Chapter 398: Lure the Snake Out of Its Hole
A busy tone accompanied by the sound of electricity rang in the communication channel.
Chu Guang, who was sitting in the office of the manager of Shelter No. 79, pressed his index finger between his eyebrows and hung up the video call from Dawn City with a little fatigue.
Three days had passed since he got the authority of Shelter No. 79.
In order to set up a resurrection point and a temporary base in Shelter No. 79, Chu Guang stayed at the front line to arrange work these days and did not ride Nicole back.
Just ten minutes ago, his little player finally set up a temporary communication base station in the urban area of Ruigu City.
Chu Guang finally got in touch with the rear and learned from Luca about Kaliman and the news that the Legion was invading Luoxia Province.
He certainly understood the principle of lips and teeth.
Once the Legion took over Luoxia Province, the southern corridor of River Valley Province would become the front line of the Legion's battle with the Great Rift Valley.
By then, from Dawn City to Dawn City and even the entire southern part of River Valley Province would become a battlefield.
And all the wealth created by players and residents of the Alliance in the past year will also vanish in the war.
If the Heart of Steel had not arrived at the doorstep, thousands of players in the Alliance would have turned into mercenaries and rushed to the front line to fight the Legion.
Just when Chu Guang was about to discuss countermeasures with Vanus, the communication that had just been restored for less than ten minutes was suddenly interrupted.
Footsteps were heard outside the corridor.
Before the doorbell rang, Chu Guang opened the movable door of the office, and as expected, he saw a head of long silver-white hair.
Standing at the door of the office, Heya complained with a depressed look.
"I was copying the data here back to the Alliance server, but just now it suddenly stopped working... What happened?"
Chu Guang did not answer immediately, but glanced at the VM, and saw the report from the player flashing in the pale blue pop-up window.
[Tail: giao! We were attacked by enemy artillery! ]
[Tail: Sir! The balloon floated away! Σ(?Д?;)]
From these two lines of messages, I roughly understood what happened just now.
After sighing and closing the pop-up window, Chu Guang briefly answered Heya's question.
"Maybe the signal source has been located... The Legion's airship fired a few shots at the temporary communication device we just deployed."
Putting away his complaining expression, Heya asked with a worried look.
"Ah? Then... are the people okay?"
"There is news, they should be okay."
There are many bunkers in the city, and unless sub-nuclear weapons such as fuel-air bombs are used, the damage of artillery fire is limited.
For the Iron Heart, this is "behind the enemy" far away from the supply line after all, and their artillery shells are obviously not rich enough to bomb at will without feeling sorry.
Guessing that the other party will probably send ground troops to confirm the damage, Chu Guang issued a new order to the players on the mission to evacuate from the vicinity of the shelling area.
Although long-distance communication has not been restored, short-distance communication is still no problem.
Weak signals make it difficult to lock onto specific locations. The other party can only know that there are people there, but it is difficult to accurately determine where the person is.
"It's good that the person is fine..."
Scratching the back of his head, Heya was too embarrassed to continue urging, so he changed the subject and continued to talk about other things.
"...By the way, when I was searching the server of this shelter, I accidentally found some interesting things. You should be interested."
"What?" Chu Guang raised his eyebrows curiously.
His Xiaoqi had just been connected here for less than ten minutes before it was disconnected. He has not yet performed a full scan of the server of this shelter.
This shelter has brought him enough surprises.
Therefore, after hearing Heya use the word "interesting" to describe his discovery, he immediately became interested.
Looking at the expression on Chu Guang's face, Heya's mouth curled up with a smug smile, and continued in a happy tone.
"I found a set of exoskeleton drawings designed for the Death Claw in the private database of a researcher named A-7274. Although the project is not included in the research topic catalog of the shelter, the completion of the drawings is surprisingly high, almost to the point where it can be accepted... I'll send it to you directly."
As he spoke, Heya stretched out his index finger and tapped the VM screen twice, and quickly shared the data on Chu Guang's VM.
