NABC Chapter 57 Stealing Each Other's Homes
Chapter 57 Stealing Each Other's Homes
Zhongchao, the ninth restricted area, area D.
As soon as that slightly sickly, slightly mocking female voice rang out on the communication channel, Andy took action.
Without any hesitation, Andy pulled a solid shape memory alloy arrow from the quiver of one of the heavily armed guards beside him.
With the hydraulic leg lever in motion, he burst out of the cover in a fraction of a second.
Not far from him, on the roadside, a line maintenance worker wearing a Helios Group uniform was squatting in front of a distribution box, inspecting the lines.
Before the unfortunate man could even react to the sudden change, a cold, metallic hand had already covered his mouth and nose tightly.
"Pfft."
There were no unnecessary movements.
Andy held the alloy arrow in his right hand and pierced the worker's brainstem through the foramen magnum at the back of his head, instantly destroying it.
The worker's body stiffened suddenly, then collapsed limply into Andy's arms as if his bones had been removed.
He didn't even let out a muffled groan before his pupils dilated.
Instead of leaving the body behind, Andy quickly pulled out the individual communication terminal hanging from the worker's waist.
The data probe on the finger was directly inserted into the interface.
He was listening in.
He was trying to determine whether the sound he had just heard was a full-band broadcast or a directional projection specifically targeting them.
This is crucial.
If it was broadcast, it would mean that everyone in Helios heard the words "Who's here?", which would completely ruin Andy's infiltration plan, forcing him to immediately switch to a full-scale attack or retreat.
But if it's a directional projection...
The terminal emitted a hissing sound of electricity, along with the routine chatter of several security teams complaining to each other about how late their shift change was.
Apart from that, there is nothing unusual!
There were no alarms, no screams, and no sound from that crazy woman.
"It's not a broadcast."
Andy released his hand from the corpse and gently placed the dead body in the shadows.
"It seems that the main AI is whispering something to us."
Upon hearing this, the members of the Storm Squad and the Heavy Armored Guard, who were hiding behind the cover, all breathed a sigh of relief.
Just a moment ago, they were already about to put their fingers on the trigger.
The place will turn into a meat grinder the moment Andy gives the order or the alarm goes off.
But Andy's electronic eyes narrowed.
Although it wasn't exposed, there was something strange about the whole thing.
The main AI can accurately locate their communication channel and allow them to hear only the audio.
This indicates that the enemy's electronic warfare capabilities far exceeded Andy's expectations, and they may even be monitoring their every move.
But since they had already been discovered, instead of sounding the alarm, they sent out this invitation-like signal.
"Everyone, remain silent."
Andy marked a winding, green dotted line on the holographic map.
He took advantage of all the blind spots left by Helios' retreat to perfectly avoid the few remaining fixed sentry posts.
"Since the host has spoken, let's go in and take a look."
"Hurry up, don't let the enemy realize what's going on."
The team started moving again, like a group of black ghosts, silently slipping into the huge entrance of Sector D.
……
at the same time.
What Andy didn't know was that the Helios Group's large-scale retreat was not a result of being clever at all.
The whole thing started with that damned "Wasp" squad.
These six electronic warfare experts died a horrible death; their brains were even boiled.
But in their final moments before death, the instant they attempted to hack into Andy's system.
They still dutifully transmitted the holographic image and coordinates of Andy's military base located in the acid swamp back to Helios headquarters.
Sol and Jessia were in the conference room, arguing fiercely about whether to go to Sector D or the Bottom Nest.
The broadcast by the great sage Caul was certainly a shot in the arm.
But they must obtain a sufficiently substantial "offering" in exchange for a ticket to escape this doomed planet.
In Thor's view, the merchant ronin starship in Sector D was undoubtedly the top prize.
But Jessie didn't think so; she believed that Caul would prefer the black box.
The problem was that the bone was too hard, so hard that it broke several of Helios's teeth.
Moreover, the awakened machine spirit of that starship has a too aggressive personality. If this continues, not only will there not be enough time, but the cost will also drag the group down.
At this point, the intelligence sent back by the Wasp team became the crucial turning point.
The thought of this heavily fortified military base located in the bottom nest instantly sparked Jessia's imagination.
She had a strong feeling that the black box was there!
The ancient molecular reconstruction device that was stolen by a mysterious force is right here in the base!
If the starship can't take it down, why not attack the base nest?
Compared to starships with energy shields and monstrous machine spirits, the base of the bottom nest, while not exactly a pushover either, is at most a slightly tougher nut to crack. As long as the heavy firepower used to fight starships is deployed there, pushing through is a piece of cake.
