Chapter 76: 076 Whose subordinate is this?
But he couldn\'t drive, and the brief three-day training wasn\'t enough for him to master so much knowledge. Given time, he might have been able to figure it out on his own, but time was what he lacked the most at the moment.
He needed to wake Dashan up, as it was him who had been driving the infantry vehicle in coordination with himself just now. -l-em,py-r
"Slap! Slap!"
Having no qualms about the thick-skinned Dashan, Bai E slapped his face without reservation.
"Wake up!"
"Slap! Slap!"
"Hmm?" Dashan shook his head vigorously and jolted awake, as if he had been trapped in an unimaginable nightmare, his face filled with lingering fear.
"It\'s okay! It\'s okay!" Bai E held his face, making him look into his eyes, "Breathe deeply! Breathe deeply! We need you, be calm."
"Hoo~ Hoo~"
Dashan obediently followed the instructions and after a while, he began to calm down.
He looked around in shock, only to realize the battlefield had taken on a bizarre appearance.
"What... what happened?"
"That bug terrified everyone," Bai E locked eyes with him, pointing toward the distant crimson giant bug, "We need to lead everyone in a retreat now, understand?"
"I… understand!"
Despite coming to his senses, Dashan\'s hands and feet were still trembling involuntarily, the oppression of Spiritual Energy constantly affecting his body, "What should I do?"
"Drive, take everyone away."
"Okay! Okay!"
Though his thoughts were somewhat muddled, Dashan was now utterly compliant with Bai E, "I\'ll drive, I\'ll drive."
"Hum~"
The sound of the infantry vehicle\'s engine starting was not particularly noticeable amidst the gradually spreading scene of soldiers fleeing, but Bai E instinctively glanced at the overlord bug, still far away.
For some reason, it seemed as if the overlord bug glanced their way...
But there was no additional action; perhaps it was just an illusion.
After waking Dashan up, things started to get easier.
One by one, they hoisted You, Tiger, and Song Ying onto the vehicle like sacks, and the not-so-spacious infantry vehicle began to feel crowded.
"Take them away."
Bai E patted the vehicle door, signaling Dashan to take them.
The vehicle was too crowded for him, so he could only run alongside.
The chaotic battlefield swept by behind him as Bai E passed numerous soldiers standing rigid, and saw some soldiers tripping over themselves in their panic-stricken flight; even without enemies close on their heels, they frantically crawled on all fours across the ground...
The sound of the wind whistled past his ears, the sight of the fleeing soldiers felt desolate.
The range of the overlord bug\'s mental radiation was extraordinarily large, nearly covering two-thirds of the human front line. It was not until they retreated to the middle line that he could see the soldiers\' mental states gradually returning to normal.
How many people were there?
Bai E didn\'t know exactly how many soldiers were in the camp; in the heat of battle, it felt as though people were everywhere.
But with everyone mobilized, there had to be at least tens of thousands.
What was two-thirds of that?
These soldiers were the city\'s most loyal guards, as well as its strongest force.
Under a fallen nest, how can there be whole eggs?
But humanity\'s enemies were not just bugs.
The troublemaking beastmen... the Mechanic tribes that had been quiet but could not be overlooked.
Wild beasts, mutants... although there were institutions like the city guard and Heretical Arbitration House in the city, the absolute military power was always in the hands of the military...
The genetic restriction within him roared.
The education of modern society awakened.
Bai E, who had never faced such a situation, had never anticipated what choices he would make if it came to pass.
But when it unavoidably came before him, it seemed all questions had their answers.
While running, Bai E gradually clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white with force.
If there\'s a spark of heat, it emits a glow...
Suddenly, Bai E accelerated, running towards an oblique direction.
"Hey? Where are you going?" You, who had just come to on the infantry vehicle, weakly called out, trying to retain him.
Bai E didn\'t look back, "Rescue people."
...
The transport vehicle\'s driver was waiting in the vehicle when suddenly a figure burst beside him at the co-driver\'s seat, "Teach me how to drive!"
"..."
The driver was utterly baffled, what did this mean?
"Teach me." Bai E showed his badge, the shiny black metal clearly displaying Bai E\'s identity, "No harm intended, I need to rescue people."
Seeing it was one of their own, the driver was no longer so tense, but he still hesitated a bit, "Although it\'s not complicated, it\'s easy to get started with such a large vehicle but not easy to get familiar with. Where are you going? If I apply for it, maybe the superior can let me join you."
