Chapter 1 Bombardment

The bombing had ceased, leaving the derelict underground base in ruins. Collapsed rubble blocked countless passages, making the already complex terrain even more treacherous. In the darkness, the occasional sound of falling debris echoed.

At the base's deepest point, dust filled the air. A small mountain of fallen rubble and shattered metal plates completely buried Nilo.

Suddenly, a sound emerged from the darkness, like viscous liquid flowing.

*Whoosh—*

At the bottom of the debris pile, an area about two meters in diameter gradually glowed red, growing brighter and brighter. Metal and rock melted away, revealing a hollow space.

Nilo, hunched over, limped out of the hole, continuously firing thermal rays with both hands, the high heat distorting the surrounding air.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Muffled coughs echoed inside the mecha's faceplate. Nilo gasped for breath for a moment, then braced himself and initiated a health check for the mecha.

"Slight dislocation of the left femur. Allow mecha structure to autonomously adjust for correction?"

"Yes."

The left leg armor tightened slightly, correcting the dislocated bone. Nilo grunted, then felt relieved. Just now, tons of debris had fallen on him. The mecha was fine, but the impact had caused him minor injuries. After all, he was just a fragile mechanic.

Radar indicated that enemies were above. There was no time to rest. Nilo forced himself to calm down and hurriedly opened a communication channel to contact his teammates.

"Captain, this is Nilo. What is your location? What's the situation?"

The channel was filled with static and intermittent cries of pain. Nilo called for a while before receiving the squad's public message.

"The situation here is bad!" A teammate's face popped up on the mecha's faceplate tactical screen, covered in scrapes and bruises. He spoke urgently, "I'm with the captain. When the base collapsed, the captain was hit by a planetary cannon penetrating the strata. He's critically injured and on the verge of death. Many others are scattered. Whoever receives this message, rescue people immediately! Bring everyone here to assemble. We must break out immediately!"

Nilo immediately opened the team's health monitor and was shocked to see a screen full of red.

Everyone's injuries were more severe than his, including several, including the captain, who were in critical condition... Because he had fallen to the bottom of the base and was buried, he had avoided the subsequent planetary cannon bombardment and was, in fact, the least injured.

Without a doubt, the lucky aura above his head was shining brightly.

"Only I am in relatively good condition..." Nilo immediately felt an increased sense of responsibility and overwhelming pressure.

He gritted his teeth and immediately opened his teammate locator. Each teammate's location was marked on the tactical screen. The mecha's intelligence worked at high speed, quickly planning the fastest rescue route.

The rear thrusters spewed flames. Nilo flew out of the crater at the bottom of the base, rescuing scattered team members.

The terrain was complex and treacherous, but there was no time to detour. His palms continuously fired thermal cannons, melting through all obstacles in his path. He rescued teammate after teammate before the Kunder Clan ground forces arrived, finally reaching the captain's location.

Blasting away the metal plates blocking the way, Nilo flew into the ravaged room with a clang, landing on his feet. He saw the captain and a group of team members gathered there, all injured.

The captain was slumped on the ground, his upper body leaning against the wall. His armor was scorched black, revealing large holes. He struggled to look up, forced a smile, and said weakly, "Nilo, you're here. Well done... cough, well done."

"Captain, don't talk."

Seeing this, Nilo slightly bent his fingers, and short injection needles popped out from his fingertips like claws, stabbing into the captain's chest.

Aurora's special life-sustaining agent flowed into the captain's body through the needles, instantly healing his serious injuries.

The captain's condition improved at a speed visible to the naked eye. He cried out comfortably, full of energy, and exclaimed, "This is Her Excellency Aurora's special life-sustaining agent? This is really good stuff."

Aurora occasionally used her abilities to produce life-sustaining agents, but the production was limited. The life energy injected into the agent also had an expiration date, so not every Black Star trooper was equipped with it. Most people used normal healing agents, but with Nilo's wealth, he naturally had Aurora's agent.

"Everyone who is seriously injured, come over here. I have some more agent. I'll help you restore your combat power," Nilo said loudly.

Someone couldn't help but say, "Save some for yourself. There will be a bloody battle later. What if you get injured?"

