Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1455 Mars Training (First Update)

The howling wind, whipping up rusty dust, lashed against the armor, the sound much like a torrential downpour pounding on a metal shed. He was always lost in memories; this sound reminded him of a heavy rain he'd experienced in the slums as a child. The weather that day was just as gloomy as it was now, the gaudy neon signs of the motel flickering in the distance, a few rusty car rims and broken tires lying on the wrecked structure stained with engine oil and plastic, every drop of rain dripping from the roof exuding a cold, metallic smell. He pressed his face against the window, away from his mother, who was vomiting and slowly decaying behind him from contraband, and the equally decaying sandwich, his eyes wide as he stuck out his tongue to taste the splashing raindrops, trying to fill his empty stomach.

He could taste the chemical smell of the regenerated oxygen.

「如果你能把降噪功能打开，那幺我们的战术小队通讯频道就会安静很多。」耳机里冷漠的嗓音将他重新拽了回来。没完没了的行军很容易让人丢失注意力，尤其是在这片该死地、被被诅咒的红沙上，目光所及之处没有任何参照物，唯一能让人提起精神的东西只有不足两百公里处通天彻地的红色沙尘风暴中隐隐闪烁的巨型雷暴。他们不是奥林匹斯熔炉那些机械怪人，他们并不将火星视作圣地，而是一颗乏味的尘土星球。「如果你失去专注，那幺我会好好揍你一顿。」小队中士用他那特有的乾巴巴的、受过伤的嗓子说道，「火星空降训练不允许失去注意力，我们必须儘快赶到撤离点。」

He let out a low growl, but still blinked, activating noise reduction on the control panel to filter out the sandstorm noise. "The airdrop forty-seven hours ago sent blood rushing to my head!"

"That didn't make you any smarter, recruit Diderot."

The veteran sergeant didn't even turn to look at him. Compared to the other four members of the squad, the sergeant's armor was noticeably more ornate; a small decoration easily revealed his rank and status. But on this barren land, any ornate decoration would quickly be covered by red dust. Fortunately, their weapons and armor had good dust protection, and their cooling systems were unaffected. "Today's mission: 7 hours, 400 kilometers," the veteran sergeant briefly repeated the figures, "and the number of kills, if possible."

Even if they were mistakenly airdropped into the Storm Corridor, completing the 400-kilometer march to the extraction point within 7 hours wouldn't be particularly difficult. However, the mission display on their helmets clearly stated the additional conditions: the Olympus Forge had produced many failed attempts or out-of-control bots, and the main task of this airborne march training was to hunt down the out-of-control Ranger Cavalry and bots who had gone insane due to the massive implants while completing the march. But according to intelligence from command center, the giant storm was changing direction. Their squad couldn't slow down, otherwise the storm, capable of overturning armored vehicles, might cross their route and completely block their path to the extraction point.

Satellite communication with the command center is not always smooth, as the sandstorm has too many impacts.

Diderot had met the veteran sergeant before undergoing the conversion.

Led by the Emperor and the Royal Guard, the knights captured all NATO military bases and former Yugoslav military installations in the Balkans within forty-eight hours. Raising the banner of unity and the Emperor's golden eagle, they slaughtered all who dared to resist, crushing the Emperor's enemies like a thunderbolt sweeping across the peninsula. That war produced a large number of prisoners of war, and he was captured during that time. Compared to officers, researchers, and missile operators with access to military secrets, ordinary soldiers like him were practically invisible on the exchange list. The speaker used a vivid analogy to describe the NATO soldiers deployed to overseas bases: if the officers, who had attended military academies and possessed classified information, were medieval knights, then the ordinary soldiers were serfs—and no one would buy serfs with money.

Diderot's past was discarded; undoubtedly, the knights' brutality and bloodlust in battle had shattered the sanity of many. Genetic modification completely erased all traces of the former NATO soldier. His body and mind were pulverized and then reassembled, becoming stronger and more indestructible. He no longer used drugs, drank alcohol, or neglected training; his carefree personality was hardened to steel by genetic modification and mind indoctrination. He became better, stronger, smarter, and more combative. He began to understand things he couldn't understand before; he began to understand the Emperor's ideals and vision; he began to despise his past self, seeing his past life as meaningless, and he gave himself a new name.

He went to Mars for training.

From atmospheric descents and suborbital drops to asteroid landings, Diderot underwent rigorous training that most humans could not withstand, all to fight the Emperor's enemies, including the aliens about to arrive in this world. Before this, he had been tempered by veteran officers in the arena and training grounds, gradually gaining the upper hand in no fewer than a hundred training sessions and combats. But in the eyes of those highly experienced knights, these new recruits were still too inexperienced; seasoned veterans could defeat him in ten minutes with their chainsaw swords.

"Our next mission is to land on the moon. There are out-of-control genetically modified monsters there, and the out-of-control armed servitude can be used for training," another squad member said. They continued to move forward according to the indicators in their helmets. The red dust they kicked up reduced visibility to less than ten meters. Everyone felt their breathing amplified, becoming clearly audible on this red planet abandoned by the world. Apart from the miniature displays on their power armor that showed information such as the number and distribution of enemies, terrain, physiological data, and ammunition, everything else was tinged with an unsettling red.

The rapid friction of micro-gravel released electrical charges, causing fine dust to adhere to their ceramic armor. Simultaneously, the massive electrical charge interfered with external communications to some extent. They couldn't always know the movement of the eye of the storm, nor could they always know the routes of other squads. A profound sense of isolation enveloped everyone; this training was not only testing their physical abilities and tactics, but also their mental fortitude.

"The Emperor has already issued the operational preparation orders, so the Royal Guard and Commander Aparishia won't give us training targets for no reason. We might encounter guerrilla warfare there," Arashik said. "My past experience in Yemen is completely insufficient."

"There are genetically modified monsters here too, and there are an unusually large number today."

The veteran sergeant gave a dry laugh, seemingly amused by his combat teammate's joke. This ruthless fellow rarely expressed his emotions, and Diderot felt his eardrums throbbing from the raven-like cawing of his laughter—it was said that the veteran sergeant's throat wound was inflicted by some winged, non-human creature. Diderot had seen the specimen of that creature, named "Vampire," and the sergeant had killed a high-ranking member of that race, earning him a nickname he utterly despised. "Don't over-mythologize the Imperial Guard and the Emperor, recruits. The preachers told you the Emperor is human, and the Imperial Guard is no different from us, except they were converted from children. A bunch of childish brats..."

"Phew... So we're the stronger ones?"

"It might be the Imperial Guard. I don't know, nobody's tried," the veteran sergeant said. "But I'm sure I'm better than you, Diderot."

"Me too," Alasic said. "I beat you four times."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)