Northern Jinhe City.
The old residential settlement.
Two Viper transport aircraft flew in one after the other, touching down in the open clearing beside the collapsed perimeter wall of the Chi Tribe's entrance.
The soldiers of the Burning Corps were practically all equipped with light protective armor rated at the Type 5 exoskeleton level or higher, and a single Viper could carry only ten to fifteen passengers.
Ferrying all five hundred players of the Burning Corps back to the *Heart of Steel*, sixty to seventy kilometers away, would take several round trips with just these two transports.
Truth be told, most of the players were not particularly keen on heading back.
The event was drawing to a close, and everyone wanted to farm more contribution points on the front lines.
Besides, the mutants launching a sneak attack on the *Heart of Steel* was merely Brother Spring's hypothesis, not a certainty.
Lao Bai did not force anyone. After all, there were not enough seats on the transports anyway.
Aside from a few veteran players of the Burning Corps who held higher sequence levels, everyone else followed a voluntary policy—those who wished to return could board, and those who did not could stay on the front lines.
In truth, he was not very confident in the idea himself.
The notion of mutants mounting a surprise assault on the *Heart of Steel* sounded somewhat absurd. Even the Legion would not attempt such an outlandish stunt.
The crux of the matter was that there was not even an airfield nearby!
Perhaps Brother Spring was simply overthinking things?
"Are the mutants really going to come?" Seated in the cabin, Ye Shi could not resist muttering under his breath, butterflies fluttering in his stomach.
"Nobody knows. Everything we're doing right now is just taking precautions for the broader tactical situation."
Fang Chang glanced at his VM screen. The mission log had not updated with any related instructions; perhaps they truly were overthinking it.
Even so, an uneasy foreboding lingered in his chest.
As for why...
It was likely just as Brother Spring had pointed out: their offensive had proceeded far too smoothly. In just four short days, they had overrun the Chi Tribe's home base.
Yet what was truly bizarre was that these mutants still clung desperately to the research institute controlled by the Church of the Torch, refusing to let go.
It was hard not to suspect that those religious zealots had promised them something, or that they still held a trump card or two up their sleeves to turn the tables.
Just then, a hand reached into the cabin, grasped the handrail beside the hatch, and hoisted someone inside with a soft grunt.
Staring at Jiang Xuezhou carrying her briefcase, Ye Shi blinked, blurting out instinctively, "What are you doing here?"
"Going back to the airship, of course," Jiang Xuezhou replied, looking at him oddly as though he had asked an utterly idiotic question. "I'm done collecting samples. If I don't go back to the airship, am I supposed to stay here?"
Her words were undeniably reasonable.
The Academy researchers had not come here to fight the Alliance's war in the first place; their purpose was to assist in studying the Na fruit and the synthetic abominations engineered by the Church of the Torch, seeking a scientific resolution.
That EMP missile strike on the jamming source had merely been her showing off on her own initiative. He had almost forgotten that she was non-combat personnel.
Watching Jiang Xuezhou fasten her seatbelt of her own accord, Ye Shi found himself at a loss for words. But recalling the discussions on the forum, he could not resist urging her, "Why don't... you just stay here instead?"
Jiang Xuezhou glared at him.
"What kind of nonsense are you babbling? Stay here? I don't want to spend the night in this place! If you want to stay, you're welcome to stay by yourself!"
Not to mention that there was not even a decent bed here, the entire camp reeked with a foul stench, littered with all sorts of repulsive messes. She had no desire to have nightmares all night.
This guy actually had the heart to suggest she spend the night in a godforsaken dump like this!
Jiang Xuezhou, who had originally been in a decent mood, grew more irritated the more she thought about it.
Seeing the look on her face, Ye Shi could tell she had grossly misunderstood his intentions. He was torn between tears and laughter as he prepared to explain that he was only looking out for her safety, but he quickly remembered that a mutant raid on the *Heart of Steel* was merely speculation discussed on the forums, not a confirmed fact.
Both the forums and the discussions themselves were impossible to explain clearly to an outsider. After pondering it for a moment, he decided it was too much of a hassle to bother explaining and nodded helplessly.
"Fine, whatever."
Seeing his reluctant expression, Jiang Xuezhou rolled her eyes.
"Did I need your permission? I already cleared it with your Administrator! Who do you think this aircraft was waiting for?"
Watching from the side, Fang Chang and Kuang Feng suppressed their chuckles. Ye Shi's face grew rather awkward, so he hastily changed the subject.
"...Uh, where's your Xiao Wang?"
Jiang Xuezhou answered offhandedly, "I left it here. I have to come back later anyway, so it saves the trouble of hauling it back and forth. Besides, there isn't room on this plane, so it's better off staying put."
That thing was a third the size of a Chimera, making it truly ill-suited for frequent transit, so Ye Shi said nothing more.
Still, he was fairly surprised.
