Chapter 1717: Tumor Behind the Heart

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

If the maintenance worker or Ghost Assassin had turned around, he would have been able to clearly see that the latch on the inner side of the maintenance hatch had actually been lifted up inch by inch without anyone controlling it.

It was as if an invisible ghost had infiltrated the Golden Roc.

Fortunately, the worker was in a hurry to leave and did not turn back.

Also, since the Golden Roc was still under construction, people would often open and close the core cabin’s maintenance hatch. The hinges, joints, and gears were all tightly fixed, making it extremely smooth. In addition, the liquid metallic material acted as a lubricant, so the hatch did not make any sound when it was opened.

Meng Chao activated his vitality magnetic field and used his spirit shield to form a special protective layer around his body to prevent the cold wind at the high altitude from invading the cabin together with him. That reduced the difference in temperature and pressure inside and outside the cabin to the extreme.

The two reconnaissance drones were a second away from appearing right behind Meng Chao.

However, he seemingly had a full hundred seconds to squander. His heart was calm, and his hands did not tremble. Even his eyelashes did not quiver. His palm gently stuck to the maintenance cabin cover and gently pulled it outward.

The maintenance hatch was successfully opened!

Immediately after, Meng Chao moved like a stream of mercury, a wisp of green smoke, and a beam of faint light. He slipped through the gap that was only as wide as his palm.

When the two reconnaissance drones finally arrived, the maintenance hatch was already closed. From the surface, there was no difference at all.

Meng Chao’s heart was definitely not as calm as it appeared on the surface.

He held his breath, and his five senses expanded to the maximum.

On one hand, he was paying attention to the reconnaissance drones outside. On the other, he was carefully listening to the footsteps of the guy who had just patrolled the area and left in a hurry.

That was close.

If that guy had stayed for a few more seconds or turned back, Meng Chao would have had to switch from “infiltrating” to “attacking.”

However, Meng Chao could vaguely feel that something was wrong.

That guy had come and gone so quickly. If it had been a routine patrol, he would not have been so anxious, right?

He would not notice anything carrying out such a casual if something was wrong!

Meng Chao did not believe that the Blood Alliance elites who were in charge of guarding the lair after Yun Feidian’s meticulous preparation would be so perfunctory.

‘Wait a minute. There’s more than one sound of footsteps.

‘There are also more than a dozen pairs of footsteps moving farther and farther away from the Golden Roc’s core cabin.

‘Judging from their long breaths, strong heartbeats, and burning vitality magnetic fields, they’re all experienced experts. They must be the Ghost Assassins whom Yun Feidian had meticulously trained. They’re the core members of the Blood Alliance, who are responsible for sending Lu Siya here.

‘That’s weird. Why are they leaving without Lu Siya?

‘No, they’re not “alone.” I also sense a few weak heartbeats and chaotic breaths. They seem to be engineers or maintenance workers on the Golden Roc. What exactly is going on?’

Meng Chao was baffled.

Then, he saw the “thing.”

It was a device installed behind the crystal engine.

The crystal engine in the Golden Roc’s core cabin seemed to be in a state of maintenance. The cover and dustproof cover inside had been removed, revealing the complicated wires and tubes inside. It was like a bottomless metal maze.

The device was connected to the back of a crystal engine. It was more than half a meter in length and width. It was connected to the crystal engine by more than ten messy wires. The workmanship was quite rough, and the installation was quite simple. It was unclear whether it was because of the lack of time or because… the device did not need to be precisely installed to work in the first place.

For some reason, the device made Meng Chao feel a chill in his heart.

He sensed a faintly dangerous aura from the ugly device. It was like a parasitic, malignant tumor on the back of his heart.

“This is…”

Meng Chao directed thousands of spirit magnets toward the device.

His eyes flickered with deep brilliance again as he scanned the device’s internal structure through its outer shell.

It only took him half a second to reach a conclusion.

Firstly, the device was not an original component of the crystal engine. It did not play any positive role in the crystal engine’s operation.

Secondly, someone had just installed the device. It was likely that the Ghost Assassin who had appeared in the maintenance channel had tampered with it.

Thirdly, the device had an independent power source…

No, if measured by the usual standard of a power source, the energy contained in the device would be too astonishing.

Even though it was tightly wrapped in a heavy metal shell, Meng Chao could still smell the scent of an Apocalyptic Beast inside the device.

The device was probably filled with a large amount of top-grade materials such as the blood, spinal cord, and brain matter of an Apocalyptic Beast, as well as a super energy source made of high-grade crystals.

Just by touching its shell with two fingers, Meng Chao’s cells all over his body screamed as though they were hungry.

If this super energy was fully released, it could make the enormous Golden Roc fly faster than the speed of a supersonic fighter jet. Of course, the premise was that the moment the Golden Roc broke through the sound barrier, it would not break into pieces or even be smashed into pieces.

Meng Chao’s pupils suddenly contractedinto two shiny silver needle tips.

With the above three points, he deduced what the device was.

No, it was neither a stabilizer or accelerator of a crystal engine nor a drive unit or a combat unit.

It was a crystal bomb, a super crystal bomb that was powerful enough to tear the Golden Roc’s core cabin into pieces!

Then again, it was not that simple.

The Golden Roc had multiple modules stacked on top of each other, each of which could be separated to fight independently.

Its core unit could also take the form of a super-large armored airship.

The crystal engine in front of Meng Chao and the propellers connected to it were all huge steel beasts.

To feed these two steel beasts, the daily consumption of crystal fuel was, of course, astronomical.

Naturally, the crystal fuel was stored not far from the crystal engines.

Basically, they were all within the range of the super crystal bombs.

There were worse things.

When the Golden Roc was in the “air fortress form,” where multiple armored airships were connected to each other, it would produce tremendous propulsion at the same time to connect the multiple crystal engines and propellers together.

Their fuel tanks would also be connected together with special tubes.

Under normal circumstances, there would still be multiple barriers and protective devices between the fuel tubes that were connected together.

Only when the command center gave specific instructions would the liquid crystal fuel be transferred from one fuel tank to another.

But now, Meng Chao discovered that the barriers and protective devices between all the fuel tubes had been opened!