The reconnaissance teams organized by the Blue Star Global United Defense Committee were mostly made up of Ability Users, including supernatural power users, mages, and War Professionals. Even the electronic experts operating various devices were often Ability Users, because otherwise they couldn't handle all the unforeseen situations that occurred during reconnaissance missions.
Ordinary people undertaking such missions would find that fearlessness alone was insufficient. The end result would be no different from going to their deaths.
Blake's appointment as the captain of the 13th Reconnaissance Squad must have been due to his talents, as he not only prepared supplies ahead of time but also organized everyone's tasks in an orderly fashion.
"73, the hand grenades are yours."
"74, you're in charge of the heavy sniper rifle!"
"75, the anti-infantry directional landmines."
"76, report to the ground."
"77, watch our back!"
Ultimately, it was still necessary to resort to modern firepower.
Depending solely on one's own strength would probably lead to exhaustion and there was still no guarantee of eliminating all those ferocious mutant creatures.
"14.5mm caliber... damn, that's a cannon!"
Chen Fei compared the muzzle of the heavy sniper rifle with the scale on his White Steel crowbar and couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Bullets of 14.5mm caliber were thicker than his thumb.
Boy, this was a lethal weapon!
Of course, by "lethal", he meant for the human body, not those mutant creatures that weren't much different in size from bulls. Breaking their bodies apart would probably not be so easy!
"74, you're strong. The 14.5mm heavy sniper rifle is just right for you."
Every Pilot was inherently a sniper. Blake assigned the powerful cannon sniper to Chen Fei, who now had a chance to show his mettle. If anyone else handled it improperly, the recoil alone could fracture their shoulder.
(A Pilot who can't snipe isn't a good Pilot - Elite Pilot: Zhang Versailles Taofang)
"I think the crowbar's more effective!"
Chen Fei looked at the heavy sniper rifle, then at the White Steel crowbar in his hand.
In one day and night, he had taken down over a thousand mutants with that White Steel crowbar.
How many mutants could a 14.5mm cannon sniper take down?
Even if he wore the barrel smooth, he might not be able to kill that many.
Blake stared incredulously at Chen Fei, his gaze shifting between the crowbar and the heavy sniper rifle, as he tried hard to keep his emotions in check and gritted his teeth, saying, "A crowbar? Are you insane?"
That was a crowbar, not a nuclear weapon!
To think you could defeat thousands with that thing?
That's just ridiculous!
"With it, I killed more than a thousand mutants overnight."
Chen Fei waved the White Steel crowbar in his hand.
This thing was also known as the Physics Holy Sword. Be adept in physics, and you'll have nothing to fear in battles across the world.
Give it a fulcrum, and it could crack open your skull.
Bursts of laughter rang out, and most of the members of the 13th Reconnaissance Squad laughed in unison.
No one believed Chen Fei's words, except for himself.
Hanna Gagar also wanted to laugh but couldn't, since Chen Fei was under her command, and she couldn't afford to demoralize him too much, in case the young man lost his confidence.
However, she thought that anyone who could survive in the wilderness riddled with mutants should be able to handle those ferocious beasts.
Blake sighed helplessly.
Not a single living soul was spared when the Aircrew Base 912 was massacred by the Mutant Worm Swarm, and he wondered where this kid got his confidence from.
Chen Fei held the White Steel crowbar and knocked forcefully on the stone wall that served as a cover.
A deep crack appeared at the point of impact, penetrating the wall and extending all the way down to the ground.
Andy Brian, the Earth Mage, saw the crack on the wall and involuntarily gasped in awe of the huge force.
The Mutant Worm Swarm up ahead all shuddered at once, halting their advance in panic and only daring to bare their teeth and make a show of force from thirty meters away.
Chen Fei struck again, and large chunks of stone collapsed from the wall.
The plump Earth Mage started chanting Incantations as the wall, though sturdy, couldn't withstand such a powerful blow. If Chen Fei were to hit it a few more times, it might break apart before even coming under attack from the mutants.
The mutants shuddered again.
"The mutants are trembling!"
This time, the 13th Reconnaissance Squad finally took notice.
Following the rhythm of Chen Fei's crowbar strikes, the mutants trembled once more.
"You damn bugs, if you disagree, come over here and fight me!"
Chen Fei brandished the Physics Holy Sword and delivered another heavy blow.
With a crash, stones either flew off or rolled down, the wall that the Earth Mage couldn't repair fast enough was smashed into a gaping hole.
"Those bugs are scared!"
Hanna Gagar's mind flashed with sudden insight, and she quickly exclaimed, "They're afraid of the crowbar!"
She remembered investigating the parachute drop site with Chen Fei, when they encountered the mutant worm swarm. It was the same back then; the rookie naively charged forward, and the bugs turned tail and burrowed into the ground.
