The plunder of the heavens begins with the Spirit Cage.

Chapter 233 Terminator 4

"Since it's all one-way teleportation, it's really hard to lock onto the second Terminator future world in a short time."

After taking the chip from the T800 that had given him the assassination mission, Bai Yuekui conducted a thorough inspection and made his comments.

"It's impossible to trace back to the source in the short term; we still lack the technology for time travel."

"What should I do?"

What else can we do?

Of course, we'll continue time-traveling!

"Anyway, so far I haven't seen any problems after connecting two similar parallel universes."

Therefore, we need big data and more experiments.

Lu Qianwei shrugged. "Let's do it!"

What else could he say? Terminator 2 and Terminator 3 followed the same old formula.

They rescued people and captured the Terminator, until they were transported to the world of Terminator 4.

This is after several world corrections and changes. Skynet's delayed awakening occurred in 2004, and the same old routine of nuclear bombing wiped out 90% of the population.

Human resistance forces fought for 14 years.

The post-nuclear wasteland of North America is forever covered with a layer of grayish-yellow radioactive dust.

The wind, carrying radioactive sand and gravel, swept across the partially collapsed skyscraper, producing a shrill sound like the wailing of a lonely ghost.

Skynet's reconnaissance drones swept across the wasteland, leaving pale white trails; no one knew where a ground-sweeping missile would land the next second.

"The tower has exploded! Evacuate according to plan!"

Sergeant Logan, who was in the lead, slammed down the detonator in his hand and shouted in a hoarse voice.

Jamie, the communications soldier behind him, had just stuffed the Skynet core chip that had been blown off into his waterproof backpack when a deep gash was cut open in his stomach by flying concrete shrapnel. Blood was flowing down his trouser leg and soaking through his worn-out military boots.

Big Mike, carrying a rocket launcher, kicked a piece of broken brick blocking his way and turned to urge the last two soldiers, Toby the scout and Leah the medic: "Hurry up, hurry up! Skynet's patrols will be here in ten minutes. We'd better get out of here if we don't want to be riddled with holes!"

The five people had just turned into the abandoned city through the collapsed subway entrance and had run less than a hundred meters when Toby, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped abruptly.

He grabbed Logan's arm, his voice strained: "No, Sergeant! Listen—"

The dull, rumbling sound of the metal hydraulic motors carrying across half a street came from afar, each sound like a footstep on the heart.

Logan tensed instantly, grabbed his broken binoculars, and looked in the direction of the sound.

A dark figure, over two meters tall, was walking towards them step by step on the broken bricks.

Half of the simulated human skin had long been torn apart in some battle, exposing the dark chrome alloy skeleton.

The last remaining red killer sensor gleamed with an icy light in the gray fog, and a heavy machine gun loaded with ammunition was slung over its shoulder. It was Skynet's most common patrol and killing machine: the T-600.

"spread!"

Logan roared, and the five men instantly scattered and hid behind the broken wall, all their guns aimed at the approaching robot.

Everyone knew that encountering a lone T-600 was practically a death sentence for a resistance squad armed only with light weapons, but there was no escaping it now.

The first rocket struck the T-600's chest, blowing off the remaining half of its chest skin, but leaving only a shallow white dent on the alloy frame.

The T-600 instantly locked onto the firing position, and the heavy machine gun's flames swept over in an instant. Toby, who was hiding behind the broken wall, didn't even utter a sound before his chest was riddled with holes, and he fell straight into the pile of rubble, still clutching his rifle tightly in his hand.

"Toby!" Leah, her eyes red, tried to rush over, but Logan grabbed her.

The group fought their way back and retreated into the half-collapsed century-old department store.

Mike volunteered to stay behind to cover the rear, emptying his rockets and then his entire magazine. The bullets clanged and clattered as they hit the T-600's frame, but they couldn't stop its advance at all.

In the final moment when all the bullets were fired, Mike, his eyes red, lunged forward to grab it around the waist and drag it down the stairs, but T-600 raised his hand and grabbed his throat.

