MORIC - Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Who's Showing Off?

Chi Yueshan felt awkward all the way until their departure.

The most high-profile moment of her life was when she boldly confessed to Wen Xinghuo at Guyun Academy.

And it was a ridiculously laughable confession. Even now that she and Xi Zhoumeng were in this kind of relationship, people still brought it up to flog a dead horse.

Those people were so annoying. And to make matters worse, Xi Zhoumeng, who had administrative rights to the academy forums, wouldn't block the posts. How hateful, how hateful.

These posts had become evidence for Xi Zhoumeng to play the victim, proving that Chi Yueshan hadn't fallen for her at first sight at all.

Who said love had to be love at first sight!

So annoying. She got to say whatever she wanted.

Now, she was still in the same mecha cockpit with Xi Zhoumeng, listening to her command the squads under her to first disperse and then encircle and annihilate the enemy.

On the planet where the rain was said to be red, it was currently nighttime, and it wasn't raining. The optimized mecha cockpit could block out external environmental sounds, but Xi Zhoumeng hadn't activated it. So, Chi Yueshan could hear the wind howling and see the red mangrove forest swept by the searchlights, just as the travel videos had shown.

While Xi Zhoumeng worked, Chi Yueshan stared at the video feed from the external patrol equipment, watching the situation outside.

The mechas handled the low-grade Zerg easily, and the mid-grade Zerg were mostly no problem either, aside from some evolved forms not yet in the database, which required scanning to update the records.

Xi Zhoumeng's tone remained calm. Even when a swarm of mid-grade Zerg suddenly surged ahead, she responded without any panic.

Chi Yueshan always felt that she thoroughly enjoyed this position because she didn't have to charge into the fray. Most of the time, she just had to wait at a designated spot.

But at this moment, communications were very unstable, and the audio was cutting in and out.

"Reporting to Commander, a high-grade... high-grade Zerg has appeared in sector C12-Y8."

"Reporting to Commander, an unknown Zerg has appeared in D76-W12. Not found in the database."

Chi Yueshan looked up just as Xi Zhoumeng transmitted the coordinates they had entered onto the navigation screen, revealing the unseen Zerg.

Xi Zhoumeng: "It's hideous. Just blast it away."

Ling Xun, who was reporting: ...

After a long pause, she said, "Commander, its carapace is very hard. Our squad's mechas don't have the corresponding..."

The communication cut out again.

Chi Yueshan: "Ling Xun's mecha is different from Senior Wen's..."

Xi Zhoumeng: "I know."

She switched to an external frequency and dispatched a wave of heavy-armored mechas, but the communication lagged.

They were now in the mountains of Planet Liduo Wente'er. This planet had no visible moon, and the night fog was also red, making it difficult to see.

Just as Xi Zhoumeng was about to go over herself, a series of alarms suddenly blared around them.

Her area already had quite a few Zerg, and the Alpha officers nearby were constantly fighting. Even if Xi Zhoumeng didn't move, Zerg would still attack, so she occasionally had to activate her mecha.

At that moment, a fierce wind suddenly whipped up outside, as if some behemoth had landed with a loud crash. Even with the cockpit's soundproofing, the noise couldn't be completely blocked.

This was followed by the dense sound of things rolling on the ground.

"Reporting to Commander, a new type of Zerg has inexplicably appeared in H98-E22, hard carapace..."

"Reporting to Commander, a new type of Zerg has inexplicably appeared in X23-O90, hard carapace..."

All were Zerg that had never been entered into the database.

The mecha's synchronized detection instruments scanned the Zerg, quickly identifying them.

"Preliminary identification: high-grade Zerg."

"Secondary identification: high-grade Zerg."

The alarms were incessant. Xi Zhoumeng turned off the alert tone and asked, "Have you handed over with the local garrison?"

The Vice Commander nodded. "Data is still being transmitted..."

Xi Zhoumeng: "Visual assessment indicates high defensive capabilities. They are currently concentrated in..."

