18: Chapter 18 The Battle of the Lost Eyes: Lynn Loses His Blindness for the First Time

After the explosion, Porygon-Z misfired for the first time.

The noise outside was overwhelming.

The image fragmented, the sound lagged, and the red dots representing enemies on the terminal screen blurred into a mess, like bloodstains washed away by rain.

Lynn leaned against a tree, his mechanical leg half-kneeling into the mud.

The Shadow Demon blocked the path in front of him, its black mist torn apart piece by piece by the lightning.

Larvitar lay a dozen meters away, its dorsal armor covered in scorch marks, a piece of broken cable still in its mouth.

It was hungry, and it was angry.

But Lynn raised his hand to suppress its impulse.

Lt. Surge was waiting for exactly that impulse.

"Find an alternative perspective."

Lynn said in a low voice.

Porygon-Z's voice sounded as if it were coming from underwater.

"Failure."

"Too many fake shadows."

"Heat sources are disrupted."

"Footsteps are also fake."

A cold glint appeared in Lynn's eyes.

Good.

Lt. Surge certainly knew how to fight.

He burned the forest first, then disrupted their vision, and finally blinded Porygon-Z.

Lynn's strongest card was seeing the enemy's position in advance.

Now, this battlefield map had been torn to shreds.

On an armored vehicle in the distance, Lt. Surge held a tactical tablet.

There were eight Lynns on the screen.

Seven were fake targets.

Heat sources, sounds, footstep vibrations, and shadow outlines were all simulated by equipment.

An ordinary sniper would be fooled.

An ordinary ghost would be misled by the shadows.

Porygon-Z would also be slowed down by the noise.

Lt. Surge's goal was clear.

He wanted Lynn to give the wrong first order amidst the chaos.

Three Raichus broke in from the flank, moving so fast they were nothing but yellow afterimages.

Just as the Shadow Demon was about to submerge into the ground, the electromagnetic stakes buried in the scorched earth lit up, pinning its shadow for a split second.

That split second was enough.

The Raichu slammed into the Shadow Demon with crackling electricity.

The Shadow Demon was knocked flying, its black mist scattering everywhere.

Lynn raised his gun and fired three shots in succession, shattering the goggles of one of the Raichus.

The second Raichu had already reached him, its tail wrapped in electric light, striking straight at his throat.

Larvitar finally moved.

It used its body to knock Lynn aside, taking the hit head-on.

The lightning exploded.

Larvitar rolled a dozen meters away, its dorsal armor scorched black, but it had bitten onto the discharge ring on the Raichu's tail.

Snap.

The discharge ring was crushed by its bite.

The Raichu shrieked and retreated.

Lynn scrambled up from the mud and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Porygon-Z, don't look at the whole field."

Static came from the terminal.

"Look... where?"

"Look at the ground."

Lynn stared at the scorched earth beneath his feet.

"Lt. Surge can create heat sources, sounds, and shadows."

"He cannot create all the weight."

Real armored vehicles would leave tire tracks.

Real Raichus would leave claw prints in the mud.

Real electromagnetic stakes require buried wires, and the wires change the soil layer.

Porygon-Z was silent for half a second.

The next moment, the terminal screen switched from chaotic red dots to ground contours.

Mud tracks, tire ruts, broken grass, and the locations of buried wires were marked out bit by bit.

The image was still shaky, but it was enough.

"Front left... twenty steps."

"Real vehicle."

"Right side... six steps."

"Real Raichu."

Lynn raised his gun and fired into the smoke on the right.

The bullet passed through the thick smoke and hit the discharge ring on the Raichu's leg.

The electric ring exploded, and the Raichu fell to the ground.

The Shadow Demon seized the opportunity, pouncing from the shattered shadow and slashing its throat with one claw.

Lt. Surge's expression shifted slightly.

"He's still looking?"

The adjutant stared at the screen.

"Sir, he switched to ground traces."

Lt. Surge grinned.

"Good kid."

He raised his hand.

"Deploy the lightning storm array."

The third layer of the kill move was activated.

Four electric net vehicles retreated simultaneously, revealing an open space in the middle.

At the edge of the clearing, a circle of metal stakes buried in the soil lit up with blue light.

Just as Lynn was about to retreat, the mud beneath his feet suddenly gripped his mechanical leg.

Electromagnetic force pinned his leg in place.

Larvitar turned back, the blue fire in its eyes flaring up.

"Don't come over!"

Lynn roared.

It was too late.

The first bolt of lightning sprang up between the metal stakes and struck Larvitar's back.

The second, the third, the fourth.

The lightning danced back and forth across its body.

Larvitar knelt into the mud, its teeth chattering.

Lt. Surge's voice over the loudspeaker drowned out the flames.

"That little monster of yours is quite good at eating electricity."

"I'd like to see how much it can eat."

Lynn looked down at his pinned mechanical leg.

His gaze remained steady.

He pulled a short knife from the inside of his trench coat and aimed the tip at a gap in the mechanical leg's casing.

"Porygon-Z, count to three."

"Shadow Demon, get ready to catch me."

A trembling countdown came from the terminal.

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

Lynn sliced through the external locking mechanism of the mechanical leg with one stroke.

Intense pain shot up his spine from the severed limb.

He lost all support and fell forward.