Every strike caused the mutated insects to tremble collectively, such a phenomenon couldn't possibly be without reason.
A piercing shriek sounded, and the mutant bugs began to slowly retreat, no longer intending to charge and battle. After retreating a distance, they turned as one and ran, vanishing without a trace.
"Have guts, don't run!"
Chen Fei shouted from behind, about to give chase, but was quickly pulled back by a nimble-handed Manager Hanna.
"Stop yelling, they're gone!"
Hanna Gagar frowned, annoyed by his loud voice, which almost deafened her.
"Number 74, you… why would those bugs…"
Team Leader Blake stuttered, overwhelmed with too many questions, unsure of which to ask first.
Chen Fei, bearing his White Steel Crowbar, declared confidently, "They must be scared of me killing them!"
The first encounter had left piles of dead mutants slaughtered by him alone. If not for the rhinoceros cockroaches which eat anything, Manager Hanna and he would have seen a field strewn with corpses upon their return to the site.
The second encounter ended without a fight as the mutants ran off, which was rather suspicious.
Now, facing them for the third time, they still fled without fighting. The truth was probably that those bugs simply didn't want to waste their energy on Chen Fei.
Those like Flathead Bro, who were stubborn enough to keep fighting when outmatched, were ultimately the minority.
Although Chen Fei claimed this, Blake and others remained half-convinced; however, Hanna Gagar believed him quite a bit, having experienced such a situation one more time than the others.
The female electronic specialist had just sent out the message and then timely added another line.
Now that the mutants had fled, if reinforcements were called in, they might very well make a wasted trip.
However, at that moment, shadows flickered behind the reconnaissance squad, and figures began to materialize.
"What just happened here?"
The ground support personnel had arrived, totaling more than thirty. In warfare, quality trumps quantity, and those who came were all strong.
"Report, I am the Team Leader Blake of the 13th Reconnaissance Squad. We just succeeded in killing four mutants, then a large group of unknown numbers appeared. They have just retreated; we haven't had the chance to engage them."
Blake stepped forward, concisely summarizing the situation.
A mage wearing a constant temperature self-cleaning robe asked puzzledly, "You're saying, they ran off?"
The fact that they had all rushed here yet the mutants had fled baffled them.
Blake had no choice but to insist, "Yes, these mutants seem to be afraid of 74's crowbar!"
"What kind of crowbar is that, a Divine Artifact?"
"Not a Divine Artifact, a holy sword!"
"Are you trying to kill us with laughter?"
As expected, the Ability Users who came to support burst into laughter, staggering about.
Yet, not a single member of the 13th Reconnaissance Squad could laugh; they had laughed just as the others before, but seeing how the sound of Chen Fei using the crowbar scared the mutants away, no one could muster a laugh anymore.
Soon, the reinforcements noticed the peculiar reaction of the 13th Reconnaissance Squad, which was incompatible with their raucous laughter.
The leader of the reinforcements gradually ceased smiling.
The retreat of the mutant swarm was a fact, and Blake spoke earnestly, "We're not joking."
"Young man, may we take a look at your Physics Holy Sword?"
The leader of the reinforcements directed his gaze at Chen Fei.
Chen Fei tossed the White Steel Crowbar over to them.
A group of people huddled around the oddly-shaped stick, pondering it for a long while. Besides identifying the material as high-speed steel, they could find no other revelations.
The stick's surface, meant for pulling, had no Magic Array Patterns, no Magical Beast Crystal Cores embedded, and it certainly wasn't a Magic Artifact.
Why it could scare off the mutants would likely remain a mystery for the time being.
The leader of the reinforcements thought for a moment, then said, "13th Reconnaissance Squad, keep moving forward. We'll go with you."
Since they had already come, they weren't in a hurry to return to the surface.
The 13th Reconnaissance Squad had encountered the largest number of mutants compared to other squads, indicating they were getting close to the mutant nest. If they continued to trace the path, they might well find its lair.
With so many Ability Users present, they were more than enough to deal a heavy blow to the mutant species.
Each reconnaissance squad carried a powerful, prize weapon in their Space System Alchemy Storage Device.
The combat unit of the KDK-1 Hypersonic Suction Smart Missile—or the source of the Dragon Slayer Missile's destructive power—could be turned into a massive explosive, either timed or remote-controlled. It could pulverize everything within hundreds of meters in an instant, whether living or dead, with an effect comparable to a nuclear weapon yet without any radioactive residue.
If they had possessed a weapon like the Dragon Slayer Missile during the great war thirty years ago, Blue Star would not have left so many Radiation Zones on the planet's surface, nor would humans today be plagued by the endlessly emerging, troublesome mutants that they have been unable to completely eradicate.