Chapter 48: Seeing Medusa Again

Volume 1 “Year of Calamity”

Fortunately, An Sheng knew that his transformations tended to ruin clothes, so he always carried spare outfits in his backpack. Otherwise, he would have had to meet people completely naked.

“How’s it going? Can you activate it?” After getting dressed, An Sheng noticed Nie Chong and Skinny Monkey tinkering with the Full-Coverage Exoskeleton Armor and went over to ask them.

Skinny Monkey was busy operating his laptop. Although he could access the armor’s auxiliary computer, operating this armor required extensive specialized knowledge. Since neither of them had received professional training, they were temporarily stuck.

Looking at the long list of operating instructions on the computer, An Sheng thought to himself: This thing truly lives up to being high-tech. Just the function list alone has over two hundred items, no wonder Nie Chong and the others had been staring at it for so long without being able to properly activate this impressive armor.

Suddenly, Skinny Monkey let out a surprised “Huh?” as he found a video file in the exoskeleton armor’s auxiliary computer. He called An Sheng and Nie Chong over to his side and played the video for them to watch together. The video started with blurry darkness, as if the camera lens was blocked by something, but occasional voices could be heard – a young man’s voice.

“Team Leader, this new equipment of ours is really impressive! Next time we encounter those Mutants and Purifiers, I’ll blast them with the Particle Cannon and turn those bastards into dust!”

Another voice chimed in: “Yeah, Team Leader. And these Mechanical Soldiers have such powerful firepower too. I never imagined Kunlun Base had so much advanced technology. Why wasn’t it brought out earlier? That way many of our comrades wouldn’t have had to sacrifice themselves.”

A calm voice with a hint of authority then spoke: “This equipment has just been developed. Thousands of scientists at Kunlun Base have been working day and night to develop new weapons, all to give us stronger capabilities and reduce casualties when facing the Alien Race. No complaints now – we’re soldiers, the nation’s shield! We swore an oath when we enlisted: for our country and our people, we’ll defend everything we protect even at the cost of our lives!”

This voice was recorded more clearly than the others, suggesting the speaker was likely the owner of this Full-Coverage Exoskeleton Armor – the officer named Li Guoan.

Suddenly, urgent electronic alarm sounds blared as a female voice anxiously called out: “Team Leader Li! Scanners have detected massive ‘Red Tide’ Virus signals! The signal source is nearby! Wait! The signal source is rapidly approaching us!”

“Activate the airship defense system immediately! Activate all smart soldiers! Everyone prepare for combat – we’ve got work to do!”The pitch-black screen was intermittently streaked with chaotic flashes of light, accompanied by relentless bursts of machine gun fire and violent explosions. Suddenly, the screen flickered as a beam of white light flashed across it. After the glare faded, the image gradually stabilized. Directly ahead lay clouds resembling cotton candy, but upon closer inspection, a faint black dot was visible beside them. In the next instant, that dot shot forward at a speed surpassing even the most advanced fighter jets. Then, over a dozen bluish-white energy beams and numerous tracking missiles trailing long fiery tails were simultaneously launched, all aimed at the rapidly approaching black unidentified object. The next moment, white light flared and flames erupted, followed by a deafening explosion—even through the surveillance feed, the sheer destructive force was palpable! Yet when the smoke cleared, a translucent sphere emitting a crimson glow appeared, and within it was a figure all too familiar to An Sheng—Medusa!

An Sheng rubbed his eyes in disbelief, staring at the computer screen as if trying to verify whether his vision was deceiving him. But after scrutinizing it again, he was certain: the person floating inside that translucent sphere was indeed Medusa. He had seen this sphere before; though its color had changed slightly, it was unmistakably the same ability used by the female Purifier during their battle at Lake Heart Island in Central Park, City B.

