Vargas

[Militech Software Upgrade: Energy Laser]

[Adjust the operational mode of the energy cannon array to continuously output high-energy particle streams, making the stream almost like a laser.]

[Note: Extremely power-hungry. This technology is designed to be mounted on military-grade armored units and is still in the experimental stage.]

[Firmware Upgrade Requirements: Electricity, a lot of electricity; particle ammunition, a lot of particle ammunition.]

How much support has Militech given to the Wraiths?

Drones, minitaur mechs, experimental technologies...

Now they even have enough explosives to collapse half the factory's underground structure.

Cough, cough. V? Jackie?

Leo climbed up from the ground, with a large chunk of concrete pressing on him.

Jackie pushed off the concrete and steel beams from his body but stumbled, dropping to one knee.

V didn't get hit by the debris but had a massive gash on her left arm, with electrolyte fluids spraying out. Leaning against a piece of upright concrete, she gave a thumbs up to show she was okay.

But clearly, she wasn't doing well. The electrolyte fluids were toxic, and mixing too much of it with blood could cause nausea and vomiting.

Jackie pounded the ground, got up, and lifted the concrete off Leo's leg.

The ground had caved in, and the entire basement was now buried underneath. If Leo had realized the danger a bit later, they'd have been trapped below as well.

"Militech!!!"

Above the factory, a nomad started shouting!

In the distance, Leo saw five Basilisk hovercraft appear in the sky, but that wasn't all.

A Vargas helicopter from military technology entered their field of vision!

Leo's heart sank instantly: this was an armed unit from the Militech border patrol!

No matter how much of a ruckus he had caused, even if someone identified him as part of the mercenary squad that stirred up trouble in the city center, it shouldn't have been enough to attract the border troops!

First of all, the biggest issue in the city wasn't someone causing trouble. Even if there had been chaos, the damages wouldn't be compensated by killing a few mercenaries.

At most, they would deploy the Basilisk hovercraft and armored units that the Wastelands allowed to chase them down.

But Militech's border forces were part of an official army unit. Entering territories outside their jurisdiction could spark conflict.

So, if they risked triggering a military dispute by deploying border troops, there was only one possible reason:

Someone had confirmed that he was a Lizardman!

Only the confirmation of a Lizardman's presence could justify Militech taking the political risk of deploying their troops!

Militech's commander was spinning a tale!

As if on cue, Leo saw the first Javelin missile launch!

The Vargas helicopter immediately fired countermeasures, lighting up the sky—

The countermeasures confused the targeting systems of three missiles, sending them spiraling aimlessly in circles before exploding in midair!

Only two missiles hit the Basilisk!

The Vargas tilted forward—

"Take cover!"

The machine gun and ground rocket launcher unleashed a devastating sweep!

The appearance of this airborne firepower unit immediately shifted the battle to a disadvantage—no matter that the nomads had taken out three Basilisks first. If they couldn't destroy that helicopter, they'd be pinned down behind cover, waiting to die!

And things were about to get worse.

Leo couldn't afford to worry about the outside battle and shouted to his companions:

"There's still another minataur mech—"

Bang!

Before he could finish, the second minataur mech crashed through the sagging concrete and steel beams, charging out like a raging bull!

Electric sparks flew from the cables trailing behind the centaur mech as it charged forward, scattering fire and lightning everywhere it went!

Jackie stepped forward with his left foot and lifted a concrete slab, slamming it down on the centaur mech!

The enemy raised a shield to block the concrete slab!

Crack—

The power of Jackie's gorilla arms was so incredible that the force of the concrete slab almost matched the strength of the centaur mech!

But... Leo could clearly see Jackie's knee trembling rapidly before it exploded!

Pff!

"Mierda, not now—"

Boom!

The concrete slab crashed toward Jackie, and his remaining leg crumpled under the pressure!

At the last second, Leo powered up his auxiliary heart, activating the Stanislaus System, and shoved Jackie out of the way!

Boom!

"Jackie! Damn it!"

