After logging off the [Super-Dimensional Channel], Ejie put his body in the best condition.
According to the unknown woman with the ID A2, someone was following them.
But why didn't she tell him through the radio?
One possibility was that the radio might have been invaded and monitored by the other party.
And the reason for not continuing to use the [Super-Dimensional Channel] for communication was that it could easily interfere with the perception of reality, making it easy to become distracted.
So, who was following?
Ejie didn't immediately look around, appearing to search for something—that would be foolish behavior, as it would reveal that he knew someone was following.
He naturally walked according to A2's instructions; she would set up some traps.
But barely having gone far, a sharp whistling sound arose—the screech of supersonic artillery shells tearing through the air.
The next instant, no more than a hundred meters into the forest, a series of explosions erupted, with flames and shockwaves engulfing the surroundings.
Then, he saw several figures from the bombarded area rushing toward him.
No, they were fleeing toward him.
Pupils dilating, Ejie immediately jumped from his original position as a light cluster, which those people had avoided, came crashing toward him.
"Boom—!"
The ground was blasted into a crater about half a meter deep and two meters wide.
Ejie, now standing stable, caught sight of the attacker: flying machines that resembled manta rays, apparently of the same group as the machines he had eliminated earlier.
As for the few people caught off guard by the attack and fleeing toward him—four females and one male—humans?
It seemed this was a world experiencing a Men of Iron crisis?
Looking carefully at these people's attire, it appeared to be of a unified style—somewhat familiar—and they all carried weapons, with cube-shaped robots following them?
These robots were opening fire with small machine guns at the increasing number of machines emerging behind them, clearly not allies.
So, were these people allies with that Miss A2?
Suddenly, with the sound of another explosion from the other side, a figure gracefully flipped through the air like a diver and landed steadily beside Ejie.
Silver long hair, blue eyes, features so delicate they seemed artificially sculpted, and a figure that embodied the golden ratio.
Although her clothes were somewhat tattered, they looked similar in style to those of the other group.
She must be Miss A2.
The reason she suddenly jumped out to his side was because her area was also under machine attack, forcing her to jump this way.
Now, they were being pinched from front and back.
Hmm?
Ejie noticed that Miss A2 was also wary of the other group, her gaze containing hostility.
And when they saw her, they displayed expressions of astonishment.
"Huh? Isn't that an android? Isn't that a YoRHa type?"
The seemingly less combat-capable young man exclaimed in shock.
These words also slightly surprised Ejie.
This A2 was an android?
YoRHa type?
"Suggest destruction."
"Suggest destruction."
"Suggest destruction."
The robots beside these people kept repeating these words.
"Huh? Suggest destruction? What does that mean? 2B."
The young man looked toward a silver-haired woman who appeared to be the team leader, with the code name 2B?
2B?
This term made Ejie briefly stop thinking.
It wasn't that this term contained too much information, making Ejie too shocked to continue thinking. Rather, the attacks from the various biological-like machines surrounding them made him have no spare time to ponder what the name 2B meant, or whether it matched anything in his memory.
He grabbed his M35-Galaxy laser gun and Absolver-type explosive pistol, firing at the dog-like bipedal machines charging along the ground.
"Shut up, the priority now is to deal with these machine lifeforms!"
That was the female personnel codenamed 2B rebuking the robot beside her, as these robots showed greater hostility toward A2.
So, after her words, these robots seemed to analyze the situation and stopped repeating [Suggest destruction] while focusing on A2.
For a moment, this forest area was being torn apart and devastated by various ammunitions.
"What kind of firearms are those?"
The surprised voice came from 9S.
Currently limited by the encirclement of machine lifeforms, everyone had to temporarily cooperate tacitly, allowing him to better observe the target, leading to the discovery of even more surprising intelligence.
The seemingly crude firearms held by the target used bullets that were different from theirs.
Their bullets involved a firing pin striking the base of the bullet to ignite the gunpowder, creating strong pressure to propel the solid projectile.
But the bullets from the target's firearms seemed to fly out as a whole, without needing to eject shells—in fact, no shell ejection design was visible in his guns.
So, how were these bullets designed?
Wait, no, slowing down the footage further and processing the image—
"No... no way!!!"
9S was shocked; these bullets were too incredible.
"What is it, 9S?"
2B raised an eyebrow while asking, her hand simultaneously cleaving through a machine lifeform's head.
"That guy's bullets are actually micro-rockets!!!"
9S reported to 2B in shock and confusion.
What kind of technology was needed to create micro-engines that could fit into bullets of this size?
Looking carefully at the other's laser gun, 9S also found it incredible.
It looked somewhat crude, giving an unreliable impression, as if it would explode after firing a few shots, but according to 9S's current recording, it had already fired eighty-seven times.
These eighty-seven times didn't include those in the ruined city earlier, but the number since this encounter.
Hmm? He changed the energy magazine.
This meant that one magazine could fire at least a hundred shots.
And the other's shooting accuracy was also terrifying, almost hitting every time, seemingly not even needing to aim—casually firing and hitting a target each time.
Was this ability due to the person himself? Or was it the targeting assistance system provided by the power armor?
Whether it was the former or the latter, it was much stronger than the YoRHa troops.
Looking at the machine lifeforms eliminated now, the number destroyed by him alone exceeded the total of all others combined.
Additionally, judging from the battle marks on his armor, he had clearly experienced numerous fierce battles. How had they only discovered him now?
Then, 9S simulated a hypothetical battle scenario.
If machine lifeforms hadn't appeared, and his group had conflicted with the other party, only the Pod's energy cannon could threaten the other's power armor; other weapons would struggle to breach its defense.
No, using aircraft, the large-caliber machine guns could also threaten the other party, but they wouldn't stand still to be shot at.
Based on the combat prowess the other had displayed, still appearing to have reserve strength, the calculated result was that the YoRHa troops had a fifty-three percent chance of losing.
This was the result of a life-or-death battle.
If they wanted to capture the other without causing harm, they would need to deploy more combat personnel; otherwise, with their current strength, 'dreaming' was the answer.
"Boom—!"
A sudden ground rumble, the earth also trembling slightly.
Looking toward the direction of this enormous disturbance, everyone's expressions changed slightly. It was a super giant machine lifeform, as large as a mountain, with fingers thicker than the power-armored figure here.
It seemed to move somewhat slowly, but its strength lay in its enormous size, covering a vast distance with each step.
So, its massive weight also produced a suffocating pressure.
If truly stepped on, one would indeed be crushed to suffocation!