The Titan descended from the heavens like a god of flame.
The moment it appeared,
the sun, which had been hiding behind dark clouds, emerged.
Under the light's illumination,
the crimson paint reflected a dazzling brilliance. The perfect metallic texture and the smooth, flowing lines, like running water, momentarily dazed some of the gang members.
"What! What the hell is this thing!!!"
The cadre, his clothes splattered with the flesh and blood of other gang members, had been knocked to the ground by the series of explosions. He lifted his face, covered in dust and the blood of those next to him. The moment he saw the Titan, his composure vanished, replaced by sheer panic.
In his memory,
he had never seen such a mechanical monster. Gang wars in Siracusa were, at most, clashes of knives, or the use of crossbows and Originium demolition bombs. The more advanced weapons might be mortars or drones imported from Columbia.
As for this mechanical monster...
I'm sorry.
Not only had he never seen it, he couldn't even have imagined it. Bathed in light, standing tall like a mechanical beast, the overwhelming sense of pressure made it hard for him to breathe.
However, those present were all hardened characters with more than one life on their hands, especially the 'wolves.' They didn't know the meaning of fear. Even though the Titan's Originium missiles had killed hundreds in an instant, their gazes remained calm and icy. It was only because of the bell that they instinctively held back, even though several 'wolves' had also been vaporized in the explosions.
The leader was only afraid for a moment.
The ruthlessness in his heart surged up once more.
"Fire!! Throw Originium demolition bombs at it, hit it hard with the mortars! I don't believe a big hunk of metal like this can really withstand it!!"
Upon receiving the order, the surviving gang members began to fight back. The 'wolves,' in particular, charged forward madly, attempting to hack at the Titan with blades that could easily cut through ordinary steel.
"Alright, alright! Isn't this more interesting!! Fight back~"
The High Priest grew excited, flapping its wings incessantly on Zumama's shoulder.
It absolutely loved the Titan, and of course, the intelligent medical cart as well.
However, one was pure violent aesthetics, while the other was elegant artificial intelligence.
These two different kinds of mechanical beauty simply hit the High Priest's XP right on the spot. Although... Lucas Reeve often couldn't help but roast the High Priest for his strange tastes. After all, you're a bird... it's fine if you don't like female birds, but you should at least like a living creature...
Although.
It was true that few men could resist the temptation of the Titan.
But...
A person cannot... at least, they shouldn't...
After a brief moment of fear, the gang members regrouped and began to counterattack. Some drew crossbows and pulled the triggers, aiming at the Titan. Others continuously threw Originium demolition bombs, trying to blow this hunk of metal to smithereens.
The surrounding 'wolves' also seemed quite clever, their sharp blades swiftly striking at the joint sections of the Titan's arms and legs.
However...
The moment these blades touched the Titan's surface, they shattered with a *ping*, like glass hitting metal.
This reminded Lucas Reeve of a famous scene.
A kunai striking a Susanoo.
Seeing that this kind of melee attack was useless, the 'wolf pack' quickly dispersed. Still, one of them didn't manage to get away in time and was grabbed by the Zumama-controlled Titan, which then brutally flung it away, smashing it into the ground.
At the same time.
Crossbow bolts and various Originium demolition bombs rained down from all directions.
Amidst the deafening explosions,
countless Originium demolition bombs detonated upon contact with the Titan's surface, raising clouds of smoke. The crossbow bolts also struck the armor plates in unison, making a sound like rain hitting the ground.
However.
How could an attack of this level possibly cause any damage to the Titan? For an ordinary industrial mech, such an assault might have scrapped it instantly.
But this was something Lucas Reeve had built with all his effort. The defensive armor on its surface was made of Nirvana Metal, a material with a hardness far exceeding D32 Steel. To the Titan, this level of attack was no different from a gentle scraping.
Several rounds of explosions gradually plunged the gang members, who had still harbored some hope, into despair.
They could never have imagined that so many Originium demolition bombs had failed to cause even a tiny bit of damage to this mechanical monster's surface, not even chipping the paint.
Run!!
This was the thought in the minds of all the gang members except for the 'wolves.'
