Cooperation (3)

Upon hearing the shout, Antonia reacted swiftly. Instead of looking back, she flew directly into the sky, activating her energy shield. Several heavy artillery shells grazed past her feet, landing on the ground and creating huge shockwaves. The energy shield of her Crimson Widow glowed brightly under the impact. However, the greater threat came from the four warhead missiles. After passing through the explosion area, they didn't detonate but turned back, arcing in the air and heading straight for Antonia.

With the shockwaves still lingering and her mech in a state of vibration, Antonia was unable to maneuver effectively. She could only raise her gun and fire. However, her Crimson Widow was not equipped with a machine gun, and its bullet firing rate was obviously insufficient. Without her supernatural abilities activated, she couldn't intercept any of the missiles.

At that moment, she finally remembered what her mech instructor had told her: Although the configuration of the Crimson Dual Pistols made her attacks sharper and more accurate, it also weakened her interception capabilities. While excellent mobility could compensate for this problem, the high demands on evasion meant that any problem, whether from the pilot or the mech itself, would have serious consequences. Therefore, she was advised to sacrifice some agility to enhance interception capabilities.

At that time, she didn't take those words to heart, nor did she think anyone could push her to this extent. Ignoring this warning, it wasn't until now that she realized she was wrong.

The four missiles were closing in.

Just as they were about to collide, a barrage of bullets surged from the side.

It was Reno. At the first sign of danger, he actually aimed his gun at Antonia and opened fire.

Boom!

A large stream of bullets attacked, as if a big nail board had struck the missiles. All four missiles detonated simultaneously. Due to the close proximity, the intense shockwave once again propelled the Crimson Widow higher, sparking and emitting flames caused by missile fragments and shockwaves, as well as damage from the 9mm machine gun.

Being hit by bullets was better than being hit by missiles.

Even so, the energy of the Crimson Widow suddenly plummeted, and Antonia felt a sharp pain, spitting out a small amount of blood.

She tumbled down from the sky.

Meanwhile, Reno had already launched four warhead missiles towards a distant location.

As the four missiles were launched, four mechs appeared in the distance. These four mechs reacted quickly, raising their guns to fire as soon as the missiles were launched.

A turbulent barrage filled the sky as soon as the missiles were intercepted, but Reno hadn't intended to eliminate anyone. His purpose in launching the four missiles was to prevent pursuit by the enemy.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Antonia had safely landed.

With the lingering shock finally subsiding, Antonia regained control. She turned around and fired her guns behind her, unleashing a long stream of bullets.

Reno ran towards a nearby mountainside and shouted loudly, "Antonia, take cover!"

Antonia leaped into the air, and as she rolled in mid-air, a large particle beam erupted beneath her feet. However, it failed to harm her in the slightest. She then dodged three consecutive heavy artillery shells before flying towards Reno.

Everyone was stunned by her exquisite technique, even Reno.

Regardless of her temperament, at least her skills were impressive.

After showing off her skills, Antonia landed steadily by Reno's side and said fiercely, "If you dare to say anything like 'I told you so,' I'll turn against you!"

Reno was stunned. He didn't expect Antonia to consider such matters in this situation.

Firing a few shots outside, Reno retreated behind the mountainside. "I thought you should be considering what we should do next in this situation?"

"What?" Antonia was puzzled.

"Whoosh!" Two missiles whistled from a distance, bypassing the mountainside and heading towards them.

Reno deployed a high-frequency blade net to intercept them. Two explosions followed, and from afar came a string of curses, obviously shocked by the firepower of their opponents.

Reno quickly continued, "When I checked the terrain near the research institute just now, I not only found four mechs lying in ambush but also saw three mechs rushing towards here. They should arrive within five minutes."

Antonia was taken aback. "Are you sure they're coming for us?"

"At any rate, it's not to enjoy the scenery," Reno replied irritably. He took out a high-explosive grenade from the mech's waist and threw it over. It happened to hit one of the mechs that was trying to flank them, causing a huge explosion and drastically reducing its energy.

The contestant was brave indeed, not retreating but advancing. However, as soon as he charged out, he saw the muzzles of Antonia's dual pistols aimed at him. The bullets fired from the gun barrels were like venomous snakes, leaving him with nowhere to dodge. His body was enveloped in energy radiance, but fortunately, his three teammates provided long-range fire support in time. A round of heavy artillery suppressed Antonia, giving him the opportunity to retreat.

Antonia retracted her guns and retreated behind the mountainside. "Damn it, looks like we'll have to leave first."

This is the edge of the island, with very few mechs around. Those three mechs certainly wouldn't come here without reason.

Facing two against four, Antonia felt there was still hope. But if it was two against seven, there would be almost no chance of winning. On the battlefield, unless there was an absolute difference in weaponry or soldier quality, quantity was the biggest determinant of success or failure.

And in this battle, there was no such difference. Two against four was already the limit, and victory was uncertain. Even with more people, Antonia's pride could only admit defeat.

However, Reno gave her an unexpected answer: "No, we're not retreating!"

Antonia was startled, "Are you crazy? There's no way we can win against seven people."

"I didn't say we need to win against them. We just need to break into the research institute." Reno pointed towards the research institute ahead.

Reno knew one thing very clearly: these contestants didn't show up here for no reason. They must have received interception tasks.

Those damn organizers controlled everything in this way.

This also meant that no matter what means they used, those people would never leave here—because their real task was not to eliminate themselves but to prevent them from entering.

But Antonia didn't know this. She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head, "What are you joking about? That will only trap us in a dead end. Once we're inside the research institute, we won't have anywhere to escape."

"No, they won't come in." Reno replied, "Because if they wanted to come in, they would have done so already, without waiting outside until now. And don't you think it's more suitable for them to ambush us inside the research institute? At least the signal receiver can't see what's happening inside."

Reno had mission restrictions, and the other side must have them too. This restriction was that they couldn't enter the research institute, only set up ambushes on the periphery. Based on their previous performance, Reno judged this.

It was precisely because of this reason that Reno dared to conclude that as long as they entered the research institute, the opponent's mission would end.

Antonia looked at Reno in surprise, "What do you mean? Are you saying they didn't come for the research institute, but for us?"

"That's right, that's how it seems for now. Don't ask me why. Maybe they also have a signal receiver and discovered us early, wanting to earn two points."

Antonia shook her head, "That reason sounds far-fetched. They have seven people, just to wait here for two points?"

"It's better than having no reason." Reno shouted, "Listen, are you going to charge with me or not?"

Reno fired several shots outside, already preparing to charge.

Looking at the smoke outside, Antonia suddenly calmed down. She said, "If they follow us in, we're doomed. Shadow, I think you understand this, right?"

"Of course. Believe me, I don't want to lose this match either... at least not yet." Reno answered seriously.

Antonia stared at Reno's face on the communication screen for a moment, unsure of what to say.

Reno couldn't hold back his shout anymore, "For God's sake, just trust me once, okay? We don't have much time left!"

Antonia swallowed hard, "Okay... for the sake of your track record so far."

"Charge!"

The two of them simultaneously rushed out from behind the mountainside.