Armor Core

Boom!

Before he could finish speaking, the railway tracks in front of him suddenly burst into a raging fire.

"Brake!"

Li Aoz roared, then crawled into the carriage, picked up Xue Nuo, and dragged Du Zexin into the locomotive.

Zhou Lie Feng reacted even faster. As soon as the exploding projectiles fell, he began to slow down and brake. But how could the huge Armored Train stop so easily? All he could do was maintain the trajectory of the front of the train. After a violent shudder, the front of the train crashed into the broken rails, and almost everyone was thrown into the air.

The heavy locomotive pierced through the smoke of the explosion and instantly pressed down on the rails. Thanks to the Armored Train's weight, which far exceeded that of ordinary trains, it forcefully cut through the broken, irregular ends. Mars flew from the friction, and after a series of ear-piercing, violent sounds, it miraculously did not derail.

But the carriages behind weren't so lucky. Once all the passengers had evacuated, Zhou Lie Feng promptly disconnected the carriages from the ones behind.

Clang—

The massive carriages derailed, tilting and collapsing outwards as if the earth were collapsing and mountains were crumbling, buried in the blizzard and smoke.

"Someone is attacking us with artillery!?"

Li Aoz dragged Du Zexin to a corner, looked up, and squinted at the bombed-off railway tracks.

"No, it's a missile!"

The experienced Zhou Lie Feng was absolutely certain:

"If it were an artillery shell, it couldn't have this kind of maneuverability; only a hypersonic missile could do that."

Before he could finish speaking, a beeping alarm suddenly sounded on Du Zexin's body. Du Zexin's expression changed. "AI's target acquisition radar warning! We've been locked on!"

"Stop the car!" Li Aoz said. "We can't dodge the missiles. Ignore them and just stop the car. Comrade Zhou Lie Feng, go and contact the Subway Brotherhood. Tell them that the Four Nations attacked you."

"I see."

Zhou Lie Feng's judgment was the same as his. He brought the train to a steady stop, turned on the emergency communicator, and said in code, "Calling Zero in October, calling Zero in October."

"Zero has been received. Please describe your situation."

"The invasion has occurred, and the robbers are women."

"Received. Level 1 alert. Please close for the month of October and wait for restocking."

When Zhou Lie Feng put down the emergency communicator, Li Aoz had already raised his hands, picked up a green smoke grenade from the car, and waved it in the air to indicate surrender.

Red and green signal lights lit up in the air, the inverted triangular monitor head swayed slightly, and the thermal imaging camera quickly captured the signal on the ground. After CG processing, it was converted into a color image and transmitted to the driver of the Mobile Armor.

"The target vehicle stopped moving forward, and one person got out of the vehicle. He was unarmed and appeared to be surrendering."

The mechanic, Yin Xifeng, pushed open his tactical goggles and coldly reported, "Commander Uzda, please give your instructions."

"No need for further explanation."

"This is what Captain Uzda Dixi, an active-duty soldier belonging to the Special Mobile Team of the 73rd Armored Brigade of the Frostplate Defense Force, said calmly."

"Our mission is to take anyone, dead or alive, but the value of living is always higher."

"Yes, yes, yes, dead or alive—I understand what you mean, Commander. Those who want to save trouble would just kill them, but Governor of Law Enforcement Division Four says this, it's a different story."

Gunner Kailin Lamu chewed her gum. "This is a chance to curry favor with the Law Enforcement Division Four Governor of the Laws—maybe we'll get extra allowances, or even a city residency in Gemini City."

"What's a household registration in the capital? Even a villa with a 90-year leasehold is incredibly cheap compared to the favors of the Law Enforcement Division Four Governor of the Law," joked Yin Xifeng, the mechanic.

"It's really intriguing to wonder who this person is that would require us active-duty soldiers to take action."

Gunner Karin marveled:

"This is probably no ordinary man from the Frostplate Kingdom—is he involved in leaking secrets? Or treason?"

"Maybe both."

The woman with a flame-shaped scar on her face grinned and said disdainfully:

"We have reached the target airspace. Deploy Shengnan directly to give them a taste of their own medicine."