He had not expected her to be so considerate of others...
As they spoke, the transport's hatch sealed shut. Accompanied by the roar of plasma engines, the two Vipers lifted into the air one after the other.
Jiang Xuezhou plugged her ears. Unsure where to look, Ye Shi let his gaze drift out the viewport toward the murky, overcast night sky.
Yet as he stared into the haze, his brow furrowed slightly. He nudged Fang Chang beside him with an elbow.
"Do you hear something?"
Fang Chang blinked and frowned. "...A sound?"
"Yeah."
Ye Shi closed his eyes tight, nodding slowly as he spoke in an uncertain tone.
"It kind of sounds like..."
Hearing this, the group all turned toward him. Only Jiang Xuezhou sat bewildered, unable to understand what language he was speaking.
After waiting for him to listen intently for a few moments, Kuang Feng looked at him and asked seriously, "Sounds like what?"
Ye Shi opened his eyes, a note of certainty entering his voice.
"...Like the vibrating hum of wings!"
***
Bridge of the *Heart of Steel*.
Standing before the floor-to-ceiling viewport, Chu Guang quietly gazed out at the murky night.
Xiao Qi sat perched on his shoulder, leaning close to whisper in his ear, relaying the intel she had just gathered from the forum.
At that moment, the hatch behind him slid open. An officer strode forward, snapped to attention, and delivered a crisp salute.
"Report! Active jamming signals have been detected toward Jinhe City!"
Active jamming, as opposed to passive jamming such as chaff reflection, involved actively emitting broad-spectrum electromagnetic signals to drown out radar echoes, effectively masking friendly aircraft.
A vivid, if crude, analogy would be shining a massive flashlight directly into someone's eyes.
The radar system aboard the *Heart of Steel* was extraordinarily advanced, capable of spotting birds over a hundred kilometers away. Furthermore, because the radar source was airborne, it had virtually no blind spots—functioning much like a shielded, long-endurance early warning aircraft.
The enemy clearly lacked the confidence to deceive the eyes of the *Heart of Steel*, so they had opted for brute force.
Yet this also exposed their intentions along with their active jamming equipment.
"A straight hook and clumsy bait, is it?"
Chu Guang smiled faintly, his expression composing itself as he continued with his orders.
"Relay my command: all units across the ship are to enter a state of alert. All gun positions are to load and stand by. The carrier air wing is to board and prepare for immediate launch!"
"Additionally, instruct the radar section to continue scanning for the coordinates of the active jamming apparatus. Once located, destroy it immediately!"
"Yes, sir!" The officer saluted solemnly, spun on his heel, and hurried out the door.
Chu Guang then turned to the captain beside him.
"Since our enemy has laid out their posture, I have reason to believe they have prepared thoroughly. Under no circumstances are you to be careless."
"I trust your capabilities."
"I leave command of this airship to you."
Tempered through a series of campaigns across Sunset Province, this captain whom Chu Guang had personally promoted inspired considerable confidence.
Under normal circumstances, Chu Guang handled only strategic deployment. Unless the players had worthwhile ideas requiring NPC cooperation, he rarely interfered with front-line tactical command.
When it came to concrete tactical details and execution, he preferred leaving them to professionals.
Feeling profoundly honored by the Administrator's trust, the captain nodded earnestly, pressing his right fist against his chest as he accepted the order.
"Leave it to me, sir. I will not disappoint you!"
Reaching that point, however, he hesitated briefly before voicing his concern anyway.
"Lord Administrator... please permit me a presumptuous suggestion. If Torch truly intends to target the *Heart of Steel*, staying here might not be safe. I advise that you temporarily withdraw to avoid danger."
He had no worries about his own personal safety; from the moment he had stepped aboard this airship, he had prepared to sacrifice himself. Yet currently aboard this iron behemoth, it was not merely his own life at stake.
If anything happened to the Administrator, it would be an irreplaceable loss for the entire Alliance.
Evidently, he was not the only one harboring such thoughts. Lü Bei, standing behind Chu Guang, felt the same way.
The young man, usually a man of few words, uncharacteristically took the initiative to speak, offering loyal counsel with an earnest face.
"My Lord, I believe the same! Your safety—"
Meeting the two pairs of concerned eyes, Chu Guang merely smiled faintly.
"No need to worry about me. I can take care of myself. Besides, a handful of vermin aren't enough to make me run with my tail between my legs."
It was not that he wanted to be reckless; rather, both Vipers were still deployed at the front line, and dropping down to the ground might not be any safer than staying here.
Furthermore, what would it look like if he fled the moment the enemy made a move?
Did the Administrator not have a reputation to maintain?
Seeing that everyone still wanted to persuade him, Chu Guang displayed a rare, brooking-no-argument majesty, cutting short the words they had yet to voice.
