Sexual orientation can be down-to-earth, but it can't be six feet under.
No matter how narcissistic Mo Chen was, he couldn't believe even a Tyrant-class Rapture would develop feelings for him.
And whether this Rapture wanted him alive—or wanted him dead—was still up for debate.
Sure enough, the Tyrant-class Rapture's six crimson eyes flashed, and the launchers on its back swelled as several high-explosive shells arced toward the group.
Strangely, the shells weren't aimed at Mo Chen but rather at the injured members of the recon unit—including Signal.
"Not good."
Seeing the incoming danger, Ludmilla opened fire at the explosives mid-air while rushing toward the wounded to provide cover.
The recon unit's Nikkes, having exhausted most of their ammunition, were in no shape to fight back.
"Ratatat—!"
A burst of gunfire managed to detonate a few shells mid-flight!
But one shell slipped through, hurtling directly toward Signal's position.
Signal froze in terror, gripping her submachine gun and firing desperately into the sky.
"Bang! Bang—!"
Her shaking hands caused most shots to miss, and the few bullets that hit only sparked harmlessly against the shell's casing, failing to destroy it.
"Click-click—!"
Even worse, her magazine ran dry at that critical moment.
Fumbling to reload, Signal's hands trembled as the shell closed in.
The explosion radius was the size of a soccer field, with a kill radius of dozens of meters. Running away wasn't an option.
Mo Chen, who was farther away, saw the danger and his expression shifted.
With a powerful stomp, the ground beneath him cracked, launching a rock into the air.
"Boom!"
With a kick, he sent the rock flying straight into the shell.
"Boom—!"
The rock collided with the shell, triggering a mid-air explosion.
Ignoring the shockwave and debris, Mo Chen dashed toward Signal, scooping her up into his arms to shield her from the blast.
The impact sent them flying over ten meters before they finally skidded to a stop—just outside the explosion's radius.
Without hesitation, Mo Chen set Signal down and charged toward the Tyrant-class Rapture.
He had recognized it.
This Tyrant-class Rapture was codenamed Harvester.
It had immense destructive power.
The best strategy was to disable its four long legs.
Signal stared blankly at Mo Chen's retreating figure, her small hand touching her flushed cheek.
Just now…
It felt like they had kissed by accident.
For some reason, her mind suddenly recalled the gossip the other Nikkes had been discussing earlier.
Jackpot.
Meanwhile, Mo Chen had already closed in on Harvester.
Leaping into the air, his hands transformed into massive blades, and with a forceful strike, he cleaved one of Harvester's legs in two.
Harvester, having lost one of its legs, staggered backward, its massive body struggling to maintain balance.
Enraged, it began to rampage.
Dozens of high-explosive shells launched from its back.
Ludmilla fired mid-air precision shots, detonating a few of them, but the sheer number of shells made it nearly impossible to intercept them all, even with a high-rate-of-fire machine gun.
She dove forward, rolling into cover behind a piece of debris.
"Boom!"
An explosion went off not far from her position, sending a violent shockwave that swept through the area, causing her long hair to flutter wildly. Fortunately, the cover protected her from any serious harm.
Ludmilla counted the explosions, making sure all the shells had detonated before emerging from cover to retaliate against the Harvester.
But just then, Harvester's eyes flared with a dazzling red light!
High-energy particle laser beam!
Ludmilla's heart sank.
Even reinforced steel plates over ten meters thick wouldn't withstand it!
"Bang—!"
A sudden, heavy gunshot rang out.
A high-caliber round pierced straight through the Harvester's head!
Its laser emitter erupted in a fiery explosion!
Several follow-up shots followed immediately after.
Every shot struck the Rapture's head.
Its skull was completely blown apart, and its massive body teetered before collapsing forward with a thunderous crash.
Mo Chen was stunned.
Someone had managed to blow off Harvester's head with just a few shots?!
He quickly turned toward the direction of the gunfire.
Amidst the snowy expanse stood a white figure, barely visible against the landscape. The figure wore a white cloak, blending seamlessly with the surroundings—an almost perfect optical camouflage.
A system notification popped up:
"Points earned: 20,000."
Although Harvester was defeated, the group had no time to celebrate.
The infected Nikkes did not retreat.
Instead, their numbers swelled even further, and additional Raptures began to emerge from all directions, seemingly drawn by the noise of the explosions.
The situation had turned dire. They were outnumbered and overwhelmed.
Mo Chen immediately ordered a retreat, choosing to stay behind to cover the group.
With every kill, his points continued to rise rapidly.
"Over here!"
The white figure reappeared, standing atop a ruined structure, waving toward them while providing covering fire with a sniper rifle, taking down Raptures at the rear.
Definitely an ally.
The group didn't hesitate any longer. With support from the white-cloaked figure, they passed through a tunnel deep within the mountains, finally shaking off the infected Nikkes pursuing them.
At the far end of the tunnel, the white figure appeared again, walking toward them.
What came into view was a familiar figure, at least for Mo Chen.
She wore a white cloak, with goggles resting on her head. Most striking, however, was the massive weapon slung across her back. It resembled an anti-material rifle, but it was even larger than a heavy sniper rifle.
She lowered her collar, revealing a delicate and otherworldly face.
"Why are you here?"
Her features were beautiful and finely crafted—a face with large, watery eyes, a small, delicate nose, and a hint of youthful innocence.
Her skin was remarkably fair, as pure and flawless as freshly fallen snow.
Between her dark brows lingered a cold and distant aura.
Her beauty was completely different from Ludmilla's sultry elegance. If Ludmilla was like a blooming peony, then this girl was a pure white lily—ethereal, isolated, and exuding a sense of untouchable solitude.
She was undoubtedly a natural-born beauty.
"Snow White?"
Mo Chen recognized her at first glance and was visibly surprised.
He hadn't expected to encounter her here.
Then again, considering that she often wandered the northern regions in the original story, it started to make sense.
"?"
Snow White turned toward the voice.
When her gaze landed on Mo Chen, she froze in place.
Mo Chen noticed her staring directly at him and felt slightly puzzled.
He glanced down at himself. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
At that moment, Snow White seemed to snap out of her daze. Her eyes widened sharply, and her pupils contracted in disbelief.
It was as if she had just seen something impossible.
"Com—Commander…?"
Commander?
Mo Chen was momentarily stunned.
In the game, he was indeed her commander, but in this world, they were supposed to be meeting for the first time.
Just as he was about to ask, Snow White suddenly grabbed the weapon from her back and aimed it directly at him.
"?"
Now it was Mo Chen's turn to be stunned.
"Stop!"
Ludmilla reacted swiftly, drawing her gun and aiming it at Snow White.
"Put down the weapon!"