A Wild Dog Thinks He's Worthy to Face the Administrator?

Although the exact position of the mutant force remained uncertain, for the Heart of Steel—whose secondary artillery bay had been fully refitted with 155 mm cannons—a rough coordinate was more than enough. The instant Chu Guang's order was issued, shockwave evacuation alarms blared across the airship's deck, and the crew aboard immediately sprang into motion. In the main battery bay, the hydraulic autoloader arms rose, chambering an orange-yellow 400 mm rocket-assisted projectile into the breech. At that moment, up on the deck: The gargantuan short-barreled cannon clanked as electric drives slowly traversed it, aiming from afar directly west of Pinecone Wood Farm. The automated fire control system was under Xiao Qi's full control. Factoring in the propellant load of the rocket-assisted shell, the quantum computer had already calculated various ballistic trajectories across varying air densities, wind velocities, and humidity levels. Players paused whatever they were doing and looked up in curiosity at the colossal cannon, their eyes brimming with anticipation. As if answering their eager gaze, merely three seconds after the alarms silenced, a draconic plume of fire erupted from the massive barrel. The expanding shockwave and billowing smoke swept over the hundreds of meters of steel deck, churning into the turbulent air and surging toward the sky. The searing white flash nearly blinded anyone looking. Though the Heart of Steel had participated in numerous battles, not all players had witnessed this industrial behemoth raise its head to roar. Witnessing its world-shattering might, many rookies boarding the ship for the first time cheered in wild excitement, some even whistling loudly. "Holy crap!" "You call that an artillery shell?! That's a damn tube-launched missile!" "The shockwave from that blast is insane!" Seeing the wide-eyed newbies, Gui Gui put her hands on her hips and teased with the airs of a veteran player. "Pfft, this is nothing. If you were on the ground, you'd know the blast wave from the explosion is way crazier than this!" The newbie swallowed hard. "How crazy?" "About this big!" Gui Gui flung her arms wide trying to gesticulate, only to realize words and gestures failed her. She clicked her tongue and scratched her head. "Basically enough to blow Scavenger flying from a kilometer away!" Newbie: "Holy shit!!" The newbie's look of utter veneration was thoroughly gratifying to Gui Gui. Although she had only been playing the game for a few months herself, as a regular on the deck, she had long since considered this place home. Smirking smugly, she continued: "Anyway, pray for those green-skinned bastards. That kind of firepower isn't something carbon-based lifeforms can handle. They'll be vaporized in an instant, hohoho!" Feng Qing put on her wind goggles and leaned over the railing of the deck. Without saying a word, she excitedly trained her binoculars on the ground. Hurry up! She wanted to see explosions! …… Meanwhile, tens of kilometers away from the Heart of Steel across the open wilderness, an abandoned wooden cabin stood on a gentle, rugged slope. Two turned-off motorcycles leaned beside the cabin. Prone on the reverse slope, Li Jinrong and Xiao Yue exchanged bewildered glances, staring weirdly at the Alliance soldier dozing off against one of the motorcycles. The main force of mutants was marching less than three kilometers away, and a patrol of around ten had scouted right near this spot just moments ago. Yet at a critical juncture like this, this bastard could actually fall asleep! "...Should we wake him?" Xiao Yue asked in a whisper. Li Jinrong gave a wry smile. "If you can wake him up, be my guest." Xiao Yue smiled sheepishly and kept quiet. When the mutant scouts swept through earlier, he had indeed tried to wake the guy up, but nothing worked—the soldier hadn't reacted at all. To tell the truth, he had never seen anyone sleep so heavily. And so close to man-eating monsters, who in their right mind could sleep? "I think we should at least send someone back to warn the others at the settlement. In fog this thick, no matter how high that airship flies, they won't be able to see a thing." "With numbers like that... what good would warning them do?" Li Jinrong glanced toward the clamor in the distance and squinted. "He said to leave it to him, so let's just leave it to him." Perhaps... Alliance warriors really possessed some special ability to send messages in their dreams? After all, this was the wasteland. As everyone knew, any strange thing could happen on the wasteland. If you went somewhere else and told survivors that the mutants in Jinhe City were numerous enough to form a kingdom and powerful enough to outfit themselves with cybernetic prosthetics, few would believe it either. In most other places, it was already impressive if those green-skinned brutes knew how to rig a thumbtack mine. Any sizable group would likely end up tearing into one another over food or females. As for why they were out here, the story went back