Lin Xiaohe was hauling Johnson along as she dashed through the sewer.
Through the drain outlet, the intense sounds of battle from the presidential palace reached the silent sewer, making even the air feel tense.
The stench of hydrogen sulfide, like rotten eggs, mixed with the reek of corpses, seeping through the gaps in her gas mask’s filter and into her nose.
Johnson, who was 1.8 meters tall, had his stomach pressed against Lin Xiaohe’s thin shoulder. He tried his best to keep his upper body straight, dodging the surging mud that was almost splashing into his face.
“Captain Lin, thank you so much for coming to save me.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Um… could I make a small request?”
“We’re in the middle of escaping, so if you don’t have to ask, maybe don’t.” Lin Xiaohe huffed and puffed as she ran.
The resistance from the mud, along with the strain of carrying a 1.8-meter-tall man, was rapidly draining her energy.
Johnson’s stomach was churning violently. He struggled to speak: “I really have to ask, Captain Lin… could you change the way you’re carrying me?”
Lin Xiaohe couldn’t be bothered to talk. She simply switched to a princess carry.
Johnson opened his mouth, but then he met Lin Xiaohe’s gaze—the one that clearly said, You’re so demanding; keep whining and I’ll dump you—so he quietly shut up.
His butt was now in close contact with the sludge. It was an oddly thrilling experience he had never had in his life.
The sewer returned to a deathly silence, with only the splashing of mud breaking the quiet.
From the drain outlet, no more battle sounds came from the presidential palace.
Lin Xiaohe thought to herself, wondering how many of those poor exam candidates had managed to escape.
Johnson studied Lin Xiaohe carefully. She was a very small and thin young woman, yet she was already a captain in the Federation.
A hint of sadness crossed his face. Have all the men in the Federation died out?
“Captain Lin, our planet is going to lose this war.”
“Yeah.”
Johnson’s voice was full of pain: “You can save me, but you can’t save everyone on this planet.”
“That’s the military commander’s problem. I’m just a captain.”
“I am the president, and also the highest-ranking military commander.”
Lin Xiaohe fell silent. The conversation had hit a dead end.
Johnson looked into Lin Xiaohe’s eyes and asked persistently, “If it were you, would you stay or run away?”
Lin Xiaohe forced a helpless, bitter smile. President Johnson really wants to discuss such a philosophical question while we’re fleeing for our lives, doesn’t he?
In her mind, images of a shattered and devastated China flashed.
If it were China in such a situation, what would she do?
Lin Xiaohe let out a heavy sigh, resigned to her fate. “I would defend my home.”
Life and death were up to fate, wealth and honor up to heaven. Kill one, and it’s no loss; kill two, and it’s a bonus.
Johnson’s eyes lit up, and the corner of his mouth curled up into a faint smile.
“Alright, President, we’re here! Climb up!” Lin Xiaohe used her hand to push Johnson’s foot upward.
Then she grabbed onto the bumps on the wall with her hands and leaped up in a few quick moves.
Johnson was staring blankly at the gaudy, colorful Liebird in front of him. When he saw Lin Xiaohe climb up, he seemed to want to say something but hesitated, finally managing only a compliment: “Captain Lin, your aesthetic is truly unique.”
Lin Xiaohe had no energy left for banter. She directly strapped Johnson onto the mech’s back-mounted launch port and had Fanfan use its branches to secure him.
Hmm?!
Johnson’s eyes bulged like bells, and his mouth dropped wide open.
Wait… dear Captain Lin, is this really the right spot?
He, the president—whether in the eyes of the Federation or the Empire—was as dazzling as the sun.
And instead of keeping him safe inside the cockpit, Captain Lin had casually tied him to the back of the mech. Wasn’t that basically telling every Imperial defender, The target is right here?
“Ready? We’re moving out!” Lin Xiaohe climbed into the cockpit.
All she wanted now was to finish the mission quickly, log out of the Star Network, go back to the hotel, and take a thorough shower with clean water.
“No, I’m not ready—” Johnson’s reply faded into the wind.
Lin Xiaohe gunned the mech straight toward the city limits.
The Imperial defenders reacted swiftly. The 73rd Division, guarding the north side of the capital, immediately dispatched a 38-mech platoon to intercept her.
At the same time, the warships above the presidential palace locked onto Lin Xiaohe, and their cannons were charging up.
On the Star Network, viewers were practically climbing through their screens to give Lin Xiaohe orders.
Cassian was hopping mad with worry: “Don’t be reckless! Just wait three more minutes—Gabriel can catch up and meet you!”
The command academy’s principal glanced at the large map and couldn’t help but say, “Ewan is also heading this way. If the candidates unite their strength, they can definitely break through the 73rd Division’s blockade!”
But Edwin had a bad feeling. “Something tells me Lin Xiaohe plans to go it alone.”
Just look at her unstoppable momentum—she was clearly ready to take on an entire mech platoon by herself!
Evander was going crazy, yanking at his hair in frustration: “Lin Xiaohe, this is not the time to show off your hot-blooded heroism! Why do you never read the room? You hold back when you should be passionate, and then you charge in recklessly when you shouldn’t!”
Lin Xiaohe didn’t care what others thought. She had her own rhythm.
“Doudou! Fire!”
The gaudy Liebird shot two streams of green bullets from its arms.
With a series of biu biu sounds, green peas tore through the two mechs blocking Lin Xiaohe’s path, turning them into sieves.
The remaining 36 Imperial mechs immediately scattered, forming a circle around Lin Xiaohe.
The mech that flew behind Lin Xiaohe didn’t hesitate for a second. It aimed directly at Johnson and fired.
The Federation president absolutely could not leave the capital alive!
The moment the shell left the barrel, the supercavitation effect tore through the air, leaving a trail of white mist. The projectile, red-hot from air friction, streaked toward them like a meteor.
The overwhelming pressure and scorching heat radiated an aura of death.
Johnson closed his eyes in despair, finding a bitter comfort in the thought that at least this death wouldn’t be painful—his body would vaporize in an instant.
Time seemed to pass quickly, yet also agonizingly slowly.
But the death Johnson expected never came. He slowly opened his eyes to see pale yellow protective shields rippling gently.
The cannon fire from the Imperial mechs all around him fell on the shields like pebbles dropped into a calm lake—barely causing a ripple.
“What is this?” Johnson knew the Liebird well—it was one of the Federation’s most common standard-issue mechs.
So he was 100 percent certain that the Liebird absolutely did not have such a powerful energy shield!
He looked up at the dark sky. The fierce barrage of fire illuminated the night as if it were day—like fireworks bursting open.
With the sky as the backdrop and the ground as the stage,
Lin Xiaohe, piloting her garishly painted mech, became the sole star on this smoke-filled battlefield.
She shot forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, piercing through every enemy in her path.
Now, there were only three kilometers left until she exited the city!
Suddenly, she halted, struck by an unprecedented sense of danger.
Following her instincts, Lin Xiaohe looked up at the sky.
Superconducting coils glowed with an eerie blue arc, and the sound of energy converging buzzed like a million bees fluttering their wings at once.
The warship above the capital was almost fully charged!
