Chapter 185: Predator Down

With five minutes left until the battle begins, Major William and his men are fully prepared; considering the astonishing aerial combat record Frenzy created during the Battle of Las Vegas, even though dozens of Apache Attack Helicopters are ready, they are prepared to focus on a ground advance for this battle.

After the two Predator Drones took off, Major William immediately went to the data reception vehicle to watch the data transmitted back by the drones.

"Designation P3009C, wind speed Level 3, wind direction southwest, flight altitude 2415 meters..."

"Designation P2916X, wind speed Level 3, wind direction southwest, flight altitude 2931 meters..."

"Pull up the ground imagery..."

Inside the data reception vehicle, Major William leaned toward the screen and requested of the console.

"Yes, sir."

The console quickly followed his request, linking the ground footage captured by the two Predator Drones to the vehicle.

"There are no traces of any buildings on the ground; if the satellites are not mistaken, the only place those Decepticons could be hiding is here..."

Pointing a finger at the video transmitted by one of the drones, Major William's expression turned grim; the location he pointed to was an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Silo abandoned by the U. S. military for many years.

The United States built too many of these things during the Cold War, and starting from the 1980s, they were abandoned on a large scale as the Cold War between the U. S. and the Soviet Union eased.

Because there was no desire to continue maintenance or spend more money on demolition, almost all the abandoned Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Silos failed to gain any effective reuse.

As a result, no one ever expected that decades later, one such abandoned silo would become a base for alien Mechanical Life.

"I have already reported this to the Pentagon; soon the military will restart a comprehensive inspection of abandoned silos within the country..." Major William said, his eyes fixed intently on the screen: "Sergeant, I need your aircraft to fly lower, preferably close to the silo!"

"No problem, sir!"

After receiving the order, the Sergeant responsible for controlling the drone immediately maneuvered one Predator to drop its flight altitude from over two thousand meters to four or five hundred meters, preparing to approach the silo for filming.

Inside the data reception vehicle, everyone crowded in front of the screen, preparing to see the situation at the silo up close.

Suddenly, a red alarm sounded violently.

"Beep... beep... beep..."

"What's the situation?"

Major William's expression changed, and he hurriedly asked the command console.

"Sir, the Predator has been locked onto by a missile..." The young Sergeant at the console who was controlling the low-altitude Predator had only just answered with a pale face when, suddenly, two missiles appeared in the drone's surveillance field of view.

"No..."

Captain Robert covered his face in pain; coming from a special forces background, he knew that the Predator's flight altitude was too low, and it was already too late to react.

Sure enough, almost the moment he closed his eyes in pain, accompanied by a violent explosion, the screen of one of the data receivers in the control center turned into static, filled with crackling radio noise.

"We've been discovered... damn it..."

Major William's face was gloomy as he stomped his feet in frustration.

The "beep-beep-beep" alarm did not cease with the destruction of that drone; instead, it continued to sound.

Almost the moment he stomped his feet, another panicked voice rang out, "It's a Hellfire Missile... how is that possible?"

"Hellfire?"

The expressions of everyone in the data reception vehicle changed in unison; Hellfire is one of the U. S. military's standard missiles, an air-to-ground missile designed by Lockheed Martin specifically for the Apache Attack Helicopter to target ground tank units.

Although it has developed to the point where Hellfire is no longer used only by Apaches, and the United States has exported many Hellfire missiles overseas, it is certain that the export of almost every Hellfire missile is strictly controlled.

"Hellfire? How could our missiles appear here?"

Major William looked incredulous and hurriedly pushed past an officer in front to get to another data receiver, preparing to check the situation.

Yet, unexpectedly, almost the moment his gaze fell upon the screen, an explosion suddenly occurred, and then the screen flickered and also turned into static.

"The Predator... is finished..."

The young Sergeant in front of the data receiver turned pale, and tears began to glisten in his eyes.

He had tried his best to control the drone, attempting to increase the Predator's speed to the maximum after the radar detected the missile lock, while also raising the flight altitude to over six thousand meters.

But it was of no use!

Four Hellfire missiles came rushing toward it; although he had also launched the 2 Stinger Air-to-Air Missiles loaded on the drone in an attempt to shake them off, it was still hit in the fuselage by a Hellfire and exploded.

Crack!

His finger bones crackled as he clenched his fists, and Major William took a long breath.

Looking down at the time on his watch, which had reached the final minute, he finally held back, straightened his military cap, and placed it on his head, "Pass the word down, prepare for battle."

He had wanted to notify the Autobots to let them take the lead!

After all, although Major William, as the Commander of NEST, had fought side-by-side with the Autobots several times and knew how their strength compared to the U. S. military.

But as a soldier, a proud American soldier, his pride did not allow the army under his command to play second fiddle to the Autobots.

After hesitating for a while, the pride of an American soldier ultimately overcame everything, and Major William still decided that this battle would be led by the U. S. military, with the Autobots only playing a supporting role.

Presently, as the agreed-upon battle time arrived, dozens of Apache Attack Helicopters rose rapidly into the air amidst a roar, and M1A2 Main Battle Tanks currently in service with the U. S. military drove out from their hiding spots one after another and began to assemble.

The fully armed Major William also stepped into an infantry fighting vehicle, opened the general communication channel, and said loudly: "All units, what we are launching today is a secret operation. This is the second operation since the establishment of our NEST unit; although we achieved perfect success in the last battle in Tucson, this does not mean today will be the same. In fact, just moments ago, the two drones we launched have completely lost contact!"

"... It is clear that our target for today is a more vicious and cunning Decepticon... We do not know much about him, and we cannot even be certain if there is only one target today..."

"But we are all Elite Warriors from various branches of the U. S. military, the bravest and most battle-hardened soldiers of the United States... We do not fear hardship, we are fearless, and this victory will surely belong to us..."

"Now, I give the order. Operation begins..."