AGTCTCC Chapter 74
by VolareKe Man’s upper body was exposed from under the broken mech, the rest of him crushed beneath it, covered in blood.
A stream of blood flowed down his forehead, into his eyes, making them appear crimson red, a terrifying sight.
Ke Man blinked, clearing some of the blood from his eyes, managing to make out the scene before him.
He looked up and smiled at Xiang Li, who was standing in front of him. With great effort, he raised a metallic arm, brought a hand to his mouth, and made a zipping motion.
Xiang Li: “…”
He stared at the scene before him, stunned. After a long moment, he snapped out of it and cursed under his breath, “Fuck.”
Xiang Li rushed forward, wanting to pull Ke Man out, but before he could reach him, the mech exploded due to a mechanical energy malfunction.
Xiang Li retreated quickly, shielding his face with his arm. Waves of intense heat washed over him.
Lowering his arm, Xiang Li saw the scene before him, his pupils trembling violently. A deep crater had been blasted into the ground, leaving nothing within a three-meter radius.
The chaos jolted Chu Qi’s mind awake for a moment. He shook his head, feeling his thoughts begin to drift again.
If Doctor Lin Wu were here, he would surely drag Chu Qi away for eighty-one treatment sessions.
Chu Qi’s current state was clearly due to the depletion of his Spiritual Power, his body unable to withstand the overload, beginning to overdraft the life force of his physical functions.
Xiang Li clenched his fist, turning to look at Wu Kun in the distance, who was watching the scene like a spectator.
Wu Kun met Xiang Li’s gaze and cheerfully raised a hand in greeting.
Wu Kun: “Your, own, choice.”
He mouthed the words to Xiang Li, one syllable at a time, soundlessly.
Xiang Li felt a surge of immense anger in his chest as he saw Wu Kun, rushing to his brain.
Chu Qi struggled to stay conscious, adjusting the mech’s functions to the maximum frequency his body could handle; any higher, and his body might collapse.
But Chu Qi couldn’t care less at the moment. In his view, Xiang Li was rushing headlong into the most densely populated area of Polluted Entities.
The weapon in his hand swung wildly and erratically. Chu Qi suddenly remembered the first time Xiang Li entered the piloting simulator, his combat style was just as undisciplined.
Afraid that something might happen to Xiang Li, Chu Qi gritted his teeth and piloted the mech after him.
Shen Gui and Xing Zi Mu were also drawn by the loud explosion, exchanging a look.
Shen Gui steered his mech, clearing out the Polluted Entities in front of him, but the overwhelming number made it impossible to eliminate them all.
He sent a message to Xiang Li, but received no reply. He turned to signal Xing Zi Mu.
The screen in front of Xing Zi Mu was already flashing a red triangle, warning of insufficient ammunition. He aimed the cannon at a cluster of Polluted Entities, took aim, and fired.
With a “boom,” Xing Zi Mu didn’t even blink, calmly stating, “I’m running out of ammo.”
Hearing this, Shen Gui checked his own ammunition reserves, which displayed a large “14%.”
Shen Gui pursed his lips. “Me too.”
Shen Gui maneuvered his mech, jokingly asking Xing Zi Mu, “Did you count how many you’ve killed?”
Xing Zi Mu glanced at Shen Gui, then quickly looked away.
It was always like this back at the military academy; whenever they went on a mission, Shen Gui never sought out Chu Qi, but instead pestered him, an ordinary person, asking how many he’d killed.
Xing Zi Mu rolled his eyes. “Childish.”
Then, glancing at the numbers on the mech’s automatic tracking recorder, he replied truthfully.
Shen Gui compared the number he heard with his own, then whistled, his flirtatious eyes narrowing as he fired off another magazine.
His ammunition reserves now down to “12%,” Shen Gui didn’t hesitate to use his ammunition, each bullet precisely aimed to kill a Polluted Entity.
Amidst the frenzied “rat-tat-tat” of gunfire, Shen Gui’s somewhat cheerful voice was transmitted through the combat headset to Xing Zi Mu’s ears.
Shen Gui: “I’ve got more than you.”
Xing Zi Mu had no Spiritual Power, so he could only rely on the equipment-provided view from his mech.
The meager amount of ammunition inside their mechs was like throwing pebbles at a mountain compared to the surrounding Polluted Entities.
Shen Gui gasped for breath as his mech’s screen began to flash a red triangle, warning that his ammunition was running out.
He subconsciously looked for Xing Zi Mu’s figure.
But after a long moment, he couldn’t see the familiar dark-colored mech, frowning as he called out Xing Zi Mu’s name.
Shen Gui: “Xing Zi, Xing Zi!”
A burst of static crackled through the headset.
Shen Gui became even more worried, failing to notice a wave of Polluted Entities slowly approaching his mech from behind.
Until the Polluted Entities climbed onto the back of the mech, using their most primitive methods of tearing and smashing with their hard skulls.
The latest titanium alloy material slowly dented under the repeated “thud” sounds.
Inside the mech, Shen Gui became even more agitated by the sudden appearance of several warning signs on his screen.
The viscous liquid from the Polluted Entities’ disgusting mouthparts slowly corroded the metal outer shell of the mech, revealing the complex network of wires inside.
Shen Gui gritted his teeth, using the mech’s functions to slam the side covered in Polluted Entities hard against the ground.
The Polluted Entities were also very fast, and soon, Shen Gui’s mech was completely covered in them.
Xing Zi Mu crawled out of his mech, the mech having been operating beyond its limits and the Source Stone embedded in it running out of power, crashing abruptly to the ground.
