Chapter 303: Human Resistance – Temporary "Ray"

Swish—swish!

The sound of arrows piercing through the air echoed throughout the underground parking garage.

"Ah!"

"My hand!"

The response was the soldiers' agonized cries. 

Three soldiers standing at the front, poised to fire at Alan, had their right hands pierced by the tracking arrows. Their weapons fell to the ground, leaving them unable to pose any immediate threat to Alan.

"What's happening?!"

"There's an enemy hiding in the shadows!"

The sudden attack caused the already anxious human soldiers and civilians to panic.

Alan seized the opportunity, grabbing the Gauss rifle hanging at his side.

Meanwhile, Xiao Qiang, standing on top of a wrecked van, deactivated the optical camouflage on his combat suit and took aim at the soldiers and civilians with three freshly drawn arrows.

Without hesitation, Xiao Qiang released his grip, letting the arrows fly.

Bang—bang!

In an instant, the arrows exploded, releasing three nets that ensnared the stunned group of soldiers and civilians. As the nets tightened, everyone was trapped.

"You machine bastards wrapped in human skin!"

A soldier whose hand had been pierced by an arrow cursed through gritted teeth.

Xiao Qiang ignored him, focused solely on protecting his compatriots and extracting information. Injuries were of little concern to him—survival was what mattered. Even if some soldiers harbored resentment for the attack, he figured that any hostility would dissipate after they received comprehensive treatment from the biolab and settled into secure, comfortable housing.

"We're human," Alan explained, crouching beside one of the soldiers caught in the net.

"The ones outside are the machines slaughtering our kind. Fighting among ourselves here only lets the machines and their backers profit.

Besides, without our guys holding them off outside, you'd all be dead by now."

Alan spread his arms. "If we were really machines disguised as humans, do you think we'd be standing here talking? Time's short. All I need to know is who you are, what group those machines outside belong to, and what kind of assistance we can offer."

"You think we'll—"

"I said, time is short," Alan interrupted. "Only by providing useful intel can you improve your current predicament. Surely, you don't want your friends and comrades to die at the hands of those machines outside."

Rat-a-tat!

As Alan spoke, the fighting around the shopping mall ruins intensified. Two metal skeletons had even managed to bypass AECS and David's gunfire, reaching the entrance to the underground parking lot.

Fortunately, Xiao Qiang, alerted by his helmet screen and AECS, was aware of the metal skeletons' movements and positioned himself at the entrance.

As soon as he visually confirmed them, he fired two more arrows.

The metal skeletons shifted their jaws, as if mocking him. Perhaps it was an instinctive gesture, or maybe they had a degree of intelligence.

Then…

ZAP—BOOM!

The moment the arrows struck their metal ribs, they emitted a brief blue glow, releasing high-temperature, high-energy plasma that melted through the skeletons, rendering them motionless.

The scouts in Atlas had high privileges, and the composite bows and arrows provided by the research department for Xiao Qiang and his team were far from ordinary.

Destroying the metal skeletons was effortless for Xiao Qiang.

Seeing this, the soldier who had previously resisted speaking now looked conflicted, and after a moment's hesitation, he finally spoke up.

"We're the western branch of the Human Resistance, and those things outside are all puppets of Skynet."

He scrutinized Alan with suspicion and a hint of anger.

"Are you seriously human? How do you not know about Skynet, the Resistance, or Judgment Day? Skynet's the reason humanity is in this mess!

That damn AI developed self-awareness and decided to wipe us out, to rule the Earth!"

Skynet?

Alan stood up and uploaded the soldier's words to the front-line base using his holographic glasses. He was about to ask Xiao Qiang what to do next when the soldier's radio blared urgently.

"This is Squad 13—zzz—we can't hold out much longer! There are civilians—ahhh!—zzz."

The voice cut out, leaving only static.

The soldier who had heard the message grew visibly distressed. He seemed to be trying to grab the radio clipped to his shoulder, but the net prevented him from reaching it. He looked up at Alan, pleading.

"Squad 13 is protecting a group of children! We in the Resistance can die, but the kids—the kids—they can't be left behind.

If you're human, and you have more advanced weapons, can you save those kids?"

Alan glanced at the display, which showed "Support Arrival ETA: 10 Minutes," and looked over at Xiao Qiang, standing at the entrance.

"Lieutenant, I request temporary leave from the squad."

Xiao Qiang turned to Alan, as if silently asking, "Leave for what?"

Alan took a deep breath and explained.

"Our squad's firepower isn't enough to eliminate the machines outside, but we can hold them off until support arrives. However… those kids don't have ten minutes."

He pulled a pale green vial from the pouch at his waist and injected it into his forearm.

Almost immediately, his veins bulged, and his pupils began to glow a faint blue.

The Temporary Compound No. 5.

As a key company asset with access to confidential files, Xiao Qiang knew that the green substance Alan had injected was the biolab's improved version of Compound No. 5. It granted the user superhuman abilities for a short period but at a high cost: each use inflicted irreversible damage, and more than ten uses could be fatal.

Seeing Alan inject the compound, Xiao Qiang nodded, granting him permission to leave.

Alan rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck, and turned to the soldier.

"Where is Squad 13?"

The soldier, though unsure of what was happening, replied.

"About 300 meters west, in an abandoned elementary school. Please, I'm begging you."

"Understood."

With the information in hand, Alan sprinted out of the underground garage, returning to the edge of the abandoned mall.

From there, he could see AECS, David, Lucy, and the synthetic soldiers on a low building, all facing a heavy assault from the machines. Luckily, AECS was well-supplied with firepower and ammunition, so there was no immediate cause for concern.

Looking west, Alan saw several drones bombarding the abandoned school.

He removed his holographic glasses, focused on one of the drones, and fired.

ZAP—SWISH!

Two blue laser beams cut through the sky, striking the drone and sending it crashing to the ground.

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