bookbashuk Chapter 27 Airdrop Supplies
Chapter 27 Airdrop Supplies
Luo Wei withdrew his gaze and looked ahead.
E4 area.
It used to be a small open storage yard, about two kilometers away from the grain depot defense line.
At this distance, the firepower of the heavy logging gun was out of reach.
They had to leave the fortifications and enter the fog-shrouded no-man's-land.
"Alpha." Lowe pressed the communicator to his throat.
"Present, praise to Ohm Messiah," came the voice of the Tech Priest, accompanied by static.
"How is the 'steel behemoth' in condition?"
"The boiler pressure is stable, and the hydraulic system is normal. Its mechanical spirit is somewhat... restless, seemingly eager to devour more biomass."
"Very good." Rowe nodded. "Let it clear the way."
With a muffled rumble.
The harvester, modified from a chimera chassis and equipped with giant shredding rollers, emerged from the shadows of the warehouse.
It was like a mobile steel fortress, with dark red bloodstains from the last battle still remaining on the two huge serrated rollers at the front of the vehicle.
The exhaust pipe spewed out black smoke, looking particularly menacing.
Rowe climbed up the command tower of this steel behemoth and stood behind the heavy armor plates.
He's not a Space Marine; he doesn't have the ability to physically withstand bullets.
In this cruel universe, the wisdom of mortals, without the protection of steel, is no different from a fragile wet tissue.
"Set off."
……
The march was quieter than expected.
Apart from the heavy footsteps and the roar of engines, the surroundings were eerily quiet.
Those zombies who had previously besieged the granary seemed to have vanished overnight.
There was neither the buzzing of flies nor the roar of monsters in the ruins.
Only those strange fungi.
Loewe peered warily through the peephole at the roadside.
Clusters of colorful fungi have grown on the originally bare cement floor and abandoned metal pipes.
Some of them resembled swollen fingers, while others looked like ulcerated eyeballs. They trembled slightly in the rain, emitting a pale yellow mist of spores.
Whenever the harvester's tracks run over these fungi, they burst like balloons filled with pus, splattering pools of corrosive slime.
"Don't touch those things," Rowe warned over the radio. "No matter how much they look like mushrooms, anyone who dares to touch them will have their hand chopped off and thrown into the fermentation tank."
The team advanced in silence.
Two kilometers.
For mechanized troops, this is only a few minutes' journey.
But for this group of refugees, every step was like walking through a minefield.
The outline of Zone E4 appeared in the mist.
It was an open area, with many rusty shipping containers piled up around it.
"stop."
Lowe gave the order.
He didn't rush to let the team in.
Instead, it indicated that the harvester was parked behind the wreckage of an abandoned crane, using the cover to conceal its tall body.
He raised his binoculars.
The airdrop hasn't arrived yet.
However, this area is not empty.
In the shadows of those shipping containers, Lowe saw some swaying figures.
Not the kind of slow-moving zombie that only charges mindlessly.
The figures were dressed in tattered Imperial Guard uniforms and carried laser guns and automatic rifles.
Their movements looked a bit stiff, yet they maintained a certain tactical formation.
They are clearing the firing line and setting up machine gun positions.
Rebels.
More accurately, they were a traitorous guard corrupted by the scoundrels.
Luo Wei's heart sank.
If the walkers are wild beasts, then these rebels who have retained their fighting instincts from their previous lives are organized hunters.
"Buck, at two o'clock, on top of the tallest container," Rowe whispered. "See it?"
Buck raised his bomb gun, his prosthetic eye zooming in and out: "I see it. A heavy machine gun, and two observation posts. Damn, these bastards actually set up an ambush."
"They're also waiting for the airdrop," Rowe calmly analyzed.
Just as he could obtain intelligence through "Case's" brain, the Chaos forces may also have spies in the upper echelons of Hive City.
Once an airdrop plan is finalized, the flight path and coordinate data may be intercepted during transmission.
This is why Captain Lilith warned Rowe, "You'll see everything around you."
Soon after.
A muffled rumble echoed through the sky.
That was the sound of the Valkyrie transport plane's engine.
The clouds were torn apart.
A transport plane painted with the Imperial Eagle emblem, resembling a large gray bird, whistled as it swept low through the sky.
Because it was flying so low, Lowe could see the hatch under the fuselage open.
A metal box painted a striking orange, with three deceleration parachutes hanging from it, descended from the sky.
"Puff, puff, puff."
The deceleration parachute opened in the air.
The box wobbled and fell towards the center of area E4.
Almost simultaneously, the rebels hidden in the shadows of the container began to move.
Instead of rushing towards the box, they pointed their guns at Rowe.
Or rather, it was aimed at any direction where robbers might appear.
"Advisor, shall we fire?" Buck's finger was on the trigger, almost impatiently. "That's our battery!"
"No rush."
Lowe grabbed Buck's arm.
His eyes looked as if he were calculating a complex math problem.
"Let them go get it first."
"What?" Buck's eyes widened.
"The box weighed at least two tons when it hit the ground, and there were no handles to hold it."