She glanced at the red dots constantly moving on the detection instrument. "A-Team, to my coordinates."

She looked at the Zerg appearing in the hazy red fog and even had the leisure to turn on some music.

She played the "Minute Waltz," which was completely out of place with the current atmosphere, even somewhat comical.

"Yueshan, come here."

Xi Zhoumeng didn't turn her head. Her mecha didn't retreat a single step in the red fog. She opened the map; to the southeast was Planet Liduo Wente'er's famous red mangrove forest scenic area.

During times without Zerg swarms, countless tourists would visit this desert to see the red trees blooming vibrantly like silk in the yellow sand and make romantic wishes.

But now, with the arrival of the new Zerg, the red fog couldn't conceal their massive size, only giving off a horrifying sense of being devoured.

Ling Xun received the signal to retreat and then saw the members of A-Team rushing toward the Commander's position.

She desperately wanted to advance, but her orders were clear. She could only head in the opposite direction to deal with the ordinary Zerg.

But the Expeditionary Force's patrol feed could be seen by every mecha. Even as she retreated, she could still see the battle situation at the Commander's coordinates.

"Holy crap, she's completely surrounded! How come it feels like these Zerg just appeared out of nowhere..."

"It's not that strange. The Special-Grade Zerg appeared the same way before."

"Did that one come this time too?"

"What the hell are these things? The carapaces of these suddenly appearing ones are even harder. Our team is just high-defense; A-Team's attack power is stronger."

Ling Xun was also very nervous. While clearing out the low-grade Zerg in her vicinity, she observed the situation on Xi Zhoumeng's side.

Based on current intelligence, the Zerg's evolutionary ability was very strong, and new species had appeared. So, was the Special-Grade Zerg also constantly evolving?

Senior Xi had only fought it in training simulations before. Did she have a chance of winning?

"Did the Commander forget to turn off her audio channel? Her mindset is amazing, listening to music at a time like this."

"Isn't this a common piece from our academy dances?"

"Sigh, she's only a second-year and already the Commander. The old waves really do die on the beach."

"Look at her spiritual power. Her mecha is different from an ordinary person's. A genius like her only appeared the year before last..."

The music made everyone less nervous, but Chi Yueshan found it annoying. She walked over and turned it off.

Xi Zhoumeng: "What's wrong?"

Chi Yueshan: "I'm nervous."

She stared at the appearance of the Zerg in the red fog on the magnified screen. They were all carapaces and soft wings. Very uniform, and their movement speed seemed to be planned.

If not for their Zerg characteristics, Chi Yueshan would have almost thought they were mechanical replicas.

Xi Zhoumeng let out a laugh. Just as she was about to say something, there was a loud crash. An A-Team mecha up ahead was attacked, and the Zerg swarmed it. Xi Zhoumeng's communication console received intermittent alarm sounds from various mecha cockpits.

"Holder, please maintain flank stability!"

"Core energy unit damaged, please inspect!"

"Holder, please maintain mecha balance. Holder, please..."

Xi Zhoumeng's smile froze on her lips. The next second, her communication console fell completely silent, as if the signals to all devices had been blocked.

It was so quiet that they could almost only hear their own breathing and Chi Yueshan's inside the cockpit.

And the blinking indicators of the Expeditionary Force mechas on the central console's map.

Di di di di di.

Then came a pattering sound.

The cockpit's voice AI announced that it was currently seven in the evening on the Capital Star.

It was also morning on Planet Liduo Wente'er.

In the distance, dawn was breaking. A red rain was now falling steadily, pattering against the mecha's metal hull.

The red fog slowly dissipated. Chi Yueshan looked ahead in astonishment and saw that A-Team's mechas were scattered around the periphery of Moon-Swallower.

Xi Zhoumeng was completely surrounded. The mechas of the surrounding Expeditionary Force officers had already fallen.

Xi Zhoumeng sighed again.

"We're screwed."

Chi Yueshan looked up at her. Xi Zhoumeng: "Come here."

She even had the leisure to extend a hand to Chi Yueshan.

