Shi Luo Ye

Chapter 926 The Battle Axe Gang

"Prepare for evasive maneuvers!"

"Heat flares ready!"

Inside the cabin, the combat member in the co-pilot seat busily flipped switches, his eyes glued to the display showing the missile's trajectory, which was rapidly closing in on their Cloud Shadow class vessel. As it crossed a red boundary, he stated grimly, "Laser anti-missile system activated!"

The next moment, he looked at Lin Zhao, Chen Xue, and the others, saying, "Everyone brace yourselves, prepare for the shockwave!"

At this point, Lin Zhao and Chen Xue had activated their Xihe class single-soldier combat armor. Seated, they firmly grasped the armrests. From a distance, the Cloud Shadow class's laser anti-missile system engaged, and under the laser's glare, the incoming missile detonated in mid-air!

"Boom..."

Under the shockwave of the missile's explosion, the entire Cloud Shadow class shuddered, and alarms blared.

Chen Xue raised an eyebrow. "Huodao, what are you doing? Haven't you located the incoming targets yet?"

"Found them!"

Through the communicator, Huodao stated in a deep voice, "Locked onto the heat signatures of four missile launchers in the woods, Chi You class, all locked. Forward railguns locked, fire!"

"Boom boom boom—"

A series of violent sounds echoed through the air. When Lin Zhao reached the front cabin control room, he saw streaks of light, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, descending from the front of the Chi You class cruiser aircraft towards the ground. Immediately afterward, explosions erupted from the ground, and four fiery blossoms bloomed.

"Drone reconnaissance confirms all targets destroyed."

Huodao said in a deep voice, "Boss, Chen Xue, all missile launchers have been cleared. However, we're still detecting heat signatures. There should be more ground assault vehicles in the woods. Should we destroy them too?"

Chen Xue frowned and looked at Lin Zhao. "What do you think?"

"What else can we do?"

Lin Zhao's gaze was sharp. "The moment they fired missiles at Feiyue Transport, they became our mortal enemies. No need for mercy. Lock onto the heat signatures, destroy them all."

"Yes!"

Huodao said in a deep voice, "Cloud Shadow class, push forward, use your light railguns to engage them all."

"Yes, Boss!"

The four Cloud Shadow class vessels on the wings roared forward. With resounding explosions, armored vehicles in the woods were blown to pieces in moments, debris flying through the air, a grim scene.

"Prepare for rescue."

Huodao stated crisply, "All anti-radiation infantry combat vehicles from the Cloud Shadow class will be airdropped."

"We'll go too."

Lin Zhao and Chen Xue boarded an infantry combat vehicle, with Chen Xue driving as Lin Zhao was not very familiar with such machinery. Another combat member from Feiyue Transport also got into the vehicle. "Sister Xue, the airdrop bay door is open, reverse. I'll open the load-bearing parachute."

"Okay."

Chen Xue floored the accelerator, and the combat vehicle rapidly reversed, plunging downwards from the sky. The intense feeling of weightlessness made Lin Zhao uncomfortable. Fortunately, three parachutes unfurled in the air, bringing the combat vehicle down into the jungle. After releasing the parachutes, the combat vehicle sped towards the landing site of the Cloud Shadow class.

On the display, anti-radiation combat vehicles were continuously scanning for heat sources nearby.

Chen Xue frowned. "Heat signature detected directly ahead. Could be a shoulder-fired RPG. You or me?"

"I'll go."

Lin Zhao was incredibly nervous, but he volunteered. Opening the passenger door, the Xihe class armor's flight system automatically engaged, pushing him back forcefully as he leaped forward. The search interface showed the target was about 500 meters away.

"Boom!"

In the jungle, a fiery heat source appeared. The enemy had locked onto the combat vehicle with an RPG.

Lin Zhao directly used the Xihe class system to lock onto the RPG's warhead. He extended his right arm, and the Xihe class on his body hummed, activating the backup power board. An energy shield appeared in front of him. With a deafening explosion, fire erupted. An RPG detonated right before his eyes.

Without giving the enemy much time to reload, Lin Zhao charged into the woods. He saw a young mercenary in camouflage busily reloading an RPG. The moment he saw Lin Zhao, he instinctively dropped the RPG and drew a pistol from his waist, firing at Lin Zhao.

"Trying to die?!"

Lin Zhao frowned, flicked forward, activated a micro-shield with his right hand, and raised his left hand, intending to knock the mercenary down with a punch. However, the enemy's bullets struck the shield and ricocheted back. With a *thud*, the young mercenary's eye instantly burst, the bullet headshot him, a gruesome death.

"..."

Lin Zhao gritted his teeth, not looking, and contacted Chen Xue, heading towards the downed Cloud Shadow class in the forest ahead.

"Boss!"

People inside the Cloud Shadow class also contacted them. "Hurry, lots of two-headed wolves! Several brothers have already been bitten to death, hurry..."

"Swish!"

As Lin Zhao burst into the clearing, he saw a scene of intense gunfire. In the jungle, several combat members in Feiyue Transport guard uniforms were using individual firearms to pick off the surrounding wolf pack. But the wolf pack was dense and was about to overwhelm them.

These two-headed wolves were products of radiation mutation, not easily deterred by fire or loud noises, and were even more ferocious, the true overlords of the human world's wilderness.

