The engines on both sides of the wings emitted a faint blue arc of light, carrying the huge "Orca" transport plane slowly into the sky.
Under the envious gaze of the players, the transport plane switched to horizontal flight mode and rushed towards the north.
"Fuck, I'll get one when I have money." The outlaw looked at the distant meteor with envy and pushed the tricycle to gather.
The thousand-man team under the First Corps took over Camp 330 to guard the surrendered prisoners of war.
As the main force of the alliance's attack, they will soon follow the Honey Badger Kingdom Restoration Army and continue to march into the heart of Oasis No. 3.
On the other side, on High Ground No. 330.
Wu Kaian, a reporter from the "Zhiyuan Daily", was walking through the messy battlefield accompanied by an alliance resident named "Bai Ge Dai Niu".
Although the battlefield had been cleaned up briefly, and the bodies and broken limbs were thrown into the trenches and buried, there were still a lot of debris left on the battlefield that had not been dealt with in time.
For example, the sandbags soaked in blood, and the sand stuck with blood plasma...
Due to the temperature and the scorching sun, the air here was filled with a lingering smell of blood, and occasionally you could step on the arms and legs of the dead.
Wu Kaian swallowed his saliva.
He had followed the Enterprise's commandos deep into the mutant camp and had seen many strange and bloody scenes, but compared to this, they all seemed a little pale.
This is the real battlefield...
"This is..."
Bai Ge Daisniper explained with a smile.
"Hill 330, there used to be a 1,000-man army of the legion stationed here, and a 100-man anti-aircraft team. The battle was so fierce at that time, and the gunfire rang out all night. The 3,000 brothers of the Death Corps finally took this place before dawn."
Hearing a hint of heaviness in the relaxed speech, Wu Kaian nodded silently.
More than 3,000 people fought against more than 1,000 people, and it took a whole night to take it down, and these 3,000 people seemed to be the first-line legion of the alliance.
It seems that this legion is more difficult to deal with than imagined...
"Speaking of which, didn't the Council support you with a batch of high-tech equipment? That flapping-wing aircraft, and the 'Seagull' drone, the 'Hellhound' unmanned vehicle... Why don't you use it?"
"The quantity is too small, and too expensive," Bai Ge Daisniper made a helpless expression, "The total aid given to us by the Council is only 2 billion Cr."
"Only 2 billion?! 2 billion is not enough?" Wu Kaian looked at the soldier in surprise.
His monthly salary is only a little over 10,000.
And this is including the attendance allowance and the money for reimbursement of various expenses.
"How can it be enough? It's not just one person who spends it," Bai Ge Dai Zhu shook his head, "Let me argue with you. It costs about 100,000 to build a kilometer of road. A tactical missile is about the same price. It's equivalent to a missile destroying a road."
Wu Kaian was stunned.
"This... doesn't sound like a lot."
Bai Ge Dai Zhu continued.
"Ammunition consumption is only one aspect. The money spent on war is not only to buy ammunition. Not to mention improving the tractor production line, which is simply a bottomless pit. There are also the front-line soldiers' food, drink, defecation, fuel and energy consumption... These are all direct expenses."
Wu Kaian swallowed his saliva.
"Are there any indirect ways?"
"Of course there are!" Bai Ge Dai Zhe said as a matter of course, "There are only about 100,000 people in the alliance, and one-tenth of the population has been mobilized to the front line. It will be difficult to find people to replace the vacant positions in the rear in a short time, right? Things that cannot be produced can only be imported. Alas... our managers are still too face-conscious, and they are embarrassed to tell you that in fact, we are so poor that we can hardly afford to eat, and we have to take care of the meals of these prisoners. It's a headache."
As he spoke, the little player believed it himself and shook his head.
Wu Kaian's scalp tingled when he heard it, and he nodded and said.
"...Uh, I will reflect your situation in the interview."
This is indeed a question worth discussing.
But then again...
How can an ordinary soldier know so much?
He always feels like he has been tricked.
"Yeah, thank you." Looking at the prompt of [Task Completed] on the VM, Bai Ge Dai Zhe showed a happy smile on his face, and ended this "heavy" topic at the right time.
Fortunately, awakening gave him some intelligence attributes.
Memorizing these lines exhausted him.
The first mission was completed.
The administrator had only one mission left.
