Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Motorcycle Terminator

Taking the hard drive containing the MOOS code, Wang Jing handed it to Song Guohua, then joined the dimensional squad as they entered the Terminator universe.

They piloted a stealth helicopter, searching for a suitable target. Thanks to the helicopter’s exceptional radar stealth and noise-reduction technology, they remained undetected by the omnipresent Terminators.

However, finding an appropriate production base for the Terminators proved difficult. The bases were either too small to be worthwhile targets, too large to conquer and hold, or surrounded by other installations, making any assault a deadly gamble.

While searching, Wang Jing and the others came across swallowtail fighters hunting down the last human survivors.

"Should we help them?" Liu Peiqiang asked, his brow furrowed.

"Our mission is to find a suitable base. If we rescue them, we expose ourselves," Wang Lei replied sternly.

"I think we should help," Alice interjected, watching as a Harvester threw one survivor after another into its internal prison. "We might get valuable information from them."

Li Yiyi remained silent in her seat. With opinions divided, all eyes turned to Wang Jing, who was holding binoculars.

Feeling their gaze, Wang Jing lowered the binoculars and said, "First, fire a missile to take out that aircraft’s engine. Then concentrate firepower on the giant robot. Watch out for its plasma cannon on the shoulder—if we take a hit, we’re done for!"

"Don’t worry. My skills are unmatched," Liu Peiqiang said, lowering the helicopter’s nose slightly. The fire-control radar locked onto the left engine of the swallowtail fighter.

Sensing it had been targeted, the fighter climbed abruptly, trying to evade. But in the next instant, a Hellfire missile dropped from the fast-deploying launcher, trailing a white plume toward its target. Two seconds later, with an explosion, flames burst from the fighter’s left engine.

The pilot fought to keep control, but the aircraft spun out and crashed into the ground, erupting in a ball of fire.

Nearby, a high-altitude Hunter transporting prisoners took off in a desperate attempt to escape the engagement zone.

On the ground, the Harvester, seeing the incoming helicopter, dropped its human captives and rapidly raised its shoulder cannon to fire.

The moment the Harvester’s cannon rose, Liu Peiqiang yanked the control stick right. The powerful shell narrowly missed the helicopter’s belly—Wang Jing could feel the turbulence from the shell's passage shudder through the airframe.

The helicopter executed a textbook barrel roll in mid-air. Once stabilized, Liu Peiqiang locked onto the reloading Harvester below and fired two Hellfire missiles.

Explosions and a thick cloud of smoke obscured the Harvester’s massive form. Seeing the rising smoke, Wang Jing shouted, "Keep firing—don’t stop!"

Though puzzled, Liu Peiqiang obeyed, unleashing all their rockets.

Amid the continuous explosions, more smoke and dust billowed forth. The team stared intently at the haze, waiting for it to clear.

Suddenly, two Moto-Terminators burst from the smoke, racing away at high speed.

"Alice, take out those two Moto-Terminators!" Wang Jing called to Alice across from him.

Alice nodded, slid open the helicopter door, set up Liu Peiqiang’s electromagnetic sniper rifle, and peered through the scope at the fleeing machines. She took a deep breath, slowing her heartbeat.

She gently squeezed the trigger. Accelerated by electromagnetism to ten times the speed of sound, the tungsten round blasted from the barrel, the exoskeleton channeling the massive recoil into the helicopter itself.

The helicopter shifted ten centimeters to the right from the force—a movement that, by sheer fortune, saved everyone aboard.

A shell skimmed past the aircraft, shattering the left window with the shockwave and scraping paint off the exterior.

As the shell passed, Li Peiqiang climbed for altitude, making erratic maneuvers to dodge any further shots that might burst from the swirling dust.

"Can’t you keep it steady?" Alice complained as she aimed for the second Moto-Terminator.

"If I do, we’re dead! That big one’s still alive!" Li Peiqiang shouted back.

Annoyed, Alice pressed her lips together and focused on the scope, waiting for a lull in the shaking to squeeze the trigger.

Unfortunately, this shot only punctured the rear tire of the second Moto-Terminator.

The sudden blowout sent the machine tumbling into the wreck of a car. The impact twisted its front wheel grotesquely, leaving it stranded and struggling to rise, crawling forward at a crawl—until an anti-tank missile struck, engulfing it in flames and reducing it to scrap.

Inside the cabin, Wang Jing set aside the still-smoking rocket launcher and said, "Hold on, I’ll get backup." With that, he vanished. In the next instant, Optimus Prime appeared in mid-air, his engines flaring to life as he plummeted a dozen meters, then rocketed toward the Harvester below.

During his dive, Optimus fired two electromagnetic rounds from his shoulder cannons, punching gaping holes in the Harvester’s thick armor. The force drove him back a step, the red glow in his eyes flickering.

As soon as the Harvester regained its footing, Optimus Prime, wielding a blazing sword, charged and sliced the robot in half at a diagonal. The thrust from his engines carved a deep furrow in the ground before he came to a halt.

Two seconds later, the bisected Harvester exploded into shrapnel. In the distance, the high-altitude Hunter was rapidly escaping.

"Optimus, chase it down and take it out! There are survivors inside," Wang Jing called from above, his flight pack keeping him aloft.

Optimus nodded, then his twin engines roared, launching him skyward. He transformed into a spaceplane and shot after the fleeing craft.

Meanwhile, Wang Jing and the others combed the ruins below for any survivors.

Sadly, they found only corpses among the debris—no living humans remained.

With their search fruitless, the team boarded the stealth helicopter again and set out toward the distant prisoner transport.