Volume One, Chapter 20: Thinking of Running?

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The small avian mechanical creatures were countless times faster than the helicopter. Once they identified it as their primary target, the helicopter had no chance of evading them.

Suddenly, a dazzling streak of silver tore across the sky, speeding toward them like a meteor.

The helicopter broadcasting over the airwaves was pierced by the silver light almost instantaneously, as though a fragile sheet of paper had been shot through by a sharp arrow.

After a brief silence, an earth-shattering explosion erupted, as if the sky itself had been ripped apart.

The blaze of the explosion illuminated a small patch of sky, its blinding radiance too painful to look at directly.

Everyone listening to the broadcast was stunned.

Those who had been listening with rapt attention were left speechless by the sudden turn of events. Terror and helplessness were written across their faces. Some could not help screaming, while others covered their faces and wept, unable to accept such a cruel reality.

In the hearts of the people, the military had been their last refuge—their final lifeline.

But now…

Sitting on the ground, Wei Zhang slowly shook his head.

Crying out and calling for help would accomplish nothing. On the contrary, it would only invite death.

The noise made by the people would attract the attention of the avian mechanical creatures. Given their speed, ordinary people would have nowhere to hide, even if they wanted to.

Screams echoed through the night sky, shrill and despairing, as though dragging the entire city back into the terror and hopelessness of the day.

Behind Wei Zhang, Tao Zhang crept over and stopped beside him. His voice trembled faintly.

“Big brother, I can’t sleep. Can I stay with you for a while?”

Tao Zhang was not really unable to sleep. He was drenched in cold sweat from sheer terror. After witnessing the attacking power of the avian mechanical creatures, he felt safe only beside Wei Zhang. The bodyguards at home could not give him the slightest sense of security.

“If you’re afraid, merge with your mech. Your mech isn’t weak. You don’t need to fear these avian mechanical creatures.”

Wei Zhang kindly reminded him. He could not allow Tao Zhang to remain so idle and complacent. He was still counting on this walking treasure-bringer to find him more good things.

Tao Zhang’s eyes lit up at once, and he spoke excitedly.

“Oh, right!”

He possessed a seventeen-meter-tall mech. What could these small avian mechanical creatures, with wingspans of no more than three or four meters, possibly do to him?

Tao Zhang immediately took out his mech core and initiated the merging process.

The enormous mech appeared from thin air. Five seconds later, Tao Zhang’s figure vanished, replaced by his mech. Standing behind Wei Zhang, however, it looked more like Wei Zhang’s bodyguard.

At that moment, the roar of a helicopter approached from the distance.

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Not every helicopter had been destroyed in the first wave of attacks. Quite a few lucky ones had managed to escape.

The one now approaching Wei Zhang was clearly one of them.

Unfortunately, this survivor had also been targeted by the avian mechanical creatures. The helicopter thundered across the sky, its mounted cannon spewing flames wildly. Under the continuous barrage, the gun barrel had turned red-hot.

Yet this seemingly fierce firepower was doing nothing more than delaying the moment of its destruction.

“Big brother, look! Those mechanical birds are coming over.” Given Tao Zhang’s height, he had spotted the situation around the helicopter from far away.

At that, Wei Zhang rose unhurriedly.

He had not originally intended to intervene. As long as those stupid birds did not provoke him, he could not be bothered to act.

They really were too fast. With Wei Zhang’s speed, trying to strike them with his battle scythe would be extremely difficult and might simply waste the mech’s energy.

But the moment Wei Zhang noticed that one of the stupid birds pursuing the helicopter had pupils emitting a deep blue light, his interest was instantly piqued.

“Perfect. Let’s test the attack power of the floating cannons.”

The floating cannons and the mech had mutually authenticated and now shared combat power. Wei Zhang’s mech had reached an astonishing combat rating of 556 points, making the power of a single freezing round from the floating cannons quite formidable.

When the flock of avian mechanical creatures came within five hundred meters of Wei Zhang, the floating cannons opened fire.

An ice-blue beam streaked across the night sky at tremendous speed, striking one of the mechanical birds with pinpoint accuracy.

The freezing round did not damage the creature’s outer shell, but the entire mechanical bird was encased in ice almost instantly and fell from the sky.

“Have someone retrieve the source crystal.”

Wei Zhang stood where he was, gazing into the sky. One second later, the floating cannons fired again.

Tao Zhang stared blankly at Wei Zhang, his heart bleeding.

He had expected the floating cannons to be powerful, but he had never imagined they would be this powerful. And they should have belonged to him.

Unfortunately, Tao Zhang did not dare express his grievance. Instead, he could only respond with complete obedience.

“Yes, big brother.”

He immediately ordered his men to search for the mechanical birds that had fallen from the sky.

At that moment, Wei Zhang felt that having subordinates was rather pleasant. He only needed to handle the damage output while his lackeys took care of the dirty work. It was both effortless and convenient.

Wei Zhang’s rescue was noticed by the helicopter pilot almost immediately.

The pilot was like a drowning man who had seized a lifeline. Upon seeing that there was ample open space around Tao Zhang’s home, he immediately pushed the helicopter to full power and raced toward Wei Zhang.

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The helicopter had spotted Wei Zhang, and the mechanical birds were not fools either—especially with a mutant among them.

The mechanical birds were countless times faster than the helicopter. Without the cannon fire to hold them back, they surged toward Wei Zhang from behind and overtook it in an instant. In no more than a few seconds, they had crossed the three or four hundred meters between them and were almost upon him.

Wei Zhang remained unmoved.

His eyes shifted in an instant from deep blue to pale violet.

“Death Ray,” he murmured.

Two violet bolts of lightning suddenly burst from Wei Zhang’s eyes. They danced through the night sky, weaving around each other like two purple dragons and serpents locked in a furious struggle.

As they twisted together, the faint electrical glow gradually thickened until it became a massive bolt of violet lightning that tore across the night sky.

The sudden flash instantly banished the surrounding darkness, as though a brilliant star had abruptly ignited in the heavens.

When the thick bolt of lightning struck the diving mechanical birds with pinpoint precision, the entire night sky seemed to catch fire, becoming dazzlingly bright.

Without exception, the mechanical birds struck by the lightning transformed into blazing balls of flame in midair, brilliant and fleeting like fireworks.

As the dazzling lightning slowly faded, a brief silence descended over both the ground and the sky.

“That’s insane!” Tao Zhang was the first to blurt out.

After the short silence, the helicopter’s roar suddenly grew much louder, as though someone had abruptly pressed a play button and cranked up the volume. The pilot could hardly wait to reach Wei Zhang’s side.

The mutant mechanical bird hovered in midair. The next moment, it released a piercing cry.

The mechanical birds that had escaped the Death Ray began retreating in panic. Their movements grew even faster, as though they were fleeing from an impending disaster.

“Trying to run?”

Lightning gathered once more in Wei Zhang’s eyes.

After a brief charge, the floating cannons suspended in midair began firing at extreme speed. Freezing rounds scattered across the sky as though they cost nothing.

The rounds appeared to fly chaotically, yet every single one struck a mechanical bird with perfect accuracy.

As for the Death Ray, it had only one target:

The mutant mechanical bird.

The others could escape if they wished. But Wei Zhang would never let this mutant get away.

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