Chapter 1403
Dinosaur Men Join Earth's Faction
The world has been quite lively lately.
On the radar screen in the Victory team's command room, red dots flashed like firecrackers during the Lunar New Year.
Daigo stared at the screen, his eyelids twitching.
"Have the monsters been a bit too active lately?"
“They pop up every few days.” Xincheng slumped in his chair, his face still bearing the paw prints Spike had left yesterday. “I just got beaten up by a dog, and now I have to fight monsters. Even the donkeys in the production team aren’t this tired.”
“That’s called training,” Horii corrected from the side, his own butt still aching, “though it really did feel like being beaten by a dog.”
Spike is a dog.
"..."
Kijima walked in from the door of the command room, holding a cup of hot cocoa.
"Stop complaining. We have a mission."
"What mission?" Daigo immediately sat up straight.
“There’s been a monster reaction in the K3 area, but we don’t need to get involved.” Megumi put her cup on the table, a slight smile playing on her lips. “The support troops have already gone.”
"Reinforcements?" Lina leaned closer. "Those EDF guys?"
“No.” Megumi shook her head. “She’s new.”
She pressed the remote control.
Screen switching.
In the video, several figures are seen moving quickly through the city streets.
They wore EDF-standard tactical uniforms, were about the same height as humans, but had bare hands covered in bluish-gray scales with sharp, curved claws extending from their knuckles.
The leader raised his head, revealing a young face with a cold and stern expression.
But when he opened his mouth to give the command, his voice had a clear hissing tone at the end.
"Flank from the left! Suppress enemy fire! Third squad, infiltrate through the underground passage! Cut off the monster's retreat!"
An energy beam shot out from the weapon in his hand, striking the monster precisely in the knee joint.
The monster howled and knelt down.
Another group leaped out of the building's shadow, their scale-covered claws gripping the monster's back, explosive spikes piercing through the claws.
boom!
The monster fell to the ground.
The entire process takes no more than three minutes.
The command room was completely silent.
Xincheng's mouth was open, and he couldn't close it for a long time.
"...Dinosaur man?"
“Yes.” Cui Ming’s voice came from the doorway.
He was dressed in combat gear, with a twisted hammer hanging from his waist, and Spike following behind him.
Spike had an energy bar dangling from his mouth, chewing it slowly and deliberately.
“Those Naga bastards captured Cretaceous dinosaurs to use as experimental subjects.” Cui Ming walked to the screen and stared at the dinosaur-men who were gathering their troops on the screen. “I blew up their homeland and dragged these guys out of the incubation chamber. Now the dinosaur-men have completely joined us.”
He spoke of it casually, as if he were describing an ordinary business trip.
"And then they were willing to help us?" Lina asked, somewhat surprised.
"Willing?" Cui Ming nodded, his eyes wide with hunger. "They couldn't be happier."
He pressed another button.
The scene shifts to the dinosaur people's temporary camp.
Several dinosaur-men sat together, using their scaly claws to operate portable terminals and study Earth tactics manuals.
The person in charge—the young man on the screen—stood in front of the whiteboard, drawing a city map with his fingertips.
“Here, here, and here,” he said in his Earth language with a heavy hissing tone at the end, “these are all weak points where invaders might land. We need to advise humanity to reinforce them.”
The other, slightly larger dinosaur-man emitted a low, rumbling sound.
"Humans on Earth are too weak. Without Storm One, they would have been crushed long ago."
"That's why we have to help." The dinosaur-man leader turned his head, his pupils shrinking to two vertical lines under the light. "When we were enslaved by the Naga, it was Storm One who dragged us out of the incubation chamber. We will repay this debt of gratitude with a battle."
It paused, then slammed its claws heavily onto the whiteboard.
“And,” its voice deepened, “we hate invaders. All invaders from other planets.” In the command room.
Cui Ming turned off the screen.
“They’re better than you.” He looked at the GUTS team members, his tone calm. “They have extraordinary physiques, their claws can tear through alloys, and their regenerative abilities are three times stronger than humans. Moreover, they know better than you how to deal with aliens. The Naga have instilled decades of combat knowledge in them, and now they’re using it all on our side.”
Daigo swallowed hard.
"Instructor...they won't..."
"Can't do what?" Cui Ming tilted his head.
“Well…” Daigo carefully chose his words, “they are, after all, aliens…”
Cui Ming stared at him for two seconds.
Then he laughed.
“Daigo.” He lowered his voice, but every word was firm. “If they wanted to betray us, they would have done so on the very first day we were rescued. But they didn’t. They helped me blow up the Naga mothership, helped me capture three Naga scientists, and now they’ve even volunteered to join the support force.”
He walked up to Daigo and patted him on the shoulder.
"Some people are more trustworthy than people. Remember that."
Daigo nodded blankly.
Spike snorted beside him, seemingly in agreement.
“So,” Cui Ming withdrew his hand, “from now on, when we go on missions, you’ll be in charge of investigation and analysis, and they’ll be in charge of direct suppression. Clear division of labor, and don’t steal each other’s jobs.”
"Then what do we do?" Shinjo raised his hand. "Continue to get beaten up by Spike?"
“Yes.” Cui Ming nodded. “We’ll beat you until you can fight alongside the dinosaur men.”
"..."
Xincheng silently withdrew his hand.
The door to the command room was suddenly kicked open.
A dinosaur-man poked his head in, his scaly hands still dripping with rainwater.
He glanced around, his gaze finally settling on Cui Ming.
“Storm One.” His Earth language was more stilted than the previous one, but his tone carried a clear respect. “K3 area has been cleared. The monster has been captured alive and is awaiting receipt by the Research Department.”
"casualties?"
“Zero.” The dinosaur-man paused, a glint of light flashing in his vertical pupils. “Enemy firepower has been completely suppressed, and the squad members suffered no casualties.”
"Well done." Cui Ming took an energy bar out of his pocket and tossed it over.
The dinosaur-man caught it precisely, tore open the packaging with his claws, and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Thank...thank you," he mumbled, a slight upturn at the corners of his scaly lips.
Then it turned and left, its tail lightly brushing against the door frame—the tail was covered by the tactical uniform, with only a small part of the tip showing.
The members of the Victory Team watched it leave.
Daigo suddenly felt something.
The Earth seems to have become... more lively.
It's also safer now.
At least, they won't be the only ones fighting monsters anymore.
Spike finished chewing the last bite of his energy bar and patted the ground with his tail.
The meaning is very clear.
You are still too weak.
Keep practicing.
Even the dinosaur people can't save you.
Daigo sighed and slumped back into his chair.
This day.
It's still growing.
The dinosaur people actually thought it was fine this way.
At least I don't have to worry about getting eaten by monsters anymore. (End of Chapter)