aircannonsinc Chapter 146 Refusing to be incorporated, an arrogant deal of war as compensation
Chapter 146 Refusing to be incorporated, an arrogant deal of war as compensation
"Detain them?" Jiang Ming didn't even lift his eyelids. "They can't detain them."
The Earth is no longer the orderly world it once was.
Space overlaps are everywhere, monsters roam freely, and the military's manpower is definitely stretched thin.
They need high-end combat power.
Jiang Ming is exactly the kind of humanoid nuclear bomb that Dongjiang City desperately needs right now.
As long as he demonstrates sufficient value, the military will not only not detain him, but will treat him like royalty.
The prerequisite is that he must first figure out the military's current bottom line and bargaining chips.
Half an hour later.
The armored vehicle braked sharply and came to a stop.
The rear cargo door swung open with a bang, and blinding searchlights shone straight in.
"Get out of the vehicle, and hurry up!" came the soldier's urging voice from outside.
Jiang Ming and his group jumped out of the car.
Before us stands the largest sports center in Dongjiang City, which has now been converted into a temporary military command post and survivor shelter.
Three layers of electrified barbed wire were erected around the perimeter, and every ten meters there was a heavy machine gun emplacement made of sandbags.
Several main battle tanks, like steel behemoths, were parked in the square, their cannons pointing directly into the depths of the city.
The air was filled with a strong smell of disinfectant and blood.
A stretcher was carried by hurriedly, with soldiers missing arms and legs lying on it.
Cries and screams mingled with radio static, creating a tense and oppressive atmosphere throughout the camp.
Lei Zhan strode over, his face even more grim than when he was in the ruins.
"Zhou Feng, take your team to the medical station for treatment, then return to the team and report for duty." Lei Zhan quickly gave the order, then turned to Jiang Ming, "You guys, come with me to the special registration area."
The special registration area is located in the indoor basketball court.
As soon as Jiang Ming stepped inside, he noticed that the atmosphere was a bit strange.
Inside the basketball court, more than a dozen private rooms were partitioned off with partitions, and many people in civilian clothes were being guarded by soldiers with live ammunition.
These people all had some energy fluctuations, clearly indicating that they were "players" who had obtained panels or awakened abilities in the spatial overlap.
"stop."
A middle-aged man wearing a white lab coat and a research department badge on his chest blocked the way.
He was followed by four fully armed internal security soldiers.
The man in the white coat didn't even look at Jiang Ming's face; instead, he stared intently at the dark red giant sword behind Jiang Ming, [Chaos Fire Thunder Prison].
"Company Commander Lei, is this the target you mentioned in your report who killed the general-level monster?" The man in the white coat pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his tone carrying a condescending scrutiny.
"Yes. Director Wang, I've brought the person back. According to procedure, we need to verify their identity and assess their capabilities first." Lei Zhan frowned slightly, clearly not fond of this Director Wang.
"The process has changed." Director Wang waved his hand, his gaze still fixed on the giant sword. "The higher-ups just issued a strict order: all otherworldly creations brought out from the overlapping areas, especially weapons and materials with extraordinary attributes, must be handed over to the research department for reverse engineering analysis immediately."
He raised his chin, and Chongjiang Ming held out his hand: "Take your sword off. And put everything else in your bag on that testing table over there."
The four guards behind him immediately stepped forward, raising their rifles slightly to form a semi-encircling, oppressive formation.
Chen Qi's eyes turned cold, and he flicked the safety off the assault rifle with his thumb.
Click.
The crisp mechanical sound was particularly jarring in the empty basketball court.
Marlowe let out a low growl from his throat, and the dire wolf pawed at the floor nervously, ready to pounce and bite off their necks at any moment.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Lei Zhan's expression changed drastically, and he quickly stepped forward to intervene: "Director Wang! They are the heroes who helped us clean up Yonghui Plaza! Your actions are against regulations!"
"The regulations were set by headquarters! Lei Zhan, are you going to disobey orders?" Director Wang's face darkened, and he reprimanded sharply, "Don't you understand the current situation? The armored vehicles on the front lines can't even penetrate the skin of those monsters! We need data from these extraordinary weapons to improve our equipment! This concerns the survival of the entire Dongjiang City!"
With this serious accusation leveled against him, Lei Zhan gritted his teeth and remained speechless for a long time.
Director Wang sneered, turning to Jiang Ming: "Young man, I don't care how many monsters you've killed outside. Here, you have to abide by military regulations. Hand over your weapons, cooperate with the research, and the military will arrange a safe logistics position for you. Otherwise…"
"Otherwise what?"
Jiang Ming finally spoke. Instead of taking down the greatsword, he took a step forward.
