Chapter 1 "1 Minute"

"One minute."

Wei Shu's voice was the last tranquility in the chaotic world.

He sat alone in the control room, linked to the Deep Sea. With the permissions opened, he seemed to become an extension of that omnipotent computer, his consciousness and thoughts spreading out.

The entire map of Da Teng City was in full view.

Wei Shu saw the real-time transmission of images, and also saw A-009's frantic attacks. All the images were converted into data in real-time, and a large amount of data, like a tide, rumbled and synchronously coordinated for uploading... It was a pity that at this moment, these data were meaningless. A-009's strength, speed, and toughness far exceeded Nan Jin's. The balance maintained by the Zhen Dao (vibrating blade) technique, overdrafting her strength, would soon be broken.

Wei Shu was very clear about this.

One minute in reality was very short... but at this moment, every second could be Nan Jin's limit.

Each attack by A-009 forced her closer to the edge of overdraft. Before reinforcements arrived, she could collapse at any moment.

"A-009... why has it become so crazy?"

In a moment of silence, Wei Shu, linked to the Deep Sea's thinking, began to ponder this question.

At the same time, he mobilized the images from Subway Line 13 and accelerated them... Under the Deep Sea's link, a large amount of information poured into his mind.

Wei Shu frowned.

A large amount of information was broken, the picture was incomplete, and it was cut off by an unknown external force.

Immediately afterward, his pupils slowly contracted, and he saw a surviving surveillance image. In that picture... A-009 was unusually gentle, and was having a calm conversation with that young man named Gu Shen.

...

...

"60..."

"59..."

Nan Jin closed her eyes, counting down in her heart, second by second, as if years were passing.

She could still hold on, but her cheeks were covered with two lines of bloody tears, and the two long knives were on the verge of shattering in the rapid vibration, their secret patterns almost completely worn away.

She was like a drowning person with no way out, who could be submerged at any time. The "one minute" that Wei Shu promised was the only straw she could grab.

"40..."

"39..."

In despair, a voice rang out urgently.

"Nan Jin... give up resisting. When A-009 breaks through the blade domain, use Gu Shen as a meat shield."

Nan Jin quickly glanced at the young man behind her.

Gu Shen's mind was buzzing, and he didn't know what was happening.

On the other end of the line, Wei Shu's voice was very firm: "... Trust me."

"Clang--"

With a final crisp sound, the long knives shattered.

Nan Jin, who had no time to think, took a big step back without hesitation and came to the young man's side.

In front of her, the towering, mountain-like Lady in the Dress broke through the blade domain defense, her face hideous, and she raised her knife to chop down.

In a flash of lightning, Nan Jin grabbed Gu Shen's back collar and lifted him up.

"What the heck?!"

Gu Shen's mind went blank. This woman's strength was ridiculously great. He couldn't resist even if he wanted to. He was like a sandbag, and was lifted up and suspended in front of him in an instant.

He couldn't hold it anymore, was he being used as a meat shield?!

A gust of wind came.

Gu Shen closed his eyes, preparing to welcome the end of his life.

...

...

All sounds disappeared--

Calm after the storm.

Nothing happened.

The tall lady in the dress, holding a sharp knife, was suspended in front of Gu Shen. She stopped the action of chopping down, and under the shadow of the wide brim of her hat, two faint red glows slowly dissipated.

Nan Jin was stunned... Wei Shu was actually right. For some unknown reason, using this young man as a shield, A-009 voluntarily interrupted its fierce attack.

The tall woman, who had stopped all movements, suddenly became quiet.

She neither attacked nor ran away, but just maintained the confrontation in silence. Gu Shen felt the focus of her gaze... That tall lady put away the boning knife.

"3...2...1..."

The countdown in her heart ended. The one minute that Wei Shu promised had arrived.

Nan Jin raised her head.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh--"

The silence of the suburban night sky was shattered. The roar of helicopter rotors sounded in the distance, and beams of strong light were projected, breaking through the dark night clouds and gathering on the three people on the lawn.

The cabin door on one side of the helicopter opened--

Nan Jin raised her head and saw a familiar face in the light.

The "reinforcements" that Wei Shu had asked for were actually...

The woman's expression was complicated, and she breathed out a long breath, her tense nerves relaxing.

...

...

"Nan Jin... I want to thank you on behalf of Da Teng City for successfully holding back A-009."

The moment he saw the helicopter arrive--

Wei Shu knew that the mission to detain A-009 was over.

Wei Shu withdrew from the Deep Sea link, his face as pale as paper.

Each link to the Deep Sea involved the uploading of a massive amount of data. It was not a simple matter to digest such a large amount of information. Wei Shu's temples bulged with blue veins, there were bursts of stinging pain, and the clothes on his back were already soaked with sweat.

