557: Chapter 557 The Battle Between Flesh and Killing Machines

Chapter 557: Duel Between Flesh and Killing Machine

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—

The massive rotor blades churned the airflow, instantly turning the rooftop into a miniature storm eye.

Shrapnel, glass shards, and a large amount of residual blood foam were whipped up by the violent airwaves, smashing head-on into the surroundings.

That armed helicopter did not land directly on the helipad.

The pilot was clearly an experienced veteran.

As the white beam of the searchlight swept across the littered debris and corpses, the fuselage abruptly pulled back into a tactical elevation angle.

Just like that, the helicopter hovered fifty meters away from the top of the Silver Wing Building in mid-air, maintaining a sufficient safe distance.

The turboshaft engine emitted an eardripping screech, completely drowning out all the clamor coming from below the city.

Two high-power xenon searchlights, like desk lamps in an interrogation room, locked onto several figures in the center of the rooftop.

The blinding glare made it almost impossible to keep one's eyes open.

One could only see the massive steel silhouette behind the light curtain and the honeycomb rocket launchers mounted on the belly pylons.

At this moment, the side cabin door slid open with a "clatter".

Two soldiers wearing full-coverage exoskeleton armor poked out half their bodies.

They were not in a hurry to rappel down, instead skillfully setting up that six-barreled Gatling machine gun.

The barrels rapidly preheated and spun, emitting a heart-palpitating mechanical friction sound.

And in the shadows behind them, there seemed to be a few pairs of red-glowing eyes coldly gazing downward through the rifle scopes.

This was an absolute firepower suppression tactic.

As long as a finger gently twitched, the entire rooftop would be shaved down by three inches within seconds by a metal storm.

Bzz-bzz-bzz—

Right at this moment, a harsh microphone current noise suddenly sounded, breaking the deadlock of the confrontation.

The sound came from Black Mamba's headless corpse; the individual communicator hanging on his collar was flashing its indicator light incessantly.

Following that, a cold and rigid male voice, mixed with background noise, clearly rang in everyone's ears:

"Calling Blood Thorn, the landing zone environment is abnormal, combat signs and a large number of corpses have been detected. What happened at the scene, please report the situation immediately."

"Repeat, report the situation immediately, otherwise we will execute the purge procedure."

Hearing this familiar voice, Dragon, cowering in the corner, looked as if having been given a shot of adrenaline.

Disregarding the sharp pain from the thigh, Dragon immediately waved arms frantically toward the direction of the helicopter.

"Here! We're here! Everything is safe at the scene."

Dragon shouted at the top of the lungs, using a voice as loud as possible:

"There was just some misunderstanding earlier, the problem has been basically resolved, hurry down and sa—"

Swallowing hard in secret, Dragon forcibly swallowed back the "help" that had reached the lips.

Even though the saviors had arrived, Dragon still fearfully glanced at the monster-like man not far away.

The terrifying scene of killing a companion just now like swatting a fly was branded into Dragon's brain like a hot iron.

Even with military reinforcements arriving, Dragon did not dare to act presumptuously at this critical juncture or say a single reckless word.

Fearing to provoke this baneful star and having the head twisted off to play ball before a rocket shell flew over.

Now, Dragon only hoped that the Illuminati folks could be wary of the military background and not truly tear their faces apart.

The Masked Man lying on the ground had much more subtle changes in expression.

He lowered his head, using the shadows to conceal the flash of joy deep within his eyes.

He even deliberately made his body tremble more violently, like a frightened quail, minimizing his sense of threat.

Only his rolling eyeballs rapidly scanned back and forth between Fang Cheng and the surrounding bunkers.

Wondering which dead corner would be most suitable to roll into once a conflict broke out.

In contrast, the Illuminati side appeared much more tense.

"President, what should we do? They're military personnel."

Gazing at the oppressive armed helicopter, Lao Chen's face turned pale, subconsciously hiding behind Fang Cheng in an attempt to find a bit of a sense of security.

"It seems to be some elite special forces unit, a bit tricky..."

Feiying, meanwhile, tightly gripped the butterfly knife in hand, glancing at the rooftop entrance thirty meters away.

Although this cold weapon was like a joke in front of aviation autocannons, Feiying had confidence in running speed, only worrying about how companions could evade the enemy's firepower coverage.

Pang Hu didn't speak, fiercely wiping the blood on his face with his remaining hand.

Blue veins bulged on the thick neck, feet slightly apart, striking a posture ready for battle at any time.

The unruly fierce light deep in the eyes burned even brighter under the deterrence of the autocannon firepower.

Hawkeye at the furthest end quietly turned the sniper rifle in hand, the muzzle lifting slightly to lock onto the helicopter's cockpit.

Through the high-power scope, Hawkeye could clearly see the pores on the pilot's face.

