Chapter 1418
Not even a trace left
It wasn't just Cui Ming and Lindis's side.
Along the Tokyo Bay coast, in Osaka's industrial district, at Nagoya's transportation hub, and even on the roads of small towns in Hokkaido—at the same moment, dozens of steel-plate masked figures seemed to appear out of thin air, emerging from underground, walking out of abandoned factories, and bursting out of shipping containers, stiffly striding along with their metal joints, heading towards the most densely populated areas.
Panic did indeed occur.
After all, anyone would go weak in the knees if they saw a monster with a steel plate mask and cracking joints walking towards them.
But the panic only lasted a few seconds.
Because the firepower will arrive in the next second.
-
Tokyo Bay, Pier 3.
The three masked men with steel plates had just stepped out of the container and hadn't even gotten into their signature "double-armed steel blade" pose when the roar of propellers filled the sky.
"This is the EDF air strike squad. Target confirmed: three mechanical lifeforms. Coordinates locked."
The voice on the communicator was as calm as someone reporting the weather.
Then six armed helicopters emerged from the clouds, and their missile pods under their bellies opened simultaneously.
"Fire."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The missile, trailing white smoke, crashed down, instantly engulfing the three steel-plate masked figures in flames. The blast wave blew containers into the air, and debris rained down into the sea.
The helicopter did not immediately evacuate, but hovered in mid-air, its onboard machine gun continuing to strafe the sea of fire until the last piece of metal, still twitching, was riddled with holes.
"Target eliminated, requesting return flight."
"Approved. Leave one aircraft on standby."
"receive."
-
An abandoned steel mill in Osaka's industrial district.
Five masked figures made of steel plates marched in a row through the factory area, their steel masks glowing with an eerie red light in the firelight.
Their target is the residential area across the street, which is 800 meters away as the crow flies.
But just as they reached the center of the factory area, the ground suddenly collapsed.
It wasn't a natural collapse—it was a pre-designed trap.
Adam, the dinosaur-man, emerged from the ground, his enormous claws grabbing the steel-plate masked man at the front and crushing him like a soda can.
"Yiwu! To the left!"
"Know it!"
Yiwu leaped out from behind the cover on the other side, her tail sweeping across, sending the two steel-plate masked men flying and crashing into the steel frame, deformed and twisted.
Before the remaining two could react, the crane overhead suddenly plummeted—the hook was secured with a specially designed EDF electromagnetic pulse bomb.
hum! ! !
A blue-white arc of electricity exploded, the two steel-plate masked figures convulsed, sparks crackled from the circuits at their joints, and then they stiffened and fell to the ground.
Adam walked over and stomped on them one by one, turning them into discus.
"Done." He clapped his hands and shouted into the communicator, "Sergeant Gao Feng, this side is cleared. Five, all wiped out."
Sergeant Gao Feng's voice came through the communicator, tinged with helplessness: "Adam, leave one or two intact ones; we need samples."
"……what?"
"A complete sample!"
"...Say it earlier next time."
Adam looked down at the pile of discus on the ground and scratched the back of his head guiltily.
-
Nagoya, a transportation hub.
The battle was most intense here because there were the most steel-plate masked men—a full twelve—who poured out of the subway tunnel and rushed directly onto the platform.
The crowd screamed and scattered, but the evacuation was extremely fast, after all, TPC's emergency drills were not for nothing.
The platform was cleared in just thirty seconds.
Then the firepower coverage arrived.
"EDF ground forces, take your positions!"
"Dinosaur Man Support Team, ready!"
"TPC legacy firepower team, take your positions!"
Sergeant Gao Feng stood behind the armored vehicle, holding a command baton in his hand, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield. He wore the standard EDF combat uniform, the sergeant insignia on his shoulder straps gleaming. Behind him were twenty fully armed EDF veterans, each holding a "Raven" portable machine gun that Cui Ming had personally modified.
"Twelve targets. Spread out and prioritize attacks on joints and core areas." Sergeant Gao Feng's voice boomed across the battlefield through the loudspeaker. "Remember, leave one intact, the rest—"
He paused, a ruthless smile curving his lips.
"Not even a trace will be left."
"Yes!!!"
with full force.
The roar of the Raven machine gun tore through the air, the bullet density so high it was as if a metal wall had sprung up out of thin air. The twelve masked men with steel plates had barely taken a step when they were riddled with sparks, their steel masks riddled with bullet holes.
