Chapter 82: Ambush

Chapter 82: Ambush

A thirty-story building, covering about one square kilometer in area and standing roughly one hundred and fifty meters tall, rose in the center of Hulun City.

This building was a branch of the Azure Dragon Research Institute, a research organization focused specifically on spacecraft and spaceship propulsion research.

The main components of the recently successfully developed Changhe 711 spacecraft were stored in the underground warehouse beneath the building’s lower levels.

Tomorrow, these unfinished spacecraft components were scheduled for transport. They would be assembled at the Tianquan Space Base two hundred kilometers away before being launched into space.

The Changhe 711 carried humanity’s most advanced energy technology to date: Recyclable Controlled Nuclear Fusion.

This new type of Controlled Nuclear Fusion resembled the power core used in the Azure Dragon Armor, yet held a fundamental difference.

Deuterium used in conventional Controlled Nuclear Fusion energy sources couldn’t be recycled; it depleted with use and needed refilling afterward.

On Earth’s surface, Controlled Nuclear Fusion theoretically represented nearly limitless energy.

But in space, things became completely different. Every refueling operation turned into an incredibly massive and complex undertaking.

The core characteristic of Recyclable Controlled Nuclear Fusion lay in the “Recyclable” aspect.

This new energy system could efficiently and rapidly convert heavy atomic nuclei back into light atomic nuclei.

As for the source of replenishment? It came from collecting energy from the intense starlight after flying relatively close to a star, by unfolding special energy-collection wings.

Both the energy-collection wings and the nuclear fusion recycling technology had been developed long ago. However, successfully combining both systems and validating the concept through a working prototype? The Changhe 711 was the world’s first to achieve that.

In a way, this offered truly limitless energy.

If this test flight and charging proved successful, the Military planned to produce over twenty Changhe 711 vessels within the next six months. These would enter Planetary Orbit around the Solar System for extended warning missions.

This likely represented humanity’s final technological breakthrough before the end came.

The Changhe 711 was also designed on a grand scale. Capable of carrying nearly a thousand personnel, it featured efficient internal life-support systems. Even if food and water supplies were exhausted, the Changhe 711 could be self-sufficient in space.

After reviewing this data, Chen Feng understood perfectly why the Escape Faction had targeted Hulun City’s Research Institute. It perfectly matched their needs.

Yet, he also felt a pang of regret. If this kind of spacecraft had been developed sooner, and if more of them could have been deployed…

Judging by its design concept, the World Government probably had another purpose for deploying such large spacecraft.

If resistance proved utterly impossible, they could be dispersed to flee outside the Solar System, attempting to breach the Barrier and preserve humanity’s final spark.

But considering what Ding Hu had said about the Barrier, and the situation Chen Feng himself witnessed, this plan was ultimately doomed to fail.

“We’re almost there.”

Ding Hu received a notification, stood up from his seat, and hurried towards the drop bay.

Chen Feng followed closely behind.

Fifteen seconds later, both men leaped out one after the other from the deployed bay of the slowing Shuttle, plunging down from over a thousand meters high.

Below them, just as the intelligence indicated, hundreds of people gathered in front of the building. They were protestors from the Escape Faction.

Dozens of armed soldiers and police stood guard at the main entrance, facing off against them.

The situation didn’t look critical, though. Both sides seemed highly restrained.

Some among the protestors held banners, while others sat silently in protest.

A gap of about twenty to thirty meters separated the two groups.

“Attention, landing imminent!” Ding Hu warned. “We can’t land right in the middle of the crowd. The particle jets during deceleration from the Azure Dragon Armor would cause massive casualties.”

Chen Feng acknowledged, “Understood.”

Ding Hu transmitted coordinates to Chen Feng. A red dot lit up in their holographic helmets.

“That school field is clear ground. We’ll land there.”

When they were fifty meters from the ground, powerful particle streams erupted from the backs of their Azure Dragon Armors, rapidly slowing their descent. The fierce gusts instantly dried up and browned the pristine grass on the school field.

After landing, Ding Hu muttered to himself, “A bit strange. That protest group couldn’t have missed us. Normally, seeing Azure Dragon Armors arrive should send them scattering.”

