This rhetorical question based on cold commercial logic caused some of the spamming mock bullet-chats to pause for an instant.
Catching this moment of silence, Su Xiaowei immediately pressed her advantage.
She continued in a convincing tone,
"Therefore, we reiterate: the destruction of the Third District branch is real! The contents of the wanted order against Cifera are real! And the live broadcast you are seeing now, transmitted by the high-precision stealth monitoring array deployed throughout our headquarters, is also absolutely real!"
She raised her hand, and the side of the virtual broadcast desk quickly switched to several miniature screens showing Cifera from different angles, demonstrating the coverage of the monitoring network.
Finally, Lin Ran took over. For the first time, his expression shifted from purely professional to one carrying a trace of a sense of mission.
"And today, we choose to conduct this undefended, panoramic live broadcast of the 'invasion,' even at the cost of making public the 'scandal' of 'one person paralyzing a branch'..." He took a deep breath, his gaze burning like a torch. "The core purpose is only one: Warning!"
Speaking of this, his voice suddenly rose, full of power.
"The threat level of the abilities Cifera has displayed far exceeds that of ordinary criminals! Her target definitely won't stop at Apex Entertainment! We are making this public in the hope that everyone—especially our partners, competitors, and all enterprises and individuals with important assets—can clearly see her danger and methods through this record! Raise your vigilance and take precautions! Her next target could very well be you!"
Lin Ran and Su Xiaowei's resounding "public service warning" argument, coupled with impeccable posture and logic, suppressed most of the mocking wave in the livestream like a precise public relations storm.
The doubting bullet-chats decreased rapidly like an ebbing tide, replaced by curiosity.
At this moment, as the elevator just reached L15, the broadcast image switched.
The perspective instantly shifted from inside the elevator to the outside.
And what entered the viewers' sight was an existence enough to make any flesh and blood feel despair.
It was a behemoth standing in the middle of the corridor just five meters from the elevator door, its cold alloy armor gleaming with a faint blue, icy light under the ceiling lamps.
It was over three meters tall, its massive body exuding power. Its arms were not like human arms; instead, they had been replaced by two heavy weapon platforms radiating a deadly aura.
At the end of the thick left arm were six barrels spinning at high speed to warm up, emitting a heart-palpitating "buzzing" sound; the right arm was a thick, short launcher.
At this moment, the robot's eyes glowed red, like a demon's stare, locked dead onto the closed elevator doors.
"Viewers, please pay attention!" Lin Ran's voice sounded timely, carrying a highly professional feel. "What appears outside the elevator door right now is the latest generation heavy defense unit from Arasaka Tech—the 'King Kong' Mk-IV!"
"Its left arm is equipped with a 20mm magnetic rail rotary machine gun. Utilizing electromagnetic acceleration technology, it has an extremely high rate of fire, and the initial velocity of the projectiles is enough to tear through standard military armor! The right arm carries a 40mm smart shotgun, loaded with pre-fragmented and armor-piercing smart ammunition, possessing devastating close-range lethality and excellent wall-penetrating effects! Simply put, this is a weapon born to create absolute 'kill zones' in narrow spaces!"
[20mm railgun?! 40mm smart shotgun?! Using this on an office floor?! Does Apex Entertainment want to blow up the entire L15 floor?!]
[This density of firepower... let alone a person, even a light armored vehicle would be shredded in an instant!]
[It's over! It's over! Cifera is still in the elevator! This is literally closing the door to beat the dog, catching a turtle in a jar!]
[This robot looks terrifying. How is Cifera supposed to fight that?!]
The bullet-chats were instantly drowned in exclamations; everyone was stunned by this terrifying military configuration.
At this time, Su Xiaowei spoke up immediately, her voice calmly analyzing the current situation.
"What's more critical is the tactical situation. At this moment, Cifera is still in the narrow elevator with zero visibility. Furthermore, she is completely unaware that a terrifying defense armor has already locked onto her in advance. It's an absolute state of 'the enemy is in the dark while I am in the light.' And according to pre-set programs, the moment the elevator was intercepted, this 'King Kong' Mk-IV had already completed its fire lock and pre-charging. It will not wait for the 'ceremonial' opening of the elevator doors..."
