Vol 14: Chapter 6-1.
A layer of dirt covered everyone following the nuclear explosion. Kampa and the bear robot were standing a bit further away. The other five people lay on the ground. They also noticed Kampa’s body looked a little larger and hairier.
“Werewolf transformation?” Zheng patted the dirt off his body and climbed up.
The hole from behind had become much larger and deeper. The dirt covering them was blasted off from this place. Not a single bug appeared from the hole again.
Zheng dug out the two Sky Sticks also covered in dirt then threw one to Xuan. He brought out the baskets from the dimensional bag and said. “Talk later. Turn on the Sky Stick!”
The EMP rifle’s barrel was changing in color, signifying it was overheating. Xuan connected the basket to the Sky Stick without a word then stepped on it. At the same time, lights glowed from beyond the sky like a meteor shower. Blue laser balls flew from one end to the other. Every one of them looked so big and magnificent.
Zheng and Xuan looked at each other. They knew most of the fleet were destroyed in this battle. The invasion was a complete failure. The movie didn’t show it but the hundred thousand casualty was just the estimation for the mobile infantry. Those who died from the fleet increased this number to three hundred thousand.
“Everyone get on the baskets! Gando and Kampa get on one. The rest get on the other!” Zheng shouted and lifted the Sky Stick.
WangXia took out a timed bomb, set it up, then threw it at Kampa and Gando’s direction. The blue light soared the area as plasma spheres emitted from the bomb. All the bugs that came in touch were instantly vaporized and those nearby became ignited. The bugs in this area backed off as if a layer of acid spread over the land. Kampa and Gando seized the change to run into the basket under Xuan. Then he lifted off.
Zheng followed closely and said to Lan who was beneath. “Connect my mind to Xuan. And keep an eye on any troopers nearby. If you find them then send the location to Zero.”
Lan gave an affirming response. Zheng said to Xuan. “Are the other two teams looking for us? I am afraid we might encounter the other teams if we head to the main character now. Everyone knows it will be safest staying next to the main character. If the other teams are also looking for cover there and teamed up, wouldn’t we be walking right into a trap?”
“I actually wouldn’t worry as much if that’s the case.” Xuan replied calmly. “Because that would imply they hadn’t become high ranking generals nor obtained any political power. Based on combat strength, we have over a 70% chance of winning. Your Explosion and Destruction techniques weren’t counted in our rating and we are still the strongest team here. We have a high chance of winning if you use these techniques.”
“What we need to be worried is when they don’t appear next to the main character. That would mean they obtained influence in this world, just like what you did in Resident Evil Apocalypse. You used the Umbrella Corporation but your methods were too foolish. We can leave this topic for later. The reason God allowed some teams to enter in advance was to let the weaker teams obtain enough influence to balance the strength of the teams. So you would rather pray that they are next to the main character. Then we will be able to force them into exchanging information or wipe them.”
Zheng exhaled. “Understand. If that’s the case, I think we should rescue some troopers before approaching Platoon 6 and only use weapons from the federation. We can merge with the troopers to not appear out of place. So the other teams can’t find us. What do you think?”
Xuan was surprised for a moment then thought for a bit. “My mistake that I didn’t consider this. Human nature is full of curiosity. If they see us came over to the site assigned for Platoon 6, they will be curious as to how we got there. We will merge with a squad on the premise that we are safe just like you said. Wait until the rescue ships come then we will save a squad with normal weapons.”
Zheng came out of the soul link conversation and said to Lan. “Take notice of any remaining troopers from Platoon 6 and the rescue ships that may come at any time.”
Lan’s voice came from below. “Zheng, a lot of flying organisms are approaching us at high speed. They will reach here in just a minute. Wait, let me send the image over!”
Zheng paused for a bit as the scan appeared in his mind. There were several hundred hopper bugs. Their speed was even faster than the Sky Stick. Based on the scan, these bugs were about three meters long and their wings opened up to six meters. They looked like enlarged dragonflies with sharp legs that could seemingly shred humans to pieces. The hideous look would send chills to everyone.
Lan had already sent the images to both Kampa and Gando which shocked the two of them. Kampa immediately turned the EMP rifle at that direction and began firing without even getting a clear look. Gando saw Kampa firing and followed suit. Zero set up the gauss sniper rifle and took aim. Soon, the hundreds of hopper bugs came into vision. These bugs moved so fast and their reaction speed was equally fast. Ten bugs in the front got shredded then the rest immediately spread to both sides. The bugs were suddenly closing in on the Sky Sticks from all sides like a net.
(What to do?! The jet system can speed away from the bugs but it won’t work for Xuan and the other two.)
“Descend! We will descend together! Lan, scan the ground to see if there are any holes! Hurry. Send the locations to WangXia and me. WangXia, set up the bombs so that they explode as soon as they touch the ground. We need to collapse the ground and blast the holes. We are relying on you! Hurry!”
Sweat covered Zheng’s forehead. If these hopper bugs caught up to them, he was the only one that could escape. They underestimated the bugs. The terrifying number would swarm them in a sea of bugs. Only forty seconds left. Zheng was screaming from within.
Xuan saw Zheng approaching the ground and followed suit. Lan didn’t say anything as time passed by. She stood there quietly with her eyes closed. Then her body moved a bit. WangXia activated the tomb and threw it toward the ground. The Sky Sticks were twenty meters above the ground at this time. The bomb exploded as soon as it touched the ground. The blue plasma ripped apart the ground and revealed a hole underneath. A few bugs inside were burned to ashes.
There were several more holes connected to this one but Zheng had no time to consider. He charged right into the hole with the Sky Stick and shouted for them to hold on tight. Xuan, Kampa, and Gando followed closely. Right after the two Sky Sticks got in, the hopper bugs leaped down. The two sides were less than a hundred meters apart.