MORIC - Chapter 197

Chapter 197: Who Reigns Supreme

The moment Xi Zhoumeng's voice fell, the Zerg attacked swiftly. At the same time, the Zerg in the encirclement that hadn't been completely wiped out also surged forward at high speed.

Ling Xun's heart leaped into her throat. No matter how she looked at it, this situation seemed like they were being ganged up on.

In the next second, Xi Zhoumeng's tail hook swept out, skewering several Zerg. In the blink of an eye, the Gobi shattered, and the remaining yellow sand was soaked through with green fluid, turning into a stretch of green sand.

All communications were now down. The surviving Vice-Commander was carried away by a rescue mecha, and the others couldn't afford to just stand and watch, all rushing forward.

The red rain fell harder and harder, and the AI voice inside Xi Zhoumeng's mecha cockpit continuously issued warnings—

"Flank components damaged!"

"Shield plating has a level-2 fracture!"

"Please pay attention to fuel supply!"

This AI's voice was identical to Chi Yueshan's. Xi Zhoumeng had laughed for a long time about it during the initial simulations.

Now, in a scene where a moment of carelessness could get her pierced by the hard, sharp limbs of a Zerg, she actually had the leisure to let out a low laugh.

Chi Yueshan was speechless, but she didn't dare disturb Xi Zhoumeng.

Watching her long fingers, the bracelet clinking crisply against the control stick, or perhaps the gemstone on her ring being too brilliant, was dazzling to the eyes even inside the cockpit.

This Zerg was much more savage than the previous ones. Under Xi Zhoumeng's control, Moon-Swallower dodged perfectly. Time and again, aided by the ground-slam function Chi Yueshan had modified, it could occasionally leap onto the Gobi for a surprise bombardment.

Perhaps finding this kind of battle a bit dull, Xi Zhoumeng turned on the speakers again. But the Zerg's attack range had been too wide just now, directly shattering her cockpit speakers. As a result, when she pressed the button, she found the sound was sparse and scratchy, having nothing to do with beautiful music—it was pure noise.

It was even worse than the sounds of the Zerg outside.

But Xi Zhoumeng's hands were itching for action. As she controlled Moon-Swallower, the thorny rose that was originally just an ornament had been modified into a sharp blade. Each petal seemed to be quenched in bloodlust, made even more chilling when shrouded in the red rain. Xi Zhoumeng had just selected the song "Scarborough Fair," as if intending to entangle with her foe to the slow, leisurely music, yet she swept across the Special-Grade Zerg at a speed that was completely unpredictable.

The soft, cicada-thin wings fell to the ground in an instant, accompanied by the Zerg's pained screech.

The surrounding Zerg radiation caused turbulence that seemed to be warping space again. Chi Yueshan reminded Xi Zhoumeng, "Don't crash into it!"

Xi Zhoumeng: "I know, you don't have to shout so loud."

Even as a commander, it was hard for her to shake off her flamboyant habits.

Even when she wore a standard-issue uniform, she still maintained her usual style with her accessories.

Perhaps the mecha's soundproofing layer had malfunctioned when they plunged into the encirclement of high-grade Zerg earlier. For a moment, Chi Yueshan clearly heard the sound of the downpour, and mixed within the rain, the music and the marching sounds of the Zerg.

Are you really that relaxed?

Chi Yueshan stared at Xi Zhoumeng, then sighed, thinking it was better not to scold her.

She really gets carried away so easily.

But Xi Zhoumeng's bangs were soaked with sweat, and her usually moist lips were now chapped from the high-intensity mental battle. She was completely unaware that her unconscious licking of her lips was unnerving, as if she hadn't had her fill of the fight yet.

The Vice-Commander, who had been pulled out by Xi Zhoumeng at the critical moment, was rescued from her mecha cockpit.

Her face was pale, and she was clearly suffering from excessive blood loss. Medical personnel from B-Team quickly took her to a distant Gobi hilltop.

Ling Xun hadn't been sent as support. This coordinate was too far from the warship, and she and a few other team members had to ensure the safety of the quarantine zone here.

The red rain blurred everyone's vision, but it didn't stop Ling Xun from seeing that silver-white mecha.

And the faint music that accompanied the sound of the rain.

The quarantine zones were all rapidly constructed using collapsible space boxes, with shock-proof exteriors to guard against sudden attacks.

Perhaps because Ling Xun had been standing there for a while, the Vice-Commander, who had just drunk a nutrient supplement, asked, "Why do I feel like I'm hearing music?"

Every officer in the Expeditionary Force was equipped with a mecha, but compared to combat types, there were far fewer medical types. They could also go to the front lines, but they had to take an additional course in medicine during their advanced studies in the Alpha division.

Therefore, most of the military doctors were older.

The military doctor: "I heard it too."

Ling Xun: "It's the Commander-in-Chief playing it."

Everyone else fell silent for a moment.

Ling Xun thought to herself: Only Xi Zhoumeng would be so casual about this.

