Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 580 - 492 Killing in the Storm_2

Chapter 580: Chapter 492 Killing in the Storm_2

The mercenaries had already noticed the cyborg above them and quickly opened fire on Hosoda Yoshiyuki, just like trying to shoot down an airplane with rifles, bullets could only whoosh by, failing to kill him.

Before their anti-aircraft rockets could target him, Hosoda Yoshiyuki launched missiles at two of the ships, and with a piercing hiss of airflow, dozens of small, bee-like projectiles shot out from his Hive Missile System, whizzing towards the ships below.

Boom! Boom!

The anti-aircraft guns and missile interception systems roared non-stop, blocking most of the bombs, with only a few missiles exploding on the deck, instantly lighting up flames and black smoke.

As the fire raged in the torrential rain, the mercenaries howled and cried out in the storm, trying to carry out damage control.

Hosoda Yoshiyuki continued to fire at one of the ships, with large caliber shoulder guns popping out from his shoulders and 57mm shells shooting directly at the command center at mid-range, instantly breaking the glass and destroying the ship’s turret center, leading Hosoda Yoshiyuki to burst into wild laughter.

Desiring to pursue further, Hosoda Yoshiyuki’s missile detection system beeped an alarm, and turning his head, he saw a battleship had already launched missiles at him. He instinctively maneuvered rapidly in the air, saw the missile swiftly veer off course but heading towards a friendly ship. Realizing that Rinne was jamming the enemy’s fire control system, he abandoned that ship and directly jumped onto the deck of another ship.

"He’s jumped down!"

"Kill him!"

"Open fire!" The mercenaries quickly shot at Hosoda Yoshiyuki.

His face wore a bloodthirsty and cruel expression, and with arms extended, at least twenty different sized and caliber guns popped out from his body and roared fire in all directions!

Bang! Bang! The intense and rapid gunshots merged into a single sound, bullets tearing through human flesh and shattering metal, turning the entire ship into a bloody wreck full of holes in mere seconds!

The entire ship, as if wounded, emitted a giant, metal-tearing scream amidst the waves, completely losing power.

Hosoda Yoshiyuki quickly ascended to the sky before the waves swallowed it, but when he turned his head, he saw the "Red Life" stricken by a torpedo, the whole ship exploding instantly with a thunderous roar!

Huge splashes of water surged into the sky, shattered vessel materials and torn human bodies bobbed in the bone-chilling cold sea, appearing even more horrific against the night.

Hosoda Yoshiyuki’s head was about to explode!

He hurriedly decreased altitude, flying above the disaster area to conduct a search and rescue, while the Anonymous shuttle also swooped in.

Seeking Shadow stood at the edge of the Shuttle Machine, overlooking the wreck, everything from that broken ship sinking amidst the storm and huge waves, swallowed by the dark seawater, with nothing left afloat; the colonel had already sunk into the sea.

"I can’t go into the water, I’m not waterproof." Hosoda Yoshiyuki flew back to the Shuttle Machine, turned off his power, and irritably watched the pursuing ships disappearing one by one. The "Red Life" had been sunk, the mercenaries’ mission was already complete, and the weather conditions and the state of the water no longer permitted them to continue the fight.

Battling the pouring rain, the Anonymous turned on its searchlights, floating low, with the light barely piercing the darkness, illuminating a small, insignificant, circular patch of the ocean.

Listening to the sound of rain pitter-pattering against the window, Hosoda Yoshiyuki anxiously wondered how to help, when he suddenly saw a small, orange life raft rising in the sea!

A sailor lay weakly on it, covered in blood—not his own—as a comrade had been blown up next to him. He was one of the few survivors. In the very first second of the storm hitting, he had rushed into the cabin and bound himself to the life raft, thus miraculously escaping death.

Now, he didn’t dare move, screaming at the black Anonymous in the sky, treating it like a specter.

Even those who were good swimmers dared not enter the sea amidst the terrifying waves, the dark night, and the rainstorm, let alone the Disciples aboard the Shuttle Machine who were not good at swimming. This made them realize the importance of addressing the team’s weaknesses.

Suddenly, a silver-white spot reflecting the moonlight popped up in the middle of the ocean, a segment of the ship’s hull material designed for buoyancy, full of hollow structures, now floated up like a life-saving straw.

