On the real-time display, mutants wearing conical helmets were rampant in Shell City.

One-on-one, the Northern Ocean Army had a strong suppressive power against them. However, the mutants continuously avoided the Iron Soldiers and specifically attacked the regular human soldiers holding crossbows behind the trenches, with clear targets.

Cold weapons and crossbow arrows couldn't hurt the mutants.

Human soldiers exhibited dizziness, vomiting, and bleeding under the influence of radiation, and they were being unilaterally wounded and breached by the mutants.

The pressure of passive defense was significant.

Zhou Yi watched with a heavy heart, "Can mutants be mass-produced?"

"It's technically possible."

Red Kestrel said, "You only need to make adjustments during the enhancement transformation surgery, implant two enhanced bodies, and you can create inherently unstable mutants. This is easier than creating a healthy enhancer."

"The difficult part is control and command."

"Mutants pose an extreme threat to other life forms, and bioengineered mutants are also dangerous biochemical technologies that are prohibited and opposed by Mechanical City."

"However, many forces are still secretly researching this area, training mutants as Death Soldiers. All Mechanical City can do is down-grade the credit ratings of these organizations."

Zhou Yi couldn't help but ask, "What's the rating of the Shuanghe Region?"

"The Shuanghe Region was originally B, but it has now fallen to C+. After this, its rating should be further downgraded. This is also the first time Shuanghe Region has openly dispatched a legion of mutants."

Zhou Yi fell into contemplation.

Through satellite signals, he had seen the destructive power of mutants on the battlefield.

The mutants were no match for the Northern Ocean Army.

But when the Northern Ocean Army pierced their fatal weaknesses, they would Detonate themselves, causing secondary injuries.

Many Iron Soldiers were injured by the explosions, and the radiation triggered by the self-destruction reached even farther.

Somewhat problematic.

"Zhou, we've received a message from Duke Beidu."

Red Kestrel reported, "There are about 40 mutants sent by Duke Destructive, mixed within the enhancer soldiers, all wearing the same helmets and leather armor, making them difficult to identify."

"Two mutants charged into Shell City, but both were killed. The personnel inside the city had been evacuated and dispersed ahead of time, so the damage was not severe."

"Duke Beidu managed to capture a living mutant and discovered that its key feature was the helmet on its head."

"That conical helmet held the mutant's head in place, inside of which was a parasite clump."

An image appeared on the touch screen.

The image showed something like small branches.

"This is the parasite clump."

Red Kestrel explained it: "It is a type of parasitic life form, fragile in itself, but seeks to inhabit powerful species as a deterrent to other predators."

"The parasite clump itself has a high adaptability and can keenly sense external energy and environmental changes. The mutants' brains are connected to the parasite clumps; in fact, it is them controlling the mutants during battles."

"The conical helmets serve to protect the parasite clumps from damage."

"When the body is severely damaged and difficult to move, the parasite clump will indiscriminately stimulate the mutant's enhanced body, which then triggers the explosion of the Light Imprint Structure inside."

Zhou Yi felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

This was troublesome.

It seemed that Duke Destructive had already devised a complete process for producing and training mutants.

This mutant attack was just the beginning.

Zhou Yi started to consider whether or not to recruit more from the Northern Ocean Army.

But now it was winter, and there was a shortage of people everywhere. According to Qian Su, you had to book in advance to hire; it was very difficult to find ready-made structured forces in winter.

If all else failed, Block 5 would have to participate in frontline defense.

While Zhou Yi was pondering, he suddenly saw a turn of events on the screen.

Suddenly, Sea Horse Shooters began firing from the city walls, Illusion Fish spit out glowing Death Bubbles, and the long-silent two coastal defense cannons also started spewing bright flames, their thick barrels shaking violently.

The Northern Ocean Army's gunners, whose weapons had been silenced, finally saw their Knight Firearm flash.

With the long-range weapons unsealed, Duke Destructive's side was being pummeled into retreat by the firepower. After 5 Red Monsters fell in pools of blood, the enemy soldiers retreated like the tide, scrambling to escape via their warships.

Even so, two warships failed to retreat in time and were hit by the coastal defense cannons, exploding upon impact and sinking into the Dead Sea.

Further back, Duke Beidu Fleet also began open sea bombardment from the side.

Even further away, Captain Qin's heavy cruiser guard was also firing away, with several vessels engulfed in billowing smoke.

Within a short span of ten minutes, the battle situation had reversed.

Zhou Yi watched in some confusion.

"What's happening?"

Red Kestrel said, "I'm also inquiring about it, hold on."

Ten seconds later.

The drone's electronic eye blinked green, "I am Duke Beidu, Mr. Zhou, a major victory, this is a major victory!"

Duke Beidu's side said, "In this assault and defense battle, we killed 7 Red Monsters, 23 mutants, 77 regular soldiers on the ground counterattack, sank 1 C-class warship, 3 D-class warships, and 3 transport ships of the enemy. A great victory indeed!"

"After this, it will take the enemy even longer to prepare and integrate before launching another attack."

Zhou Yi also reacted, "Did you deal with the Gray Whale?"

"Yes, the Gray Whale was broken through and driven away by Captain Qin. The turning point in this strategy is indeed Captain Qin."

Duke Beidu praised, "From the beginning, Captain Qin believed it was essential to deal with the Gray Whale, otherwise we would be at a considerable numerical disadvantage."

