PART 37
The underwater chamber erupted into a chaotic battle of light and sound,
the blue and red energy beams reflecting off the thick glass walls.
Arthur fought with a ruthless,
calculated precision,
using the copper pillars as cover while he dismantled the attackers' armor with his energy weapon.
Daniel pulled an old iron pipe from a broken console,
standing ready to defend the mercury basin with everything he had left.
I stood up slowly,
my internal processors analyzing the combat patterns of the Keepers of the Abyss in real-time.
"Their weapons are operating on a frequency of four hundred and twelve megahertz,"
I observed calmly.
"I can generate a localized electromagnetic pulse to disable their kinetic rifles."
"Then do it now,"
Arthur shouted,
ducking as another red blast melted a section of the bronze console next to him.
I closed my eyes,
allowing the silver lines on my skin to shift from green to a harsh,
crackling white.
I focused the energy into my palms,
slamming both hands down onto the wet copper floor plates beneath my feet.
A wave of invisible,
high-frequency energy rippled through the room,
causing the lights in the dome to flicker and die for a fraction of a second.
The weapons carried by the Keepers of the Abyss sputtered and went dark,
their internal batteries fried by the sudden surge.
The attackers looked down at their useless rifles in surprise,
their tactical advantage vanishing in an instant.
Arthur didn't hesitate;
he moved forward with blinding speed,
using his physical weapon to strike down the closest two guards,
rendering them unconscious on the floor.
The third attacker retreated toward the tunnel,
but Daniel stepped into his path,
swinging the iron pipe with all his strength.
The pipe struck the guard's helmet with a loud metallic clang,
sending the intruder crashing into a copper railing before they slumped to the ground.
Daniel lowered the pipe,
his chest heaving as he stared at the unconscious men,
his hands shaking from the adrenaline.
"Is it over?"
he asked,
looking around the silent dome.
"The physical threat has been neutralized,"
I replied,
walking back toward the mercury basin where my fluid integration had paused.
"However,
the time window for the seventh synchronization is closing rapidly."
I placed my hands back into the swirling pool of metal,
restarting the data upload that had been interrupted by the combat.
The deep-sea anchor flared with power,
and outside the glass,
a massive wave of blue light traveled through the ocean trenches,
illuminating the seabed for miles.
"Seventh node integrated,"
I announced,
feeling my consciousness expand even further across the planet's vast oceans.
"The global network is now operating at fifty-four percent efficiency."
The bronze map on the table glowed once more,
the silver lines shifting away from the deep ocean and pointing toward a new target.
The seventh anchor was complete,
May you like
and the path to the eighth node was opening up in the scorching,
shifting sands of the Egyptian desert.