What followed left An Sheng even more stunned. On the screen, Medusa radiated an intense, alternating yellow-and-white glow as scorching flames coalesced into a massive Flame Venom Serpent in the sky! This serpent seemed to possess a will of its own, spewing a fiery breath toward the screen before coiling and lunging forward. This was the ability of that male Purifier! An Sheng realized Medusa must have gained these powers by devouring the two Purifiers. Once again, he had to reassess this monster’s capabilities—they were truly heaven-defying.

“Evasive maneuvers!” a loud shout erupted from the footage, followed by violent shaking and blurred streaks of white clouds. Then the screen went black, transitioning to the interior of a spacecraft with a sci-fi aesthetic. But before the image stabilized, a fierce explosion rocked the cabin, filling the screen with flames, smoke, and shrapnel.

“Team Leader Li, the airship’s propulsion system is critically damaged! We must make an emergency landing!” the female voice rang out again, laced with panic and fear.

“Initiate landing immediately! Contact the base and request backup!” the man’s voice remained steady, though a hint of urgency was detectable.

About five seconds later, the woman reported, “Leader, the particle signal transmitter is severely damaged. We can’t establish contact with the base!”

“It seems this mission is doomed to fail. All non-combat personnel, board the escape pods! Recall the remaining mechanical soldiers—we’re making our last stand here!”The following footage became extremely unstable, likely due to the aircraft being attacked, causing vibrations that made the image unsteady. It wasn’t until several dozen seconds later that the picture began to clear up. Just then, several more explosions rang out, accompanied by flames and smoke, revealing a woman’s graceful figure in the frame.

Medusa walked toward Li Guoan with elegant steps, and by now, he was the only one left standing before her.

“Has our human technology advanced to such a level now? Hahaha, well, with zombies, monsters, and Purifiers emerging, it’s no surprise to see some high-tech developments, right?”

“Who’s ‘our’? You monster!” On the screen, Li Guoan’s voice was filled with rage. It was understandable—watching so many comrades fall before his eyes, no one could remain calm.

Li Guoan’s words sent Medusa into a fit of hysterical laughter, as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. After her laughter subsided, she looked contemptuously at the man clad in iron armor and said scornfully, “Yes, I am a monster. So what? Are you ready to be killed by a monster? How would you like to die?”

“Go to hell!” Li Guoan cursed as he charged at Medusa…

The outcome was something An Sheng and the others had already foreseen. An Sheng had long experienced Medusa’s power. Though Li Guoan, equipped with high-tech armor, might have been formidable, the enemy he faced was Medusa, who had evolved into a Lord and had absorbed two Purifiers! In the end, just as An Sheng and the others witnessed, Li Guoan was bisected at the waist by Medusa. This powerful mutated queen had no intention of granting the iron-willed soldier a quick death. After cutting him in half, she simply flew away and vanished into the sky, leaving the bisected Lieutenant Colonel Li behind to await death in agony and despair.

While watching the video, An Sheng remained relatively composed. After all, he had never served in the military and could only regard the soldiers in the footage with reverence. However, Nie Chong and Skinny Monkey, both active-duty soldiers, were seething with rage! Those were their comrades—though they had never met, they shared the bond of brotherhood. As the saying goes, “How can I say I have no robes? I share them with my comrades.” Nie Chong and Skinny Monkey wore the same military uniforms and bore the same missions as those who had sacrificed themselves. The only difference was that they were still alive, while their comrades had fallen.

“Attention!” Nie Chong suddenly shouted. He and Skinny Monkey stood at attention, facing the full-coverage exoskeleton armor, their expressions solemn and respectful.

“Remove caps!” Together, they took off their military caps and placed them on their left forearms, observing a minute of silence in front of the armor.

“Salute!” After the moment of silence, the two offered a formal military salute to Li Guoan’s armor.

“Lieutenant Colonel Li Guoan, you are our model and inspiration. Now, I, Nie Chong, will inherit your will, don the armor you left behind, and continue the mission you could not complete! Order arms!” After speaking, Nie Chong put his cap back on and resumed studying the full-coverage exoskeleton armor, though there was now something new in his eyes. Something that An Sheng, who had never served in the military, could not yet understand.