Lao Pao didn't lose sight of the radio for too long. As soon as "The Hawthorn Tree" ended, Xin Twenty-four reached over and turned off the radio. At the same time, he handed over a White Bird cigarette and turned his head to indicate that they should go to a quiet place to talk.
The spicy and thick White Bird smoke fills your belly. The more veterans and more experienced Alliance people, the more they like White Bird. The tobacco of White Bird is actually not that bad, but the important thing is the ratio of tobacco leaves. In recent years, the surface of Longshan has also begun to produce serious flue-cured tobacco. When you smoke it, it does not have the feeling of being so heavy as a stone sinking to the bottom of a lake like mushroom smoke.
After a cigarette, both of us were heavy smokers. This time we switched to peony, which was mellow and left no smell. It was a dessert to clear our throats after the meal.
"When you come back this time, everyone is in a bad mood?" Xin Twenty-four asked.
This is natural. Even a mercenary who is used to licking blood from his knife and wearing a belt tied to his head cannot be emotionless if he suddenly loses half of his brothers.
Lao Pao responded to Xin Twenty-four with silence.
Xin Twenty-four sighed, patted Lao Pao on the shoulder and said: "The binders are very satisfied with this operation to kill the evil dragon. Everyone's requirements can be met. However, now that we are in troubled times, if we survive next year, we can force those If there is a ceasefire or a merger, there is hope that everyone will return to their roots."
"We escaped here and chose to continue fighting, isn't it just to gain enough leverage and let the other side know that we are humans too?"
Having said this, Lao Pao stopped taking out his cigarette and asked, "We have always agreed on preferential treatment for the prisoners of the Renaissance Army. Now all the new recruits from the previous batch have been sent to the Dragon Vein Mine. Do we want to become them?" ?」
Hearing this, Xin Twenty-four smiled bitterly and said: "You don't understand that other tribes have had great opinions on the preferential treatment of binders in recent years. Now that the backbone of the tribe has grown up, the use of our group of escapees has been greatly reduced, and these Only half a month after the prisoners arrived, they started to cause trouble, and there was a blood feud between the two sides. There is no way to suppress them without deporting these people to the mines."
Lao Pao didn't ask any more questions. He knew the weight of the enemy, and he couldn't fight for too much for outsiders. He just had a sense of crisis. After fighting for many years, he vaguely knew that the merger was a The general trend is the general trend. The Renaissance Army is so short of men that female soldiers have to serve long-term military service. The addition of hundreds of thousands of brave young men from the valley will undoubtedly greatly ease the pressure on the empire. But the problem is that for many years, the Renaissance Army would rather recruit women as soldiers than reconcile with the Valley.
Xin Twenty-four had worked with Lao Pao for a long time, and he could read Lao Pao's worries. He suggested: "There will be a confrontation exercise after a while, and we will go for a walk in the swamp with real swords and guns, sweep away the designated nests, and maintain enough By crushing them with their combat power and letting other tribes watch, our position in the back will be even more advantageous."
"Can I leave this matter to you?"
Lao Pao nodded.
The old artilleryman was very mobile and announced that he would have a long vacation after the confrontation exercise. The remaining members of the special forces cheered up and understood the importance of this matter. After hurried preparations, they went to a place near the valley. The swamp was specially used to breed bog-dwelling monsters for actual combat, but it has now become frozen soil.
A few days later.
"We're here. The branch road ahead is the lair of the swamp-dwelling monster. Pull over." Old Pao turned sideways and said to the driver of the all-terrain vehicle. The vehicle in front had slowed down and stopped in front of a dead pine, with the wind and snow sparse. Four of the team members jumped out of the car and stood with their guns pointed at the dead pine trees, fearing that a man-eating spider would jump out of the trees and join in the fun.
"Pick up the equipment, we are going to walk." Lao Pao grabbed the backpack bag and hung it on his shoulder. The steel wire gauntlet pushed open the car door. In an instant, the snow was knee-deep. Although the special forces in the valley are also equipped with military outerwear Bones greatly reduce the burden on soldiers, but long-distance marching in such harsh snow is still a double test of willpower and physical strength.