Chi Yueshan had never seen a situation like this. The Zerg seemed to have been put on pause, and it was as if all the attacks were aimed at isolating Xi Zhoumeng.

Was it because of Xi Zhoumeng, or because she was the Commander?

But Moon-Swallower had the standard Expeditionary Force paint job, a tradition passed down from the Prime Century.

Xi Mingguang's mecha had the same paint markings.

Wait a minute, this person Xi Zhoumeng had just returned from the Prime Century not long ago.

Could she have done something back then?

Did she know all along?

Chi Yueshan stared at Xi Zhoumeng in shock, not realizing that Xi Zhoumeng had pulled her into an embrace, just like how she had been held during the training exercise.

Xi Zhoumeng: "I feel like this wave of Zerg has more brains than the one at the Capital Star."

As she pulled down the control stick, she selected several controls. Moon-Swallower's bottom turbines whirred to life, kicking up clouds of yellow sand even in the red rain.

The distant red mangrove forest was a blur in the rain, and further beyond was a clear spring, shaped like a teardrop.

Chi Yueshan: "There are so many. Can you handle them?"

She didn't realize she was subconsciously biting her lip.

Xi Zhoumeng: "Open that central control box on the right."

That was the earliest reserved supply slot. Because Moon-Swallower's primary power source was bound to its holder via a magnetic meteorite, ordinary people couldn't activate it at all.

Even with a full tank of fuel, it was inoperable without being bound.

That box was originally reserved for storing the magnetic meteorite.

When Xi Zhoumeng brought Moon-Swallower back from the Guyun Academy storage room, Chi Yueshan had tinkered with it over and over. She had originally wanted to dismantle and modify it, but in the end, she didn't.

She had modified it into a milk warmer, a custom alteration for this pleasure-loving person.

Unexpectedly, what was inside now wasn't milk at all, but a lot of jewelry. From bracelets to earrings to rings, large and small, all made of the same material.

Chi Yueshan: "Where did you get these?"

I remember she already returned that three-in-one bracelet to Big Brother.

Xi Zhoumeng: "I brought them from home. I couldn't carry the biggest piece. Cutting smaller pieces was also inconvenient. Jewelry is the most convenient."

Chi Yueshan: "But your spiritual power."

Xi Zhoumeng shook her head. "Now, it's not controlling me. I'm controlling it."

Although she didn't say it outright, Chi Yueshan understood that Xi Zhoumeng meant "don't be afraid."

The rain was falling harder now, but Xi Zhoumeng wasn't nervous at all. She stared straight ahead, watching a strange fluctuation that suddenly appeared in the red rain.

Was that Zerg about to emerge?

Unfortunately, before she could find out, the surrounding Zerg suddenly attacked.

Chi Yueshan wanted to watch, but Xi Zhoumeng covered her eyes.

"You shouldn't watch. You'll puke."

Unfortunately, Chi Yueshan didn't appreciate the gesture, but Xi Zhoumeng hadn't been lying. It really was nauseating.

This person had popped a sour plum into her mouth at some point and hissed several times from the sourness.

Moon-Swallower's traction was poor on the sandy ground, but luckily, the surroundings were Gobi desert sand. The red rain didn't obstruct vision much. The tail hook was enough for her to move freely, and the blades were like the Grim Reaper's scythe. The red rain mixed with the green fluid of the Zerg, turning the yellow sand a deep brown.

Moon-Swallower's attack power was getting stronger and stronger.

Chi Yueshan covered her mouth. The cockpit screen was covered in Zerg slime. Xi Zhoumeng's control of Moon-Swallower grew more and more skilled as she fearlessly charged into the Zerg assault. The weight of the falling rain became insignificant. The pattering sounds of heavy objects hitting the mecha's coating grew louder, almost all of them the dismembered limbs of Zerg.

The communication failure didn't panic Xi Zhoumeng, but Ling Xun was feeling more and more that something was wrong.

