Chapter 45 Desperate Counterattack

The air around the altar twisted eerily into vortices, as if being ruthlessly kneaded by an invisible giant hand. The semi-mechanical face of the mysterious organization's leader flickered in and out of view within the turbulent energy field, his rotating metal joints emitting a teeth-gritting frictional sound like whispers from the abyss. "The crystals must not be reorganized! Crush these insignificant ants!" His roar thundered through all the space station's broadcasts, the sound waves sending ripples across everyone's tactical visors and nearly tearing their eardrums. In an instant, the offensive mounted by the black-robed figures surged like a violent tide. Elite guards wrapped in pale-blue electric arcs swarmed out from the ventilation ducts and shattered bulkheads, the crimson beams from their energy weapons weaving an airtight death net in the air. Every beam that flashed past left a gruesome scorched mark on the bulkhead, the pungent smell of burning mixed with the stench of blood, enough to turn one's stomach.

"Breaching squad, assault! Interference squad, suppressive fire!" Lin Yu's hoarse roar burst through the communicator amidst static, his tactical visor covered in a layer of mist from the intense heat. His pulse rifle was so hot it could nearly burn through his protective gloves, its barrel severely warped and deformed from continuous firing, yet it still spat out mad tongues of flame. Every pull of the trigger sent a searing pain through his shoulder, his arm muscles trembling uncontrollably from excessive exertion. Su Yao's shock dagger was notched with spiderweb-like fractures, and every slash sparked with dazzling fire. With disheveled hair yet the eyes of a hawk, her blade precisely sliced across an enemy's carotid artery; the warm blood that splashed onto her mask instantly vaporized, leaving trails of bloody mist. The two formed a mobile fortress, back-to-back, painstakingly carving a bloody path through a hail of gunfire and a rain of energy, leaving behind mutilated mechanical wreckage and pools of blood that slowly congealed. Su Yao was accidentally grazed on the arm by an enemy energy beam during the combat, her blood instantly dyeing her sleeve red, but she merely cast a brief glance at it before plunging back into the fray.

Led by Ah Ken, the breaching team forced their way forward under the enemy's relentless bombardment. Dense bullets and energy beams fell like raindrops, leaving their protective suits covered in charred burn marks. One member's calf was pierced by a bullet, the agonizing pain of shattered bones turning his face as pale as paper while large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, yet he gritted his teeth and hopped forward on one leg, wincing with every landing. "Maintain triangle formation! No one stops!" Every roar of Ah Ken's heavy weapon blasted the obstructing guards into minced meat, the thick stench of blood mixed with gunpowder choking the breath out of them. When they were mere ten meters away from the altar, an energy barrier shimmering with purple light suddenly rose, enveloping the entire altar. A team member curiously reached out a fingertip to touch it, and a violent current exploded along his arm, numbness rapidly spreading through his entire body; with a miserable scream, he was blasted backward into the air.

"Electromagnetic pulse grenade!" Xiao C's voice cracked as his trembling fingers pressed the detonation button. Driven by extreme tension, his teeth chattered incessantly. A blue flash swept across, and the energy barrier warped into a wave-like distortion, emitting an overloaded hum. Seizing this fleeting window, Ah Ken led his team to forcefully breach the barrier, the deafening clatter of metal and explosive energy ringing in their ears. However, what awaited them was an elite guard unit personally led by the leader of the mysterious organization. On the leader's mechanical arm, a spinning particle cutter emitted a high-pitched shriek, twisting the air into bizarre vortices wherever it passed and instantly melting deep, smoking ravines into the ground. A team member failed to dodge in time, and his leg was slashed open by the cutter, blood gushing forth.

Lin Yu and Su Yao exchanged glances and simultaneously pressed the overclocking buttons on their battle suits. Blinding blue light erupted from the core of their armor, their pupils reflecting the eerie glow of data streams. Pushing their speed to the absolute limit, their figures left long afterimages in the air. Lin Yu's pulse rifle precisely sniped the leader's mechanical joints, every bullet striking to produce dazzling sparks; Su Yao moved like a ghost to the flank, her shock dagger violently plunging into the joint at the base of the leader's neck. Accompanied by a teeth-gritting snap of metal, the leader's mechanical arm crashed heavily to the ground, gouging a half-meter-deep crater. The leader let out an angry roar, his remaining mechanical arms flailing wildly as the powerful shockwave knocked nearby team members to the ground.

Taking advantage of the leader's brief stagnation, the breaching team members embedded the crystals into the prismatic grooves with almost frantic speed. Their fingers shook, their foreheads streamed with sweat, and embedding each crystal felt like a race against time. The moment the final crystal snapped seamlessly into place, the entire space station groaned under an unbearable metal strain. Amid violent tremors, the metal panels on the ceiling peeled away like paper, some crashing down onto the team members and inflicting fresh wounds. The violent energy flow within the spacetime tunnel began to distort drastically, the purple light flickering uncertainly like a dying behemoth. The members of the mysterious organization watched in terror as their attack rhythm completely collapsed; some even stood frozen in place, allowing the energy beams to strike their bodies, their eyes filled with despair.

"Final assault! Crush these bastards!" Lin Yu's roar echoed throughout the space station. The blue light of the pulse rifle, the arc light of the shock dagger, and the purple vortex of the gravity grenades intertwined into a magnificent symphony of death. Under the heavy bombardment of the assault team, the defense line of the mysterious organization collapsed like a sandcastle. As the crystal reorganization completed, the spacetime tunnel emitted a dying wail, and the vortex that had been on the verge of forming began to twist and tear, the erupting turbulent energy drawing everything around it into the vortex. The team members firmly planted their footing amidst the turbulent energy, looking at the collapsing spacetime tunnel with expressions of relief and satisfaction. This desperate counterattack concerning the survival of spacetime had finally ushered in the dawn of victory.