Large-Scale Horror Movie Scene

The entire force and equipment of Supply Station No. 12, belonging to the Commonwealth's New Jade Gate Governor's Office Security Detachment, should ideally consist of the following: an infantry platoon of 35 men equipped with C10 electromagnetic rifles and personal armor; a mobile infantry unit of 8 men in two combat teams, plus 15 AS-40 Exoskeletons, with extras in reserve; 3 squad-level Thunder Machine Cannons, 2 small Phase Wave Cannons, and 1 Hive Missile Launcher with their two operating crews totaling 20 men; 5 Panther Type 3 multi-purpose infantry fighting vehicles with a maintenance and driving crew of 12 men; 1 low-altitude airship with its captain, co-pilot, and dedicated ground crew totaling 5 men; a communications team of 3 men; a medical team of 3 men; and an administrative team of 5 men.

If the allocation were truly complete according to the above specifications, even triple the number of Xenomorphs would be completely torn apart before a well-structured field of fire.

It's a shame, but as we can see, reality is quite different... The airship is missing, supposedly taken by the pilot for personal business; only two of the five infantry fighting vehicles are intact, and the remaining energy is barely enough to get them from the front building to the overpass for some lamb ribs; the fire support teams and their weapons are merely theoretical. As for the so-called mobile infantry, well, there are no elite soldiers with professional training and exoskeleton driving licenses; people like Lieutenant Mondsen and Miss Ina are just thrown into the deep end.

The communications team consists only of Sergeant Cindy, who seems too slow-witted to even repair equipment; the medical team has only Doctor Banks and Nurse Belinda; and as for the administrative team... didn't you see Youyou personally frying the steak before?

The infantry platoon is technically at full strength, but more than half are raw recruits who have never seen combat, many not even completing 3 months of normal recruit training before being deployed.

This is hardly surprising. After all, even the commander of this supply station, Lieutenant Mondsen, hasn't completed his recruit training.

And after such a major battle, fewer than 30 people are still mobile, the supply station is half destroyed, the city walls have collapsed, and only one anti-aircraft gun remains, with its ammunition almost depleted.

It's the same phrase, repeated so many times for some reason – we shouldn't stay here long.

This time, finally, no one raised any objections.

After Yu Lian issued the orders to "gather the wounded" and "collect all ammunition and supplies," Ina and Baka led the soldiers to carry them out. He himself went to the garage with Uncle Karl, the mechanic. Upon arriving, Yu Lian realized the situation was even worse than he had imagined – besides the two vehicles providing fire support at the entrance, the machine cannons and radars on the roofs of the remaining three Panther vehicles were damaged. One of them was even missing a side armor plate. Furthermore, one vehicle had an engine malfunction, another had a broken stabilizer, and the third had its engine, stabilizer, and suspension system all down.

Fortunately, the vehicles were well-maintained (externally), at least proving that the mechanics hadn't given up on them.

"I can fix them, at least get them running," Uncle Karl said.

"Then why didn't you fix them before?"

"Uh... Second Lieutenant Russo said it wasn't necessary. He said if these vehicles were in good condition, it would be difficult to report certain accounts to the higher-ups. I didn't quite understand." Uncle Karl seemed hesitant, perhaps feeling it wasn't right to speak ill of the dead.

Second Sergeant Major Karl Johansen was the oldest and most respected person at the supply station, rumored to have been an engineer at a major corporation. Why he ended up here was likely a long story.

Regardless, Yu Lian, a cadet, knew from his past memories that the old man's abilities were trustworthy.

"How long will you need? I mean, to get them running," Yu Lian looked at the old mechanic and his crew. The maintenance team, which should have been 12 men, was only half that, and one of them, who was particularly fierce, had lost an arm in the recent battle.

"Two hours?"

"You only have one hour."

"Alright." The old man didn't say much and clapped his hands. His subordinates immediately got to work, dismantling covers, fetching materials, and grabbing tools in an orderly fashion. Seeing their practiced movements, it was clear they had been prepared for this all along. Yu Lian suddenly felt he had given them too much time.

"However, I can only get them running. There's a big problem here..."

"The power packs? I know, I'll figure out a way to solve it!"

Yu Lian's tone was confident, but Uncle Karl didn't seem reassured. The biggest difficulty now was energy; without it, even if he, Karl Johansen, had three heads and six arms and could have all five tanks ready in minutes, even polished and waxed, they couldn't move without the battery packs that Second Lieutenant Russo had sold.

"Can I borrow the workbench here?"

Uncle Karl nodded, still looking at Yu Lian with suspicion as he left the garage. A minute later, his eyes widened, staring blankly as Yu Lian and a group of people dragged the torso of a Gravel Dragon inside.

