Chapter 68

The night passed quickly, but the dawn's light did not bring any relief to the three cleaners. Instead, they felt even more passive as the armed helicopter flew over their heads again. This time, besides dropping pursuers at the coordinates reported by the system, the helicopter did not leave but began searching above the jungle.

"How many of these are there? It's just a base for terrorist activities, how can there be so many armed helicopters?" Tao Huayan spat, glaring at the armed helicopter roaring overhead, "If only we had rocket launchers, I'd take you down for sure."

"Alright, let's go! Leave. The minefield should help us block them for a while, but this big guy overhead is a bit of a problem." After setting up the mines with Kantu, Cleaner patted Tao Huayan's shoulder to get him up. The three of them crouched in ambush, waiting for the pursuers to arrive.

The enemy's intelligence was not low, so they also deployed soldiers to intercept the three cleaners in the direction they were heading. Therefore, Cleaner had to keep changing his route by constantly attacking and retreating, pulling the enemy's encirclement apart to find a gap to break through. So, throughout the night, Cleaner kept changing direction.

This time, they were ambushing the pursuers and then attacking back, turning the enemy blocking their path into pursuers from behind, making them all move. This way, Cleaner had a chance to lead Kantu and Tao Huayan through the encirclement and back to the border.

"Fortunately, there are no military dogs. Their noses are too sharp." Kantu said with a lingering fear. The pursuers and the three cleaners' visibility were affected to varying degrees during the night, but the military dogs were exceptionally active, chasing them to the point of embarrassment.

"Take out this group of pursuers, we'll outflank them and come back. Then we can get behind the enemy blocking our path and bypass them. When we eliminate the pursuers, act quickly and try to pick up ammunition and leave as soon as possible." Cleaner checked his submachine gun and took off the safety.

The submachine gun was picked up from a dead enemy. It wasn't something that dropped when the enemy was killed, but rather a piece of equipment that always dropped as a spoil of war and couldn't be stored in the mechanical space. However, it had no class restrictions, making it very convenient. Tao Huayan also had one in his hands.

"The pursuers should be here in about five minutes, and the system will report our position in 20 minutes. Try to resolve the fight within 15 minutes. You two stay here and watch, I'll hide on the other side." After checking his weapon, Cleaner said to Kantu and Tao Huayan, then leaped into the jungle and quickly disappeared from their sight.

"Do you know what the captain does? It feels like the jungle is his home. He's like a fish in water once he's in the jungle," Kantu, holding a sniper rifle, glanced at the distance, saw no enemies, and turned to Tao Huayan.

Although it was just a night of chasing in the game, which only took less than six hours in real life, the fatigue of the night made both Kantu and Tao Huayan's eyes bloodshot. However, despite Kantu's still immature combat skills, he had started to transform through the battles.

"He's a war maniac. It's just a decapitation mission. What if we fail? We could just be killed and it would be over. But he's leading us to play guerrilla warfare in the jungle, making the enemy's hatred rise, and they're chasing us like mad dogs." Tao Huayan complained.

However, the complaints were just venting. Tao Huayan deeply agreed with Cleaner's seemingly meaningless persistence. After all, one should never give up easily, a trait of successful people. With his top-notch computer skills, Tao Huayan understood the logic behind Cleaner's persistence.

"I think this is quite interesting. Being chased by a group of enemies is more exciting than killing monsters." Although tired, Kantu's nerves were still very active, and he remained as excited as when they started.

"You're as crazy as him. Sooner or later, you'll all become war maniacs. 100 people? Do we really need such a big fuss for just three of us?" Tao Huayan muttered, his fingers tapping away at the computer. Seeing a new radio command he had intercepted, Tao Huayan was speechless.

The reason Cleaner could play guerrilla warfare in the jungle and pull the entire encirclement apart was largely due to Tao Huayan. After all, in a simulated real-world war, the enemy teams would definitely communicate. This gave Tao Huayan the opportunity to intercept their communications.

Although the communications were in radio codes, some of which were very old, Tao Huayan sometimes found it challenging. But with Cleaner, a veteran soldier, any military radio code was no problem. Thus, with this insight into the enemy's troop deployment, the three of them could move freely in the jungle.

"The pursuers are here. Kantu, see those mutants at the front of the group? Take them out first. These mutants have much better senses and eyesight than normal people, making it easier for them to spot the mines and tripwires." Soon, Cleaner, hiding on the other side of the ambush, sent a message.

Kantu locked onto a mutant and pulled the trigger. The mutant's heart was pierced. Although Kantu preferred headshots, he didn't have Cleaner's skill, so he followed Cleaner's instructions and aimed for the larger target, the heart.

