Chapter 1 The Fleet

Over the fleet, about one hundred and fifty more people landed on the Crazy Sand Islands to provide support. With the five combat teams, there were nearly two hundred and fifty people, which already accounted for one-third of the fleet's total force.

Two drones continued to drop flares in the air, providing coordinates for the combat teams in the rear.

Soon, the two combat teams joined forces, unleashing a barrage of fire on the "enemies" on Crazy Breath Island.

"Report battlefield situation!" Colonel Nanfu stood on the deck, his voice deep as he spoke into the communication system.

"Teams three, four, and five are engaged in combat with the enemy. Teams one and two have suffered heavy losses and are slowly withdrawing from the battlefield!" A crackling voice came from the intercom, and the team leader reported the situation, panting heavily.

Colonel Nanfu's face was grim.

Teams one and two were his elite troops, yet they had been defeated in less than ten minutes of encountering the enemy and were being forced to retreat from the battlefield. Just how strong was the enemy's combat power?

To which force did they belong?

"How many enemies are there? Have you captured any prisoners?" Colonel Nanfu continued to ask.

"..." The team leader paused for a long time, panting into the communication system again, before saying, "We can't determine the number of enemies yet, but not all of those we are fighting seem to be human!"

Colonel Nanfu was stunned and asked, "Not all human?"

"That's right! We killed some enemies on the battlefield, but they..." The team leader hesitated, then said, "I'll transmit the photos back using the camera. Sir, you'll understand when you see them for yourself!"

Soon, a photo from the battlefield was transmitted to Colonel Nanfu.

The photo showed the shattered remains of a robot, destroyed by machine gun fire!

"War robots?" Colonel Nanfu stared intently at the robot wreckage in the photo, utterly shocked.

Although there were precedents for researching war robots in the world, due to the instability of core technologies, these robots were far inferior to humans in terms of flexibility and combat capabilities in extreme conditions. Therefore, even the European Union, the world's strongest country, had not produced any proud achievements in war robot research.

The war robots before him, whether in terms of combat power or precision, exceeded the world's known robot technology. This couldn't help but make Colonel Nanfu think of some terrifying things.

Could it be that this group of "enemies" were not like Colonel Nanfu and his men, soldiers of an affiliated country of a powerful nation, but a "trump card secret force" of some powerful country?

...

Qin Yiming rode on the back of an adult-grade combat Mongoose, being carried along at a frantic pace. The night wind was like a knife, mercilessly cutting at his face, making him feel like his whole body was freezing.

And most importantly, it wasn't the cold wind, but the foreign soldiers chasing after them and the two drones in the sky that kept locking onto their position.

The sound of bullets whizzing past came from behind. Qin Yiming felt his scalp tingle and roared at Lu Chi beside him, "I said... how long are we going to run? When will the boss arrive?"

Qin Yiming couldn't understand why his side, who could have concealed themselves from the enemy's reconnaissance, had been deliberately exposed by Li Tianran, attracting the enemy's pursuit...

And until now, Qin Yiming didn't know what Li Tianran's plan was. He was completely in the dark, running for his life.

Less than fifty adult-grade combat Mongooses had arrived at the Crazy Sand Islands with him and Lu Chi. About twenty had been lost in the previous battle. Now that the enemy's forces had increased again, they couldn't resist head-on and could only flee frantically.

"Isn't this just making unnecessary trouble! Wouldn't it be better to get through the night safely and harvest oil tomorrow..." Qin Yiming muttered frantically under his breath, trying to understand Li Tianran's thoughts, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't figure out what Li Tianran was trying to do.

But recalling Li Tianran's previous style, Qin Yiming seemed to have guessed something. He asked in horror, "The boss isn't eyeing the supplies on this fleet, is he? Good heavens! This is a fleet under the European Union. The boss's appetite is too big. If something happens to this fleet here, the European Union will definitely send troops to wipe out the surrounding waters!"

Lu Chi was expressionless. He also felt that Li Tianran's idea was too bold, but he didn't say much and strictly followed Li Tianran's plan.

The roars of the foreign soldiers continued to come from behind. Lu Chi said in a deep voice, "According to the plan, we split up here."

Qin Yiming nodded. The remaining thirty adult-grade combat Mongooses split into two groups. One group followed Qin Yiming and continued to flee, while the other group followed Lu Chi and stopped, finding cover to fight back.

"Armor-piercing rounds!" The foreign soldiers roared, switching to large-caliber weapons. Under the fierce fire, the defense line formed by fifteen adult-grade Mongooses was breached. As the light of a grenade exploded, the boulder shelter where Lu Chi was located was engulfed in flames...

...

"We have broken through the enemy's defense line. A small number of enemies escaped, and we are clearing the battlefield!" The voice of the team leader came from the communication system.

"Have you captured any prisoners?" Colonel Nanfu asked.

"Yes, we have captured a prisoner!" the team leader said.

"Bring him back immediately! I want to question him personally!" Colonel Nanfu issued the order.

At this time, the sounds of war on the Crazy Sand Islands had subsided. Soon, a group of people returned to the fleet with a prisoner.

"Report, this operation resulted in 37 enemies killed! 1 prisoner captured! 108 deaths, 37 seriously injured, and 62 lightly injured in the five combat teams..." The team leader reported the battle damage to Colonel Nanfu, who was standing on the deck, his face full of exhaustion.

Hearing such casualty figures, Colonel Nanfu and Ke Qi both widened their eyes.

In just under thirty minutes of fighting, most of their combat teams had been lost!

"This is the wreckage of the war robot we destroyed." The team leader had people carry up the wreckage of an adult-grade combat Mongoose.

Colonel Nanfu was silent for a long time before saying, "Take this wreckage to the warehouse and store it properly. Its value may be even higher than the island we plundered earlier!"

Then, he turned to look at the prisoner at the front of the group. He looked very young, only about twenty years old, wearing ordinary cotton clothes, covered in dust, with heavy shackles on his hands and feet.

"What's your name? Which organization do you belong to? What are you doing on this island?" Colonel Nanfu took out a pistol, held it against the prisoner's forehead, and asked in a cold voice.

The prisoner raised his head, squinted his eyes, and slowly said, "My name is Lu Chi, I belong to the Special Operations Brigade of the Yanhuang Western Frontier Military Region. You've stirred up a hornet's nest!"