Before she finished speaking!
As if to verify her commentary—
"Buzz—Bzzzzzt!!!"
In the corridor, the driving sound of the high-speed spinning warm-up suddenly reached its peak, and even the hidden weapon ports on its top and side walls were fully deployed.
Almost in the very next second, the six high-speed spinning barrels on the King Kong Mk-IV's left arm outside the elevator erupted into a deafening roar.
"Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!!!!!"
In an instant, the angry roar of a metal storm capable of tearing eardrums suddenly rang out. 20mm magnetic rail projectiles, moving at a terrifying supersonic speed and carrying devastating kinetic energy, poured frantically like a torrential rain onto the heavy alloy elevator doors.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The dense, almost gapless impact sounds merged into an ear-piercing scream of death. The sturdy elevator doors, facing the terrifying metal storm, were like fragile cardboard, instantly punctured with countless terrifying holes the size of bowls.
Scorching metal fragments, flying sparks, and instantly vaporized metal steam mixed with pungent gunpowder smoke spewed out from the countless holes. In just a short second, the entire elevator door turned into a honeycomb riddled with holes!
"Boom—!!!"
Holding on for barely two seconds, the already overwhelmed elevator doors completely disintegrated under the continuous impact of the metal torrent, the twisted alloy fragments collapsing inward.
But this was only the beginning!
The moment the doors fell, even more rain of bullets poured unimpeded into the narrow cabin, and the 40mm smart shotgun on the right arm joined this symphony of destruction!
"Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The dull and powerful sound of artillery fire rang out. Every shot was accompanied by high-explosive shrapnel and armor-piercing steel balls splashing frantically over a wide area inside the elevator! The entire narrow space was completely submerged in metal, fire, smoke, and deafening roars!
As far as the eye could see, there was only a chaotic scene of destruction!
A full ten seconds.
This saturation fire coverage executed by a cold machine lasted for a full ten seconds before the angry roars of guns and cannons finally stopped.
The smoke slowly dispersed, revealing a hellish scene inside the elevator.
The four walls of the cabin were covered with dense craters and torn metal. The floor was covered with a thick layer of scorching shell casings mixed with twisted metal fragments.
The air was distorted with heat, filled with choking gunpowder smoke and the smell of melted metal. Let alone a person, not even an intact fly could exist in this area that had been thoroughly plowed by the metal storm.
[D... dead, right? Could anyone survive that?!]
[@Forensics, come quick! I found a large number of bullets and a small amount of human tissue at a murder scene!]
[It's over just like that? Too sudden, right? I feel like I haven't watched enough...]
[Wake up above, even an A rank wouldn't survive this firepower! Teleportation needs reaction time too! Phasing through walls? Is phasing faster than bullets? She's not a ghost!]
[But the wanted order says she has 'teleportation'! What if she ran a fraction of a second before the firing started?]
Immediately, the bullet-chats split into a "definitely dead faction" and a "lucky faction," arguing endlessly.
At this moment, Lin Ran's voice sounded, carrying a trace of caution.
"To be honest, whether Cifera escaped, or by what means she escaped, we cannot confirm at present. After all, as stated in the wanted order, her abilities are full of unknowns. Moreover, everyone, don't forget that in the Third District branch, she also faced a similar heavy firepower encirclement."
His tone carried a hint of suggestion leaning toward "she might still be alive."
"I have reservations about that, Lin Ran." Su Xiaowei immediately followed up. She shook her head slightly, her face bearing a rational analysis. "Even if she possesses superhuman speed or special abilities, under this heavy firepower coverage with almost zero warning, the probability of survival is minuscule. Even if she really reacted the instant the firing started, it's absolutely impossible for her to be completely unharmed! The firing rate of the rotary machine gun and the coverage of the shotgun almost eliminate the possibility of a perfect dodge."
"Oh?" Lin Ran raised an eyebrow, instantly knowing his partner was ready to continue manipulating the audience's emotions.
Seeing this, a playful smile appeared on his face.
"It seems Commentator Su is very confident? Why don't we make a bet right now? Bet on whether Miss Cifera is completely unharmed?"
"Sure!" Su Xiaowei smiled confidently. "I bet she's definitely injured! The stakes are..."