Chu Guang opened the file and took a look, and found that it was a three-dimensional model containing the parameters of each part. It contains hundreds of parts, and the complexity is roughly between "Miner Type I" and "Type V".
Give this drawing to Xiao Qi, and it will not be difficult to make a prototype through a magnetic constraint cutting machine. As for industrial mass production, if some configurations are omitted, it should not be difficult to imitate a beggar's version.
Although this set of equipment is still on the drawing, the designer of the equipment still gave it a name that fits the identity of the Death Claw quite well-
Hunter!
Looking at Chu Guang who was very interested, He Ya who was standing beside him continued.
"...The body of the Death Claw grows very fast. It can grow from a cub to a height of 1.5 meters in one year, and will reach 2~2.5 meters in five months and enter adulthood."
"Therefore, this exoskeleton focuses on the adaptability of the equipment and strengthens the ductility of each structure. Adult individuals with a spine length of 2~4 meters can wear it. However, the exoskeleton armor has a slightly insufficient coverage area and can only protect the wearer's head and chest."
"My guess is that the researchers here probably considered that it would be difficult to operate the tools originally designed for the human body after the consciousness was transplanted to the Death Claw, so they designed an exoskeleton specifically for the Death Claw."
As for why the plan was abandoned, it is also easy to understand.
Even if He Ya didn't mention it, Chu Guang could probably guess it.
Just look at the Death Claw Mother outside and you will know.
As long as the serum is injected, the growth will not stop. No matter how perfect the equipment is designed, it will only accompany them for more than ten years or even a few years at most.
Compared with the endless life span, this time is just a sneeze.
Due to the different growth rates of various tissues and bones in the body, the idea of proportionally enlarging the exoskeleton is not feasible, and it can only be redesigned for different life stages.
Therefore, the idea of mechanical reinforcement was simply abandoned.
"Not bad... This set of equipment is just right for our wolf cavalry." Chu Guang nodded with satisfaction, filed the drawings, and planned to pass them to Xiao Qi after the communication was restored.
"Wolf cavalry?"
"The army is conducting a research project. We plan to build a cavalry unit that can move quickly... Although it sounds a bit outdated to say this in 2341, we plan to give it a try," Chu Guang replied casually, "Don't worry about it, leave the war to us, you don't have to worry about it."
Heya nodded as if she understood.
She doesn't know much about war.
But she knew in her heart that if the alliance lost, she would not be able to focus on the research she was interested in like she was now.
"Anyway, it would be great if I could help. I'm going back to the lab first, you guys... do your best."
When she reached the door, she stopped and suddenly made a joke in a teasing tone.
"By the way, that sentence just now sounds quite safe."
Without waiting for his answer.
The brisk footsteps went away from the corridor.
...
Ruigu City.
Commander Quanshui, who was crawling on the roof of a residential building, was holding a telescope and looking at the billowing smoke that was gradually dissipating in the distance.
Next to him was an abandoned water tank, and diagonally opposite was the stairwell, and his current position was just out of direct sight of the airship.
The ghost catcher lying on the grave next to him also held a telescope in his hand and stared in the same direction as Brother Quanshui.
He was killed by Zhandi Lao a few days ago, and he just parachuted back these two days.
Although Zhandi Lao said on the forum that he helped him "destroy the body and wipe out the traces", for the sake of being foolproof, he still stayed away from the front line and followed the commander of the fountain.
Based on past experience, nothing will happen if he follows this old Goubi.
The only flaw is that it is a bit boring. Unless it is absolutely necessary, this guy will hardly appear on the front line.
And even if he appears, he will basically not fight.
For example, now.
Don't mention the exoskeleton.
This guy didn't even bring a gun.
Lying down was really boring, and the grave ghost couldn't help asking.
"Are you sure the legion will come?"
Quanshui thought for a while and replied.
"More than 80% probability."
"Then why is there no movement at all?"
Quanshui was so annoyed by the question that he rolled his eyes at him.
"It doesn't take time for others to come over? Don't rush, just wait."
The voice had just fallen.
As expected, there was movement in the street in the distance.
