Chapter 13: I Still Need a Few Tanks

100,000 soldiers formed twenty dense ranks, backs to the passage, on the wide square of Upper Nest like a sea of people.

At the front of the formation, Bunoke and Ana stood left and right behind Xisi, and behind them were over two thousand specially selected Hundred Battle New Recruits.

Everyone turned their gaze to Xisi, while Xisi extended his wrist and seriously watched the moving second hand on his watch.

When the second hand completed another full circle, the hour hand pointed straight up again; with the day-night shift at the Tower Top, Xisi knew that this twelve meant midnight had arrived.

Looking up, Xisi drew his sidearm.

Behind them, the Hundred Battle New Recruits saw this and also raised their weapons, but they held not rifles or other regular weapons, but close-quarters daggers or silenced pistols convenient for assassination.

"After the operation succeeds I will send a signal; then the entire army will immediately charge toward the passage, breaking out of Nest City before more Rebel Forces can react."

Xisi spoke; behind him, Bunoke gave a solemn salute, and Ana also cast a 'concerned' glance.

After all, it was a key component of his great invention; Ana's concern for Xisi was absolutely genuine.

Subsequently Xisi stepped forward, and the two thousand new recruits hurriedly followed, silently moving toward the Rebel Forces lying in wait.

Xisi was preparing to launch a wave of sneak attacks on the Rebel Forces before the full army assault, to minimize losses during the formal attack as much as possible.

At the same time Xisi moved forward, his gaze continually swept toward the DeepChannel leading outside Nest City.

Though 100,000 seemed not few, once outside Nest City facing the surging Green Skin Frenzy, any force appeared precious.

Xisi did not want to waste these forces on a Nest City destined to be exterminated.

Xisi thought as he advanced, but after walking a while, his contemplative gaze gradually focused, and his attention slowly settled on what lay ahead.

After scanning with doubt twice, Xisi suddenly raised his right hand.

Not a sound came, yet the two thousand new recruits in the shadows behind him instantly halted in place.

Without moving, Xisi again seriously scanned the surroundings, especially his own soldiers.

Having confirmed that so far his side had not killed a single Rebel, Xisi's doubt turned into strangeness.

Even lacking confidence, he glanced around once more, confirming he had indeed penetrated deep into Rebel territory; Xisi then straightened up with a bewildered expression.

Even without concealing his presence, even with Xisi standing in the light, the crowded Rebel camp remained utterly silent.

Behind him, Bunoke and Ana also wore puzzled looks.

At first, seeing Xisi sneak in, the two were pleased, thinking their side was too elite, to the point that the Rebels hadn't noticed.

But now, seeing Xisi standing directly in the light, the Rebels still showed no reaction, and the two realized something was off.

Though they found it hard to believe, a thought occurred to both of them.

With hesitation, Bunoke looked around, then finally turned to Ana, who was undoubtedly the smartest present:

"Rebel Forces...... could they be...... pretending to sleep?"

As a member of the Mechanical Church, Ana should have only rational calculations, yet even with the Servo Skull beside her constantly outputting results, her face showed utter bewilderment she couldn't resolve.

"According to the calculation results, the probability of feigning sleep is 97.26%."

After Ana spoke, facing the ironclad fact, her round eyes filled with great doubt:

"But...... why?"

The Servo Skull could not answer Ana; Bunoke stared at the Rebel camp several times, his eyes gradually realizing.

"These Rebel Forces, they've been frightened by our strikes......"

"They want us to leave!"

Bunoke spoke; Xisi ahead also understood this.

After all, the Rebel camp of over a hundred thousand—though everyone slept like dead pigs—yet not a single snore could be heard!

Xisi even glanced at a few nearby Rebels, discovering their sleeping postures were remarkably uniform, all coincidentally facing away from him.

Xisi's eyes filled utterly with speechlessness; his whole body straightened, and he no longer walked cautiously.

Behind him, moreover, came a clear sound of footsteps; Bunoke came running up behind Xisi.

Seeing such obvious steps fail to wake any Rebel, Xisi had nothing to conceal, so he plopped down casually beside the nearest Rebel's makeshift bed.

The military sword planted in the ground rang with a crisp metallic clink.

Xisi even specifically glanced at the Rebel beside him; the man's eyes remained tightly shut, but his complexion had turned completely liver-colored.

Bunoke pityingly glanced at the Rebel beside Xisi, then spoke to Xisi:

"Sir, should we seize the time to withdraw?"

Bunoke's words instantly relaxed the Rebel's face; his formerly ashen complexion quickly regained some color, and even his breathing noticeably grew heavier.

But Xisi did not answer as wished; instead, he looked around at the utterly silent Rebel camp, thought a moment, then lifted his head and amplified his voice:

"Our ammunition stores are insufficient; if we could gather some ammo before leaving, that would be better."

Bunoke's face stiffened; besides Xisi's voice carrying far in the silence, he suddenly realized this Regiment Commander of his was quite the provider!

Then, before Bunoke could respond, a packet of ammunition suddenly fell at Xisi's feet.

And immediately after, ammunition rained down across the entire Rebel camp in a dense, rustling patter.

Bunoke: "......"

At this moment Bunoke no longer knew what to say.

He merely stared, his face twitching, at this absolutely shocking scene—because tens of thousands were sleepwalking simultaneously, and coincidentally all dreaming of dropping ammunition, which could absolutely be called a galactic-level spectacle!

The surrounding soldiers also wore bewildered expressions, bending to pick up the ammunition that had fallen at their feet; then a group looked toward the Rebel camp's densely packed armaments, their eyes gradually filling with great anticipation.

Xisi rose, pointing directly at the Laser Rifle of the Rebel beside him.

Bunoke dazedly took the rifle, while the surrounding soldiers who witnessed this seemed to receive a signal, no longer bothering with concealment, and straightaway headed for the weapons stored around the Rebel camp.

Know that Xisi is rapidly expanding his army, and material pressure is immense.

Even uniforms are scarce, let alone weapons.

Now many new recruits still use inferior homemade weapons, and even an entire regiment has outright adopted cold weapons.

Now encountering such an opportunity to scavenge, how could Xisi possibly give it up?

Even Xisi looked at the wide Rebel Forces position ahead, and he waved to more soldiers behind him, signaling them to start systematically clearing the Rebel Forces' weapons.

Laser Rifles were just the standard; even at some key firepower points, the soldiers directly brought out over a dozen grenade machine guns!

Rocket launchers, flamethrowers, laser machine guns and other conventional heavy weapons were even piled up on the ground, carried on shoulders and backs.

The Rebel Forces' weapons were so abundant that Xisi's troops could directly change equipment on the spot!

Until the entire Rebel Forces position's equipment was cleared, all of Xisi's soldiers were fully equipped with thermal weapons, and heavy firepower was greatly strengthened; only then did a group of people excitedly look toward Xisi, preparing to withdraw from Nest City according to the plan.

The surrounding Rebel Forces also breathed more heavily, and an irrepressible joy spread out.

Bunoke was also satisfied, and he exchanged his weapon for a grenade machine gun in his hand!

But just when everyone thought things should continue according to normal procedure, Xisi looked at the Rebel Forces' hands, which now had no weapons, while his own soldiers had all changed equipment; without hesitation, he naturally drew his sidearm.

Raise, aim up, pull the trigger!

The gunshot was especially loud in the silence; then, with the Rebel Forces and soldiers all staring in shock, Xisi kicked over the nearby Rebel Forces pretending to sleep:

"Everyone get up!"

"I still need a few more tanks!!!"