âBoomâ
With a clap of thunder in the sky, a torrential downpour poured down.
The rainwater absorbed the radioactive elements in the atmosphere, forming a new type of neutron acid rain, also known as nuclear acid rain.
Pea-sized raindrops splattered on various buildings, forming a thick curtain of rain. Occasionally, there were explosions, as mechanical thunderbirds in the sky wielded meteorological weapons.
Miyamoto Sanzang stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, silently watching this scene.
The current Automobile City has evidently become a military no-fly zone.
No matter what type of flying device, whether stealth or reinforced defense, as long as it dared to ascend, it would be met with an overwhelming thunderstorm.
The first part of the âSevered Arm Planâ succeeded, or rather, it succeeded too well.
Now it depended on whether the second part of the plan could be successfully implemented.
The door opened, and a Licker appeared at the entrance. It had sturdy limbs, five rows of teeth, no eyes, ears, or nose, just a mouth below the head with saliva dripping from between its teeth. On its shoulders and thighs, large eyeballs the size of fists rotated between thick muscle fibers, finally all focusing on Miyamoto Sanzang.
This dried-up, straight-backed elder stood before the storm, his wide old linen robe fluttering in the gale, further accentuating his bony frame.
Rather than being called an old assassin, he seemed more like an elderly swordsman.
Miyamoto Sanzang seemed unaware of the Lickerâs presence, still facing away from it, as the strong sound of wind and rain seemed to cut off his sharp perception.
The Licker silently watched the other for three seconds. Suddenly, its crimson muscle began to contract, the skull shrank, facial features squeezed out, finally turning into an elderly man about the same age as Miyamoto Sanzang, arms crossed, and walked up beside him.
"Youâre here," Miyamoto Sanzangâs hoarse voice echoed.
"Here in this damn weather, who knows how many others apart from us can get here on time, maybe they all died on the way."
The Crawler said, his tone sarcastic.
Miyamoto Sanzang remained silent.
"I heard this time the secret troops under Demon Mountain General will also be dispatched?"
"Two old men alone canât handle five B-level Radiation Beasts."
The Crawler twisted his neck dismissively. "If thatâs the case, then why bother to have us here."
Miyamoto Sanzang calmly watched the rain falling against the window.
Soon, a third person arrived, and dense footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Faintly, a doctorâs anxious voice could be heard.
"Mr. Hei, your metal inhibitor hasnât been injected yet."
"I ainât sick, Iâm perfectly fine!"
The door was smashed open, splinters scattering, as a mechanical hand as large as a dustpan gripped the door frame, and Black God ducked his head to come in.
Seeing the two of them, Black God sneered, "So itâs you two old geezers. What, all the young mechanical hunters in Automobile City are dead? Need the old guys to step up?"
The two ignored him; there was no need to acknowledge a dying man.
"Hey, old man, do you think Iâm the strongest among the younger generation of mechanical hunters?"
The Crawler gave him a glance, curling his lips into a grim smile, "Try taking down that Lone Wolf first."
"I will definitely take him down," Black God sat down on the floor, shaking the entire level, pulling out a bottle of alcohol-scented gasoline and gulping it down.
The Crawler glanced at the otherâs neck, densely covered with needle marks, emitting an unpleasant potion smell.
The scent of some of the drugs wasnât even âinhibitorsâ but âstimulants.â
Someone wanted this fool to die on the battlefield.
"Surely itâs not just us few people?"
Black God couldnât stand the silence for long, soon starting a conversation again.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Iâm Colonel Kep of the Special Forces, in charge of this special military operation."
A short, sturdy man in a military uniform suddenly appeared at the entrance, pausing as he crossed the threshold, then stepping inside with his boots.
With him were a full twenty soldiers, moving without a sound, and their lowest rank was Major.
These people included both men and women, old and young, and as they appeared, the gravity in the air seemed to increase tenfold. Miyamoto Sanzangâs hand lightly rested on the wakizashi at his waist, and the Crawlerâs pocket ejected a sharp claw three centimeters long.
Only Black God remained oblivious, still crazily chugging gasoline.
âAll experts!â
âEven more impressive than frontline mechanical hunters.â
The Crawler and Miyamoto Sanzang exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with many things.
As hunters fighting on the front lines, they were extremely sensitive to intangible things like aura, qi, and killing intent.
Anyone here, placed in the previous Oasis, would unquestionably be ranked as the top combatant.
And now, there were actually twenty of such creatures who had reached the desertâs combat power limit!
"Yo, everyoneâs here."
A lazy voice sounded.
Gao Gong, left hand resting on something like a âsword sheath,â walked in lazily, with two military personnel following him.
After entering, the two said nothing, automatically merging with the ranks.
Gao Gong glanced behind the broken door, suddenly chuckling, "Old Man Miyamoto, why are you hiding your AI apprentice, planning to assassinate us?"
The Crawler was momentarily stunned, and Black God was even more dumbfounded.
They saw a blurry figure slowly emerging from behind the door. As it reached behind Miyamoto, it became an ordinary-looking young man.
This was a more advanced stealth technique than a âspecial effects machine.â
"Nanometer Invisibility Cloak or Light Refraction Technology?" Gao Gong asked with interest.
"Qi Sensing or Advanced Detection Equipment?" Miyamoto Sanzang calmly replied.