I saw a team of soldiers armed with live ammunition carefully surrounding the explosion area, covering each other and rushing through the collapsed wall.
The vanguard was naturally the escort troops with varying equipment, and the soldiers in black robes were behind, urging the cannon fodder to enter the wreckage of the building.
Looking at the group of sneaky figures, the old ghost's face suddenly showed a surprised expression, and he muttered in surprise.
"... Damn, the legion people are really here."
"With such a large signal power, if I were the commander of the opposite side, I would also send someone to check it out."
The opposite side should have regarded the communication base station as their headquarters.
Thinking silently in his heart, Quanshui stared at the team of soldiers on the street in the distance, carefully observing their equipment and personnel configuration.
According to the reconnaissance in the past few days, he has basically figured out the attendance mode of the Corps.
If it is a normal attendance mission, the Space Marine Corps will send a team of about ten people to act with the hundred-man team of the escort army.
The former is often responsible for supervising the battle and supporting, while the latter is responsible for charging, sweeping the building, exploring the way and covering the rear... In short, these are tasks with a high mortality rate.
If it is a siege against the guerrillas, more than three hundred-man teams of regular army will often be dispatched to cooperate with more than five hundred-man teams of the escort army.
According to the intelligence of the battlefield brother, the number of survivors in the Fallen Leaf Camp is currently close to 20,000, and the size of the escort army has also expanded from the initial 500 to 2,000.
If the organizational system of the escort army of the Fallen Leaf Camp has not yet been established, the Corps would like to give all the young and middle-aged people who can carry a gun a rippers.
Due to the lack of lackeys who can fight, the current promotion speed of grassroots officers in the escort army is like riding a rocket.
By the way, Zhan Di Lao is now the strongest competitor for the position of Thousand Man.
After all, he is the Centurion promoted by General McLen himself. He has not only hunted Death Claws, but is also the only one who has won a battle with the Enterprise's guerrillas on the front battlefield.
And most of the players who followed him in have also become junior officers such as Centurions.
After confirming that Zhan Di Lao is not among this group of people, Grave Head Catcher said eagerly.
"Do you want to give them a surprise?"
"This place is too close to the airship, and their gun barrels are probably aimed at this urban area," Commander Fountain Water looked up at the sky, thought for a while and continued, "Wait until dark."
Just now, he suddenly thought of a good idea.
I heard that the brothers of the Death Corps have recently captured a lot of Garbage Kings, and they have also received a batch of new equipment made with the help of Goblin Technology.
It's a good opportunity to give them a chance to try their skills...
...
It's late at night.
A team of soldiers in black robes marched forward in the darkness.
About ten hours ago, they destroyed a communication base station in the city, and just as it got dark, a new high-power signal source was located in the city.
Without any hesitation.
As the coordinates were sent to the gun position, the artillery group on standby immediately fired three rounds of 100mm artillery at the target, a total of nine shells to bathe the area where the signal source was located.
Risking being bombed, they also set up this radio station. The other party obviously has something important to communicate with the rear.
Whether it is requesting reinforcements or reporting front-line news, they don't intend to give the other party a chance to speak.
Rachel conveyed the command of the headquarters to the Fallen Leaf Camp.
Soon a team of 100 people composed of wastelanders completed the assembly, and joined the team of 10 people sent by the Air Marine Corps, and marched to the city shrouded in the night.
"Why don't we just use artillery shells to serve them... Do we have to go over and take a look?"
Looking around at the dark buildings around, the soldier in black robes could not help but whisper to the officer beside him while advancing cautiously.
It is not a good idea to enter the city at night.
Any window here may hide a gun muzzle.
The officer walking in the team just repeated the order expressionlessly.
"The artillery has already exploded once, and the signal source has been weakened, but it has not been completely interrupted. It is suspected that there are explosion-proof bunkers reinforced. We have to go over and see what just exploded and whether there are any living people there."
The officer looked at the pangolin on the side.
"Take a few of you to investigate ahead."
"Yes!"
