By Lin Xiaohe’s nature, if she didn’t hit the Empire patrol squad with a [Charged Rampage] right now, she’d never feel satisfied.
But she glanced at the soft and helpless logistics trio, suppressed her sigh, and swallowed her frustration. “You three. Get behind me.”
Huh?
Eeek!
Allen scrambled swiftly onto Bala’s mech. “Let’s go, let’s go! Clinging to the big shot’s leg!”
The communications mech trailed behind the pink Beetle like a little sidekick.
Lin Xiaohe: “Bro Qiang, you can turn off the electromagnetic interference now. It’s wasting energy.”
Qiang Wei replied humbly, “Got it. Uh… you can just call me Xiao Qiang.”
Lin Xiaohe didn’t care either way. “Bala the Mini Magician, why didn’t you fire earlier?”
Bala’s lips twitched—he wanted to explain his name wasn’t Mini Magician—but the corner of his eye caught the glow of that green cannon, so he wisely shut his mouth.
Whatever the boss wanted to call him, that’s what he was.
“Boss, we’re the logistics team.”
“So?”
“The logistics warehouse is full of junk. This heavy mech looks tough, but it can only fire one shell. Everything else is broken—no time to fix it. Brother Qiang’s mech is the same. Once its energy runs out, it’s just a pile of scrap.”
Lin Xiaohe’s mouth fell open. “Then what did Darcy send you here for?”
The silence that followed was deafening.
Bala certainly couldn’t say Darcy didn’t trust her and thought she was a liar.
“Alright. I guess I was born under a bad star. At home, I carry the weight of life. Out here, I have to take on responsibilities that were never mine.”
Even as she said it, Lin Xiaohe still drove her small pink Beetle mech to shield the three behind her, preparing to face off against another Empire medium mech.
Tensions were high. The battle could erupt any second.
But then, the Empire medium mech spun around in a flashy maneuver—and ran!
He actually ran!
Lin Xiaohe felt like she’d punched a pile of cotton—all that force, nowhere to land.
She glanced at the swarm of security mechs taking off from the base, then turned to the trio. “You guys go back. I’m doing this alone.”
Allen’s eyes welled up. “No! You’re like an egg smashing against a rock. I’m staying behind you, ready to collect your remains.”
Lin Xiaohe: “Say something lucky.”
Bala: “We can stay far away and film your heroic charge.”
…Fine.
Lin Xiaohe couldn’t talk them out of it, but there was no way she was taking them along to storm the base. So she let them do what they wanted.
She wasted no time. Driving Little Bug, she huffed and puffed after the fleeing medium mech.
And so, less than two kilometers from the base, an utterly ridiculous scene unfolded.
Five off-road vehicles and one Empire medium mech—running like dogs being chased—frantically fled toward the base.
Behind them? One adorably chunky, slow-as-a-turtle pink Beetle mech.
The security mech squad leader rubbed his eyes, glanced at the radar again, and confirmed only one pink mech. No backup. “Komodo, are you having a childhood flashback? Playing tag out here?”
“Komodo’s dead. Killed by that pink mech.”
The squad leader stared at him blankly. Do I look like an idiot?
Xinbao successfully hacked into the enemy’s comms.
With no teammates holding her back, Lin Xiaohe was finally free.
“DouDou, Charged Rampage!”
Three seconds of charging was more than enough time for her to move into position.
Three! Two! One!
Fan-shaped green rounds shot with precision into the security mech squadron.
The squad leader didn’t even register what happened before his mech began to plummet.
He had no choice but to eject the cockpit, scrambling to survive.
When he crawled out of the cockpit, he was stunned to find his entire squad scattered around him.
They all stared at each other, completely bewildered.
What just happened? Where’s the mech’s shield? Why didn’t we hear the shield-break alarm?!
What kind of mech is the enemy piloting?
Judging by its size… it should be a beast-type solo mech.
But based on firepower? This is—holy crap—a heavy artillery support mech! No, even scarier. It’s a mobile artillery fortress!
They watched in horror as the pink Beetle mech advanced straight toward the base, not even sparing a glance at the surviving Empire soldiers—no time wasted on clean-up.
The squad leader frantically opened his comm and sent the alert: “Enemy attack! A pink Beetle mech is advancing on the base!”
Inside the base, the director was entertaining the Iron Meteor Raiding Group.
It had been so long since visitors came—he was practically bored out of his mind.
“Come, come, Lisa. A toast to your utterly captivating charm.”
Lisa beamed, raising her glass and clinking it with the base director’s.
Red wine, faintly fragrant with grapes—maybe 0.1% real grape juice in there.
It was a rare delicacy even in the Third Ring of the Federation, which—unlike the Empire—didn’t have an entire natural planet dedicated to growing grapes.
Pili Ge took absent-minded sips, inwardly worrying: Where would Xiaohe be sent for field training? Hopefully nowhere too dangerous. She’s just a civilian, never stepped foot on a battlefield.
Hei Ge drank plain water, taking slow, quiet sips. He didn’t like alcohol. It dulled his nerves, affected his scalpel work.
The base director was in high spirits. “I heard you toyed with the 5th Division and Wan Tianming’s team? As expected of Iron Meteor. Impressive.”
The Federation practically worshipped Wan Tianming as the Light of Hope. Honestly? That was infuriating.
And now, their precious light was being played like a mouse caught by cats—so satisfying!
Lisa smiled. “We owe part of our success to the Empire’s cooperation.”
“Haha. Pleasure doing business.”
Once they left the base and crossed half the Black Sea Desert, Iron Meteor could finally make the delivery.
So Lisa was in a great mood.
Suddenly, a soldier rushed in. “Sir! Urgent report from security. A single pink Beetle mech is attacking the base!”
The base director’s forehead darkened with rage. “A single mech?! One alert battalion can deal with that! Don’t bother me with such a trivial matter!”
“But—”
“No buts!”
Suddenly, explosions erupted on the base’s perimeter.
The main gate and walls were blasted high into the air, debris flying everywhere. A breach nearly a hundred meters wide was torn open—right into the mech hangar of the alert battalion.
On Lin Xiaohe’s panel, a sea of red dots surged wildly toward the hangar.
Instead of Charged Rampage, she switched to biubiu mode. First, she blew up the mechs’ energy stores, then swept through the red dots with rapid fire.
Meanwhile, Xinbao unleashed a data storm, crippling the base’s weapon systems.
Within moments, two rows of barracks were cleared. The mechs were reduced to scrap.
She opened her external speaker, voice arrogant and clear: “You have ten minutes. Release the military press corps. Or I’ll tear this entire base apart!”
