Chapter 266 Inside the Giant Beast
The Marines crawled on the ground, using various building debris and vehicle wreckage for cover, slowly advancing about 10 meters.
"Attention everyone—fire!"
Eight rockets carrying small nuclear warheads, trailing long plumes of fire, flew towards the distant giant war mech, and the Marine Corps simultaneously stood up, beginning to fly at full speed close to the ground.
Aside from being able to weave in a serpentine pattern, the rockets had almost no technical sophistication. After being launched, they had only flown a few hundred meters before being detected by the Big Squid.
The latter immediately identified them as high-threat targets, skipped the manual decision-making step, and fired a dozen ultraviolet frequency close-in defense lasers, detonating the warheads in mid-air.
After a 10,000-ton equivalent nuclear bomb explodes in the atmosphere, it can create a fireball with a radius of 200 meters, a 20psi overpressure zone with a radius of about 500 meters, and a thermal radiation burn zone with a radius of about 1.5 kilometers.
Players, wearing lead-lined combat suits and Fierce Poison powered exoskeletons, could ensure survival from 350 meters away.
After the science department calculated this number in advance, the elite players of the First Battle Group used it as practical guidance, maintaining a safe distance from the rockets during their sprints.
"Here they come!"
Seeing the nuclear flash, the players activated all rear-facing propulsion engines on their Fierce Poison power armor, adjusting power to maximum.
Compared to the atmospheric jetpacks and hydrogen-oxygen rocket packs used by the previous "Wolf Wolverine" power armor, the Fierce Poison's back and hip main engines were miniature nuclear rockets, and the attitude control nozzles on its limbs were metal hydrogen rockets, providing greater thrust to counter the powerful nuclear bomb shockwave.
The players were bathed in dazzling light radiation, exerting all their strength to control their flight posture and avoid being blown over by the nuclear bomb shockwave.
Their communication systems were rendered useless by the strong radiation, temporarily preventing them from communicating with each other. Their vision was filled only with nuclear fireballs, rising dust mushroom clouds, and flying sand and stones, reducing visibility to less than 30 meters.
In this environment, the only things they could rely on were their experience, focus, and their gaming talent as elite players.
These individuals had terrifyingly strong senses of direction and the ability to pinpoint sounds.
Keep moving forward!
As the shockwave finally subsided slightly, the 8 bomb-throwers, whose postures had stabilized, immediately reloaded and fired a new round of nuclear rockets forward.
Caoyuan never expected these "little candies" of the interstellar era to cause substantial damage to the enemy. He knew the nuclear bombs would be intercepted. From beginning to end, all he wanted was dense explosions!
"Mr. Sang, there are nuclear bombs incoming near us, they have been automatically intercepted!"
Mr. Sang had instinctively realized that his comfortable and spacious office was no longer safe, so he had moved to the cockpit of the giant war mech.
"Nuclear bombs? Where were they launched from? Is it still Cangyuan's fleet?"
In the previous battle, a total of seven Cangyuan warships appeared; the others were decoys and had all been destroyed.
Mr. Sang was certain he had sunk one warship and damaged at least four. If the opponent dared to continue a death charge with such battle losses, their will to fight would be truly terrifying!
"Damn it! Why did I have to encounter an opponent of this caliber!"
"Unclear—we can only confirm the nuclear bombs were fired from the south."
South?!
A bad premonition struck him.
"What do you mean 'unclear'? Why is it unclear!?"
"Because the nuclear explosions are too close! A large number of neutron beams and early radiation interfered with the radar, high temperatures interfered with infrared detection, and the shockwave interfered with vibration sensors. Even visible light observation was obscured by dust, so we really can't see anything clearly!!"
"The second wave of nuclear bombs has been intercepted, distance 1400 meters! Interference has intensified compared to before!"
At this point, Mr. Sang's brain entered an overclocked state.
The enemy sent a ground assault team?
It must be them. They must have traversed from below the horizon. Only then could they use the ruins and wreckage to evade our radar!
"Third wave—ground zero distance 500 meters!"