On the way to the small black room where Soft was imprisoned, Bai Ge Dai Zhu deliberately took a detour and took the reporter from Ideal City through a valley.
Looking at the dark crowd of heads under the valley, Wu Kaian showed a surprised expression on his face. Just as he was about to ask about the identities of these people, Bai Ge Dai Zhu, who was acting as a "tour guide", continued.
"Those are clones... The Legion produced them through cloning technology, and they will age eight times faster than normal people."
Wu Kaian looked at him and asked.
"What are you going to do with them?"
Bai Ge Dai Zhu answered skillfully.
"Generally, the survivors in the settlement would bury them directly. They can't work and like to fight, which is a pure waste of food. But the manager said that they are just a group of poor people who are being used... So they will probably keep them if conditions permit."
Wu Kaian nodded.
"Can I take a picture?"
Bai Ge Dai Zhu nodded simply.
"Sure, take it."
The drone flew over the col, took a few photos of the clones, and then returned to Wu Kaian's side.
For the rest of the journey, Wu Kaian didn't say a word, but fell into a long thought.
Bai Ge Dai Zhu, who was following him, didn't speak again, because just now, his mission had been completed...
...
In the dark barracks.
Listening to the footsteps coming from the door and a beam of light leaking through the crack of the door, Soft slowly raised his head.
A strange man stood at the door.
The reason why it is strange is that he does not look like a soldier at all, whether in his clothes or temperament.
Softt's eyes were filled with confusion, and he frowned and said.
"What's the matter?"
"Hello, my name is Wu Kaian, and I'm a reporter for Zhiyuan Newspaper." Wu Kaian introduced himself skillfully and sat down on the chair opposite Softt with a smile.
Softt glanced at the drone behind him.
"Zhiyuan Newspaper...what is it?"
Wu Kaian said with a smile.
"It is the media of Ideal City, and it has a history of two hundred years. In addition to paper newspapers, we operate our own clients and even virtual spaces on the endpoint cloud, which is one of the windows for Ideal City residents to understand the world outside Ideal City..."
"Oh."
It sounds similar to Triumph Newspaper.
Softt suddenly seemed to think of something, and then smiled coldly.
"Are you here to ridicule me?"
Wu Kaian explained with a smile.
"How could that be? We are just one of the participants in the war. We want to know what you, as an enemy, think of this war and your opponents."
Soft leaned back in his chair and said coldly.
"I don't have any opinion."
As a professional reporter, Wu Kaian, who came here across nearly 10,000 kilometers, certainly would not give up just because of this guy's words.
Seeing a trace of unwillingness behind those eyes, he said in a persuasive tone.
"Aren't you unwilling at all?"
Perhaps because it hit the mark, the effect of this sentence was better than expected.
Soft, leaning on the chair, snorted with his nose and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Unwilling... Haha, I am indeed unwilling. I shouldn't have believed the nonsense of Griffin, the skunk."
"So you think the reason for the failure is a mistake in command?" Wu Kaian stared into his eyes and asked with a sharp gaze.
Soft said indifferently.
"On the one hand."
"On the other hand? Because of the weapons provided by the enterprise to the alliance?" Wu Kaian continued to ask with great interest, revealing his purpose without any concealment.
However, after hearing his words, Softt did not get as angry as McLen, but instead pulled a self-deprecating smile at the corner of his mouth.
"You mean those weapons? Haha, maybe they are a little useful... but it's not weapons that beat me."
This answer was beyond Wu Kaian's expectations.
After being stunned for a few seconds, he continued to ask.
"Then... what do you think it is."
"What is it? It is the infantry who dared to abandon the baggage and march for twelve hours, cross the mountainous area for 150 kilometers, and attack the high ground without fire support. It is the paratroopers who dared to jump down without air superiority, reinforcements, and even unclear ground force deployment... This group of crazy people who don't care about their lives, if I knew these guys were so difficult to deal with, I would definitely deploy them in a different way."
Softt cursed.
However, in that fearful look, a trace of admiration was unconsciously revealed.
Those guys are truly ruthless.
Not only are they ruthless in terms of ability, but almost everyone in the entire army, from soldiers to officers, has developed their potential to the limit.
Their fighting will has reached the state of unity, and they will do anything to win. Both tactically and strategically, they have achieved miracles that are almost impossible for humans to accomplish.
