Volume 6: Mecha Contest Chapter 313 Valkyrie
New Era Year 40, Alpha Star, FS009 War Zone.
An iron-gray transport ship parted the thick lead-gray clouds and fell towards the sand dunes directly below.
Eight hundred meters... six hundred meters... four hundred meters... the reading on the altimeter is getting smaller and smaller, and the more than one hundred "Walker" bipedal tactical mechas in the airdrop cabin are ready for parachuting.
But at this moment, a sharp-eyed pilot suddenly said: "This sand dune... seems to be wrong. Why do I feel like something is moving underneath?"
"Is it the wind?" said another pilot.
"No! That's not right! Something is really moving!" At this time, the transport ship was only two hundred meters away from the ground. Through the open hatch and the monitors on the mecha, everyone could clearly see that the sand dunes were constantly rolling like waves. In the gaps between the sand and gravel, dark brown shells and limbs could be vaguely seen...
"Levi!" Chi Hanfeng immediately realized the problem and shouted to his adjutant, "Check the airdrop coordinates immediately!" "Yes..." the adjutant responded loudly, but two seconds later, his voice trembled a little, "Report... Major, there is a deviation in the preset coordinates. Our current location is '719, 451'... and the originally planned airdrop point should be '619, 451'..."
The difference in one number caused their location to deviate a full 100 units to the north... In other words, the sand dunes below were right in the heart of the insects' habitat. Under these surging gravels, there were actually tens of millions of nests...
"Contact the command center immediately! Ask them to modify the preset airdrop coordinates!"
"No! The interference here is too strong. We can't get in touch with the headquarters!"
"Damn it...Everyone, drop your armor immediately, we...are finished! It's too late!" Chi Hanfeng's heart skipped a beat as he watched the indicator light in the airdrop cabin turn from red to green.
All the "Walker" mechas were fixed to the airdrop bracket by mechanical arms, and the cockpit door directly above was right in front of a metal beam with a slide rail. In this case, the pilot had no way of getting out of the cockpit!
The fully automatic airdrop program has been activated. The chains and pulleys begin to turn slowly. Like poultry that have been cleaned and hung on hooks on a factory assembly line, each "Walker" mecha is lifted out of the cabin by a mechanical arm and dropped into the battlefield below...
No... this is not a battlefield... it's a slaughterhouse...
Valentina nervously gripped the joystick of the mecha. This was her first time on the battlefield. Even though she had killed tens of thousands of indigenous creatures on the simulator, at this moment, her limbs could not help but tremble slightly.
"There's nothing we can do." Chi Hanfeng sighed. His mecha was in front of Valentina. "Valentina, remember, after you go down, just find a large group and stay together. Keep moving, keep firing, don't be dazed, and always pay attention to the remaining ammunition and crystals. This battle... this battle may be difficult, and we may all die here... but as long as you are not dead, never give up."
…
Valentina controlled her walker and trudged through the gravel, one step deep and one step shallow. People were dying every second, and all she could see on the team's communication channel was a large area of "offline" gray IDs... But Valentina couldn't see the battle outside at all - more than a dozen walker mechas tightly protected her and Major Chi Hanfeng's bodies in the middle, using their bodies as shields for the two of them.
Chi Hanfeng had been yelling at his men not to stand in front of him, but the soldiers had a more adequate reason: "Only the major's command machine is equipped with high-power communication equipment. If the major's machine is destroyed, then even if the others break out of the encirclement, they won't be able to send a distress signal to the headquarters."
…
There were fewer and fewer comrades left, and the golden sand dunes were littered with the wreckage of mechas and the corpses of various insects. Valentina's mind was blank. She controlled the mecha to stick out the muzzle of the gun and fired indiscriminately at the surroundings.
Her concept of time and space was completely blurred, and her hands had long lost sensation. She was operating the walker mech only by muscle memory. A series of tiny blisters appeared on her lips, and a large area of dark sweat seeped out of the front and back of her combat uniform.
There were few people left alive in the entire Strangler Squadron... Even the human wall surrounding her and Chi Hanfeng began to have gaps, but those bugs still kept pouring in, as if endless.
She didn't know how many hours had passed, and the only two mechas still standing were hers and the major's...
A bug that looked like a giant cockroach suddenly jumped out of the sand pile and pounced on Valentina's walker. She subconsciously raised her gun and wanted to pull the trigger, but the dry "clicking" sound in the gun barrel made her despair . She had already emptied her last box of bullets, and could only watch the giant cockroach pounce on her to the ground.
With a "snap", a sharp blade instantly pierced through the body of the big cockroach. Chi Hanfeng used the tip of the knife to lift the insect that was pressing on Valentina's mecha, but at this moment, the dying insect spit out a mouthful of strong acid towards Valentina's cockpit -
"No!!" Chi Hanfeng's roar echoed in the communication channel. Valentina watched in horror as the acid corroded the armor outside the cockpit and dripped onto her body...
Pain! Unbearable pain, like burning with a branding iron!
Valentina opened her eyes immediately—there were no sand dunes, no mechas, and no bugs. All she could see was an unfamiliar ceiling with a rectangular ceiling lamp attached to it.
But the piercing pain did not go away.
Valentina struggled to roll off the bed, touched the medicine bottle on the bedside table, poured out a few painkillers from it, and swallowed them directly with saliva.
The pain gradually eased and her breathing became steady.
She picked up the jacket , put it on, and then staggered to the door of the room.
This is the headquarters of the God Hunting Group, a temporary staff dormitory located on the fourth floor. The room is air-conditioned and the temperature is adjusted to the most comfortable 26.5 degrees Celsius by an intelligent program. Compared to the stuffy old warehouse that is filled with the smell of motor oil all year round, this new residence is simply a paradise.
Valentina glanced at the clock . It was 2:30 in the morning. She opened the door and walked out.
The corridor was very quiet. There were not many hunting group employees living here, and they were all asleep. She walked quietly to the elevator, hesitated for a while, and then turned to the stairs on the side.
The third and second floors were also in darkness. Only the reception hall on the first floor had a few dim warm lights on. She tightened her jacket and walked towards the basement.
The lights in the workshop were on, and the major and another cyborg named Layton seemed to be arguing fiercely about something, but Valentina's attention was immediately attracted to the mecha standing behind the two of them. This was a six-meter-class humanoid mecha, with a streamlined outer armor painted in black, white and orange. It was kneeling on the repair frame with its head lowered, its arms hanging naturally against its sides, and a decorative long white ponytail installed behind its head. The white hair was scattered on the shoulder armor, and from a distance, it looked like a Valkyrie in heavy armor.
At this time, Chi Hanfeng and Layton, who were arguing, had also discovered Valentina at the stairs. The former's face suddenly changed, and he walked up quickly and asked in a low voice: "Are you woken up by the pain again?"
"It's okay. I've taken the medicine." Valentina nodded. Her eyes were still on the mecha. She asked, "What's its name?"
"Major Chi and I were just arguing about this," Layton said. "I wanted to name this mecha 'Asiimov', but he insisted that the name was old-fashioned and not nice."
"Don't call me Major Chi. I'm not a soldier anymore." Chi Hanfeng emphasized again, "Although your modification skills are not bad, the name you chose is really tasteless."
"So you said I have no taste, why don't you come up with one?"
"…I haven't decided yet, but I can't call him 'Asiimov'!"
The two were about to quarrel again, but Valentina suddenly said a name: "Valkyrie, just call it Valkyrie."
