Chapter 735: Bread Crab and Peregrine Falcon
West of Dragon City, in the depths of the wilderness.
Half a year ago, this place was still a paradise for monsters.
However, with the continuous victories of mankind, after half a year of great construction, it had become a military base where silver, glittering metal fortresses overlapped and densely packed firepower points and land mines intersected each other.
From time to time, armored airships would take off and land above the base. The crystal engines would drive the propellers and emit a tremendous roar that tore through the air. There were even a few visible cyclones trailing behind the armored airships.
The roar was soon drowned out by the deafening explosions when the new railway guns were being tested.
When Meng Chao rushed to the military base, Long Feijun, Ye Xiaoxing, and most of the members of the ten exploration teams that had partic.i.p.ated in the reconnaissance mission had already arrived.
The military reconnaissance team led by Long Feijun, the special investigation team led by Ye Xiaoxing, the senior hunter, Man-Eating Shark Zhou Chong, and the hunter team led by Snake Eye Mo Lan… They were all old acquaintances. Needless to say, they worked well together.
And after half a year of tempering, especially with sufficient resources, a Mesozoic expert like Snake Eye Mo Lan welcomed a “second spring” in which his strength surged. When he saw Meng Chao at the battle of the Lair… he had undergone a complete transformation. He was like a completely different person.
Of course, compared with Meng Chao seeing the changes in everyone, in everyone’s eyes, Meng Chao was the one who had changed the most.
After the battle of the Lair, Meng Chao had been cultivating in seclusion in the Supernatural Tower. His performance was very low-key.
It was to the point that many people in the circle were worried that he had overexerted himself during the battle of the Lair and exhausted his cultivation potential. His strength might even plummet, and he would become a n.o.body.
Although people who were well-informed knew that he was receiving special training from the Battle G.o.d, Lei Zongchao…
Lei Zongchao was a man of his word. He had taught many young people with potential, but not all of them were able to soar into the sky and become the new martial G.o.d.
Therefore, when they heard that Meng Chao had volunteered to take part in such a dangerous mission, many of their friends were secretly worried for him.
That was especially true for senior hunters like Man-Eating Shark Zhou Chong and Snake Eye Mo Lan who had fought side by side in the nest city.
At that time, they had fallen into the trap of the Vortex and misunderstood Meng Chao’s betrayal of Dragon City. They had almost made a big mistake.
Now that they knew the truth, they naturally regretted it and felt a little guilty toward Meng Chao.
They had even obtained a lot of secret medicines and heavenly materials and earthly treasures through the channels of the Hunter a.s.sociation and the major insurance companies to help Meng Chao “recover.”
In addition to Superstar Resource that belonged to Meng Chao’s family, the second shareholder, Qin Hu, was also a veteran hunter. He had a lot of room for cooperation with the Hunter a.s.sociation.
After a while, the two parties were very close and had a heated relationship.
Seeing Meng Chao from afar, Zhou Chong, Mo Lan, and the others were about to go up and greet him.
When they approached and took a closer look, they saw that he was full of vigor. He was in high spirits, and spirit essence was practically spewing out of his seven orifices like an old-fashioned steam locomotive.
Zhou Chong and Mo Lan were both stunned.
The young military officers and ace investigators who had just parted ways with him six hours ago looked at each other, feeling incredulous. Why did Meng Chao seem like a different person in just half a day?
Of course, they would never have dreamed that Meng Chao had broken through the four-star Spirit Awakener Realm and the five-star Spirit Gaze Realm in less than a year. These were two obstacles that ordinary extraordinary individuals might not be able to break through even after decades, his combat strength was close to the peak of the Heaven Realm!
Meng Chao, Man-Eating Shark Zhou Chong, and the other senior hunters had not seen each other for a long time.
He hurried forward to greet them.
Looking at Zhou Chong, his eyes were full of confusion and admiration.
During the battle of the Lair, Zhou Chong had been trapped by the Vortex. In the explosion of the G.o.d transformation capsule factory, his left arm and leg had been blown off.
