Chapter 422

Chapter 422: Cannon Fodder

In the eyes of Sergeant Ma and the others, this young man suddenly appeared to be a combat weapon, and they all realized something was off.

This young man was unarmed, with nothing in his hands. How could he have just demolished that heavily armed six-legged robot?

"I am number one!"

Lin Mo exclaimed as he looked at the six-legged robot that he had sent flying with his surprise punch.

The six-legged robot was instantly destroyed by the ferocity of Lin Mo’s punch, suffering an even more tragic fate than when it faced the Punching Power Test Machine. It was literally smashed apart, retreating pitifully back toward the gaping hole in the safety isolation door.

After delivering that punch, Lin Mo realized his previous thoughts were entirely wrong.

It wasn’t a Gold Coin. With this guy’s intellect, he couldn’t cause such a massive disturbance. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so easily outsmarted by Lin Mo in another world.

If it had been a Gold Coin, it wouldn’t allow Lin Mo’s fists to come crashing down. A knight capable of fighting alongside a giant dragon couldn’t possibly be that far behind in power. The proud dragon kin would never allow an ant to crawl up its noble body.

Moreover, he hadn’t seen any signs of the abilities inherent to the gold element dragon kin. It was nothing more than a robot.

Thinking it through, there was no reason for a Gold Coin to dare to create such chaos and even launch rockets at him.

If this gold giant dragon truly wanted to take him down, it would have had countless opportunities in the past, but not now.

Lin Mo realized that this sudden attack and invasion were not as simple as they appeared.

These were real robots, and this invasion seemed to be a premeditated external attack.

With such elaborate chaos being created, could there be something special in this training center attracting attention? It seemed like a painstaking effort to generate this level of disorder.

But where had that Gold Coin’s avatar run off to? Lin Mo had called out countless times in his mind, but there was no response.

Could it have snuck out of the dorms and accidentally run outside of the calling range?

In this world, no physical or energy body had yet been discovered that could block the mental communication between Lin Mo and the gold giant dragon. This communication ability, based on a completely ineffective dragon deity contract, seemed to be maintained by some unspoken rules.

It was unclear, incomprehensible, and its principles were baffling in a world dominated by science, quite magical indeed.

Regardless, he had to deal with these invading troubles first.

"Ah! Number one, right? The higher-ups ordered you to return to the hall and not to run around."

Sergeant Ma immediately received the order from his superiors and repeated it to Lin Mo.

"Look at this mess! When will you be able to handle it?" Lin Mo glanced around the building, which resembled a battlefield, in utter disarray. The quality of the building’s structure was commendable, as it somehow remained intact despite the massive explosion, though many pieces of glass shattered from the expanding pressure of the internal blast.

He continued, "I need weapons. There are still twenty unarmed people inside. You don’t expect me to take care of everything alone, do you? Also, get me ten communication devices—at least ten!"

If one or two more six-legged robots showed up, Lin Mo would not be able to withstand that. No matter how fast he ran, could he outrun a bullet?

The answer was a resounding no!

If just one six-legged robot successfully broke into the hall behind Lin Mo and fired off a few rocket bombs or sprayed bullets, the astronaut candidates would instantly be turned into a pile of flesh, and the leaders of the aerospace training center would likely jump out of windows. The government might even consider launching a war over it.

Regarding Lin Mo’s requests, there was no need for Sergeant Ma to relay them to the security office. The battlefield recording device in their helmets captured Lin Mo’s words, and a command to fulfill his requests quickly came back.

"We’ll give you two Type 95s and two communication earpieces first. The rest will be sent right over," Sergeant Ma instructed his team to quickly distribute the available equipment to Lin Mo. Along with the two rifles, they also included extra magazines.

After a moment of thought, it seemed the firepower was still somewhat lacking, so Sergeant Ma instructed his subordinates to hand Lin Mo an RPG as well.

The astronaut candidates had some self-defense capabilities, which would relieve the pressure on the security soldiers.

The scene of Lin Mo charging up and pummeling that terrifying six-legged robot back after the explosion at the isolation door on the second floor was deeply etched in the minds of everyone in the hall.

Like a sudden leap, Lin Mo transformed into a formidable god of war. His unstoppable punch, powerful like the creation of the world, made everyone vividly recall the terror of number one.

This was the same person who could crush the Punching Power Test Machine with a single blow; the power behind his fist was not much less than that of an RPG. He was truly a rare monster among astronaut candidates throughout the years.

At the very least, he had managed to repel the candidates, hadn’t he?

