357: Ultimate defensive machinery

When the alloy door rose to 1.5 meters, wind blew out from inside. Chen Wang's hand rested on the ignition key; the engine made a sound, then went quiet again. The headlights turned on, illuminating the front. Behind the door was an open space, the ground paved with metal plates, with some light in the distance. The air smelled of rust and a hint of coolant.

Su Ling stood in front of the vehicle on the left side, her gun slung over her shoulder, her hand on the Composite Crossbow's switch. She didn't speak, her body tense. Lin Wei was outside the passenger door, holding the external terminal of the kindling system, the screen glowing blue. Her fingers slid across the screen, opening the scanning interface.

"Large heat source detected," she said. "In the center, 320 meters away."

Chen Wang didn't speak. He looked into the space through the door gap and slowly pushed the gear into drive. The tracks began to turn, and the vehicle slowly moved forward. The underside of the vehicle was ten centimeters off the ground; he controlled the speed, keeping the vehicle as close to the ground as possible. As the vehicle body passed through the door, it scraped against the edges, making a sound.

After the vehicle fully entered, the door slowly lowered behind it, landing with a heavy "thud." The surroundings suddenly went quiet. Only the vehicle name's engine continued to hum softly, maintaining power.

The open space in front suddenly lit up. A circle of lights rose from the ground, illuminating a large circular arena. It was 400 meters in diameter, surrounded by high metal walls, with the top sealed off. In the center stood a machine, three meters tall, humanoid in shape, with transformable arms, rotating joints on its shoulders, and a cylinder on its back covered in many cooling vents.

"Doomsday Arbiter," Lin Wei whispered. "Just like the description in the Imperial archives."

Chen Wang looked at the kindling system interface. Vehicle status: Energy 41%, Shield uncharged, dash module on standby. He opened the tactical analysis mode with his left hand, and a holographic projection appeared in his right eye. The machine was marked in red, with several areas flashing yellow.

"Weapon switching is 0.3 seconds slow," he said.

Su Ling nodded, took down the Composite Crossbow, and loaded an armor-piercing round. She crouched down, feet pressing against the ground, calculating the distance. Lin Wei walked to the back of the vehicle, opened the engineering box, and took out a palm-sized metal box with an antenna and knobs—it was a frequency jammer.

"I'll lock onto its weapon signal," she said. "Short pulse, it can hold for at most 0.8 seconds."

"That's enough," Chen Wang said.

Su Ling stood up and suddenly dashed out. She ran low to the ground, using the shadows of the lights for cover. She stopped at 100 meters, mounted her gun, and aimed at the machine's head. The machine didn't move. She fired.

The bullet hit the machine's face and ricocheted off. Almost simultaneously, the machine turned, the cannons on its shoulders unfolded, and the lights changed from blue to red. Su Ling rolled to dodge, and the artillery fire landed where she had just been, leaving scorched marks on the ground.

She fired three consecutive shots, hitting the back, the right arm joint, and the waist, respectively. After the third shot hit, a bit of red light flashed from a gap behind the machine. She memorized the location and retreated.

"The charging point is under the third plate on its back," she said, panting as she returned to the vehicle.

Lin Wei had already set up the jammer. "Waiting for your signal."

Chen Wang stepped on the accelerator. The vehicle name glided forward fifty meters and stopped to Su Ling's left. He switched the kindling system to the dash module and input the parameters: target joint, impact angle, power distribution. The system indicated it was ready.

"Do it," he said.

Su Ling fired a marker round. The warhead embedded itself in the machine's right knee, emitting an infrared signal. The machine immediately turned, its arms transformed into chainsaw blades, and it charged over quickly.

Lin Wei pressed the jammer button. With a short beep, the screen displayed "Signal Transmitted." The machine's movements stiffened, the chainsaw's rotation speed dropped, and the weapon jammed.

"Now!" Lin Wei shouted.

Chen Wang pushed the lever to the end. The vehicle name's front ramming horn popped out, the tracks spun rapidly, and the vehicle shot out like an arrow. Two deep grooves were gouged into the metal ground. It covered thirty meters in five seconds and crashed into the machine's right knee joint.

