The insectoid army spread out, encroaching on the "Bird's Nest" base. The four-star Roach commander stood on a distant hill, raising half his body to watch this side, but did not approach.
The distance was already beyond the range of the AWP, and Zhang Fan had no choice but to stop it.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
After emptying a magazine, Zhang Fan felt powerless. Even though a high-explosive round could kill a few insects and an armor-piercing round could penetrate a few more, it was useless against a swarm of thousands of insects.
From just a few at the beginning, the number grew to dozens, hundreds, and now thousands. Zhang Fan suspected that his killing speed couldn't keep up with the insects' reproduction rate.
This was also what Liao Changtian had advised him, believing that it was pointless for a person to face a swarm of insects on Mars. The rational choice was to go to the space station to hide for a year. After a year, the temperature would drop, and perhaps everything would be over.
But Zhang Fan didn't want to. He didn't want to put his fate in the hands of insects. Did humanity's survival depend on the whims of insects? Was he praying that the insects would have mercy and spare him a year later?
An insect is just an insect!
Looking at the insects crawling all over the mountain, Zhang Fan put away his AWP, jumped up, grabbed the railing, and slid down from the signal tower.
It's lawn mowing time again.
Zhang Fan entered the maintenance bay, removed the excess equipment from his body, and apart from a tight-fitting spacesuit and a special helmet, he was no longer carrying any extra parts.
Zhang Fan walked to the central circular platform, stood with his feet in the designated spot, stretched out his arms, raised his head and chest, and looked straight ahead.
"Xiao Feng, begin donning the MK10 insect-specific mech."
"receive. "
Eight robotic arms on both sides retrieved parts of the MK10 titanium alloy mech from the rear and began assembling them onto Zhang Fan.
The mecha module underfoot closed automatically, and the legs were already encased in thick metal. The thighs, groin, chest, back, and arms were covered by the mecha one by one. Finally, a multi-functional helmet integrating various observation and aiming technologies was put on the outer layer of the space helmet from top to bottom.
laugh--
Exhaust the hydraulic system.
The full suit of armor tightened.
The crystal reactor on his chest lit up.
The eye-tracking device is lit up.
Zhang Fan stepped down from the stage, picked up the four-tube Gatling gun next to him, and walked out of the maintenance bay.
"Hey bro, you're here!"
Looking at the swarming insects rushing across the mountains and fields, Zhang Fan pulled the trigger.
Da da da da!
The four-barrel Gatling gun can fire 6,000 rounds per minute, using armor-piercing incendiary rounds compatible with the AWP.
In an instant, various mangled parts and severed limbs flew up from the insect line. Each insect that was hit was usually hit by more than one bullet. Smaller soldier cockroaches were shattered.
Missing limbs is normal; most insects are repeatedly blasted into several pieces. As the number of dead insects increases, the dead insects begin to catch fire under the influence of the incendiary agent.
Zhang Fan even thought he could smell grilled lobster?
Three minutes on stage requires ten years of practice off stage.
Using the Gatling gun was exhilarating, but unsustainable. In just three minutes, it consumed ten times the bullets Zhang Fan had used in the previous month.
This one move basically wiped out a month's worth of inventory.
The "Bird's Nest" base, which had undergone a round of cleaning, was in a state of devastation. Every room was riddled with bullet holes, but even those rooms without bullet holes had been eaten away by insects.
rustling sound—
On the distant hillside, a second wave of insects began to gather.
There are about two hundred bugs left, but the one-star, two-star, and three-star soldier cockroaches are all there.
Holy crap! Were all the others just cannon fodder?
Zhang Fan was truly convinced; the remaining two hundred insects were probably no less powerful than the previous thousand cannon fodder.
The insect swarm surged in again.
This time, the four-star male cockroach leader with the four-colored crystal on his forehead also raised half of his body and slowly advanced behind the insect line.
Zhang Fan threw away the Gatling gun, which had run out of bullets, and drew the molten twin swords from his back.
These are twin swords manufactured using a technology similar to that of the "Pangolin" melting engine. After the energy from the crystal reactor is injected into the titanium alloy sword body, the sword body begins to turn red.
Zhang Fan took the sword in a backhand motion and slashed horizontally, splitting the leading cockroach in two from head to tail, with boiling juices splashing from the broken end.
