Chapter 609.2: Battle Between The Strongest

Chapter 609.2: Battle Between The Strongest

At the sight of a fanged carcass at his feet, Gu Wei who had just climbed on board with a light machine gun, nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Holy shit... What the hell is that?!”

Clearly, he wasn’t the only one surprised.

Staring at the fanged corpses scattered across the deck, many soldiers wore astonished looks.

“Mutant Humans?!”

“With damn wings too!”

“What’s so strange about that... over in the Among Cloud Province they’ve got ones with gills on their jaws.”

“

Ssssss...

you think it’s possible the Among Cloud Province freaks and these winged bastards were made by the same people?”

“Hell if I know... but maybe!”

“Quiet, prepare for combat, we’re not here on a picnic!” Yun Song snapped over their communication channel.

At their captain’s rebuke, the chatter ceased, but his second order left them stumped.

Of course they knew they hadn’t come for a picnic.

But the problem was... Where were the enemies?

From afar they had seen tracers lighting the deck, but by the time they arrived, the fight seemed already over...

At that moment, Old White walked up in his exoframe, lifting his visor, eyes widening at the sight of Yun Song at the head of the squad. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

Yun Song was baffled himself but kept it off his face. “We came to help... heard you were under attack by the Torch Church? There were supposed to be over 10,000 biologically engineered enemies?”

“You mean these?” Old White kicked a mangled creature by his feet and smirked. “That’s not a prob...”

“This is a serious problem.” A calm voice cut him off.

Old White turned instinctively. The administrator strode over in his azure exoframe.

He instantly understood the administrator’s intentions and stepped aside.

Yun Song faltered briefly, then forced a wry smile. “Apologies, we came as fast as we could.”

“I’m not blaming you.” Chu Guang shook his head, continuing evenly, “In fact, I appreciate that you came to our aid in danger, unlike some who watch from afar as if nothing concerns them. But I must speak about our efficiency. We shared our intel with you long ago. The threat beneath our feet rivals the Enlightenment Society and Shelter 0. It’s not only our problem. It will sooner or later become yours.”

“Tonight’s tragedy could have been avoided. Not just tonight, if our cooperation had been tighter, if you had taken it more seriously, we could have strangled this menace in the cradle instead of letting it grow into a tumor we can’t cut out!”

Yun Song faltered, then finally said, “Sorry, I’m just a soldier following orders. I can’t sway the Highest Council’s decisions... but I’ll relay your words to my superiors.”

Chu Guang glanced at Yun Song’s helmet that had a blinking light before nodding slowly. “See that you do.”

That was his goal in calling them via Eclipse.

He had already met with the Enterprise’s ambassador to discuss the plots of the Torch Church in the Brocade River Province, but all the New Alliance had received was two androids.

Clearly, the Highest Council dismissed the Brocade River Province as a historical issue, ignoring the deeper threat. They only acted once they could no longer ignore the problem.

Chu Guang couldn’t let them stall.

Brocade Lake Municipality was hundreds of kilometers from Among Cloud Province and Ideal City, but only 700 to 800 kilometers from Clearspring City.

The Torch Church not only held the Brocade Lake Municipality, they also controlled the massive Ocean Edge Province.

If the New Alliance’s fight in Brocade Lake Municipality looked too easy, allies would care even less.

The Torch Church's hidden card in the Brocade Lake Municipality had surprised him, but he realized it was leverage. They could invoke treaty clauses to force the 26th Assault Team’s deployment.

Even if they never fired a shot, Yi Chuan would still have to report to the Highest Council, shaping the debate.

It was a little unfair to that honest man, but Chu Guang had no choice if he wanted to drag the Enterprise in.

Realizing Chu Guang’s meaning, Yun Song nodded, then asked stiffly, “Anything else we can help with?”

Chu Guang glanced at the corpses. “I would like you to take some of these back. Your research institutions may find their DNA secrets interesting.”

He remembered talk of blue-skinned, gilled mutants along Among Cloud Province’s coasts, harassing survivors.

Seeing those winged ones, he suspected the Torch Church had made those too.

Relieved at the simple request, Yun Song nodded. “No problem. I was just about to ask... anything else?”

Chu Guang almost said no, then remembered something awkward, glancing aside. “Mm... One of our planes is stuck on the gun deck’s barrel. We may need you to help recover it.”

The New Alliance only had two Viper transport planes, losing one would sting. Repair was possible.

The next second, Yun Song froze.

A plane... stuck on a cannon barrel?

How the hell?

“... Alright, I’ll try.”

It was not purely out of kindness. He was curious to see it for himself.

Nearby, Gale’s face twisted as he glanced at Ample Time, coughing lightly. “I think I know where the kid ended up...”

...

Recovering the Viper wasn’t as hard as feared.

A hovering Orca opened its rear hatch, winched the rope-snared Viper, secured it, and started to pull upwards.

To the massive Orca, the Viper dangling from the 155mm barrel looked like a jellyfish, easily swallowed whole.

Plasma engines showed their worth. They weren’t as fast at low altitude as rotors, but vastly more stable, with near-omnidirectional maneuverability.

Inside, assault troopers gawked at the battered wreck.

What the hell had this thing been through...

The pilot clambered out first, followed by the rifle-toting woman in back.

Su Ming stared at the lady. She looked familiar. Soon, he remembered that they had met in Shelter 0 in the Great Desert.

Realizing she was an Academy researcher, his eyes went wide. “Wait, you’re....”

Before he could finish, Jiang Xuezhou grabbed his arm, blurting urgently, “Wait! Someone else is outside!”

“Someone else...?”

He looked out instinctively, following the rope upward, and froze at the sight.

At the bent barrel lay a soldier in an exoskeleton, waist nearly torn in half by the ropes.

Su Ming swallowed hard, a sympathetic pain clenching low.

It was impossible to imagine his final agony.

“Get him down.” Yun Song, who had seen the body, ordered curtly. The pilot raised altitude, sliding the barrel into the hatch.

Men with cutters sawed through the entire segment where they saw that the warrior had not let go of the barrel, even in death.

Respect filled their hearts.

Jiang Xuezhou’s nose stung, tears spilling as she saw Night Ten’s mangled form. He had died saving her.

Yun Song sighed and kneeled, removing the helmet to glimpse the hero’s face.

He froze the next moment and so did Su Ming.

That face looked somewhat familiar?

...

Back on Wasteland Online’s official forum.

A certain dead guy was raging in a post.

Night Ten: Damn it! Why hasn’t my respawn CD even started yet! It’s been almost an hour!

Falling Feather: Bug maybe? Same thing happened to me last time.

Night Ten: I’m crying here, someone shoot me in the head already!

Irene: Too bad I’m on the front lines. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Elf Wang: Next time for sure. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Mosquito: LMAO my CD’s still 70 hours! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Night Ten: Shit!

Falling Feather: Wait, Mosquito, where are your eight robot arms?

Mosquito: OH MY GOD, I FORGOT! QAQ

Makka Pakka: Pfft! You’re killing me!

Light Wind: The commander should’ve asked us. For that kind of money, we’d gladly take a suicide mission.

Irene: I don’t know whether to envy the guy’s money or pity how much he lost. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Elf Wang: No worries bro, we’ll look around, maybe we’ll find them. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)