"Learn."

Zhang Shengnan, with her short hair, gripped the control lever and said expressionlessly, "Operation code confirmed: Subway Collapse."

"Start the deployment now."

"MA-20 'Wolverine' Mobile Armor, Uzda Crew—Attack!"

Whoosh! The 54-ton Mobile Armor rapidly transformed, its head flipping inward to hide within its tank-turret-like body, while its legs squeezed and tucked in, transforming its entire body into a surfboard-like shape.

Its arms also retracted the missile pods and housed them in the cabin, allowing the radar-absorbing materials used for stealth to play a full role. Although it was just intercepting an Armored Train, there was no need to use anti-radar camouflage. However, the cautious female soldiers were not as passive and lax as the Law Enforcement Division Four Agent. Taking this opportunity, they also checked the condition of the aircraft and equipment.

The massive gyroplane quickly released the magnets, the nuclear reactor switched to operating mode, and the thrusters on its back spewed out sky-blue flames, which were then released downwards and shot out.

The feeling of weightlessness was already familiar to the crew members inside the vehicle. Commander Uzda said calmly, "Execute low-altitude parachute deployment."

"Yes, sir."

Zhang Shengnan gripped the control stick and skillfully maneuvered the mecha. She turned off the altitude alarm and waited until she reached a low altitude range that she felt was suitable before suddenly opening the parachute.

Splash—

The white parachute blossomed, and the wolverine-like mech instantly transformed into a semi-humanoid form. The leg thrusters slowly spewed flames to provide deceleration before suddenly shutting down. Zhang Shengnan casually manipulated the rope-cutting system to sever the parachute lines, and the Mobile Armor crashed to the ground like a black steel castle.

Boom! White frost and yellow sand flew up and in an instant, the twelve-meter-high heavy armor made a hard landing, and the air cushion of the armor chassis greatly reduced the impact.

Li Aoz and his men were nearly buried by the dust and snow that were kicked up. His eyes flashed as he quickly scanned the enemy's equipment level.

Mobile Armor is a purely military weapon, typically used in conjunction with mechanized infantry for assaults and large-scale battles.

The cold and harsh visibility of the Outland meant that fighter jets would be suicidal if they went out. The Aerospace Force and Strategic Support Force were unable to provide air superiority and long-range missile strikes, which is why this deformed weapon of war was born.

It doesn't look like a human at all; instead, it resembles a rooster without a neck but with arms, its feet resting on a huge rocket-propelled air cushion. Its simple and crude modular engineering design, without Anti-Gravity System, makes its maintenance much easier.

Mobile Armor is equipment, not monsters, and it doesn't have levels. However, you can generally judge its threat level by the quality of its workmanship and the number of weapons it carries.

Compared to the 'Falcon' and 'Night Owl', who will be frequently active in the Sky Ring Invasion and the Frostplate Civil War and perform brilliantly, the 'Wolverine' is a product of the poverty caused by the sharp reduction in Frostplate's military spending during this period.

Its design is extremely simple and straightforward. In order to lower the barrier to entry for users, it directly adopted the crew mode of the tank era: the commander gives orders, the gunner operates the weapon system, the mechanic is responsible for communication and reconnaissance, and the driver is responsible for controlling the operation.

But people later discovered that it seemed that as long as there was an auxiliary AI, a fire control system, and a remote combat center, one driver could drive the Mobile Armor directly, without having to waste four people.

The Wolverine is primarily designed for fire support, so it is not equipped with melee weapons. Its main armaments include a 40mm autocannon and a powered shield. Li Aoz noticed that it has missile pods on its arms and a large rocket launcher on its back. There are also two anti-infantry Gatling guns on the raised chest armor.

Of course, the price of such Fully Armed is that its avionics system and phased-array radar are extremely poor, and its anti-electronic warfare capability is almost negligible.

Despite its rough workmanship, equipment of this level, unless touched by a large number of artillery pieces and anti-vehicle teams, is basically unstoppable by the Beta-rank's capabilities in causing a massacre.

