Chapter 386: The Truck

Kai had some with him, but he needed multiple of them since he had already used a few of them before...

In any case, he wasn’t wasting ammunition because the Railgun didn’t use conventional ammunition in the first place. Its internal energy system allowed it to repeatedly launch projectiles, although Kai could already see the energy reserve decreasing with every shot.

That meant he couldn’t simply fire endlessly.

He would have to make every shot count.

"Chamber, can you monitor the Railgun’s energy for me?"

[ Understood. Current energy reserve: 66%.]

"That’s plenty."

Kai looked toward the battlefield again.

Farrah was still protecting Xian and Xinyi.

Several Spyders had noticed the children and were attempting to reach them.

Farrah immediately positioned herself between the machines and the children.

She intercepted the first Spyder wielding an energy blade before it could attack, striking it hard enough to send its mechanical body crashing against an abandoned vehicle.

Boom!

"I can take care of them, Kai! Just help Atom... He might get overwhelmed."

Kai heard this, but he didn’t listen. He could monitor Atom’s movement anyway.

Just like that, he watched as another came from the side of Farrah...

Of course, she easily turned and destroyed it with her. She was a Spirit Knight after all!

However, a third machine attempted to circle around her, and it was too fast!

This time, Kai raised the Railgun, and without hesitation, he fired!

Boom!

The machine disappeared beneath the weapon’s next electromagnetic discharge.

Farrah would’ve probably survived without his help if she used her own Gene Skills or using her hidden Gene Weapon, but she still appreciated the assistance and glanced toward him.

"Thanks!"

Kai nodded.

"Keep them behind you."

"I will."

The battle continued around them.

The machines were becoming increasingly desperate.

Some attempted to overwhelm Atom with numbers. Others tried to reach the trucks. A few even abandoned their weapons and attempted to retreat with the convoy.

Kai didn’t let them.

The Railgun fired again and again, each shot tearing through armor that would have taken ordinary weapons dozens of rounds to penetrate.

At one point, three Sentinels advanced together.

"Easy..."

Kai waited until they aligned... Then he fired.

The projectile pierced through the first Sentinel’s torso, continued through the second, and struck the third in its shoulder.

The first two collapsed immediately and the third was already heavily damaged.

"Nice..."

Atom reached it a moment later.

Its mechanical hand seized the damaged Sentinel by the neck.

The machine struggled desperately, but Atom simply took its core from its chest!

Thud!

Seeing this, Kai knew what Atom wanted to do...

He then slowly lowered the Railgun as he knew that this was already done...

"Yeah... I definitely like this weapon." He muttered as he kissed the railgun.

Then something caught his attention.

One of the remaining Sentinels wasn’t attacking Atom.

Instead, it had broken away from the battle and was heading toward the trucks.

Kai immediately recognized what it was doing.

"Chamber."

[ Yes? ]

"Monitor that Sentinel."

The machine was highlighted in his vision.

It was moving toward the rear of the convoy.

"It’s going for the prisoners." He raised the Railgun.

The weapon hummed as energy gathered, but Kai hesitated.

The truck was directly behind the Sentinel.

A Railgun shot could easily penetrate the machine and continue into the vehicle.

He couldn’t risk it.

With that in mind, Kai switched weapons.

The Railgun disappeared from his hands and was replaced by the Plasma Pistol.

He aimed carefully and soon, the weapon released a concentrated bolt of superheated plasma.

ZAP!

The shot struck the Sentinel’s knee joint.

Its leg melted beneath the intense heat and, just like that, the machine crashed onto the road.

Before it could recover, Atom arrived.

The massive S-Grade Sentinel grabbed the damaged machine and lifted it from the ground.

With a single motion, Atom took its mechanical core once again as it disappeared from its hands!

Without a doubt, Atom was absorbing it once again...

Still, Kai finally relaxed.

The battlefield had fallen silent as the last remaining machines had been destroyed.

Scattered across the highway were the wrecks of Sentinels, Spyders, and larger combat machines. Smoke rose from the ruined convoy while small sparks continued to flicker across the damaged metal.

Kai looked at Atom.

The S-Grade Sentinel was still standing, and there wasn’t even a significant mark on its armor.

Kai couldn’t help but shake his head.

"Having you around really makes things easier."

Atom simply turned toward the convoy and Kai chuckled before he followed.

They had won the battle.

But the real reason they had fought was still waiting inside those trucks.

Atom approached the nearest vehicle while Kai examined the tightly shut doors.

There was a complicated locking mechanism built into the side.

Before Kai could even attempt to figure it out, Atom reached forward.

Its mechanical fingers pierced directly into the locking system.

Metal twisted... and soon, the lock shattered.

Atom pulled the door open.

Clank! Clank!

As soon as he saw what was inside, Kai’s expression immediately darkened.

There were humans inside... Dozens of them.

Men and women were packed tightly together, many of them too weak to even stand. Several were unconscious, while others stared at Kai with hollow, frightened eyes.

Some had scars covering their bodies, while others had obvious physical abnormalities.

Kai’s gaze lingered on one man whose arms were unnaturally long.

He remembered the mutants they had encountered earlier.

Four arms... Four eyes... Distorted bodies... Abnormally long limbs.

Those creatures hadn’t simply appeared because of the apocalypse.

They had once been human.

And now Kai was looking at the people who had been subjected to the same experiments before they became monsters.

One of the prisoners slowly raised his head.

"Please..."

His voice trembled... and Kai could feel something in his chest.

"Don’t let them take us back."

Kai took a deep breath as he remained silent for a moment.

Then he stepped forward.

"We’re not taking you anywhere."

He looked around the truck.

"We’re getting you out."

The prisoners stared at him, and for several seconds, nobody moved.

Then, one woman began crying.

Just like that, another survivor lowered his head and covered his face with both hands.

Farrah immediately stepped forward and began helping the weakest prisoners out of the truck.

"Careful. Take your time."

Xian and Xinyi stayed close behind her.

Kai turned toward the remaining vehicles.

There were still more trucks.

"Atom."

The S-Grade Sentinel turned toward him.

"Open all of them."