IMAO Chapter 98.2

After Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong shook off their pursuers and saw no one following, they both sighed in relief. But before long, several black combat aircraft appeared in their view.

“Will this ever end?” Ji Rong snapped irritably.

“…” Jiang Yuan was also annoyed. They were in a hurry to find He Chuan and the others to protect them into the slums.

The two paused briefly and waited.

“They don’t seem to have any intention to attack,” Jiang Yuan said quietly, noticing the mechas weren’t advancing.

“Mm…” Ji Rong glanced at them.

They continued for a while, about five or six minutes. The three tracking mechas still hadn’t attacked. After some hesitation, Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong flew directly toward where they had separated from He Chuan and the others.

In the three tracking mechas behind them-

“Are these two mechas really that strong? Even Lucas and his team got taken down?”

“Not just Lucas, but Aurelius too!”

“Captain Aurelius couldn’t win? No way! There aren’t many who can beat Aurelius!”

“Enough. Follow orders and track them. If they’re really just escorting people, we won’t attack. If not… we’ll stop them!”

“Yes.”

The once-empty road was now littered with rubble and debris. Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong flew above and quickly located He Chuan’s group from the air!

Collapsed buildings surrounded them, with towers threatening to topple over.

He Chuan and a few of the braver men walked in front. He held a gun he had seized earlier when some armed men had attacked them.

BOOM!!!

The roar of mecha engines.

The sound wasn’t unfamiliar at all. What used to bring excitement now only brought terror.

The ground below was burning everywhere, strewn with body parts, blood, and intestines. War… was truly cruel.

He Chuan couldn’t help but recall the war between the Federation and Rick. War was indeed the most hateful thing. Looking at the mechas roaring through the sky, He Chuan swallowed hard, hoping these guys would get lost quickly!

Piloting their mechas, Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong spotted He Chuan’s group and gradually slowed down, finally landing on the ground!

He Chuan and the others were stunned for a moment, but He Chuan quickly recovered and shouted at the mechas, “Jiang Yuan! Ji Rong!”

“It’s us!”

Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong’s voices came simultaneously through the mechas’ audio system.

How long had it been?

Two hours?

He Chuan checked the time. During that brief period, he had imagined countless possibilities, all kinds of terrible scenarios… he’d thought of them all!

But these two brats had actually made it back in two hours! And with two mechas!

“These two troublemakers!” He Chuan smiled, turning to tell his companions, “Don’t worry, they’re back!”

Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong flew up to escort the group. Being so conspicuous, they gradually drew more people, and their group grew from 200 to over 400 people!

Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong helped block several waves of stray bullets, with no casualties. The three mechas behind them continued to follow but still didn’t attack.

Just as they were about to safely reach the North Mali slums, suddenly an explosion erupted nearby!

“Run, it’s bombs!”

Accompanied by roaring engines, three mechas flew rapidly toward them from the northwest.

BOOM BOOM BOOM-

Bombs burst from the red Flying Fortress mecha’s gun ports like a violent rainstorm.

The Flying Fortress was a famous firepower-type mecha in interstellar space, with over a hundred and eight gun ports across its body!

Everyone instinctively looked up at these three mechas, especially the Flying Fortress!

They were done for!

The bombs were coming!

Sand and rocks flew everywhere.

The two mechas protecting them suddenly fired up their engines to meet the attack!

Between flashes of green light, countless laser beams surged forth.

BOOM.

BOOM!

BOOM!

The explosions were deafening. Everyone covered their ears in pain, hearing only ringing. He Chuan even worried he might have gone deaf!

Damn it!

Those three mechas didn’t stop attacking, continuing their assault. Their targets were clearly the three black Blood Moon mechas following behind, but their attacks were indiscriminate!

Fuck!

He Chuan cursed under his breath.

“Don’t attack here! There are people here!” Jiang Yuan said through the mecha’s audio system.

But those three mechas completely ignored his words, instead furiously attacking the three black mechas that had come with them. The surrounding buildings continued to collapse. The already terrified crowd began screaming, some even breaking down in tears.

“Get lost!” Jiang Yuan shouted angrily after blocking another bomb.

The three mechas ignored Jiang Yuan’s words completely, relentlessly pressing their attack on the three black mechas. Stray bullets filled the sky!

“Ah!”

Explosion!

“Shit!” Jiang Yuan cursed, “We can’t let them continue like this!”

Just as Jiang Yuan finished speaking, their two mechas shot forward!

Seeing the two white mechas charging toward them, the three mechas attacked without bothering to determine if they were friend or foe.

However, these two mechas were different from the other three. They seemed to calculate the missiles’ trajectories perfectly. As they flew through the air, in a flash, the two mechas suddenly changed their flight frequency. The missiles coming from all directions collided in mid-air, exploding in a massive burst of sparks.

“This…” The pilot of the red Flying Fortress frowned deeply.

Missiles flew into the sky one after another, but not a single one hit its target.

The two mecha pilots moved at high speed through the air without panic, drawing closer to them.

The red Flying Fortress froze for a moment seeing the enemy mecha approaching, then prepared to fire bullets, but that mecha began moving like a madman, performing high-speed frequency-shifting double-track slides, rushing right up to his face!

“There are civilians here, please don’t fight here!” A cold voice transmitted out.

The next moment that mecha instantly grabbed his arm. Before the mecha soldier could react, that mecha used its mechanical blade to directly cut off the mecha’s right arm, then immediately caught the engine’s force in mid-air, engaged in close combat, and threw him spinning away.

