We continued venturing deeper in Exurtra Labs. We passed the clean, white, halls, arrived at the massive robotic head, and kept going. And then - we stopped at the massive door, the deepest part we've explored yet. Beyond this door, none of us knew what lay there. However...one thing was for sure. There was a strange unsettling feeling in my heart.

Since we came here last time...that scientist really didn't implement any cameras or automated defenses to protect this place from us? Even if the scientist is a mad man who cares only about his own research, I'd expect his business partner, that Holy Emperor woman, to think with a straight head.

There were only two explanations here - one, they were really that stupid. In which case, that would be good for us. But the other...would be if this was a trap, and they wanted us to come here today. If that's the case...not so good.

The girls noticed the worry on my face, and asked worriedly.

"What's wrong, Xuan Kai?

" Feng Mian asked, frowning slightly in concern.

I shook my head.

"Nothing...it's just...we haven't triggered any defenses so far.

"

Yu An Yan raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that a good thing?

"

I scratched my head.

"Well...normally, yes. But I find it pretty hard to believe that they haven't detected over a hundred people invading their home...it almost feels as if...our mission has been too successful so far. I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong - but hey, it's probably nothing, and I'm just tense from losing Mei Gui. Let's keep moving.

"

The girls appeared to still be pretty worried, but we continued walking nonetheless. This time, however, the door we stopped at last time - swung open, as if inviting us to answer. By this point, I was certain. They had expected us to come here.

I signaled for everyone to stop.

"Wait, everyone. This door...it shouldn't have swung open by itself like that. They know we're here...and they want a fight.

"

Old Xia snorted.

"Well, if they want a fight, we're gonna give one to 'em. No backin' down now, kid.

"

I sighed.

"Yeah...you're right. But...let's be careful, just in case. We don't know what they're going to send our way.

"

We all nodded, and entered the room. It was empty...or at least, so we thought. The moment the last one of us entered, the door shut behind us tightly. I spun around in surprise.

"Damn it...

" I muttered.

"If they use some kind of poison gas here...it could be lethal.

"

"Don't worry,

" Old Man Leng said, placing his hand on the door and applying some pressure, as if testing something.

"This thing isn't that durable. Worst comes to worst...we can blow our way out of here.

"

Just when I was about to sigh in relief at his words, however, the walls all around us - slid open, to reveal battle robots residing within them. They turned on, and began marching out of their lairs, mechanical red eyes staring at us intently.

"...I'm guessin' these are the robots ya fought last time?

" Old Xia asked, an unexpected grin on his face.

I nodded.

"Yeah. We didn't try fighting them last time, though...we just ran away.

"

"Hmph. Cowards,

" Old Xia snorted, then began channeling his mana.

"You're not going to use your gun?

" Qing Yue asked in surprise.

"Heh. Guns are only useful for fights with cover, where speed and precision is key. Here? These guys got a huge hitbox, and are slow as hell too. What's the point in usin' a gun?

" Old Xia scoffed, then chanted.

"Level Three Fire Magic - Starfire Blitz.

"

A brilliant crescent-shaped cloud of fire formed in each of his two hands, and he launched them towards the robots. As soon as he threw one, another new crescent appeared in his hand, and this process repeated for about four times - meaning he had six crescents in total. Normal fire wouldn't do anything against these durable robots, but this was no normal fire. This was starfire - a special brand of Fire Magic. It combines the power of the stars with the flames of magic to create a powerful new weapon. The spell he just used, Starfire Blitz, was just one of the numerous spells within this family of Fire Magic.

Although this family of spells was powerful, however, apparently only certain people could use it. People born with the gift of the stars. Without this innate power, you could not draw strength from the cosmos, thus failing to execute starfire spells.

The crescents of starfire cut through the projectiles the robots shot at us with ease...and also the robots themselves. Instead of being a burning orange like normal fire, starfire was a mixture of blue, purple, and yellow. It sliced the robots cleanly in half, and they exploded soon after.

"Don't just stand there watchin'!

" Old Xia yelled.

"There's guys on your side too!

"

I snapped back to my senses, and turned to face the various robots on my side - there were ten in total. This room was massive, so I figured it would be safe to assume there were even more that had yet to come out.

"Feng Mian, slow them down!

" I instructed, and she nodded.

"Level Two Ice Magic - Blizzard!

"

Immediately, the robots found themselves within a snowstorm, slowed by the tons of snow on the ground and the wind blowing against them.

Since I was in front of outsiders, I had to chant properly.

"Level Two Poison Magic - Acid Frenzy!

"

Sending out a wave of corrupting acid in the robots' direction, I waited. This spell was similar to the Legendary Tier spell Xuan Yang had once used against me in our fight - Acid Flood. However, this was on a far smaller scale, and I couldn't manipulate the acid to my will.

But alas, this was enough. Paired with Feng Mian's Blizzard, my acid has all the time in the world to corrode the robots' metal, and eventually destroy their internal wires and such. They couldn't get a target lock-on thanks to all the snow as well, so we were completely safe, and just had to wait until my acid did its work.

On the other side of the room, Old Xia continued to use his starfire magic to destroy the robots one after another, with his men helping him out, including Old Man Leng and his group as well. Essentially, it was Bravo on one side, and Alpha on the other. After a couple of minutes, all the robots had become scrap metal.

From what I heard last time I was in here, this room shouldn't have been empty. After all, I heard the mad scientist going on about completing his experiment or whatever. This room must've had something in it before - and had been moved out in preparation for us.

Like I thought...they expected us to come here.

The door directly in front of us slid open, revealing a new narrow passage. From this point on, it was officially uncharted territory. We had no idea what lay ahead.

"Proceed with caution,

" Old Man Leng's wife said through the earpiece.

"I can see...you are about to enter unknown grounds. You still have around an hour and a half left. Take your time.

"

"Understood,

" I said through the comms, and we continued through the narrow passage.

This corridor was dimly lit, unlike the previous rooms. We walked slowly, careful for any traps.

And then, suddenly, the walls opened up once more, revealing laser cannons. Before we could even react, however, the lasers shot out, and ended up forming a maze of laser beams. A few unlucky people couldn't dodge out of the way in time, and got disintegrated to ashes.

"Holy...**...

" Old Man Leng muttered, frozen in a position. He gently, carefully set his foot down, so he was barely straddling a laser beam without touching it.

"Damn it...didn't expect that one,

" Old Xia gritted his teeth.

"How many did we lose?

"

"Around 14 people,

" I replied, careful to not touch any of the laser beams.

"...

" Old Xia turned away and didn't say anything, but it was clear he was angry. These were his men who just died, after all.

The rest of us slowly worked our way through the maze of laser beams, careful not to touch any. After a good half an hour of tension, all of us finally made it past, and reached the door on the other end. The door opened up, and my eyes widened at the scene before me.

Completely unlike the rest of this lab, this massive room was lit with ominous red lights, and had various metal platforms laying around, hanging from the ceiling. I looked down below, and saw a boiling pit of lava.

Yeah...that's probably going to kill me if I fall down there.

"What the hell...is this place?

" I gasped in shock.