SCOM - Chapter 70
Chapter 70
Luo Shaoyuan's warning to the army troops wasn't early enough. By the time her message got through, some troops had already been attacked. Waist-high robot dogs, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, assaulted them with incredible speed. Even well-trained troops suffered heavy casualties under such a surprise attack.
Small and fast, the robot dogs were difficult to hit even with light guns. Furthermore, these types of machines required destroying the brain chip to disable them.
Not long after Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi boarded the aircraft, they received news that the mines, administrative center, and port were under attack. These three locations held a large concentration of troops, especially the West Union Army.
The Northern District had recently fought a battle with the Gashro Empire at the border. Zuo Dihong, unable to come personally, dispatched a brigade from the Winter Army and informed the Western District about the silver-green metal, requesting their troops to assist. Naturally, the Western District demanded a share of the profits in return.
With the Northern District guarding the border, one brigade was the limit they could spare. However, the currently peaceful Western District sent an entire division of the West Union Army, packing Xijiang Exile Star to the brim.
“Most of the West Union Army is at the administrative center and the port,” Ji Yuezhi said. “The Western District sent too many people. If they suffer heavy losses here, it will pose a significant threat to the stability of their border.”
The Western District's ability to deploy so many troops meant their border defense against the Gashro Empire was stretched thin. Troops weren't trained overnight. If so many West Union soldiers were lost on Xijiang Exile Star, the Western District's combat power would inevitably decrease, making it much easier for the Gashro Empire to launch an offensive on their western border.
Ren Pingbo's plan was truly ruthless.
“We’re going to the port,” Zuo Luohuan said.
With no other options, they had to directly confront the Gashro Empire's new generation of robot dogs.
Just then, Ji Yuezhi received a communication from Ji Xixiu. He paused for a moment before answering in front of Zuo Luohuan.
“Our people obtained the latest information from Gashro,” Ji Xixiu said, clearly aware of the situation on Xijiang Exile Star. “Those robot dogs are the Gashro Empire’s third generation. They don’t need light guns or blades to attack; their entire bodies are weapons. I’ll send you a short video.”
The video appeared to be from a corner of a laboratory. A silver-white robot dog, with humanoid paws, stood facing a second-generation robot dog. The second-generation dog fired its light gun wildly at the third-generation one. However, the third generation was small and incredibly fast. It dodged the barrage, lunged at the second-generation dog, and extended hooked claws from its paws, digging them into the second-generation’s body. Simultaneously, its neck extended, its jaws opening to reveal rows of serrated teeth. It bit down on the second-generation dog’s head, severing it, then chewed and swallowed the remains.
Hooked claws on its paws, an extendable neck, incredibly sharp teeth, and exceptional speed—this thing was extremely lethal.
“The most crucial point is the message our people brought back,” Ji Xixiu said, looking intently at his son. “When a third-generation dog loses its chip, it explodes. The blast radius is at least a hundred meters.”
Hearing this, Zuo Luohuan frowned. If so many third-generation robot dogs on Xijiang Exile Star were truly this powerful, it wouldn't just be about preserving the army's strength; even escaping alive would be a miracle.
“Xiao Yue, we’ll send reinforcements. It’ll take two days at most. You… hold on.” Ji Xixiu finished, his gaze shifting to Zuo Luohuan, his expression complex. “The people you brought… it’s best if none of them get hurt.”
Zuo Luohuan glanced at Ji Yuezhi, then back at Ji Xixiu. “He won’t be hurt.”
Ji Yuezhi disliked hearing such words, as if Zuo Luohuan intended to trade her life for his. He frowned slightly.
Before ending the communication, Ji Xixiu said one last thing: “In two days, I’ll arrive at Xijiang Exile Star. Protect the port.”
…
Ji Xixiu’s information was accurate. When Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi arrived at the port, a West Union soldier accidentally hit and destroyed a third-generation robot dog, triggering an explosion.
This self-destruction served two purposes: to prevent the Federation from obtaining the technology and to inflict a final attack upon the Federation troops.
“If the explosions can hurt us, they can hurt them too,” Ji Yuezhi said as he disembarked with Zuo Luohuan. “I wonder where their chips are hidden.”
Since their arrival, there had been only one explosion, clearly a result of the West Union soldier’s accidental hit.
Zuo Luohuan glanced back at him. “I’ll go find the chips.”
“…Be careful,” Ji Yuezhi said instinctively.
“I promised your father,” Zuo Luohuan said with a smile in her eyes. “Wait for me.”
The port’s main hall was splattered with blood. The sudden attack had resulted in many people having their necks bitten through. The third-generation robot dogs were too fast, and the West Union Army was already struggling to cope, also tasked with protecting the civilians at the port.
Zuo Luohuan looked up at the second and third floors, her gaze turning cold. Screams and cries echoed from above.
Ji Yuezhi watched as she darted forward, stepped onto the escalator railing, leaped upwards, grabbed the second-floor glass railing, and flipped into the second-floor waiting area.
Zuo Luohuan scanned the area. It seemed only one family of travelers remained on the second floor, surrounded by over a hundred West Union soldiers. Despite this, they were steadily losing ground against the onslaught of more than twenty third-generation robot dogs.
The screams had come from the young traveler in the center, who had witnessed a West Union soldier being torn apart by a robot dog.
Zuo Luohuan snapped her fingers. “Time for a change of players.”