This was Chen Feng’s first mission, and he wasn’t sure about the usual protocol, so he gave a safe reply, “Right, we better be caref… careful!”

Before Chen Feng could finish his sentence, a sharp alarm blared in his ears. The Azure Dragon Armor’s built-in combat assistant swiftly simulated their surroundings in the holographic helmet. Instantly, several glaring red dots flashed into view.

“High-energy attack lock detected! Initiate evasive maneuvers immediately!”

Before the warning ended, Chen Feng had already slammed his Azure Dragon Armor to its full 20G acceleration capability. He threw himself sideways while simultaneously reaching out a hand to yank Ding Hu, who was still adjusting his armor’s power settings and hadn’t managed to dodge, flat onto the ground.

The two Azure Dragon Armors of different sizes tumbled several times across the field before stabilizing.

White smoke curled up where they’d just stood. The grass had vanished. The ground was deeply gouged, revealing bare earth glowing red with residual heat.

It was a Thermal Fusion Cannon blast – a laser weapon hitting with superheated impact.

Ding Hu gasped for air, scanning the surroundings in all directions.

His helmet also displayed twenty red dots marking high-energy signatures, each hidden in different spots around the sports field.

“We’ve been ambushed,” Ding Hu stated. “Daring bastards!”

Chen Feng also looked up towards the sky. “Obviously. But what now? Retreat and wait for backup? Or fight? Our gear is training grade, after all.”

“No problem. They’re only using light infantry weapons. They lack professional military training and serious sharpshooters. They can’t aim manually; they rely on smart-targeting systems. Our combat assistant is superior. We can jam their targeting lock. They won’t hit us if we dodge ahead of time.”

Chen Feng took a deep breath. “Understood. I’ll go first then.”

“Wait! Their laser weapons are outdated models, and our shields can block them… if they work. But if a direct hit slips through? The armor might survive, but we’d get cooked inside.”

Chen Feng instantly grasped the implication. “So their real target is actually the Azure Dragon Armors themselves? They don’t just want the Changhe 711 – they want our suits too?”

“Exactly! This time, these Escape Faction are serious! Some information probably leaked. Truly, as troubled times approach, demons dance wildly.”

Ding Hu kept watch, murmured his thought, and performed a sideways maneuver just as a laser beam flashed past him.

Chen Feng muttered inwardly. Demons dancing wildly didn’t help one bit.

They were all doomed anyway!

But he couldn’t explain that to anyone. He too performed an evasion roll, dodging a beam.

Simultaneously, Chen Feng pressed forward, trying to get closer to the Thermal Fusion Cannon positions firing the lasers.

His training-grade solid-rounds gun was far weaker than a beam rifle. It wouldn’t penetrate the alloy shielding of the Thermal Fusion Cannons. Getting close was the only option.

But just as Chen Feng dashed forward less than ten meters, he slammed to a stop and leapt backward.

From the spot he’d just occupied, an enormous hammer head burst out of the soil, whooshing through the air before crashing down with a thunderous boom.

In the next instant, over a dozen machines, roughly eight to nine meters tall and very familiar to Chen Feng – obsolete Exosuit Armors he had mastered long ago – surged up from beneath the sports field’s soil.

“Brother Hu, this trap is deep. Our gear isn’t right for this. Let’s pull back.”

Chen Feng made the call decisively.

Ding Hu vetoed it immediately.

“No! I just tried sending a distress signal – it’s jammed. If we don’t hold our position until reinforcements arrive, these well-prepared Escape Faction will seize the Changhe 711 right here and now! This is their all-or-nothing gamble!”

Chen Feng shrugged helplessly, pulling his Combat Shield off his back and drawing his Alloy Blade. “So it’s fight, then?”

“Yes. Hold our ground! No retreat!”

Chen Feng coughed lightly. “Is it really that serious?”

“Well, true, armed revolts have been unheard of worldwide for nearly fifty years. Imagine the two of us stumbling straight into one the moment we step out – our luck! But we wear Azure Dragon Armor, and… we have you. They have no clue how truly strong you are, Chen Feng!”

Chen Feng barely suppressed the urge to retort.

So Brother Hu’s tough talk wasn’t just guts—he knew he was standing next to a once-in-a-generation fighting genius!

Ding Hu really knew how to rely on his powerful teammates!