Xing Zi Mu waved his hand, clearing away the choking dust around him. He took a few quick steps.
The spot where the mech had been was quickly swarmed by a pile of Polluted Entities.
The Source Stone belt on Xing Zi Mu’s waist lit up, forming a weak barrier around him. He scanned his surroundings, not finding Shen Gui.
He didn’t even see Chu Qi and Xiang Li.
He took a few quick steps, soaring into the air. The mechs of the surrounding soldiers were all fighting fiercely to kill the Polluted Entities.
High in the air, he could easily spot Xiang Li not far away, the black weapon in his hand wiping out Polluted Entities at an astonishing rate.
Chu Qi followed behind him, picking off the surviving Polluted Entities that Xiang Li missed.
Xing Zi Mu’s first reaction was to frown. He knew Chu Qi’s abilities, but… he couldn’t help but think about Chu Qi’s physical condition.
His peripheral vision caught sight of another area where Polluted Entities were swarming.
On the wreckage of the mech where the Polluted Entities were seething, Xing Zi Mu saw the paint color he had seen countless times.
The Source Stone on his waist glowed, carrying Xing Zi Mu towards Shen Gui’s mech.
He manipulated the Source Stone belt, killing all the Polluted Entities gnawing on Shen Gui’s mech, their blood staining the mech and Xing Zi Mu’s hands red.
The Source Stone belt consumed too much Source Power, and faint cracks were visible on it.
Pulling the mech open, Xing Zi Mu’s fingers trembled. The rescued soldier gratefully thanked Xing Zi Mu.
Xing Zi Mu nodded blankly.
It wasn’t Shen Gui.
But he quickly realized, taking a Source Stone from his waist and placing it in the soldier’s hand.
Xing Zi Mu: “Take it, go quickly, don’t…”
In fact, he didn’t need to tell him what to do; the soldier nodded.
The Source Stone supported a thin barrier, but this barrier would soon dissipate, and he needed to reach a safe area during this time.
The soldier also saw that Xing Zi Mu no longer had a mech, saying, “Vice-Captain Xing, you should go first, you…”
Xing Zi Mu refused, “I’m the vice-captain, the Source Stone can still last a while, hurry, don’t waste time.”
Soldier: “Yes!” He gave a proper salute, holding the Source Stone Xing Zi Mu gave him in his palm, running with all his might towards the safe zone.
Xing Zi Mu turned to continue searching for Shen Gui, the messages he sent through the communicator on his wrist going unanswered.
Boom—
Several shells landed around Xing Zi Mu, the blast throwing Xing Zi Mu back and creating a gust of wind.
The cracks on Xing Zi Mu’s waist Source Stone belt widened even more, and the color of several Source Stones on his waist even dimmed.
Xing Zi Mu’s throat moved several times, but he still couldn’t suppress the blood that surged up from his chest. The bright red blood splattered onto the dirt with his coughs, staining a dark patch.
“Cough cough cough—cough—”
The soldiers’ actions also stopped because of these shells, and the surrounding Polluted Entities paused for a few seconds.
Someone shouted, “Who fired the shells!”
Other soldiers: “Whose!”
One soldier noticed and replied, “It seems to have been fired from Commander Chu’s direction.”
As the aftershocks subsided, Xing Zi Mu stood up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
The soldiers also discovered Xing Zi Mu, shouting, “Vice-Captain Xing!”
The Source Stones on Xing Zi Mu’s waist had all shattered. He stared blankly, looking at everything around him.
“I…”
He searched around, muttering, “Shen Gui…”
Soldier: “Vice-Captain Xing seems to be acting strangely!”
The Source Stones on Xing Zi Mu’s waist had clearly all shattered, but still, not a single Polluted Entity approached him.
There wasn’t even one within three meters of Xing Zi Mu, as if those Polluted Entities could all avoid him.
At this moment, Shen Gui was lying on the ground, his body crushed under the mech. He supported himself with his hands, red liquid constantly seeping from his forehead, and the blood surging up his throat made it difficult for him to breathe.
Dimly, he heard someone calling his name.
Xing Zi Mu was taken away by other soldiers while in a daze.
“Call Doctor Lin!”
Lin Wu: “Roger.”
Lin Wu received such an urgent summons, thinking something had happened to Chu Qi, but unexpectedly it was Xing Zi Mu.
Hearing that Xing Zi Mu’s Source Stone belt was broken, his face couldn’t suppress the shock.
That belt was specially made by the previous commander, Xing Qing Kun, specifically for his grandson who had no Spiritual Power.
Lin Wu knew this, because of the special nature of the Source Stones, Xing Qing Kun had specially sought out special Source Stones and injected a lot of Spiritual Power into them to store it in the Source Stone belt.
Now Xing Zi Mu’s Source Stone belt was actually broken, what had happened?
After coming out of Yan Zhou Ping’s house, Lin Wu immediately rushed to the hospital to treat the wounded, and also conveniently brought back someone who was still suffering from amnesia.
Lin Wu said to the person next to him, “Let’s go, we’ll pick up Xing Zi.”
The person looked up, watching Lin Wu take the medical equipment he was playing with, disinfect it, and put it away again. He asked, “Who is Xing Zi?”
Lin Wu said seriously, “He is your good friend, we all are.”
Then he continued to guide, “Do you remember what your name is?”
The person squatting down quietly answered Lin Wu’s question after two seconds.
“Sang Quan Shi Li.”
“I don’t like this name, but you say that’s what I’m called, then that’s what I’ll be called.”