Along with an explosive boom that left no time to react, a scorching, violent stream of energy abruptly surged out from the gang leader’s chest! Feng Xue had no time to respond at all before he was blasted flying.
The impact that felt as though it would shatter his internal organs, and the burning sensation that nearly roasted him alive, did not occupy Feng Xue’s thoughts. After all, in essence, Feng Xue was merely controlling a fully realistic game character. What he cared more about at this moment was—
“How could trash cyberware like that possibly be equipped with a high-output energy module? Or rather, even if it did have an energy output module, where did he get a power module capable of instantly outputting that much energy?”
It wasn’t as if powerful power modules didn’t exist, but this was like asking why living creatures hadn’t evolved the ability to breathe fire. If you had the money to install that kind of energy module, there was no reason to pair it with such a pathetic output port!
If that energy had been supplied to electromagnetic muscle bundles and used to throw a rock, then even though Feng Xue had activated Great Strength at the final moment and increased the output of his torso life-support system, this character still couldn’t possibly be alive right now!
But that thought did not last long, because Feng Xue quickly recalled the “common sense” of this world that he had subconsciously ignored—
【Source Energy】!
Although he had long known that this world possessed four Source Energy systems, ever since transmigrating he had stayed inside the small shop. He had not encountered any Source Energy users during his few explorations, and on top of that, his own Source Energy was basically bound to his golden finger. As a result, he had almost forgotten that something like energy-type Source Energy existed.
Fortunately, the other party’s method of use was extremely crude and barbaric. It was not the activation of some precise energy weapon; it was more like installing a jet engine in one’s chest and directly spraying out ignited energy.
Although the visual effect looked astonishing, its energy utilization rate was low and the diffusion was severe. At a distance of less than two meters, it had not even managed to melt through the exoskeleton.
But that was only normal. After all, the thing was installed on his chest. If the combustion efficiency were truly raised, never mind whether it could spray someone to death—he himself would be cooked first.
It was just that the gang leader clearly did not know Feng Xue was looking down on his trump card. Seeing the grayish-white exoskeleton exposed beneath the charred mess of Feng Xue’s chest and abdomen, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
Based on his many years of experience, after taking a hit like that, even if a normal person didn’t die, they would have no combat ability left. Unfortunately, after this, the organs and torso cyberware would probably lose quite a bit of value. Still, considering that those thin arms and legs had actually been able to contend with his strength, the limb prosthetics ought to be worth a fair amount.
The gang leader looked at the motionless Feng Xue and pulled a dagger from his waist. With this brat’s subdermal armor, finishing him off with those inferior firearms would require a headshot. But judging from this brat’s reaction speed, he probably had decent frontal-lobe cyberware. If that got damaged, it would be far too much of a loss!
In his view, even if Feng Xue, who had taken that Source Energy blast head-on, could rely on his armor to block the impact, the heat would still be enough to roast his internal organs. What he needed to do now was take advantage of the fact that the man was not completely dead and remove those valuable prosthetics. Otherwise, if there happened to be a death-triggered self-locking system, he would have to pay an extra fee to a “locksmith.”
And as his target, Feng Xue had already withdrawn most of his consciousness, watching the approaching gang leader through the screen of his golden finger while silently counting the seconds in his heart...
The distance between the two of them closed continuously. Looking at that huge face wearing a cruel smile, Feng Xue suddenly focused his mind.
His consciousness instantly returned to the character, and intense burning pain erupted at once. But Feng Xue, who had long since prepared himself, completely ignored the agony and issued a command to his body—
【Great Strength】!
At this moment, the Great Strength in his hands and feet had already entered cooldown, while the Great Strength of his torso had been used on the life-support system.
Then where else could he activate it?
The head!
However, what could increasing the head’s output possibly do?
Of course, it could...
Propel!
There was no warning, no muscular exertion, not even the slightest wind-up!
Feng Xue merely straightened his neck, and his body seemed to be yanked upward by an invisible rope. In a manner that completely violated common biomechanical sense, he bounced up from the ground!
“Warning! High-energy reaction in the head!” A warning popped up in the gang leader’s cybernetic eye, and he instinctively wanted to retreat. But in the end, that movement failed to save his life.
With flames jetting from the back of his head, Feng Xue used the inertia to swing his arm. Even though 【Great Strength】 had already ended, under the acceleration provided by the head thruster, it still gave him the possibility of one counterattack!
