Ke Lan asked seven or eight survivors in a row, and the answers he got were basically the same, with very little valuable information.

When this hunter team was exploring deeper into the mine, the first things they were attacked were the power armors that were clearing the way ahead.

The hunters wearing power armor were knocked down by long-range acid attacks without any preparation - according to a survivor, the acid flew very fast, and the hunters who were targeted had no time to dodge and were hit one after another.

After the acid hit the power armor, it took less than a second to corrode through the several centimeters thick composite armor layer.

“Those who were hit by the acid started screaming all of a sudden. I dare not even think about that kind of pain… But not long after, their screams disappeared. At that time, the mine was already in chaos, and I didn’t have time to confirm whether they were still alive.” said the survivor.

"They must be dead. None of the people who escaped this time were hit by the acid. What does this prove? It proves that those who were touched by the acid have died long ago." This was what another survivor said to them. He himself was not injured in the battle, but he accidentally hit his knee on a rock while running back.

The acid attack killed at least half of the people, and then the creatures hiding in the darkness swarmed over and began to slaughter the remaining hunters.

That’s right, this was not a battle at all, it was a one-sided massacre.

All those who had fought with those things were killed without exception. The reason these survivors were able to survive was because they chose to escape at the beginning of the battle... None of the injuries on the seriously injured were caused by those monsters. They were all accidentally injured by their own people in panic. There were also a few more unlucky guys who were hit by ricochets from the rock wall...

"That is to say, apart from acid, we don't even know what means of attack those things have..." Old Dog glanced at a seriously injured soldier lying on a hospital bed not far away - this was the guy with the funniest injury: he had escaped from the mine unscathed, but he forgot to turn off the safety of his pistol and it went off, hitting his femoral artery. If it weren't for the fact that his blood type had a larger reserve of plasma in the base, this guy's name would probably have been on the list of casualties.

"What other means can we use? It's nothing more than claws or teeth." Layton said with some disdain, "It's just that the acid is a bit tricky. According to the analysis report, the composition is very similar to aqua regia, but its properties are much more stable than aqua regia. It is difficult to neutralize or eliminate it through chemical means."

Layton said, patting the silver-white metal shell on the outside of his mechanical arm. "At room temperature, aqua regia can hardly dissolve titanium alloy armor, but in the face of this strong acid, titanium alloy can't even last a second... Among the several metals and alloys that have been tested so far, only Nino alloy can resist this thing."

"Nino alloy?" The old dog slapped his thigh and said, "That machine called Spider... Oh, right, Wolf Spider's mecha has Nino alloy armor on it? If we dismantle it and make it into a shield, can't it block the acid attack?"

"The Nino alloy content in that armor is not high enough to be effective..." Layton shook his head slightly. "If you want to make a shield that can block this kind of acid, at least half of the shield must be made of Nino alloy... All the Nino alloy on the Wolf Spider can barely make such a shield, but there is no ultra-high temperature forging furnace here that can melt Nino alloy."

"Then this experiment is just a waste of time." The old dog said unhappily, pulled over a chair and sat down.

"Old dog, do you think these creatures are very intelligent? I'm not referring to their cunningness like wild beasts, but their tactical thinking... You see, they first use long-range attacks to kill as many enemy forces as possible and disrupt their formations, and then launch a quick surprise attack to eliminate the enemy... Isn't this tactic very common in human armies?"

"Now that you mention it, it's true! When field troops used to encircle and suppress indigenous creatures, they did it this way - first use artillery and bombers to fire at the area, then ground troops move in and fire at the area again with heavy weapons and rockets, and finally high-mobility close combat armor rushes in to harvest the damage, while snipers in the rear provide cover... It's exactly the same!"

"To be honest, I'm not afraid of fighting monsters, but I'm afraid that some of these monsters are as intelligent as humans... If we're not careful, we might end up like the first four exploration teams." Ke Lan glanced at these "wounded" and couldn't help but feel like giving up - if the operation in the underwater city was to save people, then this time, it's purely for money. If the mission is too difficult, giving up might be a good choice?

Of the four exploration teams, none of those who had fought against the unknown creatures survived...and those who survived had never fought against anything in the mine at all.

It seems that I have underestimated the danger of this commission.

"Although I don't have a Nino alloy shield, I do have a way to deal with acid attacks." At this moment, Layton took the initiative to step forward and fiddled with his fully refurbished mechanical arm as if to show off.

"What's wrong? What secret weapon have you installed?" Ke Lan took a look at the robotic arm. Judging from the appearance alone, he couldn't tell how much difference it had from the previous one.

"Ke Lan, shoot me."

"Huh? Are you sure?" Ke Lan pulled out his pistol, and the people around him, including the wounded, all focused their curious eyes on this tall biochemically modified man.

"Sure, let alone your small pistol, even if you remove the large-caliber machine gun installed on the vehicle, it will be fine." Layton said confidently.

"My magazines are filled with armor-piercing bullets. If your precious arm is broken, I will not be responsible for the repair costs." Ke Lan opened the safety of the pistol and pointed it at Layton - of course, he was aiming at the silver-white mechanical arm.

"As long as you play badly," Layton said.

"Wait a minute, I think we should go outside. It would be bad if a ricochet bullet hurts someone else." Ke Lan suddenly put away his gun and said. As soon as he finished speaking, a wounded man who was watching the excitement not far away shuddered - this guy's injury was caused by a ricochet bullet in the mine.

"It's okay, just shoot." Layton said in a deep voice, and patted the mechanical arm raised to his chest.

"Did you say that?" At a distance of less than ten meters, Ke Lan did not even aim again. He pulled the trigger the moment he raised his gun.

“Bang!”

“Buzz——”

A seven-colored light shield appeared in front of Layton. The bullets were vaporized the moment they touched the light shield, without leaving any residue.

"Isn't this an energy shield?!" someone in the crowd who knew what it was exclaimed in surprise.

"Hehe, this is the black technology from the Alpha civilization - a small shield generator. Although its area is a bit small, its defensive power is completely at the battleship level. A level 4 crystal can keep the shield going for a full 120 seconds." Layton chuckled and put away the shield.

"How much did you pay for it?"

"It's not expensive, just less than 10 million. I think it's a bargain." The big cyborg's face was smiling like a chrysanthemum.

"This guy asked me to borrow three million to buy this thing," said Liao Zilang.

"Have you tried it? Can this thing block acid?" Ke Lan didn't waste any time and went straight to the point.

"Yes, even if the acid can corrode the energy shield, as long as the shield has enough energy to maintain, the shield will continue to repair itself." Layton replied.

"Why didn't you tell us about this earlier? We are not short of money, it would be great if we could just give everyone one." Ke Lan complained, "Now you only have one shield, it's not enough!"

"Well... Mr. Ke Lan, if it is a small shield generator, we do have a few in our base. However, even the smallest model is as big as an off-road vehicle engine... It is too bulky for non-cyborgs." Manstein said on the side.

"That's good!" Hearing this good news, Ke Lan's mood suddenly improved a lot. "Although it is very bulky from the perspective of individual soldier equipment, if we all wear power armor, can this thing still be considered a burden?"

"This, this is indeed a good idea." Manstein was stunned for a moment and said hesitantly.