As a professional cannon fodder, the battlefield atmosphere group responded neatly and walked ahead consciously.
Not only that, he also brought along several confidants he had cultivated, including the young man named Li Ba at the beginning.
"You, follow me!"
All the people who were called to lead the charge had bitter faces, but they still followed the "pangolin" reluctantly.
Looking at their expressions, the battlefield atmosphere team smiled in their hearts, but did not explain.
There was no need to explain at all, these people would thank themselves later.
As for the others.
Just wish them good luck.
There are always deaths in war.
...
Walking at the front of the team with his men, the old man in the battlefield quickly approached the building that had just been baptized by artillery.
This was probably a shopping mall before, with a height of only five floors. The dome of the steel structure was entangled with green vines, but now it had collapsed along with the broken steel bars.
Looking at the area in the open-air shopping mall, Li Ba, who was following him, held the rifle tightly, and felt his calves shaking constantly.
Swallowing his saliva, he glanced nervously at the centurion beside him - the ruthless man called Pangolin.
"...Should we go in?"
Zhan Di was too lazy to explain to him and just said briefly.
"Follow me closely."
Li Ba nodded immediately.
Although he couldn't tell the specific reason, his intuition told him that as long as he followed the guy in front of him closely, he would survive.
After passing through the security check passage at the main entrance and entering the mall, the Battlefield Atmosphere Group looked around with their guns, and couldn't help smacking their lips.
"Damn... these big noses are pretty accurate."
The previous rounds of shells almost all passed through the mall dome accurately and landed in the center of the wide patio, blowing the area around here to pieces.
The intelligence that the Storm Corps had verified with their lives before showed that the Corps could locate the direction of the radio signal, but the positioning accuracy was unclear.
And now, the old man in the battlefield can almost be sure that for radio signals in a specific power range within 20 kilometers, the positioning technology of these big noses can almost be accurate to a point on the map.
Walking towards the center of the explosion, the old man in the battlefield searched carefully and soon found the backpack that fell from the fifth floor next to a pile of scattered shopping carts.
The backpack was made of ordinary linen, with a radio and solid hydrogen battery inside. In addition, a walkie-talkie was tied with tape, repeating the pre-recorded recording intermittently with a weak voice.
This was the source of the signal.
It was also the radio bait prepared by Brother Quanshui.
Li Ba, who was following him closely, couldn't help asking after getting closer to take a look.
"What's being said inside?"
Although the walkie-talkie was talking all the time, he couldn't understand what was being said at all.
Zhan Di Lao replied casually.
"I don't know."
As a double agent of the Alliance, he could certainly understand it. The walkie-talkie was playing Mr. Zhao's crosstalk. It had just finished playing "Selling Crutches" and then played "Tease You".
The only uncertainty now was whether the Iron Heart could monitor the specific content of the radio.
If it could, he could probably imagine the scene.
A group of electronic warfare officers sat at a table, listening to the crosstalk attentively and racking their brains to analyze the intelligence that might be hidden in it.
No...
After all, he is a double agent of the Alliance, so he can't laugh now.
Unable to hold back, Zhan Di Lao covered up the laughter that leaked from his mouth with a dry cough, took off the walkie-talkie hanging on his shoulder, and read the lines he had memorized long ago to the officers outside.
"The first floor is safe, and the enemy radio station was found... It was in a backpack. It should have fallen from the upper floor. Do we need to continue searching upstairs?"
And the officer on guard outside soon gave the expected answer.
"Continue searching!"
"Got it!"
With a slight arc at the corner of his mouth, Zhan Di Lao hung up the communication, turned around and looked at several confidants behind him, cleared his throat and gave an order.
"Start the search from the second floor, check every corner carefully, and don't miss any suspicious clues!"
"Action!"
Just as Zhan Di Lao was exploring the second floor with his confidants, the street outside the mall was silent.
Seeing that there was no movement in the building, the officers standing outside could probably guess that the people inside were either dead or had already withdrawn.
Seeing that there was probably no battle to fight tonight, he simply took out a cigarette from his pocket, struck a match and lit it.
