138. Armor Core

  Boom!

  Before he finished speaking, a surge of fire erupted from the tracks ahead.

  "Brake!"

  Li Aozi shouted, then dived into the carriage, picked up Snow, and dragged Du Zexin into the lootive.

  Zhou Liefeed even faster. As the explosive shell fell, he had already started braking, but stopping the massive armored train wasn't easy. He could only keep the lootive on track. After a violent shake, the lootive hit the broken traearly throwing everyoo the air.

  The heavy lootive passed through the explosion's smoke, pressing down on the rails. The armored train, much heavier than a regur train, cut through the shattered, irregur breaks, sparking and screeg loudly but miraculously stayed on track.

  However, the following carriages weren't so lucky. Seeing all passengers evacuated, Zhou Liefeng disected the links with the rear carriages in time.

  g—

  The massive carriages derailed, colpsing outward like a ndslide, buried in the blizzard and smoke.

  "Did someoack us with artillery!?"

  Li Aozi dragged Du Zexin to a er, looked up at the broken tracks, and squinted his eyes.

  "No, it's a missile!"

  Zhou Liefeng, experienced and sure:

  "If it were artillery, it wouldn't have such mobility. Only hypersonic missiles could do this."

  Before he finished speaking, a beeping arm sounded from Du Zexin. His face ged. "AI's targeting radar warning! We've been locked on!"

  "Stop the train!" Li Aozi said. "We 't evade the missiles, just stop. rade Zhou Liefeng, tact the Subway Brotherhood, tell them the Four Nations attacked you."

  "Uood."

  Zhou Liefeng agreed, steadily stopping the train. He opehe emergenunicator and spoke in code:

  "October calling Zero, October calling Zero."

  "Zero received, describe your situation."

  "Invasion occurred, the raiders are women."

  "Received, first-level alert, October, take a break and await resupply."

  As Zhou Liefeng put down the emergenunicator, Li Aozi raised both hands, picked up a green smoke grenade from the train, and waved it in the air, signaling surrender.

  Red and green signal lights lit up in the air, the ied triangle-shaped surveilnce camera head slightly moved, and the thermal imaging camera quickly captured the ground signal, processed it into a age, and transmitted it to the mobile armor's pilot.

  "The target vehicle has stopped, one person disembarked, unarmed, indig surrender."

  Mei Xifeng pushed aside the tactical goggles and coldly reported:

  "Captain Uzdar, please give instrus."

  "No need for more words."

  Active military officer Captain Uzdar ? Dixie of the 73rd Armored Brigade Special Mobile Team of the Frost-Pted National Defense Army said calmly.

  "Our mission target is alive or dead, but living is always more valuable."

  "Yes, yes, alive or dead—I uand your meaning, Captain. It's veo kill directly, but when the Governor of Law IV says it, it's different."

  Gunner Kailin ? Lam chewed gum:

  "This is an opportunity to please the Governor of Law IV—we might get extra allowances or even citizenship in Twin Star City."

  "What's the capital's citizenship worth pared to the favor of the Governor of Law IV? Even a 90-year property vil is much cheaper." Mei Xifeng joked.

  "Just curious, who is it that requires us active-duty soldiers to take a?"

  Gunner Kailin clicked her tongue in surprise:

  "This isn't an ordinary Frost-Pted man—leakis? Treason?"

  "Maybe both."

  The woman with a fme-shaped scar on her faeered:

  "We've reached the target airspace, drop in—Shengnan, give them a warning."

  "Uood."

  Short-haired Zhang Shengnan gripped the trol stick, expressionless:

  "firmed operation code: Subway Fall."

  "Starting drop operation now."

  "MA-20 'Wolverine' Mobile Armor, Uzdar's crew—unch!"

  Buzz!

  The 54-ton mobile armor quickly transformed, the head flipped inward, hidden iank turret-like body. The legs pressed, turning the body into a surfboard-like shape.

  Its arms retracted the missile pods, stored in the , allowing the stealth wave-abs material to fully fun—though intercepting an armored train didn't require radar camoufge, the cautious female soldiers took the opportunity to check the mae and equipment ditions.

  The massive rotorcraft quickly released the mags, the nuclear-powered reactor adjusted to operational mode, and the thrusters behind it spouted sky-blue fmes, ung downward.

  The feeling of free fall was familiar to the crew members. Captain Uzdar calmly said, "Deploy parachutes at low altitude."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  Zhang Shengnan gripped the trol stick tightly, skillfully maneuvering the armor's body. She turned off the altitude arm and only opehe parachute at a suitable low-altitude range.

  Whoosh—

  The white parachutes bloomed, the Wolverine instantly transformed into a semi-humanoid form, the leg thrusters gently spitting fmes to slow down. Then, suddenly, Zhang Shengnan cut the parachute cords, and the mobile armor crashed into the ground like a bck steel fortress.

  Boom!

  White frost and yellow sand spshed up. In an instant, the 12-meter-tall heavy armor pleted a hard nding, and the armor chassis' air cushioly alleviated the impact.