With a sharp crack, Mike's cervical spine was snapped, and his massive body was thrown out like a broken sack, crashing into a marble pillar and remaining motionless.

The T-600 smashed through the abandoned shelves blocking the stairwell and climbed up step by step, its heavy footsteps causing dust to fall in a flurry.

The remaining three retreated behind the last intact pillar on the top floor. Leah hurriedly bandaged Jamie's abdominal wound, her hands trembling.

They had only one high-explosive grenade left, and all their rifles combined had less than two magazines remaining.

Leah bit off the pin on the only grenade she had, looked up at Logan and said, "Sergeant, you take Jamie and send the chip back. I'm going to blow up its joints."

"No—" Before Logan could stop her, Leah had already crouched down and rushed out.

She had just circled around to the side of the pillar when she was locked onto by the T-600's sensors. A gunshot rang out, and the bullet pierced her chest.

As Leah fell forward, she let go of the grenade, which rolled to the T-600's feet. After a muffled thud, it only blew off a piece of metal from the top of its foot, without even delaying its movement.

Now, only Logan and Jamie remain on the empty top floor.

Logan's left arm was torn open by a stray bullet, leaving a half-foot-long gash. Blood dripped down the trigger that his fingers were pressing down on tightly. At this moment, the barrel of the gun, which had been firing continuously, was burning the wound in his palm with excruciating pain.

Jamie leaned against the cold pillar, clutching his bleeding stomach, his breathing trembling. His camouflage combat uniform was soaked in blood and stuck to his body.

The pale yellow sunlight filtered through the broken roof, illuminating the approaching metal frame. The red dot of the T-600 steadily locked onto the two men, and the roar of the hydraulic motors grew ever closer.

During their retreat, they ran into a T-600 patrolling outside. After fighting their way through, only Sergeant Logan, who was leading the group, and Jamie, the communications soldier, remained. Both of them were injured and were hiding against a half-collapsed department store pillar, their gun barrels so hot they could barely hold them.

"It's right outside; we won't be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive."

Jamie clutched his bleeding abdomen, his voice trembling. Ordinary rifle bullets hit the T-600's alloy frame without leaving a mark. They had used up all their grenades; they were doomed to die today.

With a loud bang, the entire building shook, and the T-600, its metal frame exposed, smashed through the blocked stairwell and emerged.

The robot's humanoid skin had long since rotted away, revealing its dark chrome alloy skeleton. Only one red sensor light gleamed coldly in the dim light, and the heavy hydraulic motor roared as it stepped on the broken bricks, causing them to tremble.

Logan pushed the last magazine onto the M16, gripped the gun, and stood in front of Jamie, prepared to die with him.

The T-600 raised its heavy gun, the muzzle turned, and the scarlet spot firmly locked onto the hearts of the two men.

Just as the trigger was about to be pulled, a huge shadow suddenly broke through the gray cloud overhead, and a silver-gray airship appeared on the rooftop. A bright beam of searchlight struck the back of the T-600, making the robot pause.

Before it could adjust its target, a heavy-duty black and red powered armored vehicle descended from the sky, slamming into the T-600's mechanical body with its own weight and crushing it into pieces on the spot.

Logan stared wide-eyed, almost forgetting to breathe. He had never seen such advanced equipment before. Not to mention the resistance, even Skynet's top-tier robots didn't have such combat power.

Lu Qianwei, with his hands in his pockets, walked down the airship's ladder, stepping on the broken bricks to the wreckage of the T-600, and kicked the metal head.

He turned to the two bewildered figures hiding behind the pillar and waved for the medic to come forward: "If you don't want to die, you can come out and let us treat your wounds."

"Who...who exactly are you people?"

"A rescue team?" Logan asked, looking at the group of people who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Lu Qianwei said, "Passersby can also be partners. Where is your base located?"

"If you don't recommend it, we can take you back?"

