Chapter 114: No Mercy
The Manager's scalp went numb, instinctively realizing what was about to happen, and he hastily retreated.
The Mechanical Desert Spider crashed into the exterior wall of the building, then directly detonated the metal-hydrogen battery in its belly.
The massive explosion shook the ground, tearing a 20-meter wide hole in the main structure of the building.
The lunar mining facility used Oasis City time, and it was currently 4 AM. Most people were sleeping before, and had just been awakened by the alarm.
Lu Yuan chose this time precisely to maximize the effect of the surprise attack!
Some of the Apollo employees didn't even have time to change their clothes before they were thrown out of the building by the surging airwave, along with other scattered objects.
The ground temperature outside was 145 degrees. The sunlight, not attenuated by the atmosphere, immediately sunburned their exposed faces, and their moisture was evaporated.
These people's chests and bellies swelled in the vacuum environment, and their eyeballs almost popped out.
Driven by their survival instinct, they struggled to get up, wanting to get back inside the building before being cooked or suffocated, like a group of zombies.
However, to preserve the air and save the lives of more people inside the facility, all responsive airtight doors near the blown-out area immediately closed in an emergency, blocking these temporarily living people outside.
This scene was despairing.
Twenty-four players jumped off the aerospace plane and charged, quickly entering the building through the blown-open breach and standing before the first airtight door.
Ye Xing stepped forward to scan and shared the mechanical structure of the airtight door with the other team members.
"Open Sesame!"
Guo Li Cheng stabbed down a few times with her sword, destroying the locking mechanism of the airtight door. Afterwards, several power-armored strong men stepped forward and lifted it with force.
"Manager! They are forcibly destroying the airtight door!" The Overseer's tone was panicked. "What should we do?"
They didn't even hail us and then make demands?
The Manager really didn't expect it either.
Too cruel, too barbaric!
"Open the airtight door, let them in first to prevent loss of air, then close the door and deal with them!"
"! It seems they want to fight fair and square!"
Seeing the next airtight door automatically open, the players cheered.
"Go!"
According to the plan, the squad first went to the warehouse storing finished Helium-3 fuel. There were only two security guards on duty there, who weren't even wearing power armor, and were undoubtedly riddled with holes and instantly killed.
The rest were workers who couldn't speak Li Star, and they immediately raised their hands in surrender upon seeing the player squad.
Seeing the towering Helium-3 storage tanks in the warehouse, Caoyuan already knew that the spoils of this battle would not be disappointing. The others in the group also cheered, but it was too early to celebrate.
The hand-drawn floor plan obtained from the previous interrogation was a great help. Following the map, the squad successively secured the armory, the Hydrogen-3 refinery, and the mine cart garage.
The defenses in these areas were quite weak.
"Only the power station and the main control room are left. It seems they have concentrated their forces in the core area of the facility, preparing for a desperate struggle."
While the group was reloading and chatting, Ye Xing walked over to Caoyuan.
"How about it, Warband Leader, should we attack directly?"
Huh!?
Hearing the words "attack directly," Guo Li Cheng immediately perked up, causing the two people next to her to unconsciously take half a step back.
"Yes," Caoyuan nodded, his tone quite serious and solemn. "Since both the enemy and us have advanced sensors including heartbeat detectors, a surprise attack is actually difficult to be effective. Tactical weapons like flashbangs and smoke grenades are also almost useless; future-style infantry combat, compared to what I initially imagined, emphasizes frontal confrontation more. Perhaps this is why power armor is especially important."
He looked at the players who were taking a break in the middle.
"Everyone listen up, what just happened was just an appetizer, the real tough fight is next!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the electric loudspeaker in the corridor blared.
A middle-aged man's voice came out.
"Who are you—exactly!?"
No one answered him.
"Alright, listen, whoever you are, how about we calm down first? Whatever you want, we can sit down and talk like civilized people! Isn't that right?"
Oh, when they realize they can't win, they start pretending to be civilized?
