Wizard: Become stronger by drawing cards from the potions variety show

"That's right."

Although Cecily knew that Lao Hei couldn't see, he nodded subconsciously.

"They should have a dedicated technical team. The bionic robots you see now aren't actually that powerful—Kara discovered a fatal flaw in a previous version, but it was fixed in about an hour."

After hearing what Cecily said, Old Black responded:

"Hacking and IT maintenance are not the same thing... Never mind. It doesn't matter to you anyway."

"But judging by the current situation, you might actually be right. The other party's defenses don't seem to be the AI ​​system built into the confidential building. There are indeed hackers behind the scenes."

Cecily felt his body gradually recovering, and he was in the mood to tease Old Black: "Then it can only be the freshmen? It seems that you are not that strong. Two freshmen have stumped you."

Lao Hei replied indifferently, "It's normal for freshmen to be better than me. There's even a monster over in the Free Zone. He infiltrated the AI ​​network as a teenager, granted himself permissions, stole a small piece of control, and achieved financial freedom for a few hours, and he hasn't been caught yet."

"Not caught? How do you know he's only a teenager?"

"Because the AI ​​discovered his original identity information and deliberately left it, the key information had long been erased. He also used his authority to forge a large number of identity records for himself. It can be said that it will be extremely difficult to catch him in the future."

Lao Hei sighed.

It can be seen that this incident had a profound impact on Lao Hei, so much so that the taciturn Lao Hei actually seemed somewhat talkative at this moment.

"I can't even think of this kind of operation, but they can make it happen."

"That's amazing. But he also proved that a good human hacker isn't necessarily worse than an AI."

"I have talent, but there are many people who are more talented than me. However, this does not affect the meaning of my existence. Learning technology itself interests me, and I will not change this passion just because others are better than me."

"Even if one day I lose interest because my skills are not as good as others, I might travel, learn photography, or try other things I haven't done before. After going around in circles, maybe one day I will pick up skills again, and then I will have more new ideas."

The teasing on Cecily's face gradually faded, his eyes lost focus, and after a long while he said softly, "Thank you, Old Black, I understand."

Lao Hei said calmly, "No need to thank me. I just shared my life plan. What you understand is your own business."

"Since you're in good shape now, I'll tell you a good news and a bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"Ah?" Cecily didn't catch up with Old Black's jumping thoughts for a moment, but he still said subconsciously: "Good news."

"The good news is, there was an ambush at the second map. Luckily, we were delayed for a while and didn't go there."

Cecily thought about it and realized that this was indeed good news.

Otherwise, you will not only waste time but also take great risks.

"What about the bad news?"

"The bad news is that David has been captured. The defenses in the classified building are much stronger than we expected. There are at least two more special robots like the one just now."

"It's really bad." Cecily nodded in agreement. Just imagining facing three of those robots at the same time was a bit overwhelming...

"Did David go to find the second blueprint?"

"Yes. 1024 approached me about collaborating on controlling the security system surrounding the second blueprint. Together, the two of us achieved the technical requirements to temporarily take over the battle robot fleet. While it didn't last long, it should have been enough to allow him to obtain the blueprint."

"It sounds like it's working. However, since it failed, were those special robots responsible?"

"That's right, it's a trap. Although there are many ordinary combat robots, their range of movement is limited by the underlying logic. We are only temporarily taking over the command authority and cannot go in to help David fight."

"By the time I broke through the restrictions and entered, David had already been surrounded by two special bionic robots. David's condition had not yet fully recovered, so there was no possibility of escape."

"However, while they were fighting, I did steal some information: Remiel and Avalon have also been arrested. It's very likely that they leaked your information. In other words, your combat characteristics and operational habits have been completely exposed."

The bad news came one after another.

Cecily said helplessly: "How can this be bad news? This is a lot of bad news!"

Of the eight teams, three have already been defeated, and two of them were eliminated quietly.

Is this a bit beyond the scope of the difficulty?

No, to be precise, the abilities of the younger students exceeded the standard.

Aren't freshmen supposed to be silly and mumble over their textbooks? When will they be able to do this?

The new bionic combat robots they created can simulate martial arts, and their proficiency in fighting moves is even higher than that of many students in their class... Is this fair?

"Get ready, we'll be out of here in three minutes."

"What happened? It'll take me at least fifteen minutes to fully recover."

Although Cecily was not clear about the current situation, he believed in Lao Hei's judgment.

Lao Hei explained, "The arrest of these three people means their communication ports have been completely controlled. Your original encrypted channel is no longer secure. Although I deleted the channel port you were using and erased as much remaining information as possible, I didn't have time to clean it up completely. The other party will soon find you through the remaining information on the port."

"But we have blocked the port now, so they shouldn't be able to locate it, right?" Cecily asked, scratching his head.

"They don't need real-time positioning to obtain our information. The port itself continuously records data about the surrounding environment, and your every move is monitored by it. As long as this data is in the hands of the other party, they can quickly infer our location."

"Five minutes is the limit I can get. Any longer than that and we could be exposed at any moment. We must evacuate in advance and get as far away from our current position as possible. Three minutes is a relatively safe time."

A minute passed between questions and answers.

"But where can I go? As things stand, no matter where I go, as long as I can't defeat the three special robots, the result will be the same. As long as we have someone guarding the last blueprint, we won't be able to get it."

But Lao Hei said, "The situation is not that bad yet."

"You still have the advantage in numbers. As long as we can get together, it shouldn't be a problem for five of you to take on three bionic combat robots. According to my estimation, the strength of each robot is roughly on the level of Luo Haoyu. As long as you cooperate well, you still have a chance."

