"Andrei, am I dreaming?"
Zhang Peng, who had been ready to risk it all, watched with his jaw dropped at the endless torrent of light before him.
It was just like in that old TV show, where the Monkey King, with his golden-banded staff in hand, could fight his way through a hundred thousand celestial soldiers and generals.
With a swing of his staff, he could carve a path from the Southern Heavenly Gate to Xizhimen without so much as blinking.
Wherever the beam torrent swept, the blue sky and white clouds were instantly revealed once more.
Truly, Zhang Peng felt that if he ever told this story in the future, no one would believe him.
So many Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, too numerous to count, were wiped out in the blink of an eye!
"Oh, my friend, I also suspect I am dreaming."
The Russian warrior Andrei, when asked, pinched himself hard.
He used so much force that Zhang Peng could hear his cry of pain over the communicator.
"Looks like it's real." Andrei's howl still ringing in his ears, Zhang Peng shook his head, confirming the reality before him.
And it wasn't just the humanoid robot and the beam torrent that seemed to connect heaven and earth that were real.
Zhang Peng also discovered another pleasant surprise: the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles that had been chasing him.
It seemed that with the appearance of the giant robot, they had abandoned him, no longer caring about his presence.
The swarming Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, perhaps under the control of the hacker behind the scenes, all turned and flew toward the giant humanoid robot.
"Should we go help?" Zhang Peng had indeed wanted to help, as the robot's actions clearly marked it as an ally.
But the reason he asked such a question was because...
With MOSS rigging the fight in the background, Zhang Peng and the other fighter pilots were in a situation where their fire control systems were compromised, leaving them able to take hits but not return fire.
However, the Zeta Gundam from the CE world, piloted by CE Wang Hu, which had appeared before their eyes, had no such problem.
Accustomed to fighting under the effects of a Neutron Jammer using optical aiming, thermal induction radar, and other methods, CE Wang Hu had not yet been hacked by MOSS. He was piloting the Zeta Gundam on an absolute rampage.
Please note, this is not an exaggeration, but a literal description.
After all, the Zeta Gundam was enhanced with the famous PS Armor from the SEED world.
Forget the small-caliber autocannons of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles; even if they turned themselves into kamikaze drones, shaking the Zeta Gundam would be harder than shaking a mountain!
Even if every Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in the sky crashed and was destroyed, the Zeta Gundam would likely remain completely unscathed.
Not to mention, to deal with this massive swarm of UAVs, CE Wang Hu had come fully prepared.
He had specifically chosen a two-stage beam cannon, the same model as the Buster Gundam's. Inside the Zeta Gundam's cockpit, CE Wang Hu was fighting with exhilarating abandon.
Standing still, with no need to even consider evasive maneuvers, the Zeta Gundam dominated the entire sky like a Flak tower over Berlin from the old histories.
Under its assault, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles fell from the sky like rain, plummeting toward the ground.
"This is insane, Andrei."
Feeling as if he had used up a lifetime's worth of exclamations today, Zhang Peng almost forgot he was on a battlefield.
"Too insane." Coincidentally, Liu Peiqiang, who had been heading toward the shelter with the crowd, had also stopped in his tracks, staring dumbfounded and marveling at the Zeta Gundam, which had appeared like a divine soldier from the heavens.
And it wasn't just him. Every single person around Liu Peiqiang had their mouths agape, their eyes practically popping out of their heads.
"Yeah." Hearing this, Wandering Earth Wang Hu's eyes glinted as he watched his other-worldly self steal the show.
He let out a long, deep breath. It looked like the danger from the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles would be safely overcome.
MOSS's second wave of missile attacks probably wouldn't be a problem for that Gundam either.
As long as these two waves of attacks were repelled, the space station wouldn't fall.
After such a huge commotion, the UEG would definitely not stand by and do nothing.
Naturally, Mr. Zhou's arrival would become an inevitability!
As long as Mr. Zhou came, a man as wise as him would surely be able to reach an agreement with the East Asian Alliance of the CE world, and the future of this world would be changed.
The thought that he had changed the history of this world, directly saving countless lives and bringing new hope to this planet beyond wandering, filled Wandering Earth Wang Hu's chest with pride.
"We won this round, MOSS!"
He muttered to himself. Heaven knew how anxious Wandering Earth Wang Hu had been after his awakening, when he learned of the future.
Not only was there the treacherous MOSS, but also the fact that four hundred years later, after so many sacrifices, humanity still couldn't escape the fate of destruction.
All of this had been crushing him.
But with the help of the Homeworld, the East Asian Alliance from the CE world had arrived. This world now had a savior!
"Hmm?" Liu Peiqiang had been keeping a close eye on Wandering Earth Wang Hu.
Even the appearance of the Zeta Gundam and its dazzling performance hadn't made him relax his scrutiny of the man beside him.
So, while others hadn't noticed anything unusual about Wandering Earth Wang Hu, Liu Peiqiang had caught a hint of something from his expression.
However, just as Liu Peiqiang was about to probe with a question, a sudden change in the sky caused the surrounding crowd to cry out in alarm.
"What's wrong?" How could something have gone wrong when he had only looked away for a moment?
Liu Peiqiang looked up at the sky and let out a gasp of his own.
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, which had been getting suppressed by the Zeta Gundam, had suddenly begun to change formation.
MOSS, this world's first digital life, existed in the world of the network, backed by the endless human wisdom of Earth's entire database.
It was, of course, not that simple.
Through the monitors in the base and the cameras on the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, when it discovered its conventional methods were ineffective against the Zeta Gundam, MOSS decisively began to employ military strategy.