"Enough. The fact that I stand here demonstrates my absolute faith in all of you. What you should be doing right now is not scheming to change my mind, but performing your duties and doing what must be done!"
"Go all out."
"I shall bear witness to your valor right here!"
His resolute words rang through the air.
They were met with roaring, high-spirited replies.
"Mission guaranteed!"
Fighting spirit blazed in every pair of eyes.
The slight unease and hesitation in the face of an unknown threat were burned away cleanly by that blazing fire.
Even if born of good intentions, such emotions had no place in their hearts.
From the communications officers to the adjutant to the captain, every hand unconsciously clenched into a fist, including the guards trailing behind Chu Guang.
They possessed the confidence to vanquish any foe—
No matter who that foe might be!
This was not merely for honor and faith, but because that towering figure stood shoulder to shoulder with them at all times.
A silent battle cry reverberated through their chests—
*For the Administrator!*
*For the Alliance!*
***
With the pre-battle mobilization complete, Chu Guang departed the bridge, leaving the helm entirely to the captain and officers.
As for himself, he headed toward the players' save point.
The front-line battlefield could be left entirely to his trustworthy subordinates, but to ensure this engagement was foolproof, he still needed to add an essential safeguard to this airship.
That task could only be carried out by his adorable little players.
Naturally,
the compensation would be generous.
The moment he stepped off the bridge, the entire *Heart of Steel* sprang into motion like a wound-up clockwork machine, orderly and swift.
The radar section rapidly locked onto the coordinates of the jamming source, and a 400mm rocket-assisted projectile was promptly loaded, sending retribution's fire toward the distant target.
Meanwhile, offline.
Goblin Corps Group Chat.
"Log in, log in!"
"We got work!"
"Quick, quick, quick!"
Typing out three lines in a single second, Mosquito immediately donned his helmet to reconnect. Just as he pushed himself out of his hibernation pod and stepped into the corridor, he ran headlong into the Administrator striding toward him.
Mosquito's eyes lit up. Figuring that the Administrator appearing here meant an eighty percent chance of a hidden quest, he cleared his duck-like throat and called out in his usual comical cadence, "Good evening, honored Lord Administrator!"
The voice successfully drew the Administrator's attention.
Seeing Brother Mosquito, Chu Guang's eyes brightened as well, though he kept it off his face, maintaining the reserved composure expected of an NPC as he spoke slowly.
"You've arrived just in time. I have a glorious and formidable task to entrust to you."
*Holy crap, there really is one!* Mosquito was overjoyed and blurted out, "Whatever you command, sir! Humble though I am, I am willing to lay down my life for the Alliance!"
Watching Mosquito's exaggerated gestures, Chu Guang chuckled inwardly. His expression remained placid as he cleared his throat and continued, "The mission has been updated on your VM. Follow the instructions in the quest log and proceed like this..."
***
The 400mm main gun aimed toward the urban district of Jinhe City. Following a thick flare of fire, a rocket-assisted projectile trailing white smoke soared into the sky.
The shriek of its descent pierced the silent night, and in the next heartbeat, the tranquility of the entire city was shattered by a deafening roar.
It was as though daylight had erupted from the earth,
scattering the fog for kilometers around.
Watching the direction of the explosion, Arzu stood atop the roof with a cold sneer. Before long, however, the smile froze on his face.
"Tsk."
The good news was that the Alliance had indeed taken the bait he had cast, slamming a heavy rocket right onto the decoy jamming source.
Their accuracy was pinpoint, even if they had hit nothing of value.
The bad news, however, was that the Alliance had fitted this rocket-assisted projectile with a nuclear warhead; the Compton effect triggered by gamma rays unleashed a wide-area electromagnetic pulse.
While it had not destroyed the true jamming installation, the instantaneous electromagnetic disturbance thoroughly exposed the camouflaged radars he had deployed across the city.
A single follow-up strike would render the jamming directed at the *Heart of Steel* completely useless.
Furthermore...
That brief lapse might very well have given away that mutant's position.
Though he had intended to wait until victory was assured before appearing before that brute in the guise of the Holy Son, Arzu knew he had to act.
Connecting to the chip implanted inside the biomass armor dubbed "Nightmare," Arzu cleared his throat and spoke calmly into the link. "You had better fly lower."
At that moment, soaring through the night sky, Ga'en was utterly intoxicated by his godlike power, completely oblivious to the skirmish unfolding between the Alliance and the Church of the Torch off the battlefield.
Never before had he been so strong!
The entire sky seemed to bow beneath his wings!
Those sharp-fanged, vicious "demons" flocked loyally around him; with a mere glance, he could command them to fight to the death on his behalf.
They felt like extensions of the very cells of his body!
Just as Ga'en was revelling in this sensation, a soft, ethereal voice drifted into his ear, shattering his boundless reverie.
Irritated by this voice manifesting out of nowhere inside his head, Ga'en banked his body and scowled, a low growl rumbling in his throat.
