Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Exile Transport Station
John slept in the camp until sunrise.
Talia woke up first, found a professional doctor to adjust the medication in her body, and scanned her prosthetic body again.
When she saw John, she could hardly resist the urge to hug and kiss him.
"You won’t regret waiting for me to do my work. The situation at the transportation hub is complex, but my reconnaissance drone has been observing for over half a month, making the number of troops stationed and convoy configuration crystal clear!"
Talia thanked John for taking her along instead of going wild with Nando and a few heavy machine guns, turning around only to leave herself behind.
"Who told you to call me here?"
John could only shake his head helplessly. "But I have to say, if you were just a bit more reliable, we should have taken it last night."
"Relax. In two hours, they’ll send out a convoy to look for prey near Highway 721, leaving their defenses particularly vulnerable. If you had rushed in last night, you’d have been turned into Shark Coin!"
"Let’s see the intel."
John got straight to the point.
Talia didn’t hesitate either, pulling out an alloy revolver and removing the widened grip plate, revealing a storage chip inside.
"Don’t give me that look. It’s safest here because, unlike a gun, it’s something I wouldn’t just leave lying around."
[Read the intelligence chip. (Not achieved)]
John inserted the item into his nape.
A data reading progress bar appeared before his eyes, then his prosthetic eye flickered, switching directly to the drone’s aerial perspective.
The image showed a section of the wasteland with specific coordinates in the lower-right corner.
The Exile group had converted an abandoned factory into a transportation hub. The old-style building, giant gas tanks, and arched domes were all rust-stained, while the surrounding walls had been eroded by wind and sand till they were collapsing.
Talia’s voice came through.
"Your prosthetic eye is the latest Messiah model, featuring intelligent analysis. Try activating the scan while reading the chip."
John followed the suggestion.
The image zoomed in, highlighting intersections, marking a network of vehicle tracks interwoven.
[There are two vehicle entry and exit passages, two pedestrian passages. The depth and frequency of track marks imply one armored vehicle, three off-road motorcycles, and the rest are Calormen vans.]
The camera rose higher.
The time switched to nighttime, with two layers of sentry posts visible from outer to inner. Once the convoy returned to port, the full defensive force could be seen.
[The resident forces at the transportation hub number around 20, primarily equipped with kinetic energy rifles and electromagnetic snipers. There’s a closed-circuit camera system inside, and sentry landmines scattered around the side passages. The main control station houses a Suresh 25mm cannon.]
John frowned deeply as he watched.
"It’s fortified like a metal shell. What’s the treasure inside?"
"Seized contraband awaiting handling, and a batch of Plato Technology set for cross-city transport to be sold elsewhere."
The view remained from a high-altitude overlook.
A new window opened on the left, containing several candid photos, featuring a tall, burly member of the Exile group.
Talia provided the introduction.
"He’s Kunbu’s underling. He used to manage casinos in the city and wasn’t particularly famous. Now, they call him Electric Eel. The transportation hub we’re targeting is under his oversight, which is the toughest part of this job."
"Very dangerous?"
"Kunbu performed all sorts of twisted experiments on him, using new technology to overclock his military prosthetic body, turning him into a controllable cyber-maniac."
Talia seemed to have gathered detailed information.
Car engines roared around, as the convoy prepared to depart, conducting vehicle adjustments. Heavy firepower machine guns and RPGs were loaded, as well as gunners responsible for long-range support.
Although they were not as formidable as Alonna, they were veterans who had roamed the wasteland with Nando for a long time.
John finished browsing and walked to the table.
While inspecting his equipment, he chatted casually with Talia.
"Can the cyber-psychosis be controlled?"
"Who really knows, maybe it’s like taming a beast. They keep him locked in the deepest part of the transport hub and let him out when necessary."
Talia paused briefly to recall.
"Kunbu once blew up Plato’s warehouse by experimenting with a maniac called the Butcher. Damn, have you seen those illegal Super Sensing Chips that leaked on the black market? He could tear apart armed robots and take blasts head-on; damn impressive!"
"Kunbu is an Exile too, yet he understands scientific experimentation?"
"He cooperated with the Ghouls, you know. Those organ-harvesting bastards are too familiar with the human structure. It’s no surprise they produced a few mad experiments or mastered some inhumane techniques."
Talia pulled out two sealed boxes and placed them on the table.
