Boluo was lucky, finding himself right between two sawtooth discs.

He patted his face. "Good grief, I really am lucky, hahaha!" He laughed heartlessly.

Before his laughter had faded, the sky above once again filled with the enormous sound of something tearing through the air.

As he looked up, he saw a gigantic Flying Mechanical Species dive down, its huge claws aiming straight for his shoulders.

Boluo's complexion instantly changed as he tried to scramble away. "Help! Help! Help! Don't let it catch me—I'm afraid of heights—"

The Flying Mechanical Species swooping down from the sky looked somewhat like a vulture, with a wingspan of over thirty meters and another six sawtooth discs suctioned beneath its wings.

A metallic chain-hook, similar to a scorpion's tail, trailed behind it.

Atop its head was a bright, ring-shaped Energy Core, constantly emitting intense light and heat, providing copious power to the massive mechanical beast.

BANG!

A gunshot rang out, the recoil shaking the VSG-47, and a hole immediately appeared on one side of the Flying Mechanical Species' wing.

This caused its flight pattern to change. After it took some time to stabilize, the group, all hands on deck, dragged Boluo into the VSG-47.

The Flying Mechanical Species wobbled, adapted, and then soared high again, circling several times in the sky before diving once more.

This time, it cunningly changed directions often. The people on the ground fired repeatedly, but even Dora, with her special shooting talent, had difficulty hitting it.

RATTLE, RATTLE, RATTLE...

As it dived, the sound of chains being released was heard. The crowd gasped as the Flying Mechanical Species passed over their heads, rising high, its tail chain-hook detached and snagging onto the VSG-47!

BANG!

The chains tensed, and then the VSG-47 was lifted bit by bit!

"Jump off quick!"

Everyone was in a mess, and Qing Ruyan shouted, "Come to me, everyone!"

Struggling to ascend, the Flying Mechanical Species lifted the VSG-47 over a thousand meters before loosening its grip and letting it fall.

It paid no further attention to the VSG-47 and turned around, flying back. However, its behavior was strangely erratic, and it did not continue the attack.

Qing Ruyan spread her arms wide, everyone huddled close around her, her body trembling slightly, sweat soon appearing on her temples.

Protecting so many people all at once was stretching her limit.

In the sky, the Flying Mechanical Species kept circling, emitting loud, metallic cries, but was unwilling to leave.

Barely managing to speak, Qing Ruyan said, "This won't do. Chen Gu, think of something..."

The moment Qing Ruyan's powers were withdrawn, the Flying Mechanical Species would immediately attack. The creature was too strong, and with it flying overhead, the people without the protection of the VSG-47 were like lambs to the slaughter.

As soon as Qing Ruyan told Chen Gu to think of something, Boluo felt a tightness in his chest.

Chen Gu had already been devising a plan. His gaze swept over everyone's face and finally settled on Glove, who immediately had a bad feeling.

"Don't feel burdened; this strategy is pretty standard," Chen Gu hurriedly explained.

Glove breathed a sigh of relief. "Go ahead."

"Ever caught a bird when you were little?" As soon as Chen Gu spoke, he saw that everyone was baffled and quickly realized: The children of the new era, your childhoods were indeed deprived!

Chen Gu detailed a simple bird trap and then said, "It needs air to provide upward force for takeoff—in this process, air is a medium, which you can use with your ability..."

Glove, prone to fanciful thinking, immediately nodded. "I get it! I'll use my powers to make it so it can never fly!"

And then I'll be the man who saved the whole team! The boss will reward me with a fortune for my meritorious deeds, and both Big Rabbit and the little President, grateful for my lifesaving grace, will have no choice but to dedicate their lives to me!

But Chen Gu looked at him with a pitying gaze. Within Hu Ling's team, intelligence seemed to be in short supply...

"Absolutely not!" Chen Gu said. "Making it fall to the ground once is enough. First, to make it so it can never fly again... how many times would you need to use your ability? Are you sure you can manage that?"

"Besides, this thing might not be so easy to deal with once it's on the ground."

The group looked up at the Energy Gathering Mechanical Species circling above. It had a wingspan of hundreds of meters, a sword-like beak, and terrifying steel claws. They all nodded in solemn agreement, their movements in unison.

Glove asked, "So, what should I do?"

"You just need to make it land once," Chen Gu replied.

Glove was dismissive. "That's simple, leave it to me."

Following on, Chen Gu said, "Next, it's up to Old Mo."

Old Mo, in his listening-to-opera mode, was startled when mentioned. "Me?"

"Yes, you are the key to the whole plan!" Chen Gu said. "Do you know the mechanical species' biggest flaw?"

Old Mo guessed with a puzzled face, "Energy?"

Chen Gu shook his head. As expected, he couldn't guess—it was official, Hu Ling's team had an intelligence deficiency.

"It's wear and tear," Chen Gu spared them any further "difficulty" and simply gave the answer. "Even Mechanical Species are the same; with severe wear and tear, they become nothing but a pile of scrap iron."

"You'll transform into quicksand and hide in the ground. Glove will bring the big bird down, and that's when you'll wrap around it. Then, keep infiltrating its body, using your sand to wear down its inner parts..."

"Hold on a second!" Old Mo interrupted. "Am I wearing it down, or is it wearing me down? Metal is harder than sand, in any case, isn't it?"

"So who's actually wearing down whom here?"

Chen Gu explained patiently, "It's relative. Besides, for you, it's just about the sand getting ground a bit finer, not fatal..."

"But it hurts a lot!" Old Mo bellowed, his protest fueled by the prospect of pain, tossing out Chen Gu's light comments about it being "relative" and "not fatal."

Chen Gu shrugged. "This is the best strategy I can think of. If you're unwilling, you guys come up with something else."

The group exchanged glances. First off, anything from Hu Ling's team could be discounted; with their intelligence running on empty, what kind of plan could they come up with?

Big Rabbit... umm, there's an old saying, something about being big and brainless. So Dora's two ears twirled around, and her gaze gradually became vacant. She was indeed thinking, but coming up empty-handed.

Qing Ruyan simply didn't have the energy to think and was on the verge of being unable to hold on any longer, clenching her teeth and fiercely urging, "Hurry up!"

Liu Shichan and a few others did have some ideas, but after considering everything, Chen Gu's seemingly nonsensical tactic appeared to be the most fitting.

Leder cleared his throat and, in a forceful and persuasive tone to Old Mo, said, "More money!"

Old Mo sighed deeply and relented. "Fine..."

Chen Gu snapped his fingers. "Good. The next step is for you two to go out and get ready. Glove, you'll have to be the bait. Remember the birdcage I told you about just now..."

Glove yelled out, "I have to be the bait too? Didn't you say it was a normal tactic?!"

You scoundrel, you liar!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.