"It's okay, I have other agents," Nilo said nonchalantly.

The others exchanged glances and shrugged. It was really nice to have a rich guy on the team. Since there was a sugar daddy here, why not take advantage of it?

Nilo healed his teammates one by one. During this process, the group urgently discussed tactics.

The captain said seriously, "Everyone, the current situation is very unfavorable for us. We have fallen into a trap. The entire fleet was ambushed by the enemy. The others can't help us, and we're on our own. We can only rely on ourselves to break out. There are now three Kunder Clan warships above us. We have no vehicles, making it very dangerous..."

"If the enemy continues the fleet bombardment, it will be a desperate situation for us. However, the enemy has stopped the attack and instead sent ground forces to approach us." The vice-captain's eyes flashed. "This indicates that the enemy may intend to capture us alive, which may be our only chance to escape."

"That's right!" The captain nodded heavily. "To escape, we must gain air superiority. The fleet can't come to rescue us. We can only try to seize a spaceship ourselves. The chances are slim, but at least there is hope.

"This ruin is our shield. If we rashly run out, the enemy warships can bombard us without restraint. We can only wait for the enemy soldiers to enter the underground base and engage us. The enemy warships will not fire at will to avoid friendly fire. Therefore, we must split into two groups: one group to engage the enemy soldiers in this ruin, and the other group to seize a spaceship..."

At this point, the captain paused, and everyone looked at each other.

This was an important task concerning everyone's life and death, with perhaps only one chance, extremely dangerous, with a slim chance of survival.

So the question was, who should go to seize the spaceship? In theory, the strongest person should be assigned to this task, and the strongest in the team was, in fact, the deeply connected Nilo.

Asking a young man with a big background to take on such a heavy responsibility, risking his life... everyone hesitated.

Seeing this, Nilo realized it, gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and volunteered, "I'll go. No one here is more suitable than me."

The captain glanced at him, did not feign humility, nodded slowly, and said seriously and earnestly, "Alright, we're counting on you. We will engage the enemy and buy you time... Remember, the lives of all of us are in your hands."

"...Understood."

Nilo took a deep breath, calmed his heavy heart, and controlled the mecha to enter a high-stealth mode. He took one last deep look at everyone before separating and disappearing into the darkness.

The captain breathed out and looked at everyone, his eyes becoming stern. "No need for me to emphasize what to do. No matter what, keep the enemies pinned down here."

"We understand." The vice-captain nodded with a complex expression.

Everyone present except Nilo knew the captain's unspoken words. In fact, there were two sets of combat plans. They would hold off the enemy and let Nilo seize the spaceship, which was only the first plan.

And when this plan failed, they would not hesitate to execute the hidden backup plan... which was to change from delaying to fighting to the death, allowing the unsuspecting Nilo to abandon them and escape alone.

Not only because of Nilo's relationship with the legion commander, but also because they knew that this young man's future achievements would far exceed their imagination. Letting a young man with great potential escape would help them avenge themselves.

...

After lurking in the darkness for a while, the sound of teammates engaging the Kunder Clan soldiers finally came from the communication channel.

At this time, Nilo was not on the battlefield. He arrived at a collapsed cave leading to the surface, hid his form, and used radar to lock onto the spaceship closest to him in the air.

Nilo's palms were full of sweat. He carefully released a unique floating guardian, its color a mix of black and gold, looking and feeling unlike any of Nilo's other equipment, exuding an unparalleled sense of luxury. After being released, it hovered nimbly above Nilo's head.

"I'm counting on you, brother." Nilo touched the floating guardian, feeling confident.

"Don't worry, kid. With your big brother here, no one can hurt you." The floating guardian suddenly spoke.

This was Nilo's last trump card. This floating guardian was the gift Han Xiao had given him when they first met.

A Super-A grade, high-level orange mechanical equipment, powered by dark energy, with [Emperor's Gift] and [Mech Fusion: Enchantment] attached. After Han Xiao obtained the Mechanical Life Seed, he transformed it into a mechanical lifeform with independent consciousness and self-growth, calling itself "Sky Guardian."

When Nilo was a child, the Sky Guardian, without the mech force bonus, could handle C-grade Supers.