Although the mechanical prosthesis that was driven by crystals, engraved with runes, and equipped with microchips and artificial neural connections, could simulate more than nine to five percent of the functions of the original limb, the mechanical prosthesis was still more powerful than the mechanical prosthesis.
Some of the additional functions were even better than human limbs.
However, because the frequency of the spiritual magnetic fluctuations was different, the machinery and flesh could not be perfectly fused together.
It was destined to have a great impact on the combat strength of extraordinary humans.
In addition, Zhou Chong was already very old and had received medals and special allowances through the Battle of the nest city. It was time for him to retire.
Was there a need for him to go on an adventure in the mysterious foggy extinction domain?
Sensing Meng Chao’s doubt and concern, Man-Eating Shark Zhou Chong laughed and waved his mechanical prosthesis. “It’s true that I can’t recover to my peak state,” he said. “But it seems that solving the mystery of the Hidden Mist Domain doesn’t depend solely on one’s combat ability. Lu Siya and the other exploration teams were all quite powerful, but they didn’t have the ability to fight back against the mysterious enemy at all.
“The experience of exploring in the wilderness, the intuition of facing danger, and a little bit of luck. Perhaps, these are the more important things.
“I’ve been a hunter for thirty years. I’ve fought against all kinds of weird animals in the depths of the jungle. I’ve enjoyed the thrill of having a razor pa.s.s my throat every second. When I was old, I only had a few peaceful years in the insurance company, but I was so bored that my bones were almost rusting.
“In the battle of the Lair, although I lost a hand and a leg, it awakened something in my bones. It made me feel that I was still alive.
“I think that even if I die, I should die in the depths of the forest. After killing thirty to fifty monsters, I should be devoured by the other monsters or swamps. I shouldn’t die on a hospital bed with tubes stuck all over my body. I should die like an outdated, tattered, and worthless toy.”
Meng Chao was touched by his words.
“Don’t worry, Senior Zhou. We will definitely be able to crack the secret of the Hidden Mist Domain.”
Meng Chao held Zhou Chong’s cold mechanical hand tightly and said, “Senior Lei and I are developing a brand-new martial arts that is specially suitable for extraordinary humans who are equipped with various mechanical devices. Perhaps, we will even invite you to come and study it together!”
“A brand-new martial arts of the Battle G.o.d that is suitable for extraordinary individuals who are equipped with mechanical devices?”
Zhou Chong’s eyes lit up and he nodded repeatedly. “Alright. Of course, I would like to visit the Battle G.o.d in person if I have the chance. After I installed two mechanical prosthetic limbs, I have encountered many new problems in the cultivation of spirit energy and martial arts. I can be your ‘experimental subject’. Hahahaha!”
After surviving the battle of the Lair, Man-Eating Shark Zhou Chong had become more carefree and indifferent to life and death than before.
He took the initiative to joke about his broken limbs and burst into laughter. Then, he suddenly looked at his mechanical palm that was gradually emitting a dangerous red glow with astonishment. “Meng Chao, your hand is so strong!” he exclaimed. “My mechanical artificial limb is made of tungsten mixed with the bone powder of the ferocious h.e.l.l Beasts. It can even crush a rocket that is flying at high speed in the air, but it is still cracking under your hand.
“According to my data, your casual grip actually weighs more than half a ton. Is it that exaggerated?”
Everyone looked at him.
If it was the Ultimate Fist strength of more than half a ton, every member of the exploration team there could easily throw it out.
If they could not do this, they were not qualified to send themselves to death in the Hidden Mist Domain.
Gritting their teeth, blowing their beards and glaring at each other, squeezing out half a ton of grip strength, there were definitely many people who could do it.
However, not to mention gnashing his teeth, even the muscles on Meng Chao’s arm did not bulge at all.
He could crush a mechanical palm made of tungsten with such ease. Just how terrifying was his strength?
Many insiders who had not heard of Meng Chao for half a year hurriedly refreshed their understanding of Dragon City’s youngest blood medal winner.
Meng Chao, on the other hand, blushed slightly.
