132: Chapter 132 Jiang Jiuyou Gets on the Bus: The Entire Army Goes Crazy!

Data floated in the center of the carriage, crimson fonts reflecting on everyone's faces.

"Forty-five tons..."

Qin Hongye shouted down from the newly added fifth-floor dome sniper tower, her voice carrying a rare excitement,

"This dome—I can see the entire horizon! The ballistic correction auxiliary has been calibrated!"

"Defense: twenty-two thousand."

Jiang Yanxue stood up, her dark red pupils sweeping over the numbers on the panel. "What's the concept?"

Shen Wanbing pushed up her glasses frames.

"The combined firepower of all vehicles in District 069, firing for an hour, wouldn't be able to pierce it."

Outside.

The forty-four vehicles behind all slowed down.

Because the drivers' brains had collectively crashed.

They watched with their own eyes as the lead vehicle completed its transformation while in motion.

From a thirty-one-ton four-story structure, it expanded into a forty-five-ton five-story steel behemoth.

A transparent dome appeared on the roof, and a figure holding a rifle could be faintly seen inside.

The dark gold armor plates on both sides of the vehicle body reflected blinding spots of light in the sun.

Iron Wall looked out from the armored vehicle's observation port for five seconds, then turned and said a sentence to his adjutant.

The adjutant didn't hear clearly.

"I said—" Iron Wall's voice was two tones lower than usual, "From now on, don't call him Mr. Chen."

"Call him what?"

Iron Wall's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Call him Boss."

...

"Jiuyou, come up."

In the encrypted communicator, Chen Chen's voice could only be heard by Jiang Jiuyou.

Jiang Jiuyou was standing in the passenger seat of the Anbu's lead off-road vehicle, clutching a communication terminal.

Her silver-white hair was blown behind her ears by the wind rushing through the window, her icy blue pupils staring at the steel giant ahead that had just finished its metamorphosis.

Forty-five tons, five floors.

The dome refracted blue-green light in the sun; from her angle, it looked like an artificial planet floating over the wasteland.

"What am I coming up for?"

"To see your new workstation."

Jiang Jiuyou's fingers tightened slightly on the communication terminal.

She turned and tossed a sentence to her deputy: "The convoy is in your hands. Maintain formation and follow the main vehicle closely."

The deputy nodded.

The Anbu's second off-road vehicle accelerated towards the Ghost Fortress.

Jiang Jiuyou jumped down from the passenger seat, her combat boots landing on the Gobi gravel, sand whipped up by the wind hitting her tactical trousers.

The Ghost Fortress's armored door opened hydraulically.

She stepped onto the lowering pedal and crossed the threshold—

Her footsteps paused.

The last time she was inside was this morning; the carriage had been luxurious enough then.

Now it was completely different.

The space on the first floor had expanded by at least a third.

The holographic projection command station had been upgraded from a single-person console to a circular console, with real-time data streams from sixty-four communication channels floating around.

The leather sofas had gone from two sets to four, arranged in a U-shape.

A translucent Grade B medical pod had been added on the right, blue light flashing on its door.

After the kitchen module on the left was upgraded, an automatic cooking device was added, slow-cooking something at a low temperature; a rich meaty aroma wafted through the air kept at a constant twenty-four degrees.

The floor had been upgraded from ordinary metal plates to alloy floor tiles with non-slip patterns, feeling solid underfoot.

Jiang Yanxue lay with her blade across her on the long side of the U-shaped sofa, her dark red pupils glancing at her.

Su Xiaoqi squatted in the corner holding a whole mammoth tenderloin, her twin tails swishing twice: "Silver-haired big sister!"

Blood Rose leaned on the other end of the sofa, her wine-red curly hair spread over the cushions, casually tilting her chin at her.

Shen Wanxing, wrapped in a blanket, shrank into a corner of the sofa; seeing Jiang Jiuyou enter, she subconsciously pulled the blanket up two inches.

Shen Wanbing sat at the circular command console, not looking back.

Jiang Jiuyou took in all these gazes, her expression unchanged, as she climbed the stairs.

Second floor—the Grade B Concentration Soothing Bed was a size larger than before, the indicator light of the acoustic isolation layer flashing green on the bedside.

