246: Orbital strike in place

"Boom!!!"

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—"

The popping sound of gunfire was incessant. A piercing shriek rang out from the sky every so often, followed by a deafening explosion.

Qi Ruofeng and the thirty men he brought were assigned to the defensive positions of the East District No. 3 Distribution Zone—

As the front of the entire distribution center, the impact received here was also the most intense.

The recoilless rifle crews had swapped personnel several times due to the gunners' dislocated shoulders, and most people's Electromagnetic Rifles were starting to malfunction frequently because of overheated barrels.

At this moment, the defenders here had just repelled an assault and were cautiously scavenging equipment from the dead on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, the Industrial Zone defenders outside began their trash-talking phase:

"Listen, those inside! You have violated multiple corporate laws, including the Saint Blade Group Labor Regulations!"

"You have committed illegal assembly, illegal strikes, illegal destruction of production equipment, and illegal attacks on supervisors..."

"Those who lay down their weapons and surrender now will be treated with leniency!"

"Those who continue to resist will be punished without mercy!"

Qi Ruofeng snatched two magazines from an enemy corpse, pulled out a rifle and two grenades, and quickly jumped back behind the cover.

Then, listening to the sound of the broadcast outside, he sneered and looked at a teammate beside him, saying:

"Look at these guys. They can't defeat us, so they've brought out the laws they made up—"

"Think back to when we were working on those production lines. Did they ever mention any laws then?"

"What a joke."

The teammate beside him nodded, but he didn't speak. He just silently poked his head out, raised his gun, and blew up the high-hanging loudspeaker with a single shot.

The Industrial Zone defenders outside only heard a "bang," and the noise overhead instantly fell silent.

Their commander-in-chief, Bannerman, watched this scene, feeling his anger boil over—

These damn slaves! To actually rebel during his tenure!

When he first set out from the barracks, he thought it was just a local riot and had even signed a guarantee to his superiors to resolve it within an hour.

Who would have thought that upon arrival, he would find the entire Industrial Zone in revolt!

There were over a hundred thousand workers here. Although he didn't know exactly how many were participating in the riot,

facing an enemy ten times their number, the Industrial Zone garrison of fewer than a thousand men, even equipped with powered armor, infantry fighting vehicles, and other heavy equipment, could only barely maintain a stalemate.

As soon as they pushed deep, a massive crowd of people who didn't care for their lives would rush forward like madmen, pushing them back out in an almost primitive fashion—

And yet, they had no way around it.

The reason was simple: the support units they had deployed in low Earth orbit had all lost contact just now, leaving them with no effective anti-fortification measures.

"Report! The garrison from the East District has also joined up with us!"

The voice of the sentry at the gate came through the headset. Hearing this, Bannerman asked:

"How many of them are left?"

"Report! Their remaining strength is 329 men. Of the five infantry fighting vehicles, one was destroyed and one was damaged!"

"But they brought several prisoners!"

Prisoners? Prisoners!

Hearing there were prisoners, Bannerman immediately slammed the table.

An idea flashed through his mind, making him slam the table again—

"Quick! Let them in! And bring those prisoners along!"

"Hang them in front of the lines! Find a way to provoke the people inside and make them charge out to fight us!"

"Yes, sir!"

...Ten minutes later, in the defensive positions of the East District No. 3 Distribution Zone, a group of people lay behind cover, their nerves taut, waiting for the Industrial Zone garrison outside to launch their next assault.

Of the over one hundred thousand people in the Industrial Zone, although nearly a hundred thousand had joined the uprising, after the recent battle, those who actually still possessed combat capability numbered less than forty thousand.

"Movement outside!"

Suddenly, the person responsible for scouting the outside shouted, causing everyone to tense up—

Was it starting again?

But after waiting for a long time, what came was not the sound of garrison tracks and shells, but a raspy, duck-like voice—

"Listen, those inside! If you surrender now, we can guarantee that you will only be sent away as outsourced labor for the supporting Military Alliance!"

"But—if you continue to resist until the Galaxy Defense Force's Marine Corps descends upon you,"

"you will all receive the same treatment as them!"

At that moment, a sharp-eyed worker looked closely; something seemed to be being raised outside—

"Five people are being hung up outside!"

People?

Why would there be people?

"Old Tang!"

Then, one of the people who came with Qi Ruofeng saw a familiar figure—wasn't that his comrade who had stayed behind to cover the retreat?

Hearing this, Qi Ruofeng immediately found a window and looked out. A surge of rage instantly rushed to his brain—

This... aren't these the damn wounded who volunteered to stay behind and cover the retreat!

"Look closely, traitors! This is the price of rebellion!"

The broadcast outside rang out again, accompanied by the sound of gunshots.

Blood blossoms bloomed on the bodies of those hung up—the bullets hit their limbs, seemingly intentionally avoiding vital spots.

One of them couldn't hold it in and let out a blood-curdling scream on the spot.

The other four also cried out—but not in pain. Instead, they shouted insults and provocations.

Qi Ruofeng raised a pair of binoculars and aimed them over. He saw it—surely enough, the one screaming was one of those who had been unwilling to join the uprising and had stayed in the factory.

They had chosen cowardly retreat over war, but in the end, war hadn't spared them either?

"Let's... charge them!!!"

At that moment, a man stood up and shouted to the people behind him.

Qi Ruofeng immediately barked a halt:

"No! They have powered armor and armored vehicles outside. What do we have to fight them with if we charge out?"

"They're trying to provoke us into coming out!"

"But are we just going to keep defending here forever?" the worker countered. "Shouldn't we fight our way out?"

"I don't understand the point of holding out here—this is enemy territory. To survive, we must move! We must get out!"

Qi Ruofeng looked at him.

"If it were just us, you'd be right."

"But we will have reinforcements—our comrades are seizing the Orbital Strike Platforms. We are waiting for them to succeed."

"But if they don't succeed, won't we face total destruction!"

"We still have..."

Suddenly, his earpiece crackled—

"Our comrades have successfully taken control of the Orbital Defense Facilities!"

"The strike will arrive within 60 seconds!"

"Everyone! Prepare for the general offensive!"

...