Infinite: Progressing from Arasaka

Intercepted in mid-air.

Soldiers in Lazarus Power Armor operate shoulder-mounted smart shotguns, destroying rockets like an anti-missile system!

As if it were a signal, the SAT operators and Ghost Hound soldiers disregarded their ammunition consumption and unleashed a barrage of anti-armor firepower.

Lazarus's firepower was also increased for the second time.

For a time, explosions rang out incessantly, and the shrieks of energy weapons echoed one after another.

Inside the crumbling building, bright lights flashed, figures fell, and muffled groans and screams echoed.

I don't know how much time has passed; maybe less than a minute, maybe a whole day.

"Hiss!"

On the first floor, amidst the piles of collapsed construction debris, David was jolted awake by the deafening crash of collapsing walls. Still dazed, he snapped back to reality.

Because the [Pain Editor] component was not damaged, it suppressed the signals sent from pain receptors to the parietal lobe of the brain, so he did not experience unbearable pain and remained alert.

Without even checking the monitoring interface of the cyber components, he knew that the burns all over his body must be very severe.

If he hadn't supported the foldable External Shield Module of the EXO-2 Assault Mod, he might have died.

With a clang, the damaged shield module of the exoskeleton was separated. David pushed aside the rubble covering his body and was about to stand up when he looked up and saw that his SAT teammates had fallen not far away, pinned under a piece of concrete, their outstretched hands tightly gripping a high-powered electromagnetic pistol made in Russia.

"Elvin, is that you?"

He called out the name of His contemporaries, and his movements were faster than a scan; he instinctively reached out and pulled the other person out.

But, "Joder!"

The moment he was pulled upwards, even David, who had been taught to be civilized by his mother since childhood, couldn't help but swear in Spanish slang.

Elvin's body below the chest was gone!

The severed limbs, the strips of flesh stained with thick ash, the cables tangled together like shredded cloth and tattered thread, the loosely slack exoskeleton's electric drive core swinging back and forth on the torn titanium alloy spine.

The other arm was melted off below the elbow, and the body on this side was charred, with obvious signs of melting on the remaining metal skeleton.

First, you get scorched by the aftershocks of a plasma or Thermal Cannon, then you're torn apart at close range...

David guessed that.

Damn it!

He cursed under his breath.

I'm furious. It's one of the few times I've been completely crushed since joining Arasaka, but I really can't win in a head-on fight, so I can only put up with it for now.

Just then, tap, tap.

The sounds of Lazarus mercenaries ransacking the building as they stormed in grew louder.

Before he could grieve for his teammates' deaths and his own fate, David, limping, used the sounds of fighting on the rooftop to dart like a cat to the stairwell.

He couldn't find his preferred machine gun anywhere, so he had no choice but to grab a Midnight Armaments SOR-22 heavy rifle from the corpse.

After checking his ammunition and removing two magazines and grenades, he operated the miniature integrated automated medical module built into his exoskeleton to inject himself with a special mixture of combat stimulants, tranquilizers, hormones, and immunosuppressants.

"Call!"

David exhaled a long breath, a comfortable and relaxed expression appearing on his face.

My previously dulled senses became sharp again.

He glanced upstairs.

The wall plaster and gravel fell like raindrops, while the deafening roar of steel never ceased.

Katsuo and Xiaofu's biosignals are still present. However, the latter's condition is extremely poor, and he has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

They can't hold on much longer.

And if I go up and fight head-on, I'll die anyway, so it's better to—

David followed the voices and looked toward the Lazarus infantrymen who were sweeping the first floor.

Attack where they must defend, or besiege Wei to relieve Zhao!

Although my cultural level is insufficient and I haven't taken the ancient Kowloon Language, so I don't know the full story of this allusion, the principle is the same.

Kill! Kill people! Kill as many Lazarus's armed personnel as possible! The more and faster the better!

This was intended to draw the attention of the Lazarus Power Armor pilots, creating an opportunity for Katsuo and the others to relocate.

With a hiss, David removed his helmet, leaving only the breathing mask, and took a deep breath without thinking about anything else.

Safe mode is off.

The right leg is bent at the knee and is in good condition.

[Sandevistan], Overclocking!

Boom! He pushed off the ground and shot straight at the Lazarus infantry who were steadily advancing along the corridor like an arrow.

"Who--"

The man in the lead raised his gun instantly upon hearing the commotion, but before he could utter his first question, a full-power round fired from the SOR-22 heavy rifle ripped off his skull.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Tap tap tap!

Puff puff puff!

At this moment, on the fifth floor of the main building.

The battle is nearing its end.

Arasaka and the Ghost Dog's counterattacks are becoming increasingly weak.

Boom boom boom—boom boom boom!

The machine guns have switched from sweeping to burst fire, and more plasma spheres and Thermal Cannon square beams are spewing out from the modular muzzles of the Lazarus Power Armor.

The scene was filled with billowing blood mist; the once intact partition wall had been almost completely cleared away, the floor was riddled with craters, and the corpses of the Ghost Hound mercenaries lay scattered on both sides. Seven or eight SAT elite operators had also left behind their bodies. The exact number couldn't be determined because it was fragmented.