The sound was loud. The machine's right leg deformed, and it couldn't stand steadily. It tried to adjust its center of gravity, but its left-leg balance system reacted slowly. Its entire body tipped to the right.

Chen Wang immediately reversed. The vehicle name retreated ten meters, dodging the counterattack. The machine knelt on one knee, the cannon on its back recharged, and the red light shone again.

Su Ling flipped up, threw off her gloves, and gripped the sniper rifle with both hands. She lay down, shouldered the stock, and aligned the scope with the cooling vent she had seen earlier. Her breathing slowed, her heartbeat stabilized.

"Steady..." she whispered.

The armor gap behind the machine widened, revealing a bit of the core. She pulled the trigger.

The armor-piercing round flew out and hit the target. The warhead passed through the cooling grille and drilled into the power compartment. Internal pressure surged, and energy spiraled out of control. First, the stomach exploded, followed by continuous burning. Flames spewed from its mouth and eyes, the cannon on its back burst, and debris flew everywhere.

The shockwave hit, and the vehicle name was pushed half a meter to the side. Chen Wang gripped the steering wheel tightly, and Lin Wei threw herself against the side of the vehicle, hugging the wheel to stabilize it. Su Ling lay flat, using her gun to Shield her face.

Flames shot into the sky, and smoke filled the air. The machine collapsed to the ground, only its torso twitching, sparks flying from its joints. An alarm sound came from the wreckage, rang a few times, and then cut off.

Chen Wang sat in the driver's seat, his left hand on the steering wheel, his right hand gripping the kindling control lever. The screen displayed "survival points + 57," the map updated, and the destination appeared below. He didn't move, his eyes fixed on the center of the explosion.

Su Ling lay on the ground ten meters away. The clothes on her left shoulder were scorched, and her skin was red, but not broken. She still maintained her post-shot posture, muzzle facing forward, finger resting on the trigger. After three seconds, she slowly let go, sat up sideways, and leaned against a piece of metal wreckage.

Lin Wei stood outside the passenger door, holding the jammer terminal. The screen displayed "Signal Interrupted," and the device was no longer usable. Sweat was on her forehead, and her breathing was a bit rapid, but her mind was clear. She looked down at the terminal, then looked up at the center of the arena.

The smoke hadn't dispersed yet. The fire was still burning, but it had diminished somewhat. The air was very hot, and the metal plates were steaming from the heat. The vehicle name was parked at the edge of the arena, its front facing the center, its ramming horn deformed, and its tracks scratched.

Lin Wei didn't move forward again. She stood in place, holding the terminal, watching the pile of wreckage. Chen Wang didn't order to advance either. He sat in the vehicle, the kindling interface floating before his eyes, all modules normal. The dash system indicated it was cooling down and would take twelve minutes to recover.

Su Ling slowly stood up and brushed the dust off her body. She didn't look at her teammates, only staring at the place where the machine had fallen. There was an unburned nameplate there, engraved with "NDJ-P07," the number clearly visible.

Lin Wei reached out and touched the passenger door, her fingertips getting covered in dust. She didn't wipe them off, just looked down at it. Then she put the jammer into her bag and zipped it up.

Chen Wang shifted the gear into park. The engine sound quieted, maintaining power. He took his right hand off the control lever and placed it on his knee. His left hand was still on the steering wheel, his fingers slightly pale.

The firelight shone on the car window, flickering. Smoke drifted slowly, like a thin mist obscuring the view. There were no other sounds in the arena, only the crackling of the fire and the sound of the vehicle name's fan turning.

Lin Wei stood there without moving. She looked ahead, her breathing slowly steadying. Sweat flowed down her temples, dripping onto her collar.

Su Ling raised her right hand to check the barrel temperature. The reading was normal. She slung the gun back over her shoulder, pressed her left hand against the wound on her left shoulder, frowned, but didn't speak.

Chen Wang didn't turn back. He stared at the new route on the map, the destination flashing. He knew they had to go down next. But he didn't move.

Deep in the smoke, under the wreckage, a metal plate vibrated slightly.