Ou Zhanpeng banged on the rear door of the vehicle, hearing faint movements inside but receiving no response. He gripped the handle and yanked it forcefully outwards. With a snap, the handle broke off at the base, but the door remained unmoved.
Ou Dashao was so enraged he nearly choked. An armored vehicle, he scoffed, what kind of quality was this!
The giant crab sidled and charged, its four legs moving in a rapid, alternating rhythm, closing in on him.
Ou Zhanpeng felt a pang of anxiety, utterly helpless.
At that very moment, a soft click sounded from the side. He peeked over and was surprised to find a gap had opened in the roof hatch.
Ou Zhanpeng stared in astonishment. A heavy caliber machine gun was mounted on the turret on the roof!
This was just a four-wheeled light armored vehicle, how could it be equipped with such weaponry? Were police equipment so ferocious these days?
With no time to ponder, Ou Zhanpeng pulled the pin, hefted the machine gun, braced his legs, and unleashed a burst of fire at the charging giant crab.
The intense recoil shook his entire body, his muscles trembling. The bullets struck the crab's carapace, sparks flying as they ricocheted off, not a single one penetrating.
Its four legs formed a wall, blocking the crab's body. And with its massive size, even if he pierced its shell, he doubted it would do much to the creature.
From inside the armored vehicle, a police officer poked his head out, extending a hand with great difficulty towards Ou Zhanpeng.
Ling Xiao rushed over and immediately helped the officer up. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." The officer's head had taken a severe blow, and his vision was doubled, yet he insisted on pointing at Ou Zhanpeng. "The gun, the gun!"
Ling Xiao grabbed his arm. "At a time like this, why are you worrying about the gun? Don't worry, we're both soldiers!" He then displayed his personal terminal, showing his identification.
As the saying goes, weapons are a soldier's second life. Soldiers and police officers alike deal with weapons, so Ling Xiao understood the officer's urgency.
However, at this moment, the primary objective was confronting the beast, not arguing over who had the gun.
The officer shook his head, finally clearing Ling Xiao's identification. His tension eased, and he slumped down weakly.
Just as he was losing consciousness, he vaguely saw the man holding the gun leap onto the vehicle. A question immediately surfaced: How could he jump so high while holding a heavy machine gun? Just who was this person?
Ou Zhanpeng leaped onto the vehicle, then sprang off again, landing near the chassis of the armored car.
Shifting his position, Ou Zhanpeng finally found a suitable angle. He braced himself, held the machine gun tight, and unleashed a torrent of fire. The dense bullets rained down on the giant crab's narrow face, severing one of its eye stalks at the base.
The giant crab erupted in fury. Its bony mouthparts opened and closed violently, a drum-like thudding emanating from its abdomen. Its massive claws snapped like lightning towards the defiant human.
Ou Zhanpeng rolled to evade the pincer attack, and the machine gun roared again, expending dozens of rounds, all of which landed squarely in the giant crab's gaping maw.
Severely wounded, the giant crab went berserk, determined to settle the score with Ou Zhanpeng.
Ou Dashao was losing it. This giant crab had such incredible vitality, it was too difficult to deal with! If only he could trade the machine gun for a flamethrower, he could roast it for sure!
Before he could finish dealing with the giant crab, another squid targeted Ou Zhanpeng, who was dodging frantically. Its tentacle, covered in barbs, whipped out like a whip, lashing at him.
Ou Zhanpeng dodged in a panic. As he leaped and ducked, he suddenly spotted a shimmering sphere amidst the wildly flailing tentacles!
Without time to think, he raised his gun and fired a single burst. The sphere shattered with the shot. The giant squid immediately let out a low roar, its dark red body suddenly turning pale, then rapidly reverting to its original color.
Its eight thick tentacles slammed against the beach, kicking up sand and dust. One tentacle happened to strike the armored vehicle, denting its chassis and sending the nearly ten-ton vehicle sliding two meters away, nearly crushing Ling Xiao.
Ou Zhanpeng sprinted like lightning to escape the onslaught of tentacles.
However, the giant crab, intent on finishing its duel with Ou Zhanpeng, was not so lucky. It was struck squarely on the head by a tentacle.
The enraged giant crab retaliated, clamping its massive claw onto the tentacle and forcing it to break with a powerful shear.
The furious giant squid finally found its outlet. All seven remaining tentacles coiled around the giant crab, ensnaring it tightly and snapping its thick legs one by one.
The giant crab was no pushover either. Its spiny legs dug into the tentacles, getting stuck. It waved its claws futilely, but could no longer find an opportunity for a decisive blow.
The squid and the crab were locked in a stalemate, neither able to overcome the other.
Ou Zhanpeng retreated behind the armored vehicle, his eyes wide with surprise.
Ling Xiao poked his head out and looked. "Why are these things fighting each other?"
"Different species, it's bound to happen," Ou Zhanpeng replied.
Ling Xiao’s face was full of curiosity. "Who do you think will win in the end?"
"Win? Hell!" Ou Zhanpeng swore. "It's best if they both die together!"
If only he had a suitable weapon, he could finish these two behemoths right now.
The machine gun in Ou Zhanpeng's hands felt heavy. He looked down and saw that the unconscious officer had woken up at some point and grabbed the machine gun, his eyes filled with determination.
Ou Zhanpeng reluctantly let go, returning the machine gun.
"What are you doing?" Ling Xiao rebuked him indignantly.
"It's alright, give it back to him," Ou Zhanpeng said. "The machine gun is useless..."
A screech of brakes echoed as several armored vehicles stopped on the road near the beach, forming a sparse defensive line behind them.
By this time, the surviving tourists had fled. The casualties had either been chewed to pieces by the squid or devoured by the giant crab, leaving only dark bloodstains on the sand, and a pungent smell of blood filling the beach.
The warships on the sea, unhindered, unleashed concentrated artillery fire upon the beach. The close-in weapon systems fired a single volley, creating a standard fan pattern on the sand. Any giant crab or squid targeted by the warships had its countdown to death begun.
However, with its hard shell protection, the giant crab ultimately proved more resilient. The number of giant crabs on shore increased, while the squid diminished.
The frigates’ main guns fired again, precisely eliminating the sideways-scuttling generals on the beach, finally curbing the onslaught of the giant sea monsters.
A group of police officers stealthily advanced, rescuing the officer from the vehicle with utmost speed. Ou and Ling also seized the opportunity to withdraw.
Observers in other directions were unable to find any more survivors.
Without the cover of the armored vehicle, and if Ou Zhanpeng hadn't drawn the attention of the crab and the squid, the officer in the vehicle would likely have met a grim fate.
The frigates continued their barrage, but a single warship’s firepower was limited. In just over a minute, the intermittent bursts from the close-in weapon systems exhausted their ammunition.
A short while later, the main cannons also fell silent.
The ships still had eight vertical launch cells, equipped with various missiles for all ranges, but not a single one suited for this kind of situation!
More and more deep-sea leviathans surged onto the beach, their vanguard pressing directly towards the road.