"Who are you?"
The disembodied voice continued, "I am the Holy Son."
Hearing that familiar title, Ga'en narrowed his eyes.
"You're the Holy Son?"
This biomass armor had been bestowed by the Church of the Torch; naturally, he knew who those zealots worshiped.
What baffled him was why the legendary Holy Son would communicate with him personally.
Arzu paused briefly, then said softly, "Yes."
Each of them was a Holy Son.
Although he had not entered the Sanctuary, having taken over Luo Qian's position, he naturally had the right to call himself the Holy Son.
The Church was not rigid about ceremonial formalities among its internal hierarchy; so long as it served the ultimate grand plan, all was permissible.
What Arzu had not anticipated, however, was that instead of displaying a shred of humility at the name of the Holy Son, this green-skinned beast merely burst into wild, insolent laughter.
"Hahaha! You're the Holy Son? Then open your eyes wide and watch! Watch how I smash those two-legged animals to pieces!"
Far from exercising restraint, Ga'en let out a roar to the heavens as if terrified the enemy might miss him, flapped his wings, and climbed even higher.
*Idiot!* Arzu cursed inwardly, forcing himself to remain patient as he spoke.
"Listen to me, I'm not joking with you. The Alliance doesn't need eyes to know where you are. Don't assume you're safe just because you're hiding in the fog. If you don't want to crash face-first into metal shells, have your subordinates spread out and fly no higher than thirty meters above the ground! The closer to the ground, the better!"
Hearing that the voice did not sound like it was joking, Ga'en ultimately reined in his temper, grumbling reluctantly.
"Got it. Can you get out of my head first? I hate talking to cowards who hide their faces!"
Even as he spoke, he tucked his wings, signaling the swarm of minions around him to descend.
"Tsk..."
Arzu clicked his tongue and angrily cut the connection. Facing the dense, murky night sky, he took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.
Brute though the creature was, they unfortunately had need of him.
All was for the grand plan.
This, too, was a necessary sacrifice...
***
Meanwhile, the bridge of the *Heart of Steel* was a flurry of activity.
Seated before the control terminal, an operator had just received the fresh jamming source coordinates detected by the radar section and keyed them into the fire-control system.
The 400mm main gun adjusted its bearing, loading another rocket-assisted projectile, prepared to deliver a second blow against the true jamming source.
Just then, another report arrived from radar—
"Massive cluster of unidentified flying objects detected due south! Flight speed between ninety-seven and ninety-nine kilometers per hour! Heading directly toward us, twenty kilometers out!"
Hearing the operator's report, the captain immediately asked, "What is their count?"
Staring intently at the screen, the operator replied at breakneck speed, "Ten thousand and seventy-eight!"
The captain's pupils constricted.
*Ten thousand?!*
His initial reaction was that it was impossible.
No matter how one looked at it, that number was absurd!
And it was absurd in a way that mirrored a previous battle—
Back then, the Alliance had used decoy drones fitted with active jammers to draw the *Heart of Steel*'s fire, using the reload window to maneuver transport craft right over its head.
Could this also be a decoy?!
Outside the viewport lay a blanket of pitch-black, heavy fog, the sunset having long since vanished below the horizon. Floating amid the clouds, the airship was like a submarine diving into the depths of the ocean, entirely unable to visually observe its surroundings and reliant solely on radar as its eyes.
After a brief wait, the second heavy rocket slammed into the jamming source in the city.
As the rolling thunder of the explosion pierced the mist, the shipboard radar returned to normal at that very instant, and those vague, blurry red blips once again revealed themselves across the radar screen.
The captain made an immediate decision.
"Scan their profiles!"
He needed to determine what those craft actually were!
After working his console, the operator promptly relayed the radar section's observations.
"Individual targets in the swarm range from two to five meters in size. Flight speeds are extremely uneven, and their silhouettes are in constant flux... They're flying too close to the ground! Ground clutter is causing severe interference, making it difficult to gather precise flight telemetry."
The adjutant turned toward the captain.
"With respect, sir, those don't look like aircraft... But if they are jamming decoys, the interference coming from the urban district seems far too deliberate."
He was certain something was out there.
The captain shared the same thought. Nodding, he asked in a low voice, "What is your assessment?"
The adjutant pondered for a moment before speaking.
"They may not be aircraft... Could they be some kind of mutant species affected by a psychic interference field?"
The captain looked at him and challenged, "Can the effective radius of a psychic interference device reach here all the way from Jinhe City?"
The adjutant's eyes flickered slightly as he tapped an index finger against the radar screen.
"What if the psychic interference device is right inside the swarm?"
Hearing those words, the captain's expression shifted slightly. He issued the order at once.
"Anti-aircraft guns, stand by!"
"Open fire on the radar-designated coordinates!"
Chapter 606