There was no way they could be a match for this mechanical monster. The only option was to flee!! Only by fleeing could they survive!!
On the other side, Franka's injuries were extremely severe. Her lung was punctured, and her legs were badly wounded from the explosion of the Originium demolition bombs.
Besides the chest wound, her body was covered in numerous other knife cuts. An ordinary person would have died long ago from such heavy injuries. Only someone with Franka's superhuman physique could barely cling to life.
The moment they landed, Lucas Reeve had already called for the intelligent medical cart to land the shuttle. Lucas Reeve didn't know much about healing, but Jessica did. Back at Blacksteel Worldwide, doubting her own abilities and thinking she couldn't become an excellent combat Operator, she had deliberately studied some emergency field medicine.
She immediately rushed to Franka's side to stop the bleeding and bandage her wounds. She opened the prepared first-aid kit and started sticking various needles into Franka.
However.
Jessica knew.
These measures were only temporarily prolonging Franka's life. Her survival up to this point had been purely due to her indomitable willpower. She needed to be sent to a hospital for surgery as soon as possible. Any further delay would be life-threatening.
Even though Jessica injected some drugs in an attempt to revive Franka's vitality, it only lasted for a short while before fading away.
One second Franka was chattering away with Jessica, the next she slumped down weakly. Even opening her eyes was a struggle, and her breathing grew fainter.
Liskarm stood by, anxious but helpless.
Jessica was also extremely anxious at this moment, but there was nothing she could do. Liskarm, forcing her own exhausted body, worriedly patted Franka's arm, telling her not to fall asleep like this.
Lucas Reeve took a deep breath.
If it weren't for the lack of time, he would have really liked to send these gang members to their deaths with his own hands. Lucas Reeve floated out of Jessica's body, placing one hand on Franka's head, continuously infusing Spiritual Power to strengthen her constitution and forcibly keep her alive.
"High Priest, we don't have time to waste on these people. Clean them up quickly, we need to go."
Lucas Reeve didn't want to bother with these Siracusa gangs anymore, not even wanting to look at them.
As the massive shuttle descended,
the leader understood what kind of people he had offended. An aircraft... he had never seen such a huge flying machine in his life. It was questionable whether the whole of Siracusa even had one.
Isn't Blacksteel Worldwide just a security company?
Though it has a big name, a company is still a company, right?!
Why would they have something as monstrous as this!!
A curbstomp battle!
His limited perspective made it impossible for him to imagine how vast the world outside Siracusa was.
Looking at the people preparing to scatter in all directions,
the High Priest snorted coldly.
"Hmph! Trying to escape?!"
With that, he pressed a button, and countless targeting reticles appeared on the screen.
The High Priest's small eyes darted around, controlling multiple reticles to aim at everyone at once.
Instantly, from the back of the mech, countless cannons extended like metal wings. As the High Priest aimed at a non-human speed, these cannons swept towards everyone from different angles, including the 'wolves.'
This device was specially designed by Lucas Reeve for the High Priest.
It was difficult for an ordinary person to operate; only a monster-level being like the High Priest could control it completely, like a computer.
Three thousand rounds a second.
Muzzle flashes spewed out, and under the hail of large-caliber bullets, many of those hit had their bodies blown apart.
Under the suppression of firepower,
these gang members didn't even last ten seconds. In an instant, the ground was littered with corpses...
The High Priest also controlled the Titan to pick up the containment box from the ground nearby.
"Active Originium Crystal, good stuff... I'll have that kid Lucas Reeve use this to upgrade my Titan when we get back."
Lucas Reeve and Jessica paid no mind to the carnage below, as Franka's physical condition was not looking good. After carrying Franka onto the shuttle, the intelligent medical cart saw the patient and immediately set the shuttle to auto-return, then promptly began to fulfill its role as a medical unit.
The cart was fully equipped with surgical supplies, had a self-sterilizing function, and its pre-programmed medical procedures and advanced intelligence made its medical skills no less than that of an ordinary chief surgeon.
It was for this reason.
That the manufacturing cost of such a cart was absurdly expensive, a rare sight even at Raythean Industries.
"Please step aside, surgery is about to begin. I will attempt to maintain the patient's vital signs during the return trip. The internal computer has already notified Rhine Hospital to prepare for our arrival."
