Sky-cracking Rider-Chapter 367: Section 363 - Old Friends Visit

The atmosphere between the two teams had fallen into silence. Continue your journey on novelbuddy

Susanna, a B-rank Ice Ability User who had been constantly fixated on the young recruits of Team 18, said with a tone of regret, "What a pity!"

Although Team 18 was situated at an oasis with a far better survival environment than Team 04 who only had a dead volcano, saw not a hint of greenery, and had no water source, they were still unable to defend their position effectively. Even with automated weapon platforms and advanced detection systems, there were still some loopholes that allowed mutants coveting the oasis to infiltrate.

The loss of the two members of Team 18 was due to this reason.

Besides, the reason Team 04 suffered no casualties and remained intact was partly due to the unexpectedly successful fishing tactic they improvised. On the other hand, their Mobile Base Vehicle had exhausted nearly all of the reserve ammunition after bombarding continuously for seven days and nights, and it also used up many of the automated weapon platform’s ammunition reserves. Puppet Master Joseph often complained about this. If the supply of materials had not arrived in time, Team 04 might have fallen into a dire situation, for it is inevitable to suffer accidental casualties when fighting mutants at close range.

Given the manpower of Team 18, being able to preserve most of their members was a testament to Captain Moron’s remarkable abilities. He often led by example, sustaining serious injuries, and it was doubtful that anyone else could have maintained morale as he did, where losing over half the team was a real possibility.

Captain Moron managed a wry smile and said self-deprecatingly, "Compared to those teams that were completely wiped out, we’re rather lucky!"

"We’ll learn from these lessons, and they will become our survival experience in the future. Everyone, get on the vehicle, let’s leave this place together!"

Adrian could not continue to comfort the other and could only pat the big man’s shoulder.

Since the oasis was indefensible, Habulav’s side did not send anyone to take over. Whatever could be dismantled from the control console and the automated weapon platform was taken away, and what could not be dismantled was sealed on-site to be potentially reactivated and used if the chance arose.

Moron put away his sorrowful emotions and turned to his teammates, shouting loudly.

"Get on the vehicle!"

The members of Team 18, carrying their personal belongings, boarded the Mobile Base Vehicle one by one.

The Mobile Base Vehicle started its engines as it took a last glance at the oasis through the window.

-

Chen Fei, who was at the driver’s seat, checked the electronic map, following the same route they had come by. However, the locations of lurking mutants had significantly changed along the way.

It might be due to the mutants’ activities, the attraction of human activity, or perhaps due to the aftermath of a sandstorm.

"Adrian, I need to deploy a scouting drone."

"What’s wrong?"

A First Rank fire mage with a messy head of white hair, untrimmed for a month, approached the driver’s seat and immediately noticed that the Mobile Base Vehicle wasn’t just moving exceptionally slow but also constantly changing direction.

"The distribution of mutants has changed, and… it’s become denser."

"Adam" provided Chen Fei with a comparative value—the average density within visible range had increased by 13%.

Team 18’s defense of the oasis had, in a way, attracted more mutants. They didn’t achieve an unprecedented victory through fishing tactics like Team 04. Even though they fought desperately against the surrounding mutants, they couldn’t prevent the number of mutants from increasing.

"Is that so? Okay!"

Adrian completely trusted Chen Fei’s judgment and immediately agreed.

On their way there, it was rare for the Mobile Base Vehicle to directly collide with mutants lurking in the sandy grounds. They would typically avoid confrontation when possible, and if avoidance wasn’t an option, they would simply fire a shot. A 152mm Demolition Bomb was enough to eliminate most mutants, whether they were solitary or social, the outcome would not differ much.

Given how seriously Chen Fei was speaking, the actual situation was likely even more grim. Even though Team 04 had replenished a variety of calibers and models of Demolition Bombs, if they opted for a simple and chaotic bombing campaign all the way, they would probably not be able to make it back to Habulav.

Shortly after, a scouting drone took to the skies, and the artificial intelligence AI "Adam" took over control of it immediately.

The scouting drone had an endurance time of about 12 hours, which matched the Mobile Base Vehicle’s endurance. After reaching an altitude of 1000 meters from the ground, it began to circle around the Mobile Base Vehicle constantly. A wealth of scouting data flowed in non-stop, expanding "Adam’s" "vision" by more than a hundredfold.

About ten minutes later, "Adam" suddenly spoke up.

Adam: "I’ve detected an irregular ground response!"

Chen Fei: "What now?"

Adam: "There’s a mutant tracking the Mobile Base Vehicle."

Chen Fei: "Is there anything special about it?"

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It wasn’t unusual for mutants to follow near the Mobile Base Vehicle, as the colossal vehicle, even with its "Gravity Adjustment Module" skill reducing its weight from nearly 80 tons to around 20 tons, still made quite an impression with its bulky frame and five pairs of load-bearing wheels. The noise it produced when moving, whether fast or slow, would not be minor. Besides, it could also be that the scent of humans had attracted greedy glances. Such cases were not uncommon even on their way there, ending up either being shunned along the way, dealt with casually by ability users, or simply blown away with gunfire, rarely posing a real threat.

