile of a villain, but the smug expression of someone thinking, *Little trickster, trying to play games with me.*

The USB drive didn't contain any virus; instead, it held a program he had the system temporarily write specifically to override this archaic self-destruct mechanism.

"Beep—Self-destruct sequence aborted." The cold mechanical voice sounded, and the red alarm lights stopped flashing, restoring the normal white illumination.

The imprisoned esperes instantly burst into cheers, looking at Mao Yu as if he were a deity descended from the heavens.

Mao Yu waved his hand, maintaining a "basic operation, nothing to marvel at" expression.

Right then, Mao Yu felt a familiar fluctuation—it was Mao Ling!

The little girl's telepathic message carried a hint of tears and deep anxiety: "Brother, are you alright? You scared me to death!"

A wave of warmth flooded his heart, and the corners of Mao Yu's mouth softened involuntarily.

This little girl had been giving him the cold shoulder earlier, yet here she was, worried sick.

"Don't worry, who do you think your brother is? Just a minor scrape." He replied with his thoughts, his tone light yet carrying a trace of unnoticeable gentleness.

"Hmph, you're always acting tough!" Although Mao Ling's tone still held a hint of grievance, she clearly relaxed.

Mao Yu didn't rush to find the exit; instead, he sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and had the system analyze the principles behind the self-destruct mechanism.

The surrounding esperes looked at each other in bewilderment, unsure what kind of strange game this fellow was playing now.

"Ding! Analysis complete. This device causes self-destruction by altering the lab's energy flow to trigger a core overload. The host can stop the self-destruct sequence by reversing the energy flow, and..." The system's voice abruptly cut off.

"And what?" Mao Yu pressed, but received no response.

An uneasy premonition welled up inside him.

He opened his eyes, carefully observed his surroundings, and noticed some strange symbols carved onto the laboratory walls.

He inputted these symbols into the system for analysis.

"Ding! Analysis result: These symbols represent an ancient supernatural ability capable of controlling..." The system's voice cut out again, as if someone had unplugged its internet cable.

Mao Yu frowned deeply, his confusion growing even greater.

He stood up, walked over to the wall, and touched the symbols with his hand. A chilling energy flowed through his fingertips and into his body.

Flashes of imagery suddenly crossed his mind—secrets concerning the upper echelons of the esper metropolis...

"This... This is impossible..." Mao Yu muttered to himself, his expression turning extraordinarily grave.

He snapped his head around to look at the imprisoned esperes.

"It seems we've all been deceived..."