Chapter 1020: Chapter 1020
The speeding off-road vehicle tore across the wilderness, with the girl clutching the steering wheel stepping hard on the accelerator.
Armored vehicles from behind came driving up, trying to block the path of the off-road vehicle ahead and at the same time pivoted their gun barrels, aiming at the off-road vehicle.
Combat jets in the sky swooshed by with a whistling wind, and the brilliant laser cannons streaked across the earth, destroying all the armored vehicles lined up in a row.
Melted steel sparkled with radiance under the cover of night, and the scorching earth flowed on the ground like lava.
Fierce flames burned among the wreckage, erecting a lustrous wall of fire.
The red-haired girl gripped the steering wheel in her hands, teeth clenched tightly.
Although these armored vehicles had not succeeded in hitting them, they had successfully blocked their way.
At such high speeds, yanking the steering wheel would surely result in a rollover; slowing down to steer around would give the enemy the chance to tighten the encirclement.
"Don’t worry, just keep moving forward."
It was then that an elderly but decisive voice reached the girl’s ears.
The girl took a deep breath, didn’t fiddle with the steering wheel, and her right foot continued to press down hard on the accelerator.
The speeding off-road vehicle bumped and jolted across the wilderness, charging toward the burning wreckage with unwavering speed.
In the instant that she was about to collide with the burning steel debris, the girl gazed at the flames engulfing the wreckage with a trembling hand on the steering wheel, but she did not change course because of this.
However, the collision she anticipated in her mind did not happen, as a powerful force stamped on the rear of the off-road vehicle, tilting it upwards like a skateboard.
The girl sitting inside stared blankly at the scene, watching as the vehicle beneath her lifted its front and ’flew’ into the sky.
Rushing wind whistled through the open car windows, carrying with it a roaring sound.
That pitch-black off-road vehicle, like a streak of light, soared across the sky, leaping over the surging wall of fire and wreckage, over the silver barrier formed by jets and armored vehicles, breaking out of the camp ablaze with warfare and roars.
Mercenary jets hanging in the sky quickly turned their gun barrels to aim at the airborne off-road vehicle, then were intercepted by mechas that rapidly arrived from behind.
Some stray bullets, dodging the interception, shot toward the off-road vehicle but burst into fireworks in the sky before they could touch the pitch-black vehicle.
Just as the pitch-black off-road vehicle was about to land, the car door was suddenly yanked open, and a large hand grabbed the slightly stunned body of the girl, pulling her into an embrace while simultaneously removing the walkie-talkie from the center of the vehicle.
Immediately afterward, the red-haired girl felt the elderly man beside her lightly tap his foot to jump, using the powerful inertia of the vehicle’s flight to surge further forward.
Behind them, the pitch-black off-road vehicle landed on the earthen slope of the wilderness, its body instantly dented and shattered, exploding into a scorching blaze alongside a booming sound.
After traversing nearly a hundred meters, He Ao’s footsteps also touched the ground, he planted his golden staff into the earth, and released the girl in his arms, letting her stand steadily on the ground.
The sound of whistling wind grew from distant to near, and a Dragon Cavalry Fighter jet emblazoned with the White Jasmine Emblem swung down to land, stopping in front of the two, kicking up a bit of dust and gust.
Soon after, the door of the jet opened, and a young officer jumped out from behind the door, rushing towards He Ao, looking anxiously at him, "Mr. Lin En, are you alright?!"
He Ao smiled and shook his head, he patted the dust off his body, and clipped the walkie-talkie taken from the off-road vehicle to his chest, "They’re not enough to hurt me."
The young officer stared wide-eyed at the elderly man in front of him.
Mr. Lin En had earlier gotten off the transport plane, telling him that if a fight broke out, to bring a squad to rescue.
He had originally thought that Mr. Lin En was preparing for any potential conflict with the Mercenary Corps at the entrance, so that they could come to the rescue in time.
But to his surprise, Mr. Lin En had entered deep into the camp alone and managed to fight his way out single-handedly.
That kind of "fighting."
Hmm, not only did he fight his way out single-handedly, but he also rescued a hostage along the way.
One man breaking through a massive, elite financial consortium’s mercenary camp, escaping unscathed from a relentless pursuit of countless war machines—such an event seemed impossible.
Had anyone spoken of this to his face, even if it were those legendary top-tier Transcendents, he would have thought them to be boasting, talking big.
But if it were Mr. Lin En.
Then it wouldn’t be strange at all.
He took a gentle breath, turned to He Ao, and quickly said, "General Mid has already led the troops over, we can go meet up with them right away."
Upon hearing this, He Ao didn’t immediately respond but instead turned to glance at the Mercenary Corps’ army that was gradually closing in from behind, and gently shook his head, "It’s too late."