Such a huge number of high-grade Zerg, with A-Team almost completely wiped out—it was comparable to the situation under the previous commander's leadership.

Except last time, even the commander had been sacrificed. When she was found, her mecha was severely damaged, her body was unrecognizable, and the mecha's insignia had been scraped off, as if the Zerg had deliberately targeted the commander.

It was exactly like a targeted act of revenge.

But why hadn't this happened before?

Now, in the red rain, Moon-Swallower was completely invincible. Ling Xun even felt that if her captain and the others charged in, it would be of no help.

If communications were still working, Xi Zhoumeng could have directed their battle. But now, it was a completely one-sided slaughter, and Xi Zhoumeng even had to divert her attention to save Expeditionary Force mechas that were nearly swatted out of the sky.

But they couldn't rely on Senior Xi alone.

Even knowing her spiritual power was terrifyingly high, she couldn't possibly wipe out all the Zerg by herself, could she?

Moreover, that Special-Grade Zerg was simply too powerful. After its soft wings were severed, they actually grew back rapidly, becoming perfectly intact again in just a few short minutes.

Does something like this truly have a weakness?

Attacking its outer shell was completely useless. Besides, the creature was brightly colored, making it extremely conspicuous at this moment.

Xi Zhoumeng drank a tube of supplement and took a deep breath. She bit her lip; the prolonged battle was draining not only her spiritual power but also her physical stamina.

She pulled down the control stick and leaped onto the Gobi once more, but she didn't expect the Zerg to come up from behind, meeting her face-to-face in an instant.

With a bang, it slammed into the visual screen of Xi Zhoumeng's mecha cockpit.

Chi Yueshan was instantly horrified.

Even though she knew no one could see in from the outside, the sight of the behemoth's scarlet compound eyes pressed against the single-pane screen made goosebumps instantly break out on Chi Yueshan's skin.

Xi Zhoumeng cursed.

The guillotine blade on her mecha's right side thrust mercilessly into the soft tissue of the Zerg's tail. But unexpectedly, in that instant, the creature abruptly lost its previous violent aggression. It seemed to be clinging on stubbornly, as if trying to see something through the glass screen.

Xi Zhoumeng turned on the external speaker and said, "Hello?"

Chi Yueshan: "Zerg language is different, how could it possibly understand you!"

Xi Zhoumeng: "Sheng Xiqian, is that you? I advise you to…"

Before she could finish, Chi Yueshan pressed the button to turn it off.

Although Xi Zhoumeng was still joking, her right hand never stopped maneuvering the guillotine blade. Green biological fluid dripped to the ground, forming a shallow stream on the sand. She couldn't see anything clearly, and didn't know why it wasn't fighting back.

Chi Yueshan looked at the Zerg blocking her view. Without a doubt, this thing was much more visually interesting than other Zerg. Even the outer ring of its compound eyes was iridescent, and its blood-red eyes now seemed to hold human emotions.

For some reason, Chi Yueshan was reminded of the day she had run desperately toward Xi Zhoumeng in the snowstorm.

The time when she couldn't hide and had no choice but to activate the mecha her mother left her.

This Zerg was looking at her in the same way.

Do Zerg have human emotions?

Or is it looking for something?

Oh, right. Xi Zhoumeng said a large portion of the Zerg were transformed humans.

Is their thinking still the same as before?

But so many of them seem to have no intelligence, only knowing how to attack mindlessly.

But this gaze didn't last long. While Chi Yueshan was dazed, Xi Zhoumeng turned on the speaker again. "Sheng Xiqian, is that you?"

"Can you understand human speech now?"

She could be really annoying sometimes.

Chi Yueshan felt that even if this was the little princess who was sent away during the Prime Century, and even if she could understand human speech, she probably wouldn't want to talk to them.

After all, they all hated humanity.

Just as Chi Yueshan, at the end of her patience, was about to berate Xi Zhoumeng, the Zerg that seemed stuck to Moon-Swallower slammed into them fiercely. Cracks appeared on the screen, and alarms blared all around.

Xi Zhoumeng: "I've had enough."

Sweat slid from her forehead, looking like a teardrop falling onto the control console in the blink of an eye. Even at a time like this, she still had to find herself some background music. She maneuvered the mecha into a spin, swiftly pushing the Zerg away just as it was about to attack again.

The red rain fell harder and harder. To Ling Xun's eyes, Moon-Swallower was locked in an inseparable struggle with that Zerg. The strange silence from moments ago had left her deeply unsettled.

The Vice-Commander had regained some clarity. She picked up a maglev telescope and looked into the distance.

"Is she even human? I originally didn't think much of her."

Alphas naturally possess pride, which comes from their strength. But even Alphas are divided into upper, middle, and lower tiers.

People are absolutely drawn to the strong. At this moment, no one could help but marvel at the mecha that moved nimbly and bombarded without hesitation in the red rain.

"Is there enough fuel?"

The Vice-Commander took a deep breath. She was covered in wounds, her mecha reduced to scrap metal. If Xi Zhoumeng hadn't pulled her out in time, she might have been completely chewed to pieces by the Zerg.