Softt is very clear that he did not lose in command, nor did he lose to any awakener or power armor. Those things are indeed very strong, but not so strong that they are impeccable, just like the Conqueror tanks they are proud of.
Both he and Griffin made the most correct judgment based on the intelligence at the time, and also took into account the situation where the plan did not meet expectations.
Even if he was allowed to do it again, he might not be able to do better.
His real dissatisfaction with Griffin and the dead McLen was the lies they told in the Triumph Newspaper.
There are no military merits and treasures everywhere here. Their opponents are not a group of natives who are ready to be killed, but real fighting races. They are bleeding for nothing for a war with no end in sight.
Many promising young men died, including Simond, who he promoted, and Yot from the air defense team...
He shouldn't have brought them here from the beginning!
A trace of disappointment appeared in Wu Kaian's eyes.
He didn't hear the part he wanted to hear.
But it doesn't matter.
Before coming here, he had taken enough impactful photos and collected more reportable materials.
Compared with the bravery, strength and strength of the allies in the war, the residents of Ideal City are more inclined to understand their tragic, sacrifice and other sympathetic parts, followed by those cultural phenomena that were born in the ruins, novel enough and harmless to people and animals.
As for the image of the light of civilization, the big brother or the head of the family, it should belong to the honor of the Supreme Council.
Having been a media person for so many years, he knows his clients better than anyone else. Most people's demand for information is not essentially the information, but the satisfaction brought by the information. As an excellent media person, he should let his clients see the part they want to see.
Wu Kaian silently made a decision in his heart and appropriately shortened the interview about Softt...
"Thank you for your cooperation... Do you have anything else to add?" Wu Kaian, who had lost interest in the prisoner of war, simply ended the interview with one sentence.
Softt said with a cold smile.
"I didn't cooperate with you... By the way, if you have any news about the ceasefire negotiations, can you tell me if it's convenient."
Wu Kaian recalled carefully and said.
"There is no news about that yet... But the diplomats of the alliance seem to have promised in other media in Ideal City that the war will end before the end of the year."
Before the end of the year?
Softt was slightly stunned.
Although he didn't agree in his heart, he still nodded slowly to show his understanding.
This sounds like bragging...
However, it is possible that the alliance does not want to continue fighting.
In any case, this is a good thing for him.
If it is fast, he will be able to return to the manor on the banks of the Solat River before the beginning of next spring...
...
In the northern part of Luoxia Province, the wasteland north of the mountains.
Several vultures pounced on the corpse of the mutant hyena and bit it. Suddenly, they heard a sound along the ground and flapped their wings alertly and flew into the sky.
Not long after, a heavy tracked vehicle with a width that could fill two lanes appeared behind the misty wasteland.
The swamp soil hanging on the track showed where it came from.
The man sitting in the co-pilot seat kept staring at the tablet in his hand. He was wearing a yellow-gray camouflage jacket, had a very short flat head, his unkempt chin was covered with stubble, and there was a scar as long as the index finger on his right cheek.
If it weren't for the words "D-level Explorer" written on the name tag on his chest, no one would have thought he was a member of the academy, but would have been more inclined to mistake him for a mercenary active in this area.
But in fact, this is not a misunderstanding.
Although he is a regular employee of the academy, he does not stay in the academy for a long time in a year.
Like other unlucky D-level explorers, he and his "Beacon" team are basically either exploring the ruins or on the way to the ruins.
His name is Zheng Hao, and he belongs to the Institute's Investigation Department's Accommodation Planning Group. His position is an explorer as written on the name tag, and he is a combatant.
More than 20 of his team members are in this car, half of whom are androids and half of whom are androids with more than 50% cyborgs.
"Boss, how long do we have?" Sitting in the back seat, a young man who looks young and looks out the window asked boredly.
His name is Zhao Xiao, an E-level explorer of the Accommodation Planning Group.
Originally, they were exploring a biological research facility of the Human Union era 70 kilometers away, but suddenly received an order from their superiors to go to the wasteland outside the swamp to recover a special research institute material at the map coordinates.
The photo provided by the superiors was a propeller plane, the model of which was the "Eagle" fighter plane serving in the Falcon Kingdom.
To be honest, he had no interest in that kind of antique. If it weren't for the order from his superiors, he wouldn't want to come here at all.
