129: Chapter 129 Slaying the Giant Beast, and incidentally profiting from disaster relief.

Inside the cockpit of the Paladin Knight Mech, Fu Haoran pulled down the neural link headband, and a cold mechanical prompt instantly sounded in his ear.

Jarvis: "Neural link complete, synchronization rate 92%, all mech systems on standby."

Fu Haoran gripped the left and right control sticks, his fingertips exerting slight pressure.

On the ruins of the Capitol Building, Charlie looked at the steel behemoth before him. There wasn't a hint of fear in his crimson eyes; instead, battle intent surged.

However, he did not act rashly.

Charlie was well aware that he was ultimately a creature of flesh and blood, and even a body of steel would still fear thermal weapons.

Charlie was very clear about his advantages: his agile movements and precise throwing.

To Charlie, the dense buildings in the city were the best cover.

"A head-on confrontation? No, that's something only an idiot would do."

"As long as I use buildings as cover and combine it with my calculations, I have plenty of ways to wear down these armored vehicles in the city."

Charlie knew that in urban warfare, armored vehicles could not utilize their advantages and would instead become sitting ducks due to blind spots.

As for the natural "fighter jets," they were indeed a bit of a nuisance, but the opponent's autocannons only made Charlie feel a bit of pain. The strengthening effects of the Mutation Serum not only made Charlie's bulk larger but also caused thick layers of keratinous hard armor to grow on his back and shoulders, like natural bulletproof plating.

Ordinary autocannon rounds hitting it would, at most, leave shallow dents; they couldn't break through the defense at all.

Because of this, Charlie constantly felt hungry.

Of course, Charlie was very aware of human weaknesses.

The meddlesome media had already arrived in helicopters. Charlie was fully capable of shooting them down, but he did not do so.

"I don't believe you'd dare to fire cannons at the buildings in full view of the public."

Fu Haoran looked at the media, who seemed to think the situation wasn't chaotic enough, and could only halt some of his deployments.

Secretly using heavy weapons and being seen doing so are two different things.

The former can be denied to the end, while the latter requires facing a lot of trouble.

As for the Knight Mech... something so sci-fi was actually less of a concern; he could just shift the blame to the government. After all, no one would believe a militia organization could build one.

No one would risk coming forward to claim the destroyed armored tanks, but for a battle-damaged twelve-meter mech, there were plenty of agencies and organizations willing to claim it.

Thus, the Baneblade super-heavy tanks, leman russ main battle tanks, and even the chimera armored personnel carriers on the square all withdrew.

If the giant Charlie hadn't appeared, they should have "disappeared" after capturing the city.

The valkyrie gunships were similarly unable to help. Although they weren't too far beyond the norm, the reason a valkyrie was called a gunship was that it truly couldn't carry many missiles. In the Warhammer World, missiles were not common due to their relatively "backward" technological content.

So now, the battle entered a seemingly absurd yet helpless stage of primitive melee combat.

"You think you can beat me just by getting into an iron shell?!"

Charlie let out a deafening roar, pounding his chest fiercely with both fists. The black keratinous armor on his back and shoulders bulged with a series of cracks, glinting with a cold, steel-like light under the setting sun. He grabbed a load-bearing steel beam as thick as a bowl's mouth and kicked off the ground, sending debris flying as he pounced toward the Knight Mech with immense force.

Fu Haoran pulled the control stick, and the Paladin mech leaned forward slightly. The giant Chainsword in its left hand started up at full power, its high-speed rotating teeth cutting through the air with a piercing hum.

Clang—!

The steel beam and the Chainsword collided violently, sending sparks flying. The entire steel beam was instantly sliced in two by the teeth, and the broken shards of steel flew out with a whistling sound, embedding themselves deep into the nearby wall.

Charlie used his momentum to suddenly change direction, abandoning a head-on clash and swinging a fist into the mech's side armor. The massive impact caused the thirteen-meter-tall mech to sway slightly. Inside the cockpit, Fu Haoran's fingers paused for a moment before he reacted instantly.

This beast never intended to fight head-on; the pounce just now was entirely a feint.

Fu Haoran pulled the control stick, and the mech's right-arm Rapid-fire Battle Cannon instantly rose, firing three consecutive shots at close range. Charlie had anticipated this, leaping into the air and vaulting off the mech's shoulder armor. The shells exploded right under his feet, sending debris flying everywhere.

But he was still half a beat too slow.

The Chainsword swept across, slicing right through the keratinous armor on his shoulder and opening a wound deep enough to see the bone, spraying black-red blood across the ground.

"Roar—!"

Charlie let out a roar of absolute rage, yet he didn't linger in the fight. Using the momentum of his landing, he suddenly leaped up, using the ruins of the Capitol Building as a springboard to vault several times and vanish into the gaps between the nearby office buildings.

