SCOM - Chapter 104
Chapter 104
Zuo Luohuan had never forgotten about the batch of weapons she had unexpectedly discovered on Xijiang Exile Star. She had even investigated the annual arms expenditures of the various army groups.
Ever since Ren Pingbo's defection, the number of traitors within the Federation had grown almost exponentially. The man possessed immense charisma, attracting countless followers. Even after he defected, some people were still secretly smuggling things out for him.
After so many years, there was no telling how many areas within the Federation had been corrupted. The Scavenger Army had been rapidly established in the second year following Ren Pingbo's defection.
Prompted by Zuo Luohuan, Jiang Hong mobilized his family's resources and began to consolidate information, trying to find clues from within the Federation.
"Over the past five years, the arms expenditures of the army groups have not been low." Zuo Luohuan brought out the document tables she had photographed in the Military Armaments Database. "Take a look."
Jiang Hong raised his hand to move the light screen and carefully examined the documents. "The Seventeenth Army's arms expenditure ratio is as high as the Winter Army's... Why is the Twenty-sixth Army's so high as well?"
It was the first time he had seen such a complete set of document tables. He suddenly remembered, "Is this what you found when you went to the Military Armaments Database at the start of your second year?"
Zuo Luohuan didn't deny it. "The Twenty-sixth Army gained security authority over the capital these past few years, and their arms spending has soared annually. Check on their weapons usage."
For years, the Seventeenth Army had held security authority over the capital. Later, when Ji Xixiu shifted his focus to weapons research and development, he transferred the authority to the Twenty-sixth Army. Since then, the Twenty-sixth Army began to increase its arms expenditures.
"I'll look into all of it," Jiang Hong said.
However, before Jiang Hong could uncover anything, the entire Federation began to suffer frequent internal attacks. It was unclear whether the self-inspections initiated in various districts had forced those hiding in the shadows to act prematurely, or if it was at Ren Pingbo's command.
The sudden eruption of conflict in various districts once again made the Federation understand Ren Pingbo's capabilities. Even though he had remained quiet and had never won a clear victory on the border, he could lie in wait internally and gradually dismantle the Federation.
"He must be insane!" Cha Lili's expression was grim as he looked at the news coming from the various districts. The Federation had only been stable for a few years, and their generation was just beginning to rise. How could Ren Pingbo do this?
"Wasn't Ren Pingbo always insane?" An Yingjing said with a dark face. "If he weren't, would he have defected?"
"The Western District is closest to us. The urban area has already been searched for the fifth time, so at least for a while, there won't be any fourth-generation robot dogs. We need to go support the Western District first," Jiang Hong analyzed. "If we go through the Western District, we can then head to the Southern District."
"No need," Ji Yuezhi said suddenly.
"What?" An Yingjing looked at him. "Why not?"
"The Military Committee sent us a direct rescue signal. The capital..." Ji Yuezhi swiped the light screen upwards to enlarge the short message. "Has fallen."
The conference room instantly fell silent. After a long moment, An Yingjing finally asked, "Could it be a trap?"
"Unlikely," Cha Lili was the first to shake his head. "We're not the only ones with skeletal mechs; other army groups have them too. Besides, why would they go to the trouble of setting a trap for us?"
Jiang Hong lowered his head, trying to contact his family. For something so major to happen in the capital, he hadn't received any notification at all.
A week ago, when he sent a message to investigate the arms expenditures of the army groups in the capital, the other side had only replied with a "received." He had assumed they were investigating. Could it be that something had already happened back then?
"I can't reach my father for the time being," Ji Yuezhi said calmly. "With riots and attacks in every district, we are the only ones with free hands."
"What if Gashiro forces attack the border after we leave?" An Yingjing said. "Once we go to the capital, it will take more than a day or two to get back to the Western District border, not to mention we have to guard against ambushes along the way."
"Regarding that..." Ji Yuezhi said, "Ten days ago, the latest weapons developed by the Seventeenth Army were delivered to the border lines of every district. If they still can't hold, then such is the Federation's fate."
"Latest weapons?" Cha Lili was stunned. They knew nothing about this, even though they had been on the border all this time, seeing the Western United Army soldiers every day.
It wasn't just him; most people in the conference room were completely unaware.
Only Zuo Luohuan, standing by the wall, had a calm expression. These weapons were developed by the Seventeenth Army and ultimately escorted to each district by the former 377th Army.
After a thorough investigation, the 377th Army had been purged of all suspicious individuals and then disbanded on the spot, with the Winter Army providing a substantial retirement pension. In reality, they had been secretly transporting the weapons developed by the Seventeenth Army to the borders of each district.
"All captains, assemble your teams. We depart in one hour," Ji Yuezhi said, standing up.
"Captain, the capital..." Jiang Hong was anxious, worried about his family. "Is there any other news?"
"Only this one message. I haven't received any information from the Jiang family for now," Ji Yuezhi said expressionlessly. "We'll know the situation once we enter the capital."
As the General Captain, he could not let any of his inner emotions show on his face at this moment.
Jiang Hong nodded and said he understood, following the others out of the conference room.
Zuo Luohuan stepped forward and took Ji Yuezhi's slightly trembling hand. "It was just an attack. With so many army groups in the capital, they'll have time."
