Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 235 - 235 15 Prey and Hunter

235: Chapter 15: Prey and Hunter 235: Chapter 15: Prey and Hunter Kan L was walking steadily amidst the sandstorm.

As he walked, he took out a can of spray and kept spraying it onto the bullet holes on his body.

This was a topical cooling agent.

It had poor electrical conductivity and could rapidly absorb heat and then evaporate.

Normally, this substance would be used on joints that had overheated due to continuous combat.

However, in necessary situations, it could also be used internally.

And now was one of those “necessary situations.”

The outer layer of his internal isotope battery had been punctured.

This included the external graphite armor, barium sulfate interlayers, and others, all contained within a vacuum-sealed layer.

Now, this sealed layer had been grazed by a bullet and ruptured.

The graphite and other radiation-absorbing layers were also slightly damaged.

This was extremely lethal.

Benchmark Man had high resistance to radiation, and modern gene therapy could reverse most degrees of radiation sickness.

Even if he did get sick, that would be a problem for later.

But the most immediate issue he was facing was the high temperature and strong radiation from the isotope battery.

Both could destabilize the electronic components inside his body.

Kan L kept spraying cooling agent on his gunshot wounds to maintain the nearby temperature—at least to ensure that the graphite layer would not self-ignite due to the high temperature of the isotope battery, which would then cause further damage.

As for the infrared radiation produced by the high temperature, that was a secondary concern.

Infrared was much less penetrating than visible light and was easily absorbed by dust.

The sandstorm was already dense enough that if the high temperature did emit infrared radiation, the dense sand would block it.

As long as the distance was sufficient, the enemy could not use thermal imaging to track him.

Kan L stopped again and broadcasted in all directions, “Command center, command center, this is Life-Chasing Cavalry BE3381925, we need support…”

But before he could finish his sentence, that terrifying sound urging death appeared again.

Kan L’s brainwave spectrum immediately showed violent fluctuations, “Damn, here it comes again…”

Amidst the ambient noise, he filtered out the sound of a large vehicle moving with a prosthetic leg.

It was the Hero.

He had caught up again.

“Damn, I shouldn’t have been so careless,” Kan L gritted his teeth, stopped transmitting signals, and moved forward again.

The Hero, like the most seasoned hunter, appeared behind him time and again.

The idea behind establishing the “Rangers” military unit was “to use a Hero’s methods against the Hero,” essentially assassins to assassinate other assassins.

Of course, the Protectors were not fools.

Although the Rangers learned the skills of the Heroes, each Ranger focused on one aspect.

Take the “Iron Hand Cavalry” for instance.

The Iron Hand Cavalry specialized in online operations and possessed strong inner strength.

Theoretically, if the Iron Hand Cavalry were to rebel, it would bring about tremendous loss.

But the Iron Hand Cavalry were severely specialized.

They were highly skilled in infiltration, hacking, reverse engineering, and viruses, but almost clueless about firewalls, antivirus, and anti-tracking techniques.

Of course, computer theory is holistic.

Logically, if someone can write viruses, they shouldn’t be clueless about “antivirus software.” But the Protectors cultivated this specifically.

The textbooks they used were designed to create mental traps.

Moreover, the Protectors closely monitored the inner strength progress of the Iron Hand Cavalry.

Even if they developed profound insights on defense, they were unable to solidify this “insight” into the inner strength within the Soth Divine Realm.

Moreover, the Iron Hand Cavalry didn’t understand any external strength.

If the Iron Hand Cavalry wanted to develop like a regular Hero, they would need to use restoring enzymes to wash away their improperly learned inner strength and start over.

This process would almost certainly involve memory loss.

And no one could guarantee that a person could train their martial arts to the same level twice.

But the Life-Chasing Cavalry were different.

Besides assassination, they also had the role of gathering intelligence.

Simply put, they were the military units closest to the people of Jianghu.

They also had specialized inner strength, particularly adept at firewalls and antivirus, to protect against being instantly detected.

They knew external strength as well, but not to an exalted level.

They enhanced their skills in tracking and concealment.

Kan L could assure that along the way, he had been very careful to erase all traces.

Even if there were a few footprints, they would quickly be covered by the sand.

Logically speaking, the opponent shouldn’t have been able to find him at all.

At first, he thought that his calls for help had exposed him.

After emitting a few rounds of distress signals, he maintained radio silence.

But still, that “Hunter” was able to precisely locate his position.

“Not electromagnetic signals?

Damn, what the hell exposed me?”

Heat?

Impossible.

As said before, the infrared couldn’t penetrate the sandstorm.

Could it be the sound?

But he had managed to escape twice, all thanks to the Hero’s unfamiliarity with a soundless environment.

And this round of chasing proved it too.

The Hero’s ability “to filter meaningful auditory information from environmental noise” was slightly weaker than his, a Life-Chasing Cavalry.

Each time, it was he who detected the other side’s noise first.

Could it be the cooling agent?

That doesn’t seem right, the cooling agent nearly had no scent.

