Chapter 8 - 3: Desperate Realm Counterkill

Gao Gong disappeared without a trace, leaving only a large stain of blood imprinted on the chair.

Number 201 immediately became alert, the visual collector entered battle mode.

’Enemy... escaping... pursuit.’

As a Transformer unique to the Knight Order camp, its prosthetic eye had multiple functions such as visual imaging, infrared detection, and reticle, and with its half-undead traits, its memory library retained a large amount of combat experience. Although it was only a low-level soldier species, an ordinary Mechanical Hunter was no match for it.

In the upcoming Hydra Battle, these Artificial Soldiers would break into units, infiltrating the sphere of influence of ’Nightless City’, posing, ambushing, and sabotaging, causing significant trouble for the city’s Pure Mechanical Corps by disrupting their logistical supplies.

Even for players entering the plot, without three characters above level 10 coordinating tactically, eliminating this kind of small enemy was impossible — under normal circumstances.

However, players have always found peculiar methods to farm mobs.

Although this small bug had been fixed in the later stages of the plot, now, it was the pre-expansion pack where players had yet to participate!

As Number 201’s perspective turned red, a heat source was quietly hiding behind a nearby truck’s wreckage, concealed by the black smoke of the engine.

Just as the finger pressed on the trigger, Number 201’s knee joint was hit hard. As he lost balance, Gao Gong’s ghostly figure appeared behind, his left hand like a pincer, inserted under the opponent’s armpit. The forearm muscles rubbed upward along the opponent’s upper arm humerus, the palm heel striking the chin, and in the moment the fluid conduit on the neck was exposed, a tactical knife traced the fluid conduit and stabbed under the chin.

"Even machinery can get sick; treat illness early. Early malfunction needs early treatment, late malfunction leads to endless issues."

[You have killed a Knight Order Artificial Soldier, experience +100]

[You used ’Fighting’, causing ’One-Hit Kill’ to the target, experience +100]

As a mixture of machinery liquid sprayed from the opponent’s fluid conduit, Gao Gong acted without a hint of hesitation, forcibly turning around and using the opponent’s body as a shield, then rolling to the ground. Almost simultaneously, a series of bullets landed on the original spot, the metal bullets ’crackling’ against the car body, forming a patterned design.

The remaining three Artificial Soldiers’ eyes glowed red, transforming into emotionless killing machines.

The two from the north, one on the left and one on the right, sought cover, holding semi-automatic rifles with exceptionally stable muzzles, tongues of fire flickering.

The one to the west dropped the intercom, looping a finger around the tactical pocket, a 30cm long knife spun in a circle during the run, reversed grip into the palm, its eye’s red light rippling like waves, looking like a hunting wolf.

"Enemy, eliminate!"

"Solo tactics engaged."

"Attack! Attack! Attack!"

In battle mode, Artificial Soldiers had no emotion; even if vital points were attacked, they wouldn’t immediately die, and the special metal on their head surfaces couldn’t be penetrated by ordinary sniper bullets — unless engaged in close combat, severing the wires and fluid conduits connecting the electronic brain and body to destroy the internal electronic components of their head.

However, through various ’suicidal’ farming techniques during monster farming, someone eventually discovered that the opponent’s Electronic Eye could actually be ’deceived’.

In the infrared world of the visual collector, a heat source was moving rapidly along the cover, two lines of fire crossing, reducing the space for Gao Gong to dodge more and more.

Using the cover of gunfire, another Artificial Soldier had already approached Gao Gong from behind, and inside that metal head, the high-speed sound of engine rotation suddenly arose.

Charge Mode!

The metal surface visibly reddened and heated, human body functions began to ramp up.

In this mode, Artificial Soldiers ignored the constraints of cloned body limitations, operating at full power, performing all sorts of dangerous and bizarre lethal moves, not resting until death.

Their pouncing speed suddenly doubled!

The tactical boot of the opponent stomped hard on a rock, and the whole person shot forward like a launched viper, elongating by almost a third in a single stretch and contraction.

The heat source in the visual collector suddenly split into two.

The tactical knife meant to pierce the opponent’s neck stabbed into thin air.

’How can this be!’

A trace of astonishment flashed in the Artificial Soldier’s heart.

The Artificial Soldier was fast; Gao Gong was faster!

Number 203’s body sank, Gao Gong’s knee dropped from above, slamming into the opponent’s vertebra, pinning him to the ground, while the tactical knife thrust into the back of the neck.

Blood spurted in a spray!

With the sound of wind incoming, Gao Gong jerked his head back, a cold glint brushing past his cheek, and the Artificial Soldier’s arm twisted 180 degrees backward, stabbing towards its own throat.

It seemed as though one could hear the sound of tendons snapping.

’Self-destructing Seed Burst at the brink of death?’

Gao Gong’s alertness heightened, sweeping his peripheral vision, the opponent’s other hand had already drawn a pistol from its holster, aiming at him with the gun’s barrel like a black hole.

With hardly a moment’s hesitation, Gao Gong’s right hand blocked the muzzle, the next moment, the gun fired, the back of the hand bulged violently, the top skin tearing to reveal a silvery white sheen.

Hiss!

The mechanical endoskeleton, although unable to be dramatically modified like a metallic exoskeleton, could connect seamlessly with neural signals and had the edge in small-scale close-quarters combat, yet—

It hurt a lot!

[You lost 3 points of life]

"Die!!"

Gao Gong’s eyes filled with blood, his whole body tensed, muscles straining, veins popping, the micro motor inside the knee ramping up in power, right hand grabbed the head, stomped, twisted, and pulled, a loud crack, and the opponent’s metal head mixed with a spike-like biological implant was violently pulled out.