Almost instantly, all data on wind speed, distance, and ballistic drop were calculated in the mind.

Ultimately forming an optimal shooting route capable of penetrating the bulletproof glass and hitting the bullseye of the pilot's forehead.

Hawkeye held the breath, finger resting on the trigger.

Waiting only for an order to fire that fatal bullet.

Everyone's nerves were stretched to the extreme.

Only Fang Cheng, located at the center of the storm, still stood quietly in place.

The violent wind blew his hem fluttering loudly, and his hair flew backward messily.

He squinted slightly, looking towards the blinding searchlight beam.

There was not a trace of fear on his face, and not even the rhythm of his breathing was disrupted by the slightest bit.

Gazing calmly at that armed helicopter just like that, as if looking at a slightly larger fly, or perhaps evaluating.

Could this pile of scrap metal withstand a full-strength punch from him?

While pondering, a voice suddenly rang out in the earpiece worn behind Fang Cheng's ear:

"President, downstairs I saw a helicopter flying towards the Silver Wing Building rooftop, it seems to be the military's Dark Blade Special Forces..."

The voice appeared exceptionally mature and steady, and it was Professor keeping watch downstairs, reminding him at a rapid pace:

"Those with this black paint job are all special ops for the military who do dirty work. They kill without blinking, and they might be equipped with nerve suppression bullets targeting extraordinary beings, you must be careful."

Although Professor was only standing at the bottom of the building, looking up at the scene in high altitude.

But as an S-rank psychic ability user, Professor's facial sense perceptions were similarly astonishing.

Even across hundreds of meters, details of that killing weapon could be clearly captured.

"Received, we are preparing to evacuate."

Fang Cheng replied in a calm tone.

After speaking, he cut off the communication, turned to look at the Masked Man lying on the ground, and slightly frowned.

Seeming to consider whether to pack and take him away or directly let him take the blame in front.

Bzz-bzz-bzz—

Right at this moment, the harsh current sound exploded again.

This time, that man's voice carried a hint of impatience:

"Last warning!"

"Blood Thorn, as the person in charge of this mission, I order you to immediately account for the specific origins of all personnel at the scene and explain what is going on with this ground full of corpses."

"If there is no satisfactory reply within five seconds, we will deem the mission a failure and immediately initiate the purge procedure!"

"Five..."

"Four..."

The countdown sound struck every person's heart like a death warrant.

Seeing this, Dragon stamped feet in anxiety, pulling the gunshot wound on the thigh.

Causing Dragon to bare teeth and grin in pain, facial features twisting together.

Were the brains of these soldiers flooded with water?

Didn't they see I've become a prisoner now?

If they really opened fire and fought, bullets had no eyes and would definitely implicate an innocent person like Dragon.

The Masked Man lay flat on the ground, opening the mouth.

But finding himself completely at a loss as to how to explain this outrageous situation.

Say he was hijacked by outsiders?

Then the military would definitely bomb this place flat, choose to silence him, and clear him out along the way.

Say it was an internal conflict?

That would make it even more impossible to account for the origins of these surviving Illuminati outsiders.

Just when he was in a dilemma and at a loss.

Fang Cheng walked over to Black Mamba's headless corpse, bending down to tear off the communicator.

Then casually tossing it into the Masked Man's arms, raising his chin to signal:

"Tell them, the deal is canceled."

"Tell them to go back wherever they came from, and pretend nothing happened tonight."

Fang Cheng's words were very impolite, yet his expression was as calm as instructing a waiter to pour water.

The Masked Man held the communicator stained with blood, dumbfounded entirely.

How could he say this out loud?

The agreed deal was suddenly canceled, and the military would inevitably pursue and question accountability.

That was a special operations squad responsible for cargo trading, equipped with heavy firepower armed helicopters; how could they be brushed off so easily?

Gazing into Fang Cheng's terrifyingly calm eyes, the Masked Man trembled in his heart, not daring to make any unusual moves.

This silent disregard terrified him more than any threat.

Regardless of whether the military believed it or not, he had to stabilize this baneful star in front of him first.

If he hesitated for another half second, the next one turning into meat paste would be himself.

Gritting his teeth, he pressed the communication button, his voice trembling slightly with a tone close to pleading.

"Captain... Captain Hu, it's me, Masked."

"Um... tonight's situation is a bit special, there was a... minor accident."

"Can our deal be canceled first? Take your brothers and evacuate first. Another day, I will personally go to the base to make amends to you."

The other end of the communication fell silent for two seconds.

Inside the helicopter cockpit.

A middle-aged military officer with a crew cut and a sinister gaze was sitting in the command seat.

He wore a crisp black combat uniform, with no rank on his chest, but hanging a skull badge.

It was Captain Hu with whom the Masked Man was speaking.