There were long hairs of two different colors on the pillow.

Third floor—the refinery and manufacturing station occupied the left half, while the resource storage area on the right half had a wall stacked with metal ingots and cores.

The automated ammunition loading module was pressing armor-piercing rounds onto the ammo belt, making clicking sounds.

Fourth floor.

Driving tower.

Chen Chen sat in the main driver's seat.

The panoramic window was wider than before, its 360-degree view taking in the entire Gobi.

Beside the console—a sub-command console had been added.

Independent holographic panel, independent communication module, independent tactical marking system.

Chen Chen's hand patted the back of the sub-command chair.

"Sit."

Jiang Jiuyou stood at the top of the stairs, her icy blue pupils resting on the sub-command console for two seconds.

She walked over, her combat boots clicking four times on the metal floor.

Sat down.

The back of the sub-command chair automatically adjusted to the curve of her back, and tactical armrests popped out.

The holographic panel in front of her lit up, popping up real-time data for all forty-five vehicles in the entire convoy.

The position, speed, engine status, and crew count of every vehicle—all visible at a glance.

"Is this the new workstation you gave me?"

"Sub-command authority, including convoy dispatch, communication management, and auxiliary control of weapon systems. The main control is with me, but you can take over the entire vehicle when I'm not here."

Jiang Jiuyou's finger slid across the holographic panel. The data jumped; the response speed was extremely fast.

"Take over the entire vehicle... including that S-grade weapon?"

"Including that."

Jiang Jiuyou's finger stopped.

Control authority for the S-grade Void Annihilation Matrix.

The weight of this trust was heavier than all three hundred people outside combined.

She turned her head, wanting to say something—

Chen Chen stood up.

His height of just over 1.9 meters created a strong sense of spatial compression in the fourth-floor driving tower.

The bio-electric field emitted by his 137 points of constitution hit Jiang Jiuyou directly at close range.

Her lingxi ring started heating up again.

Chen Chen took a step forward.

Jiang Jiuyou's back hit the sub-command console's control panel.

Several buttons were pressed by her shoulder blades, emitting faint electronic beeps.

The distance between the two of them was less than ten centimeters.

"You—"

Chen Chen leaned down.

Jiang Jiuyou's breath hitched for half a beat, his approaching silhouette reflected in her icy blue pupils.

Silver-white hair slid from her temples, brushing against her own collarbone.

Her coat collar was open, the black high-collared lining hugging her slender neck, the skin above her Adam's apple tightening slightly in tension.

Her eyelashes trembled twice.

She closed her eyes.

Chen Chen's hand reached around her shoulder—

Click.

The sound of a tactical seatbelt buckle locking.

A three-point seatbelt popped out from both sides of the seatback, buckling across Jiang Jiuyou's chest and waist, fixing her firmly to the sub-command chair.

"Sit tight." Chen Chen straightened up and patted the seatbelt buckle, "Don't fall out."

Jiang Jiuyou opened her eyes.

Her icy blue pupils churned for three seconds, then a nearly inaudible grinding sound came from her back teeth.

"...You did that on purpose."

Chen Chen had already turned and walked back to the main driver's seat.

"Pull engine power to 80%, accelerate."

Jiang Jiuyou stared at his back for five seconds.

The seatbelt tightened across her chest, cinching her figure under the military coat into a taut curve.

Her heart skipped a few beats too fast in the silence of the fourth-floor driving tower.

Then she looked down and gave the seatbelt a hard tug.

"Chen Chen."

"Hmm?"

"Next time—" her voice was very low, something burning in her icy blue pupils, "don't stop halfway."

Chen Chen didn't look back.

There was no extra expression on the corners of his mouth, but his hand lingered on the joystick for an extra second.

In that very second—

A system pop-up exploded.

[Top-tier beauty karma binding detected!]

[Target: Jiang Jiuyou, Appearance Evaluation: 98 points (Exquisite). Identity Determination: S-grade talent holder + Faction Leader + Strategic-level talent.]

[Binding successful!]

[Exclusive Golden Entry Awakened—Mechanical Empress: Starport Resonance (Lv.1)!]

Chen Chen's fingers bounced off the joystick.

He opened the panel.

