RBCT Chapter 312 Merit! The Only Way Out
Chapter 312 Merit! The Only Way Out
"roar--!!!"
The E-class "Raider" clearly had no patience to wait for the whispers of those tiny humans upstairs.
It suddenly swung its head, and its huge head, carrying immense force, slammed into the load-bearing column supporting the building!
"Boom!"
With a loud bang, the reinforced concrete pillars were instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and the entire building began to groan under the strain, with dust and gravel falling from the ceiling.
"Fuck! It's going to tear this building down!"
The Texas kid, Jack, screamed in fright and instinctively tried to run away.
"stop!"
Marcus's loud shout, though not loud, carried an undeniable authority that abruptly stopped Jack and the other two soldiers in their tracks.
"Run? Where can you run to? There are monsters everywhere outside; running out means certain death!"
Marcus's bloodshot eyes were fixed on the giant beast below that was repeatedly ramming its head against the building, his brain working frantically.
"Our only way to survive now is to kill it!"
"Kill it? General! Are you crazy?!" Another soldier, the bespectacled man named John, exclaimed, his voice trembling. "That's a 'Raider'! The bestiary says its charge can overturn even a main battle tank! We... what are we going to do against it?"
"Use your brains! And use this!" Marcus brandished the half-piece of gray biological crystal in his hand. "You guys want to get stronger, right? The opportunity is right in front of you! John, didn't you just experience that power? Want more?"
John looked at the stone in Marcus's hand, then at the terrifying beast below, his face filled with struggle. The feeling of power surging into his body was indeed captivating, but the oppressive aura of the monster before him was equally despairing.
"But... there are only three of us... no, four..."
"Who said we're fighting as four people?" Marcus grinned, a smile laced with madness and cunning. He pointed to the video still playing on the tactical computer. "How did the Chinese do it? They weren't fighting alone either; they were a unified force!"
He quickly manipulated the tactical computer, bringing up the 3D model and vulnerability analysis of the "Raider".
"Look here!" He pointed to several red dots marked on the model. "The eyes, the joints, and here—it can't turn quickly when it charges! That's its weakness! That's the 'backdoor' that the damn game designer left for us!"
"Jack!" Marcus looked at the Texas kid. "You're the best shot. I don't care how you do it, just take out one of its eyes!"
"John!" He then looked at the bespectacled man. "You just absorbed energy, making you the only one besides me who can pose a threat to it! I'll give you your chance later. Use all your strength to plunge your knife into its joint!"
"As for you, Tom!" Marcus looked at the last black soldier, who hadn't spoken but was trembling slightly. "Are you... are you afraid of dying?"
The soldier named Tom suddenly raised his head, his face flushed, and shouted, "Reporting, General! I'm afraid! But I'm even more afraid of being eaten by the monster like a coward!"
"Excellent!" Marcus patted him heavily on the shoulder. "I need you to be the bait! Lure this big guy to that gap over there!"
Marcus pointed to a slope not far away, formed by the collapse of a building, piled high with steel bars and cement debris.
"This...this is sending me to my death!" Tom's face turned pale instantly.
"No, this is to make you a hero." Marcus's voice was full of seduction. "If you can lure it over there and let its feet sink into those steel bars, even for just three seconds! We can survive! You can become the hero who saves us all! You can also get a share of the 'experience' it 'explodes' with!"
The word "experience" acted like a spell, making Tom's breathing heavy. He glanced at Marcus, then at Jack and John beside him, and finally gritted his teeth.
"Done! General! Don't forget what you said!"
"I, Marcus, never break my word."
The plan was simple, even somewhat crude. But in this desperate situation, any plan was better than waiting to die.
"action!"
At Marcus's command, Tom took a deep breath, pulled a signal flare from his waist, and gave it a sharp pull.
"laugh--"
A blinding red flame lit up.
"Hey! You ugly, stupid ox! Look here!"
Tom roared and slammed the burning signal flare hard into the "Raider's" head.
The signal flare struck the "Raider's" bone armor and bounced off, but the blinding red light and provocative roar successfully enraged the already irritable beast.
"roar!"
"Raider" abandoned its attempt to crash into the building, its blood-red eyes instantly locking onto Tom, and its four thick hooves pawing the ground with a dull thud.
"Run!" Marcus yelled.
Without a second thought, Tom turned and ran as fast as he could towards the designated slope.
"Raider" let out a deafening roar, its massive body transforming into a black lightning bolt as it chased after Tom!
The earth trembled under its iron hooves!
"Now! Jack! Fire!"