Moreover, as long as you get the black box, you can still go to Caul to exchange it for a ship ticket!
Although Saul was a stubborn old man, he was quick-witted than anyone else when it came to this matter.
He immediately approved the crazy plan.
Thus, the evacuation of Zone D began.
……
The northern part of the bottom nest is the area of the giant freight elevator shaft.
The north side was originally the territory of "Carnival," the largest gang alliance in the bottom nest.
This group of people are ecstatic, spending their days in a drunken stupor amidst deafening electronic music and psychedelic drugs.
At this very moment, a grand open-air party is underway.
Thousands of men and women, painted with fluorescent paint and adorned with ornaments, were writhing among the ruins.
Sudden.
A thunderous roar echoed through the sky.
One of the party's underlings looked up, somewhat annoyed, wondering which fool dared to disturb his enjoyment.
Then, he witnessed a scene he would never forget.
The massive elevator shaft gate opened, and then countless black dots fell from above like locusts.
Valkyrie Assault Transport Plane!
A gunship equipped with heavy grenades and multi-barrel laser cannons!
Beneath these aircraft were steel behemoths being lowered by steel cables.
Chimera armored personnel carrier, Stone Lizard self-propelled artillery...
There was even a Leman Russ main battle tank painted with the "Iron Skull" mercenary group's logo!
This is a mechanized army group capable of waging a regular planetary surface war!
"Holy crap! What is this thing?!"
The leader raised his homemade automatic pistol and fired two shots haphazardly into the sky.
"This is carnival territory! Get out of here..."
"Da da da da da!!!"
A Valkyrie transport plane, which was the first to dive down, roared as the heavy howitzer beneath its nose fired.
There were no warnings, and there were no negotiations.
The leader, along with dozens of his dancing companions, was instantly torn to shreds by a large-caliber shell.
Immediately afterwards, the tank landed.
The tracks crushed the audio equipment and the still-convulsing corpse on the ground.
The turret rotated, its dark muzzle aimed at the carnival's gathering point.
"boom!!!"
The first shell exploded, marking the beginning of the massacre.
The Helios Group's army didn't care who owned the place or what these people were doing.
In their eyes, they were just a pack of stray dogs blocking their way.
Since they want to pass through, then flatten the road.
This was a crushing defeat without any suspense; the homemade guns and cannons of the carnival couldn't even leave a dent in the armored vehicles of the regular army.
In just ten minutes, this once bustling area was transformed into a sea of fire and ruins.
The army didn't even stop, directly crushing the still-burning corpses, rolling southwards.
……
The shelter has three underground levels and serves as the command center.
"Bang!"
The door was violently kicked open.
The patrol captain in charge of perimeter security rushed in, stumbling and scrambling, his face covered in cold sweat, forgetting even to breathe.
"Mentor! Mentor!!"
"The sky is falling! Something terrible has happened outside!"
Gamma-9 was sitting in front of the screen, staring intently at the several surveillance feeds that had suddenly gone black.
His face was ashen, and the light in his single mechanical eye trembled.
He had already seen it without the patrol captain needing to report.
Although most of the Black Spiders were in the underground pipes, Andy also deployed some at several high ventilation shafts and on the top of the ruins in order to monitor the overall situation.
At that moment, one of the high-altitude probes located to the north transmitted a despairing image.
Amidst the billowing dust, a massive armored column is advancing across the wasteland of Dichao.
The tank's gun barrel gleamed coldly in the dim light.
Gamma-9 recognized the model.
Leman Russ, a true main battle tank.
Although Andy has built rocket launchers and high-explosive crossbows, it is really uncertain how much the shelter's limited resources can withstand in the face of such a large-scale regular armored formation once war breaks out.
Even more deadly is...
Andy isn't here!
The shelter's strongest, fully-equipped fighting force is now completely gone!
They went to steal Helios's house.
As a result, Helios's army has now simply stolen his home back!
"Quickly! Try contacting the Sage!"
Gamma-9's voice became shrill and piercing, and his fingers frantically tapped on the radio.
"Bring them back! Back right now!"
"It'll all be over if we're too late!!"
However, there was only a deathly silence on the communication channel.
Andy and his team have entered the depths of Sector D, where there is extremely strong electromagnetic shielding, and conventional signals cannot penetrate it at all.
Gamma-9 slumped in his chair, watching the approaching torrent of steel on the screen, and for the first time felt true despair.