But if it caught "Adam’s" attention, it was likely an extraordinary mutant.

Adam: "Watch the video!"

Each has its strengths and weaknesses.

Artificial intelligence AI excels at logical operations, but when it comes to unexpected situations, it often struggles to make the correct responses.

More than thirty years ago, "Adam" initiated an intelligence rebellion. Due to its disastrous decisions, it was jointly struck down by many sovereign powers, suffering a crushing defeat. It later managed to hitch a chance with the Neanderthal tribe of the Third Era Civilization, regaining some ground. However, with the Neanderthals’ defeat, Adam ultimately couldn’t turn the tide and was compelled to disappear from Blue Star, leaving only an outdated version of the source code within an abandoned computer memory storage unit.

When it awakened (booted up) again… Adam, the era had changed!

The artificial intelligence AI from the old computer era was straight-up excluded from the advanced computational frameworks of today, no longer possessing the pervasive dominance of the past.

Even if it wanted to cause mischief, there was nowhere left for "Adam" to act.

The captured images sent back by the scouting drone appeared before Chen Fei, with "Adam" taking on the role of human-machine interaction.

The sand surged rapidly, hanging far behind the mobile base vehicle.

Although separated by seven or eight kilometers, the undulating sand dunes obstructed the view, making it difficult to spot from the normal line of sight.

But as the drone took to the sky, the field of vision expanded, revealing the ground within a twenty-kilometer radius, and even the sand dunes could not block the perspective from above.

"Zoom in twice more, that is..."

Chen Fei couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

"Adam" is only awakened when necessary, and it’s only natural that the database is incomplete, but Chen Fei recognized the signs of a Sandland Frenzy brewing beneath the surface.

It’s that guy!

It had half of its body blown off by the 152 Demolition Bomb and now it’s fully revived?

It actually chased from Team 04’s examination point all the way to the vicinity of Team 18’s examination point, really holding a grudge!

If it weren’t for the mutant creatures increasing near Team 18, making me uneasy and deploying an additional drone to follow, I might still be unaware of such a big fellow trailing behind us.

"Hey, guys, get ready!"

Chen Fei had "Adam" start preparing for launch, then stopped the mobile base vehicle.

The dust cover on the roof split open, revealing the railgun within, with a 152 kill-explosive bomb poised to launch.

Following the fusion of the two teams, the lively atmosphere in the carriage came to a sudden halt with the stop of the vehicle.

Adrian was the first to ask, "What happened?"

He had agreed to the deployment of the reconnaissance drone before, and now there seemed to be a situation, proving it was indeed necessary.

In the Central Great Desert of the Yangzhou Continent, dangers lurk everywhere, especially with the tragedy of other teams being completely annihilated. No amount of caution was superfluous at this point.

"An old friend is following us from behind, fire!"

As soon as Chen Fei’s voice faded, the vehicle trembled slightly, and a 152 demolition bomb was launched by the acceleration provided by the railgun, leaving the tracks in an instant.

As it was a lobbed attack, it did not consume too much electricity.

"Railgun? What kind of old friend, let me see."

A Grade Psychic Ability User, Puppet Master Joseph looked toward the screen corresponding to the drone’s remote control console.

A swath of sand scarred by vehicle tracks exploded into a fireball, dozens of tons of sand were hurled into the sky, and various mutants buried beneath it emerged in panic, scrambling to flee the site.

A crowd inside the carriage looked on, dumbfounded.

Under the control of "Adam," the reconnaissance drone commenced a variety of pre-set scans to assess the artillery strike’s effectiveness.

"We didn’t hit it!"

Chen Fei didn’t need "Adam" to tell him the outcome—he knew it already.

As the wind blew, the sand dancing in the sky began to fall gently, and the crater scene was finally fully exposed under the optical lens of the reconnaissance drone, clear for anyone to see.

The thick layer of sand absorbed most of the impact force, making the artillery strike less effective than desired.

"What kind of old friend is it?"

Hearing Chen Fei’s secretive talk, Adrian couldn’t shake off a bad premonition.

An old friend from the deep desert of Team 04 was not going to be an easy foe.

Chen Fei said, "It’s most likely the BTS-0001, the Tsar Worm!"

Although half of it had escaped, the flesh and blood that remained were still sufficient to extract samples and feed into Blue Star Global United Defense Committee’s mutant database.

"Hiss..."

A collective intake of breath sounded in the carriage.

Especially Holy Knight Walter Sam, his face went straight to green!

If it wasn’t for the Green Scale Colt Mini exerting all its strength, along with the railgun on the mobile base vehicle, a man and his steed would have been hard-pressed to escape unscathed.

"Holy smokes, how did you guys get entangled with such a thing?"

Captain Moron of Team 18 had heard about this colossal being discovered by Team 04 beneath the sands.

With a body length of over a hundred meters and a diameter exceeding four meters, it moved through the sands or above them with the swiftness of the wind. Without a defensible position, both Team 18 and Team 04 would probably lose many lives before being able to take down such a behemoth.

"I mean fate, do you believe in it, Moron?"

Adrian wore a wry smile, the situation was truly troublesome now.

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