Chapter 191: Open Fire

Yang Bo looked at a line of text displayed on the virtual screen: Congratulations, player, for rescuing 396 hostages.

“I’m not a mass murderer.” Yang Bo saw that line of text and knew someone misunderstood him.

Yang Bo wasn’t the type to kill indiscriminately. When it came to ordinary people, he wouldn’t just go on a spree. Also, he knew if he acted recklessly, the military could force him offline anytime.

Yang Bo was self-aware enough to know this.

He then opened the second warehouse, where there were hundreds more people.

Then he opened the third warehouse, and the fourth.

Each time a warehouse was opened, a line of text appeared on the screen, as if it was afraid he wouldn’t see it.

There were six warehouses in total. After opening four, there were nearly 2,000 people. It seemed they had been locked up for days, with disheveled clothes and messy hair.

When Yang Bo opened the fifth warehouse, about 200 people were inside.

When they saw the Mecha opening the door, they stepped back in fear, then looked astonished.

“Raise your hands!” Yang Bo originally thought this group was like the others, but something felt odd when the door opened.

The Mecha’s cannon swung twice, and instantly, everyone inside raised their hands.

The military had been celebrating after seeing Yang Bo rescue over 2,000 hostages, but suddenly noticing this scene, they focused on the screen.

“No matter how well you enemies hide, you can’t escape my eyes.” Yang Bo quickly spoke, afraid that the military would cut his control over the Mecha.

Yang Bo’s guess was right. The military was preparing to cut his connection to the Mecha, but hearing him, they immediately took a closer look.

“First, there are no elderly or children here.”

“Second, you’re all too clean.”

“Third, the vent system in this warehouse hasn’t been running long enough. The others’ systems have been running for over 100 hours, but yours barely an hour.” Yang Bo pointed the Mecha’s weapon at an external control panel.

In truth, when Yang Bo opened the warehouse, he immediately noticed many of them had the aura of Red Earl members.

The Red Earl people considered themselves aristocrats, but this aristocracy was trained, not a natural result of wealth or status.

In other words, one is trained imitation, and the other is the genuine article cultivated through status and wealth.

Once he realized they were fakes, it became easy to find more flaws.

“And the most important thing: the people in the other warehouses wear all kinds of clothes—work clothes, pajamas, casual wear. Their shoes are varied, and some are even barefoot. Yet all of you are wearing identical boots.”

“Of course, this doesn’t conclusively prove you belong to an enemy faction. You might just be soldiers from this base being held prisoner.”

Yang Bo had much more to say, but he couldn’t. Earlier, he’d almost slipped up and said ‘extremist organization,’ but he quickly corrected himself.

The nearly 200 people inside exchanged glances, and with a flash of light, began charging forward. Some even had Energy Weapons.

The next second, Yang Bo’s Mecha opened fire, and he shouted: “You still dare resist?”

The military was startled by the sudden turn of events. Fortunately, at that moment, the Colonel pulled up a photo and said: “Of these 200 people, over 60 don’t show up in the Alliance’s database from two months ago. Moreover, they aren’t infants, and there’s no record of them in the Immigration Management System. They’re likely members of an Extremist Organization from the base, trying to blend in with the hostages to escape.”

With this, the brass understood. The extremists, seeing things falling apart, realized the Main Energy Room was destroyed.

As for why they didn’t go directly to the hostages earlier? Because those hostages had been locked up for a while, and showing up suddenly might raise suspicion.

It has to be said, this plan wasn’t bad. If they could blend in, no one would suspect they were extremists.

Yang Bo’s Mecha was pushed back by the powerful impact.

Though the warehouse wasn’t small, with over 200 superhumans inside, the intense battle rocked the Mecha, which weighed over 100 tons.

The people in the adjacent warehouse heard Yang Bo’s loud voice through the Mecha and someone shouted: “I work in the logistics department! This warehouse was empty before.”

But Yang Bo couldn’t hear that, as the military had blocked all communication from the hostages.

“These kills feel so satisfying, even if they’re just low-level members.” Yang Bo noticed that many of them had the Gene Mastery skill—at least 100 of them.

What Yang Bo didn’t know was that these low-level members lacked access to other warehouses. They couldn’t escape through the base’s periphery, and the Main Energy Room was destroyed. The underground tunnels weren’t operational without energy, and they’d lost contact with their leaders. This was their only option.

Occasionally, some unusual skills popped up too—like Mastery in Alcohol, Art Mastery, and other weird ones.

The military had a newfound respect for Yang Bo. This guy was sharp, ruthless, and displayed strong combat instincts.

The military unanimously decided to make Yang Bo—or rather Robert—a key personnel to cultivate. When the time was right, they even planned to recruit him directly.

After claiming a bunch of kills, Yang Bo noticed his teammates’ Mecha had arrived.

But Yang Bo clearly saw a change—the tone of the other Mechas towards the hostages was courteous, likely because they were under the control of the military or an AI system.

“Is the game over?” Yang Bo wondered.

Just then, his screen went black. Clearly, someone had taken control of his Mecha, but soon, a message appeared.

“Dear Player, most of the enemy has been wiped out, but a few members have escaped. Would you like to join the pursuit?” That single line appeared on his screen.

Yang Bo thought it was over, but seeing that, he lit up with excitement and immediately agreed.

Then another line appeared: Data is loading.

“You trick me, I trick you!” Yang Bo chuckled to himself. The military was going all out in its pretenses.

When his virtual screen reappeared, it was still the Mecha’s perspective. It looked like they were underground, judging by the smooth walls and the metallic scratches on them.

“Underground high-speed transit network?” Yang Bo thought, recognizing the surroundings.

A voice came through his headset, explaining that an important enemy target had entered the underground tunnels and that Yang Bo needed to pursue and eliminate them as quickly as possible.

“I’m good at this!” Yang Bo had spent a lot of time underground back on Green Demon Planet, so he was skilled at tracking signs of movement. Plus, he had tracking abilities.