Zheng inhaled deeply. He unlocked his genetic constraint without any hesitation. As his body entered the fourth stage, a pair of wings protruded from his back in front of all the people on the area. The wings swiped the several officers who were standing just behind him to the ground. Zheng grabbed Zero by his arms and then leaped out of the plane.
The two people weren't far away from the plane's wing when they were outside. A strong current triggered by the plane blew them upward and they flipped a few circles in the sky. Zheng found his balance then carried Zero onto the roof of the plane.
"Can you aim from this distance?" Zero yelled as soon as he put Zero down.
The strong winds were crashing onto their bodies. Their physical enhancements allowed the two people to remain in place instead of being blown away. However, both had to yell to get their voices heard.
Zero looked at the dots in the distance that were the alien ships and yelled. "I don't know. We can only try… At this distance, the wind, any deviation, and the rotation of the Earth will affect the aim. I don't have the confidence to hit the targets from so far."
Zheng sighed. He was aware this task for difficult. Zero was not a super human. His two enhancements on the eyes were an offensive one and a low tier one that raised vision. It was largely up to luck whether he would hit his targets.
(Would be so much better if Lan is awake. Psyche scan can track the paths of the bullets so Zero would only need a few shots to grasp the aim. Sigh. But going by their speed, I don't think he has the time for a few shots. We will be in the spaceships' attack range in a minute. What should we do with a hundred of spaceships here? Run or fight?)
Zheng watched as Zero pulled the trigger. The sniper bullet crossed ten thousand meters by the time the bang reached his ears. Zheng couldn't even see the path that the bullet traveled. Yet, there was no explosion among the spaceships and neither did their barriers appeared. This shot missed completely.
Zero raised his rifle. He took out several long and narrow bullets from his pocket. These were the special bullets he saved up from before. The current situation no longer allowed him from keeping them any longer.
"What attributes are these bullets?" Zheng quickly asked.
Zero loaded them into the rifle. He said without taking his eyes off of it. "Modified high explosive bullets. Xuan modified the gunpowder inside but I haven't had a chance to test them. Wonder what it's actually like…"
(That due's another step closer to transforming into Doraemon.) The silly thought suddenly jumped into Zheng's mind.
He threw the thought away seeing as Zero took aim again. He held his breath and focused his vision at their targets. A loud bang resonated and a cloud of fire bloomed in the distance, covering a five-hundred-meter area. The blind white color of this flame signified its destructiveness.
"The heck? Was that the power of a single bullet and not a missile?" Zheng cursed. That modified high explosive bullet was more powerful than he anticipated. Zero could hit very far using the Gauss sniper rifle. However, he typically wouldn't target any enemies further than two thousand meters away in a battle and would sometimes target an enemy right next to a teammate. This bullet would kill their own team along with the enemy when used in those circumstances. Xuan was an asshole, so Zheng cursed at him.
Cold sweat was dripping from Zero's hands. He had similar thoughts to Zheng, that Xuan was too crazy. But then he realized the world would turn upside down if Xuan was ever less crazy. He and the others in the team were more fortunate than Zheng when it came to being Xuan's target. This thought made him feel at ease and he immediately aimed through the scope again.
"That destroyed three to five ships. The explosion only broke the barriers of those right in the center of its radius. The spaceships near the border are intact. They have crossed a thousand meters during this time, so even though my accuracy increased as a result, we are probably only five shots away from being in their attack range." Zero said as he aimed.
He stopped talking and pulled the trigger again. Another cloud of fire appeared. As the fire died down, he uttered a number. That was the number of ships destroyed.
The first three shots destroyed the most spaceships. The next three shots only destroyed a few. Aliens weren't without intelligence and wouldn't line up to get killed. After Zero shot down nearly thirty spaceships, the aliens finally came in range of Air Force One and fired their energy beams.
The energy beams were half a meter in length and the thickness of a man's arm. Each beam was accompanied by a high-pitched whistle. They looked like lasers but their speed was slow enough to be seemed by the eyes. They were probably the product of highly condensed energy, like light sabers or laser guns depicted in sci-fi movies.
Zheng wouldn't want to test their power. These lasers could destroy a fighter jet in one hit in the movie. Air Force One was tougher than a fighter jet but if it were to explode in the air, no one inside could run away. His team was still in the plane. Seeing the incoming volley, Zheng leaped from the roof.
(The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception failed to break through the prototype God's barrier because it had an endless supply of energy, although the barrier did get shattered at the initial contact. Hope I have the energy to carry us through. I have to make my comrades live on. Damn it, time to give everything I have!)
Zheng had no other option. He flapped his wings and flew to the tail of the plane. He said to Zero. "Continue using special bullets. Once they get within a thousand meters, use normal bullets. Don't know if we can break the barrier with normal bullets but we have to try. Leave the defense to me!
Zero paused for a second. Air Force One suddenly trembled and nearly threw him off the plane. He couldn't continue the snipes in this condition nor speak any words. Zero had no energy to think about what Zheng was planning to do as he clung onto the roof.
