"Report, we've spotted enemy ships! A large number! Over the city!"
Jiang Ye, driving on the road, was startled by the report from his earphone.
He leaned forward, tilting his head to look at the sky.
He could indeed see ships in the distance, circular shadows floating high above, faintly glowing. There were over a dozen visible. Jiang Ye felt like a microorganism at the bottom of a lake, gazing up at lily pads on the surface.
"Report, we're seeing something like bombers, dropping unidentified objects on the city!" his subordinate reported again.
"Are they bombs?" Jiang Ye asked.
"No explosions heard, could be delayed bombs, or something else!" the subordinate replied.
Jiang Ye's rescue vehicle accelerated to 150 mph, speeding across the wasteland. Just after leaving the base, he had detoured to check the airport. The ships that were supposed to be waiting to pick up the wounded had vanished. The military should be creating distance from the Millers and engaging in long-range bombardment. They couldn't leave personnel in the crossfire. If the Millers recaptured Crane Star, it would result in a large number of prisoners.
But this also created a serious problem: the rescued people could only be placed in open areas with nowhere to transport them. But how long could they be kept there? Left in the wilderness, they would eventually become corpses!
"All vehicles, pay attention!" Jiang Ye said, "When rescuing people from the city, try to bring out some bedding and food. Wrap the patients in the open with blankets to prevent them from freezing to death at night! Place food nearby, in case any are conscious and can feed themselves!"
"The hospital has glucose!" one subordinate said, "I saw some IV bags, should we administer them to the patients?"
"Bring them all! Administer some to the patients!" Jiang Ye immediately agreed, "Take all the glucose you can find!"
The city appeared on the horizon.
Many tiny black objects could be seen descending with the naked eye, falling into the city like residual rain. But there were no explosions. Jiang Ye had a bad premonition. With the Millers' capabilities, they could have leveled the entire city with a single nuclear bomb. Why were they dropping so many things into the city?
"Report! We've encountered Ground Dragons in the city center! Engaging them!" came a voice mixed with gunfire.
"Withdraw!" Jiang Ye ordered decisively. He had seen too many Ground Dragons on Biron Star; assault rifles were useless against them. Engaging Ground Dragons was simply suicide. "All of you, retreat to the open-air wards, load the patients into the vehicles and leave! That location is still too close to the city!"
"Sir! Those Ground Dragons are eating people! They're smashing windows with their tentacles and pulling people out of houses to eat them!" the soldier's voice was filled with terror and anger.
"Eating people? Then fight! Ram them with the vehicles at maximum speed! Bomb them with grenade rounds! Bullets are useless against those things!" Jiang Ye was also furious.
Jiang Ye's rescue vehicle charged into the city's edge. After only two blocks, he saw a Ground Dragon crouching at an intersection.
From the city streets, the creature was astonishingly large. Its head reached the windows of a three-story building, its body was like a small mountain, and it emitted a rumbling sound as it breathed, its flesh and scales vibrating together. The Ground Dragon's tentacles were smashing windows, searching inside houses. Human dwellings were like shelves of snacks to it.
A surge of anger rushed to his head. Jiang Ye accelerated the rescue vehicle to its maximum speed and charged directly at it.
Simultaneously, he popped open the car door and leaped out, tumbling violently on the road.
With a bang, the rescue vehicle crashed into the Ground Dragon. The entire vehicle disintegrated like paper, exploding into scattered parts, sparks flying from the battery pack. Startled, the Ground Dragon spewed acid at the metal debris, causing a sizzling sound as it corroded the metal, and white smoke billowed up.
Jiang Ye got up, loaded a grenade round into his assault rifle, and fired at the Ground Dragon!
A huge fireball erupted, but as the smoke and dust cleared, the Ground Dragon was unharmed. It crouched down low, its flesh swelling, and then with a deafening roar, it leaped up. The ground where it had been was indented like a crater. Jiang Ye turned to run, but the Ground Dragon had already leaped over twenty meters and crashed down on him.
Death!
Resurrection!
Donning his gear, he went downstairs, got a rescue vehicle, and continued towards the city center.
His earphone was filled with team comms, the sounds of gunfire and explosions constant.
"Two Ground Dragons on Fourth Avenue! Requesting support!"
"I'm engaging a Ground Dragon at the City Library! Any brothers nearby to lend a hand?"
"These things can't be killed by ramming! Or bombing! Their skin is too thick!"
"Construction South Road, someone just fired at me, there are mechanical spies nearby!"
"I saw a Ground Dragon eat three mechanical spies. This beast doesn't distinguish between friend and foe!"
Suddenly, all comms went silent. The earphone was filled with static.
Then, a mechanical voice spoke:
"Consciousness link will be disconnected. You will go offline in 15 seconds."
Jiang Ye froze.
Forced offline?
It seemed the military had lost control of Crane Star.
He tapped the screen, bringing the rescue vehicle to a halt.
Jiang Ye opened the car door and stepped out, standing in the gentle breeze, taking one last look at Crane Star's grasslands. Vast and green, stretching to the distant horizon. Hundreds, thousands of black bubbles appeared in the sky, perfect circles, like water lilies covering a pond; those were all Millers' warships.
The screen went black. Offline.
Climbing out of the remote control cabin, Jiang Ye felt a wave of disorientation.
After taking a few sips of water, he took out his phone. Some unread messages were waiting.
Che Zhen: "Commander, what's going on? Everyone on Crane Star has been forced offline! Biron Star is temporarily fine, but the fortress has received an air raid alert."
Shao Wan: "We've started the investigation. It should be completed within two days. Currently, no mechanical spies detected."
Li Nannan: "I'm heading to the front line tomorrow. Don't know how long I'll be gone. I won't be able to reply during combat."
Jiang Ye quickly messaged Li Nannan, "Has Crane Star fallen?"
"It's fallen. We're trying to retake it," Li Nannan replied. "The Millers have thrown a lot of warships at Crane Star, like they're having diarrhea. They shouldn't be too proud. Concentrating so many warships near one planet is a major military blunder, like infantry charging together. If all goes well, Crane Star will be retaken soon."
"We saved about four to five thousand people, but didn't have time to transport them," Jiang Ye said. "They're on the grass outside the city. What will happen to these people?"
"It's tough," Li Nannan replied. "Don't be sad, that's how war is. You've already saved many people. Here's some good news: a cheap clinical treatment for the happy flu has been developed. The people you saved on Crane Star will soon be cured and sent to Jiang Ye Star."
Jiang Ye put down his phone and sat down at his desk, staring blankly.
With a soft whirring sound, the sweeping robot slowly moved over, carrying a glass of warm water.
"Master, I've brought you a glass of water," the sweeping robot said. "You look very tired."
Jiang Ye bent down, picked up the water glass, and reached out to pat the sweeping robot like petting a small dog.
"Yes, very tired," he said.