Chapter 361: Solar System State's New Weapon (Added for everyone's monthly ticket)_1

Dozens of J89s glided carefully through midair at cruising speed.

Even without the presence of enemies, they still clung to their guns.

Bob believed that everyone in the Seventh Division had defected.

Just two days into the war, Bob had witnessed the terror of the Solar System United Military, his squadron starting with a full complement of thirty-six J89s.

After two encounters, twelve J89s had been scrapped, with some even being "blown into" liquid; all twelve pilots had perished.

Three more J89s had sustained serious damage and were under urgent repair.

Before the war, he could never have imagined that a battalion facing eighteen of the Solar System's mechas would suffer such heavy losses.

Thinking about the agility of J135 in the air, Bob's hands still trembled uncontrollably.

During the second encounter, had it not been for timely ground-to-air support, Bob estimated his entire squadron would have been wiped out in that battle.

All along, according to information released by the Solar System State, their most advanced mecha was the J95, so the PDC and Fleet International were able to purchase the relatively outdated J85 from the Solar System State.

The J89s, heavily equipped by the PDC, were improved versions of the J85, performing considerably better than the J85s widely used by the Solar System State.

The PDC had recently been boasting about developing the J97, which outperformed the J95.

Back then, Bob was eager for a fight against the Solar System State to earn his stripes.

But when the battle truly commenced, Bob learned that the Solar System State's "main force" comprised of J85s and J95s was responsible for logistics and support.

The ones on the front lines were the J135s, and it was said that the space battles in low Earth orbit were even more terrifying, facing the Solar System's most advanced J145s!

He heard that an entire squadron of J97s was just annihilated by three J145s!

Even with such a vast disparity in weaponry, Bob couldn't believe the Seventh Division had been silently eradicated by the Solar System State.

If they had been attacked, there should have been enough time to send a distress signal, right?

So, Bob concluded that the Seventh Division must have defected, unable to withstand the pressure from the Solar System State's military!

As one of his subordinates shouted, "Situation ahead!" the entire squad became tense. Encountering a J135 formation without any support meant they could only scatter and run, and if they managed to survive, they could then consider completing their mission.

But the J89's intelligent visual tracking system had not detected any enemies in the air.

Bob asked over the channel, "What's going on?"

The scout at the front replied, "Look at the dark clouds up ahead!"

Bob muttered, "What's so interesting about dark clouds."

While speaking, he pulled up the telescope and looked in the direction the scout had pointed out.

The dark clouds resembled black cotton balls floating in midair, with bright sunshine on one side and a snowstorm on the other.

Bob had heard of such weather before, where it rained on one side and the sun shone brightly on the other.

Only after seeing it himself could he appreciate the spectacular nature of this weather, especially from his vantage point midair, where it appeared as if the sky on that side had collapsed.

It was now the winter season in the northern hemisphere, so snow was normal; Bob didn't pay it much attention: "Continue with reconnaissance!"

The Seventh Division's camp was in the direction of the dark clouds, and upon entering below them, a raging wind howled, as if crossing into another world.

As Bob and the others were all inside their mechas, they naturally couldn't feel the cold outside.

But a glance at the temperature still alarmed him, having dropped from below zero to below minus twenty degrees in an instant.

The life-and-death trials during the encounters had sharpened Bob's sixth sense considerably. He felt there must be a reason for this abnormal drop in temperature.

So, he ordered, "Fly close to the ground!"

If they were to be attacked now, their current formation would be like sitting ducks.

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Flying close to the ground meant that the mission would take more time. The headquarters had urged them once, but Bob hadn't ordered a return to higher altitude.

First, they needed to maintain enough vigilance, and second, the weather was getting worse by the minute—broad daylight was as dark as the bottom of a pot! The blizzard was growing stronger with visibility decreasing and flight speed reducing further.

After more than three hours of traversing, Bob's team finally arrived near the Seventh Division's camp.

The snow accumulation on the ground was becoming thicker, and even icy surfaces were beginning to appear.

The outside temperature had dropped to more than seventy degrees below zero, and the life-sustaining systems of the J89 had to be kept fully operational.

Bob's squad searched for a long while before they finally found the Seventh Division's campsite.

Overnight, it had been almost entirely covered by snow and ice.

However, as a modernized force, snow and ice couldn't possibly have too much impact on their military operations.

When Bob's team landed, they discovered a thin layer of ice on the ground, which was strange because there wasn't that much water around.

Soon they found a sentinel covered in snow standing guard. Bob hurried over to ask questions, but no matter what he said, the sentinel remained motionless.

Upon turning on the headlights for a better look, they realized the sentinel had long since frozen to death, his body covered in a layer of white frost; it seemed he had not died in much pain.

One after another, they discovered more and more frozen corpses, and Bob realized that the soldiers of the Seventh Division might have all frozen to death.

Bob reported the situation truthfully, but the headquarters found it hard to believe.

A joke! Could a snowstorm really wipe out a modern combat division?

It wasn't until Bob sent back video footage of the campsite that the staff officers believed him.

But they still couldn't understand why the Seventh Division's campsite, whether the weapons or the barracks, would be covered by a layer of ice.

Why didn't the soldiers of the Seventh Division know to take cover from the cold wave?

With their equipment, they shouldn't have frozen to death even in the coldest weather.

If the Seventh Division's site was an icy hell, then the Third Division's camp was a fiery hell.

In the morning, not long after Bob and his people set out, they received a distress call from the Third Division, saying they were under attack from an unknown weapon.

As the reinforcements approached, they measured temperatures of over sixty degrees around the Third Division's camp!

Even near the equator during peak summer, temperatures hardly reached that high.

But the attack that the Third Division suffered was more horrific than the peak summer at the equator.

By the time the reinforcements arrived, everything in the camp was burning, including soldiers, weapons, and barracks.

Some people hid inside weapons, only to die from the heat within.

Only a very small minority who quickly donned air-tight protective gear avoided the fiery fate.

According to the descriptions of the survivors, the temperature rise was sudden. Most people had no time to react and were scalded by the steam in the air, or died from the vaporization of their body's fluids.

Then the burning began, and everything was ablaze!

The information from both sites, compiled at headquarters, left them still baffled.

It was certain that both the Third and the Seventh Divisions had encountered a new weapon from the Solar System State, but what specific weapon it was, they had no idea.

As the headquarters was in a state of panic, Sophon had to come forward and explain, "This is clearly a climate weapon. It can cause large-scale climate disasters, as well as extreme cold or heat in small areas.

"Such extreme cold and heat have little lethal effect in space, but it's different on the air-filled Earth."

A staff officer asked, "Then why hasn't the Solar System State triggered a climate catastrophe worldwide? They would have already won!"

Sophon looked at the staff officer as if he were an idiot. "The reason is the same as why we and the Solar System State have tacitly agreed not to use nuclear weapons on Earth!"

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