Like a Mosquito

Four Terran days later, the relentless research and manufacturing finally bore fruit.

As soldiers hauled their heavy weapons to various points in the fortress, Qin Mo ordered Grey and his four men to don their Power Armor and immediately accompany him to the eastern front to assess the situation.

"Hold on, don't these Power Armors need testing?"

"No testing needed."

Qin Mo walked at the head of the six-man squad, navigating the winding, twisting corridors of the fortress.

Klein followed nervously at Qin Mo's side, with the elite soldiers he had just selected trailing behind.

"I think we shouldn't rush this. At least we should check if the Power Armor has any issues first."

"Test it in battle."

"Fine, fine. Test it in battle."

Seeing Qin Mo's confidence and stubbornness, Klein had no choice but to compromise, dropping the topic of testing the Power Armor for now.

But there was something more important.

"Grey and the others are just ordinary soldiers. The 44th Regiment has always been a logistics support unit—they haven't seen much combat. Are you sure you want to take only them?" Klein said, glancing at Grey, then nodding toward the soldiers behind him, signaling them to move ahead.

Qin Mo understood Klein's concern, but he had no intention of bringing the elite soldiers of the 47th Regiment. He decisively refused: "Grey and his men may not be the strongest soldiers, but they are the most steadfast. And they've fought alongside me before—they're more familiar with my combat style."

"Alright then." Klein found the reasoning convincing enough and had to concede again, stopping in his tracks to watch Qin Mo and his team leave.

Just as Qin Mo opened a door in the wall at the end of the corridor and was about to step out, Klein suddenly called out, "Don't go head-to-head with the rebels! We're outnumbered, after all!"

Qin Mo said nothing as he exited the fortress, and the door he had opened in the wall sealed shut behind him.

But just as Klein sighed helplessly and turned around, another door opened in the wall.

Qin Mo stepped back inside the fortress and reminded Klein, "There's a Psychic Power Suppressor in my room—it's that square metal box. If you come under attack and spot a psychic, don't forget to activate it. But it needs charging; it only works for two days at a time."

"I won't forget." Klein turned to face Qin Mo. "I'll put together a five-man team to guard and operate the Suppressor."

"Then I'm reassured." Qin Mo turned and left.

The door in the wall closed again, the surface seamless as before.

The Power Armor could sustain short bursts of flight, covering seventy kilometers in just two hours, with one battery recharge midway.

Unsure if the eastern front position still existed, Qin Mo ordered them to proceed on foot once they were within two kilometers, deploying a drone to scout the situation.

"Is the position still there?" Qin Mo glanced at the drone soaring high into the sky, then turned to Grey, who had launched it.

Grey didn't answer immediately. He craned his neck, staring blankly at the empty space ahead, looking a bit dazed.

He was checking the HUD integrated into his faceplate, his eyes fixed on the lower right corner, where the drone's feed was displayed.

Smoke billowed across the position, obscuring any sign of people.

"Life scan," Qin Mo prompted Grey. "It's a special feature of the reconnaissance drone."

Grey immediately said, "Life scan."

Once activated, the drone marked all detected lifeforms as green dots on the HUD, while data appeared in the lower left corner.

Humans: 5,723.

Mutants: 9,938.

Analysis: Based on the current rate of pure human depletion in the scanned area, it is estimated that the defending forces at this position will be annihilated in one hour and twenty-one minutes. (For reference only.)

"The position hasn't fallen yet, but it's close." Grey raised a hand and swiped in the air a few times, then asked in confusion, "You said this Power Armor's system has a data-sharing feature. How do I use it?"

"Reach out, like the HUD is right in front of you, and tap 'Combat Mode' in the lower left corner. That forces information sharing on." Qin Mo reluctantly gave a tutorial.

He had envisioned it nicely—integrating an electronic system into the Power Armor to analyze battle conditions, monitor the armor's status, and share data.

But for ordinary grunts, it was a bit too complex. And since switching between movement and combat modes required careful consideration, voice commands weren't an option, making it feel overly cumbersome to Grey and the others.

"Got it." Grey clumsily tapped Combat Mode, and all the information he saw was shared to the other Power Armors. The rest of the team now saw the life scan results.

Everyone could clearly see the positions of their allies and every rebel on the field.

The numerical difference between the two sides on the battlefield wasn't huge, but the rebels still held an overwhelming advantage over the Planetary Defense Force.

That was thanks to the Aberrants on the rebel side.

Aberrants are exceptionally strong individuals among the Gene Stealers, wielding industrial tools in combat and compensating for their severe intellectual shortcomings with brute force.

When the Aberrants launched their assault, the rebels blanketed the position in smoke, forcing the Planetary Defense Force into close-quarters combat.

Until the six-man team from the 44th Regiment arrived.

Before the Power Armor even touched down, the powerful thrust from the Jump Packs had already blown away the smoke on the battlefield.

The clashing forces stared in shock at the six mysterious figures landing in the center of the fight. When they saw the Double-headed Eagle on the Scepter, the rebels realized these were no allies.

The rebels didn't attack recklessly. Instead, they warily sized up the six armored figures, and the once-chaotic battlefield fell silent.

"Die..." The largest Aberrant clutched a severed head—torn from some unknown victim—in its hand, glaring viciously at Qin Mo.

Qin Mo turned to look at Grey, who nodded in understanding.

"For the Emperor." Grey charged out from beside Qin Mo, heading straight for the Aberrant ahead.

As the heavy Power Armor ran, the Jump Pack automatically adjusted its nozzle angles, providing thrust to the armor. Though the Power Armor was bulky, its speed was far from slow.

"Ah!" The Aberrant tossed aside the head in its hand, raised its massive hammer high, and rushed to meet Grey head-on.

Both towering, muscular figures hurtled toward each other. In the minds of any onlookers, the impending scene was already clear.

Either metal and machinery would prevail, sending the Aberrant flying.

Or the flesh honed for raw strength would triumph, shattering the Power Armor and the man inside.

Even Qin Mo himself thought the same at that moment.

Until Grey, just five steps away from the Aberrant, suddenly activated his Gravity Shield.

The stones and debris around him were instantly flattened, while the unsuspecting Aberrant, hammer raised high, leaped with all its might toward Grey.

Splat—

The Aberrant, having jumped into the Gravity Shield's range, was crushed by an invisible force, leaving a flattened smear of "mud" on the ground—like a mosquito swatted flat.

Grey's speed briefly dipped, then surged to its maximum. The Jump Pack's nozzles blasted flames backward, propelling the entire Power Armor into a high-speed sprint.