Chapter 66: Some Respectable Perseverance

When Mike left the dormitory with the little girl, he was all smiles. "Put on your hat and scarf, make sure your zipper is up. You're the hope of the entire military now!"

Isabelle followed behind him, fumbling with the zipper of her snow boots, a bit clumsy.

She had never worn such nice clothes before and felt a bit out of place.

"Brother, you seem very happy today."

"Of course, I beat the living daylights out of that bastard and crippled his hand. I couldn't kill him, but at least I've avenged you. Isn't that impressive?"

"Avenge? Who?"

"Matthew, remember?"

"No, I don't."

"Okay."

For Mike, this was rather unsatisfying, as he had expected the doll-like girl to look up at him with starry eyes and praise her brother's prowess.

Seeing her expressionless face, he had given up all hope for this lifetime.

But she should forget, no need to dwell on unhappy matters.

However, as they walked out of the dormitory, they encountered another bizarre scene.

"Mike, save me!"

Eric was being chased by a group of "abnormal species", fleeing as if pursued by a giant bug.

This sight made both Mike and Isabelle feel like they were trapped in some kind of time loop.

"Eric, what are you doing?"

Mike couldn't help but ask.

"Noah's Organization is no place for a human being! The things they make every day could explode at any moment! Those maniacs have even turned toothbrushes, razors, and even toilets into defensive weapons! I have to be careful not to blow myself up just taking a crap, is this any way to live?"

Eric roared, "And they make me digest over 70 memory chips a day! When I sleep, my brain is buzzing with mechanical gears! I have to improve the Alchemy Matrix of their Demolition Cannon every day, working 18 hours! There's even an 'abnormal species' in my bed at night sticking memory chips on my forehead!"

But to be fair, although this guy was on the verge of a mental breakdown, he seemed to be in excellent physical shape, judging by the speed at which he was fleeing. Noah's Organization hadn't exactly mistreated him.

"He's just a donkey in the production line," Mike remarked in amazement, "Keep it up, Eric!"

Though it was tough and exhausting, it was clear this guy had a promising future ahead.

"Mike, are you even human? They're going to drag me to the front lines to test new weapons again, there are so many aberrants, I'm so scared! Wait, what are you doing, let me go, I quit, I don't want to be a mechanic anymore!" Before Eric could finish, he was seized by a group of "abnormal species" and forcibly dragged to the frontline.

Mike and Isabelle waved goodbye as he was taken away.

The alarm at the frontline sounded, and almost all the soldiers were mobilized there.

The military base was unusually deserted, with only logistics personnel driving trucks to transport supplies. Large quantities of military rations and equipment were being unloaded and sent to the frontline.

Moreover, Mike also saw many mail carriers, their bags filled with envelopes, which was quite a novel sight in the military base.

"Excuse me, what is this?" Mike stopped one of the mail carriers to ask.

"Sir, you don't know?" The mail carrier was also surprised. "These are all last wills and testaments because the soldiers are going to the frontline to engage the aberrants in close combat. Ever since the incident with the Grand Priest, a high-ranking commander has come from the Duke's manor and ordered the soldiers to fight the aberrants hand-to-hand... Duke and the others are protesting this."

The mail carriers then hurried away to seal the soldiers' wills.

"Engaging aberrants in close combat, that's asking for trouble," Mike muttered. "Isabelle, is this a common occurrence?"

Isabelle replied seriously, "Based on my knowledge, it depends on the commander's tactics. Evolved beings engaging aberrants in close combat is not worth it, because the lives of aberrants are worthless, whether through conversion, contamination, or cellular reproduction, the rate of life generation far exceeds that of humans. This tactic is only chosen as a last resort."

"I see."

After arriving at the frontline, Mike finally understood why the aberrant tide hadn't breached yet.

Because of a person.

Semin.

On the desolate battlefield, Semin gripped a heavy great axe, standing alone on the cracked and dried earth, his aged body now towering like a giant deity after being clad in armor. He faced the direction of the city gates, with raging flames burning behind him!

The hellish flames were burning on the earth, seeming to spread to the horizon.

Single-handedly turning the tide!

This old commander created a barrier of flames with his power.

Replacing the holy light barrier of the High Priest, to withstand the tide of aberrants.

But the problem is, that the High Priest relied on divine power.

Duke the commander is just an Evolved, how did he do it?

The soldiers arrayed on the frontline also did not know the answer, they too wore heavy armor, holding sturdy shields and sharp spears, watching the old man with awe-filled eyes.

The rousing sound of war drums echoed on the city walls.

This should have been the moment they charged into battle.

But that old man stubbornly held the line all by himself.

"Is this how he chooses to protest?"

The City Lord stood on the ramparts, arms crossed, sighing, "Semin is so stubborn."

In the current situation, if no one blocks the aberrant tide, the city will be destroyed.

But Semin cannot bear to send his soldiers to their deaths.

So he can only lead by example, charging to the very front himself.

"But you are already 65 years old, Semin."

The City Lord said softly, "How much longer can you hold out?"

The high-ranking generals of the Smith family, seeing this scene, were overcome with a sense of fear.

It was hard to imagine that this man nearly 70 years old could unleash such astonishing power, even as sweat seeped through his weathered and stern face, and his armored body trembled slightly, yet he stubbornly maintained that towering inferno, protesting in this way.