His mental strength was exhausted.

At this moment, the man could only sit weakly in the chair, and even moving a finger was difficult.

The woman on the other end of the headset was silent.

"..."

Wei Shu knew what this silence meant. He smiled silently: "I'm sorry about one thing. I have reported this operation to Mr. Shu through the 'Deep Sea'. A-009 is too high a level. If we fail, we cannot bear the responsibility... If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Shu should have already arrived."

"... Yes, I've already seen him."

Nan Jin didn't say anything and hung up the call wearily.

She knew that Wei Shu had made a very correct choice.

"Rumble rumble rumble--"

Grass clippings flew.

The helicopter landed, and an invisible, gentle force spread out.

The powerful oppressive force brought by A-009 was slowly suppressed by a stronger force. The black-dressed woman wanted to move, but dozens of thick vines suddenly burst out from under her feet, spreading and wrapping around her. In just a few seconds, she had turned into a solidified wooden sculpture--

The vines wrapped around the tall woman continued to grow, constricting, tightening the dress, and becoming more and more secure.

But if you observe carefully, you will find that when these vines are entangled, there is a slight sizzling sound, which is the corrosive power of A-009 taking effect. These vines are very powerful in their binding, but they also have a time limit.

In the light of the helicopter, an old man in a Zhongshan suit slowly walked out.

"Teacher..."

Nan Jin's expression was complicated, and she wanted to say something.

The old man smiled and waved his hand, signaling Nan Jin not to be heavy, and to relax.

"Well done."

He leaned on his purple wooden dragon-headed crutch, slowly came to the side of the wood-sculpted lady, and looked at A-009 after being entangled, seeing the traces of Nan Jin's battle with it.

The old man patted the tall shoulders of the lady and laughed loudly: "As expected of my disciple, you now have the courage to challenge A-009? However, having courage is certainly a good thing, but it's not good to lose your life due to recklessness... You must cherish your life! This life is very precious, it's not worth losing it here!"

"..."

Nan Jin was a little regretful, and said softly, "If I do it again, I will do better."

"You have already done very well."

The old man stared at the wood sculpture, frowned, and said: "Compared to when I personally imprisoned it last time, A-009 has become much stronger. It's a miracle that you were able to hold on until I arrived... I just don't understand, what kind of stimulus did she encounter in just three days?"

As expected, there was some kind of change... Nan Jin hesitated for a moment and said, "The emergency report said that A-009 escaped because of a malfunction in the Deep Sea."

"Impossible." Mr. Shu shook his head, and said decisively: "The Deep Sea cannot malfunction."

Speaking of this, the old man suddenly stopped and looked at the young man Nan Jin was carrying.

Nan Jin also lowered her head, and the guy she was carrying was crawling on all fours, like a shrimp, obviously passed out.

"..."

At the last moment, fortunately he... saved my life.

It's hard to imagine that A-009 wouldn't kill him.

"After A-009 escaped, she took Line 13 alone... this guy stayed in the same carriage with her for a full 20 minutes." Nan Jin recalled a certain scene and her expression changed slightly, and said: "After I cut open the carriage, I saw that A-009 didn't kill him, the two of them were getting along peacefully."

"Oh?"

The old man raised his eyebrows and became interested.

"... Maybe it's just good luck." Nan Jin rubbed her eyebrows and explained for Gu Shen.

Mr. Shu stared at Gu Shen for a while and smiled: "An ordinary person can survive in A-009's hands, that luck is... too good, take him back for slicing and research."

The eyelids of a certain person who had passed out trembled, and he immediately jumped up, and as expected, he was immediately pressed to the ground.

Nan Jin's expression was strange.

This kid was actually pretending to be unconscious?

"Ah ha... want to run away?" Mr. Shu laughed heartily: "Don't be afraid, we are not good people."

He snapped his fingers.

With two "pata" sounds, two vines drilled out of the mud and turned into a pair of handcuffs, firmly locking Gu Shen's wrists.

"No escape, no escape, no escape, how dare I escape?"

Gu Shen took the opportunity to lie down, put his hands on his head, and made the standard posture of begging for mercy: "Even though you are using a crutch, Grandpa, look at me, my butt is all blossomed, can I outrun you?"

He still dares to satirize me, Mr. Shu's lips twitched, and he sneered: "Be good and come back with me, everyone is very interested in you."

"The kind of interest in slicing and research?" Gu Shen looked terrified and panicked a little.

"... You guess." The old man rubbed his chin and showed a meaningful "friendly" smile.

Several staff members put the tall wooden sculpture lady into a huge sealed container, and by the way, propped up Gu Shen.

The helicopter roared again.

"... Let's go."