In fact, when the final chapter of the first dungeon in “I Picked Up A Traveling Light Brain” reached this point, even the backend at Huanyu was once again shocked by the surge in comments.
It was the last chance and Si Yao had proceeded with great caution to a degree that amazed everyone, yet the biggest variable still emerged–Experiment Subject 114!
[What do I do? I don’t even dare to turn the page anymore, wuuu. Teacher Fish Soup Noodles isn’t going to drop another knife, right!?]
[Help me, help me! Has anyone read ahead and can spoil it? I’m really scared I won’t be able to sleep at all tonight! If it’s a BE, I’m really not reading anymore!]
Shaxs, who was reading the updates under his quilt, felt his heart jump to his throat.
As an editor, Shaxs knew that Si Yao definitely didn’t die, after all, there were still several dungeons left, but please, not another death reset!
The last time, when Si Yao lost his second-to-last chance and died at 114’s hands, the comment section had already exploded.
If it happened again in tonight’s finale, Shaxs couldn’t even imagine what kind of bloodbath would unfold the next day.
Leave alone the romance subplot, if this were a no-CP novel, the situation would already be at mortal enemy status!
Shaxs swallowed nervously and, with trembling fingers, tapped to the next page on his light brain, only for his eyes to widen immediately.
Because Si Yao neither screamed nor showed fear. Instead, he simply let go of the doorknob.
[[“Why did you wake up suddenly? Is the temperature of the incubation pod off?”
His tone was as casual as a routine inspection, with no trace of someone sneaking into an office to steal something.
In fact, Si Yao’s heartbeat was already near its limit, yet within seconds, he rapidly calculated the current situation.
The director behind him was delayed by obstacles, and it would take him at least sixty more seconds to arrive. As long as this ‘father and son’ didn’t meet, there was still a chance to turn things around.
In this life, he knew 114 extremely well, and right now, the other party was clearly not in a berserk state.
That meant there was still a possibility of communication!
“…”
Sure enough, 114’s attention was drawn by Si Yao’s rare expression.
But after several seconds of contemplation, 114 simply held the signal tower box in his hands, looked at Si Yao, and shook his head.
At this moment, Si Yao no longer had the time or patience to guess what 114 was trying to convey, as he usually did. If things dragged on any longer, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Can you give me the thing in your hands? It’s very dangerous.”
Left with no choice, Si Yao took the risk and tried to coax him.
Right now, 114 was like a ticking time bomb with only seconds left on the countdown. Si Yao had no choice but to gamble on this.
What made his heart skip a beat, however, was that after a brief silence, 114 actually handed over the signal tower box as if giving away a toy.
He really got it!?
“You really came here…”
But at the same time, the director appeared at the end of the corridor, his face twisted with rage as he glared at Si Yao standing in his office.
“You despicable, shameless thief, burglar, fraud!”
Perhaps the director could no longer even be considered human, he was more like a massive mechanical spider. Only a faint resemblance to his former humanoid appearance remained on his face.
But Si Yao didn’t even turn around at the sound of his voice. He had already begun rapidly and steadily inputting the decryption code for the crucial signal tower box, relying on information a player who had drawn the “office informant” role at the start of this dungeon had risked his life to get.
This signal tower box could not only disable the entire planet’s signal blockade but also grant launch authorization to the starship. And right now, people were already waiting at the launch site.
But, as he entered the final digit of the password and the screen displayed “Successfully Opened”, the box lid lifted…revealing nothing inside.
!?
How was this possible?]]
“Damn it! How can it be empty!?”
Shaxs, who had been holding his breath while reading, suddenly shot up from his bed.
At the same time, the same screams and pounding of beds could be heard in front of countless light brains.
How was this possible?
The readers were even more shocked, furious, and on the verge of madness than Si Yao himself!
“We finally got here, and there’s still a problem, damn it! I’m seriously about to lose my mind!”
Shaxs clawed at his head, torn between wanting to kill that psychopathic director or stabbing the author who wrote all this!
Couldn’t Si Yao just catch a break for once?
Did they even realize how hard this journey had been? Did they have a heart at all? TwT
[ Damn it, why is our Si Yao’s life so difficult? He just wants to clear the dungeon and survive! Teacher, Fish Soup Noodles, you… (heart-wrenching scream) ]
[ Could it be that the director pulled a trick? He put an empty box there on purpose? But did 114 already know it was empty? Is that why he hesitated when Si Yao asked for it? ]
[ That would mean an even worse scenario…did the informant player who gave the clue betray Si Yao? No way, right? Not at such a crucial moment! If that happened, I’d seriously lose it! ]
As emotions peaked, the comment section exploded in mere seconds, nearly overwhelming the entire comment section.
This climactic chapter sent Fish fans into a frenzy, and all kinds of speculation and conspiracy theories flooded in. They were too agitated to sleep and really wanted to read another hundred pages!
Has Si Yao really been betrayed?
[[ But in the moment Si Yao’s pupils contracted to the extreme, he immediately dismissed the possibility that player Sarah had betrayed him with false information.
Because Sarah was the first player he had ever saved.