The spicy smoke came out of his nostrils.
He was about to take a look at the time on his watch.
However, at this moment, he caught a glimpse of an amber hole hidden in the darkness by the moonlight sprinkled on the street.
A hissing low hum floated over.
The monster crawling on the wall was staring straight in his direction, and the amber hole was filled with a desire for killing and blood.
The officer's face lost color in an instant, and the cigarette butt with sparks fell from the stiff lips, breaking into ash.
Especially when he found that it was not a pair at all.
But a group of them——
"It's the Death Claws!"
The officer yelled at the top of his voice, and at the same time reached out to grab the rifle and pulled the trigger first.
"Prepare for battle——!"
Almost at the same time as the voice fell, the Death Claws crawling on the walls and roofs roared and rushed towards the soldiers guarding the streets outside the mall.
The tranquility on the street was instantly torn apart by the sound of gunfire, and the flashing gun flames reflected the faces twisted by fear.
It was not just the Death Claws that frightened them.
But there were people riding on the backs of those Death Claws!
Those people not only tied themselves to the backs of the Death Claws in an extremely brutal way, but also held a variety of weapons in their hands.
Some were rifles, some were shotguns, and some were rifle grenades or something similar based on their caliber.
Before they collided with the Death Claws, the soldiers guarding the streets had been blown to the ground by a round of preemptive grenades and hand grenades.
In just a few breaths, this group of "flying over the eaves and walls" cavalry had already rushed to their side, and the hot breath even blew on their faces.
And from this moment on -
The soldiers of the legion truly experienced what fear and cruelty were.
This group of bloodthirsty beasts were almost invincible in the fight at the extreme distance. Often, just a wave of their claws would result in a bloody storm and broken limbs.
Whether it was the wastelanders of the entourage or the soldiers in black robes, they were all being harvested crazily in the fear of death. They could not put up any effective resistance and could only flee into the building in all directions.
The people in the mall obviously heard the commotion outside.
Looking at the chaos on the street outside the window, Li Ba's face was full of fear. The rifle in his hand was aimed at a cavalryman who was galloping and fighting, but he couldn't muster the courage to pull the trigger.
At this time, a hand reached out from the side, grabbed his gun barrel, and gently pulled it back from the window.
Li Ba turned around and saw that it was his centurion, and a surprised expression appeared on his face.
"Don't shoot and attract those monsters. We are not their opponents..." Making a gesture of silence, Zhan Di Lao glanced out the window and said in a deep voice, "You hide here, I will find a way to rescue our leader..."
The street was in chaos.
Previously, gunshots could be heard, but now there are almost only screams and wails, as well as shocking broken limbs and blood.
The methods of these beasts are extremely cruel.
In order to enjoy fresh prey, they almost never kill the prey, but after the other party completely loses the ability to move, they quickly run to the next one without delay.
Since the two sides had already started a close-range exchange of fire, the airships watching from the sky could only worry and could not provide any support.
In just two minutes, the 100-man team of the escort army suffered heavy casualties, and the 10-man team of the legion was almost wiped out.
Seeing that there were no targets to attack on the street, the cavalrymen who were flying over the eaves and walls retreated from the battlefield without delay, just as they had suddenly rushed out.
Looking at the ghosts that scattered into the darkness, the officer who was dragged into the mall by a entourage still had a frightened expression on his face.
Panting heavily, he looked down at the bloodstain on his chest, then looked at the centurion named Pangolin next to him, and squeezed out a word of gratitude from his mouth.
"Thank you..."
Zhan Di Lao didn't speak.
Mainly because he was worried about exposing his flaws.
Finally recovered, the officer took a deep breath and made a calm judgment.
"We have to withdraw from here..."
Zhan Di Lao looked at the wailing soldiers and followers outside and asked in a low voice.
"Where are the wounded?"
A trace of pity flashed across the officer's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by ruthlessness.
"They... are already dead."
I didn't expect that Enterprise could actually drive aliens to fight. This was a big discrepancy with the intelligence they had, which was a bit hard to accept.
