Lu Zhen’s bare palm touched the sight quartz scanner. Then, the underground world decided he was a trespasser.
BZZZZZZT!
The soft blue glow beneath the glass plate snapped wildly to an angry, flashing crimson.
High above the four-hundred-foot vault doors, a series of hidden armor plates in the ceiling slid back with air-powered care.
From the dark recesses emerged one thousand tube-shaped turrets, each forged from First Epoch chronosteel.
Every turret was equipped with a multi-faceted crystal-clear emitter that hummed with terrifying, planet-cleaving energy. Within the span of a single heartbeat, one thousand pinpoint red laser dots came together directly onto the center of Frank’s yellow hard hat, right between his aligned safety goggles.
A clockwork voice, blended from the ringing tones of sky thunder, echoed from the top door beam speakers:
[SECURITY ALERT: Secret ORGANIC LIFEFORM DETECTED AT ROOT outer edge.]