Fu Haoran didn't give him a chance to breathe. The mech's cannon swiveled, and rapid-fire shells pursued Charlie's figure. One shell precisely grazed his back, blowing apart the outer layer of his keratinous armor and splashing a large amount of flesh.

Enduring the intense pain, Charlie pressed his body against a building and, after a few zig-zags, hid behind a load-bearing wall of an office building, completely disappearing from view.

Inside the building, Charlie leaned against the cold wall, staring intently at the mech below. His crimson eyes were full of violence, yet he remained exceptionally clear-headed.

In a head-on clash, he couldn't break through the armor of this iron shell at all.

But this was Washington, his home turf.

The buildings were dense and the space was narrow; the mech was too large to turn around. If it chased him in, it would be a sitting duck.

His claws crushed the wall as he grabbed a scrapped SUV parked below and hurled it violently toward the mech's observation window. The SUV exploded into a fireball in mid-air, and thick smoke instantly obscured the mech's forward vision.

Immediately after, he crashed through a nearby three-story building, and the resulting rubble and rebar instantly blocked the main road for the mech's advance.

He intended to wear Fu Haoran down to death.

Fu Haoran curled his lip, having no intention of chasing him in.

A thirteen-meter-tall Knight Mech was a sitting duck in narrow urban alleys; he would be insane to play at urban warfare with a gorilla.

"Jarvis, link all valkyrie gunships, perform a global auspex scan, lock onto Charlie's life signal, and predict his movement route."

"Baneblade and leman russ squads, withdraw to hidden points on the city outskirts. Block all main roads heading south out of the city. If he dares to show his head, cover him with direct fire."

As the command was given, the three valkyrie gunships immediately gained altitude, their infrared scans covering the entire block. Charlie's body temperature, heartbeat, and movement trajectory were synchronized in real-time to the screen in the cockpit.

Inside the office building, Charlie was using the walls as cover to move rapidly southward.

He had already mapped out a complete escape route in his mind: pass through the South Capitol area, head south along Interstate 95, and dive into the Amazon Rainforest. As long as he had enough time, with the effects of the Mutation Serum, he could grow into a true rainforest overlord.

When the time came, he would manipulate a group of brain-dead extreme animal rights activists, and there would be plenty of opportunities to fight his way back to Washington.

He even began to fantasize about leading tens of thousands of giant apes to trample the White House once more.

Just as he was daydreaming of his dream of a comeback and preparing to pass through the gap between two office buildings, the reinforced concrete wall beside him suddenly exploded.

Debris flew everywhere.

The Paladin Knight Mech burst directly through the wall, the giant Chainsword in its left hand thrusting violently toward his chest with immense power.

Charlie's pupils shrank, and the blood in his body instantly ran cold.

How was this possible?!

He had clearly circled three blocks and changed directions four times. How could this iron shell be waiting here in advance?

He wanted to dodge, but it was already too late.

The high-speed rotating Chainsword instantly broke through the keratinous armor on his chest and impaled his entire body, the cold teeth directly shredding his internal organs and ribs.

The intense pain caused Charlie to let out a heart-wrenching roar. He struggled frantically, his two giant claws scratching hard at the mech's Adamantium Ceramite Armor. His nails were ground down, yet they only left a few shallow white marks on the armor.

He hugged the Chainsword like a madman, while his other hand violently snapped off a secondary cannon from the side of the mech, hurling the broken barrel fiercely toward the cockpit.

With a loud clang, the barrel slammed into the observation window of the cockpit, and cracks instantly began to spread.

Fu Haoran's eyes turned cold as he pulled the control stick.

The Chainsword stopped spinning, and the mech's arm suddenly lifted, hoisting the twelve-meter-tall Charlie entirely into the air.

Charlie's body hung in mid-air, black blood constantly coughing from his mouth. His crimson eyes stared deathly at the cockpit, his voice raspy and unwilling:

"Why... why can you humans climb to the top by stepping on the weak, captive and slaughter other species, and write 'survival of the fittest' into your textbooks, but I can't?!"

"I was only following your example. What exactly did I do wrong?!"

Fu Haoran had no interest in debating philosophy with him.

A dead gorilla is a good gorilla.

He turned on the cockpit's external speaker and said flatly:

"It's fine. Once you're down there, you'll have plenty of time to think it over."

Charlie's face twisted instantly, and he wanted to roar out some curse, but Fu Haoran was already tired of listening.

He pulled the control stick, and the Chainsword started up at full power once again.

The high-speed rotating teeth moved from bottom to top, completely cleaving Charlie open from his chest to the top of his head.

Charlie's body suddenly stiffened, the light instantly vanished from his crimson eyes, and his massive frame slid off the Chainsword, slamming heavily onto the ground, dead as could be.

[System Prompt: Side Quest 'Lone Blade at the Banquet' completed!]

