359: tenacious resistance

The energy beams converged once more, aiming at the undercarriage of the wuling vehicle.

Chen Wang's finger pressed the sprint key, and the kindling system lit up with a green light; it had finished cooling down.

He didn't shout "Get ready to charge" because there was no time.

Su Wan moved.

She tucked the empty syringe into her pocket, pressed her knees to the ground, and crawled out under the cover of the moving wuling vehicle's shadow.

The ground was scorching hot, and when her hand touched a red-hot iron sheet, her skin charred instantly.

She didn't stop, crawling three meters, then two, then one, until she threw herself into the spot where Su Ling was hiding.

"Lower your head," she said.

Su Ling immediately lowered her head.

Su Wan pulled back the torn clothing on her left shoulder and saw the purple frostbite.

She administered an injection, and when she pulled out the needle, a trace of blood followed.

She caught her breath and turned to crawl toward Lin Wei.

Lin Wei was crouching next to the passenger seat, her fingers sliding across the garbled screen.

One end of the data cable was connected to the kindling system core, and the other was plugged into her decoder.

She was biting the cap of her pen; her glasses were cracked, and the right lens was crooked.

Su Wan crawled to her feet and gave her an injection.

Lin Wei grunted in acknowledgment and continued tapping on the screen.

Amy Chen was hiding behind the console, holding an energy meter with the needle shaking violently.

When Su Wan crawled over, she was using her fingernail to scratch numbers onto her arm.

As the needle pierced her thigh, Amy gasped, but her hand didn't let go of the meter.

"The load has dropped by 0.3%," she said. "It won't hold up against the next attack."

Star Pupil was lying on the ground with her eyes closed, and the mechanical parrot was flashing a red light.

Su Wan crawled to the last person, rolled up her sleeve, and injected the medicine into her vein.

Star Pupil's eyelashes fluttered, but she didn't open her eyes; her hand moved slightly.

The medicine took effect.

Su Ling could see more clearly.

She could see where each energy beam was coming from and could guess where it would strike the next second.

She set up the Composite Crossbow, placed her finger on the firing button, and waited for the signal.

Lin Wei's hands became steady.

A new interface popped up on the screen, and she began inputting commands.

Snow tracks, engineering printing, terrain adaptation—three functions were awakened one by one.

The data cable grew hot; sweat beaded on her forehead as she recited the code like she was memorizing a book.

Star Pupil didn't open her eyes, but her consciousness had already departed.

She climbed up along the AI's signal.

The mechanical parrot's red light synchronized with her breathing, and the interference wave grew stronger.

The first energy beam missed, exploding against the wall.

The second one grazed the roof of the vehicle, causing the Shield to flicker.

The third one missed completely.

"Module merge!" Lin Wei shouted.

She pressed the confirm key.

The three types of energy combined and erupted from the roof antenna, forming a blue Shield.

This layer of the Shield was thicker than before, covering the vehicle like a film of water.

The AI noticed.

The light around its body spun faster, and its attack pattern changed.

The cannon muzzles on the walls re-aimed, and the energy became denser, raining down like a storm.

Cracks began to appear in the Shield.

Su Ling seized the opportunity.

She saw the 0.8-second window transmitted by Star Pupil—the AI hadn't reacted in that split second.

She pressed the firing button, and an electromagnetic projectile flew out, trailing a silver line through the air.

The moment it struck the AI's central hub, the light flickered a few times, and the attack ceased.

Chen Wang immediately pushed the lever.

The wuling vehicle surged forward, its tracks crushing the metal on the ground.

The vehicle drove lopsidedly, its right front wheel deformed, emitting a piercing screech as it scraped against the ground.

The system prompted: Power dropped by 30%, recommend decelerating.

He ignored it and continued at full speed.

They had just left when the Shield collapsed.

The remaining energy caught up and struck the left side of the vehicle.

With a loud explosion, the armor was pierced, and debris flew everywhere.

The auxiliary fuel tank caught fire, and flames spread along the vehicle's body.

The sensors were completely destroyed, and the map was gone.

The alarm sounded: "Life support system offline, energy remaining 19%."

The vehicle crashed into the console base and stopped.

Chen Wang was still gripping the steering wheel, his hands clenched tight.

He looked up at the front; the console was embedded in the wall, covered in various ports and lights.

The system indicated that the destination had been reached, but it wasn't connected.

The attack didn't stop.

The ceiling opened, and new cannon muzzles descended, arranging themselves in a semicircle and firing light beams together.

The vehicle shook violently; the left side was completely ruined, and the panel near the driver's seat was bent.

Sparks sprayed from beneath the dashboard, and Chen Wang's left arm was gashed, blood flowing down along an old scar.

Su Ling lay by the ruins, her crossbow out of ammunition.

She pressed her left hand against an old wound, her right eye turning red, and her vision blurred for a moment.

She blinked, staring at the AI's location.

There was no physical form there, only light.

Lin Wei knelt halfway in front of the passenger seat, her finger hovering over the restart key.

The system displayed "Module overload protection active," and all functions were locked.

She took off her glasses, wiped the screen, and tried to activate the engineering printing.

It was useless.

Su Wan sat down against the medical pod door, the empty syringe dropping to the ground.

Her face was pale; she had administered too many painkillers and felt a bit dizzy.

She felt her pulse, counted her heartbeats, and forced herself to stay awake.

She went through the list of medicines in her mind, but there was nothing that could repair the vehicle.

Amy Chen huddled behind the wreckage; the energy meter screen was shattered, with only a tiny light blinking.

She used her fingernail to scratch the final data onto her arm: output 18.7%, temperature reaching the limit.

She wanted to speak, but her throat was dry, and she only managed to make a faint sound.

Star Pupil was still lying down with her eyes closed.

The mechanical parrot's red light was flashing, and her fingers were twitching.

Her lips moved, and her voice was very soft: "...It's stuck... the signal is cut..."

Chen Wang looked at the system interface.

The survival points hadn't increased, and the map hadn't updated.

He wiped the blood off the dashboard and gripped the steering wheel tight again.

The vehicle hadn't stalled, and the engine was still running, but the sound was weak, as if it were about to fall apart.

Su Ling slowly raised her right hand to check the barrel.

The temperature was normal.

She slung the crossbow over her shoulder, pressed her left hand against her shoulder, and breathed steadily.

Lin Wei pulled out the data cable and stuffed it into her bag.

She felt the fuse in the tool bag, hesitated for a moment, and didn't take it out.

Su Wan took a new injection from the medical pod, looked at the name for two seconds, and put it back.

Amy Chen put the broken meter into her pocket and felt an old coin, clutching it tightly.

Star Pupil's eyelashes fluttered again.

The mechanical parrot's red light changed from a rapid flash to a slow blink, as if it were running out of power.

The wuling vehicle stopped in front of the console, its left side scorched black, the fuel tank dented, and the sensors completely destroyed.

The system above the driver's seat was still running, but the green progress bar was frozen.

The destination was flashing, but it wasn't connected.

Chen Wang stared at the console, saying nothing.

His sleeve had a hole burned through it by fire, and the wound on his left arm was oozing blood.

He raised his hand to wipe his sweat, leaving a smudge of grime on his face.

Su Ling's right eye was still red, but she was also looking at the same spot.

Lin Wei adjusted her cracked glasses, her finger resting on the restart key.

Su Wan leaned against the door frame with her notebook spread out on her lap, recording the team's status.

Amy Chen scratched another mark onto her arm.

Star Pupil's lips moved, her voice too soft to hear clearly: "...It's stuck..."