In the real world, she was a young college student with no ability to defend herself and should have been one of the first to be eliminated in this dungeon. But she had undergone a transformation through the life-or-death trials, and later even provided him with countless critical pieces of intelligence.
Most importantly, Sarah was the only player who knew his true identity, and the director had clearly been unaware of it until now. If Sarah had betrayed him, there was no reason for her to keep that key detail from the director.
That left only one possibility…the director had been wary from the start and had deliberately fed Sarah false information!
“Hahahahaha!”
The originally furious director, upon seeing Si Yao take the signal tower box from 114, suddenly slowed his mechanical legs. He even laughed so hard the floor trembled.
“The little insect who stole the information probably has no idea she personally delivered a fatal message to you, does she, Freak?”
“It’s just a shame, I truly never expected it to be you. 114, kill him for me!”
As the director stepped closer, his eyes flashed with rage, fury, and mockery. Si Yao’s fingers clenched around the box until the knuckles turned white.
But just as the director screamed out his command, the next second, he froze, his expression twisting into shock and disbelief.
Because 114 had stabbed straight through his chest.
Not only that, but within seconds, several giant mechanical blades suddenly struck from behind, slicing precisely through the most vulnerable joints of his legs.
Sparks flew as he collapsed heavily to the ground!
“Director Si! We’re not too late, are we? Sarah said you were here!”
The one-armed mercenary Mosen, whom Si Yao had once saved, led a group of powerful players charging in.
Panting and drenched in sweat, they scanned the fallen director before quickly searching for Si Yao’s figure.
In fact, just moments earlier, when the director had recognized Si Yao among the crowd, everyone had been stunned.
Because “Director Si” was the only high-ranking member of the Nest who had refused all mechanical body modifications that, deemed “rewards”, from start to finish, making him the weakest among them all physically.
Everyone had assumed that the legendary, mysterious and powerful “Freak” would at least be a high-combat mercenary like Mosen. But no one expected it to be Si Yao, who was so stunning he looked like nothing more than a decorative vase!
Especially Mosen, he was so embarrassed.
Back when he had privately cursed the upper ranks of the Nest, he had sneered with disdain at this so-called lapdog of the director.
Who would have thought that the “Freak” he idolized the most was actually him!
“You’re not late, and you all did a great job this time.”
Seeing the bewildered expressions of Mosen and the others, Si Yao gave a genuine smile for the first time in a long time.
He knew they could be trusted.
But just as Mosen and his team were about to celebrate, still unsure how to react to the unexpected praise, Si Yao suddenly dropped his expression, frowned, and gave a loud warning: “Don’t come any closer!”
Mosen and the others immediately turned in horror to look at 114, who had suddenly appeared behind Si Yao.
“114!? He’s still alive!”
But the special toxin meant for experimental subjects had already been hidden beneath the laboratory drawer in advance. According to the plan, the Freak was supposed to retrieve it and pour it into the nutrient fluid!
“It was me. I didn’t use that vial of poison.”
Si Yao explained softly.
That’s right, at the last moment, he had hesitated instinctively.
The neurotoxin in that vial would have completely destroyed the central nervous system of a mechanical creation. Without its command center, no matter how strong the body was, it would be meaningless.
But just as Si Yao’s fingers brushed against the vial, memories of dying to 114 in the second-to-last cycle flooded his mind again.
In that cycle, he had already done everything he possibly could. The only difference was his mindset toward 114. He had been filled with wariness, caution, and a killing intent.
It was entirely different from the first cycle, when he had seen 114 Su Yan for the first time and simply admired him as a miraculous creation.
And so, the response he received from 114 had been entirely different as well.
At that point, Si Yao, who was reviewing the situation, couldn’t help but suspect whether 114 possessed some kind of animal-like instinct? One that allowed him to sense all the malice and hostility around him and react accordingly, like a mirror?
So, after a long silence, Si Yao ultimately chose a strong sedative instead.
Looking back now, if he had chosen poison, would it have enraged 114 immediately? Perhaps there wouldn’t have been any subsequent plot left after that.
Or if 114 had really died, then during the final battle just now, without 114’s last fatal strike that made the director stop, he would have died at the director’s hands in the final second before Mosen and the others arrived.
All in all, by not using the toxin, perhaps he had unknowingly made the best possible choice.
And 114’s role in this dungeon seemed to be far from over.
“You mean… press down and twist?”
Si Yao watched as 114 motioned for him to touch the director’s teacup on the table. Under the wary gazes of everyone else, he forced himself to suppress his doubts, pursed his lips, and followed 114’s instructions.
Sure enough, after turning the teacup forward eight times and then backward seven, the bookshelf in the office suddenly swung open.
The real signal tower box was sitting quietly in the center.
“What the…this…!?”
Mosen and the others turned and looked at 114 in disbelief. They never expected that this guy would actually help them.
This time, Si Yao successfully opened the tower box and entered the password. Finally, without any further incidents, the signal blockade on this isolated planet was lifted, and they began broadcasting a signal to the Central Star!
When everyone saw the Nest’s indicator lights shutting off one by one, they erupted into wild cheers.
