Chapter 249
At the same moment, the three Reaper Mech raised their right hands and, without any preamble, unleashed dazzling flames.
The suddenness and directness of the attack, the magnified torrent of flames at thousands of degrees Celsius, caused the metal walls to melt. The guards instinctively retreated, activating their Transcendental Grade abilities, only to find there was nowhere left to retreat.
Ah?
This was his last thought. Yuki, who was slightly behind, only had time to take out his alloy shield before he felt the air burst into flames.
The guardian was incredibly resilient to the flames; the torrent of fire did not reduce it to ashes instantly. Time slowed down, Yuki saw the light shield erected by the defensive artifacts break through, its muscles carbonized, revealing pale bones. Then, it turned back and glanced at itself.
Concept Enhancement. Steelflesh.
Yuki couldn't utter a single word. He crouched down, hiding behind his shield, while simultaneously activating his electromagnetic field and releasing his soul energy.
With all defensive skills and items activated, Yuki felt like he was standing in a furnace, as if he had become a stubborn rock, enduring the onslaught of flames for several seconds before the torrent finally stopped.
The corridor still held embers of fire, with wisps of smoke rising everywhere. The walls had completely melted, revealing an unknown pipe running through them.
I almost got tricked by this group.
My heart was racing, and my breath felt like it was burning. Thank goodness for the Demon Eye, otherwise I would have turned to ashes like the Watcher.
The Defense Force had no reason to kill without asking questions, but the swarm did!
"This is the Puppet Bug?"
To the naked eye, they were indistinguishable, but under the Devil's Vision, their souls were stained with a purplish-red hue, most noticeably in the middle-aged men.
"What a brilliant parasitism! I specifically observed this person yesterday and didn't find the slightest problem. Is this what 'exposure' means?"
"They're after the guards; as expected, information about the Puppet Bug shouldn't be revealed."
His mind raced, and the army blocking the passage did not launch an attack. The middle-aged man in red tilted his head slightly, peering through the embers.
It opened its mouth with some confusion and said something that sent chills down Yuki's spine.
"How much longer are you going to remain hidden?"
Chapter Fifteen: The Commander-in-Chief (4K)
It knew I was an infiltrator!
In an instant, a chill ran down my spine, and a prompting murmur flashed through my mind.
[Tip 4: Players' identities are kept secret and are difficult to detect]
Being difficult to detect does not mean being impossible to detect; this proves that in the eyes of some Zerg, their identity can be seen through.
No wonder the group with the Aether Particles only needed to find the Puppet Bug; the latter could directly identify them and begin assigning them tasks.
No wonder the Defense Force's research data says that most insects lack intelligence, and those like the Puppet Bug, which can lurk, are classified as higher-level insect groups.
If this were in the insect hive, Yuki would probably bow down and beg his elder brother to take care of him. But this is the human Command Headquarters, and even if he had three heads and six arms, he couldn't possibly break through the encirclement.
What to do?
Yuki stood frozen, holding the melted shield, his brain working at full speed, his eyes scanning the surroundings to confirm that all the surveillance equipment in the corridor had malfunctioned.
Now is the best opportunity to return to the 'organization', and you can even use Hint 7 to fight alongside them, turn the Human Core upside down, and regain your reputation.
The thought arose, only to vanish just as quickly; there wasn't much emotional involvement, simply because it wasn't the right time yet.
But this is actually an opportunity.
Aren't Puppet Bug the ultimate pledge of allegiance? Aren't they my only weakness?
Fighting them would at least allow me to escape the chaos in K District, right? Besides, they didn't seem to care about dragging me into this mess. What if I end up as cannon fodder in their fight?
Within a second, Yuki made his decision, throwing the melted shield aside.
"Knowing they were on our side, why didn't you give us a heads-up? I almost died with you!"
When confronted with accusations, the middle-aged man shook his head expressionlessly. "Sorry, I'm not confident I can kill it instantly. For greater efficiency, we don't mind making sacrifices."