The area of low-grade Zerg her team was responsible for had been cleared. She tried to connect to A-Team's communications again. Everyone had been trying to contact Xi Zhoumeng but had received no reply.

The internal comms were completely dead.

Ling Xun maneuvered her mecha next to her captain's and got out of the cockpit. Many others were also taking a break, coming out to see the novel red rain.

Ling Xun: "What do we do? Communications are completely down. We're very close to M-Galaxy here. Does this mean M-Galaxy is also..."

The captain didn't speak. She thought for a moment, then asked Ling Xun, "What were the last coordinates?"

Ling Xun: "Is the whole team going?"

The captain was very experienced. She probably thought of the previous commander's death and suspected that Xi Zhoumeng had also encountered that one Zerg.

"If that Zerg is there, even A-Team will be useless."

That Zerg was powerful in every aspect. Its attack, defense, and speed were all far superior to ordinary Zerg.

And every combat record showed that it was constantly evolving.

Ling Xun was getting anxious. "Then we can't just..."

Captain: "Find a way to contact the other scattered teams. We must go together."

Ling Xun's mecha communications were disconnected, but she had saved the coordinate records earlier. She and her teammates launched the Expeditionary Force's unique aerial map coordinates.

Without communications, this was the most primitive method.

Fortunately, the other teams were also paying attention. Led by Lieutenant General Fu, they rushed toward Xi Zhoumeng's last known coordinates.

But no one expected that Planet Liduo Wente'er's characteristic Gobi desert, yellow sand, and red mangrove forest had turned into a green Gobi and green sand. Only the red rain still fell steadily, and the red mangrove forest still stood tall in the distance.

The silver-white mecha was like a white flower blooming in a green forest, moving at high speed. This new batch of Zerg had powerful defense and attack, but their speed was no match for Moon-Swallower. Combined with Xi Zhoumeng's exquisite piloting skills, it bizarrely reminded Ling Xun of the "Minute Waltz" Xi Zhoumeng had been playing before the communications cut out.

What's going on? Senior, you seem to be on a killing spree, but you look happy.

Is this what a top-tier Alpha is like?

But no one knew what Chi Yueshan was doing in the mecha cockpit right now.

She was about to throw up. If the nylon safety lock on the cockpit seat hadn't strapped her tightly to Xi Zhoumeng, she might have been rolling around inside the cockpit.

She didn't even have the strength to curse.

Yet Xi Zhoumeng hadn't said a word, her high concentration of spiritual power making her oblivious to any sound.

The surrounding new mid-grade Zerg were almost completely annihilated by her. Her tail hook unceremoniously fished out an A-Team mecha that had been on the verge of being destroyed by the Zerg.

She was just very rough with it. With a loud crash, it landed right in front of the Vice Commander who had rushed ahead.

Ling Xun, watching from the side, saw it clearly and felt a sad sense of empathy.

That sister will probably cough up blood.

Senior Xi is so beautiful, but she really doesn't know how to hold back.

The red rain fell endlessly. The silver-white mecha was practically a high-speed killing machine, making all the arriving officers have the same thought—

Is this person invincible?

The invincible person was also sweating on her forehead. If she hadn't been sucking on several preserved plum candies, Xi Zhoumeng would have been wailing and puking too.

But just as Xi Zhoumeng lowered her eyes, Chi Yueshan shouted, grabbed Xi Zhoumeng's hand, pressed it onto the control stick, and shoved it hard to the side.

The mecha crashed onto the yellow sand with a boom. The spot where Xi Zhoumeng had been just a moment ago became a distorted black hole, the sand soaked with Zerg fluid turning into even finer particles.

A familiar Zerg suddenly appeared.

It still had the iridescent carapace and cicada-thin soft wings, but its scarlet compound eyes were completely different from the last time they saw it.

Chi Yueshan: "Did it evolve?!"

Xi Zhoumeng actually took advantage of this brief pause to wipe her sweat with a wet wipe, then sighed— "Even evolved, it's still iridescently ugly."

Chi Yueshan: This person is so annoying. She's making me not nervous at all.

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