"He split his forces in two, remotely controlling the flagship White Dove, leading four ships to continue fighting on the defensive lines above the Dead Sea."

"The other route saw him personally piloting his private vessel, Black Edge, making a thousand-mile detour, bypassing the high-pressure areas and rapids, and entering alone from beneath the Dead Sea to approach the Gray Whale and disrupt its Whale Song."

"This gave us the opportunity for a major counter-attack at the rear."

Zhou Yi was somewhat surprised, "Did you start by deliberately luring them into a land battle?"

"Yes, both Captain Qin and I had this idea—we had to inflict casualties on their living forces, and fighting on land was the best way. This method carried great risks since Duke Destructive's forces are elite in ground warfare, so the key was whether we could hold out."

"It was unexpected that they dispatched mutants, which was indeed more dangerous than anticipated. Fortunately, the Northern Ocean Army is very strong and withstood this impact," explained Duke Beidu.

The tactic itself was not complex; it was about taking advantage of the situation to lure the enemy into a deep engagement. The crucial point rested with Qin Xie.

He needed to break the Gray Whale from a distance, cut off its Whale Song, in order for us to have a chance to counterattack.

Otherwise, Duke Destructive's forces would keep landing reinforcements, and our defensive troops would be driven back, even potentially routed completely.

By using dual lines of command, Qin Xie remotely issued orders to the heavy cruiser guard through the machine deck division system, also to confuse the enemy.

As for how he managed to do this, even Duke Beidu wasn't clear.

Zhou Yi immediately activated the communicator and found that it wasn't glowing anymore, though it had used a lot of energy. After replacing the Energy Pack, it finally restarted.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

From the other end came the sound of Qin Xie yawning, "Just have a few ships chasing and biting at my heels. I'll make a loop and then I can head back to Shell City."

He sounded completely unpressured.

"How did you do it?" Zhou Yi asked, curious.

"You know about the Gray Whale's characteristics, don't you?"

"I don't."

Qin Xie explained, "The Gray Whale is a type of large Guangna Species, naturally very strong, with poor eyesight, a big appetite, but not very smart—or rather, quite stupid."

"Adult Gray Whales are impossible to capture; their Whale Song allows them to breakthrough all kinds of enemies around them, and their powerful bodies make them fearless in close combat. Without encountering a Skywalker, they have no natural predators."

"Some powerful forces at sea will use food and traps to lure away juvenile Gray Whales. They are trained from a young age so that even when they grow up and possess immense strength, they dare not rebel."

"Although the Dead Sea Knights do not have Gray Whales, the Heavenly Kingdom does have some in captivity. I saw and came to know about them during my time at the military academy in the Heavenly Kingdom."

"The Whale Song of the Gray Whale can last a very long time, which is oppressive for both our sides. So I piloted my ship to submerge from the Dead Sea, and those guard ships couldn't detect us."

He said, "My ship, Black Edge, stayed close to the tail of the Gray Whale, and then Teddy temporarily connected with it and activated 'Dream Stealing.'"

"Half of the Gray Whale's brain rests while the other half maintains operation. So Teddy had to catch the moment it fell asleep, influencing the Gray Whale during its dream so that it couldn't distinguish between dream and reality."

"In the dream, Teddy responded to it in the form of Whale Song, suggesting it had become someone else's weapon, mocking it as a slave soldier...basically, provoking and aggravating it."

"Then the Gray Whale flew into a rage, ceased the Whale Song, and began ramming the surrounding ships."

Qin Xie said, "Once the Whale Song stopped, the Black Edge's camouflage was quickly detected, so now Teddy and I are on our way back, evading pursuit."

"In the Dream Stealing, I had Teddy transmit a segment of Whale Song to the Gray Whale, telling it that in a distant, high-pressure deep sea, there were many Gray Whales, their homeland. It wasn't a lie, but an old sea shanty from years ago."

"However, this was just a temporary measure. The consciousness shackles formed by years of captivity and training are difficult to break, and I estimate it won't be long before it goes back to Duke Destructive's side."

"The ships behind are going crazy with cannon fire again, so I've got to execute some maneuvers...we'll chat next time."

Then the call was cut off from the other side.

Zhou Yi found himself somewhat relieved.

Captain Qin indeed had something special about him.

That 1% express bonus was well worth it.

Whether it was Duke Beidu or the Northern Ocean Army, they all had their capabilities; otherwise, this round might have ended in the city's fall.

Zhou Yi pondered.

The defense was still too passive.

We needed to strike out and pressure Duke Destructive.

The best choice of warrior was the Condenser, but Jiong He was currently out searching for unifiers and couldn't be reached for the moment.

Bone Man Wu Yi was certainly strong enough, but we still didn't know when he could arrive.

We had to wait a bit longer.

Meanwhile, Red Kestrel reported a piece of news.

"Zhou, Mechanical City has confirmed Duke Destructive's dispatch of mutants to attack civilians. The Shuanghe Region's rating has been downgraded to C-, and it has been added to the danger list. They will no longer sell Mechanical-Electrical Light Imprints and related equipment to the Shuanghe Region."

A technological sanction, that too was a piece of good news.

...

The next day.

Suddenly, Jade City said, "Commissioner, Building 6 reports it has found a way to help the samurai crab evolve into a Weapon Master."

Zhou Yi heard this and was overjoyed.

This was great news!

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