V cursed loudly, raising her Nekomata weapon with one hand—but the minataur mech was so oddly shaped that she could see several armor plates crudely welded around the cockpit!

It wasn't just hard to aim at the cockpit—it was impossible!

She had no choice but to switch targets, aiming for the energy gun, and pulled the trigger—

Bang!

The energy gun surged with electricity, causing the mech to shudder momentarily, but it quickly recovered and charged toward V—

V, unable to control the recoil of the Nekomata with just one hand, stumbled back, about to be knocked down—

Bang!

A powerful bullet hit the mech's shield, giving V just enough time to shoot a web and dodge the mech's charge!

From the ground, Navi and Cedric poked their heads out: "Militech's firepower is intense! Do you need help?"

Leo pulled out a can of prepared emergency medication and injected it into Jackie.

Both of Jackie's legs were destroyed, this time for good—the joints shattered, some even exposed to the air, and the intense pain caused him to pass out.

And Leo couldn't transform into a Lizardman—

If he did, the nomads would truly be linked to the Lizardmen, and the probability of the three of them being identified as associated with them would skyrocket.

Now, he wasn't acting alone. This wasn't just a three-person team anymore.

Leo's brain worked quickly, and he immediately decided on a course of action—

"V, Navi, buy me some time. Cedric, carry Jackie inside. There's a cyberware surgery room in the basement. Take him there."

Navi had already started drawing fire, continuously shooting and dodging as the centaur mech responded with heavy machine gun fire.

V nodded and pulled out her Eternal Night pistol, which she hadn't used in a long time—since they were just buying time, this gun would do the trick.

"What the... damn!" Cedric yelled, scrambling down from the second floor in a panic.

"Of course, we're performing cyberware surgery," Leo said.

The rest of the chapter follows their frantic battle for survival against overwhelming odds, military forces, and experimental technology.

"Terrorists are in possession of military-grade personal equipment. Armored transport units A13, A4, and A5 have been destroyed."

"Approaching the target, sweeping the area."

"The target has taken control of the factory, surrounding it for an assault. Waiting for the encirclement to form."

"There's possibly fighting happening inside the factory."

"... Directive: Proceed with caution."

Meredith sat silently in the helicopter, listening to the information coming through the channel.

Unlike her usual attire, she was now dressed in tactical gear.

She had originally risen through the ranks as a spy, through intelligence operations. Even though she hadn't been in combat before, she wasn't afraid.

At this moment, she felt relieved about the false intelligence she had fabricated: the anti-air missiles the terrorists were using were actually military tech, from her own company.

She hadn't expected these guys to get their hands on company equipment and then shoot down three Basilisk!

In the rear, an armored convoy led by a Gorgon was approaching, ready to move in once the aerial forces completed their sweep, allowing the ground troops to step in.

This time, nothing can go wrong, right?

Just as she thought this, she saw another surface-to-air missile fired from the ground! This time, the enemy had extraordinary luck, directly taking out a Basilisk!

This is insane.

These were the words running through Meredith's mind: This is absolutely insane! The Militech's target was somehow using military equipment against them—

If she hadn't fabricated exaggerated false intelligence internally, tricking the Vargas unit into responding...

They might have lost the Militech troops again!

Fortunately, it looked like that was their last guided missile.

At this point, she was incredibly grateful for her deception. Otherwise, they'd all have been sunk.

Now, she was fully convinced that even if these people weren't Lizardmen, they had immense intelligence value.

Maybe sinking them isn't necessary... right?

"W-2, fire white phosphorus rounds to clear the target area."

"Order denied. Primary objective is to capture the Lizardman. White phosphorus may cause fatal damage to the target."

Over the communications channel, the pilot rejected her terrible idea, quickly followed by a second voice.

"Director Stott, the border forces do not answer to you. Allowing you to hitch a ride was already a generous concession. Do not interfere with the soldiers' mission."

Meredith's expression didn't change, but she thought to herself:

Well, at least I warned you.

Still, nothing can go wrong this time, right?

(End of chapter)