Planet of Sand and Oasis of Iron

Chapter 77 77. Don’t think too much, just use what you have
Command nodes also bring in a large number of non-basic assault units.

They always appear from every corner, just like two tentacles you accidentally see in the corner at night, which means there are more of these things stuffed underneath.

The pressure on the two continued to increase as they rushed out alone without any external support. Even NO.5 temporarily stopped firing after another artillery attack.

"59, I'm almost out of ammunition."

Cypher: "What did the scouting team say?"

There was a pause in the communication, and No. 5 said with a hint of helplessness: "They haven't found a higher-level command unit."

"They've already returned to the station. Because they've been spotted by the enemy on the ground, if they're shot down, the station will be even more blind—should we go back?"

How does that saying go? You’ve already drunk the beheading wine, so it’s going to be a bit of a bummer to go back.

Sefer looked at the map for a long time, and suddenly looked directly in the direction he came from with his naked eyes.

"I'm thinking, maybe our understanding of the higher-level node is a little off." He cooled his weapon and looked down at his feet. "There's a possibility—perhaps, it's right here."

After comparing the topographic map he had just saved with the current one, Sefer realized that the mountain under his feet had not existed at least a few hours ago.

Eliminate all the outrageous answers, and the answer is right under your feet.

NO.5 was about to answer something, but he only felt the rocks under his feet, which had been exposed by the avalanche, suddenly flashing and slowly dissipating like a hazy fog.

What greeted the two was... a dark city made of steel.

The entire mountain is a command node!
It emitted bursts of dull roars, but just stayed in the same place. Countless monsters clinging to the top of the complex raised structure continued to splash light into the sky.

The support under their feet disappeared along with the phantom, and they fell rapidly. The huge circular device was like a bloody mouth, ready to swallow everything.

Fortunately, it's just an entrance.

They both landed heavily on the ground. As the window above them closed, layers of crimson lighting lit up inside. This passageway clearly wasn't welcoming to them... Accompanied by loud noises and the sound of mechanisms, a roller with densely packed metal teeth suddenly rose behind them.

It just filled the entire passage, and immediately began to swirl, advancing like a giant beast trying to chew its food.

The harsh scraping sound was accompanied by the trembling of the entire passage, and this gesture clearly showed that the two were going to rush in the other direction.

If you don't go, you will be crushed by the roller. If you go, there will definitely be other magical tools waiting for you.

In this situation, the two had no choice but to move forward.

The two machines had to move forward, and the journey was not smooth. Many things that "imitated" the two machines intercepted them on the road, but they could hardly be said to be useful.

Even the one that looked the most like it, Cypher completely shattered it with one shot and one kick, and the remaining scraps were stirred into it by the saw teeth.

The two of them traveled through this mechanical fortress all the way, and as expected, they saw a door that could not be opened at the end.

There is a crushing wall behind and the end point in front. Where to escape in this situation? NO.5 points the weapon at the wall and prepares to fire.

The threat scan in front of Sefer told him that there was a complex mechanism behind the wall. If he wanted to hack into it... it would be difficult, as he had not yet learned any hacking techniques.

If Dr. May were there, there might still be a chance.

The wall in front of them suddenly opened slowly, and the crushing wall behind them continued to advance. The two had no choice but to continue moving forward and found themselves driven into a fairly wide and tall square area.

Above the head, a spherical device was hung on countless tubes. It silently cast light on the ground, and the light quickly condensed into the shape of a machine body.

[The experimental field is open, the first mission is introduced, and the test begins.] As soon as the voice appeared, the two of them immediately separated and attacked from both sides tacitly. The machine in the light had just moved when it was hit by the double attack.

It collapsed to the ground in an instant, exploding into a deafening fire.

[Experimental record completed, experimental content adjusted, second task introduced, test begins]

Before the two could rest, another new machine was projected onto the ground, and the two's long-range attacks were quickly dodged by it. However, they did not expect that Cypher's weapon... had a certain tracking guidance.

Kneel down again.

[Experimental record completed, adjusting experimental content...]

The two of them did try to attack it, but the sphere was surrounded by a layer of glowing protection that made it completely invulnerable.

I won’t complain here about why the weaknesses were placed so close to each other, and why the other party went to so much trouble to communicate, but just stuffed these two people in for an experiment.

Before the third round of attack came, Seifer reminded NO.5 to hold on.

He stepped back a little and unfolded the box behind him.

The metal plates automatically fell away, revealing behind Cypher a folded-up weapon consisting of a massive tank and a launch mechanism that had to be assembled. There was also a strange object consisting of a warhead stuck in the tank.

Compared with other weapons in this world, it was out of tune with them and more like something that could only be used on fixed turrets. When Cypher showed it to him, he disconnected the two-handed weapon with two "grunts".

Once the weapons equipped on these machines are removed, they cannot be re-equipped unless the height is suitable, so throwing away weapons is a very risky thing.

The tank slid to his left hand on the horizontal track. Seifer grabbed its handle and held the folded weapon in his right hand. With the collision of metal and deformation of the structure, the weapon with extremely strange length, shape and even crimson color was held in his hand.

《Warning! An illegal overload unit has been connected, please disconnect immediately!》

The moment the connection was established, a rapid alarm sounded inside the machine, and even the image and UI in front of me became distorted and blurred... But it didn't matter!
If the machine can still be controlled, it means it can be used.

Moving slowly and kneeling on one knee, Cypher pressed the trigger at the same time that two fixed steel nails fell from the top of the heel of the machine, allowing him to stand firmly on the ground.

"I'm going to attack that thing, get ready..."

Using an external speaker to remind people, when the urgent alarm disappeared, the already brightly lit and fully charged weapon and the liquid-like energy flowing in the pipelines all announced the danger of this weapon.

However, No. 5 had no time to reply. He was being chased to the very ends of the earth, with nowhere to turn. This time, the 'experimental machine' was imitating Cypher. He would either be killed by a single shot in close combat or be blasted to death by a beam from a distance...

A blazing white light burst out like lightning, and Cypher felt his body being uncontrollably 'pulled'.

The dazzling glow instantly hit the thin film surrounding the sphere. Under the collision of the two, the protection that was theoretically used to charge the fortress... was really shattered!
The entire venue was filled with continuous rumbling sounds, and large amounts of melting sparks continued to fall from overhead. Even the only "experimental institution" that could communicate was silent, as if the connection was broken.

NO.5 took advantage of the situation and defeated the experimental machine that suddenly stopped. Cypher wanted to come over to lock all the joints to prevent him from falling, but he saw a heat sink pop out from behind him.

"It's not over yet! Next time, I'll hit the ceiling."

The first sentence that Seifer said after his recovery caught NO.5 off guard. He asked why?
"Why so many whys? I just say, just do it and see the results."

As he spoke, the flickering lights came on again, and the sphere above his head suddenly made a new sound.

[Experimental record completed, experimental content adjusted, testing begins]

A new projection slowly emerged in the already dilapidated hall.

(End of this chapter)