However, the Flying Fortress pilot didn’t listen to Jiang Yuan at all, and instead of retreating after being thrown, suddenly began spinning explosively in mid-air while spraying bombs!

Completely ignoring what Ji Rong had just said!

“Jiang Yuan, cover me.”

“Got it!”

Bombs exploded one after another in the air as Ji Rong rushed to the Flying Fortress’s front again!

BOOM!

The mechanical blade violently pierced the Flying Fortress’s cockpit!

When withdrawn, the mechanical blade was stained with dark red blood.

The red Flying Fortress fell straight down.

…

The three mechas that had been following Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong finally defeated those three attacking mechas with their help, and everyone let out a sigh of relief.

After swiftly ending the battle, Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong safely led everyone into the slums.

The three following soldiers’ hearts trembled as they recalled the scene. It had taken just two or three moves to finish off those three mechas.

“So they’re not actually against killing…” one soldier muttered, looking back at the burning red mecha on the ground.

“Those three bastards didn’t care about human lives at all. But now I believe these two really are tourists.”

“They definitely are. Alright, we should leave now. Let’s report back.”

“Okay.”

After waiting for a while, one of them said over the comm: “Return to the northern district immediately to join the battle. Attack the northern district!”

“Kill those bastards!”

“Kill them all!”

…

Upon entering the slums, the sound of explosions grew distant.

After about half an hour without any stray bullets, Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong stored their mechas in their space keys and walked with the women, children, and others.

Boom, boom, boom.

Not the sound of mecha engines, but that of old machinery. Jiang Yuan looked toward the source. It was an ancient generator connected to several nearby households, with lights hanging in front of their doors.

The buildings were dilapidated, and the cement road was full of potholes that hadn’t been repaired in years.

A foul smell permeated the air. Earlier, he had spotted a massive landfill from above. That must be where the stench was coming from.

There were still many residents around. Unlike the people in North Rio, those living in the slums seemed untouched by the war. Or perhaps… they simply weren’t afraid of death.

These people were generally very thin, gaunt even. The children were like bobbleheads, all sallow and skinny, obviously suffering from long-term malnutrition!

In comparison, Envy and his sister weren’t quite as thin as these people!

“This way!” Envy whispered.

He led the way, and after walking for a long time, they finally reached his home. Different from what Jiang Yuan had imagined, Envy’s home was actually in a factory… to be precise, an extremely old factory, the kind that existed over a thousand years ago in the Federation.

Since North Mali was a discovered planet with backward technology before joining the interstellar nations, having such buildings in its slums wasn’t surprising.

“It’s right here…” Envy said somewhat shyly.

While four hundred people wasn’t a huge number, it was hard not to draw attention in the slums. Many people around were sizing them up as Envy led them to the factory’s main entrance.

Bang, bang, bang!

Envy knocked on the door with all his might.

“Uncle Aka! Uncle Aka, we’re back! Please open the door!”

“Click.”

The iron gate opened, and a man walked out.

“Where on earth did you run off to with your sister?”

Aka grabbed Envy’s ear as he opened the door. “Your mother fainted from crying!”

After scolding him, the man finally noticed the many pairs of questioning eyes behind Envy.

Aka instinctively pulled both children behind him and drew a gun from his waist, eyeing Jiang Yuan’s group warily. “Who are you people?!”

“Uncle Aka, don’t!” Envy blocked the gun’s muzzle. “Uncle, they are…”

After Envy explained who they were, Aka finally put away his gun.

“Well… come in then.” Aka moved aside slightly to let everyone enter.

Inside the factory, like everywhere else, there was a generator providing power.

Everyone was hungry and thirsty, so they didn’t mind the factory’s gloomy environment. It was better than risking death by bombing in North Rio!

“Mom… I’m so hungry…” A little girl around five or six years old leaned against her mother with red eyes.

“Be good, hold on a little longer. Once we’re safe, Mom will get you something nice to eat!”

“Okay.” The sensible little girl pressed her hands against her stomach and closed her tired eyes while leaning on her mother.

Aka frowned, then quickly brought over some food and water. “Here, eat. This is all we have.”

“Mom, it’s bread!” The hungry little girl from earlier excitedly told her mother.

“Yes, quickly thank the uncle!”

Everyone received some food and was instantly satisfied, even though the food was one or two months past its expiration date. At times like these, people were easily content!

Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong each ate a few bites. Aina and the little girl who had been following them didn’t mind the expired food either, taking bite after bite.

“Mom!” Envy, who had been here all along, ran over and hugged a gentle-looking woman.

“You child, where did you run off to with your sister? I looked everywhere for you! Really…” The woman’s voice choked up as she spoke.

“I took sister to North Rio!”

“North Rio?” The woman was so frightened she almost couldn’t catch her breath. Although the explosions did not reach the slums, they could still hear them!

Envy stuck out his tongue and said, “Don’t worry, Mom, I’m back, aren’t I? It’s just that you and Uncle Aka seemed so busy lately. I originally wanted you both to come with me to take my sister to North Rio, but don’t worry! Little sister’s illness is cured now!”

After hearing her son’s explanation, Alice held her children’s hands and brought them before Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong to sincerely thank them.

“Thank you so much for bringing the children back. I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to them.”

Then Alice bit her lip, seeming to hesitate before saying, “You can stay here safely, but please don’t go outside… I’ll find a way to prepare food for you!”

Hearing this, the surrounding people were delighted, but Jiang Yuan, Ji Rong, and He Chuan instinctively frowned as they studied this sickly-looking woman.

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