Ou Zhanpeng’s head buzzed, his vision darkened, and he almost fell flat on his face.
The situation was clear: while he and Xie Yu were calculating the alien species, the enemy had also played a counter-ploy, seizing the opportunity to break out of the ship and launch a surprise attack.
Whether it was premeditated or a spur-of-the-moment decision, it was an indelible stain.
Xie Yu’s furious roar echoed over the radio: “What’s the situation? What’s the situation?”
Strangely, Ling Xiao’s voice was remarkably calm: “We are clearing them out. There should be no problem.”
Ou Zhanpeng’s head was filled with question marks: “Ling Xiao, didn’t you call for backup? Why is there no problem now?”
“Hey, hey, we can talk about anything later. I’m busy here, don’t disturb me, over!” Ling Xiao decisively cut the communication, flicked the joystick, and the assault boat’s nose dipped. Its machine guns roared from a high vantage point, immediately taking down two giant specimens and venting all his embarrassment onto the enemy.
“It’s all your fault, you idiots, you got me killed!”
The story was actually quite simple. The battle inside the crippled ship was fierce, and the situation outside was equally tense. All research personnel, under Gong Yiding’s insistence, had retreated to the mountains, and all aircraft had taken to the sky.
Ling Xiao had been circling above the crippled ship. Upon hearing that everything was going smoothly, his face immediately broke into a smile.
But then he saw a group of giant specimens charging out of the ship. Thinking the alien species were using a small contingent to tie down the assault team while the main force attacked outside the ship, he got hot-headed and shouted for backup.
However, after shouting, he realized there weren’t as many enemies as he’d imagined, only a few dozen at most, certainly not a hundred.
This was incredibly awkward.
No exaggeration, no understatement, since the two waves of reinforcements arrived, there were seven or eight assault boats parked at Luojian Mountain alone. Excluding the four flying in the air as a precaution, the rest were all parked outside the crater.
In addition to these were several transport boats and liaison craft.
These were all military platforms, the worst of which was equipped with at least two heavy-caliber machine guns for show. They could even serve as aerial fire support platforms when necessary.
With only a few dozen giant specimens, how could they possibly satisfy so many boats?
The assault boats in the air immediately opened fire, their shells sweeping across the enemy.
The alien species were not to be trifled with either. Ling Xiao, with sharp eyes, noticed that some of the giant specimens were carrying plasma cannons on their shoulders!
“Careful!” he roared, slamming his hand on the control panel. Straight-line rocket pods immediately popped out from the sides of the assault boat. In just over a second, all twenty-odd rockets were fired, slamming into the enemy群.
Before the smoke cleared, Ling Xiao followed up with another round of shells aimed at the plasma cannon positions.
The other assault boats also realized something was wrong. No one dared to hold back any longer, immediately launching a torrential, all-out bombardment on the enemy. Several rounds of artillery fire repeatedly covered the ground. Amidst the swirling smoke and moon dust, a bright white beam shot up into the sky, narrowly missing Ling Xiao’s assault boat, which was almost pierced through.
This was the only plasma cannon that had successfully fired.
Young Master Ling broke out in a cold sweat and fired a volley of artillery at the ground.
The others had the same idea. The result was that four assault boats simultaneously bombarded the same spot fiercely. When they stopped firing, the lunar surface had a crater five to six meters deep.
In just three to five minutes, the four assault boats had annihilated all the giant specimens.
It was only then that the aircraft that had moved to the outskirts of the crater appeared above the mountain pass.
As the battle outside the ship ended, the battle inside the ship was also nearing its conclusion. The revealed giant specimens were basically wiped out by the assault team. As the battle was about to end, the last few giant specimens charged desperately towards the assault team’s defense line, but before they could get close, they were riddled with machine-gun fire and died en masse.
Only a very small number escaped.
Xie Yu immediately organized a pursuit and eliminated some more enemies. Very few managed to escape.
Perhaps there were still some stragglers hiding in the dark, but those giant specimens that had lost their courage were like rats hiding in sewers, unable to cause any significant trouble.
Thus, the assault team took a crucial step towards completely securing the crippled ship. From then on, the alien species no longer had the ability to launch large-scale attacks, and sporadic sneak attacks were suppressed by the assault team members at the first sign.
The news was reported to the command center, and the cabins erupted in cheers. Luo Jintang smiled so widely his mouth couldn’t be closed, almost revealing his molars.
Tang Haifeng relaxed completely, suddenly feeling an uncontrollable exhaustion all over his body, wishing he could just fall asleep.
But he forced himself to stay alert. Only after personally transmitting the news back to the ground did he sleep soundly with a clear conscience.
Ou Zhanpeng and Xie Yu found themselves together again, both showing relieved smiles.
“Damn it, we almost flipped over,” Xie Yu spat out a mouthful of turbid air, feeling unprecedented elation.
Ou Zhanpeng was equally in good spirits: “It’s not surprising. We captured the brain-fish alive, leaving the giant specimen species without a leader. Moreover, the areas we control are increasing, and the enemy is an isolated army about to be trapped and starved in the crippled ship. If they don’t fight desperately, they have no way out but death!”
Xie Yu looked Ou Zhanpeng up and down, his gaze very strange.
Young Master Ou felt a chill: “What’s with that look?”
“I can’t tell. You’re talking so knowledgeably. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a staff officer from the command center,” Xie Yu grinned. “Not bad, not bad. I have high hopes for you. Keep up the good work, and who knows, one day I might have to salute you first.”
“I’ll accept your good wishes!” Ou Zhanpeng cupped his fists, not the least bit humble.
The two laughed heartily, their joy as vast as the sky, and only stopped after a long while.
Having gone through trials and tribulations, they finally reaped victory. All officers and soldiers directly or indirectly involved in the lunar campaign felt the same way.
Xie Yu said: “Until all the alien species are eliminated, I won’t feel at ease. We need to empty the crippled ship eventually.”
Ou Zhanpeng was immediately stunned: “Such a large warship, how long will it take to move?”
“No matter how big, it must be moved. If we don’t cut off the alien species’ source of supplies, who knows what trouble they might stir up one day.”
Ou Zhanpeng pondered for a moment and nodded vigorously: “That’s true… Hey, speaking of which, something also occurred to me. If the alien species hadn’t taken hostages at the time but had quietly occupied the power cabin, would we have discovered the power cabin as a key point?”
“That…” Xie Yu pondered seriously for a moment. “Most likely not. Even if we discovered it, it would have been too late. We certainly couldn’t have gone all out and committed all our forces. If even a small thing went wrong, it might have been unmanageable.”
“I think so too. Looking back now, it’s really quite coincidental.” Ou Zhanpeng’s only feeling at the moment was the impermanence of life. Merely for casually capturing a few prisoners, he had personally ruined the hard-won favorable situation.
To put it in an old saying, it was truly a matter of time, fate, and luck. When the aliens were unlucky, even drinking cold water would get stuck in their throats.