"The three on the left are trying to run away!"
"Stop them!"
Two dinosaur warriors charged out from the side, their massive bodies crashing directly into the enemy ranks. Claws lashed out, tails swept across, smashing three steel-plate masked men into pieces.
"TPC legacy team, rockets ready!" "Three, two, one—launch!"
Whoosh whoosh! ! !
Twelve rockets, trailing plumes of flame, plunged into the center of the battlefield, and the exploding fireballs shot into the sky, completely engulfing the last few steel-plate masked men who were still struggling.
As the heatwave subsided, only smoldering fragments remained on the platform, along with a single—only one—"sample" that had been deliberately preserved, but was missing a leg.
Sergeant Gao walked over, kicked the crippled sample to confirm it was indeed immobile, and then reported into the communicator: "Targets destroyed, sample being retrieved, over."
-
Hokkaido, a small town road.
The battle ended the fastest here.
Because the people in charge of this area are veteran EDF soldiers personally trained by Choi Myung, and they are all ruthless.
The two masked men made of steel plates had barely peeked out when they were instantly vaporized by a beam cannon fired from an "ordinary truck" parked by the roadside.
The truck's back door opened, and four veterans in civilian clothes jumped out, holding still-smoking weapons, their expressions as calm as if they had just finished lunch.
"It's done."
"knock off."
What should we eat tonight?
"Let's have some barbecue. I heard the instructor is treating us tonight."
"We need to hurry, or we won't be able to compete with Norma and her group of girls."
The four men chatted as they stuffed the weapons back into the truck and drove off.
Two pools of still slightly warm metal debris remained, along with stunned Hokkaido fishermen standing by the roadside.
-
TPC Headquarters, Command Center.
Director Sawai looked at the battle reports coming from various places with a calm expression.
"loss?"
"Zero casualties, 100% civilian evacuation rate." The intelligence officer flipped through the report. "Forty-seven steel-plate masked men were found, forty-six were eliminated, and one sample was recovered."
Who didn't leave a sample?
"...Instructor Cui Ming's side, there's also the veterans' group from Hokkaido."
Sawai sighed, then laughed: "Never mind, it's good enough if we can keep one body."
He looked out the window; the city was brightly lit in the night, with no part of it shrouded in darkness.
"TPC and EDF are not to be underestimated these days."
-
At Choi Myung's barbecue restaurant, Lindis was scrambling for the last piece of beef.
"Cui! You grilled this! You're responsible for serving me!"
"Don't you have hands?"
"I have hands, but yours smells better!"
Sergeant Gao Feng, standing nearby, clinked glasses with Adam while holding a glass of special vegetable juice: "That was a great fight today. Your dinosaur-men's claws are even more effective than our armor-piercing bullets."
“Of course!” Adam said smugly. “But your EDF’s firepower coverage is also fierce. I was almost hit by friendly fire.”
"We can't afford to cause any accidental injuries; we know what we're doing."
"What sense of proportion? You've turned all five of them into iron discs!"
"...That's where you stepped on it."
"That was a finishing blow!"
Cui Ming sat in front of the barbecue grill, flipping the meat slices, listening to the noise around him, and a smile curved his lips.
Ju Jianhui walked over from behind and handed him a glass of iced oolong tea: "You did well today, you didn't blow up the sample too."
“I’ve kept it.” Cui Ming took the oolong tea. “Lindis cut it in half, and the rest is enough for Horii to study.”
"……half?"
"The core components are still intact."
Megumi rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.
She looked out the window; the night was deep, but the city lights shone like stars.
The panic caused by those masked men with steel plates has been crushed by the firepower.
The Earth today has Ultraman, dinosaur people, EDF, TPC, and that man sitting in front of the barbecue grill, flipping meat slices in his hand.
Who is afraid of who?
"Come on, eat some meat." Cui Ming distributed the grilled meat slices to everyone's plates. "We still have work to do tomorrow, so eat your fill tonight."
"Yes, Instructor!"
The crowd responded in unison, their voices making the roof vibrate.
The steam from the barbecue rises, the aroma of oolong tea fills the air, and the world outside the window is quiet and safe.
This is the Earth as it is now.
With strong firepower, people's hearts are at ease.
Steel-plate masked man?
Not even a trace was left. (End of Chapter)