You could tell just how powerful that shot was from the sound alone.
And it was.
The bullet struck the Armored Corpse in an instant. The keratinous layer on its back immediately shattered, leaving a wound the size of a large bowl.
But that wasn't the most important part. The back that had been hit began to freeze over rapidly. The ice spread across its entire body, and in the blink of an eye, the whole Armored Corpse had turned into an ice sculpture.
But a Mutated Zombie wasn't that easy to deal with. The ice only held for a brief moment before the creature burst free.
The freeze was only skin-deep. For the Armored Corpse, it was nothing more than a momentary delay.
But that momentary delay was a fatal opening. Fang Tianhe, piloting his Mecha, swung the Vibrating Giant Blade at the Armored Corpse's head.
This strike was completely different from his previous attacks. A black light had appeared, cloaking the entire Vibrating Giant Blade.
In this state, the Vibrating Giant Blade radiated a terrifying aura, as if it could slice through space itself.
Given the Armored Corpse's incredible Defense, a normal strike would have left a gash only a few feet long at most.
For a 4-meter-tall Armored Corpse, that was no different from a paper cut.
But now, a flash of black light from the blade, and the Armored Corpse's head rolled right off.
"What was that?" Lin Xinghai asked, swallowing hard.
That strike was truly terrifying. He estimated it could slice an Armored Vehicle clean in two.
"That's the commander's Superpower, 'Heaven-Sundering.' It's also a Rare Level Superpower. The Heaven-Sundering Superpower manifests as a release of black Energy. It can be used for direct attacks or infused into a weapon to produce an incredibly terrifying cutting effect," Qin Yang explained.
"The Superpower is named Heaven-Sundering?" Lin Xinghai's expression was a little strange.
The Mercenary Corps was named Heaven-Sundering, and so was the Mecha. He hadn't expected the Superpower to be named Heaven-Sundering as well.
Suddenly, he recalled that the names of Shen Han's Mecha and Superpower seemed to be the same, too.
"That's right! Our Mercenary Corps was named after the commander's Superpower. Simple and convenient!" Qin Yang said with a chuckle.
Lin Xinghai wanted to complain, but he didn't even know where to begin.
In any case, the distant battle was over.
The moment their fight ended, Fang Tianhe and Shen Han glanced over at the state of the battle here.
Seeing that everything was under control, they weren't in such a hurry. They picked up the Armored Corpse's body and started heading back.
"Why are they bringing the corpse back?" Lin Xinghai asked, confused.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the Armored Corpse a slightly smaller Mecha, since the Mecha was only 5 meters tall. 'How much of a pain would it be to bring that huge thing along!'
"You wouldn't know this, but the corpse of any Mutated Zombie is very valuable! The newly developed Biological Alloys all require materials from Mutated Zombie corpses."
"And the Armored Corpse is one of the most valuable types of Mutated Zombie. Bringing this corpse back will be worth at least 20,000 Points," Qin Yang said, his smile widening.
The greater the haul, the bigger the rewards distributed after the mission.
Only then did Lin Xinghai nod in understanding.
With the two Mechas returning to the battlefield, what followed was a complete slaughter of the Ordinary Zombies.
The battle swiftly drew to a close.
It was a great victory, and everyone was naturally ecstatic.
Fang Tianhe and Shen Han emerged from their Mechas. There was much to do after a major battle, such as tallying injuries and ammunition consumption.
Naturally, they would also ask about how the battle had progressed and unfolded.
After all, the Mercenary Corps rewarded its members based on merit. Whoever performed most outstandingly would receive a larger reward after the mission.
And during this debriefing, Fang Tianhe of course learned about the crucial role Lin Xinghai had played in the battle.
A look of surprise inevitably appeared on his face. To be honest, when he had first agreed to let Lin Xinghai enter the city center, he had done so with the intention of mentoring him.
He never expected to bring in such a massive asset. This time, Lin Xinghai had even been the key to the entire battle.
However, Lin Xinghai was completely oblivious to Fang Tianhe's thoughts. His eyes were gleaming as he stared at the field of corpses, and he couldn't help but gulp.
"Roger, aren't we going to clean up the battlefield? All those Elemental Crystals are worth Points!" Lin Xinghai urged.
He had a clear understanding now: an Ordinary Zombie Elemental Crystal was worth 20 Points, an Intermediate Zombie's was worth 40 Points, and a High Level Zombie's was worth as much as 60 Points.
There were nearly 300 Zombie corpses on the ground. Even if they were all calculated at the lowest rate, that would still add up to 6,000 Points.
What's more, there were quite a few Intermediate Zombies among them. By his estimation, if they collected all the Elemental Crystals, they could get at least 8,000 Points.
"Yes, we need to clean up, but we have to be fast. The smell of blood here is too strong. It'll be a problem if it attracts other Mutated Zombies," Roger nodded.
They couldn't have stopped to collect Elemental Crystals while they were rushing here earlier. But now that they were regrouping on the spot, it was a different story.
Besides, their own consumption during this battle had been enormous.
Never mind anything else, the cost of the Special Bullets he and Lin Xinghai had fired alone was close to 1,500 Points.
The moment he saw Roger nod, Lin Xinghai shot off without another word.
To others, this was a dirty, thankless job, but to Lin Xinghai, 'this is all Blood Qi Power!'
This scene left the few senior members who had gathered around somewhat stunned.
Xu Haishui even spoke up, "Roger, you did make it clear that all these Elemental Crystals are to be turned in, right?"
"Do you think I'm you? Would I make such a rookie mistake?" Roger said, shooting him a sideways glance.
"Then why is he so eager?" Even Wu Yan, who was usually a man of few words, was curious.
Roger hesitated for a moment before lowering his voice. "I don't know for sure, but based on my guess... he seems to have a certain... quirk."
At this, the few men, including Fang Tianhe, couldn't help but gasp.
Even the perpetually cold-faced Shen Han's expression changed subtly.
"Well... for something like this, we should show sufficient respect and understanding. Also, let's not let this get out," Fang Tianhe concluded.
The group stayed for five minutes to quickly clean up the battlefield before departing.
After all, this was the city center, where Zombie density was extremely high. The intense smell of blood would cause a ceaseless stream of Zombies to converge on their location.
The Zombies were endless, but their ammunition and the Mercenaries' stamina were not.
Staying for five minutes to clean the battlefield was already pushing their limits.
Lin Xinghai had to be hurried onto the vehicle. As he left, his face still held a trace of reluctance, as if he wasn't finished yet.
When Fang Tianhe and the others saw this, the looks they exchanged were even stranger, and they became all the more certain of Roger's guess.