to the tough customer lying next to them—Fang Chang of the Burning Corps. Right around the time the fog first rolled in, Li Jinrong, resting at the farm while staying vigilant about their surroundings, was approached by this fellow. Fang Chang claimed mutants were advancing from the direction of the urban ruins and asked to borrow their motorcycles to scout nearby. Li Jinrong didn't object, though he found it strange that with convenient assets like VTOL aircraft, the Alliance soldier wanted to borrow their bikes instead. So he offered to come along, and the man readily agreed. Thus, the three departed Pinecone Wood Farm and searched westward. Sure enough, just as he had said, they spotted signs of large-scale mutant movements in this area. The hazy fog made it impossible to discern how many green heads there were, or even pinpoint the exact location of the force. But what was certain was that it was at least the size of a regiment! Not only that, these mutants moved with remarkable caution, entirely unlike the earlier mobs that had swarmed forward in chaotic rushes. They deployed scouts fanning out along the march route and carefully divided their forces into several waves. While standard procedure for human militaries, such tactics were extraordinarily rare among mutants. Mutants despised cowardice far more than death, and in their eyes, fancy maneuvers and tactics were signs of weakness. The champions they revered were those who crushed their enemies through sheer, overwhelming brute force! Now they were willing to learn human tactics. Clearly, the previous battles had taught these green brutes a painful lesson at the hands of the Alliance. However, this was hardly good news for the Alliance. Feeling the murderous aura and bloodlust filtering through the grayish-green fog, Li Jinrong felt a chill crawl across his scalp, sensing trouble ahead. Right then, Fang Chang, who had been dead to the world, suddenly twitched and snapped upright from the ground without warning. Startled by the sudden movement, Xiao Yue jerked up and looked around. Finding no mutant scouts nearby, he masked his embarrassment with a teasing remark: "Brother, you sure slept like a log..." The newly awakened Fang Chang nodded, dusted grass and dirt off his arms, and replied nonchalantly, "Yeah, just chatted and bragged with some folks for a bit." Xiao Yue: "?" Li Jinrong: "...?" What the hell? Both were stunned. Could he actually send messages in his sleep?! "...That's not the point," Fang Chang coughed softly, noticing their astonished faces, and glossed over a topic that was awkward to explain. "Anyway... it's all handled." The reason he had waited so long before logging back in wasn't just to shoot the breeze on the forums. He had mainly been waiting for other players to post updates on the official website and confirm when the bombardment would commence. Fortunately, the NPCs aboard the Heart of Steel were remarkably reliable and placed great trust in the players. Almost the exact moment Feng Qing brought the coordinates into the game, fire preparation began in the airship's gun bays. Honestly, with reaction times like that, Fang Chang couldn't help suspecting that it wasn't just players exploiting game bugs—perhaps the Alliance's NPCs were browsing their official site too. Not that he would report this bug to Brother Guang, of course. If a bug that enhanced the gameplay experience got patched, that would be a tragedy; better for everyone to keep using it with a wink and a nod. Li Jinrong stared blankly at the composed man, having no idea what he was talking about. How did taking a nap handle anything? What could that possibly resolve?! His Adam's apple bobbed, and he couldn't hold back the question burning in his mind. "...What do you mean? How is it handled?" Knowing full well what Li Jinrong was confused about, Fang Chang didn't elaborate. He simply looked in the direction of the marching mutant force and said concisely, "Alliance support will be here shortly. All we need to do is stand here and watch. Naturally, it's best not to step out in front of those green-skins." As he spoke, he quickly checked his equipment, particularly the VM on his forearm. Confirming it hadn't been tampered with, he spared the two NPCs another glance. Going out alone with them was partly to borrow their motorcycles, but also to test them. Lao Bai had spoken with Li Jinrong the night before, stating that the Alliance would support the Iron Tower's guerrilla operations in the south. But that didn't mean they trusted these people unconditionally. Sanctuary could be lurking in the mind of any NPC. So when he logged off, he had kept the VM's audio and video recording functions active to see what the two would do. Regardless, the mutants' coordinates had already been reported. Even if they backstabbed him, it was only a three-day cooldown. Trading one life to read two NPCs' intentions was a bargain. From the look of it, they hadn't tried anything funny. While that didn't mean they were completely trustworthy, cooperating to a certain degree wouldn't be