Zheng yelled. "Zero! Tell the pilots to keep the plane steady! Don't do any evasions! I will protect the plane. Zero and Heng need a steady environment to attack!"
The spaceships closed in a little more during this time. Zheng stopped talking. His attention was more focused than ever before and the genetic constraint unlocked to the highest level possible. Time seemed to have slowed down. The incoming lasers were all registered in his eyes.
(This one will miss. This one too. This one… This one!)
Zheng's mind was blank aside from the lasers and their trajectories. When this particular laser entered his field of vision, he moved to its trajectory in lightning speed. His hand was holding the dragonshard necklace. A translucent barrier emerged between the laser and his body. The laser came in contact with the barrier and rippled it before it exploded.
The barrier protecting Zheng wavered in the violent explosion. It was sufficiently tenacious to refrain from breaking apart. At the end of the explosion, Zheng appeared in the center intact.
(As expected. An unlimited supply of energy can block an unlimited amount of damage. Except that I don't have unlimited energy.) He laughed bitterly as he gauged his Qi. This explosion consumed a twentieth of his total Qi. If it were to keep coming some more times, he would get blasted along with the dragonshard.
(It's up to who's faster. Our lives are on your hands, Zero and Heng!) Zheng blocked in front of another laser.
(He's as strong as a monster. How did he block the lasers with his body? There's a barrier but no item under S tier can block so many attacks continuously. The information from team Celestial mentioned team China isn't rich. Is that his ability? What enhancement is that? Or is it a self-created ability?) A spaceship far, far away from team China's battlefield floated. Inside were three men. The one with blonde hair was extremely handsome. The one with his eyes shut was average looking but had a sense of serenity. The last was a normal middle age Caucasian. The three different people were quiet but their minds appeared occupied.
The blond man said. "What is this? The plot altered way more than it should. Where are we going to attack team China when the aliens destroyed Area 51? How do we track their location now? Have you found them, Julian?"
The man with closed eyes twitched his lips but quickly regained his composure. He thought for a second then said. "The aliens shouldn't have known about Area 51 before the plot triggers because the facility did not stand in their way. It's illogical that the aliens destroyed it. The only explanation I can think of is we exposed Area 51's existence."
"We exposed it? How? When?" The blond man asked.
Julian held his twitching lips and said. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. Nothing in the normal course of the plot could lead to its destruction. We are the only ones who know of Area 51 and are inside the alien mothership. Furthermore, we are the only beings on Earth that come in contact with the aliens. So, I believe the aliens have some type of instrument in the mothership that allows them to peak into our minds. They learned of Area 51 and the spaceship that is the only threat to them. That's what I deduced. There's also the possibility of God intentionally altering the plot to increase the difficulty for team China, in which case things don't need to be logical. God wills and things fall in place."
The blond man seemed confused. Julian was failing to keep his face composed but he quickly fixed himself.
The blond man frowned and said. "Anyway, we have left the mothership. That mind peaking thing has nothing to do with us anymore. The key at this point is finding team China. You wouldn't be so useless and can't find a person after I spent so many points and rewards at you, no?" His tone grew increasingly stringent.
Julian smiled as he waved his hand. "My psyche scan only has a radius of a hundred kilometers or a thousand kilometers in a straight line with the S tier Eye of the Heart. Do you really think I can find them in so little time when the Earth is so big?"
The blond man laughed coldly. He lowered his head and put his chin on his arms. "I will give you thirty-six hours. That's my limit."
Julian smiled without giving him a reply. The middle-aged man remained in his seat without moving, as though nothing here mattered to him. The spaceship returned to its silent state.
(Well, I did find their location but I don't think it's a good order to attack team China at this time with our team. Or is he too eager to die? I don't like this idiot but an idiot with strong combat ability is still useful. I will give him a hand. It's still not the time to abandon him… What did Adam mean by team China's true strength lies in their intelligence? That doesn't sound logical. Can you measure a team's strength by just intelligence? Or is it a combination of intelligence and force? I have seen their force. Zheng Zha is indeed someone that can fight team Celestial face to face. We only have a fifty percent chance of winning if Lionheart and I team up together. So where is their intelligence? Aside from going to the White House in the beginning, they have been naive in every other way. This team doesn't pose that much of a threat even with Zheng Zha. I can't believe they actually won over team Celestial by a margin when there are people like Adam. Was Adam only referring to team China's intelligence? I don't understand.) Julian exhaled and massaged his temples.
(Anyway, team China is at losing position at this point. The comeback they have is through finding that other spaceship. However, we can use this opportunity to give them a surprise attack and incapacitate most of their force in the very least. Once that's done, we will have a good chance of taking down Zheng Zha. After team China is… Neos! This movie will give us a large amount of points and rewards on top of beating the famed team China. Just you wait! I won't lose to you the next time we meet. My intelligence might not stand up to you but I will fill this gap with force… Just you wait!)
Julian opened a gap in his eyes. There were no black nor white in those eyes. Reflected in the eyes were the image of galaxies. He quickly closed them and fell into his thoughts again.