How acute must a perception prosthesis be to analyze odors in a sandstorm environment?

That guy always managed to lock onto his direction.

It was as if he had some kind of X-ray vision.

——Hold on…

Kan L looked at the gunshot wound on his abdomen.

“The prosthetic eye perceives electromagnetic waves.

Whether it’s β-rays or γ-rays, they are the types of radiation detectable by the prosthetic eye…”

Although the high-energy neutrons emitted by the nuclear battery were also conspicuous, the physical structure of most prosthetic eyes operates through interactions of the internal components with electromagnetic waves and charged particles.

These structures mostly cannot capture uncharged neutrons—and most of the time, this functionality is irrelevant.

Considering the volume and cost-effectiveness of the prosthetic eye, designers wouldn’t install components specifically for detecting neutrons[and indeed, it’s quite challenging to miniaturize such components].

But β-rays, γ-rays, X-rays—their penetrating power is incredibly strong, each one competing with the others.

Kan L clutched at his wound.

If his guess was correct, then he was left with one last hope.

That Hero was also equipped with a lightweight prosthetic, and his explosive power was notable.

He couldn’t shake off enough distance.

He completely understood why the other party insisted on keeping close.

High-energy rays have a strong penetrative ability, but they very easily attenuate.

“As long as I could instantly increase the distance…”

He silently roared in his mind, “As long as I could instantly increase the distance!”

……………………………

Xiang Shan carefully walked on the mule’s side.

The “Mule” and “Camel” also carried sound recorders capturing his footsteps.

Now, the most pressing threat was the Life-Chasing Cavalry’s firearm.

However, Xiang Shan always managed the distance between both parties excellently.

He deliberately made the carriers intensify the force on their feet, making the sounds louder, precisely to enable the Life-Chasing Cavalry to detect them earlier.

That way, the opponent would also struggle to accurately locate the source of sound due to the tremendous wind noise.

Meanwhile, this side could clearly see the opponent’s β-rays.

In Xiang Shan’s view, there seemed to be a flicker of candlelight in the not too distant place.

He continually gaged the opponent’s position and distance, vigilant against their bullets.

“Senior, shouldn’t we attack now?” Yuan Wenren seemed anxious, “Isn’t the target that battery?”

Xiang Shan had enough carbon powder in reserve.

Materials like barium sulfate were also not too difficult to obtain.

Fixing the battery’s protective layer wasn’t too difficult.

The battery could still be used.

Of course, if Yuan Wenren’s bullet hadn’t merely grazed the protective layer, but had penetrated the battery, then the repair work would be very difficult.

But if the battery were truly breached, then the radiation it emitted would not only be this minute amount.

“Be patient,” Xiang Shan remained remarkably calm, “This intervention into the matter isn’t the only opportunity to acquire an isotopic battery.

However, chances to find leads aren’t abundant.

We need to find that old Hero, or the Protector’s main force, as quickly as possible.

Follow them a bit longer.”

It was still only Xiang Shan under the vehicle.

The reason was simple.

Although Yuan Wenren was a sniper, the quality of her prosthetic eyes was far inferior to Xiang Shan’s.

Not to mention Jader.

Now, only Xiang Shan could accurately capture the Life-Chasing Cavalry behind the dust.

This was the perfect place for Xiang Shan to excel.

Xiang Shan felt slightly sentimental.

Two hundred years ago, during the era of Martial Ancestor Xiang Shan, Martial Ancestor himself was one of the founders of the Iron Dust tactics and the most experienced person in “No Vision combat.” Now, after awakening, the later generations of warriors had surpassed him in this field through more scientific training methods.

Xiang Shan believed, if it were Hiroshi Matsushima, then those two attempts would definitely have been executed more elegantly…

no, there wouldn’t have been a second attempt.

A fully operational Hiroshi Matsushima might have ended the battle on the first assassination attempt.

Suddenly, Xiang Shan looked up and said, “He’s accelerating…

Something’s coming!”

As he spoke, he lifted the extended submachine gun in his hands, spraying bullets toward the distant Life-Chasing Cavalry.

Just now, for some unknown reason, the Life-Chasing Cavalry had suddenly accelerated.

Xiang Shan, fearing more complications, chose not to follow any longer but to open fire directly.

The “radiation source” suddenly came to a halt.

Based on the sound of bullets colliding with external armor, Xiang Shan seemed to have hit several shots, with most of the bullets entering at nearly a ninety-degree angle.

Simultaneously, Xiang Shan thought he heard the sound of a motorcycle.

“The Houndhawks have arrived…

two of them?

They look like experts?”

The unadorned noises had already revealed Xiang Shan’s location.

Xiang Shan immediately dodged.

At the same time, Jader kicked open the rear door of the mule.

“Most likely two Cold-Blooded Iron Cavaliers?

Hahaha, looks like there’s some distance to the main force, just these singular, highly capable Houndhawks are searching!” Jader laughed loudly on the team channel, “Consider it rehabilitation training, then!”