The medical cart's vents continuously sprayed a special sterilizing mist, and then, several mechanical claws, holding various surgical instruments rarely seen, began to perform life-sustaining treatment on Franka.
Jessica sat beside her, extremely worried.
The shuttle was very fast.
The screen on the cart beeped, showing Franka's heart rate gradually slowing.
Finally.
After more than an hour,
the mobile city came into view. After an emergency landing controlled by the High Priest,
the doctors and nurses from Rhine Lab, who had been waiting on standby, were already there. After all, the request from the medical cart was sent in the name of Raythean Industries.
Upon landing, Franka was urgently transferred to a stretcher and rushed into the operating room by the doctors.
This surgery lasted a very long time.
21 hours had already passed.
The light above the operating room door was incredibly glaring at this moment.
Jessica hadn't slept all night, sitting numbly on the bench outside the operating room, constantly praying to the gods for Franka's safety.
Occasionally, when no one else was around, Lucas Reeve would emerge from Jessica's body, materializing his own to be a pillar of support for Jessica.
Liskarm wasn't in good shape either.
Her injuries weren't severe, just superficial wounds. After some simple bandaging, she sat next to Jessica, leaning on a crutch.
Although her expression didn't show much,
the worry in her heart was no less than Jessica's.
She and Franka had been partners for many years.
Though they often bickered, their bond was incredibly deep, transcending that of ordinary friends. They could entrust their lives to each other.
Finally.
After a full day and night of surgery,
the light above the operating room door went out.
By a stroke of luck...
The surgery was a success.
Or rather...
By the slimmest of margins, Franka was saved.
Whether it was Lucas Reeve inputting his Spiritual Power to strengthen Franka's constitution, the medical cart's forced life support, or even Franka's own resilient spirit—if any one of these three had been missing, even the most skilled doctor would not have been able to save her.
But unfortunately.
Although her life was saved,
Franka had contracted Oripathy. If they had performed amputation surgery the moment the Originium entered her body, there might have been a chance to prevent it, but now it was too late.
——One week later——
Franka remained in a coma for a full five days before she barely regained consciousness.
Due to the severity of her injuries, a quick recovery was obviously impossible.
During these days, Jessica and Liskarm took turns caring for her.
Of course.
Blacksteel Worldwide's rescue team arrived to an empty scene. By the time their shuttle arrived, Lucas Reeve and the others were long gone, and the ground was littered with corpses. The sight of several hundred bodies made many members of the Blacksteel rescue team feel sick, nearly vomiting.
When this news reached the ears of the Blacksteel Worldwide CEO, he immediately issued an order to classify this information as top secret. The rescue team responsible was also given a gag order.
He wasn't stupid.
Several hundred gang members dead... it was obvious... it was definitely that young lady Jessica who used Raythean Industries' armed forces to deliver a crushing blow. Otherwise, it would have been impossible.
Tsk...
That young lady is becoming more and more decisive.
She might really inherit Raythean Industries in the future.
On the first day Franka woke up,
the CEO of Blacksteel Worldwide personally came to visit. Upon learning that Franka had contracted Oripathy, he vowed that he would find the world's best medical institution for Oripathy treatment, telling Franka and Jessica not to worry.
Although with Jessica around, these promises of his were purely for show, they still had to be said.
"Phew!! I can finally eat!! I want a donut~~"
Franka habitually stretched, but the pain in her chest made her whole body twitch.
"You can't, Senior Franka. You can only have rice soup for now. The doctor has instructed you not to eat normal food for a month."
"Ah!!"
Franka was utterly dejected.
"By the way..."
She suddenly remembered a serious problem.
A crossbow bolt had pierced her chest, so does that mean her proud....
Sob sob sob!!
No!!
However, Liskarm, standing beside her, rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, you were lucky. The arrow went through the space under your ribs.."
"Phew!"
Another half a month of recovery passed.
After a final check-up confirmed that her bodily functions had mostly recovered, Franka was finally discharged from the hospital.
And after being discharged, Franka announced that she was preparing to join Raythean Medica! To stay by Jessica's side!