In particular, he couldn't be sure how many Death Claws the other side had hidden in the city. Under such circumstances, the command center could not approve support.
Hearing the officer's answer, Zhan Di Lao sighed in his heart.
What a pity...
...
After the remaining ground forces evacuated, the Iron Heart delivered regional firepower to the city, and the sound of artillery sounded for more than ten minutes.
General McLen, standing in front of the French window of the bridge, stared at the city lit up by artillery fire, and his expressionless face was full of haze.
He always had an illusion.
The longer they stayed here, the more Enterprise soldiers they killed. Their opponents were not weakened, but became stronger.
First, there were planes flying faster than artillery shells, and now there were cavalry charging on Death Claws. The opponent's moves were getting more and more outrageous, and their advantages were becoming less and less obvious...
How many reinforcements did Enterprise send here?
Or was his intelligence wrong from the beginning...
The staff officer standing by reported in a deep voice.
"That signal source... seems to be a bait set by the other party."
"Just now, we detected more signal sources in the city, from different areas and different frequency bands... We can monitor their conversations, but we can't understand what language they are using."
General McClane was about to speak.
However, at this moment, an officer walked to the door of the bridge.
"Report! Communication request from General Griffin!"
McClane said expressionlessly.
"Connect to the conference room and ask him to wait for two minutes."
"Yes!" the officer answered, turned around and trotted off the bridge.
After temporarily handing over the command to the adjutant, McLen turned around and left the bridge and went to the conference room upstairs.
There was a table in the conference room, and in the center of the table was a silver-white machine. Seeing General McLen nod, the officer standing at the door immediately left the room.
The ceiling light was turned off.
The conference room was dark.
However, pale blue light particles floated from the device in the center of the conference table, re-lighting the space. Not long after, a man in his forties or fifties appeared in the holographic image.
He had a raised nose, a resolute face, and an aura like a lion, but his eyes were like a fox.
Looking at the face in the holographic image, a trace of annoyance appeared in McLen's eyes.
However, after all, the guy had one more star on his shoulder than himself, so he still took the initiative to salute, and after the other party returned the salute, he patiently spoke.
"What's the matter."
"Be happy, it's good news," the man in the holographic image smiled faintly, and continued calmly, "Your Excellency the Legion Commander adjusted our deployment in Luoxia Province, and now we have officially intervened in the war between the Falcon Kingdom and the Desert Kings."
As a war faction, this is indeed a happy thing.
Only by expanding the territory for the legion can we make achievements, and only war can plunder more wealth, land and slaves.
However, at this moment, McLen's face did not have too much happy expression.
Obviously, the greatest credit has been taken away by the man in front of him, and when he returns, there will probably be no soup left.
As if he understood the expression on the captain's face, Griffin continued in a gentle tone.
"I wanted to wait until you came back before we started the next plan, but we were attacked by the reinforcements of the Enterprise... Before those desert dwellers get support from the East Coast, we have to take the initiative. Of course, I believe you have heard about this from other places."
Clearing his throat, the man standing in the holographic image continued.
"Now, I ask you to execute the new order and set off to Desert No. 9 immediately to support the ground forces of the Falcon Kingdom! I hope you didn't waste all the ammunition. There are at least two more tough battles waiting for you before you return to the port for supplies."
"Reinforcements of the Enterprise?!"
Without listening to the second half of Griffin's words, McLen's face showed obvious surprise the moment he heard the first half of the words -
Or unbelievable!
The calmness he pretended to maintain could no longer be maintained. He suddenly supported his hands on the table and couldn't help but raise the volume of his voice.
"This is impossible!"
"The reinforcements of the enterprise have been pinned down by us in the southern part of the valley province, and our airships have been blocking this plain! I can be sure that since the beginning of this month, no team... not even a caravan has entered the desert from here."
"And if you have encountered reinforcements from the enterprise, who are the ones fighting us?!"
A chuckle came from the communication channel.
There was some annoying sarcasm in that chuckle.
"Who knows."
"Maybe it was the natives."