The situation on the battlefield right now had gone completely beyond any conventional understanding.
Maggie moved like a "Valkyrie" strolling through a storm of gunfire, her silhouette flickering among the ruins at speeds the naked eye could barely track.
The dense hail of bullets fired by the National Guard traitors mostly chased her afterimages in vain.
Occasionally, a few lucky shots struck her body, but they only sparked insignificant flecks of fire against her custom-made ballistic civilian clothing before ricocheting harmlessly away. They couldn't "break her defense," nor could they slow her down by even a fraction.
Even more inconceivably, one stray bullet, by "sheer dumb luck," hit her directly in the temple.
?!
Under the horrified gaze of Anna and the others, the expected scene of an exploding head did not happen.
The moment the bullet struck, it was as if it had hit a layer of tough barrier, emitting a crisp "ding" sound before deforming and bouncing off. Maggie merely tilted her head slightly, the icy killing intent in her eyes undiminished.
"Th... That's impossible?!"
Anna and all the resistance soldiers witnessing this scene involuntarily sucked in a cold breath, their faces written with utter astonishment and disbelief.
This had completely overturned their understanding of what a "human" was.
Even those initially fierce National Guard traitors now showed obvious wavering and fear. Some of their shooting even hesitated—facing an invulnerable enemy, their morale was rapidly dissipating.
However, in stark contrast to the human traitors' reaction, those Combined Army soldiers remained calm.
"They" seemed devoid of any emotional module for fear. Facing Maggie's inhuman performance, they showed no emotional fluctuation, continuing to fire mechanically, attempting to limit her movement with a net of firepower.
At the same time, "they" called for more support via comms, as if Maggie were merely a tricky target requiring more resources to neutralize, rather than a terrifying existence.
Soon, piercing sirens and heavy engine roars approached from afar. More and more Combined Army soldiers and National Guard vehicles arrived at the scene, sealing the area watertight.
The firepower instantly escalated by several magnitudes. The dense rain of bullets almost plowed the area where Maggie was located completely flat.
Yet, the result remained "despairing" for the opposition.
Maggie weaved through the bullet storm. Every burst from her Gauss submachine gun inevitably took down an enemy.
Sometimes she charged into the enemy group, her combat daggers weaving arcs of death, sending severed limbs flying wherever she passed;
Sometimes she used cover for precise bursts, prioritizing the elimination of enemies attempting to operate heavy weapons.
Even as the enemy numbers grew, they remained helpless against her, leaving behind only a mess of corpses and burning vehicle wreckage.
"..."
"..."
Watching Maggie, who was practically fighting an entire army single-handedly below, and her companions who could only provide limited fire support from upstairs—Anna couldn't help but swallow, her voice dry with emotion: "I... I feel like, at this point in the battle, it seems... it doesn't even concern us anymore? Are we just... like spectators?"
This feeling of helplessness and shock left her with mixed emotions.
By the window, Leon continued to steadily pick off valuable targets. Hearing Anna's words, he responded indifferently: "Get used to it."
He knew in his heart that Maggie displaying such overwhelming power was certainly to end the battle quickly, but it was also to directly and shockingly demonstrate the power possessed by the Human Empire to these resistance soldiers like Anna, thoroughly shattering any lingering doubts they might have and igniting the fire of hope in their hearts.
To be honest, whether it was Leon himself or Mike who had already evacuated with the main force, they had all undergone gene enhancement by the Imperial Bio-Division. Their physical fitness, reaction speed, and combat skills were far beyond ordinary people.
They could also rely on personal prowess and tactical acumen to fight ten or more enemies alone, using complex terrain to maneuver and dogfight with these Combined Army soldiers and National Guard.
But the key was, they were essentially still "flesh and blood."
Their enhancements brought greater endurance and self-healing. Except for a few fatal areas like the head and heart, they might be able to withstand a few pistol rounds or shrapnel, but once hit directly in vital areas by large-caliber weapons, explosives, or concentrated rifle fire, they too faced the threat of severe injury or even death.
Combat for them was still a "dance" on the edge of a blade.
Maggie, on the other hand, didn't have to worry about this aspect at all.
Compound V and subsequent Imperial biotechnology modifications had endowed her with almost monster-like physical defense and recovery capabilities, allowing her to sweep through such intense frontal conflicts like a true Valkyrie.
Just as the battle seemed to fall into a stalemate...
Or rather, a one-sided crushing stalemate, a greater threat arrived from the sky.
