Chapter 21

The massive python's corpse lay quietly in the sparse forest near the swamp, and its recent violent and terrifying behavior still lingered in Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao's minds.

Jiang Baimian, seeing that they seemed to be still in a daze, smiled and added:

"I lost not only part of my hearing in that accident, but also my entire left arm."

"No," Long Yuehong subconsciously shook his head, "I mean... is it over? Is the Black Swamp Iron Snake finished?"

He had completely forgotten that he hadn't spoken a few seconds ago and hadn't expressed any thoughts.

He just couldn't help but show his astonishment, finding it hard to accept that the mighty Black Swamp Iron Snake had lost its life in just a few seconds.

Although it was a good thing.

Jiang Baimian glanced at the twisted corpse of the Black Swamp Iron Snake and said with a laugh:

"Didn't I tell you that in all the wilderness and mountains, except for a few rare creatures, the strongest enemy of humans is always other humans? Unfortunately, the Black Swamp Iron Snake is not among those rare creatures.

"In a certain sense, the top predator should be humans."

As she spoke, she suddenly sensed something and turned to look in the direction they had come from.

Thump, thump, thump! A middle-aged man wearing a military exoskeleton, carrying a "Downpour" submachine gun and a light machine gun, led the charge toward the place where gunshots and cries were heard.

Behind him, two heavy motorcycles protected the flanks, and a black off-road vehicle followed at a distance, not intending to participate in the first wave of combat but only to clean up the battlefield.

Ayu, Jishun, and others had great confidence in the military exoskeleton, believing that their leader alone could easily deal with the wounded "Relic Hunter" team and the Black Swamp Iron Snake.

Thump, thump, thump!

The crystal visor of the middle-aged man's metal helmet displayed the scene ahead:

A Black Swamp Iron Snake, more than two ordinary buckets thick, covered in black, heavy scales, and at least fifteen meters long, lay silently by the roadside, surrounded by broken trees and the blood and brains it had flung.

A gray-green four-seat jeep was parked diagonally a few dozen meters away. Two men in gray camouflage uniforms stood outside the right door and by the left side of the trunk, both holding dark assault rifles.

A tall woman with a ponytail, rubbing her left shoulder, stood between the gray-green jeep and the Black Swamp Iron Snake's corpse, closer to the former.

At that moment, the woman had turned to face them.

At the front of the jeep, a slender rifle was mounted, and another woman crouched behind it, adjusting the scope.

Adjusting... The veins on the middle-aged man's forehead throbbed as he instinctively took evasive action.

With the help of the exoskeleton, he instantly leaped up and jumped to the right, covering seven or eight meters.

Bang!

Bai Chen pulled the trigger, and a bullet flew out, passing through the spot where the middle-aged man had been a second ago and hitting a distant tree trunk.

As he dodged, the middle-aged man was both shocked and regretful:

"How are they not injured at all?

"Did the Black Swamp Iron Snake just die like that?

"How did they solve it so quickly, even chatting for a while?

"How did they do it?

"If it weren't for the integrated warning system, I would have been dead just now, unable to react!"

His thoughts racing, the middle-aged man quickly made a decision:

Even if the other side had easily killed the Black Swamp Iron Snake, showing terrifying strength, he had to charge forward and suppress them with firepower.

At this moment, if he turned and ran, he might be fine with the military exoskeleton, but Ayu and Jishun would have no chance of escape!

Moreover, he didn't think that wearing a military exoskeleton made him necessarily stronger than the Black Swamp Iron Snake—his speed and reaction might be better, but his strength and resistance were far inferior.

If the Black Swamp Iron Snake was easily dealt with by the other group, could he, wearing a military exoskeleton, really escape?

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he immediately raised the light machine gun in his hands and fired wildly at the other side.

Rat-tat-tat!

Clumps of dirt flew up, and the gray-green jeep's doors were riddled with bullet holes.

Before Bai Chen fired, the middle-aged man with the exoskeleton had already dodged. Jiang Baimian, who had noticed them first, drew her "Union 202" pistol with her right hand and, muscles tensed, leaped like a cheetah toward the Black Swamp Iron Snake's massive corpse.

Her reaction was partly because she thought it was too late to turn and hide behind the jeep, and partly because she believed a crossfire point was needed for mutual support.

