Three-body: The Most Competent Wallfacer in History

The soft female voice in the loudspeaker continued unhurriedly, "Resistance is futile at this point; surrender now and I won't kill you."

"I'll give you ten minutes to think it over. After ten minutes, my people outside the lab will 'self-destruct', and by then it'll be too late for you to even think about surrendering."

Through the glass in the door, Jiang Yu could see people outside calmly grouped at the entrance, as though waiting for the prey to walk into the trap on its own.

One of Baluo's students, while mixing glucose, asked somewhat anxiously, "What do we do now?"

Before Baluo had a chance to speak, Jiang Yu asked first, "The computer that was just speaking, can it hear us?"

Wei Si pointed at the microphone on the experimental table, "Yes."

Jiang Yu approached the microphone and said, "We're severely shocked and need time to calm down; give us a response in half an hour!"

A few seconds later, "Athena" said, "Twenty minutes, that's the final concession."

Baluo and the others were somewhat dumbfounded. Could negotiations really be handled like that?

Jiang Yu unplugged the microphone and told Wei Si, "Cover all the cameras here; we can't let the other side know what we are doing."

Wei Si did as he was told and blocked all the cameras.

Baluo's students quickly mixed several beakers of glucose. After consuming it, each one felt their limbs regaining some strength.

Jiang Yu analyzed, "The people outside seem to be controlled by someone, only following orders from one person.

"Have you noticed, every one of their heads is covered with a hat, and a few are not fitting well, but they are still worn. Could this mean something?"

Then he turned to Baluo, "Uncle Baluo, please talk about the test subjects and weapons in the base! Only by finding the source of the problem can we hope to solve it."

After hesitating for a while, Baluo said, "All right, but afterwards you must keep it confidential, as if I never said anything today."

Jiang Yu, Lisha, and the others all nodded, either sitting or standing, they listened attentively as Baluo continued.

After thinking for a bit, Baluo said, "The base does have several weapons targeted at the human brain, but they are mainly focused on mental attacks. I can confirm there is no weapon that can control another's consciousness.

"In previous research, we did obtain a few test subjects with unique characteristics.

"For instance, Number Three, during the Genetic Modification process, gained the ability for his body cells to divide at a visible rate, exhibiting great vitality.

"Unfortunately, starting last year, the cell division in his body went out of control, firstly growing tumors all over and eventually he turned into a mass of flesh and blood…"

Jiang Yu interjected, "Is this test subject human or...?"

But it was Lisha who answered the question, "We cultivated in vitro."

Jiang Yu thought to himself, "You all really deserve to die!" He had already decided to eliminate these people once they got out.

Baluo continued, "Test subject Sixteen is the most successful case of Genetic Modification Technology, showing early signs of being a 'perfect human.'

"He's extremely intelligent, very skilled with his hands, and as he grows older, his abilities increase exponentially.

"For example, at five months he could already converse fluently with staff, and by the age of three, he had self-taught university courses.

"Now he's six years old, his IQ and abilities far surpass those of a normal adult. Fearing that he would slip from our control, many high-ranking officials have suggested we eradicate him."

"Test subject Thirty-Six displayed clear atavistic tendencies. At first, we thought the experiment had failed, but soon we discovered his sense of smell, hearing, etc. were extremely keen.

"Also, his sixth sense was exceptionally strong; he could detect us every time we tried to approach him quietly from behind. We even suspected that sometimes he could perceive ultraviolet light with his naked eyes."

Baluo mentioned three subjects in one breath, but they were all children around six years old, and none seemed like the initiators of this disaster.

Jiang Yu asked, "None of the subjects have displayed any sort of superpowers, have they?"

Baluo answered, "No, so-called superpowers may only exist in the realm of imagination."

Wei Si reminded, "It has been twelve minutes already."

Jiang Yu, somewhat irritated, scratched his head, "Do any of you have any ideas?"

Lisha and the others all shook their heads. As Baluo had just mentioned, even with heightened intelligence, what kind of storm could six-year-olds stir up?

Moreover, the chaos within the base did not seem like it could have been caused by humanity.

Jiang Yu sighed, "Without any leads, we can only think of a way to get through the immediate crisis."

Jiang Yu felt the gazes of Lisha and the others; he suddenly realized that he had become the backbone for Lisha and the team at this moment.

It was evidently because Baluo had kept too many secrets that everyone gradually started to lose faith in him.

After a moment's thought, Jiang Yu added, "If the people outside are using the 'self-destruct,' they must evacuate to more than thirty meters away.

"Can't we take advantage of this gap to take over or shut down the 'self-destruct' mechanism?"

"That was actually what I was about to suggest," Baluo said with a bitter smile. "I estimate that the I-3 type advanced robots must have placed the 'self-destruct.'

"They are the prime byproduct of Brain Implant Technology and the most advanced intelligent robots in the world today, capable of executing a variety of complex tasks. For them, setting up a 'self-destruct' is simple."

One of Baluo's students said, "I can concoct a highly corrosive solution to attack the robots."

"That's a very good idea," Baluo responded with a smile. "None of them have waterproof casings, and corrosive solutions can easily seep into their insides; pairing it with some flammable liquid would be even better."

Several people immediately sprang into action; even if the concocted substance couldn't deal with the robots, it would still be highly offensive against the people outside.

Soon, the twenty minutes stipulated by "Athena" passed, and the people guarding outside indeed withdrew rapidly. Two large and stout humanoid robots advanced with determined steps towards the door.

Baluo and the others exchanged smiles, having already predicted this scene, they felt more confident.

But unexpectedly, one of the robots suddenly clenched its fist and hammered it down heavily on the door switch.

The blow was extremely precise, causing the automatic door lock to lose control, and the two doors were immediately flung open.

Baluo and his team were momentarily dumbfounded, not expecting that "Athena's" earlier mention of using "self-destruct" to attack was entirely a ruse.

It had evidently used the 'self-destruct' as bait, misleading Jiang Yu and the others' planning; its real goal had always been to surprise assault the laboratory.

The robots stepped in, reaching out to grab people.

Baluo yelled, "Attack now!"

The two robots were quicker and fired their chest-mounted electroshock guns; two of Baluo's students went down at the sound, instantly shocked into unconsciousness.

One of the students' glass vials filled with concentrated acid shattered, spilling over him, and a pungent acidic smell immediately pervaded the air, mixed with the scent of decaying flesh.

Baluo and the others had no time to rescue them and frantically threw their glass vials at the robots.

However, the robots were able to calculate the trajectory of the glass vials with ease, effortlessly deflecting them away.