The Shadow Demon caught him from the ground and dragged him out of the lightning circle.

At the same moment, Larvitar bit onto the nearest metal stake and forcibly pulled it out.

The lightning arc broke at one corner.

Lynn lay in the mud, raised his gun, and aimed at the gap.

"Clear the way."

The bullet hit the battery box at the base of the metal stake.

The explosion overturned the mud.

A gap tore open in the lightning storm array.

Larvitar stood up, dragging its scorched body, and let out a low growl from its throat.

It hadn't fallen.

Neither had Lynn.

After Lynn was dragged out of the lightning circle, the casing of his left leg cracked open, exposing the mechanical parts.

Every time he moved, the severed area felt like it was being stabbed with needles.

He gritted his teeth, took out a painkiller, and injected it directly into his thigh.

The medication was injected, suppressing the pain a little.

Porygon-Z was still reporting positions.

"Left side... real vehicle retreating."

"Right side... two Raichus flanking."

"Above... Electrode ready to roll down."

Lynn used his knife to cut the hem of his trench coat and tied up the damaged mechanical leg.

"Shadow Demon, block the right side."

"Larvitar, watch the top of the slope."

Larvitar looked up, its dorsal armor scorched black, the fierce light in its eyes burning brighter.

When the first Electrode rolled down from the top of the slope, it charged forward and used its shoulder to knock the sphere off course.

The Electrode flew past the top of Lynn's head and exploded in the distance.

Mud rained all over him.

Lynn didn't even blink, turning his gun to the right.

The Shadow Demon was already entangled with the two Raichus.

The floodlights swept over again, shredding the shadows.

Lynn fired and shot the light.

The light went out.

The Shadow Demon seized the darkness, its form suddenly elongating as it swept past the back of the Raichu.

One Raichu fell to the ground.

Just as the other tried to escape, a broken cable thrown by Larvitar hit its leg.

Porygon-Z let out an excited, strange laugh.

"Path cleared... for a short time."

Lynn stood up, leaning against a tree trunk.

"Then let's go."

He avoided the gap in the line of fire and turned to walk towards the destroyed sonic tower.

The tower body was tilted, exposing a section of the main power supply box underneath.

Lt. Surge saw his direction, his expression darkening slightly.

"Stop him!"

The soldiers opened fire.

Larvitar pushed to the front, shielding Lynn from the hail of bullets.

Lynn limped to the power supply box and stuffed the last high-explosive grenade inside.

"Three seconds."

The Shadow Demon wrapped around his waist and dragged him backward.

The explosion blew the sonic tower into two pieces.

The piercing noise dropped abruptly.

Porygon-Z's image finally cleared up a bit.

"I see Lt. Surge."

On the screen, the silhouette on top of the armored vehicle in the distance was circled.

Lynn looked up, gazing through the smoke and fire at that tall shadow.

Lt. Surge was also looking at him.

Their gazes met across the scorched earth.

Next round, it was Lynn's turn to counterattack.

Lt. Surge watched the screen, slowly putting his cigar back into his mouth.

"Now this is interesting."

After the sonic tower fell, a corner of the battlefield finally revealed its true appearance.

Porygon-Z projected the image before Lynn's eyes.

Lt. Surge's convoy was divided into three sections.

The front section was responsible for firepower suppression, the middle section for floodlights and electric nets, and the rear section hid supply vehicles and backup Raichus.

The real command vehicle was on a high slope in the distance, its body covered with thick explosion-proof plates.

To charge straight over, one would have to cross at least two fire trenches and a minefield.

After Lynn finished looking, he turned off the display.

"A frontal assault is a loss."

He looked at the wreckage of the sonic tower on the ground.

There were still many copper wires and battery packs inside the tower body.

Larvitar had already set its sights on those things, its breathing becoming heavy.

Lynn threw a piece of copper wire to it.

"Just one bite is enough."

Larvitar bit the copper wire, electricity surged through its teeth, and its whole body shuddered, but the blue fire in its eyes burned even brighter.

This was the reaction Lynn wanted.

Lt. Surge used lightning to torture it, but also gave it a chance to adapt.

As long as it endured, the next time the lightning fell, it would be able to stand for one more split second.

And a split second was enough to kill on the battlefield.

The Shadow Demon dragged its damaged black mist back to Lynn's feet.

Porygon-Z also stopped its strange laughter and stared intently at the vehicles in the distance.

This squad had been beaten into a sorry state by Lt. Surge.

But their eyes were all bright.

Pain made them remember the enemy's tactics.

Injuries made them find their own gaps.

Lynn wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and reloaded.

"Next step, take out his lights first."

"Then cut off his vehicles."

"Finally, drag that old soldier down from the roof of the vehicle."

Lt. Surge was adjusting his deployment at the same moment.

He pushed the front-line firepower to the sides, leaving a gap in the middle, putting on a show to lure Lynn into a frontal assault.

Lynn saw through it, but still walked forward.

Because the retreat route had been blocked by fire.

Because Larvitar needed the metal stakes in that minefield.

And even more because Lt. Surge himself was right in front.

No matter how beautifully one escapes, it only means living a little longer.

Only by tearing through the opponent's formation could this chase be turned around.

In the distance, the wall of fire continued to close in.

The real fierce battle had just begun.