Chapter 754: They Are Here (2)

"60 minutes?!"

Huo Ke gasped, but his face was also flooded with wild joy.

"Great! Bamian, gather the men, prepare to receive them! Anvil, get your people to ready the heavy gear! Dalton, send the signal!"

Orders were issued rapidly, and the stifling underground space was instantly filled with a tense yet hopeful sense of action.

Bamian roared to assemble the men.

The burly man called "Anvil" did not doubt anything further; he grunted in acknowledgment, turned, and strode off to gather his team members.

The representatives of the other two survivor squads also rose and left, preparing to relay the news they had obtained to their own bosses.

Dalton immediately rummaged through his toolbox, found several discarded indicator lights of different colors, and began splicing and modifying them.

In a relatively open Metal Graveyard near the West District Old Foundry, the thunderous voice of "Anvil" echoed.

"Stop fucking around! Grab your gear! People from the Ninth Defense Zone are coming! Real fighters! Meet up on the southwest side! Bring all our heavy gear from the bottom of the chest! Whether we live through today depends on this one hammer blow!"

His hundred-plus team members, mostly burly men like himself wearing crude metal armor, erupted into a sky-shaking roar at his words.

They scrambled to drag several bulky "Flamers" modified from industrial welding torches and a homemade "Mortar" with a crooked barrel out from under a pile of scrap, shouldering massive ammunition crates, their heavy footsteps making the metal plates beneath them hum.

However, just as the three squads left their respective hiding spots and rushed toward Huo Ke's location.

Hum—!

A scalp-numbing resonance sound enveloped the entire area! The air seemed to freeze instantly!

At the same time, the other two survivor squads were also attacked by the Cyberks.

Above the location of one squad, several massive discarded metal plates were violently flipped away by an invisible force!

Three ferocious-looking Cyberk "Scavenger" drones hovering at low altitude appeared abruptly!

The Sensor Array rotating at their bases emitted a blinding red light, instantly locking onto the 20-plus tiny Human figures at the pipe entrance below!

"High-energy communication signal source detected! Threat assessment: High! Execute elimination!"

"Run!!"

One survivor only had time to let out a shrill scream.

Hum! Hum! Hum!

Three scorching energy beams pierced down instantly!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The violent explosion instantly swallowed this survivor squad.

Shattered parts, burning rags, and... flesh and blood, scattered and splattered in the blinding white light.

Almost at the same time!

The thin woman's squad had just crawled out of the ground pipe and stepped onto the edge of a relatively empty junkyard.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Several scarlet energy beams shot precisely from the towering abandoned tower crane and the shadows of the shattered building in the distance!

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Muffled piercing sounds rang out.

The two team members in the lead stiffened violently, a charred hole instantly bursting open in their chests or heads, and they collapsed to the ground without even a groan.

"Cyberks! Scatter! Find cover!"

The thin woman roared, her body instinctively performing evasive maneuvers as she lunged toward a pile of rusted shipping containers nearby.

However, more energy beams flew in!

A team member had just hidden behind a half-section of concrete wall when an energy beam melted directly through the wall, pinning him dead on the spot!

Another team member tried to roll to dodge, but was instantly torn apart by crossfire!

The thin woman's eyes were filled with desperate anger and unwillingness.

She was truly unwilling; having finally seen the hope of survival, how could she fall on the eve of the light arriving!

In the moment she lunged toward the last piece of cover, she violently pulled a small signal flare Dalton had given her from her waist and smashed it against the ground with all her remaining strength!

Zzzzt—!

A blinding red pillar of light shot into the sky! This was the last signal she could send, a signal that they had encountered a Cyberk attack!

The next second, a scarlet energy beam struck her forehead.

The light in her eyes extinguished instantly, her body slumped softly onto the cold metal trash, and the signal flare that was still flashing rolled to the side.

On the other side, "Anvil's" team was shouldering heavy weapons, struggling to pass through a ruin composed of massive discarded shipping containers.

Rumble—!

Heavy metal tracks were crushing the ground!

"Bad news! It's the 'Tin Cans'' heavy units!"

Anvil's expression changed drastically, and he immediately issued a warning.

"Set up the gear! Block the passage entrance! Open fire!"

His team members quickly set up the bulky "Flamers" and "Mortar" at both ends of the passage.

Thick tongues of fire and high-powered homemade Rune Bullets roared toward the incoming enemies.

Boom! Boom!

A "Cleaner" Cyberk soldier in the lead was swallowed by the flames, its Energy Shield popping out to cover its entire body.

However, more Cyberk soldiers poured out from the side passages.

Their Energy Arm Shields easily deflected the homemade Rune Bullet shrapnel, and dense pulse fire swept over!

"Ah!"

A team member operating a Flamer had his upper body torn apart by dense pulse rounds.

"Hold the line! Hold the line for me!"

Tie Ni roared, personally operating that crooked Mortar, bombarding the corridor entrance! The shockwave of the explosion made his arms go numb.

But the difference in numbers was too great!

The multi-barreled machine gun on the shoulder of a Cyberk Heavy Assault Machine Soldier began to spin wildly, and large-caliber explosive rounds flew out one after another.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!

A torrent of metal instantly covered the narrow corridor!

The bodies of the last few team members beside Tie Ni were instantly torn apart in the hail of bullets, and even their corpses were blown into fragments.

"The Ninth Defense Zone... will..."

Tie Ni's eyes were wide with rage as he watched the metal killing machine approach; he roared, threw aside the empty Mortar, grabbed a huge Industrial Cutter, and with his final burst of fury, charged fiercely toward that Heavy Assault Machine Soldier!

The Industrial Cutter emitted a piercing shriek as it hacked fiercely into the front armor of the machine soldier, splashing a trail of dazzling sparks!

But the next second, the machine soldier's heavy metal arm swung out!

Bang!!!

A dull thud.

Tie Ni's burly body was smashed away, slamming hard into the container wall behind him, leaving a human-shaped dent before sliding limply to the ground.

His chest was smashed flat, and fresh blood kept gushing out.

That huge Industrial Cutter fell beside him with a clang, its rotating saw teeth gradually coming to a stop.

His bloodshot eyes were wide open, staring at the gray sky, seemingly still hoping for reinforcements from the Ninth Defense Zone, but the light in his pupils had completely dissipated.

Almost... almost... I...