It’s practically impossible to obtain detailed data on Electric Eel’s prosthetic body, given his short career and the absence of survivors at the robbery sites. Buying intel wasn’t an option either; it could only be assumed to relate to electromagnetic weaponry.
Talia had prepared insulation coating as their safeguard.
"It’s a pitiful joke, but better than nothing. Low-level workers who couldn’t afford insulated skin layers during corporate circuit repairs would use this for a better chance to stay alive."
She grabbed a spray canister and began applying it to John.
"I hope this isn’t your new outfit. From my experience, it’s especially hard to wash off, and you’ll smell like plastic."
John looked exasperated.
Yet Talia’s hands continued to work, reassuring him. "Once this job’s done, you can buy ten new outfits if you like!"
Robbing the transportation hub wasn’t an essential task for the camp.
Nando couldn’t spare the time to join the team and could only emphasize repeatedly—retreat if faced with insurmountable challenges.
John had the privilege to drive a vehicle alone.
He chose a Desert Walker with light armor, assigning the co-pilot and machine gun position to Talia.
The convoy arrived at the designated coordinates.
They lay behind the lee of the rocks, overlooking the transport station in the video.
"Alright, what’s the plan?"
John asked in the team channel.
Talia’s voice came through. "The good news is that at least half of them have gone out hunting, and they’re pretty far away. There are only about ten thugs in the transport station including the guards and those on shift sleeping."
Apart from the Electric Eel, the biggest threat is the automated turrets behind the main gate.
Talia planned to split into two teams to assault the resting area and the tower.
They hid the vehicles and began to approach the building on foot.
[Mission Objectives Updated]
[Locate the access tower and hack into the turret system. (Not Achieved)]
Voices could be heard around the outer perimeter of the freight station.
The Exiles also hated standing guard in the yellow sandy terrain.
They used abandoned vehicles and empty crates to build a resting area, lighting various flammable materials in the middle to maintain warmth.
Scattered around were empty drug vials and food scraps.
The Exiles heard something and turned around.
John quickly closed the distance, slitting a throat with a straight knife in his hand, stabbing several vital spots from top to bottom at an incredibly fast speed.
He slowly lowered the body to the ground.
Waited for a moment.
No alarm was raised.
The guard post was still dozens of meters away from there.
Talia’s voice came through the communication channel.
[Don’t get excited, brother. The tower sniper can see, and further ahead is a crossfire zone. Signal to take action together.]
John lifted his leg over the obstacle and closed in on another Exile.
He reversed the grip of his straight knife and thrust it towards the opponent’s temple—bursting the metal implant behind the eye socket.
Electromagnetic sparks and a whimpering sound erupted.
At the same time.
Talia took down someone on the other side.
But the area where they could infiltrate was now at its limit; the rest had to be resolved by force.
Gunfire burst out from within the transport station.
Others in the camp had already taken action in the resting area.
[Move, John, can you handle the turrets?]
Talia raised her revolver, shooting through the guard post glass, the sound of breaking accompanied by a loud echo from the gun barrel.
She stuffed a grenade into the opening.
An explosion resounded.
Talia hugged the machine gun and lay on the muddy ground, bullets piercing through the smoke, directly blocking the main gate.
She needed to help John attract firepower.
John had already climbed up the fence, quickly ascending a metal staircase to a room with a surveillance screen. As he climbed, he felt vibrations through the metal railing.
The footsteps inside the room were chaotic.
Just as John climbed to the door, it suddenly opened.
Before he could see clearly, he sidestepped and yanked the guy out, pushing him down the stairs, cutting across the opponent’s neck with a knife in one fluid motion.
Blood scattered in the fall.
Without looking back, John pulled out a silencer, directly shooting another one in front of the computer screen.
The sound of the body’s fall echoed just behind him.
John plugged in the data line to the system.
This wasn’t the core area, but the surveillance was connected with all the building’s equipment.
After a flicker of Black Light, all electronic defenses crumbled.
John cleared the turret’s biometric data.
"The weapons are clean."
[Switch to manual!]
A phrase in Russian came through the voice channel.
Looking from above, John saw:
Talia led the group, crashing through the main gate with a vehicle, raising her gun while running, directly leaping onto the turret that had gone silent.
John immediately rewrote the program.
Talia climbed onto the turret mount, pulled the trigger tight.
Flames spewed forth.
She bellowed madly amidst the roar of the cannon!