an issue. Xiao Yue asked impatiently, "How much longer?" Fang Chang didn't answer directly. Instead, he said softly, "Listen closely... Do you hear anything?" Li Jinrong frowned slightly. "A sound?" What on earth is this guy talking about— Just as the thought crossed his mind, he caught a faint murmur in the air. Like the buzzing wings of an autumn cicada, it carried the vibration of rushing air from very, very far away. Before he could make out what the sound was, an astonishing sight was seared into his vision. A thick, colossal column of smoke bored straight through the dense layers of fog, followed immediately by rolling thunder that swept across the wilderness like a tsunami. Orange-red flames bloomed like a blossoming datura. In the moment of its blooming, trees were uprooted, slopes leveled, and gravel and splinters swept into the sky like flak by the searing blast. The solid ground seemed to boil like a turbulent lake, churning with undulating ripples carved by the blistering shockwave... Li Jinrong and Xiao Yue stared slack-jawed at the inferno incinerating everything in the distance, their eyes forced shut by the suffocating gale of heat. Before such cataclysmic might, all organic life was utterly insignificant. He had imagined what trump cards the Alliance would play against the absurdly powerful mutants and Church, but never had he anticipated power so terrifying and pure. In that moment, he finally understood: This was how the Alliance's order came to be. What astonished him even more was recalling a rumor he had once heard—that overbearing steel behemoth hadn't originally belonged to the Alliance. It was their war prize, seized from the Legion by the Burning Corps! He couldn't fathom how powerful one had to be to conquer such an invincible steel colossus. And what baffled his imagination even further: if they could tame a monster like that, what kind of terrifying beast could possibly be worthy of being their opponent...? Half a day earlier, he might have hesitated on the answer to that question. But now, he was undeniably certain. At the very least, mutants... Could never be their match! After a long while, Li Jinrong swallowed, speaking slowly with a trembling voice as if seeking confirmation for what he already guessed: "Was that..." "The main cannon of the Heart of Steel." Fang Chang chuckled softly as he gazed toward the epicenter in the distance. The bangs lifted by the hot draft settled gently back over his brow. Pausing briefly, he added in a quiet voice, "Well? Isn't it spectacular?" Li Jinrong didn't answer. Because in that moment, words were wholly inadequate to describe the shock rocking his soul. Just then, rain began to fall from the sky. Charred black mud rained down like a fusillade of machine-gun rounds, pattering against the ground and scattering across the gunpowder-scorched battlefield in the wind. Unfortunately, even this world-shattering might could not destroy the broodmother entrenched at the center of Qingquan City. The slime mold had long since fused with the concrete ruins; no matter how many shells were dumped on it, nothing could shake that "giant tree" forged of spore clouds connecting earth and sky. Yet against foes like these, it was more than sufficient. Xiao Yue's throat bobbed, and he squeezed out a strained question: "Is it over?" Fang Chang looked into the distance with a chuckle. "Over? We've barely gotten started." Before Xiao Yue could respond, Fang Chang continued in a matter-of-fact tone: "Watch closely." "The real show is about to begin!" …… The first salvo was merely a prelude. The 400 mm rocket-assisted shell not only carved out the opening stroke of the bombardment, but also shattered the fog across the sector, turning over the earth and laying bare the mutant force marching between forest and open field before the gunners' sights. Following the main gun's strike, each battery swiftly confirmed the impact point and strike coordinates, initiating the first round of fire correction based on firing parameters calculated by the computer. "Firing parameters set!" "Load HE rounds!" "Loaded!" "Ready—" "Fire!" Gunners in the artillery bays yanked their lanyards. Over a dozen cannons roared in unison, lightning flashes strobing along the airship's broadside. Orange-yellow tracers plunged toward the ground, bursting into clusters of roaring flame across the battlefield where the fog had been blasted away. The mutant soldiers marching through the wilderness had not yet recovered from the cataclysmic blast. Many were still clawing their way out of mud pits when they were swallowed up by the subsequent onslaught of artillery fire. "Scatter!" "Hit the dirt—!" Struggling up from the mud, Kulu let out a furious roar, panic flashing in his bloodshot eyes. What in the world... is this?! He hadn't even caught sight of the enemy when the explosions suddenly began. Then a scorching shockwave hammered into his back like a sledgehammer, sweeping up every mutant soldier across the open ground. Fortunately, the point of impact of that first shell was relatively far off—hundreds