Two days later.
The clock had just passed eight in the morning when the Serpent Coil convoy set off in grand fashion.
The Rust Fog blanketing the sky caused severe interference with electronic signals.
This greatly limited the world's aviation technology. Aside from a small number of low-altitude aircraft and drones, people still relied more on ground transportation.
The heavy trucks carrying the equipment were simply too large to pass through the city.
So the escort route had to take a long detour, departing from the group's industrial park, crossing the Huajin Plain outside the city, and finally reaching its destination in western Night City.
The rebel army led by Chen Fang had already laid an ambush there.
"Stay sharp. They're Serpent Coil assault units—we can't let our guard down for even a second!"
As they waited, he gave one last round of encouragement. "Follow the plan exactly when the time comes. Understood?"
"Yes!"
Before long, the roar of engines reached them, and the dark-painted convoy gradually grew larger in their sight.
"They're here! All units, get ready!"
Chen Fang put on his tactical helmet. "Follow my command. Five, four, three, two... now, attack!"
The moment he finished speaking, the rebels tore away their camouflage in unison, and the vanguard launched a coordinated assault on the convoy.
"...Contact!"
Seeing the armed attackers before them, Serpent Coil reacted quickly as well. "Assault units, prepare to return fire!"
Fully armed soldiers deployed at once, while drones concealed along the trucks' outer walls activated and swarmed across the sky.
In an instant, the two sides clashed.
Before long, blazing flames rose across the plain. Thick black smoke billowed from the ground, and the sound of bullets pouring out rang without pause as the battlefield descended into chaos.
Logically speaking, as an established military-industrial conglomerate, Serpent Coil's armed forces were unquestionably formidable.
However, Spark's rebels had clearly put great effort into their tactical arrangements, and the coordination between their units was nearly flawless.
The vanguard fought like vicious wolves, forcibly tying down the enemy as torrents of bullets and artillery fire battered the shields... Even the circling drones had dedicated snipers watching them, picking them off one by one.
More critically, their equipment was far from poor. Though it could not compare to Serpent Coil's elite gear, it still far surpassed the weapons used by Sin City's gangs.
Under such circumstances, Serpent Coil gradually began to show signs of fatigue instead.
"Push harder!"
Overjoyed at the sight, Chen Fang raised the rocket launcher in his hands and pulled the trigger at the breach they had torn open.
Boom—
The artillery blast rang out, completely throwing Serpent Coil's deployment into disarray.
The others followed close behind, surging in like a tide.
"...Retreat! Retreat!"
Seeing that the situation could no longer be salvaged, Serpent Coil's commander could only roar out the order.
The remaining assault unit members had already been routed. Upon hearing the command, they did not even consider fighting as they withdrew and scattered in panicked flight.
In less than an hour, Spark's surprise attack had succeeded!
They had won!
At the sight, Chen Fang was overwhelmed with excitement.
He had never imagined that one day, people like them, born in Sin City, would actually claim victory against those damned conglomerates!
And the reason they had achieved all this was not merely the capable cooperation of his team members.
It was also Leader Shen's meticulous preparations beforehand!
If they had not learned the enemy's firepower levels in advance and run simulations over and over on the eve of battle, this operation could never have gone so smoothly!
Thinking of this, Chen Fang could not help feeling even more respect for Shen He.
Three years ago, he had still been a petty thug who could not even afford to eat. When he had nowhere left to turn, Shen He had saved his life.
Though he had been deeply grateful, Shen He's dream of overthrowing the conglomerates' centralized rule had sounded like a fantasy to him at the time.
Back then, Chen Fang could never have imagined that in just three years, all of this would become reality!
At least this was a beginning. And as the one who had fired the first shot, perhaps he would leave a bold mark in the history books someday!
But excitement aside, he vaguely felt that something was wrong.
He could not say exactly what it was. Maybe everything had been too dreamlike?
Chen Fang did not dwell on it and swiftly gave the order. "Check the wounded. Before their main force arrives, take the supplies and retreat immediately!"
The last stretch was always the hardest. He would not make the amateur mistake of popping champagne at halftime.
"Yes!" "Woohoo!" "Hell yeah!" "Awesome!"
With their orders received, the others immediately sprang into action.
Naturally, Serpent Coil's people could not take those four heavy trucks with them, but the rebels were not foolish enough to simply drive off in the enemy's vehicles either.
They had already prepared vehicles to transport the supplies.
However.
When everyone excitedly pried open the cargo doors, what greeted them was not brand-new weapons and equipment.
It was a wall of dark gun barrels.
The cargo compartments of the trucks were filled with assault unit members, fully equipped and ready to go!
Four truckloads of armored men!
And those people did not waste any words. The moment they came face-to-face, they pulled the triggers.
Rat-a-tat-tat—rat-a-tat-tat—
The sound of armor-piercing rounds came with sprays of blood as countless heavily armed soldiers poured out of the truck compartments.
In just one second, Spark's people had become trapped prey.
The sudden reversal left Chen Fang frozen in place.
Only after standing there in a daze for a long while did he finally realize where that sense of something being wrong had come from.
It was not that Serpent Coil's assault units had been too weak. Their earlier personnel deployment had never matched the intelligence in the first place!
There had been too few people!
Looking back, the enemies they had defeated moments ago had mostly been drones and mechanical equipment. There had been very few living people among them.
They had fallen into a trap!
But it was already too late to realize that, because the convoy had not been carrying the Type IV Assault Unit from before.
Judging by the equipment they carried, this was the Type V Heavy Assault Unit, Serpent Coil's ace force!
There was simply no comparison between their strength. His team probably could not even break through the armor on their bodies.
Not to mention that they had committed too much during the earlier battle... Now, they could only await slaughter!
How... could this be?
Chen Fang's mind went blank. By the time he came to his senses again, Spark's people were already dead beneath Serpent Coil's guns, screaming in agony. Only a handful of survivors remained.
"...Fuck!"
Cold sweat soaked his back, and he could not stop himself from cursing.
There was no way they could fight this. He had to find a way to run!
Chen Fang gritted his teeth and pulled a handle from his waist.
As he pressed the button, the handle instantly transformed into a massive warhammer as tall as a person.
"Out of my way!!!!!!"
Chen Fang roared and gripped the warhammer as he charged toward one direction, forcing a path through.
His eyes turned bloodshot, and his body visibly swelled by a full size.
He was an Ascendant. This was his ability: Berserk!
Empowered by immense strength, he really did tear open a small gap in the heavy assault unit's encirclement.
Taking advantage of that opening, Chen Fang successfully broke free and sprinted deep into the plain.
The Serpent Coil soldiers did not pursue him.
Because not long after Chen Fang ran out, he saw a figure slowly walking toward him.
It was a familiar figure.
And the moment he saw her, Chen Fang could no longer contain himself and let out an enraged roar.
"Xia—Wuyou!!"
PS:
Type V Heavy Assault Unit:
A five-man squad, with every member having undergone extensive mechanical augmentation and equipped with heavy armor and weapons.
In theory, a single heavy assault soldier possessed combat capability roughly equal to that of twenty ordinary soldiers.
Known as Serpent Coil's backbone, deploying this unit required extremely high-level corporate authorization.
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