Ch. 296 - Attempt to occupy - part 2
The Nightmare Star sailed into the harbor of Sanctuary Zone C, stopping beside a familiar dock as it dropped anchor.
Yang Yi secured the ship, walked to the edge, and checked the condition of the pier.
He had been here many times before. The place was so familiar it almost felt like coming home.
After a short inspection, he spotted an unwelcome guest in the corner of the dock. Its bloated body suggested it was a Drowned One.
“Looks like some Drowned Ones boarded from elsewhere. There might be more on the Sanctuary ship,” Yang Yi concluded, preparing to deal with it.
But Suna was faster. An arrow shot precisely into the creature’s head, causing severe brain collapse and dropping it to the ground.
Moments later, the Drowned One exploded. Its abdomen burst open, spraying foul blood and bone fragments everywhere, carrying the distinct stench of the deep sea.
“Shooting the stomach might be better. That way it won’t have a chance to explode,” Yang Yi suggested.
After that, he tossed Xiao Ji down first, then Xiao Er. Neither robot had knees and couldn’t jump, so climbing down with mechanical arms from the deck wasn’t convenient.
Once the robots landed, Yang Yi increased the brightness of the Light Container and jumped down himself. Suna followed last, far more graceful, climbing down the ladder instead.
The two humans and two robots immediately headed for the Zone C laboratory.
The plan was to locate the remaining robots, pack them up, then proceed to the eighth underwater level. While carrying out emergency repairs, they would try to fix the other robots to speed up the process.
When Yang Yi left earlier, only three spots in the main storage area were leaking, and the water flow wasn’t too severe. There was still time.
He picked up a finger from one of the Drowned Ones, planning to use it later for a draw.
Xiao Ji led the way. As the leader of the robots, it knew the locations of the others best.
It had also prepared for underwater work. A cork had been tightly stuffed into a hole in its body, sealed securely, with an eye patch covering the outside.
“This way,” Xiao Ji transmitted instructions to Xiao Er, sending it off on its own before leading Yang Yi and Suna upstairs.
This area seemed to be the Sanctuary’s hospital. There were visible medical signs, and the walls had once been painted white, though the paint had long since peeled away, leaving stains and dust.
The wards and operating rooms were empty, with only fixed beds remaining. Scattered among them were skeletal remains of the natives who had died here.
Suddenly, Xiao Ji turned left and stopped in front of a door marked with a skull symbol.
“This is the pharmacy. There are two robots inside. One of them malfunctioned and attacks any moving target indiscriminately. If we want to recover it, we’ll need to force a shutdown first,” Xiao Ji explained, turning around.
“However, it has no wheels and can’t move, so it’s been confined inside the room.”
Yang Yi nodded. “How do we force a shutdown?”
“Insert your authorization card into the slot at the back. The robot will reset to factory settings immediately.”
Xiao Ji extended a mechanical arm, pointing to a slot on its side.
Yang Yi took a closer look and noticed that Xiao Ji’s own slot had been deliberately jammed with some unknown substance, making it impossible to insert a card. Likely a little trick it had done itself.
“I’ll go in first,” Suna said, activating her deflection shield.
The moment she entered, she was attacked. Several beam shots struck the shield but were deflected away by the force field.
“Left corner,” she called out.
Yang Yi nodded and rushed in.
Using the shield for cover, the two quickly approached the rogue robot and inserted the authorization card.
The machine instantly powered down, going completely still.
To prevent it from malfunctioning again, they left the card inserted. Suna then stored it in her satchel.
Yang Yi turned to survey the room.
It looked like a fierce battle had taken place here. There were bullet casings, beam weapons, and scorch marks from explosions everywhere. It had all happened long ago. On the ground lay six or seven skeletons.
In another corner was a robot blown cleanly in half, destroyed by some unknown weapon.
After recovering the robot, Yang Yi searched the bodies but found only 217 Shell Coins.
Anything valuable, like spatial bags or weapons, had likely been taken by the victims’ teammates.
Judging by the scene, this battle had ended in defeat, and the explosion had rendered the pharmacy mostly worthless.
Yang Yi didn’t search thoroughly. He only picked up an intact plastic syringe lying nearby, filled with a murky yellow liquid.
【Name: Super Adrenaline (Expired)】