Chapter 139: Evenly Matched

Helicopters in Star Wars are quite sophisticated machines. Currently, no mechanic has been able to manufacture such big birds, so players have to rent them from the shopping center. However, the shopping center only offers two types: transport and civilian models, with no armed helicopters available.

The Arctic Snow Corporation’s "Bamboo Dragonfly" belongs to the heavy transport aircraft category. This craft has a high passenger capacity and moves very fast, reaching speeds of up to 210 kilometers per hour.

Xiaoyao and Linglan were each hanging by one hand from the landing gear on either side, holding swords in their other hands, trading furious blows high up in the air. This kind of high-altitude combat relied entirely on martial skills and physical strength, and Xiaoyao, a cybernetic warrior, clearly had the upper hand.

"Boss, how are you holding up?" a group of gunmen shouted from the cabin door, looking down anxiously.

Xiaoyao yelled, "Never mind me! Leave this bastard to me, and focus all your firepower on blowing up Madman!"

His strategy was sound. The Seven Gates Corporation’s "Bumblebee" was also a heavy transport with a large cabin door, ideal for carrying personnel, but it had fallen behind and was now blocked by the Bamboo Dragonfly.

The Blue Corporation's helicopter was an upgraded "UH-12" model, a small utility craft provided by the Wulin Broadcasting Station. Its fuselage was tiny, and the cabin door wasn't large enough to support high-altitude combat, but the aircraft boasted exceptional mobility and agility, with superior turning and diving capabilities. Hanmei Aoxue from Azure Starry Sky was also clinging to the landing gear, looking extremely worried as she watched Linglan struggle desperately ahead.

"Beauty, swing the aircraft to the right, open both cabin doors, fasten everyone's safety harnesses, and provide cover for Brother Madman!" Canglang watched the Bamboo Dragonfly zigzagging left and right and immediately realized that the Arctic Snow Corporation was targeting Wuhua.

There were quite a few gunmen aboard the Bamboo Dragonfly, lining the cabin doorway with M249 heavy machine guns. They unleashed a torrential barrage of gunfire directly at Wuhua, who was dangling from a steel cable beneath the Bumblebee. The muzzle flashes were a truly spectacular sight.

Although the distance was over a hundred meters, the hail of bullets was far too dense. Wuhua relied entirely on his armor's stats to endure the onslaught, while Night Fragrance constantly applied health boosters to his legs.

The female pilot proved quite clever. Realizing Wuhua was suspended underneath, she executed a wide, sharp banking turn in mid-air. Wuhua and his companion swung wildly through the air, causing the vast majority of Arctic Snow's bullets to miss their mark.

You Shoot With Impunity stood at the cabin door, sneering. "When I was using the M249, you little punks were still playing with MP5s. Today, I'll show you the power of Grandpa Impunity!"

With that, You Shoot With Impunity hoisted a new weapon—the MG3 Destroyer. He seemed to have a particular fondness for oversized, heavy machine guns.

Over the past half-month or so, Ugly Yet Handsome’s Chicago Typewriter had also been replaced by an M240G machine gun, which was essentially a variant of the M249. In the real world, it was a weapon used by the United States Marine Corps, boasting fierce firepower. Its stopping power was slightly lower than the M249's, but it compensated for the lower individual damage with a tremendously high rate of fire.

Meanwhile, the weapon Yu Jialing brought this time was a SIG550 semi-automatic sniper rifle custom-built for her by Brick MM. This firearm was by no means inferior to Wuhua's Finnish Star. Its advantages lay in being lighter and more compact than similar rifle models, with precision construction and exceptional performance. Utilizing a rotating bolt and a progressive trigger, it was capable of rapid fire. Paired with 5.56mm purple-grade NATO hard-core rounds specially manufactured for her by Iced Coffee, its piercing capability even surpassed Wuhua's AUG. The only minor drawback was that the muzzle kinetic energy was a mere 2500 joules.

The firepower configuration aboard the Bumblebee was actually superior to the dozen or more M249s on the Bamboo Dragonfly. The essence of a firefight did not lie in sheer numbers, but rather in the effective coordination of firepower.

In an instant, four streams of lethal flame erupted from the Bumblebee’s cabin door. Gunfire high in the sky cracked with deafening intensity. Although You Shoot With Impunity and Ugly Yet Handsome had long-standing tactical synergy, firing under such high-difficulty conditions meant that well over half their bullets struck the hull of the Bamboo Dragonfly, generating blinding sparks. Canglang’s BT-3 delivered much better results; its recoil was minimal and its rate of fire was high, causing many of the frontline gunmen on the Bamboo Dragonfly to take hits.

However, the personnel of the Arctic Snow Corporation were well-trained and maintained absolute composure, immediately returning fire. Floating red damage numbers flickered across the cabin doors of both aircraft, making it look as though the helicopters themselves were bleeding. The shopping center's helicopter manufacturing materials were provided by the Federal Government and were completely immune to ordinary gunfire; as long as they avoided extreme pressure and violent collisions, they would generally remain fine.

The longer Wuhua hung below, the more anxious he became. If this kept up, getting worn down and killed was guaranteed. He couldn't help roaring, "Aim for the legs! Aim for the legs! Jialing, are you an idiot?"