A one-star soldier cockroach pounced from the side.
Zhang Fan used his left hand to block the cockroach's scissor-like pincers with his sword, while his right hand gripped the sword and pierced the cockroach's body from bottom to top.
puff--
Zhang Fan ripped a hole in the soldier's chest and abdomen with his sword, killing him instantly.
Zhang Fan didn't stop. With a horizontal slash of his right sword, he sliced off the head of another soldier cockroach. With a vertical slash of his left sword, he cut off half of the head and shoulder of another soldier cockroach.
Like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds, not a single soldier could withstand the sharp blades of the molten twin swords.
The swarm of insects surrounded them, and Zhang Fan, who was at the center of the circle, had his mech covered in green liquid, left by the insects that had been killed.
Zhang Fan's mecha was also covered with all sorts of scars, mostly left by the pincers of star-level soldier cockroaches. Underneath some of the more severely damaged mecha, you could even see the spacesuit underneath.
A human clad in mechs stands alone in the middle of a swarm of insects, fighting a desperate battle—this must be what the apocalypse looks like...
...
"Mom, will he die?"
On Blue Star, the people gathered in the survivor point square watched this scene with immense anxiety.
This live stream has been going on for a long time. In the footage, the "Bird's Nest" base is burning, and Zhang Fan is already surrounded by a swarm of insects...
"Is Zhang Dada really going to die? No way!"
"Of course not, how could he die?" The audience member who said this lacked confidence.
"I really want to go and help him, he's all alone..."
"What good would it do you go? You might just become a burden."
"At least don't leave him alone!"
"We have to do something, don't we?"
"Damn bugs!"
"But why does Zhang Dada want to stay on Mars? Wouldn't it be better to go to the space station?"
Yes, why?
Zhang Fan also wanted to ask himself, "Are you stupid?"
Liao Changtian also asked him the same question: why did you decide to stay on Mars and fight the bugs to the death?
"Didn't you tell me that humans on Earth have lost their spirit of adventure?" Zhang Fan asked Liao Changtian back then.
"Yes." Liao Changtian nodded, his tone somewhat disappointed. "Having experienced the disaster and the series of events that followed, humanity has become timid and cautious, having to be careful in everything they do."
“This is not how humans should be.” Zhang Fan shook his head.
“But there’s nothing wrong with that,” Liao Changtian said. “Modern humans are afraid of making mistakes and can’t afford to make more mistakes, so they strive for stability in everything they do, avoiding problems and risks, which is understandable.”
"No, no, no, you're wrong." Zhang Fan shook his head. "Whether it was the Age of Exploration or the Space Age, the spirit of adventure is the driving force that propels humanity forward!"
"Humanity's goal should be the stars and the sea!"
"So..." Liao Changtian's gaze sharpened as he stared into Zhang Fan's eyes, "What do you want to do?"
"I will stay on Mars, right on the ground."
"Don't you know?" Liao Changtian looked calmly at Zhang Fan, "You are very likely to die."
“I know,” Zhang Fan nodded.
“Okay, I will help you.” Liao Changtian nodded.
"Huh? No..." Zhang Fan was stunned. "Shouldn't you have tried to persuade me? Maybe if you had pulled me back a little, I would have agreed to go to the space station?"
"Why should I pull you? You chose what I really want to do." Liao Changtian laughed happily. "Sometimes I even feel that insects are a test left to us by the previous generation. If humanity can't even pass this test, then we shouldn't talk about migrating to Mars!"
"I will not only help you, but I will also live stream your entire process of dealing with the bugs on Mars."
"Live stream? No..." Zhang Fan panicked a little. He now felt that Liao Changtian was the most irrational person. "Do you know? This way, humans might see me die in front of these insects?"
"I know." Liao Changtian nodded seriously. "If that's really the case, I'll make sure you look more handsome before you die."
"..."
This was truly an adventure devoid of any logic or rationality.
However, later historians usually describe this event as the beginning of humanity's rediscovery of adventure and courage after the disaster.
The final words spoken by Zhang Fan and Liao Changtian at the end of their conversation were etched into the very bones of humanity in the New Era through this event:
When humanity loses its rationality, it loses a lot; when it loses its animalistic instincts, it loses everything.
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