novelraw Chapter 24 : Desperation and the Assault
Chapter 24 : Desperation and the Assault
Chapter 24: Desperation and the Assault
【Candle Dragon】Command Center.
After receiving that anonymous report, Chen Mo immediately mobilized the military’s reconnaissance satellites and several high-altitude, long-endurance drones to conduct twenty-four-hour continuous surveillance over the abandoned textile factory area on the outskirts of the city.
Very soon, clearer intelligence was compiled on his desk.
“Report! Thermal imaging scan shows three humanoid heat sources inside the target building. Vital signs are stable.”
“Report! We detected faint signal interference in the target area. The other side has a strong counter-reconnaissance capability!”
All evidence pointed to a single fact — that monster Liu Gang and his two accomplices were hiding there!
“Looks like that report was real.”
The “Deputy Bureau Chief” disguise of Chen Xiang slammed his hand on the table, a flash of irrepressible excitement crossing his face. “Comrade Chen Mo, we can’t wait any longer! I order the immediate execution of Operation 【Decapitation】!”
“No!”
Chen Mo rejected flatly. “The targets are already alert. Judging from the environment, the terrain there is complex, full of metal he can manipulate. A direct assault would cost too many lives!”
“Then what do you want? Wait for them to run?!” the “Deputy Bureau Chief” roared.
“We can surround them first, then issue a warning.”
Chen Mo argued firmly. “We should at least try to communicate with them—find out what their objective is!”
“Sentimental fool!”
The “Deputy Bureau Chief” jabbed a finger toward Chen Mo’s face. “You’re being irresponsible to the people! To the comrades who have already sacrificed themselves!”
While the two were still arguing, the highest directive from the capital was transmitted down.
Authorization granted for the 【Candle Dragon】 Command Center to handle the matter at full discretion, permitted to use any necessary means—so long as the social impact was kept to a minimum.
……
Outside the abandoned textile factory, the shrill wail of sirens tore through the silence before dawn.
Dozens of blinding searchlights pierced the darkness from all directions, illuminating the entire industrial complex as bright as daylight, driving away every shadow.
In the sky above, more than a dozen WZ-10 attack helicopters circled like vultures. The dark muzzles of their cannons and rocket pods were locked dead on every corner of the factory.
On the ground, dozens of tracked “Changying” infantry fighting vehicles and quadrupedal combat robots—like enormous steel spiders—rolled slowly out of the darkness, forming an airtight ring of iron around the site.
Five kilometers away, inside a mobile command vehicle, Colonel codename “Thunder Hawk” stared coldly at the live feed transmitted to his screen.
Thermal imaging showed two abnormal high-energy signals inside the factory.
“All units, attention.”
Thunder Hawk’s voice came crisply over the encrypted channel, reaching every combat team. “Target locked.”
“Commence indiscriminate fire coverage—now!” His tone was icy, devoid of emotion.
The instant the order was given, a death symphony composed of steel and gunpowder erupted!
“Ratatatatatatata—!”
More than a dozen attack helicopters opened fire simultaneously.
The cannons spewed tongues of destruction, and countless tracer rounds streaked through the air like a storm of meteors, shredding the corrugated iron roof of the factory in seconds!
On the ground, the automatic grenade launchers of the IFVs roared, while the spider-like robots fired salvoes of miniature rockets.
Bullets, grenades, micro-rockets—
In mere seconds, countless embodiments of death and destruction engulfed the massive factory spanning thousands of square meters!
Explosions boomed one after another, flames soared skyward, and thick smoke and dust blanketed the heavens.
Under the saturation fire of modern war machines, the factory became a vision of hell itself.
Inside the factory.
At the very first wave of attack, Sun Na let out a piercing scream, forcing out every last shred of power remaining within her!
“Hold on for me—dammit!”
Her palms slammed against the ground, and a crimson wall of flame—several meters high and compressed from intensely concentrated fire—erupted upward like a blazing shield, barely blocking the barrage before her and Liu Gang.
Countless bullets and shrapnel struck the wall, making crackling “pa-pa-pa” sounds before melting instantly.
But the wall’s color was fading visibly fast; it wouldn’t last long.
“It’s no use…”
Leaning against a machine behind him, Liu Gang gasped heavily, his body weighed down by the curse’s burden as if filled with lead.