But before Su Xiaowei could finish, Lin Ran interrupted her.
"It seems our bet can end early." Lin Ran's tone carried a trace of amazement and imperceptible excitement. "Viewers, please look behind the King Kong Mk-IV!"
As his words fell, the broadcast image switched instantly.
The perspective changed directly to a high overlooking point directly behind the defense robot.
There, at the junction of the back of the neck and the shoulders covered by heavy alloy armor on the King Kong Mk-IV—whose cannon barrels were still emitting curling blue smoke after just finishing a round of devastating shooting—
A slender figure had quietly arrived at some point.
The "Cifera" was now half-crouching steadily on the shoulder armor of this steel behemoth, one knee slightly bent.
Moreover, everyone also saw her tail slowly raising at this moment. The sharp blade suspended on the tail was flashing, aiming straight at the head of this heavy defense armor.
She just crouched there quietly, as if she had casually landed on an inconspicuous foothold. But the aura exuding from her entire body made everyone who saw this scene feel a chill rise from their spines!
When did she appear?! How did she dodge that devastating metal storm?! And how did she silently climb onto this war machine over three meters tall and covered in sensors?!
Immediately, after a brief silence, the livestream was instantly submerged by a tsunami of bullet-chats!
All the arguments, doubts, and analyses turned into pure shock at this moment!
[Holy crap!!!]
[Ghost!!!]
[Sh-sh-she, how is she up there?! When?!]
[Unharmed?! Are you kidding me?!]
[That tail! What is she going to do?!]
[Run big guy! There's a cat behind you! (Voice cracking)]
Then, just as the bullet-chats were expressing shock, Pardofelis, crouching on the heavy defense armor, moved.
"Swish—!"
A faint but highly penetrating sound of tearing metal broke the silence.
Pardofelis, crouching on the heavy armor's shoulder, moved. That seemingly slender tail instantly turned into a deadly thrust at this moment. The sharp blade attached to the tip of the tail stabbed into a gap in the heavy armor's back neck with incomparable precision.
There were no expected sparks flying, no sound of metal colliding, only a tearing sound like a hot knife cutting through butter.
Under the gaze of hundreds of thousands of eyes, that tail blade flashing with cold light plunged unimpeded into the composite alloy armor of the King Kong Mk-IV, which was claimed to be able to withstand high-intensity armor-piercing shells. The process was so easy, it was almost like piercing a soft piece of tofu.
Immediately after—
Zzzzt—Crackle!!!
A blinding blue-white lightning violently erupted from the pierced armor hole. The violent electrical current, like countless tiny electric snakes, instantly coursed through the King Kong's massive internal body.
After a split second, its electronic eyes flashing with scarlet light violently dimmed like snuffed candles, then went out completely. Even the massive body began to emit a dull "buzzing..." sound.
Immediately after, all movements of this heavy armor froze instantly. The heavy metal joints locked completely, maintaining a posture of trying to turn around but failing, freezing with a loud crash in place.
"Swish!"
Seeing this, Pardofelis nimbly withdrew her tail. Accompanied by the extraction of the tail blade, thick black smoke carrying a burnt smell, mixed with fine electric arcs, billowed out from the finger-thick wound.
The war machine that was roaring destructively just a moment ago had now turned into a pile of expensive scrap metal smoking black smoke!
"That's... Impossible!" At the commentator's desk, Lin Ran, usually known for his calmness, lost his composure for the first time and let out an unbelievable voice. He even subconsciously leaned forward, almost pouncing onto the virtual screen. "That... That is the high-strength composite armor Arasaka Tech is proud of! It can withstand direct hits from large-caliber armor-piercing shells! But in front of her tail... it's actually... actually as fragile as a piece of paper?!"
His voice was filled with shock.
Su Xiaowei's face also paled slightly, but she forcefully suppressed the surging waves in her heart and quickly switched to technical analysis mode. She added with a barely noticeable tremble in her voice:
"What... what's more fatal is the instantaneous subsequent EMP effect! The moment her tail pierced in, it instantly released an ultra-high-intensity electromagnetic pulse capable of paralyzing large vehicles! The precision electronic components and central processor inside the King Kong, under that level of energy impact... were instantly... burned to ashes!"