Ling Xun shook her head. "Other extermination squads have seen the signal and are on their way."

But from the movements of the other mechas, Ling Xun could sense what her comrades were thinking.

Is she human?

The ground was littered with high-grade Zerg, like a Zerg slaughterhouse.

Of course, a few of their own mechas were scattered among them. Under Xi Zhoumeng's high-intensity combat, the Zerg were overwhelmed, leaving the arriving reinforcements momentarily unsure if they should even enter the fray.

Another bombardment erupted. Xi Zhoumeng's Moon-Swallower was still dazzling in the bright daylight, but distorted spatial fluctuations surged around her.

Ling Xun's heart clenched violently, terrified that Xi Zhoumeng and Chi Yueshan would be swallowed up again.

But unexpectedly, Moon-Swallower was incredibly nimble. Its tail hook latched onto the hard shell of a dead Zerg, using it to evade the turbulence formed when the Zerg radiation reached a certain peak.

The red mist rose again as the red rain abruptly stopped. The dust kicked up by the attacks mingled with the red mist, obscuring their vision. This was followed by swirling turbulence. Amidst her mecha's blaring alarms, Xi Zhoumeng retreated quickly. Tilting her head back to drink a nutrient supplement, she said to Chi Yueshan, "If I pass out later, remember to help me change my clothes."

Even at a time like this, she was very particular about her appearance, finding the sweat unbearable and disgusting.

"And wash my hair."

"I'm so dizzy…"

Xi Zhoumeng continued forward, only to find that the Zerg that had suddenly appeared and then vanished had now abruptly reappeared behind Moon-Swallower.

Chi Yueshan was also startled. The alarms inside the cockpit were torturous, so she turned off the main control notifications.

Unexpectedly, the Zerg didn't attack. It just dragged its injured body, its mangled frame, and uttered a human voice that made Xi Zhoumeng's blood run cold—

"Who is the other person in your mecha cockpit?"

It was a slightly hoarse female voice, completely different from the young girl's tone Xi Zhoumeng had heard in the videos from the Prime Century.

But it was clearly the voice of a woman in her twenties. It was a bit muffled through the mecha, but muffled in a way that made Xi Zhoumeng feel the words were filled with human emotion, and even a faint hint of expectation.

No way.

Did I get it wrong?

But before Xi Zhoumeng could answer, the Zerg suddenly went berserk again and launched a fierce assault. Moon-Swallower was blasted back more than twenty meters, its turbines getting stuck in the mountainside.

Chi Yueshan was about to go crazy too. She muttered, "How could this happen? It shouldn't be like this. Where's my braking system?"

Xi Zhoumeng took a deep breath, watching the approaching Zerg, thinking that if worse came to worst, she would just have to take Chi Yueshan and make another spatial jump.

But the current situation was too unsuitable, and my spiritual power isn't...

But she never expected that in the instant it charged, the Zerg would vanish into the turbulence.

It just disappeared.

In the final moment, the attack Xi Zhoumeng fired still managed to burn off its soft wings.

They now lay on the sand, still faintly glowing.

Chi Yueshan was also drenched in sweat. Her mind was racing. "I don't think this is working for you guys. You can't communicate without signal transmission. I need to make something that allows communication even when comms are down…"

But her mind was also stretched taut, and her spiritual power wasn't very high to begin with. Even though the mecha was sealed and wouldn't be breached without a massive attack, this close-quarters battlefield still had a huge impact on Chi Yueshan.

She fainted before she could finish her sentence.

Xi Zhoumeng had been thinking of fainting herself, but she didn't expect her wife to close her eyes first.

She was a bit helpless. She unbuckled her safety harness and picked Chi Yueshan up.

"What happened to being the strongest Omega? You fainted just like that?"

Then she felt a pang of heartache, wondering if she had been too indulgent with her.

Just as Ling Xun rushed over from the other side, she happened to see Xi Zhoumeng stepping out of the mecha cockpit.

The daylight on Planet Liduo Wente'er was long, but the sunlight wasn't intense. At this moment, the rainbow after the rain was monochromatic.

The red rain didn't stain the yellow sand, and the strong wind could quickly dry the special sandy ground.

The flamboyant Commander-in-Chief's exaggerated, long, red-tasseled earrings were lifted by the strong wind, as if she had hung leaves from the distant red forest on herself. It made one suspect that she chose her accessories based on the planet's style before setting out on an expedition.

Xi Zhoumeng kissed Chi Yueshan's brow and breathed a sigh of relief.

She saw Ling Xun running over and confidently handed Chi Yueshan to her.

Ling Xun: "?"

This shouldn't be happening. Senior Xi wasn't this generous.

Unexpectedly, the next moment, this person also leaned limply against her. "I'm out of strength. Junior, you'll have to carry two. Get us back to the warship."

She didn't forget to add a reminder: "Have Chi Yueshan give me a bath when she wakes up."

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