Chapter 50 Monster Stealing

Having made several stops along the way, Chu Ming had already scored twenty-six points.

The number of alien sand spiders, which should have increased as they went deeper, was unusually decreasing. Zhou Jiu and Chu Ming turned off the radar and electromagnetic equipment and carefully continued their journey inward.

As they approached the interior of the level four sand spider's sand trough, they heard the sounds of fighting. Zhou Jiu and Chu Ming crawled forward, getting closer to the battlefield.

"What a coincidence." Zhou Jiu recognized the team fighting the sand spider swarm. She was quite familiar with the mechs they usually used. There were three mechs here: one was Ye Yang's, one was Lu Qi's, and the remaining defensive mech was Fang Cheng's.

"Should we retreat or fight?" Chu Ming asked.

Zhou Jiu already knew that Chu Ming had some hidden grudges with those people, so he couldn't help but ask, "You want to withdraw?"

"I don't want to, but we're teammates," Chu Ming said without hesitation.

Zhou Jiu raised an eyebrow and said, "Of course we won't retreat. We'll find an opportunity, snatch the beast's head, and then run."

“…Good idea.”

[Tsk tsk, these two are in cahoots.]

[Ahhh, the battle between Ye Yang and Zhou Jiu that I've been waiting for is finally here! My Jiu Ye CP is finally reunited!]

[I'm looking forward to a fight; their fans have been so annoying lately.]

[Three people against two, should we bet on who will win?]

[Any gossip? I've never heard of Zhou Jiu before, I'm curious, could you share a link?]

[Those who want to ship this couple, get lost. Ye Yang's fans are so annoying, they drag Zhou Jiu into it and start cursing. What kind of ridiculous couple are you shipping?]

[Ahem, pretending I didn't see the swearing, I ship Chu Ming and Zhou Jiu, the treacherous couple]

[A mecha battle livestream, with all this talk about couples? I'm switching to another stream, it's boring.]

[The enemy team has two melee fighters and one defensive fighter; it's going to be difficult for Zhou Jiu and his teammates to secure the kill on the alien beast.]

[It all depends on how sneaky you are. I could tell from her teammate's sneaky sand-burying maneuver that she had a hidden sneaky streak, and I think the success rate is pretty high.]

Zhou Jiu followed Chu Ming's sand-burying technique, raised the shield at the single part of the air vent valve, entered the sand, and followed Chu Ming stealthily.

[Holy crap, did anyone see that clearly? Is there any streamer who can explain how they got into the sand? I really want to learn.]

[It seems like it can move inside the sand like a sand spider. That's amazing; I've rarely seen this kind of behavior before.]

[Science Popularization: This has been done for many years, but the risks are too great. This method of attacking by walking in the sand and the operation instructions have gradually become rare, and schools no longer teach how to operate it.]

The earliest application of this sand-walking technique was modified by the former mecha master Chu Wei based on the movement patterns of sand spiders in the Sand Extermination Project: the ancient Blue Star sand spider swarm attacked human habitable areas and digested part of the soil into desert, and finally took action to eliminate all the sand spiders.

Unfortunately, an accident occurred when they were killing the level seven Sand Spider King.

If they encounter a monster while traversing the sand, the monster moves more freely and nimbly than the mechs, making it easy to kill it instantly. The sand is their stronghold, and their strength is easily amplified there.

However, the two members of the half-baked team were clever. With their defensive mechs in front, even if the alien beasts attacked, the defensive mechs could withstand the initial onslaught, giving the melee mechs behind them enough time to react and launch a counterattack.

[Wow, the person upstairs is amazing.]

Did the "Destroy the Sands" plan succeed? What happened to the great god Chu Wei in the end? My family also migrated from the ancient Blue Star in the early days. My parents missed their homeland before they passed away, but unfortunately, there is still no starship to return to the ancient Blue Star, and even their ashes cannot be sent back.

[...Chu Wei? Isn't that the mecha god I knew when I was a kid? Did something happen to him? I always thought he was still with the Black Bear Commando.]

[Is that the Black Bear Commando Unit, which belongs to the First Military District but also has an independent government and federal voting rights? I haven't heard anything about that unit in the news lately.]

[...]

[Holy crap, I got it! I got it!!!]

Run!

[Wow, that was amazing! One maneuver took down two melee mechs, and the spin maneuver also restrained the defensive mechs, giving her own defenses enough time. I'm so in awe of my goddess! She's so cool and awesome! I, an illiterate person, am simply unable to express my admiration.]

Chu Ming seized the opportunity when Zhou Jiu was holding back the opposing team, and immediately after getting the kill, he entered the command to transform the feet of his turtle shell mech into a smooth surface. He slid along the sand and quickly left the battlefield, while dodging the light waves thrown by the opposing mechs before they could react.

While Zhou Jiu was holding off the three mechs, he noticed that Chu Ming's Ghost Step was swaying from side to side, and he would dodge the attack by wobbling back and forth before being hit.

Zhou Jiu's eyebrows twitched. He told Chu Ming to run, but he didn't tell him to leave her here alone. As a defensive mecha, shouldn't he be at the forefront to block attacks for her?

Despite being told he was supposed to be holding back three mechs, Zhou Jiu found himself being held back during the battle.

As the next defensive mech shield approached, she crouched down in the direction of the shield and simultaneously input commands to activate the underground ring-shaped mechanical device that opened a sand road. The entire mech was buried in the desert. After activating the acceleration device and circling around the three mechs, she quickly accelerated and fled.

With his right leg broken, Zhou Jiu quickly emerged from the sand after a short time of lurking. He maintained his balance by slightly tilting one leg, and, clutching his broken right leg, slid away at high speed, disappearing into the distance.

"Zhou Jiu, if you've got the guts, don't run away!" Lu Qi, abandoning his usual aristocratic demeanor, activated the loudspeaker of all mechs and shouted angrily.

"Am I supposed to just stand here and wait to be killed? Do you think I'm stupid? Bye-bye." Zhou Jiu quickly replied, seemingly lost in thought.

[Haha, that's hilarious! Did you guys see that turtle-shell defensive mech? Zero damage rate, not a single shell missed, and it's incredibly fast.]

[If I were to fight in close combat, I'd be furious. If the defensive mech just wanders off on its own, what's the point? But speaking of which, the defensive mech's movement is among the best I've ever seen.]

Wow, Lu Qi swore! Having followed him from the beginning of his children's mecha series, I have to say, Zhou Jiu is really something else, managing to make Lu Qi swear. But I didn't see clearly what Zhou Jiu did besides stealing monsters just now?

[Let me tell you, after watching the replay in slow motion, when Zhou Jiu was holding off the three, almost all of his main attacks were directed at Lu Qi. In the slow-motion replay, you can see that Zhou Jiu cleverly launched an attack on Lu Qi at crucial moments. Finally, Ye Yang cut off his leg. When Zhou Jiu was burying himself in the sand, he also struck Lu Qi with an energy blade at his joint as he left, severing the connection between Lu Qi's mech arm and the mech bay.]