Chapter 672: Two Choices

Following the precise coordinates provided by our guide, we found the secret entrance to the base hidden in the shadow of a massive crater.

It was a huge gate made of special alloy, equipped with multiple energy shields and physical defenses.

"Leave it to me," Olivia walked up to the gate's control panel, extended her slender hand, and began operating the controls rapidly.

In less than ten minutes, the seemingly impenetrable alloy gate slid open, creating a gap.

We immediately slipped inside like ghosts.

The scene inside the base once again showed us the Association's inhumane madness.

This place was basically an underground maze made up of countless cold cages.

The air was filled with the sharp smell of chemical agents.

In the semi-transparent cultivation tanks, we saw many humans who had been stripped of consciousness and transformed into biological weapons.

"These heartless bastards," Finn looked at the people struggling in pain in the cultivation tanks, trembling with rage, nearly crushing the harpoon in his hand.

Gulama, Uta, and the others were all filled with righteous anger, wanting nothing more than to destroy this place immediately.

"Stay calm! Don't alert them," I suppressed the fury in my heart and said in a low voice, "Our primary target is Pandora's Box."

"Before we get it, try to avoid direct confrontation with the enemy."

With the internal structure map provided by our guide and the help of Shadow Whisper, we carefully avoided wave after wave of patrolling genetically modified guards and deadly defensive traps.

We made our way with difficulty toward Zone Zero, located in the deepest part of the base.

After several hours of tense infiltration and a few close calls, we arrived before a massive light gate constructed from strange energy crystals.

The light gate had no runes or emblems, only a huge eyeball pattern made of energy.

The eyeball seemed to have a life of its own, slowly rotating.

It watched us intruders with a gaze that seemed to judge everything.

"This should be the entrance to Zone Zero," Olivia looked at the mysterious energy light gate and the unsettling eyeball pattern, speaking gravely, "According to the intelligence from our guide, what guards this place isn't human or mechanical, but artificial intelligence."

"It's a super defense system that has merged with the will of Atlantis's ancient guardians, codenamed the Eternal Eye."

Just as Olivia finished speaking, the huge eyeball pattern carved on the light gate suddenly opened.

A cold, synthesized mechanical voice rang out simultaneously in all our minds like a great bell.

"Warning! Unknown life forms detected! Permission level zero! Initiating final defense protocol."

"Intruders, you have two choices."

"Turn around and leave immediately, and I can temporarily overlook your offense."

"Or attempt to pass the three trials I have set."

"If you succeed, you will gain the right to enter Zone Zero and touch Pandora's Box."

"If you choose the latter and fail the trials, what awaits you will be complete annihilation."

"Now, make your choice."

Three trials.

Pass and live, fail and die.

I looked at the energy light gate radiating colorful flowing light, and the Eternal Eye on the gate, feeling extremely heavy-hearted.

These three trials would definitely not be as simple as they sounded.

They would test not only our strength, but also our logic, ethics, and understanding of universal laws.

Pandora's Box was behind this gate.

For the world's last hope, we had to push forward.

"We choose to accept the trials," I took a deep breath and answered firmly.

While we were on the far side of the moon, undertaking life-or-death trials in the forbidden zone for Pandora's Box, back on Blue Star, our homeland Mist Island and the guardians were facing a catastrophic disaster.

The Lord of Cracks was completely enraged.

After all the key nodes had been destroyed, it finally abandoned all probing and infiltration.

This time, it was getting serious.

Using the most direct method to completely crush and devour us and this island.

A powerful torrent of energy roared out from the Deep Sea Fissures on the eastern side of Mist Island, sweeping madly toward Mist Island and the surrounding thousands of miles of ocean.

Wherever the energy torrent passed, whether solid reefs or churning seawater, everything was being eroded and assimilated.

The sky lost all color, transforming into an unsettling dark red.

The ocean rolled like boiling ink, emitting a strong stench of decay and rot.

The entire world was being forcibly dragged into the abyss by this brutal force from a higher dimension.

In the energy torrent, the silhouettes of a legion slowly appeared.

This was the most elite Abyssal Divine Wretch legion under the Lord of Cracks.

These Abyssal Divine Wretches were completely different from any rift creatures we had encountered before.

They weren't low-level monsters cobbled together from biological remains and rift energy, but had undergone advanced transformation—each one was an ultimate form born for killing.

Some resembled fallen angels, clad in black heavy armor, with bone spikes and flesh wings extending menacingly from their backs.

The abyssal energy scythes gripped in their hands could tear open space with each swing.

Others were hellfire demons crawling from lava, their bodies burning with black hellfire, their dragon breath capable of instantly vaporizing steel.

There were also shapeless monsters that could freely change their abilities while writhing, releasing mental curses that struck directly at the soul.

The number of Abyssal Divine Wretches was far fewer than the previous mutant legions, but the pressure emanating from each one was comparable to the top combat power of the Island Alliance.

They were the Lord of Cracks' true trump cards, the ultimate weapons for conquering the material world.

Facing this army and the abyssal energy capable of swallowing the entire island, Reef, Uta, and the guardians from around the world who had stayed behind showed no sign of retreat.

Reef, who had been baptized by blood and fire and grown into a qualified leader, stood at the bow of the Revelation, holding high the replica mini trident, his voice thunderous, "All warriors of the Island Alliance! All guardians who answered Cradle Heart's call!"

"Behind us are our homes! Our loved ones! This planet's last hope!"

"Today, we will use our flesh and blood to buy Matthew the last bit of time he needs!"

"For Gaia! For our homeland! For life! Kill!"

"Kill!"

A mountain-shaking, sea-roaring battle cry erupted from the throats of all warriors and guardians.

Relying on the Tide Eye core fortress and the prototype Gaia defense line we had set up before leaving, they launched an ultimate defense battle against the terrifying Abyssal Divine Wretches—a battle where they were vastly outmatched.

The fighting instantly reached white-hot intensity.