The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?
Chapter 199 - 198 Give the Red Warrior a Bit of a Shock

Chapter 199: Chapter 198 Give the Red Warrior a Bit of a Shock

"These pests really are something."

Liu Zheng couldn’t help but remark.

"It’s just an insect’s trick."

Captain Maria scoffed.

"Kasichen, keep loading!"

She shouted loudly.

The loader silently stuffed shell after shell into the chamber, and the gunner just as silently pulled the firing mechanism over and over again.

The shells kept howling out of the barrel and then hit the same crater.

One, two, three...

The crater kept widening and deepening, and even the rock layers couldn’t withstand such bombardment, shattering continuously.

"Cease fire, gunner keep firing."

Finally, after launching a full ten rounds, Captain Maria gave the order to stop firing.

"Advance."

She issued yet another command.

The tank advanced slowly, while Liu Zheng continued to mow down the bugs that were coming in for support.

Though he had no experience using an anti-aircraft machine gun, his super high attributes and sufficiently powerful firepower compensated for everything.

Any bug that entered the range of fire was often torn to pieces before it even had the chance to fall.

When the tank reached the crater, the dust and smoke gradually dissipated, and the crew members saw what lay inside.

The surface of the crater was slightly vitrified from the high temperature, and the bugs beneath the foam shield turned directly into a lump of charred remains, indistinguishably merged together.

"The insects’ tricks are laughable."

Captain Maria said with disdain.

Your foam is constantly being consumed, while my shells are endless.

Just as she was about to order the tank to continue advancing, the burnt carcasses of the bugs suddenly exploded, and the Hand-string Bug rolled out from within.

Its hand-string had vanished along with its forelimbs, and the Kung Fu robe it was wearing had been blasted into tatters, looking utterly disheveled.

But its eyes were still calm, seemingly unconcerned about the desperate situation it faced.

How could a "person" who had become a deputy director and was only one step away from becoming a director not leave themselves a way out?

The Hand-string Bug extended two large elytra and skidded rapidly toward the distance.

At the same time, it emitted a super-high-frequency shriek from its mouth.

This shriek would awaken the parasite within that woman’s body, turning all her blood into unstable explosives, and then detonate.

The Hand-string Bug didn’t expect to wipe out the entire crew, but if it could make the tank stop functioning for a few minutes, it could make its escape.

However, when it looked back at the tank, it saw the thick barrel being lifted towards it.

Inside the tank, the ammunition box with Cheng Xiaomei and Xiao Li on it was lit up with the dazzling glow of a red pentagram.

"Comrade Commander, you’ve made a wise decision."

Captain Maria praised.

Though he didn’t know what would happen, at least Cheng Xiaomei most likely wouldn’t survive.

"No choice, in this crappy world, you must be cautious, and then even more cautious."

Liu shrugged.

"Caution is a fine quality. Kolobanov, take it down for me."

Captain Maria ordered.

Gunner Kolobanov nodded, then pulled the trigger.

A High Explosive Bomb shot out of the barrel and chased after the Hand-string Bug.

The Hand-string Bug, seeing the shell bigger than its head chasing after it, flapped its wings in terror.

To be fair, its speed was indeed very fast, at least much faster than Liu running at full speed.

Unfortunately, it was up against the "Little Kitten" that had been modified by Major Kasichen.

The High Explosive Bomb, boosted by both high-tech and Black Magic, effortlessly caught up with the Hand-string Bug and then exploded in its desperate gaze.

The intense blast made even the sunlight look dim, and the Hand-string Bug, along with the vegetation nearby, was reduced to ashes.

"Awesome!"

Liu yelled excitedly, then fired a few more bursts at the flying bugs that hadn’t had time to retreat, shredding several of them.

But that was the last of their accomplishments.

With all their leaders gone, those middle and lower-tier managers who had come to support were not idiots. They all ran in all directions, wishing they had grown several pairs of wings.

"Comrade Commander, shall we pursue?"

Captain Maria asked.

"No need, head for the hive."

Liu shook his head.

While he wished to catch all the pests in one swoop, he couldn’t lose sight of the greater mission for small gains.

Delivering food to Chen Xiaoxue was not only a task assigned to him by the security, but it was also an essential duty to fulfill.

"Received. Heading for the hive, continue the advance!"

Captain Maria commanded.

Driver Dimitri stomped on the accelerator, and the "Little Kitten," which had been sluggish, suddenly sprinted full force ahead like a tiger descending the mountain.

Having completed the main task of the trip, the crew became even more unrestrained.

On the way, whether they encountered obstructive trees or passing bugs, all were met with a cannon shot.

If one shot didn’t shatter it, then another was fired.

After all, Major Kasichen might not have provided much else, but they definitely had more than enough standard shells; they could even make the tank barrel red hot without running out.

In such a wild charge, the tank soon got close to the destination.

And the closer they got to the center of the jungle, the more scarce the trees became.

Finally, normal vegetation vanished entirely, and the ground cover turned into a fungal blanket resembling flesh and blood.

On the fungal blanket, variously sized holes were scattered, some wrapped in a translucent thin film, others uncovered.

Some of the uncovered holes were empty, while others revealed the head of a bug with closed eyes.

In the center of the fungal blanket, a pile of bugs stacked like Arhats, layer upon layer, forming an Insect Tower about a dozen meters high.

