Invincible through Touching Corpses

If they were insignificant parts, they could just toss them aside when they ran into danger.

But the situation was completely different now. They were now carrying truly important components, and if they abandoned the mission at the first sign of danger, the resulting losses for the Shelter would be immense.

After all, the Shelter had begun its expansion half a year ago for the sole purpose of installing this Geothermal Energy Extractor, a project that had consumed an immense amount of manpower and resources.

"What should we do?" Song Yao swallowed, his voice strained.

The pressure on his shoulders felt immense. His biggest regret now was opening these metal crates to take a look; otherwise, he wouldn’t feel such a mental burden if they had to abandon these items when danger struck.

"Don’t overthink it. Just stick to the original plan," Lin Xinghai, who had been watching from the side, finally spoke up.

"What if we encounter a force we can’t possibly fight against?" Song Yao repeated his earlier question, only this time asking in greater detail.

"Didn’t I just tell you? Stick to the original plan. If we run into danger, ditch these important components immediately. Your safety is what matters most," Lin Xinghai repeated.

"This..." Song Yao and Qin Wenbo were both dumbfounded.

"Those weren’t my words. They were Elder Wei’s," Lin Xinghai said. "We’re just worrying for nothing. Since Elder Wei made these arrangements, he must have his own plan." After he spoke, he turned and headed back without waiting for their reaction.

Song Yao and Qin Wenbo, left standing there, exchanged a look. But they had to admit they really were worrying over nothing.

Soon, the precision instruments were resealed and loaded onto the Armored Vehicles. The convoy then officially began its return journey.

...

Lin Xinghai’s group had a smooth journey back, at least for the first half. But the other two Mercenary Corps were not so lucky.

They too were being tailed by agents from the Morgan Conglomerate, and they hadn’t been able to shake them off.

So, when they collected the mission items and started their return trip, they were ambushed.

Of course, the force sent by the Morgan Conglomerate wasn’t large, and the strength of a team from a Third Level Mercenary Corps was not to be underestimated. They immediately counter-attacked, even sending the Morgan Conglomerate’s men running.

But the Morgan Conglomerate also knew their forces were completely mismatched, so from the start, they had no intention of launching a direct assault. They merely harassed them with gunfire from a distance.

The moment the Mercenaries began to counter-attack, they would decisively retreat.

But they never went far, employing guerrilla tactics: advancing when the Mercenaries fell back, and retreating when they pushed forward.

Of course, in this day and age, such tactics were no longer effective for surprise attacks, but they were perfect for sticking to an enemy and slowing their progress.

The Morgan Conglomerate never fought alone. If the Mercenaries couldn’t shake off their pursuers, there was only one possible outcome: they would eventually be intercepted and cornered by the Conglomerate’s reinforcements.

After several failed attempts to break through, the other two mercenary teams realized the gravity of their situation. They ultimately abandoned the mission objectives and fled.

In addition to the fighting involving the other two mercenary teams, gunfire also erupted on the main battlefield.

To conceal the repair work on the Geothermal Energy Extractor, Star Shield Shelter had hidden the device in a secret base outside the Shelter’s walls after acquiring it.

The secret base had been kept well-hidden, remaining undetected by the Morgan Conglomerate.

However, the Geothermal Energy Extractor was enormous. When laid out, it could cover several acres. Secretly transporting it back was obviously impossible; their only option was to dispatch a large military force to escort it.

Under these circumstances, it was of course impossible to evade the Morgan Conglomerate’s spies.

To ensure its safe return, Star Shield Shelter had dispatched three entire mechanized infantry regiments, a force of over 5,000 soldiers.

But the Morgan Conglomerate was not to be underestimated. By drawing personnel from other Shelters, they had amassed an armed force of 3,000.

Although they were slightly outnumbered, their objective wasn’t to fight the army—it was simply to destroy the Geothermal Energy Extractor.

Thus, even though the Star Shield Shelter’s army had a slight advantage, they were forced to fight with their hands tied. It was clearly impossible for the battle on the main front to be decided quickly.

Lin Xinghai and his group, however, were completely unaware of all this.

However, as they drew closer to Star Shield Shelter, they began to see massive craters dotting the landscape. Occasionally, they could even hear a faint booming sound carried from far away.

The explosions sounded faint, but for the sound to carry over tens of kilometers, their power had to be immense. It was the kind of blast that could only be produced by a terrifying weapon far more powerful than a man-portable missile.

"Report, enemy spotted ahead." As the convoy entered a stretch of barren hills, the mercenary on watch reported.

Everyone tensed upon hearing the report.

"How many are there? What’s their distance?" Song Yao asked first.

"Five kilometers out. So far, I’ve only spotted one off-road vehicle with five people... No, wait, another one just pulled up. That makes ten." The scout reported, simultaneously uploading the data from his sensor radar.

Lin Xinghai and the others quickly saw the data on their Mecha.

"They don’t seem to have spotted us yet. Can we try to go around them?" Song Yao suggested.

"The terrain here won’t allow it." Lin Xinghai shook his head. "This is a mountainous region. Before the apocalypse, you would have seen towering mountains and steep ridges here."

"But since the cataclysm, all the trees have died. Even some of the steeper peaks have been worn down, turning the original mountain range into little more than hills. Still, driving through this kind of terrain is extremely difficult."

"Of course, the difficult terrain wasn’t my main objection," Lin Xinghai explained. "To intercept us, they’ve likely cast a wide net in this direction. There’s no telling how far we’d have to detour to get around it."

"If the enemy spots us mid-detour, our convoy will be moving so slowly in this terrain that we’d be sitting ducks."

Song Yao wasn’t annoyed that his idea was shot down. Instead, he asked, "Then what’s your suggestion? Do we just try to break through?"

"There’s no need to rush a decision," Lin Xinghai said calmly. "We haven’t seen their main force yet. Let’s keep moving forward, but slow our pace. First, we’ll see how big their main force is, and then we’ll decide whether to attack or abandon the mission."

Hearing Lin Xinghai speak so casually about abandoning the mission made both Song Yao and Qin Wenbo cringe. They wondered what Wei Tianxing himself would think if he heard it.