Chapter 222: The Train Station Bombing

The search operation within the city was escalating, and the destruction of the Harvester Tank had left the rebel forces utterly enraged.

After all, the Modern General was currently inspecting the city.

The fact that their newly deployed superweapon had been destroyed before it could demonstrate its power—and by a single individual no less—was nothing short of a humiliation.

This caused the rebel soldiers to intensify their search efforts across the city, hunting not only for Qin Ming but also for the four-member Peregrine Falcon Squad.

While Qin Ming was locked in a life-and-death struggle with the Harvester Tank, the Peregrine Falcon Squad had used the diversion to accomplish an extraordinary feat:

Despite being surrounded by rebel soldiers and adventurers, they had managed to blow up the remains of the Zhexue airship, completely destroying its energy cannon.

This effectively rendered the rebels' plan to fully upgrade and mass-produce the Harvester Tank nothing more than a pipe dream.

These successive failures drove the rebels into a frenzy, and they began conducting door-to-door searches for any sign of their enemies.

As for Qin Ming and his group? After two days and one night of hiding in the city, they were now preparing for a bold new operation.

This operation, dubbed the Decapitation Plan, was as straightforward as it was audacious.

The goal was to create chaos within the city, drawing all enemy forces inward to reinforce their positions. This would then create an opportunity for the advancing army to launch a large-scale assault.

Finally, during the ensuing chaos, they would eliminate the Modern General, bringing an end to the conflict.

However, causing enough chaos to force the enemy to concentrate their forces in the city was no easy feat.

If they targeted something too insignificant, it wouldn't be enough to mobilize the enemy.

If they targeted something too critical, while it would certainly attract the enemy's attention, it could also put the team in grave danger.

And attacking the Modern General directly was out of the question—if they accidentally scared him off, the entire plan would be a failure.

After much discussion, the team finally settled on a clear target: the enemy's train station.

Their objective was to blow up the train station, destroying the railways and trains and cutting off the rebels' supply line.

Whether in ancient or modern warfare, supply lines are a critical lifeline and must remain intact.

If they successfully destroyed the station and severed the supply line, it was guaranteed to provoke an intense response from the rebels.

High Noon – Train Station Entrance

Amid the sound of footsteps, an uninvited guest approached the heavily guarded and repurposed train station.

The guards at the entrance, spotting the figure, immediately raised their weapons and surrounded him.

"Who goes there?! Hands up!"

Facing the barrels of guns pointed at him from all directions, Qin Ming obediently raised his hands.

The rebel soldiers looked at the man standing before them, dressed in a Regular Army officer's uniform with a high-ranking insignia, and exchanged puzzled glances.

How was it possible for an enemy officer to appear so brazenly in their territory?

Though they couldn't figure it out, it didn't stop them from moving to arrest him.

"Hand over your weapons! Now!"

At the commander's shout, the soldiers all cocked their guns.

Seeing this, Qin Ming nodded slightly and opened his jacket cooperatively.

"Are you talking about these?"

As the jacket was pulled open, the weapons strapped to Qin Ming's chest were revealed.

They weren't guns—they were grenades. A massive string of grenades, all with their pins already pulled, emitting faint trails of smoke.

Seeing the dozens of live grenades strapped to his body, the soldiers immediately screamed in panic and bolted, scattering in all directions.

Qin Ming, laughing heartily, grabbed his jacket and the grenades attached to it and hurled them with all his strength toward the train station's entrance.

Boom!

A deafening explosion echoed across the area, blowing apart the station's main entrance.

A shockwave tore through the area, flinging nearby soldiers into the air and leaving them sprawled on the ground.

The sound of the blast had barely faded when the roar of an engine could already be heard in the distance.

Accompanied by a gust of wind, a heavily modified bulldozer crashed through a wall, speeding toward the train station.

The bulldozer's front was equipped with a reinforced steel ram, and a mounted machine gun was affixed to its top.

The Peregrine Falcon Squad sat atop the bulldozer, spraying gunfire wildly at the station as they smashed through obstacles and burst into the station interior.