Now that Nilo had become a C+ Super and possessed perfect mech sense, the power that the Sky Guardian could unleash was obvious. Even by B-grade combat standards, Nilo was not weak.

Most of the time, Nilo would not use this trump card, especially during daily sparring sessions in the academy. Even if the martial artist he was fighting suddenly got in his face and beat him black and blue, he never deployed this ultimate weapon.

His true combat power was unknown even to Mia, his closest friend.

In the academy, Mia had sparred with him countless times, but in fact, Mia never knew how strong he really was when he went all out.

Looking at the target marked on the radar, Nilo took a deep breath, adjusted his mindset, and gradually let his body fill with power.

"Hah, I can do it..."

With a firm mind, Nilo no longer hesitated, activating the thrusters, and flames erupted.

*Boom!*

He launched himself forward, smashing through the rubble at the cave entrance with a bang and soaring into the sky!

The three warships in the sky immediately fired their cannons, focusing their fire on Nilo.

The power of a barrage of warship cannons was deadly to a C-grade, but in the next moment, the Sky Guardian, following Nilo, trembled slightly, and beams of light outlined a polygonal golden shield, protecting Nilo in the middle.

*Bang, bang, bang!*

All the warship cannons fired, exploding into fireworks-like bursts of light, but the shield only showed slight cracks, and was continuously self-repairing, withstanding a round of focused fire.

At the same time, the Kunder Clan warships in the sky understood Nilo's intentions and immediately deployed shields to prevent outsiders from boarding.

"Give me a path!"

Nilo's mind stirred, and the Sky Guardian flashed with the electrical light of mech force, quickly transforming, revealing a hexagonal muzzle in the middle. Dense dark energy erupted, continuously firing black-red dark energy rays with extremely high penetration.

*Swish, swish, swish—*

The firing rate was astonishing, giving the impression of frequent and urgent urination.

The shield of the targeted spaceship was blasted open, and Nilo seized the opportunity, plunging headfirst into the breach.

*Pa, pa, pa...* Several compressed spheres were tossed out by him, turning into several laser-cutting drills with electromagnetic bases, which adhered to the spaceship and quickly cut open the outer armor, creating a hole leading into the spaceship's interior.

Nilo rolled over and crashed into the spaceship, without a word, throwing out a large number of mechanical soldiers, initiating a massacre inside the spaceship. He cut down enemies like chopping vegetables, with waves of crew members falling before his guns.

Because this spaceship had sent some soldiers to deal with Nilo's other teammates, the forces on the ship were not so plentiful, creating convenience for Nilo instead.

Nilo, with his all-out and unrestrained firepower, didn't take long to break into the main control room. He directly took out the legion's standard intrusion chip and inserted it into the spaceship's intelligent core — he was not a virtual mechanic, but the legion had automated intrusion equipment for this purpose.

Just then, Nilo suddenly staggered, discovering that the spaceship was shaking violently!

*Rumble—*

Looking out through the porthole, the other two spaceships had turned around and were focusing their fire on the warship he had boarded, unconcerned with injuring their own teammates.

"To attack a teammate's spaceship, truly ruthless," Nilo clicked his tongue, but his actions were not slow. He charged into the command room and successfully seized control of the warship.

He directly poured most of the energy into the warship's shields, and controlled the warship to slam hard into the nearest enemy ship.

*Bang!!*

The shields of the two spaceships rubbed together, splashing large patches of fragmented light. The enemy spaceship temporarily lost its balance and spiraled away.

Coincidentally, this ship happened to fly towards another enemy ship. The two enemy ships collided, simultaneously losing control and busy stabilizing the ships. The focused fire immediately experienced a brief lull.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Nilo piloted the spaceship, directly performing a dragon-like tail swing, using the hull to place itself between the two enemy ships and the ground forces.

"Come out quickly, I seized the spaceship! Rush to the surface from the coordinates I designate. I'll use a tractor beam to suck you up!" Nilo immediately shouted in the channel.

"Beautiful!"

The captain and others who were engaged in fighting were overjoyed. Their attacks erupted violently, and relying on their powerful individual combat strength, they forcibly pierced through the encirclement of the Kunder Clan soldiers.

