Infinity, The Arcade Age

To be honest, Qin Ming was utterly bewildered by the current situation.

Just a moment ago, he had planned everything with Kasamoto Eri. The plan was simple: Kasamoto Eri would follow the protagonist group on their missions to reap benefits from their side, while he would stay back at the camp, leading the rank-and-file soldiers on hunts to capitalize on opportunities in their area. They would act separately to maximize their gains.

Yet, not long after splitting up, before he could even start his hunting activities, their camp was raided!

And what the hell was that thing in the sky? This was the Metal Slug world, wasn't it? Where on earth did such a massive, ancient Japanese warship come from?

And those samurai mechas—what were they even doing here? The art style was all wrong! Were these really part of the Metal Slug world?

Although Qin Ming was initially dumbfounded by the sudden attack, he quickly snapped out of it.

Since their camp was located near the outskirts and not at the core of the military base, the enemy's ambush hadn't affected him directly. Without hesitation, he rallied his hunting dog unit and charged onto the battlefield, determined to take down the bizarre monstrosity in the sky.

On his way, he noticed a large group of enemies assaulting the air defense bunker and decided to lend a hand.

After all, even though he didn't get along with Collins—the camp's nominal commander—or with that higher-ranking officer, Feio's father, he couldn't just stand by and let them die, could he?

The main issue was that if those two got killed, the regular army would definitely send other officers to take over the camp.

Those two fools, while annoying, were still manageable. Qin Ming didn't want to risk dealing with their replacement, who might turn out to be much harder to handle.

If he ended up with some reckless hothead who wouldn't stop until they butted heads with him, he'd have no choice but to figure out how to take them down. And that would just be a huge hassle.

So, Qin Ming decided to drop by and provide some support. He quickly smashed the samurai mechas blocking the bunker entrance and turned to see Jemiphus, who was looking at him with a stunned expression. Qin Ming raised an eyebrow at the old man.

"Alright, the crisis is resolved. Go find somewhere else to hide. Leave the rest to my people."

With that, Qin Ming waved his hand dismissively, signaling his troops to turn around and leave.

But before he could get far, Jemiphus, who had just recovered from his shock, ran over.

"Wait! If you want to defeat the enemy, your troops alone won't be enough! You must take control of the air defense units!"

"Air defense units?"

"That's right!"

"Air defense my ass! They got wiped out the moment the attack started! They didn't even get off a single shot! They're already gone!"

"What?!"

"Old man, just stay out of this. It has nothing to do with you. That floating target in the sky—we can handle it ourselves."

Waving his hand again, Qin Ming led his troops toward the exit.

But before his forces could even reach the door, Jemiphus, a man in his fifties or sixties, suddenly jogged up and jumped onto a Metal Slug tank. To Qin Ming's astonishment, the old man clung to the side of the vehicle.

"Take me with you!"

"What?"

"My personal guards are elite soldiers! Bring us along! If we can take down that warship in the sky, all will be well! If you can't take it down, we'll just be sitting here waiting to die! I've never been the kind of man to leave my life in someone else's hands! Hand me a weapon!"

Seeing the stubborn expression on Jemiphus's face, Qin Ming sighed and shrugged. He gestured toward his deputy officer, Beta.

"Beta! Give them some weapons!"

Hearing the order, Beta nodded and quickly retrieved some weapons from the vehicle, tossing them over to Jemiphus and his men.

Jemiphus caught a submachine gun and carefully examined it. After pulling the bolt back with a click, his face suddenly lit up with shock.

"This is some fine equipment! It's almost on par with the elite special forces' weapons! Where the hell did you get this stuff? Isn't this supposed to be restricted military gear?"

"Who cares where we got it from? Just use it and quit with the questions!"

Manning the heavy machine gun once again, Qin Ming followed the tanks as they burst out of the bunker.

As daylight began to break, the situation on the battlefield finally came into view.

