Unless the alien species itself intervened, the battle on the beach was no longer in doubt. Ou Zhanpeng beckoned Ling Xiao, and as the two were about to leave, the personal terminals on their wrists suddenly vibrated rhythmically.
"It's Xu Qing!" Ling Xiao exclaimed dramatically, rejecting the call while signaling Ou Zhanpeng to answer it.
Ou Zhanpeng had no choice. The call connected, and a spirited female officer appeared on the screen: "Ou Zhanpeng, where are you and Ling Xiao!"
Her voice was crisp and pleasant, filled with military decisiveness.
"The beach in Huaxiong City," Ou Zhanpeng replied truthfully.
Xu Qing's eyes widened immediately: "Didn't I tell you to be careful? Do you take my words as empty air?"
"I never said that," Ou Zhanpeng immediately denied. "Wasn't this an unexpected situation? We just happened to run into it. It was chaotic at the time, we couldn't just stand by and do nothing, could we?"
Xu Qing was both angry and helpless: "Can't you two give me a moment's peace!"
She wasn't throwing a tantrum unreasonably; it was just that these two were too much. She was their designated liaison during their vacation. To put it nicely, she was responsible for monitoring their whereabouts and psychological state; to put it bluntly, she was assigned to keep a constant eye on Ou and Ling.
This wasn't special treatment, but training astronauts wasn't as easy as people imagined. Although astronauts weren't as high-profile as before, that was only in comparison. Compared to other branches of the military, astronauts were all extraordinary, beyond compare.
For charging into battle, there were their brothers in the army!
If the other person were a man, Ou Zhanpeng would have retorted on the spot. But no matter how fierce Xu Qing was, she was still a woman, and Ou Zhanpeng couldn't bring himself to be rude. He could only try to appease her: "If it happens again, I'll definitely stay far away, alright?"
Why must they assign a female liaison? That was the reason.
"Yes, yes, we'll definitely stay far away. You'll keep our information safe. If people find out we didn't help when we could have, it wouldn't just tarnish our reputations, it would tarnish the entire aerospace system!" Ling Xiao said with sincere expression, but the sarcasm in his tone was evident to anyone.
"Stop talking to me in that tone!" Xu Qing was furious. "You two get out of there immediately!"
"Alright, alright, we'll leave right away, right away!" Ou Zhanpeng agreed repeatedly, pulling Ling Xiao into the commercial street. "Let's go, we've seen all the excitement, let's not bother them any further!"
"Okay, let's go now," Ling Xiao said.
"Go back to the base directly," Xu Qing instructed.
Ling Xiao immediately protested: "No, we haven't finished our vacation!"
"After such a major incident, you still want to take a vacation?" Xu Qing's face was frosty. "Everyone's vacation is canceled. This is an order from above."
Ling Xiao deflated like a leaky balloon: "My vacation!"
Ou Zhanpeng was equally frustrated: "It's so late, how can we leave? Can we negotiate to return tomorrow morning?"
Just as Xu Qing was about to refuse, Ou Zhanpeng added, "Hey, hey, I almost forgot. Huaxiong City is under military control now. How are you expecting us to get back?"
Xu Qing frowned but then relaxed immediately: "I don't care. The order wasn't given by me, and the decision wasn't made by me. I'm just relaying a message to you two. Whether to return, and when to return, that's up to you."
Now Ou Zhanpeng had no choice but to reveal their identities and seek help from the police or the stationed troops.
They walked through the commercial street, officially entering the city.
Normally, this time would be the peak of traffic, with cars crawling everywhere on streets and alleys.
Now, the streets were eerily empty, with no pedestrians or vehicles. However, in the darkened windows of buildings along the road, people were peeking out.
Asking for help? No way!
With no other option, Ou Zhanpeng had to ask Xu Qing for help: "Can the base send a vehicle?"
"A vehicle? Impossible!" Xu Qing immediately refused.
"Don't do that. It's a special situation. Why don't you ask someone else?" Ling Xiao suggested.
The communication cut off, and after a moment, it reconnected. "I've reported the situation. The base refused to send a vehicle."
"How could that be?" Ou Zhanpeng couldn't believe his ears.
Xu Qing continued, "But we have a helicopter. The aircraft is being prepared. You two find a suitable spot."
"Received!" Ou Zhanpeng said.
The most suitable place nearby was the beach, but that was already a bloody battlefield. As a second choice…
"The rooftop!" the two said in unison.
They immediately chose a tall building nearby. Before they could enter, bursts of intense gunfire erupted from a distant street.
Ou Zhanpeng paused, gazing curiously in the direction of the gunfire, but the buildings blocked everything, making it impossible to see anything.
As he was about to proceed inside, more gunfire erupted. In moments, intense gunfire could be heard everywhere. The two were a bit bewildered. What was going on?
The personal terminal vibrated again. Upon connecting, Xu Qing's extremely grim face appeared on the screen: "Ou Zhanpeng, Ling Xiao, you are still in Huaxiong City, right?"
Ou Zhanpeng sighed: "In this short time, the helicopter hasn't arrived. Where else could we go?"
Xu Qing's cheek twitched noticeably: "We just received an order from the higher-ups. Sea monsters have been discovered in the urban areas of Huaxiong City and have engaged with the patrolling troops. Given the urgent combat situation in the area and the severe shortage of mobile forces, you two are ordered to proceed immediately to Binhai Street!"
"What?" Ling Xiao couldn't believe his ears. "We have no guns and no cannons. What are we supposed to use to fight sea monsters?"
Street fighting. This was the most dangerous kind of street fighting. Even if the enemy was a sea monster, it wouldn't be easy.
Ou Zhanpeng, however, was thinking about something else. It hadn't been long since the sea monsters landed, and the beach hadn't fallen. Where did the seafood... ah, the sea monsters in the city come from?
Or had the alien species prepared long ago and hidden a batch of sea monsters in the city beforehand?
That didn't seem right either. Any well-trained human army could complete a similar infiltration mission. But could the giant crabs and squid possess such intelligence? Even if the alien species issued similar orders, they would have to understand them correctly to execute them properly, wouldn't they?
Besides, monsters would never have such good discipline!
Xu Qing responded to Ling Xiao's question: "The equipment has been loaded onto the aircraft and will be delivered shortly."
Ou Zhanpeng suddenly asked, "Xu Qing, please tell me honestly, what is the situation right now?"
If even they, who were on vacation and stumbled upon it, were to be kept behind to fight giant sea monsters, one could imagine how dire the situation was.
Xu Qing didn't conceal anything: "According to the notification from the higher-ups, sea monsters launched landings simultaneously in seventeen coastal cities, with many more landing points not within cities... You two must be careful!"
"Understood!" Ou Zhanpeng said.