Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Bai E, soaring into the sky, did not lose his footing. The anti-material sniper rifle, as tall as a man, seemed like a large toy in his hands, deftly maneuvered. As his body was blasted backward by the explosion, Bai E also stabilized the sniper rifle with both hands.

"Boom!"

The huge recoil even caused Bai E's body to shift a few inches in midair, avoiding a barrage of bullets fired by the war machine that followed closely behind.

At the same time, the bullet Bai E fired hit the war machine's right arm joint with precision.

This was Bai E's first encounter with such a large intelligent mech, and he didn't have much experience, so he could only fire a shot to see what happened.

The vital parts of the enemy, like the chest and head where important electrical components were housed, were covered with extremely thick armor. The gloss of the pitch-black material suggested a defensive power even stronger than that of their armored vehicles.

Only the joints, which for the sake of nimble movement were not covered with heavy armor, seemed likely to be more effectively targeted...

However, a visible flash of light at the point of impact was fleeting.

"Hum~"

In the brief confrontation, the slender bullet from the anti-material sniper rifle ultimately failed to penetrate the target's defenses. Still, the direct encounter allowed Bai E to see the enemy's basic attributes—

[??? (Intelligent Mech) (Hostile): Health 500/500; Defensive Power 75; Mobility 100%; Traits: Electromagnetic Shield, Repulsion Shield, Alloy Armor, Gather Energy Cannon…]

"…"

All TM shields!

The display from the loot chance was completely different—

[??? (Intelligent Mech) (Hostile) (Elite) - Killing with a "Lucky Strike" will drop: Guaranteed (Steel*5000, Battle Experience 3000 points); Possible (Technology: Basic Steel Smelting Process, Technology: Basic Parts Forging Process, Knowledge: Energy Shield Science, Trait: Body of Mech)]

It was also… The content displayed by the loot chance is typically something that can be directly utilized by oneself, or even if it can't be used immediately, it can be kept in reserve for future activation.

But the multitude of shields, armor, cannons, and such possessed by the intelligent mech adversary would only be applicable if there was sufficient hardware support.

It's not like he could burst the enemy and become Iron Man on the spot, right?

Looking at the many exciting technologies displayed, Bai E felt somewhat tempted.

This one has got to burst!

Now with a large enterprise to support and the endeavor to grow and expand, technology was essential for humans.

He had long wanted to blow up the fences, the hodgepodge machines, and the turrets in the military camp. This target was clearly more appropriate.

The only trouble was... before the enemy's energy was exhausted, even the output from his anti-material sniper rifle would hardly penetrate the defense.

An energy-type shield enveloped the enemy completely, any hit below its maximum energy acceptance range could not inflict direct damage on it.

Unless… he used his true strength.

Bai E's eyes swept across the battlefield, unhurried.

The situation was still clear, apart from this little BOSS, the other lower-level intelligent mechs couldn't cause too much trouble for this makeshift alliance.

Even intelligent mechs must deal with the difficulty of resource limitations; their creations could not simply be a pile of materials.

In fact, if the losses were of no concern, either team had the capability to take down this intelligent mech transport squad on their own, so... perhaps he didn't need to rush?

Maybe the enemy was in more of a hurry than him?

Bai E suppressed the urge to burst forth and decided to wait and see if the squad from Grey Iron City could pull some ace out of their sleeves, giving him a pleasant surprise.

As he pondered this, Bai E saw the armor on the chest of the little BOSS open up suddenly, and two small missile arrays appeared before him in an instant.

The dense warheads emitted intimidating cold glints, causing Bai E's hair to stand on end.

The next moment, along with a buzzing sound, missiles shot out one after the other, tracing unpredictable arcs in the air, all homing in on Bai E.

Are they just targeting me?

"Damn it all!"

The moment Bai E discerned the direction of the missile attacks, he couldn't afford to provide fire support from the high ground any longer. Clutching his anti-material sniper rifle, he leaped backward, jumping down from behind.

And those small warheads, evidently equipped with limited-angle, directional tracking capability, mostly exploded on the high ground. Debris cascaded down, and the "front tooth" that had stood on the desolate plain for who knows how many years was abruptly broken off.

```

Fortunately, both Ling and You were quick-witted. After the first gather energy cannon aimed at Bai E, they knew that staying with him would only bring misfortune. They had already scurried down the rope, so the blast's aftermath didn't reach them.

Meanwhile, the remaining rocket heads, still half successful in swerving past the pillars, continued to pursue Bai E behind them.

"Boom Boom Boom Boom!" A series of explosions erupted behind the stone columns, causing the already crumbling "front teeth" to collapse even further amidst violent shaking.

"..."

"Captain!"

The intense commotion drew everyone's attention, but only Stone called out in a somewhat sorrowful voice.

Rose just glanced over and then hacked down on the machine gun mount of a tracked vehicle beside her with her knife.

Not only humanoid machines were AIs; these vehicles also had their own independent operational capabilities.

Watching the ally being focus-fired, an uncontrollable smirk surfaced on the face of the hulk from Grey Iron City, but it faded as quickly as it appeared.

Because after "eliminating" the most significant threat, he, being closest to the mini boss, had now been targeted.

Facing those blood-red electronic eyes, the hulk felt as if the phantom pain of countless missiles chasing his tail and exploding was actually happening to him.

"Captain!" the hulk bellowed. Your journey continues at My Virtual Library Empire

He was just a tough punching bag, quite clear about his own role, but couldn't handle such tough and tall opponents.

The blue light in Captain Bai E's eyes had intensified to the extreme, as if ready to burst forth at any moment.

The next moment, her body shot out like an arrow, crashing directly towards the direction of the mini boss.

The anti-aircraft gun on the shoulder of the mini boss instantly targeted her, but the chaos in its targeting prevented it from firing.

She successfully closed the distance.

Bai E extended her right hand, pressing it onto the lower half of the mini boss's back. The dense energy flow gathered in her hand like a solid mass, the blinding white light pulsating as if ready to explode at any moment.

"Huh!"

Feeling a throbbing in her temples, Captain Bai E grimaced in pain, her lips tightly clenched.

After holding on for the last possible moment, feeling a sudden release of gravity, Bai E pushed with her feet and flew backwards.

The energy bullet collected in her palm could no longer be controlled, and she couldn't even direct it, so she smashed it in the most convenient direction.

"Whoosh!"

The air compressed, the world went silent.

The next moment, the shockwave spread out, and the condensed energy bullet exploded into a mushroom cloud on the plain...

The dust billowed into the sky.

[Warning, Warning! Insufficient energy! Shield system cannot operate normally!]

During that brief moment, Bai E, who hadn't taken any action until then, was not merely watching the situation unfold.

Fully aware of which was the greatest trouble, she had from the start focused her gaze on the most challenging target.

With the help of the spiritual energy connection, she had managed to analyze the minimum requirement to break the shield—

She hadn't been able to completely deplete the mini boss's energy reserves, as the shield system itself required a massive supply of energy. Without sufficient energy, the system would collapse on its own.

But that was all...

Using human will to forcibly extract the energy from an intensely concentrated mechanical body, her spiritual energy could only manage so much.

After laying the foundation for victory, Bai E retreated immediately.

However, the shockwave from the distant energy bullet swept over methodically yet urgently, the rumbling noise re-entering her ears.

The fierce shockwave effortlessly lifted her slight body, throwing her several meters high before she heavily smashed onto the ground, rolling more than ten meters away.

Like a torn rag... her life or death unknown.

```