After tallying up the major gains,
Su Wu turned his attention to the shelter in his own rural compound.
Over the past several hours,
The mechanical forces sent to chase down the fleeing Snowwind Mercenary Group's fleet
Had achieved great success.
With the support of five 155mm self-propelled howitzers,
They had sunk over twenty ships in total.
And in the final moments,
They had captured the flagship of the Snowwind Mercenary Group—the massive yacht.
But as a result,
The yacht's engine was severely damaged,
Losing most of its power.
The Snowwind Mercenary Group's temporary commander, Chief of Staff You Hong, had also used the chaos to escape,
Leading the remaining ships to safety.
Because they couldn't tow the massive yacht for the time being,
Su Wu had to leave most of the mechanical forces stationed there
And only withdrew 30 heavy combat spider robots.
Now, this batch of returning robots had finished repairs
And were stationed with newly produced drone clusters and regular spider robots
In the underground parking lot on the 4th floor of the rural compound,
Awaiting Su Wu's next orders.
"Let's go."
"Head to the 1st Official Shelter, prepare for combat."
Su Wu's gaze lingered for a moment on the now considerably larger mechanical army.
He issued the order for them to deploy.
However,
Once they arrived at the 1st Official Shelter,
They wouldn't immediately engage in battle.
Before that,
Su Wu still needed to try one more thing.
---
Half an hour later.
1st Official Shelter.
In the former headquarters command room.
Qin Kai patiently re-bandaged the wound on his arm
Before donning his exoskeleton armor again.
In the current situation,
Without the protection of the exoskeleton, he would have no sense of safety, as if he were completely exposed.
Not long after he finished dressing,
He heard a faint noise coming from the temporary barricades outside the door.
Qin Kai grabbed his weapon and moved to the barricade to peer outside.
He saw at least ten times the number of armed robots compared to earlier,
And leading them were 30 particularly large robots,
Each one equipped with a conspicuous electromagnetic cannon on their back.
The cannon's muzzle flickered with faint blue electrical arcs, sending a shiver down his spine.
Qin Kai's pupils contracted slightly.
A wave of anxiety rushed through him.
He had seen these robots in action through the enemy's camera feed while communicating with his colleagues.
Their electromagnetic cannons,
Could destroy even the highest-grade powered armor with just a few shots.
This was bad.
Qin Kai's mood darkened further.
He didn't even dare to imagine how their makeshift barricades could possibly withstand the attacks of these terrifying robots.
Perhaps the only option was to seal the command room's door completely.
Using the high-strength alloy walls to buy some time.
But even that was just a temporary fix.
Without the protection of their firepower network,
Being trapped in the command room would be a death sentence.
He gritted his teeth,
Preparing to gather his team and force their way out.
At that moment,
The communications officer in the team suddenly gestured to Qin Kai, signaling that there was an important communication for him.
Qin Kai paused, then carefully retreated back to the command room,
Asking the communications officer,
"Who is it?"
"The highest-ranking officer from the other side."
The communications officer replied quietly.
They switched places, and Qin Kai took the tablet from the officer's hands.
He lowered his head and saw a young man on the screen, someone who looked as if he had just stepped out of school.
Qin Kai recognized him immediately.
This person was the second target in the mission that had been assigned to him by the mercenary group leader, Lan Yu.
The first task had been to eliminate the senior officials of the 1st Official Shelter, and the second was to deal with this man.
But he hadn't expected things to change so quickly.
In a single night,
The once powerful Snowwind Mercenary Group had been obliterated in an unprecedented explosion,
And Su Wu, the leader of Jianghe City's second-largest faction,
Had risen to become the new ruler of the land, stepping over both the Snowwind Mercenary Group and the former Jianghe City officials.
"I am Su Wu."
"The new highest-ranking official of Jianghe City."
Su Wu introduced himself briefly on the screen.
"Sir, what is it that you wish to discuss with us?"
Qin Kai asked cautiously,
Trying his best to keep his expression neutral, not revealing any emotions.
"Surrender to me."
"I guarantee your safety and offer you double the standard treatment of ordinary shelter residents."
Su Wu spoke plainly.
"Such a demand is difficult for us to accept."
Qin Kai slowly shook his head, quickly running through thoughts in his mind.
He knew that the time of such high-ranking figures was very precious.
Having a direct conversation with him was rare enough.
If he refused, it would only lead to a final, desperate battle.
This was certainly not the outcome he wanted.
But to simply surrender,
He wasn't willing to put the lives of himself and his team entirely in the hands of someone whose character and reputation were still unknown.
After weighing their situation quickly,
Qin Kai made his decision.
"How about you let half of us leave the shelter first?"
"Once we confirm their safety, we will fully surrender to you."
This request,
Was essentially the same as agreeing to surrender.
But out of concern that Su Wu might backtrack, Qin Kai wanted him to fulfill part of his promise first.
In this way, even in the worst-case scenario,
At least some of them would survive.
Su Wu gave Qin Kai a long, penetrating look.
His calm eyes seemed to see through Qin Kai's thoughts.
After a tense few seconds of silence,
Su Wu finally nodded.
"Agreed."
"I'll give you five minutes to prepare."
"I hope you won't disappoint me."
Hearing this response, Qin Kai couldn't help but release a sigh of relief.
He respectfully lowered his head.
"Thank you for your mercy."
---
With the special forces squad in the command room peacefully surrendered,
Su Wu used their example to quickly convince other special forces squads stationed in key buildings to surrender as well.
Soon enough,
The enti
re 1st Official Shelter had been fully brought under control without damage.
Thus,
This war, which had not lasted long but was the most intense and costly one in Jianghe City's history,
Had officially come to an end.
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