"I survived?!" Max shouted excitedly as he raised his arms in a half-transparent mode. "Hell yeah! I told you guys that I am too good at this game, hahaha!"
— Breeze in the past: Goodbye forever. Breeze now: Hell yeah! Take that, sucker!
— Why call my name? This noble me said nothing at all! And Breeze, you suck at handling robots!
— It seems Breeze isn't that good with technology that uses something to assist him
— lolol, he's a manual guy
— If he can't handle this, how could he drive a hovercar?
— ^^ Simple, just hire a chauffeur.
In his delight, Max looked around. The cutscene had started again, showing his Strand, with some damage all over its body, slowly descending to the ground. All enemy robots were rendered useless, with no antenna relaying commands to them.
Humanity gained significant results from this attack. Many robot parts could be salvaged for the incoming attack on the AI main server.
The flying squad apparently lost 5 members, even though Max ended the battle pretty fast before they could even reach the enemy. But it was just for a story progression. And...
"Pops! Pops!" Read exclusive content at m v l em pyr
There was another victim in this attack. Just when Officer landed on the ground, exiting his Strand, he could see Mohawk desperately digging a half-destroyed black Strand. His expression hardened at once. Ignoring the cheers from his surroundings, he ran toward Mohawk.
"What happened?" He asked the crying man.
"Officer! Help me open this cockpit! Pops is... Pops!"
That was enough words. Officer immediately sprung into action and helped Mohawk pry off the steel covering the black Strand. It was hard. Even with their combined strength, they couldn't do it.
More people noticed them and gathered to help. One person used a Strand to peer open the cockpit. Only then did they manage to see Pops' condition.
The old man lost almost half of his body. His arm torn off to the chest. Blood covered the cockpit, turned the metal red. There was no sign of breathing.
Mohawk's face paled as he jumped down.
"Pops!" He held Pops' body and shook it, shouting desperately. "Come on, Pops! We won! Don't joke with me, please! Pops. Pop–"
Officer jumped into the cockpit and held down Mohawk.
"Stop it! He's already dead."
"Get off me, Officer! Pops won't die. He can't die!"
"Face the reality!"
Silence descended. The sound of grinding teeth could be heard. Some weeping sounds could also be heard from those who knew Pops well. Everyone was sad. Pops had died a hero's death with a smile on his face.
Max's jaw dropped in surprise.
'That's the main server?!' He screamed inside his mind as he looked at the camera inside the cockpit.
— Yup
— I expected this reaction
— lolol, look at his face. So funny!
— Good thing we didn't spoil him with the story lol
— It's worth it
Seeing the chat reaction and the game's system, Max realized his guess was on point.
A large metal tortoise equipped with weapons and hosts many robots... Really?
'I have to destroy that? How?'
When he was lost in his thoughts, a voice reverberated through the battlefield, shaking the soldier's heart.
"EVERYONE! Attack! LET'S TAKE BACK OUR EARTH!"
It was a simple command from the commander. But it managed to push the morale to the highest level.
Max looked at the Strand that ran on the ground in awe. Those who could fly went straight fearlessly.
Enemies poured out from the back of the metal tortoise. The cloudy sky was filled with black and deadly red color.
Just the numbers alone gave a sense of foreboding about this being the last battle that decided the Earth's fate. Everyone was spirited to take back their motherland from the rogue robots.
At this spectacle, Max slowly commanded the robot with his mind. His hands moved the lever as the game assist program registered the command, and he flew a bit faster than the others. A bluish-silver flash appeared in the sky.
"Argh, screw it! Let's go rampaging! I came for you, motherfuckers!"
Thus, the final battle in Stranded Mech began.
— Oooh!
— This is so exciting!
— KILL KILL KILL
— TURN THEM INTO METAL JUNK!
— Rampage time!