Starting as a Mechanical Hunter

Chapter 66: Chapter 57: Special Rescue

Daisila seemed to have had a very long nightmare. In the dream, a raging Flame Giant wielding the Twilight Sword fiercely destroyed all her weapons, reducing her entire being to ashes and annihilation.

”Uh, cough, cough.”

Daisila opened her eyes in confusion. Above her was the stark white light of a sterile room, and a breathing mask hung over her mouth, producing a faint mist with each inhale and exhale, which explained the slight stuffiness she felt.

Her two Prosthetic Bodies no longer had sensation. This didn’t surprise her, but her left hand also had no response, which made her feel a bit empty.

She struggled to turn her neck, and sure enough, her left hand had been cut off at the base.

”You’re awake,” a cold electronic synthesized voice sounded.

Daisila looked over, and saw a brand-new Mechanical Body lying on a nearby operating table, with very little flesh content.

The Mechanical Body was motionless, but the electronic screen above the operating table descended, flipped over, and lit up, revealing Huang Wen’s face.

”How are you—”

”Just like you, but I wasn’t as lucky as you. The electronic virus destroyed all my Prosthetic Bodies. This isn’t unexpected, as Cyber Hackers in Nightless City can do this. After all, the Electronic Defense Wall I installed was just a basic version.”

”But what surprised me was that these electronic viruses could even invade the physical part of me, rendering my new Prosthetic Body in standby mode. Once the Prosthetic Body reboots, the virus will instantly revive.”

Huang Wen’s face filled the screen, but his expression was unexpectedly calm.

Daisila was stunned. She knew about the power of Cyber Hackers, but invading the flesh too was just too exaggerated.

”Electronic viruses can invade the body? How is that possible?”

”Ordinary viruses can’t do this, naturally. Judging from my deductions, the Electronic Knight must have uploaded her virus to the Cyber Network and activated it. The activated virus could directly interfere with the Neural System, you could understand it as her opening a back door in my brain.”

”That’s why I’m in this state now, similar to paralyzed individuals using brainwaves to read and make sounds.”

Daisila’s face twitched, ”You’re really unlucky.”

”No, actually I’m quite lucky, because not every Prosthetic Doctor can reattach my damaged Prosthetic Body. It’s a large project.”

”As for the electronic virus, it’s beyond the Prosthetic Doctor’s scope, so I’m very grateful to Mr. Gao.”

”Gao Gong is the one who helped me? He found a Prosthetic Doctor?”

”You misunderstood, Mr. Gao himself is a Prosthetic Doctor, and his surgical skills are quite exquisite.”

”He’s a Prosthetic Doctor?”

Daisila was stunned. She had never heard this news. She knew that the value of a hundred Mechanical Hunters couldn’t compare to a single Prosthetic Doctor.

If Gao Gong really was a Prosthetic Doctor, how could the Security Corps let him go? They wouldn’t stop until they brought him into the Legion.

The role of a Prosthetic Doctor is not just to replace parts but to truly treat and save people on the mechanical level.

As if seeing through her thoughts, Huang Wen’s electronic voice sounded again, ”Perhaps that is the reason. Not everyone wants to join the Legion.”

”Of course, there’s another possibility. A Prosthetic Doctor can rally a large team anytime they wish.”

”From what I see, this one has grand ambitions.”

Daisila said in confusion, ”The Gao Gong I know is a Lone Wolf, not really fond of partnering with others.”

”People change. I’ve already had my Mechanician Squad join in. All the Prosthetic materials I’ve collected over the years, along with mechanical repair tools and weapon systems, will be shipped over in batches.”

”I’ve already transferred 300,000 Mechanical Coins to his account.”

Daisila was once again stunned. After a long time, she finally asked, ”How did he convince you? Does he have some great and ambitious plan?”

’Huang Wen’ replied flatly, ”No need for persuasion, because without his periodic adjustments to my Mechanical Body, I would surely suffer brain death.”

”I’m afraid of death, so I invested.”

”...”

”DAISILA!!!”

Outside, Matsushima Keiko was the first to rush in after hearing the commotion, followed closely by the remaining five members of the Fire Grass Squad.

”Daisila, it’s so good that you’re alright, wah wah wah wah...”

Matsushima Keiko hugged her and cried.

Daisila forced out a slight smile, intending to comfort her for a few words, but as her gaze swept across, her expression immediately changed.

”Where are the others?!”

The few members of the Fire Grass Squad looked at one another, and finally, one vice-captain braced herself and said, ”Only us are left, Daisila. Just like you, we were also attacked by a large number of unknown people.”

”Keiko eventually forcibly drove the Combat Chip ’Chaotic Cherry Blossom Frenzy’ to lead us out.”

”Daisila, don’t lose hope. As long as you’re okay, we can rebuild the Fire Grass Squad anytime.”

Daisila’s half face trembled uncontrollably, Fire Grass Squad once had over fifty elite close-combat Mechanical Hunters at its peak. Even after the great defeat, it retained more than thirty combatants.

They were all comrades she could entrust her life with.

Now, including herself, there were only seven members left.