Half of the robot dogs surrounding the travelers turned their red eyes towards her.
“You’d better find a chance to retreat and don’t fire randomly,” Zuo Luohuan continued, ignoring the gruesome scene. “If you hit a third-generation dog’s chip, it will self-destruct, affecting everything within a hundred meters.”
The West Union soldiers, recognizing Zuo Luohuan, felt relieved they hadn’t hit the robot dogs’ chips.
Their immediate priority was to escort the travelers to safety.
“Everyone has retreated to the first-floor emergency shelter,” said the apparent leader of the West Union soldiers to Zuo Luohuan. “But we can’t go there now; there are more of these things down there.”
“Do you know where these robot dogs came from?” Zuo Luohuan asked.
The soldier nodded. “The army was taking over Xijiang Exile Star, so the port was a key inspection point. Today, several squads opened the infirmaries on the first, second, and third floors and found many silver-white boxes inside, similar to the black boxes found at the Hong family’s place. They were about to report it, but before they could, the boxes transformed into these things.”
Those squads were almost completely wiped out.
Zuo Luohuan dodged a lunging robot dog, removed the weighted bands from her wrists, and tossed them to the ground, creating two small craters. The robot dogs were fast, but Zuo Luohuan was faster. The West Union soldiers could barely see her moves as she kicked a robot dog, sending it flying.
Not just their paws, but the seemingly smooth surfaces of the third-generation robot dogs would erect steel spines upon contact. Had Zuo Luohuan not retracted her foot quickly, she would have been impaled.
Zuo Luohuan didn’t fully engage, merely keeping the robot dogs occupied. Once the West Union soldiers and the family of travelers were a safe distance away, she rotated her wrists, drew her soft blades, and moved in for the kill.
Close-quarters combat wasn’t ideal, as Zuo Luohuan didn’t know the location of the detonation point. But without getting close, she couldn’t observe where the chip was hidden.
Zuo Luohuan initially suspected the head, attempting to sever it with her blades, but that wasn’t the location.
One, two…
Even after being dismembered, the robot dogs’ limbs could still attack, though with reduced effectiveness. Zuo Luohuan examined the heads, limbs, and bodies of the destroyed robots, but found no chip.
Where else could it be hidden? When they disembarked the aircraft, where did those West Union soldiers at the entrance shoot the robot dogs?
Zuo Luohuan replayed the scene in her mind. The robot dog had been lunging at them, jaws open, about to bite the soldiers.
Bite?
Zuo Luohuan’s gaze fell upon the snarling robot dogs, their gleaming serrated teeth bared. Their lethality was self-evident.
She stood motionless, baiting the robot dogs to pounce, aiming to sever her neck. Her eyes quickly scanned their open mouths as she dropped to the ground, sliding out from under their snapping jaws.
She knew where the chips were. Now she needed to test her theory.
Zuo Luohuan ran towards the second-floor glass railing, the robot dogs in hot pursuit. She slowed down at times, letting them get close enough to almost bite her, then darted away at the last second.
As the railing drew closer, Zuo Luohuan flipped over it and jumped down to the first floor, the robot dogs leaping after her.
“The chips are inside their throats,” Zuo Luohuan called out to Ji Yuezhi, who was waiting below, as she landed.
Ji Yuezhi looked up at the descending robot dogs with their gaping maws, his heart skipping a beat. But upon hearing Zuo Luohuan’s words, he instantly drew his light gun and fired at the robots’ throats.
Not just one, but several. Ji Yuezhi’s hand moved swiftly, hitting every robot dog that was further from Zuo Luohuan and closer to the group.
All of this happened in mere seconds.
Before Zuo Luohuan could fully land, the robot dogs that had jumped down after her detonated one after another.
The hundred-meter blast radius wasn’t a measure of explosive power, but rather the range within which the fragmented robot parts would be propelled outwards, impaling anything in their path.
Seeing the debris flying towards Zuo Luohuan’s back, Ji Yuezhi’s eyes widened. He raised his light gun and shot down the incoming fragments, but there were too many…
Zuo Luohuan had been prepared, but she hadn’t expected Ji Yuezhi to stand there without moving, shooting at the debris. She dodged a few pieces, landed, and quickly grabbed Ji Yuezhi, rolling with him behind the first-floor service counter.
Zuo Luohuan shielded Ji Yuezhi with her body, their figures pressed tightly together. She let out a low laugh. "I was just going to compliment our perfect coordination, but why didn't you take cover when the explosions went off?"
“There were fragments behind you,” Ji Yuezhi said, turning his face away.
“Thank you for protecting me, Yuezhi,” Zuo Luohuan said, her hands braced on either side of him, a faint smile in her eyes. “But next time, protect yourself first. Those fragments wouldn’t have hurt me.”
The flying debris made a whistling sound, which she could easily avoid.
The commotion was bound to attract more robot dogs. Zuo Luohuan stood up, pulled Ji Yuezhi to his feet, and glanced at the light gun in his hand. “Your aim is certainly better than mine.”
Ji Yuezhi wasn’t in the mood for jokes. He pursed his lips and frowned. “That was dangerous.”
So many robot dogs had detonated in a chain reaction. As they stood up, they could see the service counter was riddled with embedded metal fragments.
“I’ll be more careful next time,” Zuo Luohuan said casually.
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