Or perhaps...he was buying time.

"Don't forget, the Duke family is also a sacred lineage."

Someone said, "Without the support of sacred relics, he couldn't have done this."

Another person said, "But what's the point of just delaying?"

Finally, someone sighed, "But this kind of persistence is admirable."

Even Vice Commander Mo was filled with trepidation.

Probably realized why he could only ever be a Vice Commander his whole life.

The mechanics of Noah's Organization had already set up the Demolition Cannon, which had been fine-tuned on the city walls. This time, neither the cannons nor the artillery would be one-shot wonders.

Because Noah's Organization had found a non-attribute Mechanic.

Archbishop Lionel stood proudly on the walls, boastfully vowing to wipe away past humiliation.

While the thoroughly exhausted Eric was carried there by a throng of admirers, his expression utterly lifeless.

Mike had originally approached the frontline with an indifferent stride, but upon seeing the unflinching old commander standing tall on the desolate land, he couldn't help but feel a profound respect.

Although this world was absurd, some people just shone.

Some persistence can be laughable at times.

But there are also times when it can create miracles.

"Move aside, I'm looking for Lieutenant Colonel Lisa."

Mike, accompanied by his young charge, strode into the military tent, and the guards bowed respectfully.

The atmosphere inside the tent was extremely oppressive. Secretary Xia was gazing at the projection, her eyes brimming with tears as she sat in the chair, sighing mournfully.

The senior officers stood in silence around the planning table, a pile of useless research reports scattered before them, finally being angrily burned.

"Tomorrow!"

Lisa gritted her teeth, "If we don't figure it out by tomorrow, everyone's dismissed!"

This female lieutenant colonel had lost her former poise, now slumping helplessly on the table, her beautiful and charming face filled with dejection and resentment, her long lashes lowered, quivering slightly. Due to her pent-up frustration, the lone cowlick on her head had even stood up.

The reason was simple.

The uncle she respected was now risking his life on the frontline, holding back the aberrant tide.

While they couldn't even find an effective method to deal with the aberrants.

Once her uncle's strength gave out, the frontline would instantly become a true meat grinder.

The meeting went on for 20 minutes, but they couldn't come up with a solution.

The officers led by Jack were scolded furiously again, their hearts filled with resentment.

"Those aberrants are impervious to weapons, their defenses are astonishingly strong."

Lisa muttered, "How are the soldiers supposed to fight them?"

Someone reached out and smoothed down the cowlick on her head, smiling, "That's easy, we just need to strip off those aberrants' armor, right?"

"But how do we do that?"

Lisa was about to get angry, but when she saw a beaming face, she paused in surprise. "Mike? I haven't seen you all day. I heard you went down to the underground district?"

The anger of having her head patted immediately dissipated.

Everyone looked towards the sound, furrowing their brows slightly.

They remembered this was the new junior sergeant.

The possessor of the heavenly thunder.

Xia narrowed his cloudy eyes. He knew this young man had been granted the right to freely enter and exit the military camp, and was currently cooperating with the Heretical Judgment Office to investigate a case, but he didn't know if anything had been found.

"Junior Sergeant, you're late!"

Jack approached him with a frown.

Mike couldn't be bothered with him, simply pulling up a chair and crossing his legs on the table, a shockingly arrogant gesture that stunned everyone present.

Aren't you afraid of being scolded?

However, neither Xia nor Lisa had any intention of reprimanding him.

Mike raised a finger. "You, go out."

Jack was furious to find that Mike was pointing at him.

Typically, arrogant people have two possibilities:

The first is that they're foolish.

The second is that they have enough backing!

The old secretary seemed to have thought of something and ordered, "Jack, go out!"

The tent immediately fell into a deathly silence.

Jack's face turned pale with anger, and he stormed out with a hateful gesture.

After the annoying person left, Mike smiled and said, "Major Lisa, do you remember when we were dealing with the aberrants on the Sunset Snow Plains, the remnants of the Departed had tapped out a mysterious frequency? Beating drums and gongs during the battle, looked stupid, right? But surprisingly, the Thorn demons we were fighting were affected by it."

Lisa was stunned and instantly pounced on him.

Thump!

Mike was knocked down by her.

Lisa straddled him, her beautiful eyes shining with a strange light. "Yes, how could I not have thought of that? Little guy, you're so smart, why didn't you say so earlier?"

Is this the intelligence level of a normal person?

Mike was almost gasping for breath from her sitting on him.

Isabelle watched the scene silently, her face expressionless.

"I couldn't have said it earlier, I had to find that frequency first." Mike coughed. "But it's not too late now."

Xia's eyes sparkled with insight as he said earnestly, "What did you say? Do you have a method to suppress the aberrant tide? That frequency, have you recorded it?"

Lisa was also stunned. "Mike, you're not lying to me, are you?"

She plopped down on the young man's abdomen, like an excited little wildcat.

"Why would I lie to you? It's called the Requiem."

Mike let out another muffled groan. "So I'm saying, we don't need to beat any war drums, it's completely useless. I'll access the military's broadcast, let me show you a thing or two."

He then looked up and winked at his little lady.

Isabelle lightly hummed in response, but turned her head away, not wanting to engage with him.