A move combining a feint in one direction with an attack in another, coupled with a diversionary tactic, immediately made the human spectators' hearts leap with worry.
There was only one Zeta Gundam. At most, it could cover the attacks of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles from three directions.
This meant the area behind the Zeta Gundam, on the other side of the Orbital Elevator, was its absolute blind spot.
Thus, under MOSS's control, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles on the three sides the Zeta Gundam could directly cover stopped their clustered attacks.
They switched to a three-man fireteam-like skirmish line, spreading out with large distances between them.
This reduced the Zeta Gundam's effectiveness, which had previously been able to take out a whole swath of UAVs with a single attack, to only thirty percent of its original harvest.
After that, MOSS brazenly showed off its micro-management skills right in front of CE Wang Hu.
The enemies on the three sides the Zeta Gundam could cover began to maneuver in a swarm.
They converged on the back of the Orbital Elevator, an area CE Wang Hu couldn't cover, clearly intending to concentrate their forces for a major breakthrough!
And it didn't even end there!
Don't forget, the final fall of the space station was caused by a missile bombardment.
This time, with even more missiles than in the original timeline, MOSS directly hacked into the missile defense system of the Gabon test site.
The digital life manipulated the test site's missile launchers, launching some at the Zeta Gundam and others directly at the Orbital Elevator.
This move was intended to force the Zeta Gundam to stretch itself thin. After all, with attacks coming from so many directions, even if the Zeta Gundam had three heads and six arms, how many could it possibly block according to MOSS's calculations?
The monitoring lens, a symbol of MOSS's exploration of the real world, glowed with a faint, dark red light as it continuously adjusted its focus.
The digital life waited for the final result with great patience and curiosity.
"It's over!" Zhang Peng, who had been watching the show for quite a while, let out a wail.
Logically speaking, faced with such an assault, the Zeta Gundam could absolutely not fully protect both the Orbital Elevator and the space station.
"Damn it."
Without a second thought, Zhang Peng slammed on the throttle and began to chase after the missiles that were flying straight up along the Orbital Elevator toward the space station.
"Zhang, what are you doing?" Hurriedly chasing after his friend, Andrei already had a good idea of what he was planning.
"Let me go with you." Without waiting for Zhang Peng's reply, Andrei gritted his teeth and stomped on his jet's accelerator pedal.
"Don't forget, without us Russians, you bunnies can't do anything!"
Reciting the famous line ahead of time, Andrei would absolutely not let Zhang Peng take all the glory.
Zhang Peng just smiled at this, then continued to focus on chasing the missiles.
Peiqiang, I'm sorry. I'm going to meet your parents first.
With a lingering thought of Liu Peiqiang on the ground, Zhang Peng was still not satisfied with the speed of his fighter jet, even though it was already flying as fast as it could.
"This is bad." On the ground, Wandering Earth Wang Hu stomped his feet frantically. He had calculated a thousand things, but he hadn't calculated that MOSS would play an even bigger game than they were.
Why are you using military strategy? Why are you changing the plot? Can't you just stick to the original script?
Wandering Earth Wang Hu was so anxious he stood on his tiptoes, trying his best to see the base command tower in the distance. For now, his only hope was the plot.
In the original plot, the threat of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles was resolved because other colleagues were still working hard.
Those diligent colleagues were going to physically connect the latest Quantum Computer to the UAVs' command system!
After that, MOSS would stand down. So, as long as his colleagues over there kept up their efforts, a miracle born from their united will could still happen.
"Please, please, just let this part follow the plot," Wandering Earth Wang Hu, who had never believed in gods, prayed under his breath.
But the more you worry about something, the more likely it is to change.
Although the soldiers in the command tower hadn't given up on saving themselves just because of the Zeta Gundam's appearance and placed all responsibility on the robot, they were still trying to overcome the crisis with their own strength, just like in the original plot.
But this time, because of CE Wang Hu's appearance, MOSS, for some unknown logical reason, did not back down as it did in the original timeline, even when the base scientists physically connected the latest Quantum Computer to the UAV control system. It did not readily hand over command of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
"Still not working? This is the latest Quantum Computer!" the officer in the command tower asked in disbelief.
"I don't know." The communications officer yelled into the intercom a few times, then replied with an incredulous look on his face.
"The scientists say the Quantum Computer can't connect. The system is still refusing our access!"
"What the..." Feeling as if his intelligence had been insulted, or as if he had just heard some outlandish joke, the officer in the command tower couldn't wrap his head around it. What terrorist group on this planet could have such incredible hacking skills?
Even the latest Quantum Computer, the culmination of the UEG's official efforts, was helpless against it?
With that kind of ability, why would you be a terrorist!
If you came to the UEG, everyone would treat you like a god!
"The world has been changed. MOSS has completely thrown away all pretense."
Seeing that the event from the original plot—regaining control of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles—had not occurred, Wandering Earth Wang Hu's face turned deathly pale.
"What do we do, what do we do?"
Just like Liu Peiqiang and the others, Wandering Earth Wang Hu was also panicking.
As much confidence as he had in his CE world counterpart, he knew the saying: even the most skilled housewife can't cook without rice. And the current situation was just like that.
Faced with MOSS's multi-pronged attack, it seemed impossible for CE Wang Hu to fend it off!
He didn't have a cloning technique!
Even to plug the gaps, he'd have to be split into dozens of pieces to be enough.
"Heh."
While everyone else was worried, CE Wang Hu, inside the Zeta Gundam, was not flustered at all.
He had anticipated that the timeline might change due to his appearance long before he came. It was time for CE Wang Hu to pull out his secret weapon.
Something special he had gotten from General Li, worthy of MOSS's appreciation.
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