Chapter 56: Metal Control
Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Metal Control
Inside Base 16, a piercing alarm suddenly blared in the control room. Without any input from the Commander, the main screen flickered to life.
Eight Mechas stood on a ridge. More than a dozen Shadows suddenly lunged at these eight Advanced Mechas. The massive impact force from these Shadows sent the Advanced Mechas tumbling into the valley below. The dozen or so Shadows followed them like phantoms. The warning system continuously locked onto these targets, but unfortunately, they were simply too close to the Mechas.
"What are we waiting for? Attack! Trading eight Advanced Mechas for these Mutants is a great deal!" someone in the control room yelled anxiously.
"This requires the Planet Orbital Cannon. We don’t have the authorization," the Base Commander shook his head and replied.
"Damn it—"
The complainer’s voice abruptly cut off. In just these few short seconds, the eight Mechas had already been destroyed. The dozen or so figures ripped the Mechas apart, took some of the components, and vanished into a cave in the valley.
Everyone in the base frowned. The Commander spoke up, "Why didn’t the Fleet Commander intervene? The Blade Mechas were blown up the previous two times."
"Captain, could it be that these Advanced Mecha Masters have significant backgrounds?"
"That shouldn’t be the case..."
Just as everyone was feeling perplexed, a violent burst of Energy Fluctuations suddenly erupted from several caves in the valley. Although they couldn’t hear anything, watching the ground shake was enough to tell them this was no small matter. Then, a familiar Blade Mecha blasted out of a cave opening, shooting straight into the sky.
The Base Commander was dumbfounded. "Replay the footage?"
"Sorry, this is a non-sensitive area. There is no footage."
Meanwhile, when Yang Bo saw the rhinoceros, he knew he couldn’t fly away even if he wanted to. He dove straight into an adjacent cave, dropping a Miniature Hydrogen Bomb at the entrance in an attempt to stop his pursuer.
The Silver Armor Rhinoceros was a B-rank Mutated Beast. This beast was incredibly robust and capable of Metalization. Furthermore, its horn could emit a type of Energy Beam. The ability of this Energy Beam was extremely bizarre—it could increase the fatigue of Metal. It was the most dangerous Mutated Beast in this area. This creature usually lived underground and only occasionally came out for a stroll.
As for why this guy was still alive, it was because the game’s official mandate required it to be captured alive; killing it wouldn’t reward a single Game Coin. According to Yang Bo’s understanding, this thing was likely an extremely rare mutated individual, and the military probably wanted to use it for experiments.
From what Yang Bo knew, Warships and Rail Cannons could easily annihilate this planet. But since it hadn’t been destroyed, they were likely relying on Mechas to contest for resources. Yang Bo had definitely checked the database before coming here. The bizarre ray of the Silver Armor Rhinoceros caused terrifying damage to Mechas.
Inside the virtual cockpit, urgent alarms rang in his ears. A loud boom echoed from behind, and Yang Bo hurried to run. However, the Mecha was huge. Wherever the Mecha could run, the Iron Armor Rhinoceros behind him could run too. Therefore, shortly after entering the cave, Yang Bo tossed out two Shock Wave Bombs.
BOOM!
In this confined space, the effect of two Shock Wave Bombs was like dropping a bundle of stun grenades inside a ten-square-meter room! Although the Mecha shielded him from the noise, the sheer vibration caused the hundred-ton machine to emit an even more piercing alarm. Through the virtual screen, Yang Bo saw a storm of flying sand and tumbling rocks.
ROAR!
Behind him, the Silver Armor Rhinoceros roared continuously. The two Shock Wave Bombs had enraged it. Its entire body flashed with silver light, and ignoring all the stalactites and rocky obstacles underground, it accelerated instantly. All obstacles were pulverized into countless particles.
"Danger, danger." The Mecha detected massive Energy Fluctuations behind it and blared a verbal warning.
Though it sounds like it took a long time, only a few seconds had passed. Pushing the left joystick, Yang Bo activated the Rocket Backpack and charged into a side passage. Just as he rushed in, he saw on the radar a red, dangerous energy shockwave scrape right past his Mecha. Looking through the rear camera, he saw the Silver Armor Rhinoceros shrouded in silver Energy Radiance charging directly at him. By a stroke of luck, he had activated the Rocket Backpack just in time; otherwise, he would have been struck by this beast like a bowling pin.
Run! Why even fight? With his current Mecha, could he really take on this B-rank Mutated Beast? Even a Hydrogen Bomb had been useless.
He used his left hand on the joystick to control the Rocket Backpack’s output, while his right hand operated the two Mecha arms, each gripping a Hydrogen Bomb.
Then, in the very next second, Yang Bo heard the Mecha’s ear-piercing alarm. There were high-energy fluctuations ahead.
"Holy shit, so fast!" Yang Bo didn’t even have time to discern what was ahead. He tossed out the two Hydrogen Bombs and hurriedly turned into another passage.
BOOM!
The entire cave felt like it was going to collapse. Those were two Miniature Hydrogen Bombs, after all.
"Damn it!" Yang Bo was already prepared to self-destruct. He only had two Shock Wave Bombs and one Miniature Hydrogen Bomb left.
Then, a second later, Yang Bo saw light. He instantly triggered the Rocket Backpack. Along the way, the Mecha seemed to collide with a Shadow. The dust kicked up by the Miniature Hydrogen Bomb and its energy shockwave had temporarily jammed his Mecha’s radar, and the video feed was blurred by the swirling debris.
Metal Control +8!
The moment Yang Bo’s Mecha flew out of the cave entrance, a new message popped into his mind. Hovering in the air, he then noticed what looked like a puddle of sludge on the front of his Mecha. He swiped at it with the Mecha’s arm, only to discover it was the remains of a Mutant.
"This... this..." Still in shock, Yang Bo then spotted the Mecha wreckage in the valley below. He was dumbfounded. What was up with these Mecha remains? Just looking at the wreckage, he could tell these Mechas weren’t cheap.
Metal Control +8!
Metal Control +8!
Yang Bo piloted his Mecha to land on the hilltop, his mind a complete mess. He hadn’t provoked anyone, had he?
Seeing Yang Bo’s Blade Mecha on the summit, not only were the people in Base 16 bewildered, but someone in a certain underground space was too.
The Tiger-faced King was equally flabbergasted. Just moments ago, he had been throwing a fit because he had personally witnessed eight Advanced Mechas being ambushed by his neighbor. This neighbor of his had undergone Metalization and needed to absorb different Metals to expand his abilities. Watching helplessly as his neighbor took the Rare Metals components from the Mechas, the Tiger-faced King cursed up a storm.
Before he could even process that, he saw a Blade Mecha burst out, and it seemed his neighbor’s attendant had been smashed into a pulp of flesh by it.
"This!" The Tiger-faced King’s face was full of disbelief. How had this jinx escaped the Silver Armor Rhinoceros? This was the Silver Armor Rhinoceros! Even the Tiger-faced King himself wasn’t confident he could kill this Exotic Beast.
"Your Majesty, do you think it’s possible that our neighbor ran into the Silver Armor Rhinoceros underground?" a subordinate of the Tiger-faced King guessed.
Hearing this, the Tiger-faced King looked at the Blade Mecha on the monitor. "Tsk, tsk. If our neighbor encountered the Silver Armor Rhinoceros, it probably spells doom for him. That Silver Armor Rhinoceros can age Metal. Our neighbor... Follow me, I’m going to bring a gift to our neighbor."