Additionally, the Black Swamp Iron Snake's corpse was far more bulletproof than the jeep.

Unfortunately, the bio-limb's power needed to be accumulated, and using its maximum power once required waiting for a while to use it again. Jiang Baimian could only think of other ways to deal with the enemy.

As Jiang Baimian ran, Shang Jianyao, without first sitting back in the jeep and then getting out from the other side, pressed the car door with one hand, used his waist and abdomen, and kicked off with his knees, leaping over the top of the jeep and landing on Bai Chen's side.

His innate genetic modifications and subsequent rigorous training were evident in his physical prowess.

Bai Chen had just fired, and Shang Jianyao, with bent knees and a crouched back, ran in small steps to her side and hid behind the front of the car.

This was something they had learned in training:

In a gunfight, if you want to use a vehicle as a "wall" to protect yourself, you must choose the front of the car, where various equipment is installed—other parts are easily penetrated by bullets and offer little protection.

So, although Long Yuehong was nervous and a bit slow, he still reacted in time, crouching to Shang Jianyao's right.

Bai Chen, seeing that the target in the exoskeleton was not hit, also quickly pulled back her rifle and crouched down.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

The sound of the machine gun firing made the three of them tense up.

On the other side, Jiang Baimian, before the light machine gun could sweep over, leaped and dived behind a section of the Black Swamp Iron Snake's corpse, lying flat.

Clang, clang, clang!

The outer black scales of the section of the corpse, under continuous impact, finally cracked, but there were still two layers inside.

Even if these two layers could be shattered, the flesh of the Black Swamp Iron Snake had strong deceleration and damage reduction properties. On the other side, there were three more layers of black scales leading to Jiang Baimian's body.

In other words, it was almost impossible to penetrate the Black Swamp Iron Snake's corpse with a light machine gun unless the target could be aimed at a single spot with an endless supply of bullets, and Jiang Baimian couldn't move to change her position.

With the help of the exoskeleton, the middle-aged man, holding the light machine gun, quickly approached the Black Swamp Iron Snake and the gray-green jeep, suppressing Bai Chen, Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, and Jiang Baimian, preventing them from retaliating.

When the gun barrel became severely heated and the not-so-abundant bullets he had prepared and carried on his body were exhausted, the middle-aged man discarded the light machine gun and raised the "Downpour" submachine gun slung over his shoulder with his right hand.

His left arm also lifted, aiming the grenade launcher attached to it forward.

At the same time, the crystal visor of the exoskeleton helmet displayed the "precision aiming system" pattern.

A series of numbers rapidly flashed around the aiming pattern, helping the middle-aged man choose an appropriate trajectory.

As soon as he fired the grenade, the gray-green jeep would be blown to pieces, and Bai Chen, Shang Jianyao, and Long Yuehong, hiding behind the front of the car, would undoubtedly not survive.

However, this would also result in significant damage to the jeep and its contents.

For the wilderness bandits, resources were the ultimate goal of their battles.

After a moment of hesitation, the middle-aged man changed direction, aiming the grenade launcher at Jiang Baimian's position.

He continued to suppress Jiang Baimian with the "Downpour" submachine gun while using the integrated warning system's thermal imaging module to determine her exact position.

During this process, he signaled the two companions on the heavy motorcycles to flank and encircle the jeep, providing fire support to prevent the enemies from interfering with him.

The two bandits, familiar with such situations, understood his intentions without needing to be told and immediately circled around, approaching the front of the jeep from a distance away from the Black Swamp Iron Snake.

Rat-tat-tat!

Their skills were excellent, one hand on the handlebars and the other firing the micro submachine gun, preventing Shang Jianyao, Long Yuehong, and Bai Chen from showing themselves.

When the orange, red, and green image of Jiang Baimian, transmitted through the cold Black Swamp Iron Snake's corpse, finally reached the leader's eyes, a cruel smile appeared on his face, and he began to choose the trajectory for the grenade.

After the Black Swamp Iron Snake fell, even though it was large, its corpse was not high, much lower than the front of the jeep. As long as the shooting distance and the grenade's trajectory were appropriate, it would be difficult for the corpse to provide protection.

PS: Please give me a recommendation!