"Letâs keep Su Xiaocaiâs mission to attack the Mother Entity a secret for now. Thereâs a channel inside the Insect Man ranks that can relay messages." If the news reaches the Mother Entity and the warriors, they will inevitably pull back some Insect Men to defend.
They must do their utmost to defend, also serving as a means to draw the Insect Menâs attention.
To buy time for Su Xiaocai.
The Insect Men pressed forward step by step, with the large-eyed Insect Men climbing on the shield, attacking incessantly.
The combined attack of the regular and large-eyed Insect Men piled up like a tidal wave at the Military Government Building.
The Mecha Masters all sat in their "battle companions", gripping their weapons tightly.
The instructors had no time to lead the students into battle, and Ji Heng volunteered.
The other students believed in him, and although Jun Hui and Jun Ya were a bit discontented, they couldnât afford internal squabbles and criticisms in times of crisis.
Any changes in orders would be communicated to Ji Heng by the instructors at the earliest possible time.
No student dodged the fight; they were all the top students of the school, with no reason to cower.
For the time being, thereâs no need to confront the Insect Men, so Wu Feiyang quickly asked Ji Heng, "How come your team only has you and Wu Qingqing left? Whereâs my little wife? Where have they gone?"
Wu Feiyang also noticed that Hu Ping and others were missing.
With so many people absent, on what grounds could Ji Heng still be here?
Su Xiaocaiâs operation needed to be kept secret, so Ji Heng just said, "They have another mission. You shouldnât inquire about their whereabouts."
Wu Feiyang sensed an implied meaning, but he didnât believe it, considering Su Xiaocai wasnât a soldier; what secret mission could be entrusted to her?
Wu Feiyang was good at math.
Each team was in charge of two areas, and to the west, it was Fan Li and his teamâs responsibility; Su Xiaocai must be over there too.
"They fell, didnât they?" Wu Feiyang privately messaged Ji Heng.
Ji Heng remained silent, and Wu Feiyangâs anger surged, wanting to question why Ji Heng didnât rescue them; why wasnât it him who fell?
Ultimately, his reason prevailed.
He mumbled, "Why can you remain so calm? I just want to slaughter these disgusting things right now."
Ji Heng: "I told you, they have a secret mission. I believe theyâre still alive and they will come back."
Wu Feiyang could not accept this explanation, "If they donât come back, Iâll go find them."
Ji Heng looked up at the cracks on the shield, only forty minutes had passed.
"You canât go. They are still alive. Even if you donât believe in Wu Qingqing, you should trust Su Xiaocai." He handed Wu Feiyang a weapon; a long knife stuck into the ground, "Xiao Cai gave this, use it well."
No time for grief.
Wu Feiyang picked up the weapon, and as soon as he touched it, he knew it was not ordinary; the long knife emitted an invisible sharpness. The ground where it was inserted had cracks wider than the blade itself.
Upon closer look, a silver substance flowed within; Wu Feiyang swung it twice and could almost hear a bloodthirsty metallic cry.
...
In Repair Room No. 3, six more logistics personnel came in to help, assisting in assembling the Triangular Protective Device, speeding up the assembly process.
The city garrison major looked at a successfully assembled protective device, "Can this thing really block the detection of Insect Men?"
"Su Xiaocai doesnât lie. If she says it can, then it can, and you should follow her instructions exactly," Feng Wansha said, screwing a machine so fast it was almost sparking.
Fan Li: "Treating a dead horse as if itâs alive. We have no other choice, do we?"
"How can we ensure that the people inside will not panic and move?" the city garrison major asked.
Li Leilei looked at him as if he were an idiot, "There should be plenty of space miner suits here. Put them on, knock them out, and you can fit a few more people in."
The city garrison major took a deep breath, "You canât use sedatives willy-nilly; some people are allergic."
"Then letâs just all die together." Li Leileiâs tone hardened, her hands moving so fast they became blurry; she didnât want to keep talking to military personnel who couldnât make decisions.