"It's just in front." Zheng Hao, who was sitting in the co-pilot, replied concisely, not wanting to pay attention to this energetic young man.
Compared with those E-level personnel, he knew a little more about the inside story.
According to the description of colleagues in the Foreign Affairs Department, they found the fruiting body of the mutant slime mold in the cabin of a crashed "Eagle" fighter on the way to Luoxia Province.
As we all know, the fruiting body of slime mold cannot exist in isolation, and there must be a mobile mother body or mother nest nearby.
Recovering the propeller plane is just one of the tasks.
Their real mission was to search for that strange mother body.
According to the researcher who reported the situation, it might be a life form they had never seen before, and further research might lead to major discoveries.
At this moment, a faint blue arc of light suddenly flashed in the distant sky. Zheng Hao suddenly raised his head and squinted his eyes slightly as he looked forward.
The driver who had been silent all this time suddenly spoke.
"It's the plume of the plasma engine."
"Well," Zheng Hao nodded and said cautiously, "It's probably the people from the enterprise."
Although he rarely dealt with the people on the East Coast, his intuition told him that there would be no good things where those people were.
It wasn't just the captain who was alert.
When they heard the word "enterprise", the expressions of the people in the car suddenly became serious. The young man who had been restless before showed an eager expression.
After turning off the screen, Zheng Hao stuffed the tablet into the compartment above his head, picked up the tactical helmet on the side and put it on, then took out the tactical backpack next to the seat, and looked back at the teammates behind him who were waiting for battle.
"Xiao Jiang, release the drone and search the fan-shaped area ten kilometers ahead... mark all exposed suspected threat targets."
"Okay."
The short-haired woman sitting in the back seat of the car nodded slightly, raised her index finger and touched the right side of her temple, and then closed her eyes.
The slender light gold lines blended into the ends of her black hair.
At the same time, three triangular small drones deployed on the top of the tracked vehicle, with swallow-shaped tails spewing short flames, whizzed into the air one after another, and turned into a series of afterimages and rushed towards the south.
Her name is Jiang Xuezhou, and she is an E-level personnel like the young man named Zhao Xiao.
However, her position was not an explorer, but a researcher who was half a level higher. She served as a technical consultant and drone operator in the team. She was also the highest-ranking person besides the captain and deputy captain.
Everyone was quietly waiting for her news.
At this time, Jiang Xuezhou, who had his eyes closed, suddenly frowned, raised his head abruptly, and reported quickly in a calm voice.
"A slime mold life form suspected to be the mother body was found! The target is 3.7 kilometers north of us, and the shape is similar to that of a human. Next to it is a... human?"
She had a surprised expression on her face, but still did not open her eyes.
Zhao Xiao, who was sitting next to her, also had an unbelievable expression on his face.
"Human?! Are you sure?"
The predatory instinct for other organisms is almost written into the DNA of the mutant slime mold.
They are weapons designed to clean up other organisms, especially the fragile mother body. How could they allow living things to exist around them?
Zheng Hao frowned.
"Are you sure it's a human? Not a slime mold fruiting body disguised as a human?"
"Eighty percent sure... He was wearing clothes, and there were no obvious wounds on his clothes, and there were no signs of slime mold erosion on the exposed parts," Jiang Xuezhou's expression suddenly paused when he said this, "The man lit the flash stick."
"What does he want to do?" Zhao Xiao asked immediately.
Jiang Xuezhou continued quickly: "He waved it in his hand, as if trying to attract the attention of something... Wait, the enterprise's transport plane is approaching them! That person is an employee of the enterprise! They are in the same group!"
Zheng Hao's expression was slightly stern.
He didn't know why the people of the enterprise targeted the mother body, just like he didn't know why the mother body of the mutant slime mold appeared near the Wandering Swamp.
He only understood one thing.
That was his prey.
He must not let the gang of thieves on the East Coast intercept it!
"Shoot it down!" Zheng Hao ordered without hesitation.
"Ah..." Jiang Xuezhou was slightly stunned, and said with embarrassment, "But... I'm operating a reconnaissance drone."
"Fly directly over! Aim at its engine nozzle and crash into it!"
The two embroidered eyebrows twitched slightly, and Jiang Xuezhou felt a pain in her heart, but she also knew that now was not the time to feel sorry for the equipment, so she listened to the captain's words and did it.