This weaponized bulldozer, hastily modified by vehicle expert Tarma, made its grand entrance in style!

As it sped past Qin Ming, Kasamoto Eri, seated on the bulldozer, didn't forget to toss her light machine gun to him.

Catching the machine gun in midair, Qin Ming turned to face the street, positioning himself at the train station entrance, single-handedly blocking the way in.

Inside the station, the four-member Peregrine Falcon Squad was locked in fierce combat with the soldiers stationed there.

Carrying a large number of grenades and with her special skill activated, which provided her with twelve tracking explosive charges, Kasamoto Eri charged straight toward the locomotives parked in the station.

These so-called tracking explosive charges were essentially remote-controlled bombs.

Similar to mechanical mice, once activated, they would automatically move forward and detonate at a designated distance. Their explosive power was immense, and the blast was directional—mainly upward.

While not particularly effective against infantry, they were devastatingly effective against vehicles.

After all, the undercarriage is always the weak point of any vehicle.

The mechanical charges sped forward, skimming the ground and heading straight for the locomotives. The sounds of explosions echoed incessantly.

Amidst the bursts of fire and smoke, one locomotive after another was blown to pieces from underneath, reduced to scrap metal.

Any locomotive that managed to barely survive the blast was immediately finished off by Kasamoto Eri's wooden-handle grenades.

With grenades strapped all over her body, Kasamoto Eri wore a bright grin, demonstrating why she was nicknamed "The Bomb Queen."

A self-taught explosives expert, her talent for destruction was unparalleled.

While the station was ablaze with explosions, outside at the entrance, reinforcements from the rebel forces had already arrived.

Armored vehicles and tanks rumbled down the streets toward the station.

However, before they could stop, the sound of machine gun fire erupted.

Qin Ming, wielding the brilliant silver-grade light machine gun Kasamoto Eri had given him, opened fire on the approaching enemies.

Although this physical-ammunition-based weapon couldn't be enhanced by his Phantom Fire ability, the sheer firepower of the gun alone was more than enough to wreak havoc on conventional tanks.

And Qin Ming occasionally tossing grenades into the fray provided an extra "surprise."

Explosions rang out in rapid succession, and the first wave of tanks and armored vehicles to charge forward were immediately blown to pieces.

Their crews didn't even have time to disembark before being swiftly dealt with.

But as one group was wiped out, another quickly arrived, and more enemies continued pouring in from all directions.

It soon became impossible to hold the entrance with just a single machine gun, especially as heavy tanks finally arrived on the scene.

With a deafening boom, a shell fired by one of the tanks struck Qin Ming directly.

The force of the explosion sent him flying into the train station, his body rolling across the ground.

As Qin Ming scrambled to his feet, shaking off the impact, he saw that the entrance had been breached.

A wave of soldiers poured in, and several tanks plowed through the walls, breaking into the station with brute force.

Realizing the dire situation, Qin Ming prepared to counterattack, his hands swirling with air currents, but a loud shout from behind stopped him in his tracks.

"Boss! Retreat!"

Turning to look, Qin Ming saw that the station was now in complete ruins. All the locomotives had been destroyed—except for one.

Inside the last intact locomotive, Kasamoto Eri and the others had already taken their positions.

Tarma was at the controls, preparing to drive, while the other three were on high alert, ready to defend.

Standing by the railing, Kasamoto Eri reached out a hand toward Qin Ming, motioning for him to hurry aboard.

Realizing what was happening, Qin Ming didn't hesitate. Turning around, he sprinted toward the train.

He ran as enemies chased after him.

Dodging bullets and braving the hail of gunfire, Qin Ming reached out and grabbed Kasamoto Eri's outstretched hand. With a strong pull, she hoisted him onto the train.

But even as he climbed aboard, enemy soldiers were already clambering onto the train, desperately trying to board.

From atop the train, Marco immediately opened fire, spraying bullets at the oncoming enemies.

At the same time, Tarma hit the throttle, and with a loud blast of the whistle, the locomotive roared to life.

Belching thick smoke, the train gradually picked up speed and, right in front of everyone's eyes, raced down the tracks and out of the station!

(End of Chapter)