"Damn it!"

Iron Hide's vision blurred, and he instinctively slammed on the brakes. The next moment, the glass exploded with a "bang," and a mass of pitch-black stuff burst into a bloody mess.

Fortunately, the glass of the armored vehicle was four layers of specially reinforced glass, designed to withstand not just bullets, but also missiles.

This seemed to be a crow, but after it shattered into pieces, the blackened mass of flesh didn't fall off; instead, it wriggled with life, and one could see blood-sucking organs opening and contracting within the irradiated flesh.

Iron Hide quickly turned on the wipers to sweep away the thing.

"Things aren't very peaceful around here, Fatty."

Fat Xiang, not often seen without a silly smile, pressed his large face against the glass. On the cracked asphalt road, corpses could occasionally be seen, mostly gnawed into a pitted state, with clear signs of decay, dead for many days.

The scavenger area, while outside the Oasis, wasn't far away, and if it's this chaotic here, other places must be worse.

Iron Hide's expression turned serious; he had seen it more than once—when the combat vehicle passed by, there were dark gun muzzles and malicious eyes peeking from behind cover, but they gave up on their zero-cost shopping plans due to the armored vehicle's heavy protection.

Finally, they arrived safely at the entrance of the gathering place, where it was relatively better, at least there were no bodies on the ground.

Iron Hide parked the car a little farther away and stopped, as Fat Xiang was eager to leave.

"Wait, put on your 'clothes' first, the boss instructed it. Once we've picked someone up, we'll leave quickly!"

Fat Xiang responded, fumbling around to put on his gear, and Iron Hide, unable to watch any longer, helped him pull up his pants, yet during their run, this big lug exposed half his butt again.

"Is this guy's muscle made at the expense of his intelligence?"

Iron Hide shook his head, glanced around to confirm no one was near, then leaned against the car door to light an e-cigarette.

His body modification was rather lousy, with most of his respiratory system made of plastic. Normal nicotine entering his lungs would cause the plastic to heat up, mixing into a bitter moldy taste, while the aerosol from the e-cig combined with the shoddy plastic strangely tasted like some kind of coffee.

As a half-mechanical man who had long lost his sense of taste, this was one of his few enjoyments.

However, the boss had promised that if he performed well during this period, there would be a complete upgrade and overhaul soon, something Iron Hide eagerly anticipated.

"Huh?"

Iron Hide scratched his ear. He lacked outer ears, having only a 'skull interface,' which rumbled with the wind, like mosquitoes flying.

So at night, he would turn off his hearing system, which wasn't hard—just a couple of taps on the skull to simulate a loose connection. The downside was sometimes it would also knock out his vision.

But since it's night, it made little difference whether he could see or not, and he could simply restart his brain program in the morning.

'Buzz buzz buzz buzz—'

The sound grew louder.

Iron Hide paused for a moment, opened his mouth, and exhaled a cloud of smoke, which rose slowly upwards—there was no wind.

'Thunk—'

A sound similar to a mechanical bow pulling echoed.

Iron Hide turned his head, seeing a 'bolt' as thick as an arm lodged into a tire.

The 'arrow shaft' automatically ejected five or six magnetic head chains, which locked onto the wheel cover.

It's worth mentioning that the tires of the combat vehicle were specially ordered, primarily to prevent mechanical beasts from biting, and typical sniper bullets couldn't pierce through.

Iron Hide shuddered with fear, flinging the e-cig away, immediately opening the car door, and scrambled inside as he tumbled.

Looking through the window, he saw an antique helicopter circling the combat vehicle, the 'buzz buzz' sound being that of the rotor blades.

Iron Hide wasn't exactly an expert, but he at least knew that the Security Corps' nuclear-powered helicopters didn't have rotors; anything with rotors was a definite antique relic from the Civilization Era.

After locking three tires, two ropes were thrown down from the helicopter, and two people slid down, each holding submachine guns, approaching from both sides.

The two wore bulletproof vests and helmets, with regular eyes beneath their goggles, and only their forearms were prosthetically modified, enhancing shooting precision and providing interfaces to connect with intelligent weapons.

However, this purely mechanical modification did not resemble the Knight Order's style.

In fact, as a large terrorist organization with a business scope covering the entire planet, the Knight Order didn't have many core members; having about two to three thousand advanced knights was already considerable, scattered across the planet without making much of a splash.

So, most of the terrorist operations were executed by recruited peripheral members—mercenaries, indigenous forces, bionic assassins, mechanical gangs, and black market AI, something for everyone.

Although the two raised their submachine guns, they didn't shoot. This armored vehicle was not a troop transport; it was an industrial creation built to go head-to-head with radiation beasts, with ridiculously high defense standards from glass to armor.

Their aim was to force the opposition into surrender.