Bai E pointed ahead, "You can\'t go."
He had thought about organizing a military rescue, but the soldiers already in the dominator\'s territory were in that state; the soldiers from the rear probably would face the same fate if they entered.
The only choice was to move freely without being affected.
"..."
The driver actually wanted to give it a try. The soldiers up front were in retreat, but who has legs that can outrun a vehicle?
However, he had not yet received orders from the superior, so he didn\'t dare act on his own.
Idling was boring anyway; Bai E wanted to learn and he didn\'t mind.
"I can teach you, but it\'s hard to drive such a big vehicle at will... this is the throttle, this is the brake, this is the gear, and here is a switch to open the emergency armor..."
[You are now learning "Knowledge—Conventional Vehicle Operation," progress 100%.]
[You have mastered "Knowledge—Conventional Vehicle Operation," and you can now raise the level of expertise by investing "Universal Experience."]
"I got it."
"You got it?" The driver looked at Bai E with some confusion, "You got it too soon. Even with driving, there are tricks and insights, and you can\'t get them into a ditch; off-road plains here are not paved and it\'s easy to flip the vehicle, and if you don\'t drive well, you\'ll be banned from driving."
Bai E kicked the driver out of the driver\'s seat and said with a stern face, "You talk too much..."
[Would you like to confirm spending 100 Universal Experience points to raise the level of "Knowledge—Conventional Vehicle Operation"?]
Confirm!
[You have learned "Level 1 Conventional Vehicle Operation," and have simultaneously gained 1 Technology Point.]
[Conventional Vehicle Operation (Level 1): You are now familiar with the driving methods of most conventional vehicles and can skillfully handle various non-extreme terrains while slightly improving the riding experience of passengers, with over-speed control increased by 5%.]
...
"Tsk!"
The tires kicked up dust as the vehicle roared away into the distance.
The driver dumped on the ground ate a mouthful of dirt but didn\'t forget to shout at the rearview mirror, "Don\'t drive too fast since you\'ve just learned!"
"..."
No, that\'s wrong!
"That\'s my damn vehicle! The superior hasn\'t given the order yet!"
The driver from the next vehicle, hearing the noise, poked his head out, "How did your vehicle get driven off?"
The unlucky driver had a gloomy face, "How should I know what\'s going on..."
Another driver poked his head out, "Stop chatting, the superior wants us to assemble urgently! Something big has happened!"
...
Close to the centerline of the battlefield, Weslin watched a row of combat vehicles advancing to the front along with a group of officers.
Once the vehicles reached a certain limit, their routes became erratic, as if they had drunk fake alcohol, with some even colliding with each other.
"Ah!"
"Failed again..."
"There\'s absolutely no way to organize a rescue."
Through the drone footage, the center line was somewhat better, seeming to be far enough away that most soldiers were able to react and instinctively retreat to the rear.
But what about the front line?
Facing fear directly, they sank into fear for a longer time, and even now, only a small amount of soldiers like flowing sand were able to escape.
If all those soldiers were to fall at the front line...
The loss was unimaginable.
"It won\'t work this way..." The officers sighed with dismay, and the atmosphere was low.
"Where are your spiritual energy users?" Yue Ying suddenly asked from the side.
"Spiritual energy users..."
The officers looked at each other.
"There are too few spiritual energy users..."
Most people could sense spiritual energy but were far from having a spiritual energy talent, and those with a rare spiritual energy talent were naturally treasures among humans.
Most of them were dispatched to various institutions and agencies in the cities, leaving few at the military camp.
And the value of thousands of ordinary soldiers might not be as high as that of a single spiritual energy user, making it a risky proposition to use them...
Ying frowned, simply offering her opinion, "Right now, only spiritual energy users might be able to go in and rescue."
"Spiritual energy users..." Weslin muttered to himself, finding it difficult to decide.
The comparison between the loss of thousands of ordinary soldiers and the loss of all the spiritual energy users in the army...
"Tsk~"
A slight commotion from somewhere not too far away suddenly drew the attention of the silent onlookers. The engine roar and the chaotic driving transport vehicle stirred up a commotion.
The direction of the vehicle\'s front was straight, plunging into the domain sealed by the dominator up ahead.
Weslin watched the transport vehicle get further and further away with unfocused eyes, uncertain, "Whose subordinate is this…"