*Bang!*

The next moment, a piece of the ground in the ruins exploded, and the team members rushed to the surface, with Kunder Clan soldiers still chasing behind.

"Captain, don't stop!"

Nilo's face lit up and he hurriedly shouted.

At this time, it was necessary to race against time. Nilo had no time to care about the two enemy ships that had adjusted and were firing at his butt, bombarding his rear shields. He immediately used a tractor beam to suck up the team members, while releasing a large number of turrets to focus fire on the Kunder Clan soldiers chasing behind, providing fire cover for his teammates.

The tractor beam successfully sucked all the teammates into the ship. The change here also attracted the attention of the enemies who were engaged in battle with their own fleet in the city. More warships were rushing towards here, far exceeding their own numbers.

Nilo did not dare to linger. After rescuing his team, he immediately pulled up and rushed towards the sky, fleeing to space.

Soon, the other team members also arrived in the command room, all swarming over and frantically ruffling Nilo's head.

"Kid, you did a good job!"

"Haha, we're saved. I thought I was going to die this time!"

"It went so smoothly. It seems that luck is on our side!"

Everyone had joyful expressions and did not hesitate to praise Nilo. Nilo was also quite excited.

"Don't be so happy, we haven't escaped danger yet." Although the captain said so, he also wore a smile of relief.

Although there were still a bunch of spaceships chasing behind, the situation was no longer desperate compared to before, and was much better.

After being happy for a while, the others thought of the other teammates who had fallen into danger, restrained their smiles, and their faces returned to solemnity.

"We escaped, but what about the other team members who are under siege?" Someone asked.

"There's nothing we can do, we can't help. There are too many enemies. Rashly going to help will only drag us in as well."

The captain shook his head. He was very clear about the current situation. Relying on their one ship alone would only be giving away heads for nothing, wasting the chance to escape.

What they should do now was to escape separately, not to linger. Moreover, their current situation was even worse than the others. They could only let the other teammates fend for themselves.

Just then, Nilo remembered something, and his heart suddenly rose.

"That's right, I don't know how Mia's team is..."

Thinking of this, Nilo couldn't sit still. He handed the spaceship over to his teammates to control and hurriedly took out his communicator to contact Mia.

The process of waiting for the connection was a torture. Time seemed to be stretched very long.

Nilo waited anxiously for a while, but the call never went through. He could only send communications to each of Mia's teammates, but no one answered. His whole demeanor became more and more tense.

It wasn't until he contacted Mia's team leader that the communication finally went through. However, the sounds of battle coming from the other side instantly plunged Nilo's suspended heart to the bottom.

"Cough, cough... Nilo? You escaped?"

"It's me, were you also attacked? What's the situation? We have a spaceship and can provide support!" Nilo asked urgently, firing questions like a machine gun.

"Don't... don't come, you guys hurry up and run. My team has all been captured. Mia was also captured alive. Only I'm still resisting, but I won't be able to hold on for long. The enemy has several warships. You can't save us. Hurry up and go, cough, cough..."

After saying that, the communication abruptly ended.

Nilo's face twitched, and he turned to leave, striding towards the hatch.

The surrounding teammates had also heard the communication just now. Seeing Nilo's actions, a group of people hurriedly swarmed up and pinned him down.

"Nilo, don't do anything rash," the captain shouted.

"I have to save her!"

Nilo was pinned down by seven or eight strong men, unable to struggle. His expression was resolute.

"Don't be stupid. Didn't I tell you just now, going to save people is a waste!" the captain roared.

"I know, so I didn't plan to have you help!" Nilo gritted his teeth, his voice bursting out from between his teeth. "This is my own choice. I didn't ask you to take the risk. You guys pilot this spaceship and leave. I'll go save people alone. Don't stop me!"

"You have even less chance alone. It's purely suicide. Don't be impulsive!" the captain pressed down on Nilo with all his might.

Nilo struggled for a long time before gradually calming down. He sat on the ground, covered his face with his hands, and remained silent.

Seeing this, everyone released their hands and took a few steps back, leaving him alone.