With this one step, a strong stench of blood, mixed with the mental pressure brought by Lv.10 [Iron Will], was released with a bang.
The four guards felt their breath catch in their throats and instinctively took a half step back, their fingers gripping the triggers tightly, their palms covered in cold sweat.
"You... what do you think you're doing? This is the military command post!" Director Wang, his face pale with intimidation, roared, his voice trembling with fear, "Fire! If he moves, shoot him on the spot!"
"You can give it a try."
Jiang Ming gripped the hilt of the sword behind his back with his other hand.
Clang——
[The Blazing Fire and Thunder Prison] is unsheathed.
Without any unnecessary movements, Jiang Ming gripped the sword with one hand and casually thrust the broad blade into the ground.
boom!
The basketball court's hard solid wood floor, along with the concrete foundation beneath it, was blasted open as if by a cannonball, instantly creating a crater two meters in diameter.
Wood chips and gravel flew everywhere like bullets.
Dark red flames mixed with eerie blue lightning surged wildly into the ground along the sword's blade, transforming into streaks of electricity that snaked around it.
Director Wang was thrown to the ground by the blast wave, and his gold-rimmed glasses shattered.
Several guards were struck by the electric arc, screaming as they staggered backward, their rifles falling to the ground from their hands due to the intense heat.
The entire basketball court fell silent.
All the "players" registering and the guarding soldiers were stunned by the terrifying commotion.
Jiang Ming leaned on his sword with one hand, looking down at Director Wang, who was slumped on the ground.
"Take my sword to dissect and study it?" Jiang Ming's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Are your claws even worthy of touching it?"
The piercing alarm instantly resounded inside and outside the basketball court.
A large number of fully armed soldiers poured in from all directions, their dark gun barrels all aimed at Jiang Ming, who was standing on the edge of the pit.
Several infrared sniper lasers directly targeted his brow and heart.
Chen Qi and Ma Luo stood back to back on either side of Jiang Ming, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.
This isn't like fighting a few orcs in the wild; this is inside the headquarters of a regular army. Once the firepower is intertwined, these dozen or so men won't even be left as ashes.
"Don't fire! Put your guns down!"
'
Lei Zhan roared hoarsely, spreading his arms to block Jiang Ming and the internal security forces.
He knew all too well Jiang Ming's destructive power; he was a ruthless man capable of killing monsters at the general level.
If a fight were to break out here, the entire sports center would have to be demolished.
"Lei Zhan! You're insane! This is a blatant attack on an officer!" Director Wang, helped to his feet by two guards, pointed at Jiang Ming and screamed, "Kill him! Kill him immediately!"
"Shut the fuck up!"
A loud shout came from the entrance of the basketball court.
The crowd parted like a tide, and a senior colonel in camouflage, carrying two bars and four stars on his shoulders, strode forward.
His face was ashen, and there was a long scar running through the corner of his eye. He walked with a swagger, exuding an aura of steely resolve as if he had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Chu Tianfeng, commander of the rapid reaction brigade of the Dongjiang Military Region.
"Brigade Commander!" Lei Zhan immediately stood at attention and saluted.
Chu Tianfeng didn't even glance at Lei Zhan, and walked straight up to Director Wang.
"Commander Chu, you've come at the right time! This man refused to hand over the otherworldly weapons and even dared to commit violence within the base; he must be severely punished..."
"Snapped!"
A resounding slap choked Director Wang back to his throat.
Director Wang was so badly hit that he spun halfway around on the spot, and half of his face instantly swelled up like a pig's head, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Hundreds of brothers have died on the front lines, and the defensive line is about to be torn apart. And you still have the nerve to rob other people's equipment?" Chu Tianfeng pointed at Director Wang's nose and cursed. "The research department needs to analyze data, go to the battlefield and scavenge monster corpses! Who gave you the right to disarm survivors in the rear? Get back to your lab!"
Director Wang covered his face, not daring to utter a sound, and slunk away with his men.
Chu Tianfeng took a deep breath, turned around, and his gaze fell on Jiang Ming.
More precisely, it landed on the [Hellfire and Thunder Prison] that was stuck in the concrete and still crackling with electricity.
"A fine sword." A hint of undisguised amazement flashed in Chu Tianfeng's eyes, then he looked at Jiang Ming, "You're the young man Lei Zhan mentioned, the one who single-handedly took down a War General-level Frankenstein's monster?"
Jiang Ming casually drew his greatsword and sheathed it back on his back.
The violent elemental fluctuations subsided instantly.
"It's me." Jiang Ming looked directly into Chu Tianfeng's eyes, his tone neither humble nor arrogant. "If you're here to back up your men, there's no need for that. I don't buy it."