My efficiency is fucking terrible.
Yuki abandoned any remaining thoughts of cooperation. These insects were beyond the comprehension of human common sense. Just by looking at their relentless fighting style, it was clear that 'fear' and 'death' were not in their vocabulary.
The swarm is willing to pay any price for a single goal, and by its own standards, all players are cannon fodder, stepping stones to achieve that goal.
The corridor was narrow and blocked by guns and mechs, but Yuki didn't react; he simply lifted his foot.
What do you want me to do?
The middle-aged man sized him up and replied somewhat impatiently, "Help."
How can I help?
Yuki the opportunity to take another step forward. As his foot landed, his pupils contracted sharply. He saw the three Reaper Mech raise their right arms again, and the middle-aged man spoke coldly:
"Okay, I don't need your help anymore."
Demon Man Secret Technique: Thousand-Kilogram Drop.
As the flames surged again, Yuki concentrated all his strength in the soles of his feet, raised his toes, and slammed his heels down hard.
Boom--
The already severely damaged alloy floor was torn apart, Yuki was pulled down by gravity, with a torrent of flames passing right above his head, leaving him somewhat dazed amidst the Incandescence.
It changed its mind; could it sense my true thoughts?
Mind reading? Intuition? Or some other weird stuff?
Yuki had no idea, nor did he have time to investigate. He was determined to silence them; if underhanded tactics didn't work, he'd just do it openly.
Clang--
With his longsword drawn and musket pointed overhead, several pursuing Marines who had just poked their heads out were blasted into pieces by the shrapnel; the spacesuit-like exoskeleton offered no protection whatsoever.
'The space is too cramped, their firepower is too strong, and fighting through the passageway is disadvantageous for me.'
Yuki had focused all his energy on the battle. He landed in the lower passage and saw several civilian officers in white military uniforms beside him.
[Player Yuki, your Zerg reputation has been reduced to Dislike.]
"Run! Lieutenant Colonel Jackson is Puppet Bug!"
With a low growl, the terrified civilian officers scattered and fled. Fearing being blackmailed, Yuki decided to turn the Yuki and blame the other party.
I really did engage you in combat. Now, even if you escape back, no one will believe me if you say I'm a 'lurker'.
As it turned out, Yuki was overthinking things. The saber pierced through the ceiling and sliced through the alloy floor like cutting tofu, revealing gray armor.
"Revealing the existence of the Puppet Bug will result in being hunted down."
The player's reminder flashed through Yuki's mind, and he twisted his wrist.
The Realm of the Demonbreaker.
Whoosh—Boom!
The plasma ball, the size of a washbasin, was bounced away and exploded on the wall, molten iron splashing everywhere, and several civilian officers were instantly turned into fire.
Using annihilation-class heavy firepower inside a warship is no ordinary act of treason. Fortunately, the Command Headquarters was sturdy enough that the firepower, capable of leveling a small building, could only blast a shallow crater.
This is not good news for Yuki, as it will be difficult for him to penetrate walls and become a human demolition machine.
Thump.
A mech over three meters tall leaped in, its shoulder-mounted Gatling gun spinning.
Woo--da da da da...
The space was filled with countless green dots of light, and anything in its path was blasted into a sieve. This forced Yuki retreat continuously, tumbling and leaping out of the corridor.
Within seven paces, with a gun that's both fast and accurate, he's not stupid; why would he brave a hail of bullets? Besides—
"It's not intense enough; there's a possibility it's being staged."
Yuki glanced at the various sensors. If the Defense Force weren't blind, they were already watching this area. He took a step back and threw a lava grenade into the corridor. At the same time, he saw several dark objects being thrown out.
Boom! Boom!
Explosions occurred on both sides, causing steel to twist and the shockwaves to Yuki flying more than ten meters away. He quickly activated his electromagnetic field.