But what exactly do they want to do? Use close-range nuclear bomb assaults to take down a golden age war mech?
Isn't that a bit too naive?
How is this any different from primitives charging a tank with rifles?
"Warning: Direct hit by nuclear weapon; estimated yield: 19,000 tons; outer armor integrity: 99.87%"
Accompanied by the cold warning voice, the cockpit shook slightly.
"We've been hit! At least two nuclear bombs hit the kinetic shield, and two more flew close to the ground inside the kinetic shield, directly hitting the mech's foot!"
"Don't panic!"
Mr. Sang waved his hand forcefully, raising his voice to calm the troops.
"Our armor is extremely thick; even a direct hit from an ordinary nuclear warhead is just a tickle, unless it hits the personnel entrance directly!"
As he spoke, his heart sank.
Personnel entrance...
No way, could it be that while Mr. Sang was speculating on the enemy's tactics, the First Battle Group had already successfully traversed the final and most difficult three kilometers under the cover of the nuclear explosions?
Using nuclear bombs to clear the way!
This rogue tactic was first taught to Cangyuan by Omar, the Apollo branch director.
Now, it's being returned in kind!
The players lowered their altitude.
By observing the fireball and the movement of dust and flying stones from the last round of nuclear explosions, they were able to confirm that the near-surface area, approximately below 50 meters in height, was not protected by the kinetic shield.
After crossing the kinetic shield at low altitude, visibility instantly became much clearer and transparent. The Marines rushed to the side of the Big Squid, to the personnel entrance 150 meters above the ground, at the fastest possible speed.
Caoyuan's power armor AI quickly counted 44 teammates, indicating that no one had fallen behind!
Everyone's power armor had varying degrees of damage, and the outer shells were scorching hot, reaching two to three hundred degrees Celsius.
But everyone was there! Their main weapons could still fire, and their mental states were all good, anticipating a true battle!
What defines an elite?
This is what defines an elite!
"Good! Breach the door!!"
The melee players raised their plasma weapons and savagely stabbed at the structural weak points of the airtight door. Then the demolition team stepped forward and installed metal hydrogen explosives.
For this elite unit, which enjoyed boarding actions, this sequence of actions was their most impressive traditional specialty, executed with fluid and seamless coordination.
In less than 5 seconds, the airtight door was successfully breached.
Now, feel the wrath of the First Battle Group.
"Mr. Sang, external surveillance cameras have captured a fully armed unit—they seem to have already blown open the entrance door," a pirate subordinate reported the latest battle situation, his voice trembling.
Inside the entire cockpit, there was dead silence.
"It's over!" It was only then that Mr. Sang came to his senses, his face instantly turning pale.
Using nuclear bombs to clear the way...
He certainly wasn't incapable of conceiving of such a tactic: using continuous close-range atmospheric nuclear explosions to interfere with various detection instruments, provide cover, and then board.
But, being able to conceive of it is one thing; being able to successfully execute it is entirely another!
This is too insane!
This means that the assault team must constantly rush into the nuclear explosion zone, advancing through nuclear blasts. This not only requires extremely high tactical proficiency, but also a complete disregard for life and death.
This plan requires a group of elite death-seekers!
And they also have to spend a lot of time on a daily basis to practice coordination, so that they can perform perfectly without any communication whatsoever. How did they manage to do that—
Moreover, this violates all common sense!
Soldiers with such skills could easily find a top-paying instructor job in the Star Alliance, enjoying a life of luxury and pleasure, so why would they willingly act as death-seekers for a mere city or fortress in their boss's eyes!?
Of course, Mr. Sang couldn't know that players could revive.
Nor could he know what kind of hellish training they had endured on Emerald Star to finally achieve today's level of team tacit agreement.
He couldn't understand! He was unwilling!
In his heart, there was only resentment, incomprehension, and grievance.
Military talents of this caliber, whether Apollo or Dark Sun, would never be able to recruit them.
"Everyone, put on your power armor! Defend the passage!"
The pirates hesitated for a few seconds, then began to follow orders.