Sitting atop a tank with a submachine gun in hand, Jemiphus's eyes widened, and his jaw slowly dropped in shock.

Because the camp had devolved into a chaotic, ferocious battle.

Tanks and armored vehicles zipped across the battlefield at high speed. Above them, machine gunners perched on top of vehicles fired their weapons wildly, mowing down the samurai mechas swarming in from all directions.

Explosions ripped through the battlefield as countless mechas were blown apart, scattering broken pieces of armor and machinery everywhere.

From behind various makeshift barricades and fortified buildings, a group of soldiers had set up heavy weapons, unleashing a barrage of firepower that blanketed both the ground and the sky.

The soldiers manning the heavy machine guns roared with fury as they poured bullets into the massive warship floating above them. The endless stream of gunfire struck the underside of the vessel, leaving behind rows of bullet holes etched into its hull.

Most notably, a squadron of fighter jets was streaking across the sky, their engines roaring as they danced through the aerial battlefield like hunting hawks. These jets weaved in and out of the swarming enemy combat mechas, destroying them one by one with precise, deadly efficiency.

The Hunting Dog Tank Division, Hunting Dog Infantry Division, and Hunting Dog Aerial Division were all in full force.

Four thousand troops in total had stormed into the camp, unleashing an unstoppable wave of ferocity that overwhelmed the suddenly descending samurai mechas.

After all, these mass-produced samurai mechas were little more than disposable automatons of basic white-tier quality. The higher-end models were green-tier at best.

Meanwhile, Qin Ming's forces? Their rifles were blue-tier. Their uniforms were blue-tier. Even their helmets were blue-tier.

If underpants could count as equipment, Qin Ming would probably have upgraded those to blue-tier too!

And beyond their standard weapons, they boasted silver-tier machine guns and rocket launchers, along with blue-tier and silver-tier tanks and armored vehicles.

Thanks to a recent large-scale military expansion, Qin Ming had even acquired over a dozen blue-tier or higher fighter jets, which were now in action under the command of his deputy and ace pilot, Shuke.

With an army decked out in gear this luxurious, if those mass-produced samurai mechas could somehow manage to win, it'd have to be the work of ghosts!

One tank charged forward like an unstoppable juggernaut, ramming into and launching several mechas into the air, firing its cannon as it barreled through enemy lines.

Meanwhile, the rest of the battlefield was littered with enemy mechas that had been shattered to pieces by the overwhelming firepower. They didn't stand a chance against Qin Ming's forces.

Sitting atop one of the tanks, Jamie Fox was utterly stunned. His jaw dropped as he witnessed the chaos around him.

When he saw his tank plow into a group of enemies, he quickly raised his submachine gun and began firing wildly at the approaching samurai mechas.

Sparks erupted as his bullets shredded the mechas. Before they could even get close, they were riddled with holes and collapsed to the ground.

After emptying his magazine, Jamie Fox casually slung the submachine gun over his shoulder. Without hesitation, he jumped into the tank, yanked the driver out of the seat, and plopped himself down in the driver's position.

"What the hell kind of driving is this? Move over! Let me handle it!"

With a deafening roar, the Metal Slug tank—now under Jamie Fox's control—charged forward. It bounced and ricocheted across the battlefield like a possessed beast, dodging incoming fire while unleashing its own fury on the surrounding enemies.

At that moment, the Metal Slug tank seemed to come alive, moving with a mind of its own, a perfect blend of destruction and chaos.

Name: Jamie Fox (Metal Slug 1)

Strength: 15

Constitution: 15

Agility: 25

Spirit: 10

Skills:

Firearms Mastery (B-tier)

Combat Mastery (B-tier)

Weaponry Mastery (B-tier)

Vehicle Mastery (A-tier)

Description: One of the five great generals of the Regular Army! The current head of an Italian military family and a legendary figure who rose through the ranks from soldier to general. Commander of the Tank Corps. Military nickname: Metal Chariot!

(End of Chapter)