Cecily shook his head. "It's difficult. If they were all at Luo Haoyu's level, and the three of them worked together, even if we had the advantage in numbers, it would be difficult to win."

"You're not a combat professional, so you might not understand. The terrifying thing about these robots is that they completely lack human inertia. They're not bound by the origins of their moves, and they have no combat habits. They might be attacking aggressively one moment, then switching to tight defense the next, with no warning. That's what's most frustrating."

"It doesn't matter, we will take action." Lao Hei said suddenly.

"Ah? Didn't you just say that there's no way to hack them for the time being?"

"That's 'temporary'. If we extend the time, there will still be loopholes that can be exploited. After all, I've been studying for longer than them, so I must have some tricks up my sleeve."

"As expected of you, Old Black, you make people feel at ease!" Cecily gave a thumbs up, regardless of whether the other party could see it or not.

He stood up from the medical bay.

Three minutes were almost up, so to be on the safe side, he decided to set off early.

"So the current situation is that I have to find other teammates to reunite as soon as possible?" Cecily confirmed.

Several people who were competitors before naturally changed their identities and became teammates at this moment.

"Yes. The others also have their own hackers to assist them. Don't worry, we will do our best to guide you to reunite."

The device on Cecily's wrist projected a virtual arrow that hovered in front of him.

"Follow the arrow and meet up with Kara as planned. You two are the top fighters right now, and nothing can happen to you."

"clear."

Cecily responded and immediately followed the signs.

He must hurry up.

He did not forget that there were three special combat robots watching them closely, following their tracks and trying to capture them.

"In other words, the nature of the mission has changed. My juniors and the others want to capture as many of us as possible before we reunite and weaken our resistance. We must reunite as quickly as possible to avoid being defeated one by one."

"Yes," Lao Hei confirmed. "However, I also checked their production queue information: about every two hours, a new bionic robot will be produced. So we must act quickly. Time is running out."

"Ah?" Cecily felt overwhelmed.

Bad news really comes one after another.

Originally, during the three-day mission, they were the attacking party, holding the initiative. But now the situation has completely reversed.

If a new robot is added every two hours, there will be a total of 24 new robots by the end of the mission! If you stand next to the blueprint at that time, you will have no chance of getting it.

Even considering material limitations, once the number of robots reaches eight or more, deployed on average next to two blueprints, their chances of successfully stealing will be greatly reduced.

We must act now!

Cecily felt an unprecedented sense of urgency, the pressure of time.

The three-day mission was compressed into two hours, forcing them to act hastily, which put them in a passive position. But there was no better way at the moment.

"The situation isn't that desperate. I can find a way to delay their production, but only by an hour at most. In other words, you must obtain the remaining blueprints within three hours. Once it exceeds three hours, the chances of success will be greatly reduced."

"clear."

……

On the hillside far away from the evacuation point, four disguised guys were stealthily peeking and observing.

"No one, no movement at all."

Jode rubbed his chin. "Something's wrong. According to previous battle block mission procedures, at least some people should have evacuated by now. Why is it so quiet?"

From their commanding heights, they had a panoramic view of the route from the classified building to the evacuation point. However, several hours had passed, and no one had successfully evacuated.

Four blueprints, six teams, and not even one was obtained? This is too useless, isn't it?

Avalon couldn't help but yell, "If we had known, we would have gone in on our own instead of sitting here doing nothing! Are you sure the traps at the other evacuation points are okay? What if they slip away somewhere else and we don't get the alert?"

Qiao De shook his head: "Impossible. I asked someone to make this trap device. It's the first time I put it into use. How could they be prepared?"

"The only explanation is that they were fighting inside."

"If the task itself isn't difficult, naturally no one would choose a conservative strategy. Everyone wants to get more blueprints, so competition is inevitable."

"As long as someone starts fighting, the remaining people will try to take advantage of the situation and will not withdraw."

"Maybe only one team will come out in the end. If we succeed in the ambush, all the plans will be ours."

Avalon scratched his head in annoyance, pacing back and forth, occasionally throwing a few punches out of nowhere.

Joad glanced at him: "Itchy hands?"

"It's so boring," Avalon complained. "I didn't realize it before, but now I realize how boring ambushes are. Is this always the case with you?"

"Almost. But I won't be as prone to moving around and being exposed as you are."

"Boring, feels like I'm just sitting here in a pit. Hours in ambush, two minutes in battle... I have enough time to play the next round."

"Alright, then just charge in and fight now. I won't stop you. I want to see if you can break out of Kara and David's encirclement. Your mission completion rate is less than 30%, not even half of mine."

Jode directly showed the data and spoke.

Avalon shrugged. "It's boring, but I'm not saying I won't do it."

As the two were bickering, their communication port suddenly received a message. They looked at each other, and Qiao De first turned on the incognito mode, then used the program to isolate and extract the message content:

[Avalon! Jord! You two, stop blocking the bridge! If we don't get the blueprints this time, we're all doomed! Come help!]

The rapid-fire words were spoken at an extremely fast pace, and one could feel the sender's panic between the lines.

The four people looked at each other.

Joad stroked his chin: "Avalon, what do you think? Is it a trap? Or a snare?"

Avalon rolled his eyes at him: "Aren't you saying the same thing?"

"I think it's true. Cecily, though a bit slow, is a good person. He always takes things as they come when he needs them, believing in 'if you can pass, then pass. If you can't, then it means you're not strong enough.'"

"He often said, 'Get down to business.' He never forced himself to take on tasks beyond his capabilities, so it's unlikely he would try to trick us out like this. It's a bit too simple, and easy to spot."

"Perhaps it's because it's so simple that we can let our guard down."

Jode said casually, looking at Yuri and Lina beside him: "You two little guys, tell me what you think?"