After a moment, she took a deep breath, opened her thin lips and continued.
"Hit the target... The left engine of the aircraft caught fire and it is making an emergency landing."
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the stone hanging in their hearts finally fell.
Zheng Hao stared at her and continued to give orders.
"Continue to track the mother body! In addition, mark the location of the crash site and nearby survivors."
Jiang Xuezhou closed his eyes and nodded, indicating that he understood. His frown seemed to be still distressed about the burning funds, so he did not speak.
Zheng Hao did not care and continued to look at the driver.
"Old Song, continue to move forward in the current direction and wait at the location marked on the map! Xiao Zhao, take your observer to the mission coordinates to find a suitable sniper point."
"Got it!"
Old Song, who was holding the steering wheel, nodded. Zhao Xiao, who was sitting in the back, responded excitedly, and then couldn't wait to take out a sniper rifle that was one and a half meters long from the suitcase, and skillfully installed the accessories that might be used later.
Zheng Hao then looked at the other team members.
"Attention, all units, we are facing an enterprise, and we don't have to be polite to those bandits. Check your equipment and prepare for a firefight... Group C stay in the car and wait, listen to Old Song's command, Group A and Group B follow me!"
The uniform answer sounded in the car.
"Yes! Captain!"
Looking around at his teammates, Zheng Hao nodded with satisfaction, then opened the door and waved his hand to order.
"Action!"
At the same time
There was chaos on the Orca transport plane that was spinning and falling. The piercing alarm bells rang loudly, and the red alarm light flashed in the cabin.
Ye Shi, who did not fasten his seat belt, was thrown to the ceiling. Fortunately, Kuang Feng, who was next to him, quickly grabbed his collar and pulled him back with the power of the exoskeleton, so that he did not get bruised and swollen in the cabin.
After tying himself to the seat again, Ye Shi, who looked embarrassed, cursed and complained.
"Damn it! I knew that the dog planner would definitely - woo woo woo!"
Kuang Feng, who was sitting next to him, stretched out his right hand and quickly covered the guy's mouth.
"Say less or you will die!"
The pilot screamed in the cockpit.
"The left engine is on fire! Damn it! Something hit us!"
Lao Bai couldn't help but curse.
"Damn, your plane doesn't have radar?!"
The pilot was sweating profusely, holding the rudder tightly with both hands, trying to control the balance with the only remaining engine.
"I don't know! The radar is obviously on, and it stands to reason that even a sparrow can't escape my eyes... Damn! What happened?!"
It's okay if I don't know.
I have a new understanding of the unreliability of non-combat personnel in the enterprise.
Looking at the flustered pilot, Lao Bai gritted his teeth and completely gave up the last bit of fantasy about this guy.
Looking at the teammates who were shaken in the cabin behind him, he shouted loudly.
"We were attacked by anti-aircraft missiles. The number of enemies and the type of targets are uncertain! All units check their equipment and prepare for forced landing! After landing, immediately disperse outside the cabin to find shelter!"
The creaking metal friction sound is like everyone's clenched teeth, and the roar of boiling fighting spirit came from the cabin trembling in the airflow.
"Yes!"
No matter who it is.
They will make this unethical sneak attack guy pay the price!
In the open space not far away.
Luo Yu, waving a flare, looked at the circling and falling killer whale transport plane in a daze, and a joyful smile instantly froze on his face.
He had a very hard time these two days.
There were dangerous alien species everywhere in the surrounding mountains and wilderness, not to mention that there was a clingy little guy next to him who was not honest.
He hardly slept these two days, and only dared to sleep for a while when Xiao Yu was not paying attention.
I thought I could finally have a big meal in the shelter and sleep well.
But how did the plane suddenly fall down? !
"Zhao!"
Throwing the flare stick to the ground in a rage, Luo Yu couldn't help but curse and took out the 9mm pistol on his waist.
Although I don't know what happened.
But the crash was not an ordinary flight accident. The engine must have been hit by a missile or something else.
If the Legion shot down the plane, I was probably used as bait by those people to surround and attack the reinforcements.
The top priority now is to move away from this area immediately before those big-nosed people close the net.
"Xiao Yu, we should go!"
Xiao Yu, who was being pulled by his arm, tilted his head in confusion. He didn't know what happened, but just followed suit and shouted to show his understanding.
"Zhao!"