Two helicopter gunships painted with Combined Army insignias roared in, evidently support forces urgently called in.
Without any warning, the cannons on their noses spat tongues of fire. A dense rain of bullets like a metal storm instantly covered the area where Maggie was, completely submerging her.
Immediately after, several air-to-ground missiles trailed flames, accurately striking the same location.
Boom! Boom! Boom—!!!
Deafening explosions rang out in succession. Fire soared into the sky, and thick smoke and debris instantly swallowed that area completely.
!!!
Seeing this scene, the hearts of Anna and the resistance soldiers instantly leaped to their throats.
However, when the smoke cleared, they saw Maggie still standing in place, her body intact.
It was just that her ballistic civilian clothing, after enduring such a baptism of concentrated fire, had finally reached its limit, showing multiple charred, torn breaches, revealing the tougher lining material underneath.
Being attacked continuously, even Maggie finally flashed a trace of clear anger in her eyes.
Her gaze coldly swept over the two helicopters still circling and preparing for a second round of attacks, and then she made a move that shocked everyone to the core—
She bent down abruptly, her hands gripping the edge of the chassis of a destroyed armored personnel carrier next to her. The heavy steel wreckage seemed weightless in her hands.
Accompanied by the tooth-aching sound of twisting metal, she forcefully tore the armored vehicle wreckage into two pieces.
Then, under everyone's dumbfounded gaze, she hurled these two massive pieces of steel wreckage like javelins towards the two helicopter gunships in the air with all her might??!!
The pilots didn't even have time to make effective evasive maneuvers—
Crash!
Boom!
Two massive impact and explosion sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
The two helicopter gunships turned into two brilliant fireballs in the air. Burning debris fell like rain onto the Combined Army and National Guard positions below, triggering even greater chaos, casualties, and panic.
Just then, Leon's voice came through the comms: "Maggie, that's about enough. Time to withdraw."
Hearing this, the anger in Maggie's eyes quickly receded, returning to her usual indifference.
She glanced at the chaotic enemy forces and didn't linger in battle.
"Uncle, follow me!"
Anna reacted immediately, suppressing the turbulent waves in her heart, shouting to the rearguard resistance soldiers, Leon, and Maggie.
They quickly abandoned their firing positions and, following the pre-set route, rushed towards a concealed basement entrance covered by debris on the ground floor of the apartment building.
And there, led to a pre-dug underground tunnel.
Everyone quickly entered the tunnel, moving rapidly in the dark.
Anna, walking last, pressed the detonator in her hand after confirming everyone had entered.
Boom!
A muffled boom came from behind. The tunnel entrance was completely collapsed by pre-planted explosives, blocking the pursuers' path.
At the same time, more intense explosions rang out in succession. The entire abandoned apartment building they used as a stronghold began to tilt and collapse in the violent explosions, burying all traces of battle and potential clues under the ruins.
The group retreated quickly along the dark tunnel, only heavy breathing and footsteps echoing in the narrow space.
In the hearts of Anna and the other resistance soldiers, besides the relief of surviving a disaster, there was more of a daze and shock after their worldview had been completely reshaped.
What they witnessed today was power beyond their understanding of twenty years of resistance.
And after traveling for a long time through the intricate underground pipe network filled with the smell of dampness and rust...
Leon's group finally successfully rendezvoused with Nikolai, Mike, and the main local resistance force who had evacuated earlier.
The rendezvous point was a relatively wide abandoned underground pumping station.
When the figures of Leon, Maggie, and the seven rearguard soldiers including Anna appeared at the tunnel exit, the people waiting anxiously there immediately surrounded them.
However, what they saw was not only the relief that their companions were safe and sound, but also the complex expression on the faces of every rearguard soldier, including Anna, which had not yet completely faded—a mix of shock, daze, and a trace of fanaticism.
"It's good that you're okay."
Nikolai stepped forward and patted Leon on the shoulder, then looked concernedly at Anna and the other soldiers. "How was the situation? What about the pursuing enemies?"
Before Leon could answer, Mike had already smiled and raised the personal computer on his wrist: "Hey, guys, don't worry about pursuers. You absolutely cannot imagine what just happened."
He operated it a few times, and a holographic projection lit up again, starting to play the real-time combat footage recorded by high-altitude stealth drones and the invisible eyepieces of Leon and the others, which had been automatically edited.
In the footage, it was exactly the scene of Maggie alone fighting against the entire Combined Army and National Guard amidst a hail of bullets and explosions.