Ye Xing walked under the nearest surveillance camera.
"No, from ancient times to the present, how are these scumbags all so similar?"
He raised his gun and shot the camera.
"Brothers, let's go!"
"Ooooohhhhhh!!"
In the central control room of the mining facility, the Apollo personnel had locked themselves in tightly. Over forty people aimed their guns at the two airtight doors on the left and right, not daring to lower them for a moment, not daring to lose focus for a moment.
Everyone could hear their own heavy breathing and heartbeats.
Only a small portion of them were equipped with power armor; the rest were just wearing internal space suits, or even pajamas, utterly pathetic. The scent of death permeated this space that should have been absolutely safe.
Suddenly, the heartbeat indicator reacted, but it detected not heartbeats, but the sound of personnel in power armor running in formation.
The footsteps were very neat, showing no fear or hesitation. Did the enemy not know that a direct attack here would result in heavy casualties?
Why don't they make demands? Why don't they negotiate! Does fighting make you happy?!
Crazy—absolutely crazy!
Soon, the footsteps outside the door could be heard directly.
"Report! First Squad in position!"
"Report! Second Squad in position!"
A language that no one could understand came from outside the door.
That was definitely not any language from the Stellar Union domain! The syllables were clear and powerful, as if invented specifically for giving commands in battle to make the orders clearer.
It was truly frightening to listen to...
"All units! Breach the door!!!"
Caoyuan's command was so high-pitched that it invigorated all the players, instantly increasing morale by 50%. At this moment, everyone completely confirmed the real-life profession of this "Warband Leader," and couldn't help but smile knowingly.
No wonder he was so professional before, civilians couldn't shout with that kind of presence!
Suddenly, the mining facility Manager saw an ominous red light emanating from both airtight doors simultaneously. A moment later, the red light turned into clear and scorching vertical cuts, and a blue-white high-temperature blade pierced in from outside, illuminating everything in the room with a pale light.
Plasma cutter—
The Manager knew that these two doors could no longer maintain their lock and were effectively useless. He wanted to shout orders, but found that he was like he had lost his voice, only able to squeeze out sharp strange cries from his throat.
The blue-white blade retracted.
At this moment, time seemed to freeze suddenly, and then was pushed forward again by the deafening sound of an explosion.
Boom!
ONC explosives completely blew off the 300-kilogram airtight door, instantly killing an unlucky Apollo employee who was hit at high speed.
The defenders immediately opened fire into the doorway.
But the players were all in power armor, and they charged in despite the dense rain of bullets, quickly spreading out to both sides to gain maximum combat width for the most concentrated firepower.
The Manager sat down on the ground with a thud, and crawled to the side to send a distress signal.
"Fire! No one is allowed to retreat!" the Overseer shouted.
Apollo personnel were horrified to find that the enemy's power armor, although seemingly the same model as theirs, was far more durable.
The first to breach the door were urban combat power armors, which had Cangyuan's unique iron-based metal ceramic added to the front, significantly exceeding the defense of ordinary armor.
With the power of a 20mm bolter, it would require repeated hits on the same part to potentially penetrate.
The clanging sound of bullets hitting the armor, and that crisp impact, only made the players more excited and thrilled!
This is the power armor combat I imagined! Finally, I don't have to hide behind and deploy drones and loitering munitions!
A storm of metal, gunfire, smoke, and roars filled the entire control room.
This was the most skill-free, yet most passionate, exchange of fire.
"Alright, alright, it's our turn to have fun!"
Black Smoke and two other Engineers came up carrying Gatling guns, with 3000-round ammo drums strapped to their backs.
The caliber of this weapon was relatively small, making it difficult to penetrate power armor, but it was a complete nightmare for other targets.
The chainsaw-like sound of the guns rang out, instantly tearing apart the defenders lacking power armor defense, as well as the indoor tables and chairs they used as cover. In the cramped indoor space, these people had nowhere to hide.
Blood mist filled the air!