“Their firepower is too strong… we won’t last much longer.”
Sun Na bit her lip, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, her body trembling violently from exhaustion. “It’s still better than waiting to die!”
“You’re right…”
A glint of grim determination flashed in Liu Gang’s eyes. “We’re… not dead yet.”
He extended his trembling right hand—and clenched it tight!
“—Rise!”
With his roar—like that of a wounded beast—all the metal within the factory came alive!
The giant lathes, abandoned spinning machines, overhead steel beams, even the buried metal pipes beneath the ground—
Every scrap of steel groaned, twisted, and deformed, as if summoned by a king’s command, surging madly toward Liu Gang and Sun Na’s position!
Layer upon layer, the metals wrapped around them, forming a massive steel fortress—ugly, jagged, spiked, yet thick and unyielding enough to crush hope itself!
“Boom—!”
At the final moment before the fortress sealed shut, Sun Na’s wall of fire finally collapsed, shattered by a rocket blast.
The violent shockwave and shrapnel slammed against the newly formed iron bulwark, producing a deafening metallic roar and showering a storm of sparks.
Inside, Sun Na spat a mouthful of blood and fell unconscious.
Liu Gang’s vision darkened—he was barely holding onto consciousness.
He knew this was his limit.
The fortress of steel weighing several tons was his final line of defense.
Once it fell, there would be no doubt—he and Sun Na would be torn apart.
“Kid…”
Leaning against the cold metal wall, Liu Gang saw in his mind the determined eyes of Zhang Jie as he left.
“You… better make it…”
……
Over Jiang City’s night sky, a black shadow streaked between the towering buildings at a speed beyond imagination.
Zhang Jie had pushed the power of 【Windrunner】 to its absolute limit.
Air currents formed invisible platforms beneath his feet, letting him stride effortlessly across vertical walls and narrow gaps, each leap spanning dozens of meters.
His figure was like a specter flying close to the ground, leaving the howling police cars far behind on the streets below.
Above him, a majestic eagle soared—its razor-sharp eyes serving as his perfect navigator, guiding him along the fastest path toward the “Golden Splendor” KTV.
Liu Gang’s last words—“Kid, our lives are in your hands now”—echoed in his ears like war drums, fueling him with endless rage and resolve.
“【Cursemaster】…”
Zhang Jie gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with the fire of vengeance. “You just wait for me!”
“I’ll rip your damn head off myself!”
The air burst beneath his feet again, launching him like a shell fired from a cannon, streaking through the sky in a blur invisible to the naked eye, charging straight toward his target!
……
Inside the mobile command vehicle.
“Report! Target has formed a massive metallic compound—conventional weapons cannot penetrate!”
“Requesting permission to use ‘Armor-Piercer Type-7’ bunker-buster rounds!”
“Permission granted.”
Colonel Thunder Hawk gave the cold order.
Moments later, several soldiers unloaded sinister-looking rocket launchers from their vehicles, aiming squarely at the ugly steel fortress.
“Fire!”
“Whoosh—!”
Several armor-piercers streaked through the air, striking the same spot on the fortress.
“Boom—!”
The explosion, powerful enough to pierce a meter of reinforced concrete, shook the entire fortress violently. A massive dent appeared at the impact point, spiderweb cracks spreading rapidly outward.
Inside, Liu Gang coughed up a mouthful of blood. His consciousness was on the brink of collapse.
He could feel it—his fortress wouldn’t hold much longer.
……
Inside Yun Ge’s apartment.
The enormous light screen was split into two halves.
On the left was Zhang Jie’s first-person view, racing through the city—the roaring wind and the blur of lights conveying pure speed and fury.
On the right was the battlefield’s overhead view—the factory drowning in explosions, and the trembling steel fortress, filled with tragedy and despair.
Yun Ge swirled the whiskey glass in his hand with elegant grace. The amber liquid traced a smooth arc along the crystal rim.
In his eyes gleamed the calm appreciation of a theater connoisseur.
“The tragic guardian, and the swift avenger.”
“Two classic dramas unfolding at once.”
Then, his gaze drifted to the right-hand screen, at the fearless soldiers and the cold war machines.
“The discipline and organization of mortals—how far can they go against the transcendent?”
“This is truly… a magnificent performance.”