"The defense of this US base is too weak. Your Patriot air defense cannons, which are said to be able to stop even aliens, are surprisingly fragile!"
Just then, a messenger ran in, flustered. "Commander, this is bad! Jing Mingqiu has descended from the sky with a group of people. Relying on their mechs, they're forcefully dismantling our air defense weapons under heavy fire. A large portion has already been taken down!"
"Don't panic, it's just an aerial raid!" William Ster wasn't flustered at all, showing an expression of having anticipated this. "The same move, used a second time? That's underestimating American technology too much."
"Adjutant, you continue with your duties. While China and Afghanistan are distracted by us, you immediately take our mechs to raid the Afghan capital and see what tricks they're up to."
"As for this attack," William Ster turned his head to look at an old white man in a white research coat, his tone laced with respect.
"Professor Smart, I'll leave the next part to you. This time, we must capture all of China's mechs!"
"Rest assured," Professor Smart chuckled. "I've already set up an inescapable net. As long as China dares to send any more unmanned mechs, I guarantee I'll capture them all, intact."
"Hum..."
As Professor Smart pressed the button, four machines hidden at the edges of the US base simultaneously activated. With a low hum, an electromagnetic barrier enveloped the entire base, blocking all external and internal signal communication.
Inside an underground tunnel not far from the US base, Jing Mingqiu, who was controlling unmanned mechs to attract the attention of the US military, suddenly lost the signal from his drones. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly entered self-diagnostic mode to check for any issues.
At the same time, William Ster and his team watched as the dozen or so unmanned mechs rampaging inside the US base suddenly froze in place. Their eyes lit up instantly.
"Professor Smart, you're amazing! You've handled such powerful mechs with just one move."
"Now is not the time to talk about this," Professor Smart stared intently at Jing Mingqiu's modified unmanned mechs.
"Hurry and transport all those mechs to the laboratory. I want to personally dissect them and see how they managed to equip mechs that are only slightly taller than a person with the power of heavy tanks, and achieve such terrifying endurance!"
"What are you standing around for?" William Ster kicked a soldier nearby. "Get over there and get to work! Transport all those mechs to Professor Smart's laboratory."
"Yes, sir."
The US soldier, an innocent bystander who had just been kicked by his superior, dared not speak out. He could only suppress his fear and cautiously approach the mechs.
He had only taken a few steps when more than ten missiles suddenly rained down from the sky, turning his comrades in front of him into minced meat. He was greatly startled, scrambling backward while looking in the direction from which the missiles had come.
He spotted a black mech, around which a silver dragon was circling, which had somehow arrived directly above the US base.
This mech was none other than Jing Mingqiu.
After discovering the signal jammer, he decided to personally intervene to divert the US military's attention and prevent them from discovering the underground tunnel that was about to reach directly beneath the US base.
"Heh heh," Jing Mingqiu, piloting the silver dragon mech, flew to hover above William Ster. He looked down at them condescendingly. "Did you really think you could win with a mere signal jammer?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the dozen or so unmanned mechs that had stopped moving suddenly had their eyes light up. Then, they simultaneously activated their weapons and launched an attack on the surrounding US soldiers.
Facing mechs that were impervious to bullets, the US soldiers were quickly overwhelmed and cried out in agony.
But this was far from enough. To attract everyone's attention, Jing Mingqiu intended to escalate the situation. He raised his voice and taunted loudly.
"Is that all you've got? America calls itself the world police! With this little skill, you should pack up and leave, don't embarrass yourselves here!"
William Ster, upon hearing Jing Mingqiu's taunts, didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled. "Professor Jing, it's exactly as the psychologists predicted. After your plan was thwarted, you indeed chose to act yourself!"
"Since you're here, stay! We'll treat you well! Everyone, listen to my orders! Electronic jamming munitions, full power launch!"
Following William Ster's command, countless electronic jamming munitions, dense as mosquitoes, rained down towards Jing Mingqiu's location.
These included devices that used electromagnetic pulses to interfere with signals, those that caused short circuits by launching large amounts of graphite fibers, and those that sprayed special chemical substances.
Not knowing which method would be effective against China's new type of mech, America, relying on its vast wealth, decided to try them all.
As long as China's mechs hadn't completely broken free from the realm of modern physics, one of these methods was bound to work.
"Plop! Plop!"
As the US scientists predicted, with the successful detonation of a massive number of electronic jamming munitions, except for Jing Mingqiu's mech, the other unmanned mechs had their red lights extinguished once more, falling one after another.
"Professor Jing, surrender!" William Ster, looking at the disabled unmanned warships scattered on the ground, couldn't help but laugh wildly. "As long as you're willing to abandon your weapons, surrender, and join our great America."
"I guarantee you the most generous treatment! Mansions, villas, beautiful women. You'll live even more comfortably and luxuriously than in China."
Jing Mingqiu's disdainful voice came from within the mech. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. It's just a few mass-produced standard mechs. What's there to be proud of? If you want me to surrender, you'll have to shoot me down from the sky first!"
"Professor Jing, you're still too young. You know nothing about the power of the United States." William Ster, without getting angry, retorted with a smile before walking up to Smart.
"Professor Smart, I'll leave the rest to you. I need to return to command and prevent them from pulling any more feints!"
Professor Smart took off his white research coat, revealing a gleaming mechanical battle armor.
"Don't worry, I'm very interested in this genius scientist whom China has been hyping up so much. I will definitely keep him here and have a good discussion about who is the true father of modern mechs!"
"If you want to keep me, you'll have to show me you have the ability!" Seeing William Ster about to escape, Jing Mingqiu stopped holding back. He flipped his wrist and fired a string of missiles.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The missiles fired by Jing Mingqiu were blocked by Smart with his own body.
Then, fire erupted from his feet, and he shot into the sky, charging towards Jing Mingqiu.
"Professor Jing, your opponent is me!"
Seeing William Ster retreating further, Jing Mingqiu didn't want to waste any more time on Smart. He met the charge head-on, kicked him in the chest, preparing to disable him directly.
However, what happened next exceeded Jing Mingqiu's expectations.
The guy named Smart took the kick head-on, not only remaining unharmed but also seizing his calf in reverse. With his other hand, he held a high-molecular vibrating dagger, preparing to forcibly detach his leg.
At this critical juncture, Cang Yue's anxious voice suddenly echoed in Jing Mingqiu's ear, "Brother..."