[Mission rewards distributed: North America Hive City Reputation +3000, Free Attribute Points +5, Universal Credits +5000, Multi-melta (Standard Blueprint) ×1]

[Main Quest 'Suppressing the Ape Calamity' progress updated: Rebel leader Charlie has been killed, Washington core area reclaimed, progress 95%!]

Fu Haoran looked at Charlie's massive corpse on the ground. After hesitating repeatedly, he gave up on the idea of dragging the corpse back to Yellowstone to make Corpse Starch.

There was no other way; the merit of suppressing the rebellion required solid proof.

A ten-meter-plus giant beast corpse lying here was more persuasive than anything else.

What he didn't know was that this decision would cause him immense trouble later on.

The battle was over, but the work of wrapping things up and reaping benefits had only just begun.

Fu Haoran immediately arranged for a withdrawal.

This heavy equipment simply couldn't be explained to Congress or the military; hiding it was the safest bet.

He didn't want those guys in the Army coming with thick skin to borrow equipment; once borrowed, he'd never get it back.

Next, he adjusted his troop deployment:

"Of the original 100,000 Planetary Defense Force soldiers, only leave 20,000 to garrison the core area of Washington and maintain order."

"Another 30,000 will participate in disaster relief in the guise of workers."

"However, before the remaining 50,000 leave, they definitely need to reap some benefits... bah, I mean, help with disaster relief."

"Everyone split into fifty small teams. Under the banner of post-disaster search and rescue and requisitioning supplies, sweep through the Washington city area for me."

As the orders were issued, the entire force immediately sprang into action.

They called it search and rescue, but it was actually blatant 'zero-dollar shopping'.

Bank branches and Federal Reserve vaults destroyed by the apes—all scattered cash and precious metals were registered and cataloged. Nominally, they were for post-war refugee resettlement, but in reality, ninety percent were loaded directly onto trucks and hauled back to the Yellowstone base.

Malls, warehouses, and industrial raw material yards looted by the apes—all unclaimed materials and equipment were packed and shipped back to the Hive City under the name of 'requisition for rebellion suppression'.

This was called having a just cause.

If the materials were left here, they would just be stolen by rioters or rot in the ruins. It was better to take them back to the Hive City to put them to use, and they could even earn a good reputation for disaster relief and rebellion suppression. It was a guaranteed profit.

Just then, Jarvis's electronic voice suddenly rang out:

"Sir, it has been detected that the entire Washington power grid is completely paralyzed. The core substation was totally destroyed by the apes, and high-voltage lines are severed across the board. It is estimated that power will not be restored for at least three weeks. Washington has fallen into a state of anarchy, and the riot index is increasing geometrically."

"Currently, cooling and medical equipment in refugee camps cannot operate, and the citizens are in a panic. Congress has made an emergency plea for help, but no solution has been found yet."

Fu Haoran didn't think much of it and simply instructed: "Our vehicles can provide external power. Prioritize supplying power to the hospitals."

By the time he finished all this, the sun had already set.

Fu Haoran stood on the steps of the Capitol Building, looking at the lights flickering in the distant refugee camps. From behind him came the crisp sound of high heels on the rubble.

Lucifiel, wearing stiletto heels, leaned lazily against a broken wall, twirling a Phase Sword between her fingers. Her black gown outlined her provocative curves as she glanced faintly at the refugees in the distance, her tone carrying a hint of playfulness:

"You could have clearly just walked away, yet you insisted on staying to clean up the mess. Soft-hearted?"

Fu Haoran knew she was referring to exposing the core strength of the Knight Mech and the legion. Calculating it that way, it indeed wasn't worth it.

Fu Haoran looked at the little girl rescued in the distance, who was waving in his direction, and smiled self-deprecatingly:

"It's not about whether it's worth it or not. I like to calculate, I like to fleece others, and I'm willing to do any dirty work, but I haven't reached the point where I can watch a child be eaten alive and still just turn around and leave."

"A conscience is easy to lose but hard to get back. Keeping it doesn't stop me from making money."

Lucifiel raised an eyebrow and said no more.

Just then, the roar of a convoy and the sound of helicopter rotors came from the distance.

Admiral Jensen's convoy arrived first, followed by a large group of media reporters carrying cameras.

Fu Haoran smiled and stubbed out the cigarette in his hand.

The business of becoming famous and showing his face could be left to Jensen.

What he wanted were always solid benefits.

But he didn't notice that in the shadows of the Capitol Building, several people in black suits were holding cameras and frantically pressing the shutters at Charlie's corpse.

Their sleeves were embroidered with a hidden emblem; they were neither US Army nor Capitol personnel, but the famous Tri-Union Biomedical Company.

The look in their eyes as they stared at Charlie's corpse was as if they were looking at a massive treasure.

"Quickly, collect as many samples as possible. It is a gift from heaven."