Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!

"What exactly is this thing?"

"We've been seeing these devices everywhere along the way."

"They're even inside the buildings, scattered here and there."

"It's clearly not some communication equipment, but seems quite essential for the city's operation."

"They're the first ones being repaired... there's one that's still not finished here."

"Should we dismantle one and take it along to have a look?"

"Even if you take it apart, do you think you'll understand how it works?"

Lin Yu glanced at the device the Scout was pointing at, a fist-sized apparatus with its complex internal components revealed, something he didn't even recognize, let alone understand.

These things had a fundamental difference from the components in radio devices, with no exposed wires, clearly powered by electricity, yet Lin Yu had no idea how the electricity flowed within the device.

"Forget it."

Lin Yu continued speaking:

"Prepare to enter the tunnel."

"Be careful, stay alert."

"Understood."

The Scout shifted his focus away from the strange equipment and immediately followed closely behind Lin Yu towards the nearby tunnel.

As they got closer to the tunnel, the number of paralyzed autonomous machines increased.

Clearly, all these machines started evacuating underground following the air raid alert but were ultimately too late to retreat fully, resulting in their destruction here after being affected by the blast.

"Mountain City relies on these autonomous machines for operation..."

Looking at the diverse range of machines, the Scout spoke softly:

"The first round of explosions didn't greatly impact this city's repair capabilities; at least we didn't find large-scale damaged autonomous machinery on the ground."

"But the second round was completely different."

"This is just a small portion... the unmanned machines in the entire Light Zone probably couldn't evacuate in time."

"Mountain City's self-repair ability should have greatly decreased."

"Perhaps we have more than just 3 hours left."

"No."

After the Scout finished speaking, Lin Yu shook his head and said:

"A decrease in repair capability doesn't mean the Mountain City's people's reaction time is extended—didn't you forget? After the first nuclear explosion, the people here quickly regained control over the monsters."

"What machines can't do, flesh and blood can."

"So, our enemy might already be prepared."

"Stay alert."

"As soon as you notice anything unusual, return immediately!"

"Understood."

The Scout took a deep breath, regaining focus from his slightly scattered thoughts.

He stared intently at the entrance to the distant tunnel, his pace slowing down a bit.

By now, the sun had risen high.

Even if covered by dense fog, the city was already illuminated by sunlight.

However, the inside of the nearby tunnel remained dark, as if some invisible barrier filtered out the sunlight at the entrance.

"Fog."

Lin Yu spoke softly:

"The fog inside the tunnel is denser than outside; it's like the source of the fog."

"The fog in this entire city spreads from the underground space."

"Can you discern whether the fog is poisonous?"

"I can't tell."

The Scout shook his head and said:

"It just smells like normal water vapor—but it has that distinct smell mixed in."

"I smell it too."

Lin Yu said solemnly:

"Visibility inside is very poor."

"I'll go first, if anything happens, I'll shield you."

"As always, try to survive."

"I have a feeling that Huaxia Army's support is almost here."

"At least one of us needs to survive until they arrive!"

"Understood."

The Scout obediently fell into position behind Lin Yu. The two slowed their pace, entering the tunnel, and as their bodies crossed the entrance threshold, a strong sense of unease suddenly surged.

A dangerous intuition rose in Lin Yu, instinctively halting to survey around, but the dense fog obscured his view, he could only see up to five meters around.

Something's wrong!

"Retreat!"

Lin Yu shouted, issuing a warning.

In the next moment.

The fog beside him swirled, a gust of air pushing it aside, sweeping toward Lin Yu!

Even before the airflow reached him, his chest garments began to ignite; at that moment, Lin Yu immediately realized the attacker was the Mountain City People he'd encountered before.

And they're using weapons they've seen before!

The intense burning sensation caused his muscles to contract instinctively, reacting before his brain could process, his body already taking action.

With a leap, Lin Yu flew backward out of the tunnel.

Beside him, the Scout had swiftly drawn a knife, ready for combat at the side of the entrance.

In the next second, two dark shadows surged out from the tunnel.

The knife glinted, the Scout's blade slashing towards the nearer target!

"Bang!"

A loud collision sounded.

But it wasn't the clang of metal!

It was the muffled impact of steel striking soft armor!

The slash didn't cut through; the Mountain City Person's flexible armor forcefully absorbed the blow!

The Scout's expression changed dramatically, but before he could retreat, the Mountain City Person in front had already responded.

A powerful kick landed directly on his chest, sending the Scout flying backward.

His body traced a parabola, hitting the ground heavily, attempting to stand but stumbling back down.

His ribs were broken.

Not only that, the collapsed chest cavity compressed his rapidly pumping heart, blood circulation hindered, his entire body had lost strength.