Chapter 70

"Boom boom"

The black mech, originally crouching, slowly rose to its feet, its immense weight causing the nearby sandy ground to tremble slightly.

The three men and one woman nearby immediately ran off, putting distance between themselves and the mech.

Not just Unit 18—hundreds of other mechs also had players climbing inside and activating them.

Through the synchronized clear image transmitted across his helmet visor, Wang Yu saw everything around him clearly, then lifted his feet and took a few steps forward.

The next moment, the black mech also took a few steps forward, but its gait was slow and clumsy.

"What’s going on? This feels far more strenuous than during the internal test, and the sync response is sluggish." Wang Yu shook his two arms in confusion.

The black mech’s arms followed a beat later, swaying twice in response.

Wang Yu couldn’t help but feel speechless.

At that moment, a beautiful female voice sounded in his ear:

"Time’s up. New recruit 146th Mech Infantry Squad, deploy."

"Mission destination: Mars Base fifteen li away, invaded by Starcloud Beasts. Mission objective: Eliminate all Starcloud Beasts blocking your path to clear a corridor for incoming mech squads."

"Activate sand-running mode, power consumption at fifty percent."

Wang Yu gave the order with excitement; the black mech’s legs emitted a hum, its knees bent, and wheeled tracks extended from both shins.

"Boom boom"

With the tracks propelling it, the black mech surged forward like a humanoid tank.

Not just Unit 18—over two hundred other mechs transformed into the same form, converging into a vast black dragon heading straight for the mission target.

…

"Crash"

A black mech to Wang Yu’s left collided with a large rock jutting from the ground; its track tilted, causing the entire massive body to roll over.

Total novice!

Wang Yu watched this, shook his head inside the mech, then suddenly shifted his feet—the external black mech slid sideways, avoiding another large rock half-buried in the sand, tracing a long arc before returning to its original path.

"Crash"

But the mech behind couldn’t dodge in time and flipped over onto its back.

Seeing this, Wang Yu could only sigh.

Along this stretch, they hadn’t even encountered enemies yet, and nearly one-tenth of the mech squad was already out of commission.

But just then, a beautiful female alarm voice echoed in his ear:

"Large traces of Starcloud Beasts detected ahead. Confirmed: small group of Huang Li Beasts. Switch to combat formation. All mech operators, prepare for engagement. Prepare for engagement..."

No sooner had the words ended than the first dozen black mechs exploded into massive fireballs.

The rear mech group scattered, switching back to bipedal mode and standing upright.

At the same moment, a deafening cacophony erupted ahead—howls like wolves, wails like ghosts.

Dozens of earth-yellow beasts of varying sizes burst from the sand, charging toward the oncoming black mech formation.

The smallest were five to six chi tall, the largest over one zhang—but all shared identical appearances.

Their surfaces gleamed like Liuli , with lizard-like triangular heads, two long white light bands fluttering from their waists, four thick powerful limbs beneath, and a slender, snake-like tail trailing behind.

"Swoosh" "Swoosh"

As the beasts’ side light bands flashed white, they hurled long streaks of luminous energy—another dozen mechs were pierced through and exploded.

At this moment, mechs armed with silver long spears also aimed at the yellow beasts and pulled their triggers.

"Chit" "Chit"

Streams of crimson light shot out, but most were effortlessly dodged; only five or six beasts were knocked rolling, yet they shook their heads and rose again.

The next instant, the mech group and the beast horde clashed in close combat.

"Thud" "Thud"

Roughly forty to fifty Huang Li Beasts surged forward; the first dozen black mechs were instantly toppled, their abdomens or skulls torn and bitten open, most losing mobility.

But a few black mechs drew golden serrated blades and slashed incoming Huang Li Beasts cleanly in two—though such feats were exceedingly rare.

Most mechs operated in teams of several against a single yellow beast, yet the Huang Li Beasts leapt and bounded, picking them off one by one.

Across every player squad channel, screams and curses erupted in chaos.

"Hurry up, I can’t hold on!"

"You idiot, still using the light gun? Don’t you know Huang Li Beasts are immune to particle beams? Switch to your backup alloy dagger!"

"Don’t aim for the head! Their weak point is the abdomen! How did you even read the guide?!"

"Quick, flank it from both sides, trap it! No—again, it’s escaped!"

"This damn mech is too heavy, it can’t react fast enough!"

"It’s over, it’s over—they’re coming for me! We’re all dead this time!"

…

"Eighth"

Wang Yu’s black mech suddenly crouched, raising its golden serrated blade overhead—just one upward slash split a Huang Li Beast mid-air, spilling a torrent of white fluid as its corpse tumbled into the sand.

The mech then swayed, driving its elbow into the neck of another Huang Li Beast lunging from the side, sending it crashing down with a howl of pain.

A flash of cold light.

The golden serrated blade severed it cleanly at the waist.

"Ninth"

"Boom" "Boom"

The last two remaining black mechs nearby exploded into fragments.

Wang Yu froze, scanning his surroundings, then let out a bitter laugh.

Of the original two-hundred-man mech squad, only seven or eight mechs remained—each crippled, limbs torn, trembling on the verge of collapse.

Yet over a dozen Huang Li Beasts still stood, massive in size, with seven or eight now surrounding him in a tight circle.

Strange indeed!

He’d felt this mech was clumsy and sluggish, nothing like during the internal test—but in actual combat, he’d slaughtered these Huang Li Beasts like cutting through melons, far surpassing his internal test performance.

"Alert, alert: energy consumption excessive. Remaining power insufficient. Mech will cease operation. Countdown initiated..."

Hearing the mechanical voice inside the mech, Wang Yu could only grimace.

At that moment, the seven or eight yellow beasts simultaneously whipped their light bands—dozens of white beams streaked toward the mech.

Wang Yu grunted, swinging both arms with all his strength.

Unit 18’s black mech hurled its golden serrated blade with all its force, screaming toward the nearest Huang Li Beast.