Hearing He Ao’s words, the young officer slightly froze, then fell into a bit of silence.
The speed of a large-scale military operation is hard to pick up.
In fact, the young officer was well aware that the Elderly had left something unsaid: even if the entire City Defense Army from North City were to come, it was highly likely they wouldn’t be able to defeat the Kopes Mining Mercenary Corps in their home base.
’Mr. Lin En’ was able to move in and out quickly because he was strong and formidable and, as an individual Transcendent entity, was highly agile—ordinary troops couldn’t catch up to him.
But once it involved legion warfare, even if Mr. Lin En was still at the forefront, penetrating deep into enemy territory, he might not be able to make up for the fundamental power difference between the two legions and help the North City City Defense Army achieve a reversal.
This was unlike the previous suppression of Scott’s rebel forces, where even among Scott’s rebels, many were merely swept up in the turmoil.
Once Scott died, facing the overwhelming might of the City Defense Army, those rebels could easily surrender and even be reorganized to join under Mr. Lin En’s command.
After all, legally, they were originally subordinates of Mr. Lin En.
However, in confronting the elite Kopes Mining Mercenary Corps, there was only one condition for victory: to completely rout them.
Clearly, the North City City Defense Army, having just engaged in a major battle, couldn’t achieve this on the Kopes Mining Mercenary Corps’ advantageous wilderness terrain.
For General Mid to bring troops was actually just a "suicide mission."
But he could not not come, because ’Mr. Lin En’ was here.
Now, General Mid had actually already sent all mobile units ahead of the main force for the rescue.
Although these mobile units still could not withstand the Kopes Mining Mercenary Corps, they could buy time for Mr. Lin En, giving Mr. Lin En a chance to escape back to Yilan City.
Of course, even then, judging by the current time, it was already a bit too late for those mobile units to arrive.
If the Kopes Mining Mercenary Corps’ commander had been completely drawn to the north, they would still have a chance to escape, but clearly, that commander realized the ruse midway and cut off this opportunity.
The young officer’s mouth opened as though he wanted to say something, but he realized that he couldn’t think of any suggestion that could change the current situation.
In the end, he glanced at the overwhelming wave of Mecha approaching, and quickly said, "Mr. Lin En, you go up to the Dragon Cavalry Fighter first; we will cover the retreat."
They had already pushed their limits by hammering a hole in the interception net formed by the troops on the south side of the Kopes Mining camp,
And that was also a result of He Ao previously drawing the elite troops to the north, leaving behind only a collection of the weak and ill-equipped troops on the south side with little combat effectiveness.
Once the main forces of Kopes Mining caught up, there was almost no hope for this small team to escape.
But this could buy Mr. Lin En a bit of time; with Mr. Lin En’s strength, it was possible he could escape on his own.
"Take my daughter back, and tell Mid there’s no need to come over. Go back and defend the city,"
However, He Ao seemed to have not heard him at all but calmly said, "I’ll stay here. I can handle them."
The young officer was slightly stunned, then thought he had heard wrong and quickly said, "Mr. Lin En, you guys need to leave now, we really don’t have time."
The engines of the Dragon Cavalry Fighters roared behind him.
"I’ll cover our retreat."
He Ao looked at him calmly and repeated his statement.
The young officer stared blankly at the elderly man in front of him, listening to the old man’s confirming words, momentarily lost in thought, he rasped, "What are you talking about? There’s never been an instance in this world where leaders and generals cover the retreat!"
He Ao gently patted his shoulder, his voice growing gradually colder and more authoritative, "Soldier, take the rescued hostages and your subordinates back to Yilan. That’s an order."
The young officer was slightly taken aback, and finally, he straightened his posture, placing his hand across his chest, "Yes, Commander!"
It was at that moment, the red-haired girl who had been silent by his side suddenly pulled out three test tubes and a bag of gummy bears from a chemical experiment bag and stuffed them into the old man’s pocket.
He Ao turned his head and looked at those fiery red strands of hair.
The girl opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.
She just gazed at the old man’s aged face, as if trying to etch his visage forever in her memory.
After stuffing everything from her arms into the old man’s pockets, she lowered her head, turned around, and walked towards the nearby Dragon Cavalry Fighters.
Just like the countless times she had left Yilan City for Dawn City, without saying goodbye to anyone and with no one to see her off.
He Ao shifted his gaze from the girl’s retreating figure, then lowered his head and felt for something else in another pocket.
It was then that he felt a small hand clutching the hem of his clothing, a stammering voice coming from his side, "Dad..."
He Ao lowered his head and looked at the girl pulling at his clothing, at her fiery red strands of hair, at her upturned face, covered with glistening tears.
He gently reached out his hand to hold her face, leaning down to kiss the girl’s forehead.