Chu Tianfeng burst into laughter, the sound so loud it hurt your eardrums: "Show me some face? That kind of trash isn't even worthy of my attention. I came to find you because Lei Zhan was exaggerating your combat strength in the communications. Now it seems he wasn't exaggerating."
He wiped the smile off his face, his eyes sharpening like knives: "Young man, I won't hide the situation from you. Three large spatial overlap points have appeared in Dongjiang City, and monsters are pouring in continuously. Conventional firearms are fine for dealing with low-level cannon fodder, but when we encounter high-level monsters with magical shields or physical immunity, our casualty rate is frighteningly high."
Chu Tianfeng paused for a moment, then revealed his trump card: "The military needs high-end combat power. You and your men join my special operations company, I'll give you the rank of major, unlimited weapons and ammunition, and your team members will all enjoy the same benefits as regular soldiers. How about it?"
Chen Qi listened from behind, his eyes wide with amazement.
The rank of major!
This is a treatment that many people can't achieve even after working hard for half their lives.
The rank of major!
This is a treatment that many people can't achieve even after working hard for half their lives.
However, Jiang Ming did not hesitate for even a second.
"No interest," Jiang Ming replied outright.
Chu Tianfeng frowned: "You think the pay is too low? We can discuss the terms."
"It's not about treatment, it's about status." Jiang Ming looked at Chu Tianfeng, his tone calm but filled with absolute confidence. "Joining you is called obeying orders. I hate it when people tell me what to do."
"Then what do you want?" Chu Tianfeng's face darkened.
"Cooperation. Or rather, a deal." Jiang Ming held up two fingers. "I'll help you deal with those tough nuts you can't crack, and clear out the high-level monsters. In return, I want what's in your armory."
"What kind of weapon do you want? A rifle? A cannon?"
"No." Jiang Ming shook his head. "I need weapons that need to be scrapped, explosives with deactivated primers, discarded armor plates, and those otherworldly materials that you think are useless. The more the better."
Chu Tianfeng was stunned.
He had expected Jiang Ming to make exorbitant demands for the most advanced individual equipment, but he never imagined that the other party would only want scrap metal.
"What do you need those materials that are supposed to be recycled for?" Chu Tianfeng asked, his face full of suspicion.
"You don't need to worry about that. Just tell me if you're going to do this deal or not." Jiang Ming crossed his arms.
Chu Tianfeng stared at Jiang Ming for a full half minute, seemingly trying to find some flaw in his face.
Just as he was about to speak, the military walkie-talkie at his waist suddenly emitted an extremely piercing red alarm.
"Calling command! This is the South City Line 3! We've been attacked by unidentified creatures!" came the frontline commander's desperate shout over the walkie-talkie, accompanied by the intense sound of gunfire and chilling screams.
"Report the situation! Are they orcs or ghouls?" Chu Tianfeng grabbed the walkie-talkie and shouted.
"No, it's shadows! They're completely immune to physical attacks! Bullets just go right through them! Half of our artillery positions have been destroyed! Requesting immediate reinforcements! Repeat, requesting immediate..."
sizzle-
Communication abruptly stopped.
Chu Tianfeng's face turned deathly pale instantly.
Behind the No. 3 defense line in the south of the city is the largest civilian resettlement site in Dongjiang City, housing a total of 50,000 people!
Once the defenses are breached, it will be a one-sided massacre.
"Lei Zhan! Assemble the team! Bring all incendiary and high-explosive bombs, depart in three minutes!" Chu Tianfeng roared as he turned around.
"It's no use," Jiang Ming interrupted abruptly.
Chu Tianfeng whirled around, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at him: "What did you say?"
"Ghost-type monsters are immune to physical attacks, so bringing incendiary bombs is pointless. They don't even have physical forms, how can you burn them?" Jiang Ming said calmly. "Going there is just suicide."
"Are we just going to stand by and watch tens of thousands of people be slaughtered?!" Chu Tianfeng grabbed Jiang Ming by the collar, like an enraged lion.
Jiang Ming grabbed Chu Tianfeng's wrist with his other hand and applied slight force.
A burst of power exceeding 30 points erupted instantly. Chu Tianfeng groaned, feeling as if his entire arm was being clamped by iron clamps, his bones about to shatter, and he was forced to release his grip.
"I told you, this is a deal." Jiang Ming straightened his collar and looked at Chu Tianfeng. "I'll guard the southern defense line for you. The price is the materials I just mentioned."
Chu Tianfeng gritted his teeth, staring intently at Jiang Ming: "Are you sure you can handle a monster immune to physical attacks?"
Jiang Ming did not answer.
"Chen Qi, Ma Luo, get to work."
He strode out of the basketball court, leaving without looking back with a single sentence.