Kantu's action exposed his position, and a group of pursuers rushed towards him. Some mech warriors began deploying their mechs and charging through the jungle.

Boom, boom... Explosions rang out. After discovering the enemy, the mutants didn't charge directly but retreated, letting the mech warriors move forward. The mech warriors, like suicide squads, charged forward in their mechs, clearing the mines.

If a mechanic or a psychic stepped on a mine, they would be instantly killed. Human flesh and blood couldn't withstand these metal weapons. Even a mutant with enhanced physical abilities would be severely injured or half-dead if they stepped on a mine.

However, the mech warriors were different. Hidden in their thick metal shells, they were fearless. The bulky mechs, like rhinos, cleared a safe path for their team. However, the cost was evident; many mechs had their legs blown off after passing through the minefield. Although the mech warriors could still charge forward with their guns, their combat effectiveness was significantly reduced.

Rat-tat-tat, rat-tat-tat... As the pursuers rushed towards Kantu, flustered by the mines, Cleaner charged from the side. The unprepared psychics at the back of the group were hit by Cleaner's bullets before they could release their psychic weapons.

Bang! After emptying a few clips, Cleaner discarded his submachine gun and jumped into a mech. Then, he operated the wolf mech and charged at the mutants who had rushed forward first.

Jump, knee strike! The mutant, enveloped in a golden glow, was directly knocked flying by Cleaner. Cleaner didn't stop, extending his large wolf claws to grab the mutant's ankle and slam it into the ground.

Mutants' upgraded abilities were diverse. For example, the strongman in the violent squad had the ability of immense strength, which fully awakened when he became a sergeant. He could carry a 5-ton mech and, in close combat, was almost a human combat machine, though not as powerful or well-defended as a mech warrior. Mutants were also incredibly fast, and even in close combat with mech warriors, they required extreme caution.

For instance, the mutant Cleaner grabbed by the ankle and slammed to the ground had the ability of metal, which greatly enhanced its defense and offense. Despite being slammed hard, the mutant's metallic sheen dimmed, and it spat blood from the intense shock. However, it managed to twist free from the wolf mech's claws and tried to get up to continue fighting.

The brute force of a mech was immense. If a gunner or another class were grabbed by the ankle and slammed to the ground, they would be reduced to a pile of flesh. However, the mutant, though injured, still tried to get up and continue fighting. The awakened ability after the upgrade significantly increased the mutant's combat power.

Bang! As the mutant tried to stand up, Cleaner, operating the mech, lunged forward and stepped on the mutant's chest. The mutant's chest caved in, and a gush of blood spurted from its mouth as it lost consciousness.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Another mech charged towards Cleaner. After taking out the mutant, Cleaner turned and charged without hesitation. The wolf mech was much faster and, under Cleaner's control, moved as nimbly as a real wolf.

The wolf mech crouched to dodge the punch from the opposing mech, then swept its leg, knocking the opposing mech to the ground. After the sweep, the wolf mech leaped up. As the fallen mech tried to stand, the wolf mech's knee slammed into the cockpit.

The cockpit of the fallen mech caved in, and blood seeped through the cracks. The wolf mech, with blood and flesh on its knee, pounced on the next enemy. The squad pursuing the three cleaners was the vanguard of the pursuers, consisting of about 20 people. The battle ended quickly, and Cleaner, slightly out of breath, jumped out of the mech.

It had been 12 hours since the mission started, a day and a night in the game. During these 12 hours, Cleaner was almost constantly in battle, with no rest from the pursuers or mutated beasts.

"Three minutes left. Pick up all the bullets and grenades. Take only a little food and supplies; we have many pursuers behind us who don't lack food. Take more weapons and ammunition." While instructing Tao Huayan and Kantu to clean up the battlefield, Cleaner walked to a mech he had taken out, opened the energy box, and used a tube to transfer the energy from the fallen mech to his wolf mech.

The constant battles had consumed a lot of the mech's energy. Without the occasional energy stones, the wolf mech couldn't be used at any time. The chance of an enemy dropping a full energy tank was low, so Cleaner needed to replenish energy from defeated mechs after the battle.

"Here they come, let's go." The battlefield wasn't fully cleaned, and the items dropped by the enemies hadn't been fully collected. The system reported their position again, and Tao Huayan intercepted a command for the enemy to deploy an armed helicopter, shouting to Cleaner. They couldn't afford to pick up everything and immediately left.

It took about 10 minutes for the armed helicopter to deploy and drop pursuers at the reported coordinates. The three of them had to leave during this time gap because, when the enemy airdropped pursuers, the enemies blocking Cleaner's path would also move. If they were caught, it would be hard to break free again. After all, the system reported their position every half hour, and countless pursuers would be airdropped until all three were dead.