The bracelet on her wrist, which had a resentment detection function, was burning hot—so hot that her fair skin felt scorched. But the surge of adrenaline dulled the pain, letting Jiang Yin ignore the sensation as she stared at the three hulking figures that had been airdropped onto the ground.
Each one over three meters tall, monstrous giants, like quadruplets with the giant brute already on the ground.
She had guessed wrong.
The Puppet Hunter still held enough cards in hand.
She didn’t even dare to imagine how many people this guy had killed outside, or how many Puppet Reserves he had collected.
Instinctively, she sprang up, sprinting toward the soldier circling outside in the Catcat Vehicle.
At the same time, the Tactical Legguard strapped to her right thigh, holding a dagger, radiated a surge of magic power.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Three deafening blasts landed like artillery shells.
Jiang Yin looked back anxiously at the empty high slope, finally exhaling in relief.
“Don’t just stand there! Open fire!”
She roared at the soldiers, frozen by the sudden assault.
Then she unleashed strength far beyond that of an ordinary girl, grabbing a recoilless rifle from each side of the Catcat Vehicle, with two more in her hands as she sprinted toward the trench.
The moment she broke into a run, the Catcat Vehicle’s six-barreled 107 rocket launcher locked onto two of the giant monsters nearby and unleashed a barrage, covering the area with explosions.
Simultaneously, the young soldier driving behind her grabbed a recoilless rifle, ready to fire at any moment.
As for Jiang Yin…
She actually wanted to fire the cannon herself.
But, alas, she really didn’t know how!
She’d never served in the military, and the only time she’d ever touched a gun was after her transformation, in the Administration Bureau’s underground training ground.
She had no idea how to use a single-soldier rocket launcher.
“Squad Leader Zhang, I’m leaving it to you!”
This type of recoilless rifle could be reloaded, but in the intensity of short-term combat, it was like a grenade—usually, you only got one shot.
There had only been two in the trench earlier, slung over the shoulders of the two young soldiers protecting Qv Si Nan and the others.
Jiang Yin dropped four recoilless rifles without wasting a word, and after confirming that Squad Leader Zhang’s face showed no sign of panic, she felt a bit relieved and dashed back to the passenger seat of the Catcat Vehicle.
***
The barrier here was supported by the Magical Device on her leg. She could leave briefly, but if she stayed away too long, the barrier would dissipate!
“Aim at the target! Fire!”
Of the three giant monsters, only the one approaching from the rear slope still had full combat power.
Squad Leader Zhang quickly locked on, firing three rockets at it, and for good measure, tossed an offensive grenade.
He then grabbed his 95 for cover.
A true weapons master.
The two young soldiers fired their rockets with deadly precision, remembering Jiang Yin’s earlier reminder—hit the legs, not the head—striking the monster’s legs in sequence.
“Here they come again! Squad Leader Zhang, watch the front!”
“Ordinary humanoid monster!”
Jiang Yin’s perception as an unawakened was already unreliable, let alone her lack of tactical training.
In an emergency, there was no way she could report ‘how many meters at what o’clock’ with precision.
She didn’t even know which direction around her was what o’clock, much less calculate the monster’s position near Squad Leader Zhang.
But even a rough ‘front’ was a huge help.
Because…
“Watch out for grenades!”
The two young soldiers pressed the girls down in the trench, while Squad Leader Zhang hurled a defensive grenade out.
Just because I don’t have a precise mark, I can’t do a precise bombardment!?
“Get up! Finish them off!”
Defensive grenades had less explosive charge than offensive ones, but they were more than enough against these flesh-and-blood puppet monsters—after all, even adults swinging axes could shatter them.
The three soldiers in exoskeletons raised their 95s and fired short, accurate bursts to finish the monsters.
“Let’s head that way!”
The smoke from the rockets had faded.
Seeing that the two giant monsters, though heavily injured, could still move, Jiang Yin made a swift decision to the soldier at the wheel: “Hit their right legs with two more tubes!”
“None left!”
The young soldier shouted—not in panic or fear, but because his ears were still ringing from the explosions.
“What?”
“No more tubes!”
Jiang Yin: “…..”
Fine.
She’d been too optimistic.
This wasn’t some zombie game with infinite ammo; no way a standard squad would bring so many launchers for a mission.
The ones they had were already special equipment, supplied by the military due to the unusual circumstances!
“So what now?”
Jiang Yin began to panic.
Ning Rong had already contacted her—because of the distance, even the nearest Taotao would need at least ten minutes to get there.
Ten minutes.
After withstanding the first wave of attack, the barrier she’d erected was draining her magic power, and it was uncertain she could last another ten minutes!
But in the next second, the dark-skinned young soldier grinned and gave her a thumbs-up.
“But we still have the 107!”
Right!
The 107 didn’t require a launcher to fire.
It was called the guerrilla’s magic weapon because it was simple—if you couldn’t find a launcher, you could light the base and fire it anyway!
They didn’t need to get that desperate, either—after all, they still had the Catcat Vehicle.
“Then drive toward Squad Leader Zhang. I’ll head up front and hold them off to buy time…”
Jiang Yin drew her dagger and jumped from the Catcat Vehicle.
She was about to run when Ning Rong’s telepathy sounded in her mind.
[No need.]
[You’ve done well. Leave the rest to us.]
She looked up.
In the distant, dim sky, she saw the red and pink Magical Girls flashing like beacons of hope.
They were fast.
“Well, looks like we’re not needed after all.”
Jiang Yin instantly relaxed, leaning against the Catcat Vehicle.
Her hand trembled as she fished out a cigarette, lighting it and taking a deep drag before waving toward the trench with a smile.
“Squad Leader Zhang~ reinforcements are here.”
No life-or-death race.
No tragic sacrifice.
From the beginning, Jiang Yin and the others had been protected bait.
Now that the fish had bitten, it was up to Ning Rong, the master angler, to reel it in.
The only truly dangerous moment had been just now.
After Xiao Zi rescued the precision marksman on the high slope, she instantly opened a Magical Space and dragged away the Puppet Hunter.
With the auto-defense Magical Device protecting Qv Si Nan and the others, there was no real danger.
But the young soldier driving the Catcat Vehicle might not have survived if Jiang Yin hadn’t risked everything.
Looking at the dark-skinned, mischievous young soldier clinging to the Catcat Vehicle, his face alight with excitement at seeing Magical Girls, Jiang Yin shook her head, smiling as she raised her cigarette for another drag.
She never mentioned how close he’d come to crossing the Ghost Gate.
A pure white girl leaned against a rocket launcher still smoking from battle, gazing at the stars.
Around her were the ruins of monsters and the lingering haze of gunfire.
The young soldiers cheered.
The old Squad Leader smiled in relief.
Jiang Yin’s first mission…
Was pretty miraculous.