Their hesitation was due to their unwillingness to accept reality; their compliance with orders was because they were in a desperate situation with no other choice.
"Also, bring all drone swarms down to assist in the defense!"
"But Mr. Sang, those drones are controlled by the war mech's self-defense logic, we don't have full operational authority—"
"Then find a way to override it for me! You useless lot!"
Upon entering the BOSS's interior, they were not met with the usual internal corridors. Instead, a suspended walkway made of silver-white aluminum alloy appeared before them.
This human-made structure, composed entirely of straight segments and rectangular panels, formed a stark contrast with the surrounding black passage interior, which had an inner diameter of over twenty meters, was covered in pipelines and irregularly curved equipment, and exposed mechanical structures.
The former, without a doubt, was a product of traditional human engineering design.
The latter, however, brought to mind AI's deep self-learning and iteration, a completely different design style, looking like the internal organs of a giant mechanical creature.
At this point, the players could confirm that the Big Squid was originally a completely unmanned war machine.
As for how it was later captured and modified by Dark Sun, that would probably have to be extracted from Mr. Sang's mouth.
This "feat" seemed inconsistent with their technical capabilities.
"Footsteps ahead! Prepare for engagement!"
Less than 100 meters further, the First Battle Group engaged the defending forces.
The fire team and assault team immediately raised their guns and unleashed a barrage, providing suppressive fire, while the sniper team seized every opportunity, landing headshots.
Then, seizing the moment when the enemy ducked for cover, the melee team, led by Guo Li Cheng, launched a charge.
They constantly pushed off the inner walls of the passage, advancing along unpredictable and elusive paths, dodging and weaving to avoid gunfire, and finally delivering a downward heavy strike, embedding their dazzling, scorching plasma weapons deep into the foreheads of the Dark Sun pirates.
"Wh-what the hell!"
"Help!!!"
"Are these the Paradise Island gladiator champions!?"
Even the pirates, accustomed to a life of danger, were seeing this kind of combat for the first time in a real battle.
They had not received close-quarters combat training, nor did they have melee weapons capable of countering plasma greatswords and heavy axes.
Once engaged by opponents extremely skilled in melee combat, they instantly fell into chaos.
"Advance!"
Caoyuan commanded the ranged units to follow up promptly, sealing the fate of the first wave of defenders.
"Caoyuan, drones are pouring in from outside! Right behind us!"
"Received! Heavy assault and fire teams, stay behind to block the drones entering the passage, try to hold them off! Everyone else, follow me and continue advancing!" The 35 warriors of the First Battle Group surged into the cockpit.
This was actually a large platform built within the Big Squid's body cavity. Around the platform were various operating positions, displaying numerous screens used to show the battlefield situation to human pilots.
On the tiered platform in the center stood Dark Sun's last remaining forces, totaling less than 20 people.
"Come on, I won't surrender as you wish! Let's die together!"
Mr. Sang was a tough guy; he himself joined the battle, wearing an expensive humanoid mech that stood 3.6 meters tall.
Unlike wearable power armor, when operating this type of vehicle, the pilot needs to curl up in the mech's chest cockpit, with their waist and back fixed, and then transmit desired movements through a force-feedback sensor suit.
Therefore, although it had the advantage of immense output and a high agility ceiling, it was not as easy to learn as power armor, requiring very high technical and psychological qualities from the operator.
"Oh ho! The BOSS indeed maintains its excellent tradition, spawning special equipment. Brothers, we have to take this!"
Although separated by a helmet, Mr. Sang could still feel the chilling gaze of the players, making him thoroughly uncomfortable.
"You bastards, what do you take me for? I am the one who single-handedly created Apollo and Dark Sun! I will never become your spoils of war!"
The players remained silent, rubbing their fists, a hint of an unnamable smile appearing at the corners of their mouths.
Stop whining, just stand still and enjoy it!
"You fire at them! Fire!!!"
While his subordinates were shooting, Mr. Sang, who possessed the most advanced equipment, involuntarily retreated three steps.
This tightly wrapped humanoid mech, at this moment, could not provide him with any sense of security.