Chapter 421

Chapter 421: Robot War

Lin Mo had just leaped onto the second-floor circular corridor when a faint sound of electromagnetic joints echoed. A six-legged robot suddenly charged out through the smoke of an explosion.

"Liu Dazhuang, use the rocket bomb!"

As Lin Mo saw a six-legged robot rush into the corridor, it almost resembled a giant spider dashing inside, its six legs whisking rapidly on the ground and walls as it moved at incredible speed.

Sergeant Ma from the third company of the training center’s security battalion chased fiercely behind the robot with a shockwave weapon in hand.

Just as he finished speaking, a plume of white smoke shot past him, chasing after the agile robot bolting towards the second floor.

Boom! A fireball erupted with tremendous force, sending countless cement and wall fragments flying.

Using such powerful weapons in the building was a last-resort approach.

"Missed! Dazhuang, you idiot, aim and shoot!"

With a small ballistic shield on his left wrist protecting his upper body, Ma felt a sharp sting as some high-speed flying fragments hit him. Although his protective armor shielded him, he still felt the heavy impact like being hit with a wooden stick.

Ma pulled the trigger on the shockwave gun, effortlessly firing an invisible shockwave. This powerful blast could turn a person into minced meat upon impact; if it struck a hard surface, a rebound effect could occur. This kind of attack was clearly effective only against softer targets, unlike conventional explosive weaponry.

Bang!

With a loud crash, the six-legged robot was directly hit and stumbled off its original path. Even with its stable six-legged design, it temporarily lost balance, and if it took a few more hits, it might be dismantled.

"Yes, Sergeant, it’s too fast! Damn it, like a cockroach," replied a soldier holding an RPG, reloading without hesitation while using such a fierce weapon in the corridor.

In that critical moment when the six-legged robot lost its balance, a fiery tongue lashed out from another corridor, cracking against the robot with a series of popping sounds. Flames erupted as metal and engineered plastic fragments flew everywhere, and numerous black holes appeared in the walls.

"Our mechanical guardians have arrived." On the five-inch LCD screen on his wrist, a floor plan displayed their current level along with the positions of human soldiers and combat robots.

The combat mechanical soldiers, buried inside the building before activation, swiftly took their positions in the battle, filling the gaps in their firepower.

The six-legged robot, clearly advanced in intelligence and devoid of pain, darted quickly into another corridor despite the damage, although its front leg appeared severely mangled.

The human soldiers were equipped with 5.8 millimeter bullets from their Type 95 rifles, which had limited power, but the tracked mechanical soldiers on their side were armed with 9 millimeter bullets. These could create fist-sized holes in human bodies, especially when striking the not particularly robust six-legged robots.

Both the six-legged robots and the tracked mechanical soldiers shared a common characteristic: their numerous legs and tracks provided a very stable platform, making them ideal for mounting weapons.

"Nice job! A few more solid hits and we can take out that thing!"

In his first encounter with a robot, Sergeant Ma felt the mechanical soldier’s enduring vitality. Unless he could hit the core system directly, it would be extremely challenging to take down these pain-proof robots, often requiring four to five hits to inflict significant damage.

The six-legged robot, controlled by separate processor chips and a bionic stepping system, was not a simple triangular movement formula commonly seen on the market. As long as more than half of its limbs remained intact, it would still possess considerable mobility.

The functional modules on the six-legged platform could survive a bullet hit without affecting the performance of the other modules, and the robot’s weapon system clearly had more than one capability.

Even after such a barrage of fire, the opponent retained the ability to counterattack.

The robots from both sides were perfectly matched, demonstrating their remarkable skills and resulting in an intense standoff.

"Not good! They’re going to break into the simulated space module training area! There are twenty-one astronaut candidates inside; we can’t let that demon in!"

Sergeant Ma shouted in alarm as he saw the direction of the charging six-legged robot.

"First Company, I order you to spare no effort; you must eliminate it at all costs! It must not get inside!"

The command from the safety center came through Ma’s radio earpiece without hesitation.

Many people inside the aerospace training center were terrified; that hall, isolated from the rest, represented the future hope of China’s space program, and no mishap could be allowed. It was better for the security battalion to be completely wiped out than for anyone inside to be harmed.

While "harm a hair" might be an exaggeration elsewhere, here, it was utterly devoid of embellishment.

