295: Ice Sky Battlefield

The mechanical parrot issued one final warning, its voice echoing through the cabin.

Chen Wang's hand was already on the throttle, and upon hearing those words, he immediately pulled the control stick.

The plasma engine began to roar, and blue-white flames erupted from the bottom of the wuling vehicle, causing it to rise vertically and depart from the floating ice area.

Six tentacles chased after them. One in the air swept horizontally toward the chassis.

Chen Wang immediately turned the rudder, tilting the vehicle thirty degrees to the side; the tentacle grazed the armor, scraping out a shower of sparks.

Two underwater tentacles surfaced rapidly, attempting to clamp onto the vehicle. He pressed the full-power button, and the thrusters erupted again, lifting the vehicle another five meters.

Lin Wei leaned over the console, her fingers sliding rapidly across the screen. The holographic projection showed that three vents on the Giant Demon's back were spewing gray-white mist.

She said, "The ice mist is sprayed intermittently, once every seven seconds. It mainly comes out from between the second and third vents."

Amy looked at the survival points panel, the value steadily decreasing. "SP is being deducted at 1.3% per second, which is 0.1% more than before," she said, looking up. "We won't last another twelve minutes."

"We can cut it off as long as we find the output node." Amy picked up a copper wire, bent it into a U-shape, and threw it into the tool slot. "I still have two heating filaments; I can make a chain detonation device to pierce its conduit."

Lin Wei pulled up the structural model and input parameters to calculate a route. "If we cut in from a forty-five-degree angle and avoid the main neural bundle, the hit rate is 78%." She finished and looked at Chen Wang.

Chen Wang nodded. "Prepare to fire."

Su Ling stood up from the sniper position and checked the safety harness on her shoulder. Her old wound had reopened, and blood seeped out, soaking her clothes, but she didn't stop. She opened the weapon bay, took out a high-explosive shell, and loaded it into the mechanical arm's magazine.

"Can the drone still fly?" Chen Wang asked.

Su Wan stood at the door of the medical pod, holding a remote control in her hand. She pressed a button, and a small aircraft slid out from the bottom of the pod, its wings wobbling slightly. "There is only 30% backup energy left; it can only fly for four minutes," she said, "but I can set an irregular flight path."

"That's enough," Chen Wang said. "Release it and lure away the two tentacles on the left."

Su Wan nodded and started the program. The drone took off, carving an arc as it flew toward the left side of the Giant Demon. The two tentacles immediately turned to pursue it. The one in the air also shifted its position, creating a gap in the encirclement.

"Now!" Chen Wang shouted.

Lin Wei pressed the launch button. A graphene net popped out from the roof of the vehicle, expanding into a large black net in the air as it lunged toward the Giant Demon's head. When the net touched the skin, it sizzled and began to spread outwards.

"The Shield frequency is starting to scramble," Lin Wei said, staring at the data. "It will be completely covered within three seconds."

Chen Wang ordered the living quarters, lighting system, and other unnecessary modules to be shut down, diverting all remaining SP to the Shield. The vehicle shook violently, a partition cracked, and a metal rod fell down. The seatbelt dug into his shoulder, but he didn't let go.

The graphene net completely enveloped the Giant Demon's head. Its Shield halo extinguished instantly, and the six tentacles slowed down. The one in the air froze in mid-air, while the two underwater twitched and then sank.

Su Ling seized the opportunity, unbuckled her seatbelt, and stood up. She held the high-explosive shell with one hand and grabbed a handrail with the other to steady her body. The thrusters were still running, and the vehicle swayed slightly, but her gaze remained steady.

She threw the high-explosive shell with force. The warhead carved an arc, passed through a gap in the graphene net, and embedded itself accurately into the depression on top of the Giant Demon's head.

An explosion rang out. Fire broke through the ice mist, and the shockwave caused the wuling vehicle to tilt. One tentacle broke off, spraying dark purple liquid from the severed end. The other five thrashed wildly, slapping the sea surface and kicking up huge waves.

Chen Wang steadied the steering wheel and readjusted the vehicle's attitude. The flames slowly died out, the Giant Demon's head turned charred black, and the graphene net hung on the wreckage, smoking. However, the ice mist was still spraying, and the temperature continued to drop.

