Chapter 23: Bombing the Nest
"Look at all these fish!" Yang Bo's mech rumbled along until it encountered a massive shoal.
The lake's surface was a sprawling, dark mass of fish—but Yang Bo didn't recognize the species; he wasn't sure what kind they were.
He initiated a radar scan. The results showed over ten thousand fish in the group. Yang Bo grinned mischievously and retrieved a blue shockwave bomb from a mounting unit on his mech's chest. This bomb, attached externally to his mech, was roughly the size of a 500‑pound aerial bomb on Earth.
After activating its mechanical explosive mechanism with a twist, his mech backed up a short distance and then hurled the bomb with all its might.
Of course, compared to his eight‑meter-tall mech, the shockwave bomb was small. It soared over 500 meters before plunging into the water.
Boom!
In the lake—about ten to fifteen meters deep—the explosion first sent tremors through the ground, then triggered a towering water column tens of meters high.
"Swimming +1!"
A dense stream of information surged through Yang Bo's mind. Back in his room, he clearly felt a massive change in his body—as if an invisible force had erupted within him and transformed him from the inside out. Overwhelmed by a violent hunger, Yang Bo abruptly exited the game, quickly switching to recharge mode while guzzling milk.
Ten minutes later, he glanced at his battery—it now had less than 10% charge remaining—and noted that a full case of one‑liter milk bottles had been consumed. Yang Bo clenched his fist, feeling as though he could crush steel with it.
"Back into the game," he decided, not bothering to check his skill stats—he had to get back quickly in case his mech sustained further damage from unexpected events.
On the lake's surface, fish lay scattered with their bellies up; the scale was immense—hard to describe in words. Some fish were so shattered by the blast that even the water's appearance had changed.
"Let's wait and see…" Yang Bo mused. "Maybe these fish will cause a disturbance—draw in other fish to the nest."
He activated his radar's alert system and then reviewed his skills.
The most notable upgrades were:
• Swimming: Grandmaster (11,450/100,000)
• Disguise: Advanced (142/1,000)
Yang Bo scratched his head. "What did I just blast? Could it be some kind of bottom-dwelling, camouflaged fish—or something else? No, forget it… it's alien."
Additionally, a new skill had been acquired:
• Smack (Striking): Intermediate (12/100)
His Dynamic Vision, Flight, and Electric Energy Control had also received modest boosts—likely because the lake also hosted electric eels.
This place was situated at the confluence of water currents—a lake where a strong, bloody scent mingled with the flow. Soon, Yang Bo began spotting large fish one after another. Some resembled Earth's killer whales; using their tails, they slammed competing fish into the air.
"Ah, so you're one of those little 'Karamy'," Yang Bo remarked. He didn't recognize the species—it looked much smaller than a killer whale and bore a slight resemblance to a dolphin.
After an hour, Yang Bo checked his radar again. It now indicated that the lake teemed with tens of thousands of fish—some as large as 10 meters long and others as small as a hand's size.
"Game on, haha," Yang Bo chuckled. He then retrieved a second shockwave bomb and lobbed it from a distance.
The ground trembled once more; his mech shuddered as a water column tens of meters high erupted again.
Prepared this time, Yang Bo had bought a larger battery with a far greater capacity—capable of storing up to 50,000 units of energy. He replaced his old battery, and his milk supply was replenished as well.
A surge of immense power left him momentarily feeling hollow. Yang Bo scrambled to recharge and downed milk in gulps. Ten minutes later, as that empty feeling subsided, he noticed his battery had warmed up—the discharge rate was too high. He had consumed 22% of his charge, but thankfully his battery was from a reputable brand.
Yang Bo's daring move left many onlookers dumbfounded. At the game's base, as soon as his first shockwave bomb detonated, a nearby space device live‑streamed the event.
"Is this guy crazy?" one observer remarked while looking at the white, floating fish in the lake, eyebrows raised in disbelief.
"Let's see…" the base managers, also perplexed, noted that Yang Bo's previous record showed a B‑level infiltrator had once infiltrated deep within the base's security perimeter. Fortunately, remnants from that encounter had been recovered, and they might soon reveal the enemy's secrets.
Even the mutants were stunned. For mutants, survival depended on food; large‑scale hunting on the surface was unrealistic. Thus, their main food source came from aquatic life. In any case, no one would be recording the natural growth changes of the lake's fauna.
In the underground command center, a general frowned. "Yang Bo's actions are too bizarre—using a shockwave bomb to blast fish for fun… Is he out of his mind, or did he never get a chance to play as a kid?"
Yang Bo glanced at his Swimming skill; he was still about 30,000 points short of the 100,000 needed for a full upgrade. He was testing how high this skill could climb.
"General, the blood scent is even stronger now. This should attract more fish—what do we do?" a mutant shouted from the underground space.
"Deploy the hunting team to drive the fish swarm away," the general replied after a moment's thought.
"Understood," came the immediate order.
Mutants possessed various abilities; the hunting team in the lake could operate underwater and emit sound waves that either gathered or dispersed fish.
Yang Bo was pleased—officially, he hadn't received any warning emails, so all seemed well.
"There won't be a next time," he mused. "These fish only boost my Swimming skill—they're not that useful otherwise." Yang Bo wasn't too interested in the other skills; he considered them a waste of time.
Scanning with his radar, he saw fish groups converging in the distance. Yang Bo decided to wait a while, but waiting here just wasted time.
Suddenly, in a distant clump of shrubs, a bird began hopping around erratically. Yang Bo initially ignored it, but then—
"This can't be right. Such commotion—this bird isn't more than 200 meters away. Is it that conspicuous?" Yang Bo found it peculiar.
Originally, he wasn't going to pay it any mind, but the bird continued darting about the shrubs, seemingly watching him. That was intolerable.
Without hesitation, his rocket backpack activated, and in one swift jump-slash maneuver…
"Eh!" In that instant, the bird unexpectedly took off and then, in a sharp reversal, flew back toward the direction from which Yang Bo had just come. Yang Bo was caught off guard.
However, his shield—thrown without delay—smashed into the bird, slamming it onto the ground.
"Take that, you little runt!" Yang Bo exclaimed triumphantly as he landed from his jump-slash.
"Wait—why didn't my Flight ability kick in?" he wondered, perplexed, and went to retrieve his shield.
At that moment, Yang Bo sensed an odd sound emanating from the lake. He picked up his shield and, after inspecting the bird's corpse, activated his mech's scanning system. The scan revealed that the bird's bone density and composition were abnormal—its makeup included several unknown materials.
"Could it be an enemy spy from the mutants?" Yang Bo muttered before tossing the bird's remains into his mech's built-in loot storage.
Then he called out, "Hey, where have all my fish gone?" Returning to the lake, he discovered that the fish, which had been gathering around the nest area, had suddenly scattered—just as if they were defying a local angler.
(End of Chapter)