"Game over, you trash from Arasaka."

The voice of the lead Lazarus Power Armor operator echoed through the slaughterhouse via loudspeakers, "Want to kneel down and surrender? I'll give you ten seconds. Maybe I'll take pity on you and spare your dog's life. Haha..."

"Damn rice bastards!"

Behind the core load-bearing wall, which resembled a hornet's nest Katsuo Tanaka, holding an electromagnetic pulse grenade, slammed it against the wall.

It was so frustrating to play like that!

I've tried everything, but I can't break through.

Lazarus are not street thugs; they are organized and systematic. Unless you are a super hacker who can ignore Lazarus's network support forces and break through the ICE Intrusion Countermeasure Unit that is larger than the personal model built into the Power Armor, or a super lone wolf like Morgan Blackhand or Adam Smasher who wins by sheer strength and head-on confrontation.

Otherwise, the best way to deal with Power Armor units is to deploy your own Power Armor units.

Suddenly, ding-dong.

David: Katsuo, I'll cover you. Find a chance to retreat.

Katsuo was taken aback.

Wait, how are you going to cover for me?

He was about to ask a question when the leading Lazarus Power Armor operator suddenly stopped. "One person? SAT's ace?"

He cursed out loud, "Useless! You can't even handle this with so many of you?! Has our individual soldier quality declined this much compared to the 1920s?!"

"Fuck you, you stay here and take them down!"

After saying that, he maneuvered his life-size Power Armor, which was over three meters tall, and jumped into the gap that had been blasted open on the floor. Behind him, two more Power Armor followed and jumped in, leaving only one on the upper floor.

Chance!

Katsuo's eyes narrowed, and she raised the electromagnetic pulse grenade in her hand, looking at her surviving teammates.

"Final attack, all personnel prepare to defend against electromagnetic pulse."

Meanwhile, on the first floor.

Screams and the sounds of bodies breaking echoed between the rooms and the hallway.

Upon arrival, the leader of the Lazarus Power Armor operators was glaring angrily.

Blood and flames, wounded and dismembered limbs were everywhere.

Even if Lazarus's infantry were worthless, being harvested like leeks time and again, he was still primarily responsible. If the losses were too great, his superiors would question his command abilities, causing him to remain only a sergeant or lieutenant with no hope of promotion.

"How dare you! Die!"

Aiming at the SAT operator Arasaka who was still using [Sandevistan] to slaughter his own infantry, he raised his hand to charge the plasma cannon.

BOOM!

Chapter 250 David, open your eyes, I am Adam Smasher.

"Wow."

"Lazarus dispatched Power Armor unit?"

Vera had just finished a brief internal meeting of the Arasaka Family and taken a quick shower, stared intently at the holographic projector on Luxite's desk in the Arasaka Tower's intercontinental regional president's office, which occupied half of the 120th floor.

Glowing Illusions: Light coils and bends, outlining multiple holographic images of Iron Man. The black and white spear logos silently proclaim their identity: three-dimensional replicas of Lazarus Power Armor soldiers transmitted back from the front lines of the Santa Fe conflict.

In fact, the moment the defense line encountered the Lazarus Power Armor, the Arasaka SAT hacker in charge of the 'Net Admin work' in that area learned of the news immediately and sent a warning to his superiors.

After going through several expedited procedures, footage from the recording devices, including real-time recordings by SAT agents and the Ghosthound mercenaries, was finally placed on Vera's desk.

The progress was slightly faster than Vera had anticipated, but everything was still within her plans.

As for the losses of the hounds and the SAT...

Well, war is cruel, and casualties are inevitable; the only question is whether it's worth it or not.

As Vera's trusted lieutenant, the latter's continued presence in Santa Fe after completing the mission of rescuing the former FIA defector Lark was a demonstration of attitude, showing Vera's strong support and her stance of standing with her ally to the hardworking Ghost Dog.

Even if the latter is not numerous, having it or not is a different matter.

"Inform Masao Mizuno (Minister of Foreign Affairs) to release the news and tell the media around the world that it is not we, Arasaka, who are further provoking the situation and making it worse."

After saying that, Vera lightly touched the communication screen embedded in the desktop, changing the call recipient from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the War Room.

"Has Adam Smasher arrived yet?"

She asked.

"The heavy hammer troops have arrived in Santa Fe."

The duty officer in the War Room on the other end of the phone immediately reported the incident.

"In addition, the casualty statistics..."

He paused briefly. "The Ghosthounds are still compiling their statistics. According to our investigation, 33 of our employees died in the SAT battle. Of the 16 members of the newly formed N squad of SAT-6 who were the first to engage the enemy, only 3 survived."

"The deceased will be given a proper burial, their families will be comforted, the injured will be well cared for, and they will be given weapons and promoted."

Vera sighed and said, "The list."

"Katsuo Tanaka, Kawakami Xiao Fu, Mark Woolley."

That's all.

"Um?"

Vera frowned slightly.

Wait a minute, where are my unaffiliated thugs?

But soon, Vera's brows relaxed again.

Did he die in the line of duty?

That's true, soldiers inevitably die on the battlefield.