The logistics personnel worked focusedly.
The city garrison major didnât make another sound to disturb them, "Lieutenant Fan, where has the student Su gone that you talked about, and how did she predict this incident?"
Fan Li did not reveal that Su Xiaocai had gone to kill the Mother Entity, "Are you doubting her?"
"Quite a coincidence." The city garrison major didnât believe a student could assess the current situation on Huangyang Star.
Fan Li: "She fell into a collapsed area, struggling to send the message back to buy us time."
The major was left speechless; he realized he was wrong. At this point, if Su Xiaocai had truly foreseen the Insect Men attack, she wouldnât have come to Huangyang Star in the first place.
Now, everyone is trapped in a confined space, facing a deadly battle. Thereâs no time for plotting schemes.
Fan Li was secretly grateful he hadnât told the truth. This major had stayed in Huangyang City too long, learned the ambiguous ways of politicians, was slow-paced in actions, and lacked a soldierâs decisiveness.
No wonder he hadnât been promoted.
"If the major canât make a decision, say that I made it, and I am willing to bear all responsibility."
The city garrison major coughed, "Alright, then this piece is yours to handle. If itâs successful, the creditâs all yours. Try to keep people alive."
Doomed to die, he dared not handle such a troublesome matter; handing it to Fan Li would do. He had to go out and command his last battlefield.
Forty minutes passed. The assembly was halfway through, and Fan Li went to pull hidden clerical officers and police to help with the work.
The sedative could only be administered once; there couldnât be any mishaps.
During this period, Fan Li went to the shelter.
In the shelter with thousands of people, no military police maintained order, yet it was incredibly quiet.
Everyone hung their heads, with several rare children in Huangyang City nestled obediently in their parentsâ arms.
Fan Liâs heart felt heavy; he had to choose whom to save from these people.
He couldnât afford to be the least bit softhearted.
Seeing a soldier come in, several people in refuge stood up, eager to know the situation outside, "Officer, howâs it outside?"
Fan Li replied, "I donât want to lie to you; itâs not optimistic. We are ready to fight to the death."
"Donât you have an emergency escape plan? Like planetary transport, rescue?"
"Yeah, we can pay, whatever the price, please arrange for us to leave first."
"We also want to leave. Youâre the peopleâs army; you canât just care about the wealthy."
Many people grew anxious, fearing the military would abandon them. They joined the argument, mistakenly believing that being loud would grant them the right to survive.
Everyone only thought of themselves, showing the ugly selfishness and ugliness of human nature.
Facing survival, itâs not surprising people act selfishly.
Fan Li spoke cautiously: "The shelter is not the only place. We need to transfer some people; if the Insect Men break through, we save whoever survives."
"They will transfer deeper, children first. The rest of you can draw lots or select a few to go to another shelter, only up to four hundred people."
"If we canât hold it, youâll be the childrenâs last line of defense."
Fan Liâs words struck them like a bomb.
"You only have ten minutes to decide, must transfer before the shield breaks. We have no other escape plan, just drag time and await reinforcements." Fan Li took off his hat, bowing and apologizing sincerely, "Iâm sorry, our ability is limited, we canât give any promises, we can only try to keep hope alive."
Everyone couldnât help but turn their heads to look at the children huddled together in the crowd.
Someone objected.
"Why should they go, theyâre not our children."
"Weâre not willing, you canât take anyone. What, use me as a meat shield, what a joke."
"Thereâs no big shot hiding underground, so you pick so few, right?"
Fan Li straightened up and said, "All the staff here have gone to fend off the Insect Men and are ready to sacrifice themselves, so I hope you donât make baseless assumptions and slander those heroes fighting."
A man with a face full of flesh stood up, a leader of the local miners, fierce and selfish, often deducted workersâ pay.
Just when everyone thought he would support the ones who opposed.
He instead swung a punch, knocking a person out.
In times of crisis, heroes never lack; he confessed he wasnât a good man, but if anyone could live, he hoped it would be the children.