Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 205 - 205 125 Prelude to the Counterattack

205: Chapter 125 Prelude to the Counterattack 205: Chapter 125 Prelude to the Counterattack Heroes from afar were trying to break through the encirclement.

That very night, they had breached two blockades.

It was only in the more southern regions that they were once again caught by the overwhelming forces of the Protectors, initiating a new round of maneuvering in the expansive area.

At daybreak, Xiang Shan and his companions came to a halt and captured a member of the Green Forest.

This was actually quite normal.

Why is the alert threshold of the Heavenly Punishment System generally set quite high?

Because there are always members of the Green Forest wandering in the wilderness.

If the alert threshold were too low and the system too sensitive, then the Protectors would have to deploy space-based junk against every Mohican-headed lackey with a low cyberization rate riding a motorcycle.

Though referred to as “junk,” space-based junk still originates from “space-based” sources.

You would only have trash after an object in Earth’s orbit reaches the end of its life (or encounters an untimely demise),

If the Protectors really did operate without regard for cost in such a manner, then there probably wouldn’t be much of anything left on the ground.

This member of the Green Forest had come with a dozen others.

When they saw Xiang Shan’s convoy, they thought there might be some loot to be had—before that, they had been lying in wait to ambush proper prey on a certain route for about seven or eight days without connecting to the network.

Especially without paying attention to the events that had occurred the day before.

They were unaware that roaming this place now could result in an encounter with what kind of heroes.

Naturally, Yuan Wenren, who was in recovery, took this as rehabilitation training.

From a kilometer away, he blew up most of the Green Forest members and slaughtered nearly all the rest.

A few young heroes rushed out, howling excitedly, and captured the remaining member of the Green Forest.

What followed was Xiang Shan reading the captured memory, and then marking the location of the Green Forest Stronghold on the map just like that.

“This stronghold has three leaders,” Xiang Shan said, “It’s a bit of a distance from the regional Green Forest Tiger List, inferior to the ‘Chain Missile’ Gleayard I’ve killed.

Besides the ‘Hunting Squad’ we’ve taken out, they have about fifty people there.

The troublesome part is that there’s a low ratio of lackeys with low cyberization, and most of them wield firearms.”

Jader stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Xiang Shan’s face, saying, “Mate…

are you…

right now…”

Xiang Shan was puzzled, “What?

Are you testing the performance of my Prosthetic Eye or what?”

Jader turned his head, looking to Yuki, “Has your master always read others’ memories like this?

Even unprocessed, and with emotional files included, it works?”

Yuki nodded, “My master has always been good at reading memories.”

Xiang Shan knocked on the floor, “Brother, let’s get to the point; skip the banter.”

“No, no, no, big brother, I’m merely expressing my admiration…” Solo Kill King sincerely admired.

“I can imagine that you must have gone through considerable hardship to forge such unwavering willpower.”

—No, my master/I don’t remember anything anymore…

Xiang Shan and Yuki simultaneously had this thought flash across their minds.

“Anyway, back to the point,” Xiang Shan said.

“We must decide whether to strike at the Green Forest Stronghold or not.

This will directly affect our plans for today and tomorrow.”

“That’s indeed a problem,” declared Solo Kill King, glancing at Cui Hai, “Cui, tell us about our current situation.”

This was an opportunity to test the analytical skills of these young heroes.

Cui Hai nodded, “Our vehicles require solar power for charging during the day.

But the solar panels heat up faster than most types of ground, creating a high-temperature area.

Such high-temperature areas are overly conspicuous to satellites and can easily trigger a Heavenly Punishment.

So for at least ten hours a day, we cannot drive.

If we cover the solar panels and move forward, by tomorrow at the latest, we will face the peril of running out of power.”

“In essence, we simply cannot move during these ten hours.

In such a scenario, our only options are ‘standby to conserve energy’ or ‘attack the Green Forest Stronghold’.”

Yuki scratched his head and raised his hand, “I think there’s another issue.

We probably can’t lay bombs on the ground and blow open the dome from above, right?”

He and Xiang Shan had done this before.

However, under reduced alert thresholds of the Heavenly Punishment System, doing so would likely result in attracting space debris.

“Similarly, it should also be infeasible to draw those Green Forest out and then release Iron Dust on the ground,” Yuki continued.

These were tactics he had seen before.

“Infiltration and frontal conflict remain viable tactics,” Xiang Shan tapped Yuki’s head, “That’s not really the core issue.

If we decide to fight, we can always find a way.”

“It’s just that this action is indeed life-threatening for everyone involved.

If our conflict with the Green Forest is not well managed, or if they reveal the location of their base when driven to desperation, then a space-based weapons attack becomes inevitable.

Moreover, since I previously escaped a First-Level Divine Punishment and then assassinated a high-profile person, they might even start off with bombing us this time.”