The Anonymous descended, saw a man struggling to climb onto the hull, then reaching out towards them, begging for help.

"Who are you?" Hosoda Yoshiyuki shouted.

"I’m the captain!" The man was Febus, the captain of the "Red Life," who had been on the lookout tower when the ship was torpedoed, and was thrown into the air entirely.

His hair was completely drenched, his body shivering uncontrollably; now, the only hope the captain harbored was to cling to life, nothing more.

"Come aboard! We’re here to help!" Hosoda Yoshiyuki reached out but couldn’t make it.

Nidelaide stretched out with force, extending his spring-loaded arm, spanning tens of meters, and grabbed Captain Febus onto the Shuttle Machine. Lying on the floor of the Shuttle Machine’s belly, he retched violently, drenched in water, quickly soaking the cabin floor, overwhelmed with excitement for his survival.

The sailor on the life raft, seeing that this "large black bird" came to rescue them, also stood up in shock, shaking off the blood and bits of intestines of his comrades, desperately calling for help and waving at Anonymous, his voice dissipating in the wind, like fragmented cries, as Anonymous approached to pull him onboard.

"What about the colonel!" Hosoda Yoshiyuki scanned the dark sea.

"..." Captain Febus shook his head, "The colonel is in a deeper place...I saw him."

"Is he still alive?" Hosoda Yoshiyuki frowned.

The next second, he discovered the answer.

The colonel surfaced, his frail shoulders carrying a choking sailor as they both poked their heads out from the waves. The colonel’s cap was missing, his clothes soaked, looking particularly pitiable in the water, but his gaunt yet strong arms raised high, and even in such a calamity, his expression did not change; his face, lacking muscle and nourishment, could barely form expressions and now resembled a water-stained statue.

Anonymous first pulled the sailor from the life raft aboard, then moved closer to the colonel. The seawater continuously assaulted the Shuttle Machine’s underside, wetting the entry to the hull, as Rinne carefully controlled the altitude to prevent Anonymous from being submerged.

Hosoda Yoshiyuki pulled the unconscious sailor from the colonel’s shoulders onto the Shuttle Machine, then reached out and pulled the colonel aboard.

Having touched such a legendary figure with his own hands, Hosoda Yoshiyuki felt an immense surge of emotion, yet the colonel’s movements were even more deft than Hosoda Yoshiyuki’s, quickly climbing in.

"Have the mercenaries left?" the colonel looked out to sea.

"They’ve gone, ah, colonel—" Hosoda Yoshiyuki began, but the colonel was already in motion.

They all wanted to say so much to the colonel, but he simply stripped off his waterlogged uniform that hindered his movement, left it in the cabin, donning only an old white undershirt before jumping back into the sea, as if seeking his own death, stunning everyone.

Having grown accustomed to the colonel’s style, Captain Febus encouraged them to calm their hearts.

After a while, the colonel emerged from the depths with a pale-faced sailor and then saved another one, diving down and surfacing three times in total.

The colonel weaved through the pitch-black sea alone, his superhuman strength, cold resistance, and mobility shamed Hosoda Yoshiyuki. He was 80% modified as a Super Remodeled Man, but the aging colonel seemed to move even faster than he did.

After saving three sailors, the colonel dived into the stormy deep one last time. This time staying under longer, about five or six minutes, the colonel could find no more people to save in the sea, leaving behind only icy water and silence. Only then did he return to the surface, shaking his head at the Shuttle Machine.

For the last time, Hosoda Yoshiyuki pulled the colonel aboard. Like the other rescued sailors, the colonel was soaking wet; they all needed blankets, hot water, food, and beds.

Once Anonymous moved away from the storm’s center, the colonel stood up, looked back at the fragments of the "Red Life" in the sea, saluted the area, his lips quivering for a moment, but he said nothing.

Then, the colonel sat back down straight in his seat on the Shuttle Machine.

Now the truth was revealed. With such proximity and stripped of all the halos, fantasies, and cultural constructs that came later, the colonel was nothing more than a decrepit, dried-up soldier. Hosoda Yoshiyuki felt confused and lost by this realization, bowing his head and covering his face, saying nothing.