This strike involved a heavy element of gambling. If the gang leader had chosen to dodge sideways instead of leaning back, Feng Xue would have been the one to lose.
But so what? If Feng Xue lost, all he would lose was a character that cost six hundred yuan to make. He could afford the gamble!
The dancing dagger stabbed in from the side of the neck, precisely destroying the brainstem. Before the lingering greed on his face could be replaced by terror, the gang leader had already lost all signs of life. Only a pair of electronic eyes that had lost their signal remained, futilely flashing red light.
“Whew...”
Only now did the severe pain from every limb and bone feed back to Feng Xue. He hurriedly shifted most of his consciousness back to his main body, then forced himself to begin searching the gang leader’s corpse.
“Tsk, there really isn’t any...”
Having found no collectible entries, Feng Xue frowned. He glanced at the figures stirring restlessly around him and assessed the condition of this body. Decisively, he gave up on the idea of dismembering the corpse for inspection. Instead, with swift and practiced movements, he dismantled the gang leader’s two mechanical arms, tossed them into his backpack, and walked toward the evacuation point.
Although his chest was charred black, Feng Xue’s appearance was simply far too calm and unruffled. His movements in removing the prosthetics were frighteningly efficient as well. Add to that the fact that he was a madman who dared install a jet port on his own head, and in the end, the scavengers watching from the sidelines still did not dare step forward. Instead, they turned their attention to the corpses that were easier to obtain.
At this moment, however, Feng Xue was truly an arrow at the end of its flight. The character created by his golden finger was not a mechanical body. If Great Strength had not increased the output of his torso life-support functions, he would already have stopped breathing by now.
His seemingly unhurried steps were in fact the weakness of being unable to run. It was all thanks to the fact that Feng Xue could control the body through a screen as if operating a game character; otherwise, how could he possibly maintain such an effortless gait?
Fortunately, the halo of the evacuation point had already appeared. Watching the waiting time reach the final ten seconds, Feng Xue’s expression finally relaxed. Even though many gazes had already focused on him, even though some people were beginning to stir with temptation, Feng Xue no longer had the slightest worry. Because he still had Battle Continuation as his fallback.
【Character deceased. Synchronization lost.】
【Completed side quests: None】
【Supplies recovered. You may choose to extract/sell them on the Exchange page.】
【You have unlocked achievements: Safe Evacuation, Flying Corpse】
Achievement: Safe Evacuation
Unlock condition: Successfully evacuate a character for the first time.
Reward: 【Greased Soles】
Remark: Congratulations on your successful evacuation. Hope you can do it again next time.
……
Achievement: Flying Corpse
Unlock condition: Successfully evacuate while the character is dead.
Reward: 【Insurance】
Remark: How did you manage to evacuate even after dying?
Continuing from last time, let’s not even talk about big guys like Gatling guns or heavy machine guns. Even with a light machine gun, a ten-kilogram gun body fires several hundred rounds per minute. How much ammunition would you need to carry to sustain that all the way?
Moreover, because machine guns require belt feeding, the weight has to be doubled. If we go by the idea of piling on bullets, then even if the protagonist carries a hundred kilograms on his back, it would only be enough for about twenty minutes of consumption.
And you have to note that this is only a theoretical value, because in actual use, a light machine gun’s barrel will overheat before long. You need to replace the barrel or simply switch guns.
Even if the protagonist’s ammunition weighs only one-tenth of conventional ammunition, such as caseless rounds, the volume won’t shrink. Otherwise, the caliber would be wrong.
Ten thousand machine-gun rounds would weigh at least five hundred kilograms; one-tenth of that is still fifty kilograms. And that is only enough for one light machine gun to fire for twenty minutes. That doesn’t feel too exaggerated, right?
But as long as you consider the volume of these ten thousand bullets plus the ammunition belt, you’ll realize that one person carrying this thing is simply a joke. Not counting the belt, it’s still 0.2 cubic meters. Doesn’t sound big? Fun fact: a 60 kg human body has a volume of only about 0.06 cubic meters. Add the ammunition belt, and even doubling it is an understatement. So this so-called sufficient ammunition means having the protagonist alone carry an ammunition box the size of six or seven people, hold at least three light machine guns, plus replacement barrels, and spray bullets at low-value targets that are intelligent enough to know how to run?
P.S. There will be double monthly tickets at the end of December. Those who want to vote can wait until the end of the month. Many thanks.