Only when the armed soldiers from the guard battalion entered the hall did everyone finally breathe a sigh of relief. Reinforcements had finally arrived, and they were not entirely without defensive power.

The soldiers from the third company quickly set up several firing points in the hall and distributed weapons to the candidates. Although most had a background as air force pilots, whether from the army, navy, or air force, regardless of whether they held civilian or military positions, and whether they were privates or generals, mastering firearms and honing excellent marksmanship were essential skills for all military personnel.

Once the automatic rifles were in their hands, the candidates finally felt the weight of a heavy stone being lifted off their chests.

However, Wang Xuejun found it very strange. According to logic, a unit as high-level as the aerospace training center should have a strong armed presence, yet so far, they had only seen a platoon of soldiers but no more reinforcements.

Ideally, armored vehicles should have surrounded the area, and armed helicopters should have rushed in to protect the entire building, with a steady stream of heavy soldiers coming to eliminate these unidentified robotic invaders.

While the soldiers fortified defenses to protect the candidates, Lin Mo, along with number four Wei Yuni, number eighteen Meng Yinan, and number two Wang Xuejun, stood by the wreckage of the six-legged alien robot.

Nearby, two soldiers from the third company were on alert, guarding Lin Mo and the others.

The sounds of gunfire and explosions outside gradually dwindled, as if the situation was starting to improve and control was being regained.

“Number one, do you know anything about the robots?”

Wei Yuni, like the others, held an LED flashlight in her hand, turned on the light, and surrounded Lin Mo to illuminate the area from multiple angles, ensuring that there were no shadows or blind spots.

Lin Mo busied himself, disassembling the six-legged alien robot he had smashed with his punch.

“Hmm, I’ve studied these before and even built one myself. I’m using it now.”

Lin Mo instinctively answered.

What? He had built a robot?

This was no simple task; not everyone could do this.

Such advanced technology was clearly not something ordinary people could handle.

Wei Yuni and Wang Xuejun were quite surprised. This number one was clearly not the stereotype of someone who was physically strong but mentally simple.

Although fighter pilots themselves were not typically brutish, requiring high levels of education and knowledge, the capability to create robots was exceptionally rare indeed, leading them to view him with newfound respect.

Could an average person really DIY a robot?

Watching Lin Mo’s skilled disassembly movements, they couldn’t help but think he must be telling the truth.

In contrast to Wei Yuni and Wang Xuejun’s change in attitude, Meng Yinan, as a loyal supporter of Lin Mo, had no doubts about his leader’s words. Whatever Lin Mo said was the truth; she viewed it almost as a law.

“These things are mass-produced! They’re all private goods!”

Lin Mo sifted through the robot’s wreckage, noting that many parts were standard modular components. It appeared that different modules had come from various sources, then assembled domestically; otherwise, they couldn’t have infiltrated the border line so quietly.

What troubled Lin Mo the most was that the initiator of this invasion, aside from daring to invest such a significant amount of resources, had planned everything meticulously. None of the remnants of the six-legged robots had a single character or even a number on them.

Even the labels on the electronic components had been erased. Where there should have been parameters on capacitors, resistors, and integrated circuits, it was all blank, as if nothing had ever been there.

After carefully disassembling and searching, Lin Mo found the core control processor, a palm-sized chip using surface-mount technology attached to a damaged circuit board.

This chip was fortunate enough to have avoided Lin Mo’s punch and the hail of bullets, remaining almost completely unharmed.

However, it still bore no information, just a brushed aluminum shell, perhaps from some private chip research lab abroad.

In foreign countries, some wealthy individuals and entrepreneurs invest heavily to purchase equipment and hire experts to set up private laboratories for specialized research, aiming to obtain substantial profits through patent licensing or transfers.

These unidentified chips would make it difficult for anyone following clues to find leads; seeking revenge would be impossible, as it seemed the other side had thoroughly considered their actions in advance.

This advanced specialized smart chip naturally found its way into Lin Mo’s pocket. He was certain that Gold Coin would love this little item, but first, he needed to find Gold Coin.

With different fields feeling like mountains apart, Wei Yuni and the others couldn’t understand Lin Mo’s reasons for disassembling the robots; it seemed their main task should be passing the assessment to become astronauts, not to take on the role of robot experts.

“Number one, have you discovered anything?”

Lin Mo’s wireless earpiece transmitted the voice of Major General Sun, the main person in charge of this selection process. The training center used a single line of communication to avoid unnecessary conflicts and waste caused by multiple leaders.