"Another safe landing."

Uzda praised him, then turned on the radio and addressed the ground units. "You're Li Aoz? You look so much older than in the photos. But it was a wise move of yours to surrender when facing Mobile Armor."

As he spoke, Wolverine raised the massive muzzle of his gun and aimed it at Li Aoz.

"I am willing to surrender!"

Li Aoz shouted, "I have given up resisting, Frostplate Heroines, please have mercy and settle me legally in accordance with international law."

"Tch—is that all you've got?"

The gunner scoffed, "Judging from the mission log, I thought he was a tough guy, but he's just a coward. He surrendered as soon as he saw the Mobile Armor. What a loser!"

Uzda's eyes flickered. She gestured for the driver to move the gun away, but deliberately and quietly aimed the anti-infantry Vulcan Cannon at Li Aoz.

Even if the data says he killed Beta-rank superhuman, the Vulcan Cannon's rate of fire of 9,000 rounds per minute is enough to tear apart a target with no armor protection.

"We are only responsible for stopping the train."

Uzda said calmly, "Next, we'll have to wait for the agents of Law Enforcement Division Four to come and take you under control."

As they spoke, a female voice came through the channel. "I am Agent Nimoting of Law Enforcement Division Four Agent. We have arrived in the airspace and are about to parachute."

"You're so slow! You bunch of lousy nobodies who've never been on the battlefield, did you come here riding snails?" the mechanic mocked.

Nimoting's tone was displeased. Although they were members of different systems, soldiers were not necessarily much more senior than these agents. This was not the Heavenly Ring Nation.

Besides, the Outland environment and climate are constantly changing, and long-distance flights are inherently extremely dangerous activities. They risked their lives and endured many hardships to get here, so why were these soldiers so arrogant? Even if she were to concede that she was an Alpha Rank powerhouse, while the soldiers were mostly just Alpha Rank except for the pilot, she had no choice but to suppress her resentment and explain:

"Sorry, we encountered a storm along the way and had to stop for a while—"

"No need for further explanation. If they're still dragging their feet on dealing with a Beta-rank target, it seems the Law Enforcement Division Four Agency should have abolished some of the positions that are being filled by people who aren't actually working."

The mechanic sneered, replied disdainfully, and then hung up the call.

Zhang Shengnan threw out a laser tripwire to dissuade the locomotive from escaping. If nothing unexpected happened, this would be a simple mission, just like before. The only difficulty was opening the parachute at low altitude and intercepting the target.

All we need to do now is wait patiently for the female agents of Law Enforcement Division Four to come down and take control of the target.

However, Uzda vaguely sensed something was amiss. She stared at the enlarged face of Li Aoz on the screen, quietly sensing it for a moment, then narrowed her eyes and said, "I'm very curious, how did you, an Alpha Rank, kill Beta-rank?"

"Is there a reward for telling me? Like letting me go or something."

Li Aoz chuckled, seemingly showing no intention of resisting. Moreover, he was surprisingly approachable, dispelling the hostility of the crew members with just a few words.

Although Uzda wasn't swayed by such tactics, such a handsome man was a rare sight even in the entire Frostplate. She nodded slightly, her gaze wavering before she smiled and said softly:

"Sorry, buddy, you're currently in a state of detention."

"However, if you obediently confess, I can give you some personal rewards~"

"Hey, commander, don't hog all the meat!" The gunner licked his lips. "I've never tasted such tender meat before... Hey, buddy, spend the night with us, and we'll put in a good word for you!"

"Really?" Li Aoz's expression clearly showed interest. His gaze shifted as if he was making up his mind. This was amplified by his extraordinary charm, and the entire crew, from the mature female captain to the indifferent driver, seemed to light up in their eyes in an instant.

"Really?!" the gunner blinked.

"Although this doesn't comply with military regulations, it's not entirely unacceptable." Yin Xifeng tossed her hair with a flirtatious air and said alluringly.

"Charge." Zhang Shengnan cold face flushed with hunger, uttered a single word.

Li Aoz smiled:

"Hahaha—I'm not going."