Chapter 619 - 590: Breaking Through the Gun Smoke

The black smoke was so thick it was like a waterfall, sporadically revealing orange-red glimmers and flames.

The explosion destroyed the power facilities, and the EMP caused electrical equipment to burst into flames violently on a large scale. The high temperatures ignited materials such as cable insulation, paint, and plastic. However, the oxygen content in the burning area could not sustain such extensive combustion, which resulted in this scene.

Not only was the smoke black, but it was also extremely hot. Inhalation was highly toxic, and it was toxic to the touch on skin surfaces. Neither the naked eye, Prosthetic Eye, nor tactical goggles could penetrate the black smoke to see the outside situation.

Honestly, the opponent’s plan was indeed perfect. If it had been Lille doing this job, he would have done the same:

Either choose a Ground-penetrating Bomb with a larger yield to solve the problem in one go, or choose the same tactics as the opponent.

But there are always exceptions.

The Wild Man King double-checked the oxygen mask he had hastily grabbed: "Running through this kind of smokescreen is suicide..."

It wasn’t just the mask; he wrapped himself in two lab coats to prevent his skin from being contaminated with toxic substances, and his clothes were also wet to temporarily prevent burns.

Although the limited use of complex Prosthetics meant she did not have to suffer the side effects of high-degree prosthetic integration, obviously, the Physical body was such an inconvenience.

"Going through the pipes will get you killed faster! And I’m not asking you to be the first to run out!"

V conveyed Lille’s intentions while lifting a metal plate in front of him—

Bang!

The heavy machine gun’s red-hot bullets traced a fiery line through the black smoke, brief yet bright, followed by the wreckage of Combat Robots!

In the eyes of others, he sat in his wheelchair with his head drooping as if he were asleep, but his brain was already smoking!

[Munemasa: H&K G-series machine gun, steel-core Shellless Bullets, caliber either 6.5mm or 8mm, approximate firing rate of 900 rounds per minute.]

A large amount of data appeared in Lille’s vision!

In just one minute, four Combat Robots charged into the black smoke and were then shot into pieces by a metal deluge and sent flying back!

The wreckage of these robots lay on the ground, contributing their final service to Lille: transmitting back the complex terrain within the black smoke, preparing for the charge.

The current situation was quite critical:

The enemy might not have been able to shoot accurately through the black smoke, but inside a confined space, shooting anything attempting to burst out back was too easy—

And that was just with one heavy machine gun suppressing them.

Lille’s wheelchair was bulletproof against military rifle-grade shooting, but not against a machine gun, let alone steel-core Armor-piercing Bullets, so this was their primary obstacle for breaking out.

Munemasa did not report the bullet capacity, because it was meaningless: the bullet capacity could be exceeded by attachment feeding devices. The only way to create a firing lull was to overheat the machine gun.

The good news was that the black smoke’s disruption of combat accuracy affected both sides; the enemy couldn’t bet whether it was a person or a robot.

And theoretically, they would more likely assume it was a person, since the Ground-penetrating Bomb should have damaged the circuits at Luxor Academy.

This was the first combat objective: to continuously awaken Combat Robots at a high intensity, forcing the enemy machine gunner to maintain continuous fire, causing the machine gun to overheat and creating a suppression gap.

And this objective had to be completed as quickly as possible...

At least before the Animal Gang, who were sprinting and hopping on the streets, could reach the battlefield!

The Animal Gang had indeed ambushed the mercenaries, but the enemy’s counterattack was too fierce, and the gangsters from the Animal Gang were just bold and not a match for the mercenaries in combat.

Actions must be fast!

In the control room, Matt and Fiona strained every nerve to follow Lille’s instructions to cut wires and reconnect circuits. Initially, they could cope and even manage with ease, but as Lille’s control over the circuits deepened, and more robots were thrown into battle, his coding and planning speed became faster and faster—

It had only been a minute and a half, but they felt more exhausted than ever in their lives!

Any slower, and lives would be lost!

Fiona significantly slowed her pace in fright...

Because she noticed that the speed marked by Lille in their vision had already surpassed their physical actions!

What level of computing speed and technical capability was this?!

Matt vigorously pushed her aside, tearing apart a still-sparking wire at an exaggerated speed and then, using the high temperature, twisted the cables together!

"Don’t be distracted! Do you want to die?"

"I..." Fiona felt quite odd, but fortunately, the task Lille had given them was completed.

The battery Lille had given them was like starting a battery, partnering with their manual circuit repairs to start some self-test programs, and finally to start the still-functional emergency backup power, systematically awakening the remaining robots in the system.