[Golden Entry: Mechanical Empress: Starport Resonance (Lv.1)]

[Effect 1: When Jiang Jiuyou is within the core vehicle (Ghost Fortress), all vehicle attributes are increased by 30%.]

[Effect 2: Unlocks "Fleet Link" function. When Jiang Jiuyou operates the sub-command console within the core vehicle, all allied vehicles registered in the faction registration system will receive an additional shield equal to 15% of the main vehicle's defense, and a 15% gain in engine power. Link Range: 3 km radius centered on the core vehicle.]

[Current Bond Level: Lv.1 (5%)]

All vehicle attributes increased by 30%.

Chen Chen went through the numbers on the panel.

Defense 22,000 plus 30%—28,600.

Durability 15,000 plus 30%—19,500.

Magic Resistance 1,200 plus 30%—1,560.

Maximum speed 340 plus 30%—442 km/h.

And—Fleet Link.

15% of the main vehicle's defense—that is, an additional shield of 4,290 points, plus a 15% engine power bonus, simultaneously covering all allied vehicles.

Chen Chen closed his eyes for a moment.

"Sister Bing."

"Here."

"Project Jiang Jiuyou's entry data to the all-channel."

Shen Wanbing was stunned for a beat.

"All-channel?"

"So everyone can see."

Shen Wanbing's finger slid three times across the panel.

All-channel communication connected.

The Ghost Fortress's onboard speakers outputted simultaneously.

At the same time, the 30% all-attribute bonus for the vehicle took effect.

The engine sound of the entire vehicle suddenly rose an octave.

A very faint silver shimmer appeared on the surface of the armor layer.

The force feedback system under the joystick transmitted a significantly enhanced thrust.

And this was just the main vehicle.

Outside—

Fleet Link activated.

A ring of dark silver energy halo diffused outwards from the Ghost Fortress's chassis, centered on the main vehicle with a three-kilometer radius, covering all forty-four vehicles behind.

The moment the halo touched each vehicle—

Iron Wall's Grade B armored personnel carrier's engine suddenly roared, the tachometer needle jumping from five thousand straight to six thousand.

At the same time, a faint silver translucent shield emerged out of thin air on the vehicle's outer shell.

"What—what's going on?!" the officer in the passenger seat shouted, clutching the dashboard,

"The engine power... automatically increased?"

Iron Wall reached out and touched the silver light film outside the window.

A ripple spread from where his finger touched.

"A shield..."

His voice changed, "Is this... a shield added for us?"

Shen Wanbing's voice came through the all-channel communication.

"Attention everyone. The Ghost Fortress's newly added entry effect—Fleet Link—has covered all registered allied vehicles. Each vehicle's engine power is increased by 15%, and an additional energy shield of 4,290 points is granted."

"Shield duration—as long as you remain within a three-kilometer radius of the main vehicle, it is permanently in effect."

The all-channel went quiet for two seconds.

Then it exploded.

"4,290 shield points?! My car's total defense is only 800! It's increased more than fivefold!"

"Engine up by 15%—my crappy pickup can hit 140 now! Before, the top speed was only 120!"

"What the hell kind of immortal technique is this? You can get stronger just by following Boss Chen's car?"

"Damn, I've never seen anything like this in my life—a car can actually give buffs to other cars?!"

Iron Wall's adjutant's voice was trembling: "Sir! All army vehicle data is rising! Armor value, engine thrust—all parameters are rising!"

Iron Wall closed his eyes.

"...Follow him."

"Follow him closely."

"Don't fall behind by even a single step."

The forty-four vehicles behind simultaneously shortened their distance from the Ghost Fortress.

No one gave an order; it was instinct.

Everyone scrambled to squeeze into that three-kilometer halo range.

Fourth-floor driving tower.

Jiang Jiuyou stared at the Fleet Link data popping up on the sub-command console, the light in her icy blue eyes brighter than ever.

Her finger slid across the real-time status of the forty-four vehicles on the holographic panel—

Behind every vehicle's defense value was an additional dark silver "+4290," and the engine power column had a "+15%" marker.

Because she sat in this chair.

These forty-four vehicles, nearly two hundred people—all the bonuses they were receiving now came from the fact that she, Jiang Jiuyou, was sitting beside Chen Chen.