283: Chapter 283 Is this... a beach landing?

"Holy crap!"

A pungent smell, a mix of rust, gunpowder smoke, and salty sea breeze, poured in violently.

Beneath his feet was no longer soft carpet, but cold, hard metal flooring.

Chen You found himself inside a narrow, oppressive fortress.

The walls were made of dark alloy shimmering with a faint light, and exposed pipes overhead emitted a low hum.

His only view came from a narrow embrasure, less than a meter wide, directly in front of him.

Looking out through the embrasure, he saw a dim beach stained red by the blood-colored setting sun.

In the distance, the dark red seawater surged eerily, like a boiling pool of blood.

There was no grand sense of epic scale, no mystical realm shrouded in celestial mist.

There was only the overwhelming stench of a war-torn meat grinder.

Chen You's face was as dark as the fortress walls.

This was [Body of a Hundred Battles]?

This was the purest, most direct combat trial he had specifically chosen, spending a thousand gold coins to avoid all the traps like "character testing" and "experiencing reincarnation"?

He felt like he had been scammed again.

And this time, he had jumped into the pit willingly.

"Siel!" Chen You growled, suppressing his anger as he turned around.

Someone was standing behind him.

Or rather, a "humanoid being."

It was a figure with a silhouette identical to Siel's.

But she was no longer wearing a flowing gown; instead, she wore a matte black tactical bodysuit that clung to her body, outlining her perfect curves.

A tactical helmet was buckled onto her head, and no expression could be seen behind the dark visor.

At this moment, she was using an extremely standard posture, precise to the point of lacking any aesthetic appeal—

With a "clack," she loaded a giant bolt nearly two meters long, shimmering with energy, into the ferocious ballista fixed to the fortress embrasure in front of Chen You.

"Hello, Adventurer." The voice coming from the helmet was still Siel's pleasant tone.

But it was stripped of all emotion, leaving only absolute matter-of-factness.

"The combat support system is at your service. Your post is the gunner for the 'Oblivion Magic Bolt Launcher,' and my function is 'Loader.'"

Chen You's eye twitched.

Loader?

He pointed at the complex-looking, obviously high-end giant ballista and questioned:

"Can't this thing auto-load? I spent a thousand gold coins to get a manual transmission?"

"Manual loading ensures that the energy core of every bolt perfectly aligns with the magic array, maintaining energy output efficiency above 99.7%. This is a premium paid feature."

Loader Siel's voice remained flat.

"..."

What a "premium paid feature"!

To describe manual loading in such refined terms—how is that any different from car salesmen calling "manual windows" a "retro crank-style window control system"?

"Fine, you're the professional." Chen You gritted his teeth and sat in the gunner's seat.

He chose this himself, what else could he do?

Just do it!

The cold metal seat vibrated, and as he gripped the two thick joysticks with both hands, a feeling of being one with the weapon surged within him.

[Trial Quest: Body of a Hundred Battles]

[Quest Objective: Hold the position and repel one hundred waves of enemy attacks]

[Current Wave: 0/100]

Just then, a piercing alarm blared through the entire fortress!

"Buzz— Buzz—"

The blood-colored sea outside the embrasure began to churn violently.

One by one, wet dark figures covered in barnacles and twisted shells crawled out of the water.

They looked like corpses rotted by seawater, draped in decaying seaweed. They moved slowly but with clear intent, roaring as they charged toward the fortress where Chen You was.

[Wave 1: Mudflat Rotting Corpses, Quantity: 100]

"Here they come."

Chen You took a deep breath, suppressing all his complaints about Siel and the system.

Although it was just a reskinned shooter game, it was much more controllable than playing cards.

If he failed this too, he'd really lose face!

He gripped the joysticks tight, pouring his vast spiritual power through his arms and into the weapon.

Buzz!

The massive Oblivion Magic Bolt Launcher lit up with intricate golden patterns, and the crystal at the core of the loaded energy bolt suddenly erupted with sunlight-like brilliance.

Aim, lock on!

Without requiring much effort from Chen You, an assisted aiming frame automatically appeared in his vision, firmly locking onto a rotting corpse charging at the front.

"I'm feeling it now."

A cold smile played on the corners of Chen You's mouth as he pressed the fire button.

There was no twang of a bowstring, only a dull sound of energy release.

"Swoosh—!"

A thick golden beam of light tore through the dim air, instantly crossing nearly a thousand meters to strike the target precisely.

There was no explosion, no echo.

That Mudflat Rotting Corpse, along with over a dozen of its kind in a straight line behind it, silently evaporated and decomposed the moment they touched the golden beam, leaving not even a speck of dust behind.

A clean, straight path with wisps of green smoke appeared amidst the dense crowd of corpses.

[Killed Mudflat Rotting Corpse × 18, gained 18,000 EXP]

A large string of experience numbers popped up before Chen You's eyes.

"I actually get experience too?"

This single shot dissipated most of his earlier frustration.

"Clack."

Before he could savor the moment, Loader Siel beside him had already finished loading the second energy bolt at a speed difficult for the naked eye to track.

Her movements were fluid, fast, precise, and ruthless, filled with the violent aesthetics of industrialization.

"Loading speed 1.9 seconds, 0.2 seconds below optimal state," the Loader reported in an emotionless tone.

"Reason: Your first shot caused a slight overload of the barrel, activating the cooling system and affecting the closure precision of the loading interface."

Chen You: "..."

He now seriously suspected that this Loader was Siel herself, intentionally wearing a different shell just to spite him.

"Shut up and keep loading."

Chen You didn't bother arguing with her. He poured his spiritual power in again and aimed at another area crowded with monsters.

Swoosh—!

Another golden beam shot out, clearing another straight line.

Massive amounts of experience points kept scrolling across his screen.

How was this a boring battle?

This was clearly the most efficient monster-farming paradise!

Chen You became completely excited.

Fire, clear, load, fire again!

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

Golden beams of "Holy Light of Death" crisscrossed the beach, cutting the wave of a hundred corpses into fragments.

In less than a minute, the entire beach fell silent, leaving only scorched marks all over the ground.

[Wave 1, Complete.]

[Reward: 50,000 EXP]

"Not bad." Chen You exhaled, feeling refreshed all over.

This feeling of crushing everything with pure power was more intoxicating to him than any scheming.

"When's the next wave?" he asked without turning his head.

"30-second countdown," the Loader's voice came. "It is recommended that you use the interval to relax mentally to cope with higher-intensity combat."

"No need."

Chen You cracked his wrists, his eyes burning as he stared at the distant sea.

Next, let's try a different way to play.