Yu Jialing was also using her new weapon for the first time, and her proficiency was severely lacking. She had already emptied a 30-round magazine and only scored eight hits. Hearing Wuhua shout from below, she immediately half-crouched and snapped off seven or eight consecutive rounds. Finally, a frontline enemy gunman took a hit to the lower leg and instantly dropped to his knees, though he didn't fall off.

Wuhua mentally cursed himself for being a moron as well. Everyone had safety harnesses on; what was the point of hoping they'd fall?

Xiaoyao grew even more frantic. "Are you all a bunch of fools? What good does shooting machine gunners do? Hit Madman! The energy source is on that bastard—blow it out of him!"

Seeing the enemy machine gun bullets once again rain down, the female pilot hastily executed a wide-arc maneuver. Covered in bloody holes from head to toe, Wuhua’s eyes turned red with fury as well. "Fly the damn copter right up to them! I'll deal with Xiaoyao myself, dammit!"

Seeing Linglan clinging to the landing gear with increasingly sluggish movements, Night Fragrance couldn't help pleading, "Brother Madman, won't you help Sister Linglan? I know you have bad blood with them, but she's really not a bad person."

In truth, the most panicked weren't them, but the occupants of the UH-12 trailing behind. The two members of Azure Starry Sky were frantic with worry. They couldn't bring their helicopter closer because the firepower of the other two factions had already woven a deadly net in the air; anyone who flew in would be turned into a sieve.

Wuhua growled, "You don't need to tell me; I was going to finish him anyway. The bastard got my brother killed, damn it."

Whether the female pilot was simply in awe of Wuhua or possessed immense courage, she boldly steered the Bumblebee directly toward the Bamboo Dragonfly until the distance between them closed to less than 50 meters.

The three helicopters circled each other in the air, forming a triangle that, viewed from the ground, looked like three giant insects locked in fierce combat.

"Attack! Concentrate your firepower and hit the windshield of the cockpit!" Canglang’s eyes were bloodshot too. The performance of the three aircraft was roughly similar, making a clean escape nearly impossible. The key was to rescue their comrades and successfully extract the energy source.

Wuhua whipped out his AUG, aimed with one hand, and unleashed a rapid burst of fire directly at Xiaoyao. However, the AUG was ultimately a two-handed weapon, and his accuracy shooting one-handed was pathetically low. A flurry of sparks flashed across the Bamboo Dragonfly’s undercarriage. Xiaoyao's alloy armor clearly wasn't cheap either; the occasional bullet that struck him dealt less than 800 points of damage.

Once his 60-round magazine was empty, Wuhua could only stare helplessly at his opponents. Trying to reload and reset the safety with one hand at high altitudes was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Xiaoyao roared at the top of his lungs, "A bunch of useless trash! Kill Madman! Whoever takes out Madman gets a 200,000-point bounty!"

Hearing this, Night Fragrance panicked and resolutely released a one-handed psionic wave to attack Xiaoyao desperately, though her accuracy was even worse.

At that moment, Linglan finally reached her limit. A burst of intense flame surged along Xiaoyao's alloy blade, washing over Linglan and instantly turning her into a human torch, scorching her entire suit of armor black.

Xiaoyao laughed uproariously. "Bitch, overestimating your capabilities, trying to sneak-attack me? Taste my Blazing Saber Technique!" With that, he delivered another ferocious, sweeping heavy slash. Having endured intense combat for a prolonged period, Linglan's stamina and fatigue bars were nearly depleted. This saber strike came with bizarre momentum and brutal force, landing squarely across her waist. The damage numbers popping up above her head combined fire damage and slash damage, directly inflicting a severe injury: "—2210."

Unable to hold on any longer, Linglan let out a terrifying shriek, loosened her grip, and plummeted downward.

Viewed from the helicopter, the riverbanks below looked no wider than a ribbon. Falling from such a height meant certain death, and since Linglan was completely engulfed in flames, she looked like a burning human husk as she fell.

"Ah————!"

The piercing scream echoed across the entire Dead Wasteland, reverberating through the mountains and refusing to fade for a long time.

"Fourth Sister!"

"Number Four!"

"Sister Linglan!"

Hanmei Aoxue, Azure Starry Sky, and Night Fragrance cried out in unison.

"Hahahahaha!" Xiaoyao burst into triumphant laughter. "Trying to snatch the energy source from me means only one end—death! I'll make sure you don't even have a burial site. You scheming bitches, how dare you contend with me?"

Wuhua stood there dumbfounded. He didn't think Xiaoyao was particularly formidable, nor did he find him especially cruel; killing each other over the energy source was entirely normal. Yet, witnessing Linglan's tragic death, Wuhua couldn't help feeling a tinge of pity for her. The Blue Corporation had already suffered plenty of bitter lessons lately. Wuhua felt a pang of sorrow—not for them, but for humanity itself. Wherever there were people, there was pugilistic society; and wherever there was a pugilistic society, the flash of blades and the bitterness of old grudges were inevitable. Even though everyone acted merely to survive, the law of the jungle reigned supreme. That was an eternal, unchanging truth.

Wuhua sighed, unaware that an entirely new situation was about to unfold.