If they could bring back an intact armored vehicle, they would surely receive higher bonuses.

After a long standoff, with the vehicle's engine starting, stalling, starting again, and stalling repeatedly, the window slowly rolled down.

Two arms extended out first, and after about thirty seconds, the door gradually opened, and Iron Hide stepped out with an awkward smile on his face.

"Good day to you both, woof woof woof, hahaha."

The two mercenaries exchanged a glance, a smirk playing across their lips.

"May I ask who you are, and why you're targeting little me?"

"If there's a misunderstanding, we can talk it out."

One of them directly cuffed Iron Hide, pressing him face down onto the car hood, while another waved a hand towards the sky. The helicopter moved closer to the armored vehicle, and yet another person swung down from a rope.

Judging by his gear and actions, it seemed like he was checking for tracking devices on the car.

"Bro, I'm so obedient, how about unlocking my handcuffs?"

"Guys, I really don't have money, and I'm a mechanical body, can't even give you any pleasure. If it's really impossible, can I offer you the latest virtual machine from Nightless City?"

"Gentlemen, are you after wealth or life? Just say it out."

A mercenary couldn't stand Iron Hide's chatter. He applied force with his arm, causing a creaking sound from Iron Hide's waist.

"We don't want your money or your life. In a while, you just help us drive, go wherever we say."

"Alright, no problem. But, there's one more companion of mine, should I leave a message for him?"

The mercenary sneered, "As for your companion, there's naturally someone to take care of him."

Iron Hide was stunned, his inferior prosthetic eye, made of color-sensitive plastic material, flickered and he stopped talking.

...

On the other side, Fat Xiang happily ran towards the Old Friend Gun Shop. Ever since his mom handed him over to Brother Gao, it was his first time returning.

He couldn't wait to tell his mom what happened during this time.

However, when he rushed into the gun shop, Fat Xiang was stunned to see it empty. What used to be weapon displays were covered in thick dust. The drawers were pulled out, and the floor was a mess with rubbish, looking as if it had been ransacked.

"Mom?"

Fat Xiang scratched his head, wanting to check the back room.

As he lifted the curtain, gunfire rang out!

Fat Xiang's body jolted violently, as if hit by an invisible giant force. His enormous body staggered back several steps, falling backward, breaking the chair under his weight into pieces.

"Roar—"

Attacked, Fat Xiang's tiny eyes filled with fury. His body quickly enlarged, bulging and expanding with surging muscle lines from beneath the fat, like snakes swimming in the 'pool' of subcutaneous fat. The bullet lodged in his chest was forcibly squeezed out, and the bleeding gunshot wound was immediately filled with muscle.

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

The narrow shop seemed on the verge of being blown apart by Fat Xiang's frantically growing body.

The wainscoting had already cracked under pressure, and he kicked through the two-foot counters.

The big fat man struggled to get up.

The next moment, gunfire erupted again, and the glass on both sides shattered as two metal electric shock prongs shot in from outside the window, pinning Fat Xiang down from either side.

Instantly, violent currents swept through his body.

"Aoo!!!"

The entire roof of the gun shop was violently pierced by a massive hole. A basketball-sized fist brutally pummeled the cement wall, and the two-floor-tall giant broke through.

The simplicity vanished from Fat Xiang's face, replaced by viciousness and ferocity on the grotesque giant's face.

"Where's my mom!"

Fat Xiang fiercely yanked a mercenary holding an electric shock device into the air unprepared. The next moment, both the upper and lower halves were gripped by the monstrous hands, and with a violent pull, internal organs mixed with blood splattered all over the ground.

"Mom!!!"

The grotesque giant roared, dull-colored smoke seeping through his teeth, a radiation fog.

"Fire! Fire!"

"Watch your positioning!!"

"Stay calm, stay calm, use the formation for dealing with large radiation beasts."

At some point, a dozen or so mercenaries with firearms appeared outside the shop. At the leader's command, seven or eight large electric shock devices shot at the giant, visible electric currents sweeping over his body, charring large areas of skin black.

"You all, die!!!"

The grotesque giant began to exert himself, and the enemies holding the electric shock guns began to sway.

Mercenaries standing on the rooftops on both sides pressed the trigger button.

A thick rope shot out from the gun's muzzle, with a large hook shaped like an 'anchor' at the front. Using a special force mechanism, it wrapped around the giant several times, the tip lodged firmly into his thigh muscle.

The other end of the thick rope was tied to a pickup truck.

Another 'anchor' mirrored the action, only lodging in the giant's upper arm instead.

Both pickup trucks revved simultaneously in opposite directions, and with a snap, the thick ropes were yanked taut. Among the roaring engines of the transport vehicles, the grotesque giant was tugged so that he couldn't move.

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