The invulnerable body, ghost-like speed, and the inhuman act of tearing apart an armored vehicle and throwing it to shoot down helicopter gunships at the end were clearly presented in front of all resistance soldiers.
"My God..."
"Is... is this really something a human can do?"
"She... what exactly is she?"
For a time, the entire underground pumping station was filled with gasps and whispers of disbelief rising one after another.
The resistance soldiers on Nikolai's side all had their mouths wide open in surprise, staring fixedly at the holographic projection, as if trying to carve every frame into their brains.
The look in their eyes when they looked at Maggie had completely changed from previous suspicion and curiosity to awe like looking up at a deity.
Anna and the others looked like "See, we had the same expression at the time."
After a brief shock, led by Nikolai, the team continued to move and finally arrived at a more concealed and relatively better-equipped underground stronghold on the edge of the abandoned urban area.
This place was more like a small underground fortress, with independent power generation equipment, water storage systems, and ventilation facilities, and was connected to several main underground pipe networks, obviously having been operated for quite some time.
After reuniting with a group of rearguard resistance soldiers, the tense atmosphere eased slightly.
In a relatively quiet room in the stronghold converted from an old air raid shelter, Leon, Mike, Maggie, along with Nikolai, Anna, and a few other resistance members sat together.
After simple replenishment, Leon cut to the chase. He looked at Nikolai, whose face was etched with wrinkles like knife cuts and whose eyes held too much suffering, and asked in a deep voice: "Captain, now, can you tell us? This Earth... what exactly are these so-called 'Combined Army' and 'National Guard'? How did the darkness that has lasted for twenty years begin?"
Nikolai took a deep drag on a local tobacco roll with a spicy taste. Amidst the swirling smoke, his eyes became distant and painful, as if returning to the era when that nightmare began.
With his low, hoarse voice, he began to recount the tragic fate sealed in dust of this planet: "The root of all this... goes back a long time ago, to a place called Black Mesa..."
He slowly narrated that covered-up history from his own perspective and understanding: "It is said that in the old era, a major incident occurred at a secret research facility located in Black Mesa. It seems some experiment triggered a disaster, opening a portal to an alien world called Xen.
Countless strange-shaped alien creatures, such as those Headcrabs that can turn people into walking dead, poured into our world, and the globe fell into chaos.
And this was the Black Mesa Incident, the Resonance Cascade.
People fled in terror to cities protected by the army, but the chaos was far from over.
Just as we were overwhelmed by these Xen creatures, the real doomsday arrived..."
His voice carried a bone-deep hatred, "The Combined Army, this group of marauders from other dimensions, discovered us through the rift left by the Black Mesa Incident.
They used teleportation technology we couldn't understand to drop massive, castle-like structures directly over our most important cities!
That was...
The Seven Hour War."
When Nikolai spat out this term, his fingers were trembling slightly, "Only seven hours! Our army had to deal with Xen monsters all over the globe while facing Combined Army troops with technology far surpassing ours by several eras...
All our resistance, in front of their absolute power, was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
The global defense system completely collapsed within seven hours."
"Then, the person in charge of the Black Mesa base, Wallace Breen, he surrendered... on behalf of the remaining humanity."
Nikolai's voice was full of contempt and anger, "He knelt before the Combined Army in exchange for the empty title of 'Earth Administrator,' helping them rule and enslave our own people.
Cities were renumbered. The Combined Army established the so-called 'National Guard,' using a little pitiful food and privilege to tempt some scum to suppress their compatriots.
As for those real Combined Army soldiers..."
A trace of fear flashed in Nikolai's eyes, "They... they are no longer human, or any living creature.
They are... monsters modified by the Combined Army.
No emotions, no fear, knowing only to obey orders.
They are the fangs and claws of the Combined Army controlling Earth. We suspect that the Combined Army's ultimate goal is to modify all humans into slaves like them!
As for those Xen creatures, later we discovered that they were actually also one of the races conquered by the Combined Army.
Now, the Combined Army uses them as biological weapons against us, like loading Headcrabs into shells and firing them at our strongholds...
Twenty years..." Nikolai crushed the cigarette butt, his voice tired and heavy, "We hid underground like rats, watching helplessly as our world was drained bit by bit, our compatriots enslaved and modified.
The main force of the Combined Army seemed to have left after defeating us, leaving only those modified soldiers and the puppet regime to maintain rule, but even so, we couldn't see any hope..., until...
Until you appeared, and this is our story, a story of twenty years of defeat."
______
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