Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 705 - 349: The So-Called Lion Fighting the Rabbit

Chapter 705: Chapter 349: The So-Called Lion Fighting the Rabbit

Before Xiang Shan entered the city, he felt some exploratory electromagnetic waves sweeping over his body, along with some ultrasonic sound waves.

Along the city walls, a whole row of soldiers shifted their gaze toward him, and their gun barrels followed suit.

Xiang Shan looked up and locked eyes with one of the soldiers. The soldier’s face, almost entirely obscured by camera lenses, was expressionless. Xiang Shan had no idea what the guy was thinking at that very moment.

It was clear that the sudden appearance of a Hero in this place had put them on high alert.

But Xiang Shan still approached.

Eight refreshed in the corner of his vision, strolling alongside him as if in stride, "Judging by the feel of the ground, there seem to be quite a few mines buried beneath, of various types. There are machine guns mounted at the city gate..."

"Engaging in a conflict with them under these circumstances would be quite irrational."

The Native pondered for a moment, "If I set up a time bomb here in advance, they’d probably shoot me dead right away, right?"

"Nine chances out of ten," Eight nodded, "After all, setting up a bomb would be ’displaying an intent to attack.’ No matter the situation, showing a clear intent to attack them would mean death."

Behind the city gate was a long tunnel. It was devoid of light. Yet Xiang Shan could see several parallel beams of infrared light sweeping across.

Hidden attacks lurked in the darkness.

It seemed that to safely meet the Ninth Martial God, one had to first follow the rules set by the other side.

While Xiang Shan was sizing up the city, several high-level military officers and staff officers were also analyzing his information.

A few virtual figures entered an online meeting room.

"Judging by his walking posture, his Martial Arts are pretty good. But his center of gravity is off. I wonder if he’s concealing it intentionally."

Lian Yunhui, having honed his observational skills as a Life-Chasing Cavalry, offered his first-hand analysis.

Another military officer, Bilite A-Long, nodded, "Quick analysis. Drones have sampled his footprints. Combining the footprints with his walking posture, his center of gravity is very different from that of Amilcare’s prosthetic body. Of course, this kind of thing can be masked by Martial Arts. Let’s proceed with the assumption that ’this prosthetic body belongs to Amilcare Zhao.’"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"If this prosthetic body once belonged to Amilcare, then he must have made quite a few modifications," White Night Lux said, "The External Armor could be cheap plating, used to hide his real weaponry. Due to this layer of Armor, we can’t see his weapons—of course, provided that he really seized that famous idiot’s prosthetic body."

Her meaning was clear, this might just be a common Wanderer.

The prosthetic body used by Amilcare Zhao was not of any unique specification, but rather a very standard Martial Artist Prosthesis type, a classic design. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone accidentally found a similar overall framework design.

"Let’s operate on the premise ’he killed Amilcare,’" Bilite emphasized again, "The opponent’s Inner Strength is very strong. He killed a Holy Knight in the field of cognitive science with Inner Strength and then overpowered a high-level military officer. If we were to compare Inner Strength, we wouldn’t last a single round."

"I’ll go," Lian Yunhui said, "The Gang Qi Martial Studies suppress all non-physical electromagnetic signals. I’m confident."

"But according to the video material sent by Fraser, that bandit has mastered ’Mystic Tortoise True Gang,’ this branch of Gang Qi Martial Studies."

A high-level military officer exclaimed, "How is that possible? Why would an Internal Strength Master dabble in Gang Qi Martial Studies, something so incompatible with Inner Strength?"

"You can see for yourself. This video material was even published by that bandit himself and is spreading widely on the external network," Bilite said.

The network of Paradox City was isolated from the outside world, with only a dedicated line leading to a server on the Moon. Only high-level military officers or individuals of the caliber of Kings could send messages into Paradox City. Besides that, no other messages could get through. Paradox City was enveloped by a field that disrupted electromagnetic signals, so all outbound intelligence had to pass through wired lines, transferring into signal towers located several kilometers away.

These signal towers, much like Satellite Cities, were scattered around Paradox City and were similarly heavily guarded.

Under normal circumstances, the hot topics on the external network had nothing to do with Paradox City.

"Mystic Tortoise True Gang... this Martial Studies excels in ’fighting the many as the few.’ And from the video footage, it seems that this enemy has even developed something new. From this point of view, his mastery over the Gang Qi System probably even surpasses Lian’s,"

Lian Yunhui nodded in agreement, acknowledging the assessment.

He took over the conversation, saying, "That’s exactly why, when the close-ranged combat occurs, I may need a few companions. However, the Gang Qi Martial Arts is the Lone Wolf’s martial arts, and there’s a huge interference between Gang Qi Systems. The difference in proficiency within this martial arts does not easily translate to a gap in combat capability. Even if I’m much weaker than him, I’ll be enough to create interference."

"Let Lian take the lead, and add four other combatants, making a group of five for close combat," White Night Lux suggested. "Additionally, have three others stand by at a distance for artillery support."

"Moreover, according to the intelligence from Pine Eagle City, he still has quite a few companions. To avoid the possibility of among them being someone above the First Heavenly Layer, we need three people on standby near the walls of Paradox City, and the last two to respond to situations as they arise," high-level military officer Bilite A-Long said.

Everyone once again allocated their tasks.

At this moment, every military officer felt the situation wasn’t too serious.

"We’ve possibly overestimated the strength of this enemy"—this thought brought them an immense sense of reassurance.

The so-called "lion fighting a rabbit" was nothing more than this.

Xiang Shan soon saw three trails of fire descending from the high tower in the city center toward the edges of the city.

By now, he could see the center of the city.

After entering Paradox City through the city gate, it was a straight road. This road led directly to the base of the high tower resembling a Mayan Pyramid.

And his Prosthetic Eye’s optical performance was very good.

So he also saw the people under the tower.

Xiang Shan even paused for a moment.

"What is this? Some sort of performance? Did the government organize people to do some kind of imitation, to mock Nine?"

Eight sighed, speaking in an artificial and mechanical tone, "Wow, that must be an idol."

Native felt a headache coming on. He pressed a finger to his forehead, "Damn. There are even those with a low rate of enhancement. Tsk... If it’s spontaneous... Having to watch this for seventy years straight... I..."

Xiang Shan’s finger slid down as if he was pulling off a mask from his face. A form of self-suggestion was given.

Eight sighed, "This is meaningless, you know. We share memories, our consciousnesses are interconnected. If you switch with me to take over, the mood penalty still applies."

"At least you have the foundation of an AI, less likely to get emotional," Native said silently to himself, "And anyway, whether it’s killing or saving, you have to make the first move."

"True."