Logan's fingers instinctively tightened around the military dagger tucked behind his waist, his knuckles turning white.

Having fought Skynet in the wasteland for over a decade, the Resistance was terrified of infiltration and spies.

He would never bring strangers to the base casually, nor would he easily reveal the core location, so he just pursed his lips and didn't reply.

Lu Qianwei didn't urge him, but simply raised his chin to signal the medic to come forward.

A medic wearing an exoskeleton walked over carrying a portable medical kit.

First, clean Jamie's wound, then spray a layer of transparent biological hemostatic gel on it in less than half a minute, and then take out a nano-repair patch as thin as paper and apply it to the wound on his lower abdomen.

Jamie, who was originally trembling with pain and struggling to speak, regained his breathing in just two or three minutes. His complexion gradually returned to normal, and even the blood that had seeped out stopped flowing.

Then they treated Logan's left arm wound, providing pain relief, suturing, and healing all in one go, without Logan uttering a sound of pain throughout the entire process. This was far superior to the old method of disinfecting with alcohol and using coarse thread at the rebel base.

Looking at the neat, clean wound on his arm, Logan's guard lowered considerably.

Skynet only researches how to make robots more capable of killing; it has never worked on biotechnology that can quickly save lives.

These people are probably not Skynet's lackeys; they look more like an unknown resistance organization hiding in some corner of the wasteland that hasn't shown itself before.

The Eastern face clearly belonged to the coast.

Lu Qianwei saw through his thoughts and said with a smile, "I know what you're afraid of. We have no interest in taking your territory and water resources, nor will we be Skynet's lackeys."

Logan lowered his head and pondered for a few seconds. Reason told them that if they went on their own, they would have to give up halfway and be handed over to other robots.

It was a mission with a slim chance of survival, but these Easterners saved them.

For now, it seems there's no malice. Consider that the outpost is just a transit point on the front line; even if something goes wrong, it won't shake the foundation.

He looked up and stared at Lu Qianwei, saying, "Alright, I'll take you there, but everyone entering the base can only bring their sidearms; heavy weapons must be left outside. That's our rule."

“No problem.” Lu Qianwei nodded readily.

The group boarded the airship, Logan gave them the coordinates, and they landed at the base entrance inside the abandoned mountain in less than forty minutes.

After a flurry of panic and confusion, the sentry checked Logan's identity code and thoroughly examined the outsiders before cautiously opening the heavy blast door to let the group in.

This outpost, converted from an old nuclear bunker from the Cold War era, housed more than two hundred rebel soldiers.

The passageway was filled with the mixed smells of radioactive dust, expired compressed rations, and sweat. Rebel flags hung on the walls, and there was old, repaired equipment everywhere.

As Logan walked, he said, "Our commander happens to be inspecting the outpost today—"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a group of people emerged from around the corner of the passage.

The resident commander of the outpost was a 47-year-old veteran, Major Balk.

A long, old scar, ripped by shrapnel from a T-600 bullet, ran down his left cheek from his brow bone to his jaw. Two worn-out resistance medals adorned the collar of his faded combat uniform.

He had a well-maintained military pistol tucked into each side of his waist, walked with his back ramrod straight, and exuded the composure he had accumulated over a decade of navigating the wasteland.

He raised his hand, calloused and gritty, toward Lu Qianwei, and said in a hoarse voice, "Balk, the commander of this outpost, thank you all for saving my men."

Lu Qianwei reached out and shook hands with him, nodding slightly in response to the self-introduction.

Balk's gaze swept over the group without making a sound, finally landing on the two silent, black and red heavy-duty power armored vehicles standing at the base entrance.

A hint of surprise flashed across her eyes before she turned back and asked, "You... are you from the East Coast?"

"I never imagined you could create such powered armor under these conditions."

After praising the industrial capabilities of the East for a few moments, he asked directly, "I wonder what brings you to my humble outpost?"

Lu Qianwei smiled and said, "What else could we have come all this way for but Skynet?"