“I’ll say it upfront.

Attacking the Green Forest Stronghold is a high-risk move with uncertain benefits.

If we don’t, our only choice is to go on standby.”

As for the plan of “abandoning the vehicle and fleeing,” none of them had considered that yet.

All their supplies were here.

To maintain continuous high-intensity combat, prosthetic bodies required spare parts and plentiful energy.

The worsening condition of Huang Ouguang and Cui Hai after months on the run in the wilderness was because of this.

“If the senior has a plan, I think we can still fight,” said Cui Hai.

“I believe the risk is still within a controllable range.

If we can gain some sort of benefit from it, I think it’s feasible.”

Red Hand A energetically said, “After all, we can only standby during the day.”

Oko was more composed.

He stated, “We can only move at night, while the enemy can move during the day and night.

Besides, the seniors have prepared heavy-duty vehicles, while the enemy can use faster ones.

In the end, we’re just getting a night’s head start on them.

Even if we want to set up an automated defensive position or a Landmine Formation, it’s futile.

We have far too few explosives at our disposal.”

“Attacking the Green Forest Stronghold for some replenishment, I think, is necessary.”

Yuan Wenren also spoke up, “Moreover, by eradicating a local Green Forest, the nearby civilians will be able to have some peace of mind.”

“It seems there are no objections then?” Xiang Shan nodded, “However, my idea is rather bold—this time, I hope everyone can control the casualties on the other side.

We should also be careful when we blend in.”

…………………………………

As a Firearm Warrior, old Fuller had taken on an important task over the past six months.

He would squat on the highest knoll within several miles, setting up his sniper rifle, waiting for the Hunting Team to return to the stockade.

In fact, “Heroes infiltrating the Green Forest Stronghold” was one of the most feared scenarios for the Green Forest.

[Being discovered by the government’s knowledge of the Great Stockade location was a “fear it or not, it’s useless” situation.]

They would make the corridors leading directly to the gates straight and narrow.

In such an environment, Martial Artists had little room to dodge bullets, and the advantage of firearms was maximized.

Even strong Martial Artists could be easily shot dead by weaker opponents with bullets.

[The exit for the Excavator Group was a “Big Bulldozer’s” personal demand.]

Moreover, they would not take fully cyberized passersby as captives.

Usually, they would only kidnap those who were not fully cyberized.

“Hero disguising as one of their own” was naturally a situation to be guarded against as well.

He would hold the sniper rifle, waiting here, observing the “Hunting Squad” passing by.

If something were amiss, he would communicate with the stronghold using a radio.

Originally, heroism in the New World dwindled, and there weren’t many Martial Artists acting as heroes.

But six months ago, after heroes from beyond the sky fell, the density of Heroes here increased significantly.

And so, old Fuller had an additional task.

It was fortunate that their “Dust Storm Ghost” always adopted a group pillaging model.

If they were like the other major strongholds, where most lackeys hunted in a scattered fashion, then he and several other colleagues specialized in firearms would have been overwhelmed with work.

Dust was billowing in the distance.

He transferred his vision to the sniper scope.

Within the dust clouds, there were several people approaching.

A rustling sound.

It seemed like the noise of footsteps on the wilderness land.

—Someone’s here!

Old Fuller suddenly became alert.

He switched his focus back to his prosthetic eye and then turned his head around, scanning the area.

Nothing.

Old Fuller raised his gun and opened a small window in his field of view to broadcast what the scope saw while he remained on guard himself.

But then there was no sound at all around him again.

“A false alarm?” he wondered.

During this time, old Fuller still hadn’t forgotten his duty.

He kept an eye on the hunting squad.

After seeing familiar faces, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

—No, I can’t relax yet.

I have to be careful.

If someone is targeting me…

I’ll wait until I meet up with the brothers of the hunting team before making any decisions.

He slightly moved the gun’s muzzle away from the direction of the hunting squad, looking around.

The wind was howling, but old Fuller became increasingly certain that there was a Martial Artist near him.

He heard some noises.

The person was very close to him.

When he moved his body to investigate, there were faint unusual sounds around him.

That should be the sound of the other party searching for a visual blind spot.

However, old Fuller simply could not locate the person.

All he could do was wait…

wait…

The hunting squad was getting closer…

closer…

Old Fuller wanted to fire his gun into the sky to signal that there was danger to the squad.

But just at that moment, to his left, he heard the sound of a large object breaking through the air.

“It’s you…” Old Fuller turned and fired his gun.

But there was nothing.

Only then did he realize that in a small corner, there was a little speaker.

After that, he was pinned to the ground by a force from behind.

In the next instant, he saw his last scene.

A fact that sent chills down his spine.

The people from “the hunting squad”…

although they had faces…

were all made of silicone…

Old Fuller had no time to send a warning.

Before he could make sense of it, Xiang Shan crushed his head.