"The ice on the armor surface is already 4.2 centimeters thick," Lin Wei reported. "The wing joints are frozen and cannot be deployed."

Amy crouched beside the chassis exhaust vent and dismantled the casing. She took out the last two heating filaments, wrapped them around a piece of scrap metal, and connected the power. The device hummed, emitting hot air.

"Hand Warmer II is online," she said as she stuffed the device into the exhaust duct. "Let's clear a path first."

The hot air melted some of the ice, revealing the metal surface. Chen Wang tried to activate the folding wings; the hydraulic system clicked, and the wings slowly unfolded halfway.

"We can only fly at low altitude," Lin Wei said. "There isn't enough power."

"That's enough," Chen Wang said, gripping the control stick. "As long as we can leave this sea area, it'll be fine."

Su Ling returned to the sniper position and put down the remains of the high-explosive shell. She tied a cloth strip tightly around the wound on her left shoulder and set up the laser cutter again. She aimed through the scope at the sea surface, observing the movements of the remaining tentacles.

Lin Wei leaned against the console, her fingers still sliding across the screen. The interference after the explosion had weakened, and the system had recovered some functions. She saw the energy core's fluctuations stabilize and whispered, "We can still hold on."

Su Wan crouched in the corner, checking the drone wreckage. The fuselage was severely burned, and the propellers were deformed. She removed a battery and placed it into a small device nearby. That was the heater Amy had just assembled, its casing taped up with wires exposed.

She didn't speak, just connected the power. The device's temperature rose, and the heat flow from the exhaust vent intensified.

Amy sat in front of the survival points panel, pinching a copper wire in her hand. She reorganized the data she had recorded earlier and wrote down the new energy consumption ratio. The chips were set aside and replaced with half a solder bar.

"So it turns out SP can also be traded like futures," she said softly.

Star Pupil lay on the medical bed with her eyes closed. The mechanical parrot huddled on her shoulder, its feathers having lost their luster. Her forehead was sweating, and her breathing was rapid, but her brainwaves were stable. The resonance signal was still transmitting; although weak, it had not been broken.

Chen Wang looked at the sea ahead. The Giant Demon's remains were slowly sinking, and the tentacles were no longer moving. The red dots on the radar had disappeared, leaving only a few slowly moving debris signals.

He eased off the throttle slightly and switched to cruise mode. The thruster power decreased, and the vehicle's vibration lessened. The dashboard showed that 28% of survival points remained, and the life support system was normal.

Suddenly, a strange sound came from the chassis. Amy looked up. "The exhaust vent is blocked."

Chen Wang switched the camera view. The melted ice water had frozen again, blocking the exit of the heating device. The temperature could not rise, and frost was forming on the edges of the wings again.

Lin Wei pulled up the maintenance interface. "It needs to be cleaned manually."

"I'll go," Su Ling said, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"Don't," Chen Wang stopped her. "It's too cold outside; exposure for more than twenty seconds will cause frostbite."

Amy stood up. "I have a better way." She picked up the welding torch, removed the nozzle, and connected it to the heating device's circuit. After the modification was complete, she pressed the switch.

A stronger blast of hot air blew out, and the ice melted rapidly. She adjusted the angle to let the hot air sweep across the wing joints.

"It's working," Lin Wei said, looking at the sensor data. "The icing rate has slowed down."

Chen Wang tried to pull up gently. The vehicle rose slightly, maintaining a height of ten meters above the sea surface. The wind grew stronger, making the damaged armor plates clang.

A dark red light appeared on the distant sea surface. It wasn't firelight, nor was it a reflection. It was as if something was approaching from the bottom of the sea.

Su Wan installed the last battery into the heating device. The sound of the device became unstable.

Lin Wei suddenly looked up. "There is vibration underground."

Amy looked at the survival points panel, and the values began to jump. It wasn't a continuous deduction, but rather fluctuating up and down, as if being interfered with by something.

"It's not SP consumption," she said. "It's an external read."

Chen Wang stared ahead. The red light grew brighter and brighter, spreading from the bottom of the sea.