Lowe pointed to the muddy ground, his voice as calm as stating a mathematical formula, "Given the current physical condition of those rebels, they simply can't lift it."
He handed the binoculars to Buck, who was standing next to him.
He gestured for him to observe the figures trying to break out of the cover.
"Take a close look at their equipment. The gun barrels are covered in green moss, and there is obvious rust and mycelium adhering to the joints of the armor."
"Although their movements still retained the tactical methods they used in life, the angles at which their knees and elbows bent were very stiff."
"This means their joints have calcified, or they're locked up by rigor mortis."
Luo Wei paused, his gaze turning cold.
"A bunch of stiff-jointed dead men trying to move a two-ton iron lump by hand in a quagmire? That's a pipe dream."
"More importantly..." Lowe's voice lowered, "I don't believe the governor's airdrop would be left there so simply for people to take."
The box slammed heavily to the ground, splashing up a puddle of black mud.
Several rebel soldiers rushed out from behind the bunker.
They dragged their heavy steps as they tried to approach the metal box.
However, the moment their hands touched the box...
"Zzz."
A blinding blue arc of electricity suddenly erupted from the surface of the box.
High-pressure defensive force field.
Before the rebels could even scream, their bodies were instantly charred black, like torches being set ablaze.
Then it exploded into puffs of green smoke.
"Automatic defense system," Rowe said coldly. "Without an identification code, the airdropped crate is just a giant landmine."
The remaining rebels were clearly frightened by the sudden turn of events.
They retreated to their cover and began firing wildly at the boxes, trying to break the defensive force field with their bullets.
But this is meaningless.
The bullets only sparked when they hit the box.
"Now, it's our turn."
Luo Wei grabbed the communicator.
"Alpha, aim the harvester's main cannon... I mean, that modified high-pressure water cannon, at the rebels' heavy machine gun position."
"Bark, take your men and don't go in a straight line. Go around along the ruins on the right. Remember, don't expose yourself to kill enemies; I need suppression."
"As for the reclamation team..." Luo Wei glanced behind him at the laborers whose eyes were filled with fervor because of "Green Soup".
"Tell them that the rebels are carrying marching rations and have unopened blocks of synthetic starch hanging from their belts."
He paused, his eyes darkening, and added:
"If none of these can be found... then bring the rebels back. The fermentation tanks are never picky about the source of the protein."
"Whoever gets it gets an extra meal tonight!"
This is a command that does not require translation.
The enemy is not only a threat, but also a source of food resources.
"For the Emperor, for an extra meal!"
I don't know who shouted it first.
The previously quiet queue instantly erupted in cheers.
The excitement accumulated in the body due to subspace energy now found an outlet.
"attack!"
With a command from Luo Wei.
The harvester roared deafeningly.
It didn't fire; instead, it crashed straight through the wall in front of it.
It was like a mad bull charging into the square.
The high-pressure water gun on the roof sprayed out a jet of black water.
That's not water; it's "fertilizer" drawn from the bottom of the fermentation tank, a mixture of strong acid and highly concentrated waste liquid.
The foul-smelling liquid accurately struck the heavy machine gun position on top of the container.
Although it lacks the penetrating power of a bullet, the impact and corrosiveness of this liquid are terrifying.
The rebel machine gunner screamed and covered his face.
His skin was rapidly festering.
The machine gun in his hand was also emitting blue smoke because it was contaminated with strong acid.
"Rat-a-tat-tat!"
Buck's defense squad took the opportunity to open fire.
The roar of the grenades tore through the air, pushing the rebels who were trying to fight back back into their bunkers.
The most terrifying were the laborers wielding steel pipes and iron plates.
They had no tactics, no formations, only a fanaticism twisted by hunger and a sense of "happiness".
They surged through the ruins like a tide, ignoring the scattered laser beams, and pounced on the lone rebels.
This was a chaotic hand-to-hand combat.
Luo Wei stood on the command tower, calmly observing the battle situation.
He was not blinded by the victory before him.
His eyes remained fixed on the airdrop crate.
"Alpha, prepare to connect."
Lo Wei took out a black ring from his pocket and connected it to the data panel he carried.
"Scanning... Identification code confirmed. The defensive field will deactivate in ten seconds."
The harvester rumbled up to the airdrop crate.
The tall body of the vehicle shielded the box from sniper shots from the side.
Lowe jumped out of the car and nimbly rushed to the box.
He attached the data board to the interface on the side of the enclosure.
"drop."
The blue electric arc disappeared, the pressure valve emitted a hissing sound of deflating air, and the heavy metal cover slowly popped open.
Inside, dozens of sealed boxes were neatly stacked.
It bears the double caduceus emblem of the Imperial Medical Department and the gear emblem of the Mechanicus.
Pharmaceuticals, high-energy batteries.
In the corner, there was a small silver briefcase that wasn't on the list.
He quickly picked up the suitcase, feeling its weight.
"Load it onto the truck, quick!"
"Love roared."
"Forget about the tattered remains on those dead bodies! Load these boxes onto the harvester. Even if you have to bite them, drag them back!"