The scene was quite gruesome. Everyone working in the garage stopped, and a large crowd followed them from outside.

The Gravel Dragon was indeed a colossal, sky-obscuring creature, but it was in a typical reptilian biological state. With its wings removed, tail and limbs broken, and two talons torn off, the remaining torso was only about three meters long, easily fitting on the workbench. Sergeant Youyou and a few strong soldiers heaved it up. Yu Lian casually put on a mask, picked up the Chainsaw Sword left by Lieutenant Mondsen, and walked over, sawing with a "zzzzzz" sound that sent sparks flying.

The old engineer stepped back a few paces, while the others retreated even further, feeling as if they had been transported to a horror movie set, watching a mad scientist stitch together a monster up close.

"The energy source within a Gravel Dragon, besides the Dragon Crystal, also contains some Hain stone, usually hidden in the gallbladder," Yu Lian said as he plunged his hands into the severed body, fumbling around for a while before pulling out several black stones. He nodded with satisfaction, "Excellent, this is an old dragon, good purity and size." He handed the stones to Youyou.

The Black Sergeant, holding the stones covered in foul bodily fluids, almost gagged and quickly placed them in a large bucket that had been prepared.

"Additionally, its liver, when thoroughly boiled, can yield trace amounts of high-energy dust," Yu Lian said, pulling out the fist-sized organ and handing it directly to the nurse who had also come to help.

"Go, boil water, high heat, add one liter of desiccant, and its liver will dissolve in ten minutes at most. Pour off the water, and scrape the blue powder from the sides of the pot for me."

The nurse, looking utterly defeated, went to get it done.

Yu Lian began the next step, pulling out all the Gravel Dragon's intestines, stretching them out, and washing them. One might have thought he was preparing to make sausages.

"What are you...?" Uncle Karl couldn't bear to watch, worried that his new superior had gone mad.

"Gravel Dragon intestines are quite tough," Yu Lian said, taking out a dagger and cutting the intestines into five equal portions.

...He couldn't see where they were tough at all?

"I mean on an energy level. Their intestinal lining has considerable flexibility, heat resistance, and pressure resistance. It can even be used as... uh, it can definitely be used as a carrier for energy packs."

It could even be used as a carrier for small energy shields, but that was technology from several years in the future... Hmm, could he find a way to develop it first? Ugh, even if he did, in the Commonwealth, this dying country, it would most likely be snatched up by the financial groups of the Alliance and the Empire, right? How could he prevent that?

Yu Lian decided that when he had some free time, he would find a notebook and meticulously record the future information he could utilize. After all, he had been reborn, and he remembered that protagonists in the reborn novels he read before transmigrating all did that.

His mind was racing with this thought, but his hands didn't stop. He explained, "The Hain stone and high-energy dust particles, when mixed in an electrolytic solution, will react chemically to produce energy and electricity. However, this process generates considerable heat, so we must use these intestines as an insulating container! Simply put, the principle is like..."

"The Comina people's biological battery technology!" Uncle Karl exclaimed in realization.

"Yes, that's the idea. It's actually quite understandable, isn't it? In a sense, their biotechnology represents another evolutionary path." Yu Lian glanced at the old mechanic, thinking he was an expert!

"But this, this isn't scientific! The Comina people have undergone countless genetic modifications to obtain perfect biological materials, and they are still improving. Their genetic maps and chemical formulas for various biological materials are their greatest secrets. Neither the Alliance's heavy gold nor the Empire's pressure has made them divulge anything..."

That's why they're gone! Their home planet was turned into a mine. Their citizens and biologists were divided between the two poles of the galaxy. Of course, the Queen of the Swarm obtained more than half of their research results, which led to those future ships, no, those Leviathans that could fight Titan ships... If I hadn't actually beaten the Queen and robbed her, I wouldn't know these things either.

"But, why do you..." The old mechanic became even more confused, and with confusion came a hint of fear.

This was truly an expert, and an overly so. Why would such a talent be working as a mechanic in a remote colonial supply station? This must also be a rather sad story.

"Hain stone and high-energy dust reacting is content from an alchemy textbook." Emphasis on alchemy textbook, not chemistry. However, as a "Moonfolk," it was understandable to see semi-classified information.

"That these two substances are present in Gravel Dragons is something I heard from an old ranger in the black market when I went to Tulon to broaden my horizons. Of course, I didn't pay attention at the time until I noticed its energy breath had distinct magnetic storm properties, and then I recalled it."

This was even harder to verify, but at least it was a plausible reason.

"I understand!" Uncle Karl nodded and said in a sincere and somewhat respectful tone, "Sir, give me forty minutes. I'll definitely get these tanks moving!"

"Oh, okay..."

So, what exactly did you understand?