”If it comforts you, my Mechanician Squad’s loss is no less than yours. In fact, had it not been for us detonating those virus-infected teammates as Biological Weapons at the last moment, we wouldn’t have survived.”

”You actually used your comrades as human bombs!” Matsushima Keiko looked at the other party in disgust.

”In a control system, any electronic component’s damage needs timely replacement, or it will cause the entire system to collapse. I believe after being my deputy for so many years, you should understand this principle, Matsushima Keiko.”

Daisila pressed down the incensed Matsushima Keiko, taking a deep breath.

”Gao Gong, no, I want to see Mr. Gao.”

”He’s not here,” Huang Yuanli walked in, curiously glancing at Huang Wen on the electronic screen.

”He asked me to tell you that if you want to know where he is, open the Battlefield Recorder.”

”Who would carry that damned thing? The Security Corps betrayed us! All the ambusher’s weapons are targeted!”

”That’s right, the Security Corps uses and discards us, they won’t die a good death!”

Seeing the outraged crowd, Huang Yuanli shrugged, taking out a ’High-tech Walkie-Talkie’.

”He knew you didn’t have it, so he prepared ahead of time.”

This was a ’Recorder’ from the early days of the war, which, besides real-time recording, only had the function of refreshing rankings.

But now, the ’handcuff version’, besides refreshing rankings, also has real-time broadcasting capabilities.

It’s said this was modeled on the Civilization Era’s ’live selling’ operation mode, which, through real-time reward feedback, can inspire the Mechanical Hunters’ desire to go to battle.

As soon as the Hunting Leaderboard opened, a certain individual’s ranking skyrocketed, rising a place every few minutes.

At a visibly discernible speed, a certain ’Hunter Gao’ burst back into the top ten.

...

An hour ago, on the western defense line of Automobile City

In fact, since the battle conference in Scavenger City ended, the so-called four main defense lines were ’in name only’.

Outside the Oasis, only small and large new Radiation Circles remained, with no living people in sight.

More troubling is that the new Radiation Circles are merging; once complete, it marks the beginning of the Oasis’s full assault.

If the Oasis falls, unsurprisingly a new Metropolitan Area will immediately arise in its place.

In the Uninhabited Land, behind walls and shooting platforms, lay vast amounts of abandoned supplies, guns, and ammunition.

If the Mechanical Hunters’ organization is ’Pseudo Army’ level, then the Security Corps is standard ’National Army’.

In favorable conditions, they achieve greater kills, but once faced with adversity, they collapse faster than anyone.

The Mechanical Legion can achieve a 100% battle damage ratio, yet the Public Security Corps loses morale if they suffer over 10% losses, and over 30% leads inevitably to collapse.

At this moment, a tactical squad is fighting while retreating, clad in exoskeletons more advanced than ordinary Mechanical Hunters.

Customized blue metallic shells, streamlined armor structures, with weapon systems conforming to sports dynamics, mounted with various sized weapons.

On the exoskeleton’s palms and shoulders are installed ’Small Beam Emitters’ and ’Small Multi-functional Missile Launchers’.

The ’Small Beam Emitter’ needs no mention, it’s the predecessor of energy weapons, also known as the ’Close Combat Air Cannon’.

And any exoskeleton equipped with a missile launch system is at least ’Fine+’.

However, inside these weapon systems, each is empty; obviously, all these wide-range weapons have been exhausted.

At this moment, these Exoskeleton Warriors can only rely on assault rifles and machine guns to fight and retreat.

At this time, the advantage of Radiation Beasts is evident; these monsters charge headlong. Whenever they’re about to die, their radiation organs begin to glow, followed by a terrifying explosion.

The battlefield’s two-meter-deep, three-meter-deep mud pits are all caused by these explosions.

Even the most advanced exoskeleton will suffer damage from a single hit.

Two hits, and the internal organs of the user inside will be injured.

Three hits mean the exoskeleton and its user will both meet their end.

The Major’s squad, fighting and retreating, had dwindled to less than a dozen under the continuous explosions.

However, at least a hundred Radiation Beasts still eyed them.

Not even the most resolute Major Zhou Cong could help but despair at this point.

Just then, the roar of an engine erupted.

At the edge of their vision, an armored vehicle sped forward, with machine guns flipping out from both sides of the vehicle’s body, beginning to scour the Radiation Beasts.

The firepower line resembled two invisible long whips; wherever it swept, both men and beasts were overturned.

”Beast Makino Type Three, our people!”

The Major’s eyes brightened, immediately issuing an order.

”Everyone, defend your positions, buy time for our allies.”

The Beast Makino Type Three, true to its status as the latest heavy armor vehicle, crashed into the beast swarm almost without slowing.

The explosions immediately engulfed the vehicle, yet the machine gun’s sound never ceased.

Finally, after the last dozen Radiation Beasts fled in panic, the battered and blackened vehicle rolled out from the pile of carcasses, stopping in front of the Major.

In the plumes of smoke, the car window slowly rolled down, revealing a young face.

Gao Gong lit two cigarettes, handing one to the other.

”Mind telling me, where are the most Radiation Beast swarms around here?”