Chapter 1 The Diary

So, Su Mo picked up the yellowed diary and opened it, astonished by its contents.

"February 7th, the Haifeng Island base is overcast with dark clouds, lightning, and thunder! This heavy rain and wind has been going on for over ten days. It's hard to get our clothes dry without using a special dryer. The weather at sea is getting weirder and weirder."

"February 9th, those damned monsters are climbing up again. What do they want? Why are they always targeting Haifeng Island?"

"February 12th, we repelled those filthy monsters again. Victory ultimately belongs to us."

"February 13th, the commander held a grand celebration banquet for us. I saw Zhang Yu at the banquet; she was as charming as ever. We danced together, and I felt the gloom in my heart completely dissipate."

"February 15th, today is a wonderful day. We spent it together."

"February 26th, a nightmarish day. A large-scale infection broke out in the base. More than half the personnel were infected. The infected people became delirious, started talking nonsense, and gradually lost their minds."

"February 27th, I always heard people talking about despair, but I never really understood it until now. I am truly desperate at this moment. Why is Zhang Yu also infected? Watching her acting crazy, I feel like the whole world is collapsing."

"February 28th, the commander ordered all infected personnel to be gathered in the underground sealed room. He issued a secret order for their elimination, and my name is on the execution list. My heart is trembling..."

"February 29th, I looked at that familiar face, pulled the trigger with tears in my eyes. My duty is to obey orders..."

"March 10th, the infection broke out again..."

.....

"March 14th, the base fell..."

Su Mo continued flipping through the diary, finding the rest of the pages were blank. It seemed to end there. He muttered to himself thoughtfully.

"Another February 26th? Another virus?"

If Su Mo remembered correctly, the Haigang base was also breached by monsters because of internal problems.

Was this island base the same?

Once is a coincidence, twice seems less likely. And normally, the sealing and defense of an island base should be better.

After pondering for a moment, Su Mo couldn't figure it out. Forget it!

His gaze swept across the countless weapons in the warehouse, his expression changing. He raised his hand, preparing to log out of the game to see if he could contact Qian Chengxue and the others offline and have them come and get the weapons.

After all, he couldn't possibly take so many weapons by himself, and it would be a waste to just leave them there.

"Log out!"

Su Mo brought up the log-out interface and clicked it.

But the wristband displayed a prompt: "Log out failed. You are still in combat."

Su Mo was stunned. That shouldn't be! Could there be monsters around?

He warily looked around, but the armory was eerily quiet; there was nothing there.

Su Mo frowned, feeling like something was wrong. He suddenly thought of something and brought up the task log.

Immediately, he saw an inconspicuous prompt.

Prompt: You have entered a thermal radiation attack coverage area and will accumulate radiation damage.

Su Mo looked at the time stamp of the prompt; not surprisingly, it was the time he landed on the island. The radiation damage must have been limited, and his mechanical armor further reduced the damage, so he didn't feel particularly uncomfortable.

In that case, only leaving the island is the safe zone. And the reason Zhou Qian was able to get intelligence when she logged off was probably from the mouths of fallen teammates.

Su Mo looked back at the four second-generation mechas and the rows of first-generation mechas, countless tanks, fighter planes...

He felt a pang of regret. But he quickly let it go. Things you can't take away have no value, nothing to dwell on.

So, Su Mo picked up the black manual and the key, and took the four sets of mechanical armor and the Tide mechanical armor he had taken off.

He went straight to the mecha, found the hidden emergency socket on the chest, and inserted and turned the key.

Click!

The cockpit opened in response. Su Mo threw the five sets of mechanical armor inside, making the already cramped cockpit even more crowded.

Then he jumped in, sat in the pilot's seat, and picked up the manual to read.

Model type: MD-01 Type II Heavy Armor (Modified) · Black Steel Messenger.

Manufacturer: Black Steel Industries.

Affiliation: Dragon Country.

First deployment: M.E. 78.

Technical Parameters

Internal environment: Standard cockpit.

Overall height: 15 meters.

Weight: 150 tons.

Armor material and structure: Enhanced composite metal.

Paint: Ink black.

Waterproof rating: B (Rating division S, A, B, C, D, E.)

Powerplant: Three mC-01 Enhanced High-Energy Engines.

Operating system: Dragon System Version 2.5.

Fixed electronic equipment: MT-02 Light and Shadow Scanning Device, 78-hour circulating air system.

Backup equipment: Dual emergency escape devices.

Fixed armament: TL-02 Type 50mm Concealed Shoulder Beam Cannon, K03 Type 38mm Concealed Integrated Close-Defense Rifle (hidden in the left arm), KC-02 Type Burst Heavy Missiles *4 on the abdomen, Enhanced Alloy Chain Gun *1, Alloy Spike Destroyer Fists *2.

Auxiliary equipment: Four sets of FG-02 Type Rear-Mounted High-Power Vector Auxiliary Jet Devices.

Selected hand weapons: Universal

.......

Su Mo's eyelids were twitching as he looked at the data.

This was an advanced version of a modified second-generation mecha, weighing three times as much as the Azure mecha, and equipped with not just an improved model of the internal engine, but also an additional one.

In addition, the defensive performance of this mecha was also greatly improved. It was a giant steel beast.

This mecha excelled in close combat. Even if it lost its main weapon, the chain gun, its hands were specially treated, with sharp metal spikes installed on the back of the hands. Clenching its fists was like wearing Destroyer gauntlets, making its punches extremely lethal.

As Su Mo was engrossed in reading, he heard the roars of monsters and the sounds of gunfire in the distance.

He immediately came back to his senses. Someone was fighting monsters.

Su Mo took a deep breath and started up the Black Steel Messenger.

Click!

The massive mecha moved, and the floor shook slightly with each step.

At this time, in a spacious corridor, a group of Sky Dragon Guild players wearing uniform attire and holding QBz-171 rifles desperately protected a tall, elegant woman with clear eyes. They frantically fired at the approaching Hei Yuan beasts, shouting hoarsely.

"Protect! Lady Lin Yue!"

However, reality was cruel. One Hei Yuan beast after another charged forward through the rain of bullets.

Players were knocked down, their necks bitten through by sharp fangs, emitting painful screams.

"Ah~~"

Lin Yue continuously fired her automatic pistol at the Hei Yuan beasts attacking her companions.

Bang, bang!

Unfortunately, the effect was minimal. It was basically useless.