Chapter 474.2: Assistance Is Here!

“Thank you for cooperating... Do you have anything else you’d like to add?” With no further interest in the prisoner, Wu Kaian wrapped up the interview with a single line.

Swofte gave a cold smile. “I didn’t cooperate with you... Oh, and if you have any news of ceasefire talks, can you tell me?”

Wu Kaian searched his memory and replied carefully, “Not for now... Though I did see the New Alliance’s diplomats promise on other Ideal City media that they aim to end the war before the end of the year.”

Before the end of the year, huh?

Swofte was slightly taken aback.

Though he was skeptical, he slowly nodded to acknowledge the information.

It sounded like they were boasting, but it was possible the New Alliance didn’t want to keep fighting either.

Either way, that would be good news for him.

If things moved quickly, by early spring next year he might be able to return to his residence by the Solat River...

...

North of the Sunset Province, the wasteland north of the mountains.

A few vultures were tearing at a Mutant Hyena carcass when they sensed movement along the ground and fluttered up into the sky.

Not long after, a heavy tracked vehicle wide enough for two lanes emerged out of the mist on the edge of the land.

The mud hanging from its tracks told stories of where it had come from.

The man in the co-pilot seat stared at the tablet in his hands. He wore a yellow-gray camouflage jacket, had a very short crew cut, an unkempt chin stubbled with a beard. There was also an index-finger-long scar on his right cheek.

If not for the nametag on his chest that read D-class Prospector, no one would have guessed he belonged to the Academy. They would have taken him for a mercenary active in the area.

In truth, that wasn’t entirely wrong. Although he was a rostered Academy member, he did not spend much of his year there.

Like the other unlucky D-class Prospectors, he and his squad were either exploring ruins or getting to them.

His name was Zheng Hao and he belonged to the Academy’s Investigation Department, Containment Unit. His role, as his nametag said, was a prospector and combat personnel.

His squad of just over 20 rode in the vehicle; half were androids, half were cyborgs whose bodies were more than 50 percent prosthetic.

“How much longer, boss?” asked a young man in the back, peering out the window in boredom.

His name was Zhao Xiao, an E-class Prospector in the Containment Unit. They had been investigating an old research facility from the Federation Era seventy kilometers away when they received orders to detour to the wasteland beyond the swamp to recover a special lab specimen at coordinates they had been given.

The photo their superiors supplied showed a propeller plane, the Eagle fighter used by the Falcon Kingdom.

To be honest, he had no interest in that antique. He wouldn’t be there if not for the order.

“It’s just up ahead,” Zheng Hao replied tersely from the driver seat, not in the mood to humor the energetic kid.

He knew a little more than the E-level crew.

According to colleagues in the Foreign Affairs Department, they had discovered a sub entity of mutant slime mold inside the cockpit of a crashed Eagle fighter that flew to Sunset Province.

All of them knew that Slime Mold could not exist in isolation. There had to be a Mother Body or a Hive nearby.

Recovering the plane was only part of the mission. Their real task was to locate the source.

The researcher suggested it might be a lifeform they had never seen and an in-depth study could yield major discoveries.

At that moment, a ghostly blue arc flashed across the distant sky. Zheng Hao snapped his head up and squinted slightly.

It was then that the previously silent driver spoke. “That’s from a plasma engine.”

“

Mm

.” Zheng Hao nodded, his expression cautious. “They’re most likely from the Enterprise.”

Though he rarely dealt with the people from the East Coast, his instincts told him that wherever those people showed up, trouble followed.

It wasn’t just the captain who felt on edge.

At the mention of the Enterprise, the faces in the cabin stiffened. The restless young man showed a hungry eagerness.

Zheng Hao switched off the screen, shoved the tablet into the overhead compartment, pulled on a tactical helmet, and grabbed the backpack at his seat. Looking at his squad, he saw everyone was tense and ready.

“Jiang, launch the drones and scan 10 kilometers ahead. Flag any exposed suspected threats.”

“Roger.” A short-haired woman in the rear nodded and touched her temple with a finger, closing her eyes. Pale golden threads connected to the ends of her black hair.

Simultaneously, three triangular drones mounted on their vehicle fired their swallow-shaped tail fins and shot into the air.

Her name was Jiang Xuezhou. Like Zhao Xiao, she was an E-class staff. However, she wasn’t a prospector. She was a slightly higher-ranked researcher serving as the team’s technology advisor and drone operator. She held the highest rank in the squad besides the captain and his deputy.

Everyone waited silently for her report.

Then, with her eyes still closed, Jiang Xuezhou’s brow twitched and she suddenly snapped upright. She reported in a flat, rapid voice. “Detected a suspected Mother Body lifeform! Target located 3.7 kilometers due north. The Mother Body has a humanoid body. There’s a... Human beside it.”

Surprise crossed her face, though she kept her eyes shut.

Zhao Xiao also registered his disbelief. “Are you sure it's a human?”

