Though his silver armor could easily take a few hits, a few hundred rounds would blast that super-alloy shell into scrap rebar.
In an instant he realized the only force on the continent with such vast, standardized firepower was Gamma Base.
Only that colossus—heir to the pre-apocalypse state—could wield such terrifying war potential.
After all, the other two great bases, Divine-Punishment City and Indomitus Fortress, are famed for their top-tier Awakened fighters; tech weaponry is their weak spot.
"Gamma… it's Gamma Base's people…"
The thought crushed the last shred of resistance in his heart.
He raised his hands high.
"I surrender! I surrender!"
On the other side, the Awakened pinned down by Iron Golem battalions heard their boss yield and threw their weapons away as well.
"We surrender too!"
Please, mighty Gamma Base, take us in!"
In the Command Center, General Randy listened to the front-line feed and couldn't help laughing.
"Looks like they think we're Gamma Base."
"Understandable."
Steve nodded.
"To field so much military hardware so easily, in their eyes only Gamma Base—successor to the national system—could do it."
He promptly issued the order.
"Go ask him where the Energy Extractor is, bring it back for study."
On the battlefield, Ash piloted an Iron Golem to the resigned Garry.
"You're Garry, right?"
"No-no-no, I dare not, dare not!"
He quaked, dismissed his silver form, and hastily scooped a rag from the ground to veil that eerie silver eye again.
He trotted over bowing, face plastered with obsequious smiles.
"Sir! C-call me Little Dragon—no-no, Little Snake is fine, just Little Snake!"
"Mm."
Ash nodded curtly.
"Take me to the Energy Extractor."
"Yes-yes-yes, sir, this way, this way."
Leading the way, Garry felt his heart bleed.
The Energy Extractor was the very lifeline of a survivor base.
Without it you couldn't steadily produce energy crystals, attract or train new Awakened; the base would wither day by day.
Yet he dared not resist.
He glanced at the missiles still hanging overhead… and could only pray that his Tier 3 Awakened strength might impress the Gamma bigwigs enough to accept him.
Soon, under his guidance, Ash and several Iron Golems reached a subterranean entrance deep inside the base.
Down countless rust-flaked flights they arrived at a core vault a hundred metres below ground.
In the Command Center Steve and the others, seeing through Ash's eyes, now beheld the Energy Extractor.
A five-metre-tall, brutally industrial glass cylinder.
Inside it, a few common zombies—alive, furious, slapping the glass.
Thick pipes ran from the cylinder to a half-metre metal canister beside it.
In the small tank's top recess lay a crystal.
Yet the crystal looked odd.
Half gleamed a pure milky white with faint light, the other half still dull stone-grey.
Apparently the energy had only been half-extracted.
In the Command Center Steve stared at the screen, satisfied.
Crude, but it turned ordinary zombies into strategic resources.
"Prepare to haul it back to base."
He issued the command without hesitation.
In the vault, Ash received the order and quietly acknowledged.
"Yes."
The muttered reply puzzled Garry.
Who's he talking to?
He studied the towering steel monster.
No comm device in sight.
No psychic ripple detectable either.
The unfathomable method deepened his awe of these Gamma visitors.
"Little Dragon."
Ash turned to ask.
"Anything special to watch when moving this rig?"
"Ah? Oh."
Garry snapped from his daze, shook his head, and grinned ingratiatingly.
"N-no, sir. It's built tough; when we dragged it here we knocked it about plenty. Pipes and tank are special alloy—nigh indestructible. Just carry it out."
"Good."
Ash nodded.
"Move it to base."
The instant the words fell.
Several purple spatial ripples flickered in the vault.
Shadow Marine Warriors materialised beside the huge extractor.
Without a word, two per piece, they hoisted the zombie-filled glass tank.
And the smaller metal canister with the half-finished crystal, onto their shoulders.
Purple light flashed again.
With the priceless rig they vanished without trace.
The whole move was fluid as water.
Garry's eyelids twitched; he cursed inwardly.
"Hell—they even teleport when hauling stuff. What are these monsters?"
Once the gear was gone Ash turned toward the stairwell.
Seeing Garry frozen, he looked back and urged.
"What are you waiting for? Come show me what other valuables your base still has."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Garry hurried after him bowing.
Yet when he climbed back to the surface and saw what the base had become, he was stunned senseless again.
"W-what the—have locusts hit this place?"
Where once stood a merely run-down base now bustled an all-out demolition site.
Countless Endermen blinked in and out of every corner.
Some raided the armoury, sweeping guns, ammo—down to the last bullet—into their pouches.
Where they passed, not a blade of grass survived.
Garry's heart bled, his eye twitched wildly.
These monsters left nothing.
Even the two bottles of pre-apocalypse vintage he'd hidden in his office safe.
Had been snatched by a cursed black creature that blinked away.