Jiang Ye trotted forward behind Isabel, the moss underfoot squelching with each step. In the dense rainforest, the two of them were as insignificant as tiny insects at the base of a blade of grass.
"These trees are all from the Mil people's planet. I've forgotten the specific species, but in military slang, they're all collectively called Mil trees," Isabel's voice echoed through the headset. "Wherever they occupy a planet, they plant many of their own trees to alter the air composition and declare sovereignty."
"Poisonous?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Poisonous. If you take off your helmet and breathe freely for a few minutes, you'll have to log back in," Isabel said. "But the roots aren't poisonous. If we run out of food later, we can dig up some roots to gnaw on."
"What if we see any animals?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Shoot."
Jiang Ye suddenly opened fire, a string of bullets spraying upwards and to the right. Fire and white smoke billowed. Isabel was startled. A hundred meters away, a dark animal was shot down from the treetops, crashing to the ground with a thud and kicking up a lot of dirt.
"Good marksmanship!" Isabel exclaimed, impressed. "Let's go take a look."
The two of them ran over quickly. The fallen animal appeared to be some kind of primate, covered in black fur. Its head had been destroyed by the bullets, and red blood gurgled out, flowing onto the emerald moss.
Jiang Ye himself was surprised by his first shot being so accurate, a direct headshot. Immediately, a prompt popped up:
[Killed one "Mil Monkey," 1 Merit Point added]
"Oh no! You've caused trouble!" Isabel turned and ran. "Run!"
Jiang Ye, not understanding, stood still. "It's dead, why run?"
Isabel didn't answer, running with all her might.
Jiang Ye, flustered by her reaction, had no choice but to take off after her, fleeing for his life.
After running only a hundred meters, there was a bang, and a black shadow suddenly fell from the sky, blocking their path. Landing on all fours, it was two meters tall, with red eyes and black fur – a giant Mil monkey, glaring at the two intruders.
Isabel braked sharply, and Jiang Ye almost crashed into her. One after another, Mil monkeys leaped from the treetops, varying in size, most only a meter tall but powerfully built. In just a few seconds, hundreds of Mil monkeys had gathered from all directions, roaring and closing in. It seemed the entire troop had arrived.
Without a word, Jiang Ye opened fire, sweeping the area with his machine gun. Bullets raked through them like a storm, and rows of monkeys fell, spewing blood. Isabel's stun gun also crackled with dazzling electrical sparks, her shots targeting the larger monkeys. Amidst the gunfire, the monkeys from all sides lunged forward, moving as fast as cannonballs!
"Charge forward!" Jiang Ye shouted.
The two of them fired as they ran forward, but there were too many monkeys, and their firepower was insufficient to kill them all. Soon, a group of monkeys pinned Isabel to the ground, smashing her mech with rocks. Jiang Ye was also knocked down, with more than ten monkeys pressing down on him. He could only close his eyes and fire wildly, fighting back with punches and kicks!
[Severely Damaged! Severely Damaged!]
[Initiate Self-Destruct?]
"I'm self-destructing. I'll wait for you in the room," Isabel's voice was resigned.
"No! I still have ammo, hold on a bit longer!" Jiang Ye yelled. "It's only been a few minutes since the start!"
With a boom, blinding fire and heat erupted, sending dozens of monkeys flying, their blood and shredded flesh raining down. Isabel beside him had already turned to ash, leaving only fragments of her mech.
For some reason, Jiang Ye felt a pang of sadness... then he frantically smashed at the monkeys on top of him.
You damn monkeys, I'll fight you to the death!
Merit point notifications kept popping up, one for each monkey he killed. Jiang Ye's faceplate was smeared with monkey blood, his vision entirely red.
Rolling and fighting, they desperately battled for over twenty minutes, panting. He grew smarter, moving to the side of a large tree and using it as a backrest for close combat, preventing the monkeys from grabbing him from behind, allowing him to focus solely on fighting the ones in front. The mech was sturdier than he expected, especially his iron fist, which could dent a monkey's face with a single blow, sending its teeth flying.
After fighting continuously for over forty minutes, Jiang Ye was on the verge of passing out. The most exhausting sport in the world was fighting. Even the strongest person couldn't last long because every strike was made with all their might. Only those who had truly fought could understand that feeling of severe exhaustion and bone-weary fatigue.
He had also run out of bullets, most of which had missed because Jiang Ye was pinned down by the monkeys, unable to lift his arms to aim.
His Merit Points had increased to 213.
Jiang Ye sighed and initiated self-destruct.
The explosion added another ten Merit Points, bringing the final total to 223.
He paid to revive, sitting up from a bathtub full of ice.
Isabel was sitting on the bed, yawning. Hearing the water, she turned her face. "You lasted quite a while. How many monkeys did you kill? Forty or fifty?"
"223," Jiang Ye sighed. After getting a new body, his muscles no longer ached, but he was mentally exhausted.
"223?" Isabel's eyes widened, then she gave him a thumbs-up. "Man! Awesome! Great!"
"You were too disloyal. If you hadn't self-destructed, maybe we could have smashed all those monkeys," Jiang Ye rolled his eyes at her. "Those monkeys looked fierce, but they were actually easy to kill."
"They are indeed easy to kill, all of them are considered minor enemies. But my strength is limited. I've been mobbed by these monkeys before, and I could only beat five or sixty to death before dying, and it's so tiring to last this long." Isabel shrugged. "That's not how you fight a war. These minor enemies should be dealt with by ranged attacks."
"You have no fighting spirit of a soldier!" Jiang Ye criticized her. "Am I your superior? I order you to fight to the last moment from now on! If you slack off again, I'll dock your pay!"
"Alright, alright, alright!" Isabel wore a glum expression. "Damn it, I took on a tough job."
Jiang Ye changed his clothes, and the two of them bought new mechs, both opting for the gunner class this time. Merit points could be exchanged for money; 1 point was worth a thousand yuan. Jiang Ye exchanged all 223 points, receiving 223,000 yuan. After such a desperate fight, earning so little, Jiang Ye also felt Isabel was right; that's not how you fight a war, it was a waste of time.
The spaceship landed on the ground again.
Jiang Ye lifted the spaceship's hatch. This time, they had landed at the bottom of a grand canyon. There were only a few weeds on the ground, and the vegetation was not lush. The ground was covered in yellowish-brown rocks, looking desolate no matter how you looked at it.
Isabel led the way, with Jiang Ye following behind. The journey was peaceful, with no encounters with aggressive alien animals. After more than half an hour of struggling, they finally climbed the rock face to leave the canyon.
Just as they exited the canyon, they saw a gunner in the distance, waving happily.
"I saw a spaceship landing in this direction and thought someone might be coming. I've finally found you!" a deep male voice came through the headset. "Follow me, I'll take you to fight the big dragon!"
"What big dragon?" Isabel asked.
"Level three Mil base!" the other party replied.
"Holy crap, this is a big score, let's go, let's go!" Isabel was quite excited.
Jiang Ye followed behind, completely bewildered. What was all this military slang? They were clearly a bunch of gaming enthusiasts!