175: Chapter 175: Shadow (Part 1) 175: Chapter 175: Shadow (Part 1) “Ugh, just lucky, I guess.”
Su Ming responded awkwardly, and indeed as the saying went: when you tell one lie, you have to tell countless lies to cover it up.
“Haha, no need to be so modest.
We saw what you did just now; aside from big sis, I doubt many in our team could pull it off.”
“Why aren’t you talking?
Don’t tell me you’re shy?”
“Cao Ran, do you have a girlfriend?”
One girl after another teased, the conversation getting more wayward as it went on.
Su Ming’s head began to hurt from all the chatter; he had never spoken to so many girls before, and each one was bolder than the last.
Fortunately, at this moment, Ai Yin spoke up to stop them.
“Get serious, everyone.
Focus.
We’re in the middle of combat; no chatting.”
“Yes, Sister Ai Yin!”
Lan Yue and the other girls promptly calmed down.
At this time, the team continued to move forward with the main force, and more and more Chilami monsters swarmed around them.
Everyone felt the pressure intensifying.
Su Ming repeatedly raised his beam rifle, taking aim and firing at the incoming Chilami.
Zipping sounds filled the air.
One after another, the beams hit the Chilami, their black cellular bodies dissolving away bit by bit, providing a strangely satisfying sight.
He did not use the smart assist but relied purely on himself.
Although the smart assist system’s trajectory correction was very useful, becoming too dependent on it could create illusions.
Once facing the Mechanical Clan, weaknesses would be exposed.
“Su Ming, your shooting is so precise!
I can see you’re not using the smart assist.”
An Ruoxue’s praise was genuine.
“It’s alright.
I’ve just played with ancient mounted archery before, so this comes a bit easier to me.”
Su Ming kept his explanation simple.
After all, archery with a bow was a lot harder than using a beam gun.
“I see.”
An Ruoxue nodded slightly.
Time slipped away, and before long, Amonks’s team had made it nearly halfway through their journey.
Although they had encountered strong resistance along the way and lost over a hundred members,
Timi wasn’t worried but filled with confidence because her worst-case scenario was to reach the central area with 1000 people remaining.
If the casualty rate continued at the current pace, most of the core combat strength would be preserved by the time they reached the central area.
However, just at that moment, the scanning devices on Timi’s and Dirken’s mechas suddenly emitted a piercing alarm, and four red warning boxes popped up.
“Warning: Unidentified Chilami mass detected, Kais biological reaction value at 1352!”
“Warning: Unidentified Chilami mass detected, Kais biological reaction value at 1211!”
“Everyone, be careful!”
Timi’s expression shifted as she sent out a warning to all the team members.
Su Ming and the others, hearing Timi’s alert, looked around vigilantly as if facing a formidable enemy.
Just then, four black shadows, like ghostly apparitions, attacked, and before the team could get a clear view,
the shadows forcefully infiltrated the ranks of the team.
Crack!
One mecha after another was sliced open, exploding thunderously.
“Damn it, die!”
Whoosh!
A Third Generation Mecha·Gun Knight lowered its cannon barrel, unleashing a dazzling beam at one of the black shadows that charged at them.
But the black shadow managed to withstand the assault of the beam.
Accompanied by the scattering light of the beam, the black shadow revealed its form—a mass of black cellular matter with countless writhing tentacles on its surface.
“What the hell is this thing?”
The pilot of the Third Generation Mecha·Gun Knight, with eyes wide, yelled.
The next second, the Chilami conglomerate suddenly pounced on the Third Generation Mecha·Gun Knight like a water balloon bursting, swallowing the Gun Knight whole before darting off into the distance.
“Ah!”
At that moment, a piercing scream echoed through the communication channel.
“Bakus!”
Then, comrades from all around, filled with rage, chased after the Chilami entity, firing desperately.
Whoosh whoosh~
Beams hit it repeatedly.
The Chilami conglomerate then spat out a deformed metallic lump that hit the ground and quickly moved to dodge, increasing its speed.
At this moment, the previously well-ordered team was thrown into disarray.
At the same time, a multitude of Chilami Parasites emerged from the buildings and street corners, and groups of Chilami flew in from the sky, madly charging at the people.
Su Ming immediately felt the pressure skyrocketing.
At this point, a Type II Elite·Chilami Parasite, with a form like a tadpole sporting two heads, charged at him.
Su Ming pulled the control stick, pushing the power lever to the limit, power surging as he charged forward and swung the alloy blade in his hand at the opponent.
Crack
The alloy blade was caught by the keratinized mouth of the Parasite, and no matter how much Su Ming increased the power, the blade couldn’t advance an inch.
Then, the body of the Type II Elite·Chilami Parasite suddenly squirmed, stretching out several black tentacles.
Su Ming’s eyelids twitched, he pulled the control stick to backflip away, while lowering the cannon on his shoulder, and fired a shot!
Boom!
One of the heads of the Type II Elite·Chilami Parasite exploded, spraying flesh and blood.
At that moment, An Ruoxue and Lin Chuyu simultaneously issued a warning.
“Su Ming, be careful of your right rear, it’s charging at you!”
Su Ming felt like prey under the gaze of a predator, cold sweat pouring down his back, sensing extreme danger.
However, he didn’t panic; instead, an indescribable excitement rose within him.
He maximized the power output, and the whole mecha rolled to the right in an evasive maneuver.
Swoosh!
A black shadow brushed past him, lunging straight for a Flame Knight within the team.
“Ah!”
A scream sounded through the communication channel as the Flame Knight exploded instantaneously.
“Zhou Ni!”
Ai Yin turned her head to look at the exploded teammate, fury fueling her as she lowered the beam cannon and fired at the Chilami.
Unfortunately, the enemy was too fast, easily dodging with a maneuver and continuing its attack on other members of the team.
Ai Yin restrained the impulse to pursue and issued orders to her comrades.
“Everyone, maintain formation, ignore that monster for now, and quickly deal with those distracting Chilami—free up your hands!”
“Yes!” everyone responded in unison.
Lan Yue and the others quickly regained their composure.
Hearing this, Su Ming swiftly got the mecha back on its feet and rushed toward the Type II Elite·Chilami Parasite with its head blown open.
“Yee!”
The Chilami flailed its tentacles angrily at Su Ming.
But Su Ming skillfully dodged to the side and then backhandedly chopped off its tentacles.
Following that, Su Ming lunged forward and thrust the blade into the remaining head of the Type II Elite·Chilami Parasite!
Crack!
“Yee!”
With a reluctant cry, the Chilami collapsed.
Su Ming pulled out the alloy blade, swiftly added two more strikes, then turned to look at his team.
He found that Ai Yin’s team had gradually recovered from the chaos.
Moreover, the main force of the academy had also managed to stabilize from the initial panic.