If anything were to happen to the candidates inside, this costly selection process would all be in vain, and there would even be a risk of a break in the lineage of China’s Astronauts. While this may sound exaggerated, it is certainly not alarmist.

The already wounded six-legged robot fired several white objects the size of tennis balls at the iron-gray safety isolation door. Upon contact, the objects firmly adhered to the door, and then a flash of fire erupted, sending a shockwave blasting through the corridor.

As robots could withstand impacts and shocks, especially the combat mechanical soldiers whose control systems were reinforced in numerous ways, they continued to operate stubbornly.

However, the human soldiers were unable to endure it. Sergeant Ma raised his head and used his left hand’s ballistic shield to block the incoming shockwave and debris.

The ceiling’s air filtration system was straining to operate at full capacity, working hard to exchange the air and filter out the gunpowder smoke.

"Damn it! It’s sticky C4 explosives! Follow me; keep your fire concentrated at the doorway! No shooting inside, maintain attack distance, and advance quickly!"

Sergeant Ma shouted furiously. The higher command had just issued an order to spare no expense in stopping the invading robots from crashing into the simulated space module training area’s main hall, and now the robot was cleverly using C4 explosives to forcefully blast open the automatic safety isolation door.

Sergeant Ma recklessly took the risk of being struck by stray bullets. He brandished the shockwave cannon and pulled the trigger again, firing into the residual smoke, sending an invisible wave tearing through the haze. He heard a loud bang but did not know if he hit the target.

"Fire!"

Several soldiers following Sergeant Ma pulled the triggers of their Type 95 automatic rifles continuously, pouring ammunition into the air. The magazines were loaded with heavy steel-core bullets, which, while detrimental to barrel life, had tremendous penetrating power and lethality. This made them ideal for dealing with the tough-skinned robots.

A hail of bullets pursued the six-legged robot as it vanished into the automatic safety isolation door.

As they squeezed the triggers and prepared to push forward step by step, they heard a sound from the breached door that was more terrifying than the initial explosion.

Then a large object flew out from the giant gap, startling Sergeant Ma and the soldiers behind him, who quickly ducked against the wall.

The six-legged robot almost skimmed past them, making their faces turn pale.

With a thunderous crash, the six-legged robot rolled over more than ten meters away, now almost unrecognizable in its original form. At that moment, a fiery tongue swept over from the corridor, mercilessly tearing the already incapacitated six-legged robot into pieces as if it were a drowning dog getting beaten.

It was the training center’s tracked combat mechanical soldier, which, unlike human soldiers, had no hesitation. It quickly confirmed the presence of the six-legged robot rolling into view using its fuzzy recognition algorithm and promptly retaliated with gunfire.

"What… what is happening?" Sergeant Ma gasped, looking at the completely unrecognizable six-legged robot. The fierce spirit he had earlier was completely dissipated. The robot only had one leg left, while two others hung comically from the ripped armor at the blown-open safety isolation door.

It seemed that this unfortunate fellow must have encountered something terrifying as it burst through the hole, getting slammed back viciously—its impact was as if a train had struck it, completely mangling it.

Could something unexpected have occurred in the hall?

He heard the faint sound of tracks rolling over the ground, occasionally making noise as they pressed against junk. The training center’s combat mechanical soldiers, having just paused their barrage, were now approaching, running semi-automated systems under human monitoring to ensure their safety and prevent friendly fire.

Footsteps came closer from the gaping hole in the automatic safety isolation door.

"Who’s there?"

Reacting instinctively, Sergeant Ma quickly aimed the shockwave cannon at the hole in the door, bracing for a terrifying beast to emerge.

"Do not fire! It’s the astronaut candidates!"

It seemed that the internal monitoring system of the aerospace training center had been repaired, immediately warning Sergeant Ma and his team.

As Sergeant Ma sighed in relief and lowered his weapon, a figure stepped out from the lightly rising smoke.

A young man appeared with a calm expression, his eyes radiating an intimidating brilliance that made others instinctively feel awed. He was tall, strolling leisurely into the view of the soldiers at the training center’s security battalion.

Dressed in perfectly pressed combat gear, without a wrinkle in sight, he exuded a confidence laced with pride, contrasting sharply with the soldiers’ disheveled appearance. This aura shared a striking resemblance to that of the combat mechanical soldiers.