Hundreds of bullets were deflected as the Marines cleared the way like cannon fodder, not even flinching when they saw Yuki raise his musket.
Bang!
Shotgun shells tore human bodies to shreds, splattering 'tomato sauce' all over the walls, while the massive mechs seized the opportunity to burst out of the corridor.
Flames erupted, beam cannons suppressed the attack, and with heavy footsteps, a soldier wielding a saber charged forward at a speed of 100 meters in three seconds, slashing fiercely at Yuki who was dodging left and right.
This was a warehouse, not very large, only a thousand or two square meters, but Yuki finally had room to maneuver.
Swish--
Incandescence beam of light, over two meters long, sliced through the floor. The beam rifle extended forward, aiming at the leaning Yuki, but the next moment, his figure vanished from all the sensors.
In terms of speed, I'm faster than all of you.
After Yuki used his full strength, his speed increased several times over. These Psychic Warrior were only at the beginner level of the Transcendental Grade Realm, and were somewhat inferior to the Samurai Bug. They only posed a threat because of their high-tech equipment.
He vanished in an instant; before the other could search for him, Yuki was already hanging upside down from the ceiling, his body compressed to the extreme.
He's there.
With his teammates' reminder, all sorts of long and short guns were raised at once, but Yuki stepped down, causing the entire ceiling to cave in.
Bang-- Swish--
The sonic boom ring and the splashing debris appeared almost simultaneously, the burning blade cleaved the alloy armor in two, and then the user pressed down on the left side of the remaining body.
Concept Enhancement. Extreme Speed.
Concept Enhancement: Iron Body.
Simultaneously, with the reinforcement of both concepts, Yuki pressed down on a large chunk of corpse as he sprinted forward, while a dazzling fire serpent burst forth in front of him.
Electromagnetic rifles, beam Gatling guns, and flamethrowers fired simultaneously, creating a steel storm that littered the walls with sparks, making it seem as if a silver snake was following behind Yuki.
He was too fast, so fast that even sensors had difficulty capturing him; any few hits were deflected by the 'Iron Body' in his hand.
In just a few breaths, Yuki closed in on the formation, pushing out the mangled corpses.
Thump.
The soldiers blocking the doorway dispersed, and just then, a red light swept across the ground.
Chop off the legs.
Wielding a giant blade over ten meters long, Yuki used his concentrated soul energy to sever the soldiers' legs as easily as cutting tofu, causing them to scream in agony.
The two Psychic Warrior reacted several times faster, leaping up to let the blade sweep across their feet while simultaneously channeling their soul energy.
Psionic Barrier.
Bang!
A force field rose, gunfire roared, and thousands of bullets froze in mid-air. Before they could even catch their breath, the giant blade slashed back from above, this time burning with raging flames.
Secret Technique: Red Lotus Blade.
This has nothing to do with Wu Raian anymore; it's just the extreme destructive power resulting from burning energy.
A pile of fire-breathing figures appeared inside the warehouse; their soul fire burned through the armor and reduced the warriors inside to nothingness.
Yuki landed, gently wielding his sword, sending a few sparks flying.
"You really think three elite soldiers can take me down?"
It wasn't arrogance, but Yuki was puzzled.
There are no reward points. Logically, infiltrators should get points for killing human soldiers. If it's an allied attack, why do I get points for sealing off the wormhole?
Without soul energy, this Psychic Warrior is no longer an ordinary human; his soul fire is comparable to that of Samurai Bug. How come he hasn't obtained even a tiny bit of it?
And that Jackson actually ran away?
After a brief hesitation, Yuki remembered that the soul fire of these soldiers was strange, somewhat like it had been dyed with the color of the Zerg.
Infection? Could this be an infection?
Yuki's lips twitched slightly. No wonder the Puppet Bug were advanced Zerg.
It usually hides among humans, but once exposed, it wreaks havoc. If I didn't have Devil's Vision, I would have died along with that zombie.