Chapter 89 Guidance

David’s capacity for learning was utterly terrifying, a gift owed to his formidable mind. Under his command, the three long-range sniper cannons fired continuously, each discharging every few seconds. The Shadow Attendant hovered in the air, observing the positions of the Level One Zerg. David, using the coordinates relayed from these observations, manually input them into the control panel, which drastically reduced the aiming time for each sniper cannon, increasing their rate of attack.

Outside the city walls, as more and more toxic-shock beetles were slain, the green poisonous miasma grew thicker, nearly to the point of obscuring vision. Some of it even drifted over the city walls, and a faint green mist began to seep into Sniper Control Room Five, where David was stationed.

His protective military suit automatically switched to internal circulation, supplying him with oxygen from its life-support system. The technology for generating oxygen had long since reached its peak; as long as the suit’s energy block remained charged, oxygen would continue to flow.

Thus, David had no need to worry about any harm from the green toxic fog. Yet, the ever-thickening poison began to slow his ability to spot Level One Zerg.

“Activating cleansing mode!” announced a voice in the control room. In the Shadow Attendant’s field of vision, numerous small holes opened atop the city wall, spraying out fine water mist. This mist merged with the toxic vapor, turning into green droplets that fell to the ground. Clearly, the city’s defense system had long been equipped to counteract such poison. It made sense—after ten thousand years of war with the Zerg, the Federation had developed plenty of countermeasures.

The control room’s ventilation system kicked in, expelling the poisonous mist from within. When David had first joined the city’s defense, he’d felt a measure of anxiety, but now that feeling had vanished. In truth, compared to the battles he’d experienced in the simulation, this one felt far safer. The powerful Level One Zerg were either blasted apart by heavy laser cannons or shattered by gauss cannons, with any that managed to escape promptly eliminated by the long-range sniper cannons.

The entire battle was fought from behind a screen, with the control instrument in his hand. When the conscription order had arrived, he hadn’t even had time to retrieve his weapons from home. Now, he realized that even if he’d brought his Tier Two longsword and spear, he would have had no use for them.

David understood his own limitations. Though his proficiency with cold weapons rivaled that of an Armored Warrior, he lacked the exoskeleton armor. To face a Level One Zerg head-on would be suicide.

"Warning, warning: Long-range sniper cannons Five, Six, and Seven have overheated. Cooling sequence initiated. Estimated cooldown: one hundred seconds!" After ten minutes of continuous fire, a line of text appeared on the screen in front of David. All three of his sniper cannons went offline.

He shook his head and set the control instrument aside.

Just then, the Shadow Attendant observed the Zerg beginning to retreat, quickly vanishing from sight.

"Is it over already?" David muttered in confusion.

Yet, his identity bracelet still displayed his conscription status and his control over the three sniper cannons. The Zerg’s assault could not possibly be over so easily.

At that moment, David received a video call request from his father, Hans. He accepted.

“David, where are you?” Hans’s face appeared on the bracelet’s screen, but he stopped mid-sentence when he recognized David’s surroundings. As a veteran of many wars, Hans immediately realized where his son was.

“How did you end up in a city defense sniper control room?” Hans asked anxiously.

“Father, I was conscripted. It’s quite safe here. Are you, Aunt Bertha, and little Edie all right?” David replied, steering the conversation away from himself.

“We’re fine. We’ve all moved to the shelter,” Hans answered while using his clearance to check on David’s situation. As David’s guardian, he had the right to access all his information.

Still, he hadn’t expected David to be drafted. Soon, he saw the reason: a specialty in sniping, with the potential of a sniper Armored Warrior. This brought him a surge of joy. After all, Hans had earned the title of “National Hero” because of his own sniping skills. It seemed his son had inherited his talent.

As for wartime conscription, if it had been for a melee Armored Warrior, the danger would have been immense. But a sniper’s post was far safer. Besides, if even the sniper control rooms were compromised, then the city’s defense would have already failed, and nowhere would be safe.

Thinking this, Hans’s tension eased a little.

“David, be careful. Don’t fire the sniper cannons at full capacity. How many are you controlling right now?” Hans asked with professional concern.

“I have three under my control,” David replied quickly, sensing the guidance behind his father’s words.

“The city defense is mad, letting a rookie conscript handle three sniper cannons!” Hans grumbled, then continued, “With three cannons, keep the firing rate to at least one shot every fifteen seconds. Don’t go faster. The alloys can’t withstand continuous overload. Also, keep at least one cannon ready to defend your control room in case the Zerg breach the wall.”

David started in surprise. He’d already realized the danger of cannon overheating—one hundred seconds of downtime in the midst of battle could be disastrous. But he hadn’t considered using a cannon to defend his own control room.

“If the control room is breached, set your suit’s temperature to zero and remain still. You might avoid detection by the Zerg,” Hans went on.

This was a method of playing dead, tricking the Zerg into thinking he was a corpse, and so perhaps sparing him. When the city’s defenses were breached, there would be plenty of living prey for the Zerg to pursue. Of course, this was a tactic the military despised—but David was not a true soldier. Most importantly, David was his son.

Hans had given everything for the Federation—his health, his family. He could not bear for his son to die in war before even reaching adulthood. No matter his title, a father’s selfishness remained.

“Father, I understand,” David answered gravely, then added softly, “Father, if the city defenses fall and you can’t evacuate, bring Aunt Bertha and Edie to this location. I’ve prepared a means to escape safely.” He sent the coordinates of his hidden refuge.

“David, you’ve grown up!” Hans laughed heartily. He was a soldier who had crawled out from piles of corpses; the Zerg attack was a trivial matter to him. But David’s care deeply moved him.

As for the escape measures David mentioned, Hans didn’t pry. His son was grown; everyone had their secrets.

“Father, once the war is over, I’ll explain everything,” David said before ending the call.

Afterward, sitting in Sniper Control Room Five, David felt the weight of responsibility for the first time. Behind him stood his father, his family, his friends.

Just then, something new happened outside the city. Twenty meters from the wall, larvae began to emerge from the ground. The earth within twenty meters of the wall had been reinforced with special alloys, so these larvae could only surface farther out.

These larvae were different from the ones David had seen before. No longer simply ash-gray, their shells now bore a strange hue—beneath the gray, dark green blood lent them an eerie coloration.

His identity bracelet flashed with information: Corrosive Mutant Larvae, a special Zerg mutation. They posed no combat threat, but when ruptured, their bodies released potent corrosive fluids.

Although his three sniper cannons were now repaired, the targeting system flagged these creatures as non-engageable targets. All David could do was watch as hordes of these mutant larvae surfaced and crept toward the city wall.