  Li Aozi and the others were nearly buried by the flying dust and snow. He quickly assessed the oppo's equipment level.

  Mobile armor, a pure war on, usually paired with meized infantry for assaults and rge-scale battles.

  In the cold and harsh enviro of the outside world, sending out fighter jets was suicidal. The Air and Space Forces and Strategic Support Units couldn't provide air superiority and le missile strikes, giving rise to such deformed war maes.

  It looked nothing like a person, more like a rooster without a neck but with arms, standing e rocket-propelled cushions, with a simple and crude modur design, no anti-gravity system, making maintenance much easier.

  Mobile armor was equipment, not a monster, with no level, but its threat could be judged by its workmanship and on load.

  pared to the future 'Harriers' and 'Night Owls' that would be active iianhuan invasion and the Frost-Pted civil war, the 'Wolverine' oor product of the period when Frost-Pted's military budget was drastically cut.

  Its design was extremely simple and crude, using the tank-era crew mode: the captain ahe gunner operated the on system, the meidled unications and reaissance, and the driver trolled the movement.

  Later, it was found that with an auxiliary AI, a fire trol system, and a remote operatioer, one driver could trol the mobile armor, making the four-person crew unnecessary.

  The Wolverine was mainly for fire support, he cked close bat ons. Its main ons included a 40mm autoon and a power shield. Li Aozi saw missile pods on its arms and a rge rocket uncher on its back. Two anti-infantry Gatling guns were mounted on its chest armor.

  The cost of such heavy armament was its poor avionics system and phased array radar, with minimal eleic warfare resistance.

  Despite the rough workmanship, this level of equipment, as long as it wasn't hit by a rge number of artillery and anti-vehicle teams, could cause a massacre without a Beta-rank's power to stop it.

  "Another smooth nding."

  Uzdar praised and opehe broadcast, calling out to the ground units:

  "Are you Li Aozi? You look much older than in the photos. But it's wise to surrender fag mobile armor."

  She said, raising the Wolverine's massive gun barrel, aiming at Li Aozi.

  "I surrender!"

  Li Aozi shouted loudly:

  "I have given up resistance. Ladies of Frost-Pted, please spare me and treat me acc to iional w."

  "Tch—this level?"

  The gunner said disdainfully:

  "From the mission records, I thought he was tough, but he surre the sight of mobile armor. B!"

  Uzdar's eyes flickered. She sighe driver to move the barrel away but secretly aimed the anti-infantry Vul on at Li Aozi.

  Even if the information said he killed a Beta-rank transdent, the Vul on's 9,000 rounds per minute could shred an unarmored target.

  "We're just here to stop the train."

  Uzdar said calmly:

  ", we wait for Law IV's agents to trol you."

  During the versation, a female voice came over the el:

  "I'm Law IV agent Nimotin. We've arrived in the airspad are about to parachute."

  "So slow, you battlefield rookies. Are you riding snails?" The meic mocked.

  Nimotin was clearly unhappy. Although they were from different systems, soldiers weren't much higher thas. This wasn't Tianhuan.

  Besides, the giher of the outside world made long-distance flyiremely dangerous. They risked their lives to follow, so why were these soldiers sant?

  Taking a deep breath, Nimotin expined:

  "Sorry, we entered a storm on the way and had to pause—"

  "No need for excuses. Dealing with a Beta-rank target so slowly, it seems Law IV should abolish some positions."

  The meieered, disdainfully replying before cutting off the unication.

  Zhang Shengnan deployed a ser tripwire, preventing the lootive from esg. As usual, this was a simple task, with the only difficulty being low-altitude parachuting and blog the target.

  Now, they just had to wait for the Law IV female agents to trol the target.

  However, Uzdar sensed something wrong. She stared at the enrged image of Li Aozi on the s, quietly feeling, and squinted her eyes, saying:

  "I'm curious, how did you, an Alpha-rank, kill a Beta-rank?"

  "Is there a reward for telling? Like letting me go?"

  Li Aozi smiled, seemingly not resisting at all. Surprisingly, he had a strong charm, his few words dispelling the crew's hostility.

  Uzdar wasn't fooled, but such a handsome man was rare in Frost-Pted. She nodded slightly, her gaze wavering, then smiled softly:

  "Sorry, buddy, you're under arrest."

  "But if you cooperate, I might give you a personal reward."

  "Hey, Captain, don't hog him." The gunner licked her lips. "Such tender meat, I've asted... hey, buddy, spend a night with us, we'll plead for you!"

  "Really?" Li Aozi seemed tempted, his gaze shifting as if deg. His extraordinary 【Charisma】 amplified this, lighting up the crew's eyes, from the mature captain to the cold driver.

  "Really~~~" The gunner blinked.

  "Though it viotes military regutions... it's not impossible." Yin Xifeng flirtatiously flipped her hair.

  "Deal." The cold Zhang Shengnan was eager, uttering one word.

  Li Aozi smiled:

  "Hahaha—I won't go."

  AnnouA big thank you to [Melbourillore] for joining my Patreon! Your support means a lot to me.

  FAL