He knew that it was caused by the overflow of spiritual energy after he had just broken through to the five-star Spirit Gaze Realm.
He quickly let go of his hand and apologized.
“It seems that you have gained a lot in the past half a year.”
Zhou Chong moved his mechanical fingers, which were rattling. He stared at Meng Chao deeply and then burst into laughter. “It seems that we can look forward to your wonderful performance like the battle of the Lair again!
“Come, I see that you’ve brought a lot of things. I’ll take you to get the vehicles. For the last battle, the major forces of Dragon City have even brought out their trump cards. Don’t be so picky!”
The personal equipment that the members of the exploration team carried with them were prepared according to their personal habits and preferences. The authorities paid for them.
The vehicles, communication equipment, drones, and other reconnaissance equipment were all standard equipment.
Among them, the vehicles were the new-generation all-terrain runic mechanical war vehicle jointly developed by the Red Dragon Army and the alliance of five universities.
Its biggest feature was the use of bionics technology, and it was equipped with a biochemical brain self-learning system that simulated the brain of a monster. This greatly enriched the tactical choices of the runic war vehicle and its autonomous combat ability in an unmanned situation.
Moreover, this runic war vehicle had an arc-shaped metal sh.e.l.l that was embedded with a buffer material attached to the outside of the mountain-specific bionic mechanical feet.
When the sh.e.l.l was fully closed, it was like a metal egg. It could be dropped from an armored airship at an alt.i.tude of 200 to 300 meters without a parachute.
It could also protect a human inside and quickly pa.s.s through rugged and dangerous areas.
When the sh.e.l.l was opened and entered load-bearing mode, it could carry nearly a ton of goods. It could travel between the forest and the swamp as if it was flat ground.
Such a design allowed it to act as the most reliable carrier, carrying all the ammunition and resources needed for a superhuman to continue fighting.
It could also be slightly modified to carry a large number of heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, and mine emitters, becoming a moving point of fire and an a.r.s.enal.
The exploration team members fell in love with this clever, multifunctional, all-terrain runic machinery the moment they came into contact with it.
According to the round shape of the outer sh.e.l.l when it was closed, they gave it the nickname of “Bread Crab.”
Dragon City had spent a lot of money for the last battle.
Even the latest model of rune machine, Bread Crab, which was still being tested, was a.s.signed to five units for each member of the exploration team.
Meng Chao had recorded the appearance, voice print, and gesture information in his five Bread Crabs.
In this way, he could control the five Bread Crabs through voice, hand gestures, and eye movements.
Even if he was seriously injured and could not move or speak, the five Bread Crabs could still charge forward fearlessly according to a pre-set program and automatically rescue him from the battlefield.
The same autonomous learning system was also installed on the Peregrine Falcon, the latest reconnaissance and attack drone.
From the name Peregrine Falcon, one could tell that the unmanned aerial vehicle possessed excellent aerial combat and survivability.
The special sh.e.l.l made of monster bone powder was extremely adaptable to the chaos of the spirit magnetic environment.
Even in the extreme weather, when it lost its data connection with the rear, there was a high chance that it could automatically return to the base with all the data recorded along the way.
In the most extreme cases, when it was disturbed, lost, and unable to return to the base, the Peregrine Falcon would automatically activate its attack mode, a.n.a.lyze, and lock onto the nearest enemy target, and dive into the enemy head-on.
On the other hand, the Peregrine Falcon would send out special ripples of spirit energy after it exploded, which could be observed from dozens of kilometers away and provide the most direct guidance for the heavy cannons at the rear.
Therefore, the mission of Meng Chao and the other explorers was to find the sinkhole deep inside the Hidden Mist Doman by carrying a large number of Peregrine Falcons on Bread Crabs.
They would send the Peregrine Falcons to the depths of the sinkhole and find the monsters’ lair. Then, the Peregrine Falcons would dive into the sinkhole and provide the bombardment guidance for the railway guns, including the Huge Dragon’s Might Cannon, at the rear.
That’s it.