Then he let go of her hand, taking the gummy bears from his pocket—one of the things he had purchased at the North Gate convenience store.
The crumpled bag of gummy bears was gently placed into the girl’s hand.
His broad palm enfolded the girl’s small hand as the elderly man looked at her, lifted his hand, and with a curved forefinger, gently wiped away the tears on her cheek, revealing a smile,
The girl with eyes full of tears gazed at the old man, not speaking. She reached out her hand, gently touching the wrinkles on the old man’s face.
Finally, under the old man’s gaze, she let go, turned around, and walked back to the Dragon Cavalry Fighter with its doors wide open,
The young officer quickly followed her.
She reached the entrance, and just before stepping in, she turned back to look at the old man one last time.
Then, standing at the doorway, she kept her gaze firmly on the old and upright figure.
The roaring Dragon Cavalry Fighter lifted off, taking the fiery red strands of hair into the night sky.
Only when the figure had completely vanished did He Ao withdraw his gaze, glanced at his empty palm, and then turned around to look at the densely packed war machines behind him.
The Mechas and warplanes of the City Defense Army, desperately trying to block the Mercenary Corps, had come to a halt in this very short moment, as if they had heard some incredible sound.
Eventually, they retreated backward, widening the distance from the Mercenary Corps.
The Mechas, in the process of retreat, looked toward where the Elderly stood. They seemed unsure of how to express themselves, and also seemingly at a loss for what exactly to express.
Finally, they placed their hands horizontally across their chests, delivering the most solemn salute to the Elderly.
He Ao, too, slightly placed his hand across his chest, returning the gesture.
Then he pulled out the golden staff from the ground, turned his head back, and looked at the sky filled with Mechas.
After the City Defense Army squad had completely retreated, the command system of the Mercenary Corps seemed to fall into a kind of bewildered lull.
They did not chase after the Mechas nor did they initiate any further attacks. Instead, they stopped, and amidst the sky that the war machines had piled into mountain peaks, they turned their barrels, warily gazing down at the Elderly below.
Before the Elderly entered the camp, they too stood there, confronting the Elderly.
The flowing passage of time seemed to roll back to the starting point, everything reverting to how it all began.
He Ao planted the golden staff into the ground, calmly gazing at the sky filled with war machines.
The chilly wind blew through his hair, the dense and sparkling jade-like luminescence flowing upon the golden staff.
The fine Divine Sense on the staff guided the flowing energy to converge into a complex geometric cross emblem.
The parting seemed to be delayed for a bit, but the remaining time was still more than enough.
Yilan City·Saint Ilan District
Heavy clouds bore down on the sky outside the window, pressing upon everyone’s heart, as if something indescribable was gestating within and about to Advent.
The cold wind blew over buildings and streets, as well as into the flickering light of the small house.
Big Beard, the politician, took out a bottle of whiskey with a discount sticker from the fridge, tossed the donation receipt on the table aside into a pile of documents, then picked up the old remote control and turned on the outdated TV in the small living room.
The TV screen flickered, and immediately after, a young reporter and an Elderly man in a grey suit appeared on the screen.
This was an interview program, one that had taken Yilan City by storm today.
However, Big Beard had not watched this interview even once until now.
At this moment, the program on the TV seemed to also be drawing to a close.
After hesitating, Big Beard did not change the channel; he sat down on the sofa, took a glass from the cup holder on the table, and poured half a glass of whiskey.
Just then, the host on the TV turned to the interviewed Elderly and quietly asked, "If everything in Yilan City has been set on the right track, what would you like to do? Would you continue to be the Mayor? I feel like the Yilan people might support you indefinitely."
"What would I like to do?"
The Elderly, holding a brass cane, gradually softened his tone, then gently smiled and said, "I probably wouldn’t want to leave Yilan City, after all, this is where I was born and struggled for half of my life.
"But I certainly wouldn’t go back to the same profession, after all, in Yilan City, there isn’t much room for advancement in my current job anymore."
Some light laughter was heard from the TV.
Then the Elderly on the TV leaned back on the sofa, smiling with some sentimentality,
"My wife, when she was alive, often criticized me for lacking affection for our children, always being busy with my own things. While my wife was around, we could still chat. But now, I can barely have a word with my daughter once a month, I don’t even know when she started attending school."
He continued to smile, his voice slow and extended,
"If there really comes a day when Yilan City has been set right, and I can pull away from work,
"Then I would probably want to find a place where ’Spring breezes fill the air with the fragrance of peach and plum blossoms, where melons are sweet and the scenery is pleasing,’ occasionally call my daughter, meet up and talk about trivial matters of life, care about her work, and be a regular old man and enjoy a good retirement.
"That’s the future I once envisioned."