"Lin Zhao!"

Chen Xue said, "You create a shield to protect everyone, and I'll launch thermite rounds to drive them off?"

"Okay!"

Lin Zhao piloted the Xihe class armor and landed, positioning himself in the center of everyone. He continuously activated the Xihe class's energy boards, and an energy shield with a radius of at least ten meters spread out in the jungle. He could clearly feel the Xihe class's energy core was overloaded and couldn't last long.

"Be careful, thermite rounds coming!"

The next moment, Chen Xue fired a small thermite round from the infantry combat vehicle. The evening sky was illuminated, like a thousand trees blooming with pear blossoms. Streams of thermite rounds descended, and once they made contact, the two-headed wolves immediately howled in agony, the extreme heat igniting their bones, a tragic sight.

Some of the thermite rounds landed on Lin Zhao's Xihe class shield, but the energy shield's level was higher, and the thermite rounds couldn't penetrate it. A group of Feiyue Transport combat members breathed a sigh of relief, truly worthy of the Xihe class, you get what you pay for, amazing!

The comrades' screams made the wolf pack falter. Just as the thermite rounds were about to run out, the remaining half of the surviving two-headed wolves, tails tucked, and with a shrill howl from the alpha, the rest of the two-headed wolves turned and fled rapidly into the jungle, abandoning this hot potato that was almost in their mouths.

Anti-radiation infantry combat vehicles surrounded the downed Cloud Shadow class. In the sky, a massive Chi You class warship loomed, bringing an unprecedented sense of security.

"Are you alright?"

Chen Xue jumped out of the combat vehicle and came to Lin Zhao's side. After all, Lin Zhao's training had only been in simulation rooms, and his actual combat experience was far from Chen Xue's.

"I'm fine."

Lin Zhao shook his head and smiled.

Chen Xue felt greatly relieved. She knew her worries were somewhat excessive. Firstly, Lin Zhao was wearing the Xihe class combat armor. As long as he didn't make a mistake and abandon the armor, it would be difficult for the current opponents to harm him.

Secondly, Lin Zhao's experiences in the game had greatly benefited him. The virtual had fed back into reality, and in reality, Lin Zhao had adopted some of "Lin Baiyi's" demeanor, especially in combat. Chen Xue clearly felt that Lin Zhao was much more decisive than the average novice, acting cleanly and efficiently, not at all like a beginner.

Some people were born for battle. Lin Zhao, though not fond of fighting, had an undeniable combat talent.

"Huodao!"

Lin Zhao looked up at the Chi You class in the sky. "Send someone to assess the damage to this Cloud Shadow class. See if it can be repaired on-site or towed back to base."

"Engine damaged, it can only be towed back to base."

Huodao said in a deep voice, "Four Cloud Shadow class vessels will be just enough to tow it."

"Alright, be quick. Chi You class on alert, our crisis is not completely over yet."

"Yes!"

A short while later, four Cloud Shadow class vessels took to the air. Under the towing equipment, the damaged Cloud Shadow class, swaying precariously, rose with them, while the Chi You class provided full escort.

In fact, with the Chi You class present, the enemy shouldn't have had the chance to launch missiles. They should have been destroyed at beyond visual range. This only showed that Huodao and the others were not yet fully familiar with the Chi You class and still needed time to adapt and integrate.

Chi You class, cockpit.

The cockpit of this unprecedentedly advanced cruiser warship was filled with a sci-fi aesthetic. In the control room, Lin Zhao and Chen Xue sat opposite each other, accepting steaming cups of coffee from their subordinates.

"Huodao."

Lin Zhao said with a smile, "Your missile launchers actually had a chance to fire missiles, that shouldn't happen. Pay more attention next time."

"Mhm!"

Huodao looked ashamed. "Boss, I'm sorry. We're not yet familiar enough with the Chi You class's operating system. We should have opened the heat source index and electronic jamming systems earlier."

"It's alright, take your time."

Lin Zhao looked at Chen Xue. "Have you confirmed the enemy's identity?"

"Mhm."

Chen Xue's brows furrowed slightly. "Based on the wreckage of the missile launchers and the characteristics of the missile trajectories we captured, it should be people from the Tomahawk Gang."

"Tomahawk Gang?" Lin Zhao asked in surprise, unfamiliar with the name.

"Yes."

Chen Xue explained, "The Tomahawk Gang is a mercenary group from the wilderness. They rose to prominence by purchasing a batch of arms from the Sumerian region with ten billion from a backer. Later, their territory expanded, and they accumulated more loot, gradually becoming powerful."

"Oh..."

Lin Zhao said, "I understand. The improved Tomahawk surface-to-air missile is one of those arms from the Sumerian region, right?"

"Yes."

Chen Xue smiled faintly. "A third-rate mercenary group like the Tomahawk Gang usually only robs individual merchants or preys on 'scavengers' leaving the cities in the wilderness. I didn't expect them to attack a large transport group like Feiyue Transport."

"Hmph!"

Huodao sneered. "They look down on Feiyue Transport, thinking we're a newly established force and want to test the waters."

Lin Zhao was silent for a moment. Since they were businessmen, they should seek profit through harmony. This situation was becoming troublesome.