Sky-cracking Rider

The firepower on the rebel side rapidly weakened as the recently engaged ground and air combat units began to retreat.

Various signs indicated that the rebels had orchestrated a highly unusual attack.

"Prepare for impact! Prepare for impact!"

Many immediately sealed their tactical helmets, most of them wearing single-soldier tactical armor, which ensured a certain period of enclosed breathing function, preventing inhalation of chemical gases and particles contaminated with nuclear radiation.

Those with incomplete protection rushed toward the nearest tunnels or bunkers to take cover.

Even without a protective barrier, the defensive fortifications guarding the Dimensional Gate were still impeccably designed and could withstand a nearby nuclear strike.

An ear-piercing alarm sounded at all positions, as everyone braced for what was to come.

This was the last line of defense for guarding the Dimensional Gate; there was nowhere left to retreat.

"Damn! 'Adam' switched to dragon form!"

Chen Fei pressed his hand against the floating mega cannon; taking hits passively was not his style.

Even if he had to take hits, he would do so by dragging others with him.

"Rookie, what are you doing? Stay where you are!"

An inquiry came from the Defense Command Center of the Dimensional Gate Management Substation, with a designated person responsible for communicating with him.

"Of course I'm assisting in defending against the impact!"

Chen Fei settled into the cockpit of the mechanical dragon, grimacing as a wave of stinging pain swept over him.

Barely recovered from serious injuries, his vital energy not yet restored, his body was far from its prime condition, still suffering various aftereffects that were intensely frustrating.

He thought for a moment, then took out the magic potion given to him by the Defense Commander, held it in his hand, hesitated slightly, but still firmly twisted off the cap and poured it into his mouth, tipping his head back and drinking it all.

At this critical moment, Chen Fei wasn't about to put money before his life.

In the heat of battle, it's uncertain if one could even leave behind an intact corpse.

If something untoward happened, it would only benefit some quick-handed rebel; better to take a swig of a magic potion worth tens of millions of Star Yuan himself and ensure it couldn't be taken by anyone else after it hit his stomach.

Just as he started to taste it, Chen Xiao'er immediately regretted it, the bitterness almost twisting him inside out.

"Forgot to add sugar!"

The next second, his eyes bulged wide.

...

A wretched scream erupted from within the chest cavity of the mechanical dragon.

Chen Xiao'er clearly underestimated the side effects of the emergency magic potion.

The mechanical dragon, heading for the edge of the protective barrier, wobbled like a drunk.

The artificial intelligence AI "Adam" didn't know the specifics of the potion's side effects, but it suddenly found that its near-infinite computational resources were no longer sufficient.

Every one of the 206 bones and 639 muscles in his body ached to the core of his soul, as if his body was no longer his own, a pain that might just kill your Second Uncle!!!

Sweet magic potions should not only act fast; they should also be gentle in power, without side effects... That's wishful thinking!

Who knows if the Pharmacist who concocted the potion might slap you with eighty-eight big ones; you're lucky to be alive, yet you dare to entertain such useless thoughts.

"Rookie, Rookie, Rookie, what's happening to you?"

Even without hearing the weird cries and howls over the comm channel, one could see that the mechanical dragon's movements were clearly abnormal.

"Stop calling, it's the side effects of the magic potion, wait a while."

The Defense Commander stopped the communication officer's further calls.

Colonel Sir could guess that Chen Fei chose to drink that magic potion.

Because the side effects were truly horrendous, it took considerable courage to imbibe it.

But on the battlefield, who wouldn't fight desperately? Who wouldn't dare to?

If Chen Fei was ready to fight, the defensive soldiers were too, as were the rebels.

This was, after all, a war where it was either you die or I survive.

Under the strenuous efforts of AI "Adam" to maintain control, the mechanical dragon finally staggered to the inner side of the protective barrier's edge, arranged itself, overlapped the repulsion shield with the protective barrier, and then extended the magic shield to the outside, effectively adding another layer of consumable barrier to the protective barrier.

It was then that a pure white giant ovoid object, dragging a barely adequate parachute, descended slowly about 11 kilometers from the Dimensional Gate Management Substation.

Thud!~

A faint thud carried through the air, with no explosion akin to laser-like intensity, no widespread devastation, nor did one see a terrifying mushroom cloud rise into the air.

In terms of the might of tactical nuclear weapons, the point of impact seemed a bit too far from the protective barrier of the Dimensional Gate Management Substation.

To destroy the protective barrier with a single strike, one would have to close in to within 500 meters.

"Strange!"

The Dimensional Gate Defense Commander, clutching his heart as he stroked his chin stubble, was puzzled and not comprehending - could it be that the rebel army went to all that trouble to make such a big fuss, only to end up making a blunder?

