Chapter 373: The Female Lead C-Position for This Mission Is... Gates LB Aoko!
The UFO flew in a straight line, showing no signs of turning or slowing down, heading directly towards the laboratory's location.
As the object approached without any attempt at concealment, not only Cheng Tian but also the Dragon Hunters could already spot the UFO with their naked eyes.
At first, they thought it was an aircraft from some faction, but upon clearly seeing the UFO's overly standard disc shape and its colorful cake-tower-like main control room, they all exchanged bewildered glances.
It felt as if their everyday understanding of the world had begun to drastically crumble ever since the Hadmond Innovation Lab was established.
A Crimson Tyrannosaurus Rex that could be tamed by humans and could even control its hunting instincts towards them was still within their cognitive limits. At most, they would praise Cheng Tian's awesomeness, considering it an acceptable phenomenon.
But then the humanoid mecha appeared, and things started to go awry. This technological creation, far exceeding a skill tree entirely skewed towards biology, thoroughly refreshed their understanding... Yet, it was still a technological creation and hadn't completely deviated from humanity's fantasies about war machines. It even directly ignited the mecha souls of many men, leaving them drooling.
However, with the appearance of this UFO, the nature of the situation completely changed.
To use that classic GIF: Where the hell did this bring me? Is this still Earth? .gif
Since Cheng Tian had already made prior assumptions, he had a preconceived judgment about the true identity and affiliation of this UFO. So, upon realizing that the UFO showed no signs of slowing down and was heading directly towards him, the chariot matrix was already deeply linked with the Radar, and his intent was already poised on the firing button.
But it was at this moment that Cheng Tian's eyes darted around, clearly having thought of something strange. The intent pressing on the firing button relaxed slightly.
Meanwhile, the UFO in the sky came to an abrupt halt, almost defying the laws of physics, hovering directly above Gates LB Aoko.
Cheng Tian estimated that this thing was slightly larger than the Radar.
Suddenly, a high-brightness phenomenon appeared in the center of the UFO's chassis. Then, a series of almost visible circular ripples emanated from within, spreading directly downwards, enveloping Aoko.
In an instant, Aoko floated up. The instruments inside showed that the gravity in the current area had directly become zero, displaying that it was in a cosmic region.
Immediately after, Aoko began to ascend at a slow but resolute pace—
The classic, unmistakable UFO abduction phenomenon!
This UFO was actually trying to steal Cheng Tian's collection!
At this moment, Comrade Cheng Tian, who was inside the Radar and could have forcefully retrieved Aoko by shifting the matrix and rapidly retracting her, was instead pouting, inhaling through his nose, and his eyes gleaming with a twisted excitement.
Because he knew that his "final boss" had delivered herself to his doorstep!
Although he wasn't sure how it monitored the swamp jungle or why it wanted to steal a mecha, it had done it!
However, there was no spatial prompt yet, so perhaps the conditions weren't complete!
Patience! Continue to be patient!!!
But just then, an elven arrow, imbued with a storm, shot out from the ground, heading straight for the UFO!
While Cheng Tian was still exercising patience, Eileen, who was at the highest point of the laboratory, feeling the wind, did not hesitate to draw her bow and aim after seeing this scene. She immediately began to charge, and the storm-imbued arrow shot out, targeting the glowing point on the UFO's chassis.
Eileen knew that Cheng Tian was someone who cherished his collectibles but was never stingy about using them. However, if a collectible was stolen, that was a different matter entirely!
Although she knew nothing about this UFO, Eileen still made her move.
The storm-imbued arrow carried enough force to pierce mecha armor. Just as it was about to hit the UFO, the UFO vanished instantly without a trace!
"Huh!?"
Eileen was stunned, Cheng Tian narrowed his eyes.
The UFO had indeed disappeared, because the gravity beam covering Aoko also vanished. Aoko, who had already risen into mid-air, immediately began to freefall.
But just after the powerful storm strike whistled past, the vanished UFO reappeared in its original position, and even the gravity beam was re-established, causing Aoko to ascend again.
Seeing this, Cheng Tian also adjusted the Radar's cannon angle. His shoulder cannon and hand cannon fired simultaneously, three shots blasting directly towards the UFO!
Cheng Tian wanted to test whether the opponent's ability, whether it was a blink teleportation or phase shift, had a cooldown.
And surprisingly, he did figure it out.
Facing Cheng Tian's rather precise three-shot attack, this time the UFO did not vanish instantly. Instead, a launch device shot out from its side, spraying some kind of freezing substance that covered a large area in a white mist, like an instant smoke screen.
The Radar's three solid projectiles passed through the white mist. When they reappeared, they looked as if they had been frosted, and simultaneously missed the UFO, flying past it.
Next, the UFO spun in place, revealing a launcher on another side. At the same time, the Radar also received a "targeted" warning sound.
Immediately after, a fireball of unknown power but immense momentum was launched by the UFO, descending from the sky towards the Radar!
However, strangely, the massive and awe-inspiring fireball continuously shrank during its descent, and its flight path was like a car hitting a speed bump, stuttering and lagging. By the time it reached the Radar, it was merely a tiny flicker of flame that struck the Radar's outer armor, causing no disturbance.
At this moment, the magical fluctuations around Cheng Tian also subsided.
It turned out that he had constructed a series of 'Heart Barriers' along the fireball's path. Each shattered barrier would diminish a portion of the fireball's power, ultimately successfully annihilating it.
However, the UFO also took this opportunity to retract Aoko inside, yet it maintained its hovering posture, as if gazing at the Radar on the ground.
At this moment, Cheng Tian finally received a prompt from the Space.
"The mysterious UFO aircraft has abducted your combat vehicle, 'Gates LB Aoko.'"
"You have successfully triggered a special hidden mission — 'The Stolen Collection.'
Special Hidden Mission, Team Mission. For experimental purposes, an alien faction chose to bestow super-gene capabilities upon the dinosaur species, giving them the means to contend with humans, and began observing and recording the ecological changes between the two groups. However, the sudden appearance of unique war machines within the human population caught the attention of the aliens—namely, the 'mechas' you brought. They deemed it necessary to conduct further in-depth research on them, and thus chose to seize one of your combat vehicles, 'Gates LB Aoko.'
Your task is to reclaim your beloved collection from their grasp, and while you're at it, eliminate the culprit who stole your treasures!
Mission Rewards — Super-Gene Dinosaur Original Genome Sample * 1, Alien Base Scavenging Authority * 1."
...It's done!
Cheng Tian, inside the Radar, made a victory gesture.