But now, there were not enough robots for the breakthrough.

[Lille: I need more robots. Do you have any more?]

[Fiona: There’s a maintenance part area underneath the control room; it contains long-sealed robots, but it should have been sealed off!]

[Fiona: A power anomaly cuts off the high-voltage electricity in each area; it needs to be re-switched to start the facilities in the maintenance area...but we’re just ordinary people!]

"Physical entry to operate those things is impossible!"

"Lille: No need for you, go check on the kids."

Hiss—

Electric arcs sparked from the exposed wires outside the robot bay. The bay door burst open with a bang, releasing black smoke as a combat robot, like a puppet with its strings cut, tumbled out but regained power before its head hit the ground!

The indicator lights flickered alternately, the robot suddenly landed on all fours and stayed on the ground, as if completing the evolution from quadruped to biped in an instant. The motors coordinated a forceful effort, and it burst out like a sprinter!

More and more robots marched out of the standby bays on both sides of the corridor. Some, like moths drawn to a flame, charged orderly into the black smoke, only to be shattered by gunfire.

A small portion of the robots sprinted toward the upper and lower floors of the central control room, starting to attempt opening doors or resetting the circuit breakers—

Just like Lille’s final exam at Arasaka Academy: a factory bombarded with bombs and EMP attacks, production had halted, and the robots had nearly ceased to function; he had to rewire and use the remaining power sources to drive more and more robots to complete the defense work.

The only difference was that he now also needed to pinpoint the moment for a counterattack.

The G-series heavy machine gun produced by H&K, while cost-effective like other heavy guns, faced the limitation of overheating. Even though equipped with air-cooling devices, the design of shellless bullets ensured that the heat accumulated on a larger scale in the components rather than being dissipated like with shell bullets.

As the temperature rose, the metal parts expanded, increasing the risk of jams and malfunctions. Either stop to cool down, or continue firing with the risk of rapidly increasing failure rates.

Continuing to fire could jam or even damage and explode the firearm.

The moment the enemy’s suppressive rhythm faltered might be the moment to sound the horn for a counteroffensive.

Bang!

Shrapnel and stray bullets struck the bulletproof shield in front of Lille; each shot, each bullet hitting the construction, robots, and shield sounded chaotic.

But there was a slight pattern to them.

Click—click—click—

Those sounds in Lille’s mind, activated by Si Anweisitan, stretched out like the ticking of a mechanical clock.

Click—

A significant deviation in the rhythm appeared, and Lille sensed the opportunity had arrived!

Bang—

A huge rock smashed onto the bulletproof shield, getting shattered by a stray bullet...

Two robots tore open the doors of the robot warehouse, leaping through the cracks, and their mechanical arms smashed onto the electromagnetic circuit breaker—

The enemy’s actions were equally swift:

Boom!

In the blurred footage transmitted by Animal Gang, a woman bouncing and hopping arrived at the frontline battle, apparently deploying some explosive weapon that obliterated the already overwhelmed, crawling and scrambling mobile positions of Animal Gang.

Once Animal Gang was done for, the machine guns set up to counter them would turn to focus on suppressing Lille.

Once both machine guns alternately targeted Lille, there would be no chance to break out—

But unexpectedly, a sudden turn appeared: he felt his perception piercing through the black smoke, sensing a peculiar shift in emotion:

The soldiers’ tension peaked and then relaxed in an instant, as if they had barely survived a disaster—

Just as a soldier about to run out of bullets sees reinforcements, just as a perplexed soldier finds a glimmer of redemption.

Lille’s spirits lifted as he sensed: This was the opportunity.

He had to seize the chance!

Brain-machine overclocking, Si Anweisitan activated!

In the maintenance room, the full power of two robots triggered instantly, their four arms exerting a sudden force to push the circuit breaker:

This high-voltage vacuum circuit breaker would generate a massive electromagnetic drag if powered. Manual repair needed a technical expert using specialized prosthetics, but now, with the two robots working, the circuits could be closed!

The moment the circuit breaker turned, a massive electric arc sprang up in the air, the backup power surged back into the repair area, and the programming channel opened instantly!

A total of 60 robots, like zombies unleashed, grabbed weapons and rocketed to life, pouring out of the warehouse!

Lille opened his eyes but could only feel after the black smoke, that post-disaster emotion peaked—

It seemed because the soldier thought he was doing something incredibly righteous, Lille was particularly sensitive to his emotional change.

However... those who think they are righteous don’t always win.

"Go!"

Following the order, Jack and V took the lead, immediately activating without hesitation, dashing headlong into the high-temperature, deeply toxic black smoke, into a storm of bullets!