"Disgusting."

Captain Maria expressed her revulsion.

"Then let’s destroy it."

Liu said.

"Kolobanov, destroy them,"

Captain Maria ordered.

The gunner immediately fired a High Explosive Bomb towards the edge of the Fungal Blanket.

There was plenty of time, they could completely uproot the Fungal Blanket inch by inch.

At the same time, it could also serve a probing function.

However, just as the High Explosive Bomb was about to hit the Fungal Blanket, an anomaly occurred.

All of the insects vibrated their sound-making organs at once, with sounds exceeding the hearing range of most creatures converging together, then amplifying hundreds to thousands of times.

The High Explosive Bomb was blocked by the sound waves and couldn’t fall, then it detonated automatically.

But even the flames and shock waves of the explosion were absorbed by the sound wave barrier, inflicting not the slightest damage on the Fungal Blanket below.

However, this was also within the expectations of the tank crew.

If even those isolated insects had means to defend against artillery, what more the insects’ stronghold?

"Continue firing."

Captain Maria ordered.

High Explosive Bombs, High Explosive Armor-Piercing Bullets, Armor-piercing bullets, Incendiary Bombs, grenades...

Countless types of shells were loaded and fired one after another.

And Liu Zheng wasn’t idling either, he adjusted the anti-aircraft machine gun to the smallest angle and shot at the Fungal Blanket together with the heavy machine gun.

The intense flames did not cease for a moment above the Fungal Blanket, not even the flash from a nuclear explosion could match its intensity.

However, the sound wave barrier created by the swarm of insects was more resilient than they could imagine, showing no signs of collapse under such high-intensity bombardment.

"Comrade Commander, we can’t go on like this,"

Captain Maria frowned and said.

Even if they didn’t run out of artillery, the barrel had its limits.

"Comrade Captain, do you have any plan?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"I’ll take Kasichen down to have a look, you take over my command and assume the role of loader as well,"

Captain Maria proposed.

The insects’ sound wave barrier was clearly designed to counter long-range firepower.

And even without the tank, they were the toughest of warriors.

"No."

Liu Zheng rejected Captain Maria’s proposal.

It wouldn’t be wise to engage in close combat when the situation was unclear, who knows what other means the insects might have.

"Then Comrade Commander, what do you plan to do?"

Captain Maria asked.

"Let’s try using ’Black Magic’ shells,"

he suggested.

"I haven’t heard of these shells before, are they really reliable?"

Captain Maria doubted.

Those Germanic people liked to research these strange things; some were really useful, but most of the time they only caused laughter.

"Just give it a try, we’ve already bought them,"

Liu Zheng said.

"Alright. You’re the Commander, we’ll do as you say,"

Captain Maria reluctantly agreed to his suggestion.

Mainly because they only had a sliver of spirit left, indeed unable to sustain prolonged hand-to-hand combat.

Gunner Kolobanov saw the Captain nodding and immediately dragged out the ammo box containing ’Black Magic’ shells.

He unlocked the clasps and flung open the lid, and a shrill laughter immediately echoed throughout the tank cabin.

Kasichen’s face showed a rare expression of hesitation as he took out a strange shell from the ammo box.

It looked less like a shell and more like a miniature airplane.

It was painted in alternating stripes of black and red, and the nose of the plane resembled a snarling beast’s head.

Inside the cockpit sat a small, green, and ugly creature making faces at them.

"What is this thing?"

All the crew members voiced the same question.

Fortunately, Kasichen was reliable enough; amidst his confusion, he didn’t forget to follow Major’s instructions and promptly closed the box.

"Don’t worry about it, just shoot three and see,"

Liu Zheng was the first to recover and proposed.

"That’s right. Kasichen, Kolobanov, shoot this thing out for me,"

Captain Maria ordered.

Since both Commanders had given the instruction, Kasichen set aside his doubts and loaded the ’Black Magic’ shell into the gun.

To their surprise, the little green creature, facing what was almost certain death, did not resist. Instead, it seemed thrilled and encouraged, even saluting the crew members.

Although the salute was a bit inappropriate, its attitude still induced a twinge of guilt in the crew members.

It felt like tricking a fool into touching live wires.

Of course, as Iron-blooded Warriors, this bit of guilt didn’t stop Kasichen from opening the ammo box again, loading two ’Black Magic’ shells into the chamber, and firing.

The already-fired ’Black Magic’ shell, upon seeing two of its kind shot out, actually controlled the plane to turn back.

The three ’Black Magic’ shells gathered together, chatting in a language incomprehensible to the crew, laughing and giggling before adjusting their position to ensure all three were in a line.

Then, something once again beyond the crew’s understanding happened.

The three green creatures did not flee, nor did they charge at the target; instead, they made a gesture to the tank.

"What do they mean by that?"

Even Captain Maria, who had seen much of the world, did not understand.

The loader, gunner, and driver looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I guess, do they want us to give a signal, like a referee blowing a whistle in a race?"

Liu Zheng, who had participated in two races, had an idea.

"Let’s try that. Kolobanov, fire one for them,"

Captain Maria commanded.

A High Explosive Bomb was shot out of the barrel and detonated in midair.

And the three green creatures, like athletes hearing the starting gun, cheered and charged towards the Insect Tower at the center of the Fungal Blanket.