Feeling Nilo's sadness, the captain couldn't help but sigh, squatted down, patted Nilo's shoulder, prepared for a while, but couldn't think of how to comfort him. He could only say in a muffled voice, "She was just captured, she's not dead yet. Maybe there's still a chance. We'll find a way to save her later. We can only escape now."

As soon as he finished speaking, Nilo suddenly raised his head, his eyes slightly red, and said in a low voice, "You're right, I was impulsive just now, thank you for stopping me... I can't let Mia and the others fall into the hands of the enemy. I don't know what kind of torture they'll suffer. I still have one last hope."

Saying that, Nilo stood up, took out his communicator, took a deep breath, and mustered the courage to dial Han Xiao's number.

He had originally made up his mind not to contact Han Xiao during his service, because he didn't want to disappoint his godfather. If he didn't have no other choice now, he wouldn't want to bother Han Xiao...

The waiting communication signal sounded three times, which felt like years to Nilo. After exactly three sounds, the other side finally answered the communication, and Nilo's familiar calm voice came out.

"Nilo, what's the matter?" Han Xiao had a subtle smile on his face.

"Godfather, I'm sorry, I've disappointed you." Nilo rubbed his eyes and said in a low voice, "I've encountered a predicament that I can't solve. I hope you can help me."

"Tell me," Han Xiao responded faintly.

Nilo quickly explained the situation and lowered his head, waiting for a reply.

Looking at his appearance, Han Xiao stroked his chin and smiled slightly, "I refuse."

Nilo suddenly raised his head, looking shocked.

"Surprised?" Han Xiao put away his smile. "Your identity is different now. You're not just my godson, but also a normal legion soldier. I did give you very good treatment, but that doesn't mean I'll always give you special treatment."

"But, but..." Nilo's eyes turned red.

"If you want me to help, it's not impossible. Aside from your relationship with me, just from a business perspective, what can you give me to hire me to help you?" Han Xiao said faintly.

"I, I don't know."

"Then why should I help you?" Han Xiao blinked. "My relationship with you is true, but I won't help you for no reason. That's how the rules are. If you want something, you always need to exchange it for something else. After removing this identity, what do you have left that you can offer?"

Nilo's mind was in turmoil, and he murmured, "I, I don't have..."

Seeing Nilo cover his head with his hands, not speaking for a long time, and his expression becoming dejected, Han Xiao softened his tone and smiled, "What, do you feel despair? Think carefully, how long has it been since you said thank you to me."

Hearing this, Nilo's body suddenly trembled, and he lowered his head, muttering to himself:

"I'm sorry... please..."

"I'm asking you, do you feel despair?" Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and emphasized his tone again.

Nilo was silent for a long time before raising his head again. He had already bitten through his lip, and his eyes were tearful. He nodded to Han Xiao.

"Despair is right, remember the taste now, and never experience it again," Han Xiao sat up straight and chuckled, "Don't worry, I promise you this time, I will help you rescue your little girlfriend."

Nilo's mood fluctuated like a roller coaster, first falling from the clouds to the abyss, and then blasting from the abyss to the sky. He was stunned for a while before regaining his senses, grasping the communicator with his hands in a state of excitement, almost bursting into tears.

"Thank you... thank you..."

"Don't be so happy yet, this isn't free," Han Xiao rested his face on his palm and said with a coaxing tone, "You don't know what you can offer, but in fact, you're not useless. At the very least, you have a strong mechanical talent, so why not use that as a bargaining chip."

"What does that mean?" Nilo didn't understand.

"If I have to explain, you can understand it as I don't want you to waste your talent. Don't ask what it specifically means. You just need to answer me, agree or refuse," Han Xiao said with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Nilo still didn't understand, but he had no choice, gritted his teeth, and nodded heavily.

"I agree, please help me!"

At the same time, Han Xiao, who was remotely conversing in the Black Star Palace, saw movement on his panel.

[You have triggered a special character mission [Nilo's Request]!]

[Mission Introduction: Nilo has agreed to your deal, and is willing to use his talent and ability to exchange for your help.]

[Mission Objective: Rescue Mia Moroto]

[Reward: Designate to learn one of Nilo's skills or expertise]