of meters from the outer fringe of their ranks. Yet even so, the apocalyptic power chilled countless underlings to the bone, filling them with trembling terror. That was not a mortal force. They had never witnessed artillery fire so terrifying! Kulu's roar had barely escaped his lips when whistling shrieks ripped through the battlefield's silence. Blasts of fire and rolling smoke swept through from behind them like a ruthless harrow tilling a field. Even though throwing themselves flat was a disgrace to mutant warriors who worshiped brute power and savagery, Kulu knew this was no time to act tough. He had no choice but to bury his proud head into the dirt in humiliation. The creeping barrage advanced step by step. Every time the grayish-green fog tried to coalesce, it was brutally torn apart, exposing the churned, muddy ground. Artillery shells showered the wilderness like free handouts, planting blooming firestorms across the field, as if determined not to spare a single inch of earth. Clutching the back of his head, Kulu finally felt creeping terror take hold. Especially when boiling flames detonated a mere ten meters from him, and especially when red-hot shrapnel sliced into his flesh, the brute who had feared nothing in heaven or earth actually found himself praying to the Holy Son. This was entirely different from the air raid last night. Heaven and earth seemed shattered by the devastation, and what terrified him most was having no idea how to combat such power. When the bombardment finally ended— he had no idea how much time had passed. Pushing his half-buried body up from the mud, he gazed blankly across the ruined carnage around him. Not an ounce of joy at surviving remained in his chest. Instead, unprecedented despair gnawed at him. The battlefield, kilometers wide, looked as though it had been completely turned inside out. Severed limbs and mangled corpses littered the scorched black soil. He didn't know how many shells had fallen here, let alone how many of his warriors were still alive. Just what kind of beings... were they fighting?! He looked blankly up at the sky, toward the north of Jinhe City, toward the direction where that steel airship floated, seeking answers. But his gaze was blocked by the gradually closing fog. This brought a flicker of relief, but immediately followed by a deep sense of humiliation and powerless frustration. To vent his terror and prove to his remaining subordinates that he was no coward, he threw back his head and let out an indignant roar. "Cowards!" "Gutless weaklings!" "What pride is there hiding in the fog?!" "If you have the guts, come out and fight Kulu blade to blade!" He knew those two-legged beasts lacked the spine. Those vermin only dared fire down from their buzzing mechanical flies; they wouldn't dare stand before a mutant's might! When he flaunted his power, they could only stare helplessly from afar! Thinking this, Kulu's lips peeled back into a smug grin. Just as he rose to regroup his troops, heavily armored warriors emerged at the edge of the dense fog, marching straight toward them from the north. Thick gun barrels glinted with frigid malice. Each warrior wore a woodcutter's axe strapped to their gear, their cuirasses painted in emerald camouflage, their pauldrons bearing badges of indistinct design. The figure leading them was even more imposing. Standing on the open ground like an iron-black tower, steel encased nearly every inch of his body from head to toe, and a gun barrel thick as a python was welded straight onto his arm. Even without seeing the man's eyes, Kulu could feel the intoxicating thirst for battle radiating from him. His pupils contracted slightly. Along with the twitch of twisted muscle, his cracked lips curled into a savage, bloodthirsty sneer. Is this the Alliance's Administrator? He had heard rumors. The tribal chieftain of that Alliance to the north was an iron-clad hunk of metal, supposedly an Awakened with immense brute strength. Yet Kulu didn't care. Whether power armor or tanks, before his pure, unadulterated strength, they were all flimsy as paper. Even wrapped in armor, two-legged cattle were still cattle—and he would prove it with his fists and fangs. Lifting the halberd dropped on the ground, Kulu threw back his head and unleashed a deafening roar. Like an upright beast, he glared with furious eyes at the armored giant. "Come on!" "Chieftain of the Alliance—" "Show me what you've got!" The savage roar swept across the wilderness. The muddy battlefield fell momentarily silent. The black-tower of a man at the lead seemed to finally realize that the upright beast was addressing him. Ignoring the arrogant provocation, his lips curled under his helmet. "A wild dog isn't worthy of being the Administrator's opponent." What a joke! Trying to dive the fountain before even taking down a single tower? You must be out of your damn mind! Lifting his chin, Midnight Chicken Slayer stared deadpan at the green-skinned beast, the bolter in his hands already leveled at its chest. "Open your dog eyes wide." "Your opponent is me!"