Chen Fei, who had been slumped in the driving seat inside the chest of the mechanical dragon, finally caught his breath and took the time to focus on the image of the white giant egg-shaped object captured by "Adam."

The sudden intense pain that had gripped his entire body like a tide was slowly retreating; his entire body was nearly soaked with sticky sweat, and the life support module of his tactical armor was working at full capacity to balance the temperature and humidity inside.

At the same time as he was suffering from the tremendous pain caused by the side effects of the magic potion, his body temperature even shot past 40 degrees Celsius, as if he had a high fever.

Chen Fei weakly muttered to himself, "What the hell is this?"

The magic potion, capable of swiftly restoring vital energy and physiological state, did more than just speed up metabolism and replenish high-level nutrients. It also compensated for the shortening of the telomeres at the ends of cells' dividing chromosomes, ensuring that life potential wasn't overdrawn. But the balance between replenishment and consumption was just right, neither surplus nor deficit. As for achieving eternal youth through it - that was out of the question.

After all, this was merely a magic potion designed for rapid recovery from internal injuries and replenishment of vital energy, not an elixir of immortality.

The Main Force Lightwing Ship that had dropped that thing accelerated away even faster, immediately withdrawing from the 40-kilometer radius of the first-level warning zone, fleeing as fast as possible, as if terribly afraid.

"Fire test!"

The order was given by the commander at the Defensive Command Center.

A fire platform fired, launching a 152-caliber demolition bomb that shot straight towards the white giant egg-shaped object that had landed and remained motionless.

Aside from the part that had sunk into the ground due to the impact of the landing and its own weight, the main body that stood on the ground was still seven to eight meters tall, looking like a two-story building with an unusual design. Its surface was not completely smooth but was covered with some geometrical patterns, although the designs were irregular.

Clang!~

The 152 encountered no interception or accidents, it smashed directly onto the surface of the white egg-shaped giant object, the explosion enveloping in fire and smoke.

If there had been someone inside, they might have been shaken so badly by the blast that if it didn't kill them, it would certainly leave them seriously injured.

Yet the white egg-shaped object was unscathed; its surface rippled slightly, and even the scorched marks left by the impact fell off.

This made it all the more baffling for the Dimensional Gate Management Substation - what cunning ploy were the rebels concocting? If they wanted to fight, they should fight without messing around with such incomprehensible things.

"Positions 013 to 076, 103 to 155, particle beam cannons and laser cannons begin charging energy, coordinate shooting times, focus fire and take it down."

The Defense Commander had completely lost his patience and was ready to concentrate firepower to take down the unidentified object.

If explosive weaponry and physical attacks were ineffective, then highly concentrated directional energy weapons might just be able to damage the target.

Several automatic fire platforms began switching weapon modes, aligning the directional energy weapon ports uniformly at the white giant egg.

Boom!~

White "eggshell" fragments were flung in all directions, and a thick, dark grey cloud of smoke followed, billowing and spreading, drifting outwards, obstructing the view of many onlookers.

The sudden anomaly still didn't seem like the brutal feature typical of tactical weapons, and certainly wasn't a nuclear weapon. Instead, it more closely resembled some sort of chemical weapon, or even a smoke grenade.

Using a chemical weapon 11 kilometers away from the Dimensional Gate Management Substation? The guards at the substation could almost applaud the rebels.

Did this crafty gang not realize that at this distance, chemical weapons would pose a greater threat to the rebels themselves?

Talking toxicity without dosage is nonsense; even the most vicious nerve chemical agent, carried by the wind, would likely have diluted to a harmless level and might at most kill some insects, amounting to nothing more than a joke.

The eggshell fragments began to fall, each piece uniform in size, resembling scales of some sort.

Scales?

A ferocious giant creature suddenly appeared in Chen Fei's view.

His vision was not limited to the three-dimensional surround display of the cockpit; it also included the various modules of the "Basic Optical Observer" psi skill, providing a god-like overhead view, seeing through the continuous rolling fog.

"Roar..."

The immense roaring sound finally reached the Dimensional Gate Management Substation; even after being weakened by the protective barrier, it was still astounding.

"What is that? A magical beast?"

"Such a terrifying roar!"

"There's something alive inside, what kind of animal is it?"

"Prepare to fire!"

The defensive soldiers, standing by in full battle readiness on the ground, were filled with unease but still prepared for combat.

A colossal creature suddenly burst through the fog and lunged menacingly toward the Dimensional Gate Management Substation at an alarmingly high speed.

"Giant Dragon!"

The expression of the Dimensional Gate Management Substation's Defense Commander changed, and he turned his eyes to a screen.

There, a mechanical dragon was inside the protective barrier.

Then he sharply inhaled a breath of cold air.

"It's a Metallic Dragon!"