The moment the "Raider" started, Jack, who had been lying by the window aiming, decisively pulled the trigger!
Instead of using conventional bullets, he fired his last remaining high-explosive armor-piercing round!
"Bang!"
The bullet whistled and struck the "rammer" precisely in the left eye!
"Pfft!"
Blood plasma and brain matter, mixed with shattered eyeballs, shot out!
"roar--!!!"
The Rammer let out a roar of extreme pain, its entire body jerking to one side from the agony!
But its momentum was so great that it couldn't stop!
It left a bloody trail as it crashed headlong into Tom!
Tom glanced back at the massive figure looming over him like a small mountain, and was so terrified that he scrambled to his feet and fell to the ground.
"BOOM—!!!"
The massive body of the "Raider" grazed Tom's scalp as it flew past, then crashed heavily into the slope filled with reinforced concrete!
Countless sharp, twisted steel bars pierced its calves and abdomen in an instant!
It's stuck!
"We did it!" Jack shouted excitedly.
"John! Go!"
Marcus gave John no time to hesitate. He jumped down from the gap on the third floor and shoved the half of the biological crystal into John's hand.
"Crush it! Put all your strength into your knife! Go! Give it a good thrashing!"
John looked at the stone in his hand, then at the giant beast below that was struggling frantically, trying to crawl out of the pile of steel bars. He gritted his teeth and crushed the stone!
"Buzz!"
A scorching current, several times stronger than before, instantly surged into his limbs and bones!
He felt as if his body was a powder keg that had been set ablaze!
An endless power surged through his muscles!
"ah--!!!"
John let out a roar that he couldn't suppress!
He imitated Marcus and jumped from the third floor!
In mid-air, he gripped the alloy battle blade tightly with both hands, concentrating all his strength into the tip of the blade!
Armor-Piercing Thorn!
Although, it was merely a superficial imitation.
However, with the support of that violent energy, the power of this strike became incredibly terrifying!
"Pfft—!!!"
The blade, carrying John's body, was like a meteorite falling from the sky, piercing deeply into the back of "Raider's" neck, the only joint not covered by bone armor!
The blade pierced through the hilt!
"roar……"
The massive body of the "rammer" suddenly stiffened.
Its frantic struggles stopped.
The last glimmer of light in its intact right eye quickly faded.
Then, its mountain-like body crashed to the ground.
died.
"drop."
"Successfully killed the E-rank Calamity Beast 'Raider'."
"Personal merit points +10".
"National Merit Points +0.01"
"Team member: Jack, gained 10 merit points."
"Team member: John, gained 10 merit points."
"Team member: Tom, gained 10 merit points."
A series of system notifications rang out simultaneously in the minds of the four people.
Jack, John, and Tom were all stunned.
As they looked at the words "Personal Merit - 10" that clearly appeared in their minds, their faces lit up with ecstatic joy!
They succeeded!
They really did it!
Marcus, however, paid no attention to any of this.
He scrambled to the body of the "rammer" and, with his battle knife, brutally cleaved open its massive head, which was still twitching slightly.
Inside that stinking brain matter, he rummaged around for a long time and finally pulled out a gray crystal, several times larger than the previous one, about the size of a fist!
"The core...this is the 'core'!"
Marcus, like a madman, held the crystal, which was covered in brains and blood, and laughed loudly!
This is the most crucial item in this game!
They are the only hope for these Western players who lack "qi sensation"!
"Reporting, Mr. President! The North American theater of operations has just seen a 0.01 increase in merit points!"
"What?!"
Inside the White House bunker, the President suddenly stood up from his chair.
"Investigate! Investigate! Which unit? Which squad did this?!"
Soon, the intelligence came back.
"Reporting to the President! According to the preliminary location information from the merit point source... the location is... in the ruins of Chicago..."
"It was...it was General Marcus! It was General Marcus and his men who did it!"
The entire underground fortress was deathly silent.
Then, a thunderous cheer erupted!
Although, it was only a mere 0.01 points.
But this is the first verifiable national achievement that the United States of America has made on its own soil since the outbreak of the war!
This represents hope!
This means that, General Marcus, that seemingly crazy path is viable!
"Immediately!" The president exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement. "Connect me to the Beijing hotline! I want to speak with that... Li Zhenguo!"
"Tell him! We want to buy! We want to buy all of their 'wartime supply packs'!"
"We must hire a 'private tutor' from Kunlun Academy for every one of our soldiers who can still fight!"
"Money is not a problem! Merit is even less of a problem!"
"We Americans are about to start truly 'pay-to-win'!"