Listening to the absurd words coming through the headset, the corners of his mouth curled into a sneer.

Then, through the bulletproof glass of the cabin, he condescendingly overlooked those figures on the rooftop.

His gaze swept past the obsequious Masked Man, firmly locking onto the young man standing in the center.

The appearance was very unfamiliar, but the feeling given was very strong.

Relying on his intuition honed by rolling in piles of dead bodies for years, he could perceive the dangerous Aura emanating from that person.

It was like a fierce beast draped in human skin.

"Canceled?"

Captain Hu's voice came through the loudspeaker, carrying an uncomfortable arrogant bureaucratic tone:

"Masked, have you stayed in the radiation pile for too long, and your brain has rotted too?"

"The military's mission, is it something you can take whenever you want and stop whenever you want? What do you take us for? Your personal bodyguards?"

"And..."

The beam of the searchlight suddenly shifted, shining individually on Fang Cheng and the others like a spotlight, stinging people's eyes with pain.

"Who on earth are these unfamiliar guys? They don't look like your Blood Thorn people. Are the people on the ground killed by them?"

"You must know that sabotaging top-secret military missions, robbing important strategic materials, or even being suspected of murdering federal officers, any single item is a felony..."

Captain Hu's voice suddenly rose, exuding a bone-chilling murderous intent:

"With these charges pinned down, whether it's you or these reckless fellows, ten heads wouldn't be enough to chop off!"

"Fuck!"

Hearing these words, tens of thousands of metaphorical beasts galloped wildly through the hearts of the Masked Man and Dragon.

Damn it! Is this guy surnamed Hu blind, or mentally retarded?

Didn't he see Big Bear who had turned into a puddle of meat paste on the ground? Didn't he see Black Mamba whose neck was snapped?

This baneful star was a peerless expert capable of killing S-rank ability users with bare hands.

You actually dare to threaten him from afar? If you want to die, don't drag us down with you!

"Captain Hu, misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!"

The Masked Man hurriedly crawled up from the ground, raising his head and shouting towards the helicopter, trying to salvage the situation:

"These few... are all my friends, everyone is our own people, let's talk things out nicely..."

"Shut up!"

Captain Hu sternly cut off his words:

"Masked, do you take me for a three-year-old child? Now I suspect you of colluding with outsiders and attempting to deceive the military, adding to your crimes!"

The atmosphere on the rooftop was instantly pushed to the detonation point.

Right at this moment, Fang Cheng suddenly chuckled.

The laughter was not loud, but it sounded exceptionally harsh amid the roar of the autocannons.

"I originally intended to spare your lives and let us mind our own business."

Fang Cheng shook his head, whispering to himself:

"If you insist on forcing me to make a move, then there's no help for it..."

While speaking, the Aura that had originally been restrained suddenly erupted.

Like a glowing red furnace, scorching the surrounding air hot.

The Masked Man only felt as if his heart was fiercely gripped by a large hand.

That suffocating sense of oppression struck again, instantly covering him in cold sweat.

It's over, it's completely over.

"Wait! Don't do it! We can coexist peacefully, there's no conflict that can't be resolved by sitting down!"

He shouted frantically, his voice becoming sharp due to fear.

On the helicopter.

Captain Hu directly cut off the external communication.

He stared at the man who seemed ready to act, a flash of shrewdness in his eyes.

Being able to scare an S-rank expert like Masked into this state, and even having Big Bear fall here, it seems this person really has some capability.

Most likely coming for the military experimental project, or perhaps even eyeing the Cultivate resources in that ancient ruin.

Such uncertain dangerous factors must be nipped in the bud.

Otherwise, if an incident occurred in the future, it would very likely implicate himself.

Therefore, he must never be allowed to leave alive!

At this thought, Captain Hu made a tactical gesture and commanded in a low voice:

"All personnel prepare, activate the autocannons and rocket shells, cover the entire rooftop area, focusing on attacking the male target wearing a black hoodie."

"Captain Hu."

The adjutant beside him showed hesitation:

"There are our people below, and those goods that need to be retrieved..."

"Our people?"

Captain Hu sneered, his eyes full of contempt:

"They are just a bunch of consumable materials used for pathfinding; who considers them our own people?"

"Those mutated species contaminated by radiation, if they die, just replace them with another batch; there is plenty of such trash in the military district prison."

"But what about those goods..."

The adjutant wanted to say something more.

Captain Hu suddenly narrowed his eyes at this moment.

Through the bulletproof glass, he clearly saw the few people standing behind that man suddenly move.

Their figures, like arrows shot from a bow, sprinted rapidly toward the rooftop entrance.

Captain Hu's pupils shrank violently.

These rats are running!

"Do it!"

He waved his hand fiercely, issuing the death-blow order.