"Huh~" The hot air from the mouth and nose condensed into a cloud of mist in the visible mask, which quickly dissipated. The thermometer on the left showed that the outdoor temperature was minus 27 degrees, and the temperature would continue to drop to minus 27 degrees Celsius. Forty degrees. Therefore, the exoskeletons used in Valley have been specially modified and do not use the hydraulic booster rod of the "Phoenix" exoskeleton. The reason is that under extremely cold conditions, normal trekking will cause the steel to freeze and become brittle. Once in contact, the short piston movement will quickly heat up, thus greatly reducing the reliability and life of the equipment.
Lao Pao heard a faint "click" sound, which was the antifreeze lubricant on the exoskeleton renamed "Taiga".
, they are the most elite special forces team of the Bonders, and naturally have the highest supply rate.
"Da da da da~" Yin and Yang finally couldn't help but sweep the withered pine around.
"Good fellow, there must be another nest of spiders at the beginning of spring." Lao Pao walked to the side of Yin Yang Head and watched his teammates spontaneously trample to death the swept spider larvae one by one. There are many kinds of spiders around the valley, big and small, but people They are all commonly called man-eating spiders, and their common features need no further elaboration. If you don't want to wake up in the morning and be stung in your boots until you're unconscious, then it's best to eliminate all evil.
The two all-terrain vehicles turned around and returned to the valley. If you stay in such a harsh outdoor environment for a long time, you will definitely freeze. Once the engine stalls, restarting is a long process. Every vehicle is a valuable asset. Once it breaks down, it will be restarted. Buying from smuggling routes is quite expensive.
Nine team members gathered together, and Lao Pao was the commander.
A simplified map pops up on everyone's visual panel.
"We still have to walk about twelve kilometers to the target point, and then destroy the nest after making some preparations."
"Turn down the heating efficiency. We have to last the whole night before we can return tomorrow. You all know what is going on here, so you are not allowed to open fire unless you have to. If you encounter ordinary-level mutant creatures, use cold weapons to deal with them. Do you have any questions?"
"No!"
Lao Pao stretched out his fist, and the other eight teammates joined their fists in turn, lightly touching each other. "Watch each other's backs, let's go."
The "Taiga" exoskeleton is not heavy. It only weighs 30 kilograms without additional armor plates. Moreover, in the snowy conditions in the valley, everyone is sledding. The wide wooden boards provide ample grounding force, but then As the special forces moved further away from the valley, the snow began to get thicker and thicker.
"Be alert, we are going to the swamp, turn on the life detector."
Lao Pao received the communication from the scout in front. He adjusted the main control panel on his left hand, and the searchlight immediately spread out red lines. There were also hibernating snow pythons under the snow in the winter wasteland of Tong'anling. In summer, the swamp is filled with miasma, and a large number of swamp-dwelling demons mutate into aquatic creatures.
Swamp-dwelling monsters are a relatively broad name for aquatic alien beasts. Lao Pao once faced off against a toad that was taller than a human. This thing spit out messages like catching mosquitoes and ate people as after-dinner snacks. It was just those two pairs of scary copper toads. Bell eyes are a nightmare.
The team members wear special contact suits to connect to the exoskeleton hanging points. The rifles in their hands are directly plugged into the signal transmission line with the exoskeleton. If necessary, they can be handed over to the combat system to handle the shooting. Even if the arm is shot, the inertial skeleton mechanism can ensure continuous Firepower.
The only sound in the frozen swamp is the sharp cold wind cracking branches. The swamp is filled with extremely tapered coniferous forests that grow to compete for sunlight. These trees that can be hugged by arms have extremely developed root systems, absorbing as much as possible. The soil has little nutrients, and their roots are an important source of food for the bog-dwelling monsters. Seeing the sentinel tree means that there are several bog-dwelling monsters soaking in the mud at the roots of the tree.
"Keep your distance and don't cause trouble." The Yin Yang head leads the way. He is not holding a gun, but a huge hand-pulled chainsaw. Not only are the habitats at risk, but there are also a large number of cannibal species in the trees. The complex and dense vines have reflex consciousness. Once the branches are entangled, those who fall into the trap may be lucky enough to break free from the corrosive liquid, but they will not be able to compete with the swamp-dwelling monsters who come after hearing the news, so it is a win-win situation.
The chainsaw tore apart the vines that were blocking the sky. Wherever there is water, there are these plants that people love and hate. On the one hand, the vines can be made into vine tea, but their vigorous growth will invade the farm and occupy the farm. Other crop nutrients. The whole old road was flooded with this stuff.
