Chapter 18: Weapon
Translator: Liu_Kaixuan Editor: Valvrave
From the Starseed's status update, what depressed Jiang Liushi most was that propulsion system had been damaged, so the MCV was incapable of accelerating. Without the dash function, he was a stationary target facing the giant mutant boar.
[OMG, the mutant boar!] Jiang Liushi quickly diverted his attention to the mutant boar and found it was hurt badly because of the dash. The boar fell on the ground, and its huge head was full of blood that covered its eyes. One of its two large tusks had been snapped brutally. A bloody dental pulp could be clearly seen.
"Ho-!"
The mutant boar let a low deep roar. As the damaged MCV couldn't cut off the noise, Jiang Liushi had suffered from the monster's roar. That low deep roar had made his insides shake and it was hard to move his body! Jiang Liushi felt like a lot of hands were holding tightly his heart, which almost stopped beating, and lungs, thus he was unable to breathe. How horrible was that roar!?
The mutant boar stood up. Despite its skull being shattered, it still possessed dreadful power, which was supported by its strong vitality. It glared at Jiang Liushi. They were very close. The only thing between them was a sheet of windshield that had broken into pieces.
The boar pressed the vehicle's chassis with its last remaining tusk. By pushing upward, the beast intended to turn over the MCV completely. Jiang's blood ran cold. If the MCV turned over, everything would be over.
[Can it work?] He thought. Worried and anxious, Jiang Liushi pulled the gear lever and started driving. The vehicle produced a dull sound; its four wheels were moving.
[It worked!] Although the fast propulsion and the dash function were impaired, he could still drive the MCV as normal.
"Zhi- Zhi- Zhi-"
The MCV's front wheels were in the air and rotated meaninglessly, while the back wheels rubbed the ground violently, raising lots of dust and stones. Even if the impact was not very strong, the injured boar couldn't turn over the vehicle easily in such a short period. However, it was in a grave danger as the boar pushed the vehicle higher and higher; the MCV would be off balance.
"Oh, no!" Jiang Liushi's face was ghastly pale. He held the steering wheel tightly and stepped on the gas. He could feel his back covered in cold sweat.
[Calm down! Calm down! I have to get us of this desperate situation!] He thought.
An idea hit Jiang Liushi. His fingers pushed some buttons on the panel rapidly like playing the piano. With a light sound, the vehicle's panel flashed. Jiang Liushi put forth his strength to press the panel, because he knew success or failure hinged on this one action.
[Air Cannon was selected. The time of pressurization is 9.5 seconds.] The Starseed spoke in Jiang Liushi's mind.
Jiang Liushi felt relieved and thought, [Fortunately, in spite of the damaged dash and fast propulsion function, the weapons are still working.]
The MCV, besides the dash function, also had weapons. When Jiang Liushi had completed the MCV's transformation, he had gotten information about the vehicle weapons from the Starseed. However, considering that doomsday had yet come, he had never conducted any experiment in order to avoid trouble, while even after doomsday, he was busy escaping without an opportunity to test them.
Now, it was time for a real battle that would determine if they would live or die. The Air Cannon's compressed gas volume was 500L and the emission initial speed was 810m/s. During WWII, Nazi researched the Air Cannon and used it to shoot low altitude aircrafts, but because of its accuracy problem, it was abandoned.
Jiang Liushi didn't know what would happen when the Cannon unleash its might on the boar. There was no doubt about the Air Cannon's power, but it was still a little weaker than live ammunition. In some occasions, the impact wave of the explosion could push people more than ten meters away, but the number of people who survived was not small. Therefore, Jiang Liushi couldn't promise that the mutant boar would be killed by that shot.
He had only one chance, the 9.5 seconds waiting time would be enough for the boar to turn over the vehicle.
[Just do it!] Jiang Liushi decided and pressed another button. The cannon barrel stretched out from the headstock and targeted the boar's belly. The barrel, hiding in the headstock, couldn't be found out from the outside. Only when it was being used, it would stretch out. Jiang Liushi's heart was beating fast while he was watching the 60mm gun tube.
[Start countdown, 9, 8, 7…] The Starseed was counting down. For Jiang Liushi, this voice was his last string of hope.
He could adjust the barrel's angle and direction, so where should he attack? Belly? Head? Throat?
The boar's skin was so thick that Jiang Liushi was sure it could ward off a bullet. Whatever part it was, its defensive capability was astonishing.
[6, 5…]
While the countdown was closer and closer to the end, it was still hard for the MCV to keep its balance. Because the vehicle was nearly turned over, all the pots and pans crackled and slid to the back.
Jiang Liushi, determined, pressed the automatic cruise control button, unfastened the seat belt, grabbed a wrench and jumped off the driver's seat.
"Stupid boar, go to hell!"
Suddenly, Jiang Liushi went crazy, and swung the wrench through the windshield against the boar. The wrench hit the windshield that had already shattered and tiny pieces of broken glass cracked, falling down due to the violent shaking. Such an attack seemed completely pointless, but the mutant boar itself was a beast and it was provoked by Jiang Liushi. It stared at him with its scarlet eyes.
[4, 3…]
Instantly, Jiang Liushi pressed the button and kicked the door open, and his whole body went out of the door! It was almost equivalent to suicide, but he was very calm because he knew that most of the vehicle's weight would be on the boar's tusk. The car's front wheels were in the air, but the monster was also pressed by the car and could not move easily.
[If the boar want to attack me, it must take its tusk out at first, as a result the vehicle will fall down, the front and back wheels will land on the ground together. If the vehicle crashes into the boar, even if it fails to knock the beast down, the beast will have to draw back. ] He thought. Even though it looked like suicide, at least for several seconds, he was not going to be attacked by the boar.
[Stupid boar, go to hell!] Jiang Liushi looked into the wild boar's huge eyes, with all his strength, and threw out the wrench from his hand! The boar could not avoid it and was hit by the wrench!
However, because the car was seriously rocking and Jiang Liushi was not a slinger from an African tribe, the wrench was a little bit inclined and struck in the eye's corner instead of the boar's eyes. Although only the eye's corner was struck, it hurt very much as there were a lot of nerves located there. The furious boar roared crazily.
The terrifying sound wave came, making Jiang Liushi nearly pull off the door. The infrasonic wave was resonating with his insides, his heartbeat was going to stop and his brain was about to shut down. But at this very moment, there was a clear sound speaking in Jiang Liushi's mind; it was Starseed!
[2, 1, 0!]
[Ahhhhh! I'll kill you!]
Jiang Liushi's eyes turned red as he was trying to endure. He twisted the cannon barrel a bit through the Starseed, and placed it in front of the mutated boar's mouth. At that time, the boar was roaring and opening its mouth widely, which gave an opportunity for the barrel to enter into the mouth.
[Air cannon, LAUNCH!]