With no one else in the conference room, Ji Yuezhi's face suddenly turned pale. "Besides this message, no other news has come out of the capital. This means Ren Pingbo took control of the situation extremely quickly, so fast that none of the major army groups had time to react."
Zuo Luohuan cupped his face with one hand and said faintly, "Or it means an army group has defected."
Only the defection of an army group in the capital could explain why not a single person had managed to send out a message.
Ji Yuezhi took a deep breath and pulled his hand away. "We should go."
The storm has arrived.
Before boarding the warship, Zuo Luohuan received a video communication from Zuo Dihong. He looked as if he hadn't rested in a long time, his face heavy with exhaustion.
"Zuo Luohuan, you're going to the capital?"
"Yes."
Zuo Dihong had probably also received the news from Ji Yuezhi. He looked deeply at Zuo Luohuan for a long time before saying, "Ren Pingbo is strong, but you are Zuo Dihong's daughter, the highest-level Alpha in the Federation to date. It should be you who deals with him."
"I know."
"Also... tell little Ji not to worry about his father. Ji Xixiu has always been cunning. Nothing will happen to him."
The words meant for Ji Yuezhi were filled with reassurance. Hearing this, Zuo Luohuan couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Alright."
Zuo Dihong was probably a little awkward, but the person on the other end was his daughter, and little Ji wasn't there, so he didn't have to worry so much. He simply hung up the communication.
Zuo Luohuan stared at the black screen, raising an eyebrow, then turned to find Ji Yuezhi and repeated the words to him.
"Thank you, Uncle." A surge of warmth filled Ji Yuezhi's heart, and a hint of a smile touched his eyes. "I know."
After the Exoskeleton Legion assembled, they flew all the way to the vicinity of the capital's port but did not attempt to dock directly.
They didn't know if the port had fallen and was under enemy control.
For the past few days, Jiang Hong had been trying to contact people from the Jiang family, as well as informants near the capital, all to no avail.
"We need to send someone to scout the port first," Cha Lili said. "I'll go."
Ji Yuezhi glanced back at him and agreed.
Cha Lili selected five hundred people to follow him out of the ship's bay. As their military aircraft approached, they were immediately met with cannon fire.
"The port has been taken!" someone in the military aircraft said.
"Wait," Cha Lili stopped the pilot, who was about to turn around. "Keep flying forward."
"But we're under attack," the pilot said. They were just in a military aircraft; if they were hit, there would be no chance of recovery.
Cha Lili ignored the pilot's words and insisted, "Keep moving forward, and watch out for the cannon fire."
At this moment, despite the risk of being attacked, no one else on the military aircraft voiced any objections.
"Light cannon at our 3 o'clock, left side! Nine o'clock, watch out!" the side observer shouted.
The pilot could only pull the aircraft up sharply, the fuselage rotating nearly 360 degrees. The team members inside all gripped the handrails tightly.
Two cannonballs collided below them, creating a massive shockwave.
Cha Lili's gaze fell on the direction of the attack. He suddenly said to the pilot, "Head directly for the port."
This time, the pilot didn't object. They had been formed into a team and were, for all intents and purposes, soldiers. To not fear death was the creed they upheld.
"General Captain, we're under attack at the port, but I suspect it hasn't been completely taken," Cha Lili sent a message to Ji Yuezhi on the warship. When they flew over just now, there were only two cannonballs. It was clear someone at the port was trying to stop the attackers, but he needed to confirm whether it was a trap. "We're going in now."
After receiving the message, Ji Yuezhi frowned. He turned and ordered Xiang Chengping and Luo Shaoyuan to lead a team out to follow Cha Lili, while the warship also moved forward, facing the port directly.
All the cannons on the warship were aimed at the port. Whether it was a trap or not, they had to go in.
Two more aircraft flew out from the warship, weaving through the cannon fire. With a warship supporting them from behind, they could push through even if they faced more intense fire from the port.
"Sooner or later, I'll wipe out the Gashiro Empire," Luo Shaoyuan muttered to herself, gripping the handrail tightly to suppress the urge to vomit.
Cha Lili's aircraft had its wing pierced before it could fully land in the Starship Port.
"Everyone jump, find cover!" Cha Lili could only shout.
Fortunately, they had already passed the port's defense net, so even without a proper landing, their lives were not in danger.
All five hundred team members donned their skeletal mechs, landing like phantoms and scattering swiftly to take cover behind the surrounding starships.
Sure enough, the moment they landed, light projectiles were fired from the observation tower, albeit intermittently.
Cha Lili gave a hand signal, and all the scattered team members began to advance. Their target was the observation tower; they had to go and seize control of the air.
Once he got closer, he confirmed it wasn't a trap. There were large patches of blood on the ground. The ones holding back the Gashiro forces here were the Scavenger Army.
"Are you the only ones who've arrived?" He Yue asked, wiping the blood from her face.
"There are more people behind us," Cha Lili said quickly. "Two more aircraft are about to land, and our warship is behind them."
He Yue nodded. "I'll leave this area to you. Clear this place out first so the people in the aircraft can land safely, then follow me to the port's weapon tower."
Only by controlling the port's weapon tower could the warship approach.
Cha Lili's gaze fell on the retreating figure of He Yue. Her skeletal mech was shattered, and there was even a deep gash on her ankle, yet she moved as if it were nothing.
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