"Burn it," Lao Pao said.
The technical soldier's exoskeleton fuel jet fired out intermittent high-pressure gas flames, burning the vines that were faintly approaching, and a gloomy atmosphere spread. The old Pao Gang had an ominous premonition. "Whoosh!" The bright red tongue message came through the air and entangled him instantly!
"Grass! Trouble!" Old Pao shouted. The movement of the vines was a precursor to the swamp-dwelling demon's attack! The huge pulling force made Lao Pao unable to move. He drew out his saber with his backhand and slashed Ji Xin hard.
"Three o'clock!" The life detector alarm came belatedly. Yin Yang immediately turned to the right and pulled the trigger. A hurricane-like rain of bullets covered the suspect.
Swamp-dwelling creature. "Puff, puff~" The warhead fell into the dense vines, and even if it hit the swamp-dwelling monster's extremely flexible skin, it might not be able to cause enough damage.
"Supercharge!" Lao Pao said. The steel arm of his right hand burst out with auxiliary propulsion airflow, cutting off the tongue letter with a knife. Before he could untie the long tongue, Lao Pao pulled out a special anti-swamp-dwelling demon pistol hung on his chest and fired several rounds. The flechette with a noose was fired with a bang.
"! Pull me!" Old Pao shouted.
The two team members immediately hugged Lao Pao's shoulders, one on the left and the other on the right, and desperately pulled the straight noose. Amidst an unusually miserable cry, the two swamp-dwelling monsters covered in black and blue were dragged out of the mud alive. Wet mucus was flowing all over the floor, and their disproportionately red eyes were rolled with eye masks. Even before death, these two beasts were still trying to use their hind limbs to knock people down.
The Yin-Yang head stepped forward and cut off the swamp-dwelling demon's legs with a swing of his sword.
"Damn it, it would be nice if it were a cow leg!" This guy didn't really care.
"Then I'll roast it for you!" As soon as the technical soldier turned his mouth, the swamp-dwelling demon struggled like crazy, but it was tightly controlled by three exoskeletons. The mutated creature as big as a calf turned into a ball of charcoal.
"Let's keep walking!" Old Pao shouted. They were very close to the finish line, but still had quite a trek ahead of them.
There is geothermal heat near the valley, so the snow is very unevenly distributed. As we get to the previously marked swamp-dwelling demon lair, the snow turns into a swamp, and the knee-deep mud is extremely restrictive of movement. The terrain here is very bad, and the environment is extremely easy to breed strange animals. However, it is too close to the valley and must be cleaned.
Lao Pao knew that there were animal trainers in the valley, but the biggest problem in trying to tame a strange beast in the valley was food. A swamp-dwelling monster would eat too much food. Raising too much would not be cost-effective, and it would still be hostile to humans if it was not domesticated. Therefore, the Valley, like the Renaissance Army, has to deal with the thorny problem of alien beasts.
Generally speaking, tasks such as cleaning up strange animals around the valley are left to various tribes. It is a good way to train young reserves. Occasionally, difficult nests will be used as test objects for various elite troops to fight against each other.
In any case, after several minor encounters along the way, Lao Pao and the other nine people arrived at the marsh-dwelling demon's lair without any danger.
"Judge the terrain and detect how many adults there are. If you can explode, don't engage in close combat." Lao Pao ordered.
In front of you is a relatively typical swamp-dwelling monster nest, standing behind a low and continuous cliff, with ample water flowing into it. But this kind of terrain is really a waste of money for people to get into. Based on Lao Pao's experience in the Renaissance Army, the best way to clear out such nests is to continuously launch self-destruction robots to clear out the identified structural weaknesses, so as to avoid killing people as long as possible.
It's a pity that the valley does not have the financial resources, so if it is found out, it will have to send people in to clean it up.
Lao Pao sent two happy enemies, the Yin-Yang head and the technical soldier, in. This time, he was lucky. There were only three heads in the adult body, and they happened to be in the sleeping period, so they could easily deal with it by blowing up the supporting points of the cave.
Maybe if we go faster, we can go back overnight tonight. Lao Pao thought. While thinking about it, the Yin and Yang head had already sent a signal that the installation was ready.
