Lu Xing's "vision" was quite good.
The fierce battle that had unfolded in the sky, if not revealing every minute detail, was at least completely unobstructed to his sight.
Although some details were obscured by the aircraft's fuselage, he still wanted to shout a couple of times:
Spectacular! Too damn spectacular!
And amidst the spectacle, Lu Xing was also terrified, cheering for the Floater-class—that familiar aircraft looked extremely like the final boss from a co-op game mode. The kind of person who could pilot such a thing, no matter how you thought about it, wouldn't be an ordinary human.
The flashy combat process further proved this point.
"Fusion Soldiers."
How do you translate surprise?
This was a damn surprise on the level of "love at first sight around the corner"—the Fusion Soldiers' flight path was clearly heading towards his own spring. If they won...
Lu Xing had no hope of escaping unscathed.
To be precise.
If a lone Honkai Beast was discovered by Fusion Soldiers, it would be impossible for its entire corpse to remain... It was hard to say which side would prevail, but there would definitely only be one survivor.
So, even with empathy.
Lu Xing still hoped that the aircraft would be shot down by the Floater-class. Even if that didn't happen, they had to be dissuaded from exploring the city.
Of course, darker thoughts weren't absent either.
If both sides suffered heavy losses, Lu Xing might have a chance to play the opportunist, the "Old Sixth," again.
The moment the Floater-class used its suicidal ramming attack to hit the Banshee, this thought was elevated to the highest priority!
And when the aircraft, spewing black smoke, and the Floater-class Honkai Beast simultaneously plummeted towards the ground—one towards the central plaza, the other to a location less than 50 meters from the Honkai Fissure.
Lu Xing felt.
He probably had to do something.
————
"Pfft!"
A small yellow vial with a warning label was fiercely jabbed into Arno's arm.
[Emergency Adrenaline Injector]
Standard issue for "frontline personnel," the dosage wasn't large, but it took effect extremely quickly.
However, due to the significant differences between a Fusion Soldier's body and an ordinary person's, even specialized adrenaline was far less potent for them than regular adrenaline for a normal human.
But at a time like this, being picky was a luxury; having something to use was already excellent.
"Dead."
Half of the aircraft's fuselage, spewing black smoke, crashed to the ground.
The Floater-class's suicide attack had successfully snapped the Banshee in two mid-air; this aircraft would never soar the blue skies again.
Closing the eyes of the deceased.
Arno reconfirmed the deaths of his teammate and the two pilots, then yanked the "dog tags" from their necks.
The value of these things... perhaps could exchange a few more months of rations for their families—if they had any.
Arno turned around, looking at the girl leaning against the charred outer wall of the cockpit.
Xiū's physical constitution should have been stronger than Arno's, but she had consumed too much stamina when attacking the Floater-class earlier. This led to her failing to protect herself during the aircraft's crash—based on Arno's experience, the girl had at least four broken ribs, one of which was displaced, diagonally piercing her lung.
A stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
If it had been a little more off, it probably would have pierced her heart directly.
Of course, if speaking of dire situations, Arno wasn't much better off himself.
"Hiss—"
A violent burst of steam erupted from his left arm, with chaotic sparks of electricity dancing within.
"Bang!"
Arno threw his left arm onto the ground.
Then he found a metal rod, perhaps a control lever or strut from the wreckage, and propped it in the original position as a temporary replacement for his arm.
This wasn't anything extraordinary—to fight against the Honkai, Arno had already undergone semi-mechanical modification before becoming a Fusion Soldier.
As for side effects...
Becoming stronger meant a higher chance of survival; what else was there to care about?
————
"Pah!"
A mouthful of rust-tasting bloody phlegm was spat out fiercely.
"Can you still move?"
Arno started walking towards Xiū.
"I can."
Xiū had clearly also taken adrenaline. Although every word she spoke was accompanied by heavy, bellows-like gasps, she was at least able to stand up again after a short rest.
"Can't fight..."
After replying to Arno, the girl looked towards the Honkai Fissure not far away.
That was their mission objective.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was the main culprit for their current tragic situation.
"But, it doesn't affect the survey work."
From the sealed bag that never left her side, Xiū took out a small, iron-gray box.
This device could read the parameters of other equipment in a strong Honkai energy environment and analyze them—the detector buried deep beneath the Honkai Fissure was encased in a thick layer of lead. Only by relying on this device could the collected intelligence be gathered.
"Then let's begin."
Arno didn't mention what they would do after collecting the data.
The Banshee was equipped with a corresponding distress beacon. Although survival was a fifty-fifty chance, it was at least something to hold onto.
"Ethan!"
Arno escorted Xiū towards the Honkai Fissure.
He needed help digging out the detector from underground; this wasn't a job the severely injured girl could accomplish.
Moreover, it wasn't safe here.
The sudden appearance of the [Variant Floater-class Honkai Beast] had completely disrupted their plans. There was already a huge intelligence lapse; this area, which should have been "cleared," hid unknown dangers, and there might even be a mastermind manipulating everything.
Leaving the girl alone here, if attacked, she would be completely defenseless.
Very naturally.
Arno, facing away from the Banshee's wreckage, loudly called out Ethan's name, who was currently playing dead in a pile of rubble.
"..."
Apart from the desolate autumn wind, there was no sound in response to Arno.
"Execute the mission you previously accepted."
"If you don't want me to throw this grenade at 'Northwest, 34-degree angle, distance 22 meters'."
"Boom!"
The rubble was instantly blasted apart.
Ethan, covered in dirt and grime, shot out from it.
Compared to Arno and Xiū, Ethan's injuries weren't particularly severe; at least he didn't need adrenaline.
However, his strength was originally the weakest in the team, so the role he could play now wasn't much better than the other two.
But at least he could still move around.
"Captain."
Still with that shifty look.
"Let's send out a distress signal first."
"Wait for 'Wrench' and the others to rendezvous with us before taking action. Wouldn't that be a higher safety factor!"
"Do you really think 'Wrench' and the others are still alive?"
"..."
The team member codenamed "Wrench" was the deputy captain of Arno's squad, who had disembarked from the Banshee in advance to investigate two other Honkai Fissures.