Super Mothership
Without waiting for Lancelot to complain about the trio's names, the thunderous rumble of a large force advancing echoed from the corridor behind the two of them.
After analyzing it... well, there was no point analyzing anymore. Judging from the sheer numbers and scale alone, it was obvious this wasn't something just the two of them could handle.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!" Before the pursuers even got close, a dense barrage of attacks came streaking down the corridor.
Caught completely off guard, Black Pineapple took a hit to his left arm. Sparks immediately burst from the limb before it went limp, hanging uselessly at his side.
The two quickly pressed themselves against opposite sides of the corridor for cover. They exchanged a glance, then, with perfect unspoken coordination, each pulled a metallic sphere marked with the Wolf Empire's numeral "7" from their waists and hurled it toward the passage behind them.
Then came the second.
Then the third...
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
A chain of deafening explosions ripped through the corridor. A five- to six-meter section collapsed outright, filling the passage with dust and rubble, completely blocking the pursuing force.
At the same time, it also sealed off the pair's own retreat.
"Mm! There, that should hold them up for a while."
Black Pineapple let out a sigh of relief.
As he spoke, he examined his left arm and sighed again. It was obviously beyond repair.
Lancelot looked ahead. The walls of the corridor were polished to a mirror-like sheen. They looked perfectly ordinary, yet concealed deadly danger.
He casually snapped off a nearby steel pipe and tossed it into the passage.
"Bzzzt~"
Hair-thin laser beams flickered several times before their eyes...
"Clang! Clang! Clang~"
The poor steel pipe was instantly sliced into seven or eight pieces, which clattered noisily onto the floor.
"Uh... Looks like they aren't too welcoming to visitors. Say, can you hack into the control system and shut this thing off?" Lancelot asked, swallowing nervously.
Electronic intrusion had always been the Ghost Captain's specialty.
"What do you think this is, Resident Evil? This thing is manual! It's literally just got two buttons—'ON' and 'OFF.' Even if the two of us linked our processors together, we'd still be helpless!"
Black Pineapple rolled his eyes.
They did, in fact, possess a Link function that allowed them to physically connect their auxiliary AI processors, combining their computational power into a dual-core—or even multi-core—system. It was essentially a kind of "fusion technique."
But apparently, compared to relying on an intelligent system, the Gold Coin Pirate Corps had opted for the much safer manual mode.
"Then... how about we just blow it up?"
Lancelot opened the armor plating on his chest and pulled out an oversized metallic sphere engraved with the number "5."
The numbers represented the bomb's destructive rating.
The smaller the number, the greater the explosive power.
As an old Earth saying from 2019 went:
If a No. 7 can't solve the problem, use another No. 7. If that still doesn't work... bring out a No. 5!
"Wait! Don't be reckless! This passage is the critical connection between the two asteroids. If we blow it up, how are we supposed to get across?"
"Hmm... We're in zero gravity. Even without our flight packs, after blowing it up we could just jump across through open space and enter the target asteroid from the outside." Lancelot thought for a moment before making his suggestion.
"No. Outside is even more dangerous!
When we landed, I already took a look around. This is obviously a key defensive position of the base. They've deployed numerous high-rate automatic defense systems nearby. Seven or eight friendlies were shot down the moment they got close.
If we go outside now, we'll be riddled with holes in less than three seconds."
Black Pineapple pointed upward.
"Then I guess... we'll just have to force our way through?"
Lancelot spread his hands helplessly.
"Heh. I wouldn't be too confident alone. But with two of us... it should be doable."
As he spoke, Black Pineapple drew a rifle roughly half a meter long with his remaining right hand.
Wolf Fang Type-V Standard Gauss Rifle
An electromagnetic kinetic weapon.
- Caliber: 5 mm
- Magazine Capacity: 200 rounds
- Fires steel flechettes at twice the speed of sound.
- Rate of Fire: 60 rounds per minute.
It could also be fitted with extended armor-piercing ammunition for greater effectiveness against heavily armored targets.
Without another word, Lancelot also drew his Gauss rifle.
Standing on opposite sides of the corridor, the two simultaneously aimed at the laser passage.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
With rhythmic bursts of gunfire, the smooth walls lining both sides of the laser corridor were battered as though struck by giant hammers. Bowling ball-sized craters appeared one after another wherever the muzzles pointed.
The flickering electrical sparks inside each crater told them the power conduits hidden beneath had been completely destroyed.
Destroying the laser corridor inch by inch while steadily advancing, they soon reached the wreckage of Black Wind and Black Sharp.
"Mind if I do this?" Lancelot asked while continuing to fire.
"Of course not."
Without even turning his head, Black Pineapple skillfully rummaged through the wreckage at his feet, salvaging every weapon and piece of equipment that was still usable.
Lancelot joined in as well.
Magazines.
Spare batteries.
Smoke grenades.
High-explosive grenades.
One piece of equipment after another replenished their dwindling ammunition reserves.
"Click!"
Black Pineapple even detached his damaged left arm entirely. After a bit of tinkering, he replaced it with a relatively intact one from the wreckage.
These robots were built using standardized universal components. Their limbs and even heads were designed for quick replacement, making battlefield repairs remarkably simple.
As long as the core unit wasn't critically damaged, every fallen comrade on the battlefield was effectively a portable repair kit.
Players had a name for this behavior...
Looting the corpses.
In a sense, the larger the army, the stronger its "undying" attribute became.
Testing his new left arm, Black Pineapple gave a solemn bow.
"Brother... I'm not fighting alone. Rest easy."
"Our Father, my Lord, forgive those sinners..."
Lancelot also solemnly traced a cross over his chest, paying tribute to their fallen comrades while expressing gratitude for their selfless sacrifice.
Yet while the two were completely immersed in their dramatic performance, neither noticed two tiny silver spiders quietly crawling out from the chests of the wrecked robots.
Without making a sound, they climbed onto the pair's boots and vanished in the blink of an eye.
After their brief memorial, the two set off once again at full strength.
Like a demolition crew, they tore through the corridor by brute force, alternating between electromagnetic weapons and low-yield explosives. With abundant ammunition and energy reserves, they destroyed everything in their path without restraint.
Before long, they successfully crossed the deadly laser corridor.
Then they heard intense gunfire echoing from ahead.
"It's friendlies!"
Both men's eyes lit up as they immediately quickened their pace.
Moments later, they rounded the corner and were greeted by a fierce battlefield.
Seven Little Black robots were protecting another, slightly different-looking comrade in their midst while desperately holding off the relentless bombardment of five Chainsaw Maniacs on the opposite side.
More than a dozen robot wrecks and even more pirate corpses already littered the battlefield.
Two Chainsaw Maniacs had also been destroyed.
The surrounding area was pockmarked with craters from constant explosions.
Ricochets screamed through the air in every direction, making the entire battlefield a scene of utter chaos.
"Huh? It's No. 4!"
The moment they saw the robot being protected in the center, both men's eyes sparkled.
The robot was noticeably bulkier than the standard Little Black model, with much heavier armor. Most eye-catching of all was the bright red "4" emblazoned across its chest.
This model sacrificed most of its other combat capabilities in exchange for overwhelming destructive power.
On average, every hundred Little Black units included one of these special variants.
It was destruction incarnate.
Players affectionately referred to this customized robot as...
C4!
TL Note- Kamikaze....
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