17: Fighting the steel mill again

Seeing Zhang Shuang retreat from the heavy machine gun position, the ponytail girl cooed seductively to the man beside her, "Brother Feng is really amazing. He just said one sentence and scared those cannon fodder away with their tails between their legs."

"Hmph!" Luo Feng said indifferently, "They're all just cowards afraid of death. Come on, let's go in and clear out the remaining Black Eagle minions first!"

After he finished speaking, everyone from the Tian Chao Squad got back into their vehicles and sped into the factory building. Soon after, the sound of rockets exploding continuously could be heard. After one rocket flew towards the high tower platform, the entire steel factory finally fell silent.

Li Xiao and Liu Nian, hiding not far away, couldn't help but secretly congratulate themselves when they saw the situation at the steel factory. This Tian Chao Squad actually had rocket launchers, no wonder they dared to be so arrogant.

If they had chosen to fight head-on just now, his few men probably wouldn't have won even if their health was doubled.

"What do we do now?"

"A counter-attack is out of the question, but with their current troop strength, it's impossible for them to guard this place indefinitely. Besides, 500 points of steel production split among four people isn't much, so they definitely won't waste time here."

Li Xiao turned to Zhao Feipeng and Li Le and said, "You two stay here and continue monitoring. Contact the base immediately if the other side has any activity!"

Zhao Feipeng raised his hand in a salute and said, "Reporting, Boss! Mission accomplished!"

"You two, take out all your field rations and share them with these two!"

After saying that, Li Xiao then said to Liu Nian, "Let's temporarily retreat first. I'll notify you if anything happens!"

"Mm." Liu Nian nodded somewhat helplessly. After fighting all night, not only did he lose two men, but he also didn't get the resource area, which was very frustrating.

After returning to the base, Li Xiao lay down in the command center and immediately fell into a deep sleep.

He had been on edge for the past few days and hadn't slept well, especially last night when he lost a soldier for the first time. His body was finally giving out.

When Li Xiao woke up again, it was because Du Ziteng had brought him noodles, and he was attracted by the aroma. He checked the time and it was already four in the afternoon.

He quickly finished the noodles and immediately ran out. By this time, the military factory had been completed, and a steel-framed factory covering 400 square meters had appeared out of thin air behind the command center.

Opening the military factory's information panel, Li Xiao immediately noticed the 'Equipment' and 'Vehicles' menus. He first clicked on 'Equipment', and there was only one icon, which looked like a mobile device.

"Individual Communication System..."

Li Xiao was a bit disappointed. This was a communication device for third-level liaison, its main purpose being to facilitate precise command and deployment of individual soldiers by the secondary command system.

In other words, if he appointed Di Yun or Zhao Feipeng as a squad leader or platoon leader, they would be accompanied by a communications soldier who could contact the command center, and they could use this individual communication system to contact individual soldiers in their squad or platoon.

However, this did not support satellite communication, only radio and base station networking. It couldn't be used beyond a certain distance or in areas with weak signals.

Of course, having this communication system made command more convenient, but what Li Xiao wanted most right now was stronger offensive capabilities.

He then opened the 'Vehicles' section, and a model of a four-wheeled off-road motorcycle appeared before him.

"Ah! This is it!"

Li Xiao was secretly delighted. What he lacked most right now were vehicles, especially after seeing that the Tian Chao Squad had already snatched four vehicles, which made him even more envious.

This four-wheeled off-road motorcycle system was called an ATV All-Terrain Vehicle, featuring four-wheel drive and a two-cylinder motorcycle engine.

It could carry two people, had a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour, durability of 1500, a cruising range of 150 kilometers, and fuel consumption of 10 points of fuel per 100 kilometers.

It could be driven in relatively rugged jungles, sandy areas, and even swamps, making its functions quite comprehensive.

However, the cost was not cheap: 100 points of steel, 50 points of fuel, 50 points of rare minerals, 20 star coins, and it also required twelve hours of manufacturing time.

"No question, must build!"

Li Xiao was not in a hurry to upgrade now. Taking out a portion of resources to get the vehicles sorted out was completely fine.

He directly ordered ten all-terrain vehicles, and also twenty sets of individual communication equipment. That stuff only cost 20 points of rare minerals and 10 star coins, with a manufacturing time of only two hours.

Equipment and vehicles were on two separate production lines simultaneously, which saved Li Xiao a lot of trouble.

After dealing with the military factory's affairs, he directly used today's three conscription orders, adding two new infantrymen and one scout.

"Sigh, now it's up to Zhao Feipeng's side."

Last night's battle made Li Xiao realize that without absolute overwhelming strength, he would be very vulnerable in front of any group.

So he also planned to establish a squad. He had star coins; the more than seven thousand star coins earned from selling grenades had barely been used, less than a thousand.

The troublesome part was the squad members. Currently, Liu Nian seemed good, but even with him, there were only two people.

"It seems I'll have to recruit more people in the future."

As he thought, Li Xiao fell asleep again, this time until Li Le contacted him in the middle of the night.

Zhao Feipeng reported that the Tian Chao Squad had withdrawn, leaving only four Engineers stationed at the steel factory to distribute resources.

This made the steel factory easier to attack, but the Tian Chao Squad would eventually return. While his troop strength was increasing, so was the Tian Chao Squad's. The longer it dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for him, as the other side had four people after all.

"Then it's time to stir things up!" Li Xiao propped his chin and started to scheme.

After dawn, Li Xiao informed Liu Nian to meet again in Wu Feng Town. After using the three newly refreshed conscription orders, he set off again with his eleven-man unit, excluding Du Ziteng and Jiang Lang, who were on daily guard duty.

This time, he brought one hundred fragmentation grenades, some C4 explosives, and two basic loads of ammunition for each person, to ensure that they wouldn't run out of ammunition and supplies in the battle against the Tian Chao Squad.

In the afternoon, he and Liu Nian's eight soldiers arrived at the steel factory. In the intense battle the previous night, he hadn't noticed that this steel factory actually had a name: Banshan Steel Factory.

"Liu Nian, you're responsible for dealing with those four inside the factory building, and I'll handle the ambush en route. How about that?"

"No problem!"

Liu Nian said without hesitation. If eight people couldn't defeat four logistics professionals, then he probably wouldn't be able to survive in this Otherworld.

"Alright then! Let's go!"

He had already arranged for Zhao Feipeng to scout the route the Tian Chao Squad took the previous night. If nothing unexpected happened, once they started fighting here, they would definitely drive over along the original route.

This way, they only needed to set up an ambush in a suitable location to ensure victory.

The Banshan Steel Factory had a gravel road specially built for transporting semi-finished steel, connecting to the highway leading north and to Wu Feng Town. It was ten kilometers long, with trees lining the entire route.

"Boss, I think we should choose this narrow bend. This way, the enemy's speed will be slow, their convoy concentrated, and the damage will be more focused!"

Li Xiao stepped on the gravel on the ground. C4 explosives with timers embedded in them would be very difficult to spot with the naked eye.