Predation of other organisms was practically hardwired into the DNA of Slime Mold. They were designed as bioweapons to consume organic matter. It was even more so for a Mother Body. How could it allow other living beings nearby?

Zheng Hao frowned. “Are you sure it’s human? Not a Slime Mold disguised as one?”

“Eighty percent sure... He’s wearing clothes with no obvious tears, and exposed parts show no signs of slime infestation,” Jiang Xuezhou explained, pausing for a moment. “That person lit a flare.”

“What is he doing?” Zhao Xiao asked at once.

She continued quickly, “He’s waving it around like he’s trying to get something’s attention... Wait, the Enterprise’s transport plane is approaching them! The man is a staff of the Enterprise!”

Zheng Hao’s expression hardened.

He didn’t know why members of the Enterprise would be targeting that Mother Body, nor why the creature appeared near the Wandering Swamp.

However, he knew one thing. That was his prey.

He would not let those thieves from the East Coast steal it from him!

“Shoot it down!” Zheng Hao gave the decisive order.

“Ah...” Jiang Xuezhou hesitated. “But... My drones are recon craft.”

“Fly straight at it! Ram their engine!”

Her brows lifted in wry pain. Jiang Xuezhou winced at the thought of sacrificing her equipment, but she knew it wasn’t the time to be sentimental and obeyed the order.

After a moment, she inhaled and reported, “Target hit... Left engine on the aircraft has caught fire. They are making an emergency landing.”

At that, everyone breathed easier. They felt a huge weight lifted off their chest.

Zheng Hao continued to bark his order, “Continue tracking the Mother Body! Also mark the crash site and any nearby survivors!”

Jiang Xuezhou, with her eyes still closed, nodded. Her tightened brow betrayed her annoyance for crashing her drone but she still said nothing.

Zheng Hao turned to the driver and muttered, “Old Song, proceed on the current heading to the marker and standby. Little Zhao, take your spotter and move near the mission coordinates to find a suitable sniper position.”

“Roger!” Old Song gripped the wheel and nodded.

Zhao Xiao answered in excitement before eagerly pulling a 1.5 meter long sniper rifle from a case and began fitting it with all sorts of accessories.

Zheng Hao addressed the rest of the squad next. “All units, listen up. We’re facing the Enterprise. No mercy for those thieves. Check your gear and prepare for engagement... Group C stay on the vehicle and follow Old Song. Groups A and B, follow me!”

A crisp chorus answered in the cabin.

“Yes, Captain!”

Satisfied, Zheng Hao swung the vehicle door open and barked the command. “Move out!”

At the same time, chaos rocked the descending Orca. Alarms screamed as red warning lights flashed in the cabin.

Night Ten, who hadn’t secured his harness, was slammed into the ceiling. Gale grabbed his collar and with his bionic arm, hauled him back before he could slam into the wall.

Buckled back in and looking a mess, Night Ten cursed, “Jesus! I knew that damn doggy developer would...

Waaah

!”

Gale clapped a hand over his mouth. “Shut it or you’ll make it worse!”

From the cockpit came the pilot’s alarmed cry, “Left engine’s on fire! Damn! Something hit us!”

Old White cursed. “Goddamn it, didn’t you guys have radar?!”

The pilot who was still sweating, clutched the controls and tried to keep balance on the single remaining engine.

“I don’t know! The radar was on! We should have seen a sparrow if it was there! Fuck! What the hell...”

They learned something new about the unreliability of those from the Enterprise that day.

Seeing the pilot fumbling, Old White ground his teeth and abandoned his last hopes that the pilot would be able to stabilize the plane.

He looked at his dazed teammates tossed about the cabin and yelled, “We’re hit by an anti-air ambush! Enemy numbers and types unknown! Check your gear and prepare to crash! Once on the ground, disperse immediately and find cover outside the plane!”

The grinding metal and the tension in the cabin sounded like teeth being clenched. However, the air trembled with battle cries.

“Yes!”

Whoever they were, they would make the bastard who sneak attacked them pay.

On a nearby open plain, Falling Feather stood bewildered, waving his flare and watching the Orca transport spiral down into the ground. His smile froze.

His last two days had been hell.

The surrounding hills were full of dangerous mutants, and his clingy little companion hadn’t been well behaved either.

He hardly slept, only stealing short naps whenever Little Feather let him.

He thought he could finally get back to the shelter for a big meal and a good sleep when he saw the plane falling from the sky?!

“Fuck!” He slammed the flare to the ground in frustration, swore, and drew his 9mm pistol from his waistband.

He didn’t know what had happened, but the plane’s descent didn’t look like a normal accident. As an experienced pilot he could tell something had surely struck the engine. It was either a missile or something else.

If the Army brought the plane down... He was probably the bait they were using to draw over reinforcements.

His priority was to move out of the area before the big nosed bastards closed the net.

“Little Feather, we need to go!” The little guy who was grabbed by the neck tilted its head in surprise. It didn’t know what had happened, but nothing stopped him from copying Falling Feather.

“Fuck!”