Facing life and death, Ou Zhanpeng's breathing quickened, his heart pounded, and an urge to attack immediately surged within him. Yet, an indescribable force held him firmly to the ground.
As a soldier, he stood up in the critical moment, willing to use his not-so-broad chest to shield against danger.
Born human, he also possessed emotions and desires. He would hesitate in the face of danger and feel fear when confronted with death.
There are no heroes who fall from the sky, only ordinary people who step forward. They are not fearless, but it is their emotions and responsibilities that make them abandon escape and choose bravery in the face of danger.
And sacrifice.
The countdown was agonizingly slow, each second an immense torment.
Beep beep—
A prompt sounded, and a voice from the battleship reached his ears: "Assault 007, enemies detected in other sectors, numbering seven, advancing towards your position!"
Ou Zhanpeng glanced at the remaining two and a half minutes on the countdown: "How much time do I have left?"
"The enemy is moving very fast, estimated to be about 20 minutes away."
Ou Zhanpeng gasped: How could it be 20 minutes again? This was no coincidence!
The enemy ships had landed in the Northern Hemisphere, over a thousand kilometers from Guanghan Station. However, the assault craft was only two hundred kilometers from Guanghan Station.
In other words, the aliens had discovered Guanghan Station long ago, which was why they immediately dispatched personnel to attack after landing. The assault craft was merely coincidentally running into the aliens' ambush!
The big guy and the short toad were, with 99.9% certainty, enemy scouts.
At this moment, with only two and a half minutes left on the countdown, surviving this wave was not an issue, but what about the next?
"Bridge!" Ou Zhanpeng managed to utter, "Notify the assault craft, hurry up and withdraw…"
Beep beep—
The prompt sounded again, and the familiar lazy tone washed over him: "Brother, heard you got into a bit of trouble. Need a hand from your brother?"
Ou Zhanpeng couldn't help but smile, all negative emotions vanishing: "Do I even need to ask? Be careful!"
"Don't worry!" Ling Xiao pulled at the corner of his mouth, appearing nonchalant, but in reality, he was focused, piloting the assault craft at extremely low altitude.
Ou Zhanpeng loaded the fire control system, marking the distant aliens. Assault Craft 008 immediately locked onto the aliens remotely via the data link.
"Missile one launch... Missile two launch!"
Two missiles were launched one after another, flying across the surface at a speed far exceeding that of the assault craft.
Twenty seconds later, the two missiles entered Ou Zhanpeng's radar detection range.
Twenty-four seconds, Ou Zhanpeng saw the rapidly flying missiles.
Twenty-six seconds, the iron toad looked up alertly, spotting the incoming missiles at a glance.
The iron toad's expression immediately changed, but just as he had the thought to dodge, the missiles had already struck at his feet.
Two loud explosions followed, creating a sudden gale. The big guy and the iron toad were thrown by the shockwave, flying a considerable distance before slowly landing, their fate unknown. (PS: Don't mention the vacuum of the moon in the comments; the sound was transmitted through the ground!)
The iron toad was fine, but the lunar soil beneath the big guy quickly became wet.
Ou Zhanpeng pushed himself up with one hand: "Direct hit, well done!"
"Of course!" Ling Xiao said with an air of unassailable confidence.
Beep beep— the prompt sounded again: "007, enemies accelerating, estimated contact time 18...15...10 minutes, you have 10 minutes left!"
"10 minutes?" Ou Zhanpeng sighed, "Ling Xiao, where are you?"
"Almost there!" He then connected to the satellite, locked onto the target, and without regard for whether he could actually hit it, fired off all the remaining missiles in one go.
Ou Zhanpeng, meanwhile, aimed at the iron toad and fired several shots.
The bullets hit, but the target showed no movement.
Still, he dared not be careless, pulling out another grenade and tossing it near the iron toad, causing him to roll several times. Only then did he feel somewhat relieved, dragging the iron toad to the side of the big guy.
The low-flying assault craft arrived and decelerated to a stop nearby.
Ling Xiao's voice was filled with surprise: "These two guys are aliens? They look like refugees!"
Ou Zhanpeng grabbed one of the big guy's legs and dragged him towards the assault craft: "How should I know? Stop talking nonsense, open the door!"
The tail compartment opened, and Ou Zhanpeng tossed the big guy in. He then hopped back and dragged the iron toad onto the assault craft: "Let's go, lock the inner cabin door."
Ling Xiao immediately understood: "You're not coming out?"
"I've had too much contact with the aliens. It's best if I stay with them. If they wake up, I can give you a warning." Ou Zhanpeng remained vigilant, shrinking into a corner, his gun continuously aimed at the iron toad.
"Be careful yourself!" Ling Xiao agreed and immediately piloted the assault craft to take off, quickly flying towards the vicinity of the crashed 007.
Under Ling Xiao's constant urging, the sixteen passengers from 007 were transferred to 008 at the fastest speed possible. The accompanying doctor immediately checked the condition of the injured and concluded that they were relatively stable.
The assault craft took off and headed for Guanghan Station at maximum speed.
Ou Zhanpeng seized the opportunity to contact the Polaris: "Bridge, this is Assault 007, I suspect the aliens' target is Guanghan Station!"
The reply from the bridge was casual: "Assault 007, we are already aware of the situation."
Ou Zhanpeng understood with a shift in thought; if he could see this, how could the numerous staff officers in command not?
"Also, I have two alien corpses here!"
"Understood, arrangements have been made. Upon arrival at Guanghan Station, you will remain on the assault craft. Is that clear?"
"Clear!" Ou Zhanpeng replied.
After the communication ended, he finally felt he could relax.
Before Assault Craft 008 had even reached Guanghan Station, Ou Zhanpeng received notification from the Polaris that four aerospace fighters had conducted a long-range aerial strike on the northward-advancing aliens. All seven aliens were hit by missiles, but the result was unexpected. Only one alien was of unknown status, while the remaining six fled back to Luojian Mountain in disgrace.
The fact proved that the aliens were not as powerful as imagined. Human weaponry could completely contend with them.
It was just that individual soldier weaponry was insufficient; it required at least aircraft cannon levels. As for missiles, they were even more effective. Those things could hit tanks with precision, so dealing with a few aliens was a piece of cake, wasn't it?
In summary, humanity's first ground engagement with aliens concluded with a victory for humanity.
As a participant in the event, Ou Zhanpeng felt extremely gratified.
Not long after, the assault craft landed at Guanghan Station.
Ou Zhanpeng heard a jumble of sounds from the adjacent cabin. Some people were shouting to be gentle, while others were urging haste, clearly transferring the wounded.
The adjacent cabin soon quieted down, but Ou Zhanpeng waited patiently for several minutes without any movement.
He couldn't help himself: "Ling Xiao, what's going on outside?"
"A bit of trouble." Ling Xiao's tone was unusually serious. "We're not ready yet. Wait a moment longer!"
Still waiting?
Ou Zhanpeng was utterly perplexed. Moving corpses, what was there to prepare?