Boom—
With a roar, the tightly sealed cabin door burst open, creating a gap. The deck beneath their feet vibrated violently, and the spewing smoke coated Ling Xiao.
This brat constantly complained, but when it came down to it, he never backed down.
Young Master Ou had said more than once that his life was ruined by his mouth, a classic case of overworking for little reward.
Ou Zhanpeng pressed the comms button: "Team One, Team One, do you read? Do you read—" he called out several times, but only static crackled through the radio.
Tilting his head to observe, the gap was pitch black. Switching to night vision mode, he saw nothing but a straight corridor devoid of any sign of life.
Ou Zhanpeng took a deep breath, hefted his rifle, and charged into the wrecked ship. He ducked and weaved through the opening, moving swiftly towards the enemy vessel's interior.
Ling Xiao's eyes widened. That was a 12.7mm heavy machine gun. An empty gun weighed over ten kilograms, and with two ammo boxes, it easily tipped the scales at thirty kilograms. Using it like a rifle was no joke!
The powered armor could significantly enhance the user's strength, making it perfectly possible to fight with a thirty-kilogram machine gun. However, every extra ounce of strength consumed precious battery power. With Ou Zhanpeng wielding it like this, the armor would be dead in under half an hour.
He quickly caught up, pointing his gun behind him and backing towards Ou Zhanpeng: "Fat Ou, did you bring spare batteries?"
Ou Zhanpeng's voice was low: "Didn't bring any. Not needed."
Ling Xiao almost choked, grinding his teeth: "That's a heavy machine gun, not a fire starter!"
Ou Zhanpeng remained unfazed: "I know. Relax, I've got this handled."
Handled your ass!
Ling Xiao wished he could crack open Ou Zhanpeng's skull and see what was inside.
Ou Zhanpeng was genuinely unconcerned. While the machine gun was heavy, his current strength was also considerable. Although he couldn't quite figure out what had happened, he knew his own body best. Even without the powered armor, he could handle the heavy machine gun.
Ling Xiao was infuriated: "I'm really impressed with you..."
Suddenly, a soft sound came from behind, sealing a passageway with a cabin door. The previously dark corridor was illuminated by a light source found from somewhere.
The brightness wasn't high, but it was enough for the night vision goggles.
Ling Xiao became even more annoyed. As he turned, he swept his gun downwards in an arc, pointing towards the front: "Great, now we're both trapped here."
Ou Zhanpeng remained calm, turning to face the rear in perfect sync: "Don't worry, I still have explosives."
He glanced at the location of the gate and meticulously reviewed his memories of the path, but he couldn't recall where the gate was.
"No matter how many explosives you have, how many layers can you blow open?" Ling Xiao had given up. He genuinely wanted to get away from this idiot immediately.
Ou Zhanpeng paused briefly but quickly resumed his normal pace: "Stop talking and concentrate!"
Ling Xiao rolled his eyes and tightly pursed his lips.
The two alternated turns, periodically switching their vigilance directions, and stopping every so often to listen intently.
In the quiet corridor, only the sound of their footsteps echoed in the distance, their breathing behind their faceplates like thunder. The high-sensitivity pickup on their helmets was utterly useless.
Ou Zhanpeng checked the environmental readings. The air pressure in the corridor was rising, equivalent to an altitude of two thousand meters, well within the acceptable range. The air composition was also fine, within breathable limits.
He flicked up his faceplate, then removed his helmet, startling Ling Xiao: "What are you doing?"
"Shh—" Ou Zhanpeng made a silencing gesture, his ears perked up like radar antennas.
Ling Xiao endured it, but couldn't hold back: "What are you doing?"
Ou Zhanpeng revealed a mysterious smile: "I'm listening to another world."
Ling Xiao felt a blockage in his chest, almost suffering internal injury.
Listening to worlds, why don't you fly to heaven?
Wait, no, they were already in the sky!
Ou Zhanpeng wasn't paying attention to what Ling Xiao was thinking.
The moment he removed his helmet, the entire world changed, as if a dragon soared through the nine heavens and a fish leaped into the sea—distant gunfire could be heard faintly, and it was intense.
There was a slight collision around the corner, like footsteps, or perhaps tapping on the ship's hull.
Deep within the wrecked ship, there was an almost inaudible humming sound, and the sound of water!
He suddenly made a gesture to Ling Xiao, then pointed towards the corner ahead.
The latter understood, quietly pulled out a grenade, and tossed it into the end of the passage.
The grenade exploded with a bang. Ou Zhanpeng's hearing abruptly plummeted, reducing the explosion to a level his ears could tolerate. Once the deafening sound ended, it returned to normal, just in time to hear the sound of something heavy falling.
It was very heavy, but only one sound!
Ou Zhanpeng strode forward, and Ling Xiao cried out in alarm: "Hey, hey, what are you doing!"
Young Master Ou ignored him completely, charging to the intersection and firing a long burst without a word.
Ling Xiao was a step behind. When he rushed out, he was stunned to see a thick-bodied alien, at least twice the height of two people, lying on the ground.
Its body had been riddled by the machine gun fire, and its limbs twitched unnaturally.
"Is this a Lizardman?" Ling Xiao asked in surprise. "Aren't they only five feet tall?"
"Maybe they caught a juvenile," Ou Zhanpeng stepped forward and fired another shot each into its chest and forehead.
Surprisingly, this giant alien species had no shield, whether it was because they couldn't use it inside the warship or for some other reason.
Ling Xiao was dumbfounded, looking at Ou Zhanpeng, then at the alien, his mind filled with a single, capitalized "MUGGLE."
Half of it was due to the giant alien, and the other half was due to Ou Zhanpeng's incredible performance.
He pushed aside his faceplate and rubbed his eyes vigorously: "Is this for real? Am I dreaming?"
"Definitely not!" Ou Zhanpeng said.
The corridor split into two here. Ou Zhanpeng pulled down Ling Xiao's faceplate and said with concern: "Don't follow my example... Go this way!"
Ling Xiao was dizzy again. He quickened his pace to catch up with Ou Zhanpeng: "How did you know which way to go?"
"Because there's gunfire this way!"
"Where?" Ling Xiao was completely bewildered. "I can't hear anything with my helmet on, are your ears more sensitive than the pickup?"
"Don't ask so many questions, just trust me."
"I'm not doubting you, but is this flippant attitude worthy of my trust?"
"Fine, I'll tell you, it's a superpower, innate!" Ou Zhanpeng said.
"Get lost!" Ling Xiao didn't believe him at all. "This 'x' you're showing off, we grew up wearing the same open-crotch pants, I know how many moles you have on your butt, how could I not know if you have superpowers?"
Ou Zhanpeng suddenly stopped smiling, raised a finger to his lips in a silencing gesture, and hefted his machine gun.
Ling Xiao quickly put aside his gossip and cautiously followed behind.
He really wanted to ask what had been discovered but worried about interfering with Young Master Ou's judgment.
Ahead was another fork in the road. Ou Zhanpeng suddenly stopped, knelt on one knee, raised his gun, and fired. As the gunshots rang out, two aliens suddenly appeared in front of them, directly in the line of fire.
They truly ran headlong into the gunfire.