The Trembling World Chapter 396

Chapter 396 - Metal Partitions
TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney
"The pathway that we came from has a small hidden infrared scanner. It was able to correctly decide how many people came in. In addition, the ceiling has several speakers hidden away. They were probably where the mainframe's voice came from. There's also a revolving surveillance camera that can cover the whole of the room. However, there aren't any ports that would allow us to hack into the equipment," Jiang JinYuan quickly reported back to Liu Gan.
"Since it is like that, it simplifies things. Since the infrared scanner is supplied by electricity, it has been functioning this whole time. The moment we entered this area, it alerted the person hiding in the background. With the surveillance camera, they can watch us, and through the speakers, they can communicate with us. Then, that person acts as an autonomous mainframe instructing us to partake in three trials. Their purpose is to lower our combat ability by making us massacre each other, using the pretext of blowing us up if we don't do as they say," Liu Gan summarized his thoughts.
"Ah, so you are thinking that when this trial is over, no matter what we do, we will fail? And the only door that opens is the door behind us, the route back to the surface? While the door to the next trial, won't open... At that time, there might be a more urgent threat that might force the players to escape from here instead of challenging the next trial," Jiang JinYuan put in his thoughts on the topic.
"Their motive is to scare us so we won't reveal any secrets about this laboratory!" QiuTao mirrored Jiang JinYuan's theory.
Jiang JinYuan and QiuTao's agreement helped stabilize the mood in the room. The majority of the other players were going to agree with their theory since they had no other choice but to believe in them. The alternative option was death by Liu Gan's hand.
Even though Liu Gan had said those words, he didn't have any evidence to back it up. Could it even be possible that this underground laboratory would have survivors left? Were there enough supplies and resources to let them stay alive? There was just too little evidence. It was best if he didn't reach any conclusions too prematurely.
"Your analysis lacks logic, I encourage you to quickly finish your first trial. Otherwise, the moment I use the vacuum bomb, you will all be dead!" the mainframe suddenly interrupted them.
"I can tell that you are panicking," Liu Gan said after hearing the mainframe's response. With a surge of rage, he activated [Crescent Blade] at the speaker overhead.
Boom!
The attack left a huge gap in the ceiling from the impact. Electrical wiring and instruments were revealed. It looked like the camera and the speaker were destroyed in one attack by Liu Gan.
Now, no matter what Liu Gan said, the mainframe couldn't interrupt again. The electrical system was silenced for good.
"Now that they've lost their sight and speech, if they want to take action then this would be the moment. Since they haven't used the vacuum bomb, it must be a bluff," Liu Gan turned around to tell everyone.
"What do you plan on doing now?" Jiang JinYuan asked Liu Gan.
"Very simple, they told us there is a path toward the next trial. Let's force our way through!" Liu Gan walked around scouting along the wall for any weak spots. Using his axe to attack the wall was the simplest way.
The majority of the walls were built with reinforced concrete for both their inner and outer layers. The hidden pathway had reinforced concrete as the outer wall, while the inner wall had thick metal partitions. Following Liu Gan's rapping, thudding sounds echoed out. That was until Liu Gan struck certain positions on the wall. Feedback from the hidden pathway sounded different from the wall; crisp echoes could be heard.
This meant that behind this wall was the hidden pathway. As long as this wall was smashed, then they could pass through. Made with reinforced concrete, his axe wasn't able to smash it very well.
When Qiu Zi was here, he had also found the hidden pathway. He also tried to force his way through, but his abilities were all electrical in nature. His abilities against reinforced concrete had no effect; the electricity would follow the reinforced concrete due to conductivity, and was dispersed away. Simply put, there was no way for him to break the outer wall.
Liu Gan was different. His [Crescent Blade] was an attributeless ability. As long as the skill was high enough, then even metal partitions could be pierced through. Liu Gan wasn't gentle at all. Pent-up anger kept refilling his rage bar, so he could constantly throw out [Crescent Blade].
The reinforced concrete shattered from the bombardment of [Crescent Blade]. Once the outer wall was broken away, the inner wall of metal partitions revealed itself. This metal partition was dense and thick. The large axe wouldn't be able to hack it apart, but with Liu Gan's ability, it could leave dents several centimeters deep.
Liu Gan smashed his axe on the wall. Loud echos rang out as the axe head smashed into the metal partitions.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The loud tremors hurt some of the player's eardrums. Naturally, they avoided any side effect by not standing too close to the wall.
Liu Gan's prowess was not to be underestimated. Even the thick metal partition was starting to fracture. This made the players wonder would happen if that axe had landed on their body.
Liu Gan kept up with his offensive strikes, every regular attack would enrage him, and when the rage counter maxed out, he would cast [Enhanced Crescent Blade]. This ability created a slash ten centimeters long and the deepest part of the attack penetrated through the metal partition.
This confidence booster helped Liu Gan continued hacking away. Liu Gan purposely shaped his attack to fit his hand through, enough to place a hand grenade into the wall.
Liu Gan withdrew a hand grenade from the dimensional storage space of his ring. Warning the others before he pulled off the ring and placed it inside the metal partition. Then, he retreated far away, behind a sofa.
Shortly following was the sound of the explosion.
BOOM! The sound echoed through the room as the walls shook. Dust fell from the ceiling down onto the shoulders of the players.
After the smoke and dust had settled down, Liu Gan walked over to look at how much damage had been done to the metal partition. The explosion blew a hole in the wall, but it still wasn't large enough to fit an adult through.
Once again, Liu Gan got to work. Soon, another hole was made, for a total of three holes, with each hole at each corner of a triangle. Shoving another hand grenade through the opening, it exploded and caused the structure of the metal partitions to weaken. Liu Gan rushed up to finish the job. Finally, he made a gap that was wide enough for a person to pass through.
NaNa went through the gap first. Then, a volunteer player followed NaNa through. His task was to scout the area before coming back to report.