The two exchanged glances and, without any prior agreement, closed their mouths.
The Crawlerâs expression was quite unpleasant, having observed everyoneâs expressions just moments ago. Except for himself, only Black God showed any surprise.
Everyone sensed it, except for him and Black God.
Doesnât that mean heâs on the same level as that big fool?!
For the Crawler, who has always looked down on others, this was a silent insult.
And moreover, they all received notifications and risked being bombed to gather at the location. Only Gao Gong was brought in by someone.
Doesnât this indicate that his importance far exceeds theirs?
Silent insult *2
"It seems like thereâs still one missing," Gao Gong looked at Special Colonel Kep, knowing more than others.
For example, the second part of the âBroken Arm Planâ has five stages. Other Hunters can only participate in the third stage, while he takes action in the second stage, and can even be considered the core of the second stage.
Kep pressed his tactical earphone, and soon his expression turned sour.
He didnât explain and directly said, "Weâre moving out!"
"Lone Wolf, thirty years east of the river and thirty years west, you refused to be my teammate back then, so how about now? Arenât you obediently assisting me!"
"Yes, yes, youâre the best."
Miyamoto Sanzang walked last, behind him, the other two disciples also emerged from the corner, their forms becoming visible during the action.
The corner of his mouth slightly lifted as he glanced at the back of Gao Gongâs head.
Unexpectedly, Gao Gong didnât turn his head, raising his arm straight up, showing three fingers.
Miyamoto Sanzangâs face instantly darkened.
The weather was eerily gloomy, with almost no light except for the occasional lightning illuminating the heavens.
Gao Gong donned a high-tech pure white raincoat given by the Legion, its effect similar to âDesert Skin,â completely blocking human heat, electronic signals, and biological messages once worn.
Rain hit the raincoatâs hood, making a âpitter-patterâ sound. Gao Gong switched to night vision, suddenly able to see the military aircraftâs âwhite silhouetteâ flicker and disappear amidst the clouds and lightning.
Everyone was an expert, even Black Godâs âcorporate loan-style expert.â The dark environment wouldnât hinder them.
The Crawler stretched out his palm, catching the falling rain, at an angle others couldnât see. From his wrist, his skin gradually turned purple.
Purple is the aura color of C-level Radiation Beasts in the Uninhabited Land.
This indicates the Beast Tideâs energy level has reached C-level, forcing any soldiers unable to fight under the pressure of C-level Radiation Beasts out of the battlefield.
This advanced biological perception is his unique ability!
The Crawler retracted his palm, pretending nothing happened.
Behind him, Gao Gongâs voice echoed.
"The Beast Tide reaching C-level tonight is not a good omen; will the action plan be affected?"
Colonel Kepâs face remained expressionless: "Everything has its arrangements above."
"Using the suddenly elevated energy field to cover this special military operation; or, in this suddenly intensified Radiation Field, will B-level Radiation Beasts also become mentally sluggish and careless?"
Kep gave Gao Gong a somewhat surprised look, and the usually taciturn man couldnât help but praise him.
"Great vision, worthy of the Generalâs special attention."
Gao Gong shrugged, suddenly noticing the Crawler old manâs gaze filled with sorrow and anger.
Silent insult *3
He spoke with astonishment, "What, really, you still donât know? Itâs quite easy to see."
For some reason, Miyamoto Sanzangâs mood suddenly improved.
Explosions rang out consecutively in the dark, occasionally bursting a massive fireball amidst the clouds.
Aside from the commanders in the command center, no one could truly understand the entirety of this battle.
Rain fell âcrashing down,â waited for ten minutes, and a nuclear-powered helicopter descended from the sky.
Gao Gong and other special forces members boarded it.
"Hey, why can he leave first!" Black God exclaimed discontentedly, "I want to fly too!"
"Because heâs participating in this stage of the military operation," Kep looked at him calmly and said.
"Iâm not convinced! Why only him? I want to join too!"
"Unless you can fly, otherwise buzz off!" the helicopter pilot grumbled impatiently.
Gao Gong gleefully poked his head out of the cabin and added:
"If youâre capable of shooting down the aircraft, you can join too. I believe you can do it."
The cabin door closed, and the nuclear-powered device took off in the rainy night, producing no sound.
Seated, Gao Gongâs expression gradually grew serious.
Among all the Mechanical Hunters, heâs the only one aware of the entire nature of this operation.
The first stage involves a squadron of three flying devices executing a surprise attack on the B-level Radiation Beasts, entangling them over Automobile City.
The second stage, the âTiger Hunter Squadâ cooperates with Gao Gongâs Radiation Field to ensure the five B-level Radiation Beasts are knocked down, with the primary goal of limiting them to an altitude below 1500 meters.
The third stage, the âBeast Hunting Teamâ and âMechanical Hunter Eliteâ take action, ensuring their temporary confinement.
The fourth stage sees fifty large combat robots from the frontline execute interception tasks.
The fifth stage involves 96 battle zones, each deploying an elite squad, half to block the reinforcement of the Beast Tide, half to assist the Robot Corps in encirclement slaughter.
The overall objective is to eliminate these five B-level Radiation Beasts and all their subordinate flying species, reclaiming air supremacy in this battle.
Itâs fair to say, hiding Gao Gong, this âUltimate Weapon,â for so long was precisely for this confrontation.