The following video was a live broadcast from the helmet camera of Corporal ■■, the B Team commander of the UBCS, who was wearing an AAES exoskeleton;
First-person perspective.
The corporal was holding the latest rifle developed by The Hive.
The helmet's field of vision was clear.
The lower-left corner of the display showed the rifle's remaining ammunition and the number of spare magazines.
The upper-right corner displayed a dynamic detection radar. Five yellow dots represented allied units, while the dense red dots represented the zombie horde inside the testing ground.
A red crosshair sat at the very center and could be used to calibrate shots.
The display also had options for infrared, night vision, thermal imaging, motion capture, and more.
Corporal: Huff—huff— (Because it was an enclosed space, his breathing was especially noticeable.)
Halsey's voice came through the comms: "B Team, the boss is watching from here. Time to put on a show~"
Corporal: "Roger."
The gate in front of him opened.
Corporal: (He gripped the rifle with his right hand and swept his left hand forward.) "B Team, advance."
Everyone: "Yes, sir."
The corporal and his five subordinates ran forward rapidly and charged into the testing ground, forming a single line.
Boom! (The sound of the gate closing behind them.)
At the same time, the zombies, Zombie Dogs, and Lickers all detected their presence.
The display marked the zombies in view as targets, and the crosshair quickly shifted to the nearest one.
Corporal: "Open fire."
Everyone: (In a calm tone.) "Yes, sir."
Comms: Rat-tat-tat! (The continuous sound of gunfire from weapons of various calibers.)
With the assistance of the Mechanical Skeletons, the recoil was easily suppressed, and the live broadcast screen only trembled slightly.
The corporal aimed at the marked zombies one after another, eliminating the enemies in his field of vision individually with a headshot rate approaching one hundred percent.
The combat system's markers did not overlap, greatly improving the UBCS's ammunition efficiency and the speed at which they cleared out the enemies.
Bark! (The howl of a Zombie Dog.)
A Zombie Dog luckily slipped through the wall of fire and sprinted nimbly toward the formation.
Rat-tat-tat! (The sound of a machine gun sweeping across the area.)
The Zombie Dog was shredded by the machine gunner.
The Zombie Dog's dismembered bones and flesh slid across the pristine floor due to the momentum of its charge, leaving behind a pool of blood.
Hiss!
A Licker leaped into the air and lunged toward the corporal's position.
Because it was moving so quickly, the other UBCS soldiers could not provide assistance in time.
Thud!
The view shook violently.
Once it cleared, the Licker was seen standing on top of the corporal.
The two sides began fighting at close quarters.
Corporal: "Ngh!" (A groan of pain as the Licker's claws struck him.)
Rifleman: "Corporal! Machine gunner, shred that bastard!"
Corporal: "No need!" (He gritted the words out.)
The corporal then seized an opening and drove his right leg forcefully into the Licker's abdomen.
Hiss!
The Licker was lifted by the immense power of the Mechanical Skeleton and fell painfully onto its back.
Immediately afterward, the corporal in the frame sprang to his feet and stomped his left foot toward the Licker's head.
Splat! (The sound of blood exploding.)
A small amount of blood splashed onto the protective visor outside the helmet.
The live broadcast ended.
Meanwhile.
The image on the central display in the observation room froze on the moment the Licker's head was crushed.
At this sight, William beamed and slowly walked over to the giant bulletproof glass window.
He looked down.
The testing ground, which had originally been packed with zombies, had actually been cleared "spotlessly clean" under the overwhelming firepower of six UBCS soldiers wearing AAES.
However, Zombie Dogs and Lickers remained tremendous threats.
This showed that AAES could not respond in time to abnormal Containment Objects that were fast and skilled at launching surprise attacks.
But as long as their numbers remained within a controllable range, AAES still offered incredibly powerful defensive capabilities.
Halsey came to William's side and said with a hint of smugness, "How was that, boss?"
"Excellent!" William nodded vigorously.
He then turned to Halsey, placed both hands on her shoulders, and, unable to contain his delight, praised her:
"Catherine, you... I don't even know how I should reward you. You've truly exceeded my expectations!"
"Mm~~"
Halsey seemed to particularly enjoy William addressing her by name. She closed her eyes tightly and happily bounced on her feet.
"Heh heh."
Seeing how diligently she had worked for the company while now putting on such a girlish expression, William smiled gently as well.
After the warm atmosphere lasted for a few seconds,
Halsey regained her seriousness and walked over to the bulletproof window. Pointing at the six UBCS soldiers cleaning up the area below, she said:
"Boss, this AAES specifically assigned to the UBCS special company is actually...
"Actually, it's an inferior product. I only gave it a name starting with 'Advance' so those soldiers wouldn't feel discouraged.
"In reality, it was merely something I made on the side while developing two Nuclear Fusion-powered suits of armor."
"Nuclear Fusion?" William asked incredulously. "You managed to make it so quickly?"
"Ah, yes."
Halsey suddenly turned around and pulled the somewhat dazed William toward the exit of the observation room as she said:
"I finished drawing up the design blueprints for the fusion reactor a long time ago and handed them to Wang Zhaofeng's engineering team not long ago.
"It's estimated that in three or four months, Umbrella's major underground research facilities and military bases will have almost limitless energy."
"I-is that so?"
However, William was not listening carefully to what she said. Right now, all he could feel was how soft Halsey's little hand was, and he had the urge to give it a squeeze.
"You told me earlier that you wanted to build an Aerospace Carrier. That reminded me that I could miniaturize the fusion reactor, as well as develop the Hydrogen Battery.
"Then I also discovered..."
She had no idea that her boss was entertaining impure thoughts and continued patiently explaining the various scientific achievements.
They left the observation room.
Protected by Hunk and the Alpha units waiting outside, the two headed toward the high-tech weapons research zone at the far western end of the fourth floor.
After walking for more than ten minutes, Halsey led William into a large research room.
There were dozens of the most talented engineers and technicians here.
Some were performing calculations at their individual workstations, while others had gathered together to discuss academic research that William could not understand at all.
What attracted William's attention most were two...
Unfinished suits of armor suspended in the center of the research room and connected by various cables.
The one on the left had a dark green and black main body, with only the helmet and chest armor completed for now.
Progress on the one on the right was even slower. It had only a gray helmet.
William recognized at a glance that the one on the left was the Mark 6 Thor's Hammer, while the one on the right was Herendine.
When the engineers and technicians saw William, they all stopped their work and respectfully said:
"Boss."
"Mm, thanks for all your hard—"
Before William could say more insincere pleasantries, Halsey released his hand, walked to the center of the research room, and shooed everyone away.
"You can all leave. I have something to discuss with the boss in private."
"Yes, Doctor."
After watching the "unnecessary people" leave, Halsey came to Thor's Hammer and introduced it:
"Ta-da~
"This is the Power Armor designed exclusively for the Spartan Force. I've named it Thor's Hammer.
(Pointing to the side.) "And this is my earliest concept, Herendine.
"In theory, it's armor that an ordinary pilot can operate. But it's extremely difficult to realize in practice. It might take a year or two to complete."
{The concept art for Thor's Hammer and Herendine has been uploaded by the author and pinned.}
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