Chapter 14: The True Commander

Chapter 14: The True Commander

Zhou Jinru stared at the chaotic battlefield ahead. In the end, he had underestimated Finn’s impulsiveness—command of the operation had still fallen to Amiya, much like the tutorial missions in the game.

This is how it all began.

Three transport vehicles carried the operators into the combat zone. The first to be seen were the vehicles carrying members of the A4 squad, parked concealed within the thickets.

Just as Finn had described, numerous Originium Larvae suddenly appeared at the mountain pass ahead, blocking the main thoroughfare. This cut off the mining site near the Originium vein from the Rhodes Island base. Forced to reroute, they found themselves retracing their path. The Originium vein was entering an active phase, soon to erupt. This would not only spawn more terrifying creatures but also affect the vast geological environment, potentially causing minor geological disasters and threatening the ecosystem.

As a result, nearly all Originium veins worldwide were under strict surveillance. If Rhodes Island Pharmaceutical could resolve this trouble smoothly, they would receive substantial funding from Syracuse.

The three transport vehicles rolled into the forested area. The early winter mountain terrain was covered with withered, low shrubs that easily concealed their presence. Only when several operators emerged did they spot the newcomers. Feeling a pang of guilt, Zhou Jinru flipped open his command manual—the notes Amiya had diligently taken while learning command. Now, the situation had reversed—the doctor was the student.

At that thought, Zhou Jinru’s heart skipped a beat, his gaze toward Amiya filled with complex emotions.

If the doctor in the game represented the player staring at the phone screen, breezing through story missions effortlessly, the initial gaming experience would end here. After clearing three stars, one could attempt the raid mode once more for extra rewards. Beyond that, farming elite materials was mostly done via proxy command, with little manual operation.

So, the question arose: who was this proxy commander?

The mystery was solved—it was Amiya.

The operators quickly entered combat mode. The three transport vehicles swiftly connected and lowered their platforms, forming a high platform. Ranged operators climbed atop it. Zhou Jinru watched, dumbfounded, muttering about creating a high platform even without one, calling the transport vehicles a mobile combat platform.

With everything ready, Amiya looked at Zhou Jinru, signaling him to announce the start of the operation. Zhou Jinru, thinking the platform should move forward before battle began, muttered something inwardly but then spoke aloud: “Operation start—”

The moment the words left his mouth, Finn, holding her short spear, shouted, “Follow me!”

She charged forward recklessly, rushing into the swarm of Originium Larvae. Four vanguard operators followed closely behind. Zhou Jinru’s mind descended into chaos just as he was about to say “forward.” He watched in amazement as an ethereal image of a galloping horse surged into Finn’s body. Her form shimmered with a faint glow, as if she had grown slightly larger.

From the high platform, Amiya shouted, “Platform, move forward and prepare to attack! Heavy guards, keep pace! Guards, join the battlefield at any moment to fill gaps! Gray, Shine!”

Only then did Zhou Jinru realize he could no longer participate in the command. He activated his talent and carefully analyzed the operators’ emotions.

“Amiya is very happy—her joy overwhelms all other feelings; Nightingale shows a bit of surprise and is in good condition; Gavial feels sadness tinged with a trace of anger; Yato shows almost no emotional fluctuation...”

Finn collided with the Originium Larvae, thrusting her spear forward. The sharp blade pierced one of the creatures, but her body was simultaneously attacked by two others. However, the damage had no effect, blocked entirely by the shimmering shield.

Zhou Jinru flipped through his notes. In elegant handwriting, it read: Operators with potential above rank C manifest racial phantoms upon entering battle, forming protective shields. The shield’s strength grows with the operator’s power. Until the shield is depleted, the operator’s body sustains no damage—even lethal attacks do not cause immediate death. Once the shield breaks, the operator enters a weakened state requiring protection. This state lasts about a minute. Shield recovery varies; some operators regain vitality quickly, others may take a day or longer.

Amiya had made detailed notes while studying command theory, which now served as Zhou Jinru’s guide to understanding this world’s mechanics.

“So that’s it—the shield corresponds to health points in the game, the weakened state is the redeployment cooldown, and shield recovery time is an additional deployment cost or something else? But it seems there’s no deployment cost limit for operators entering the field.”

He kept reading: “If an operator’s shield is recovering, they can still perform at their level, but for their safety, they must not be sent back into battle to avoid irreversible consequences.”

He had long pondered how game mechanics would translate into reality, and now he had some answers.

His gaze returned to the battlefield. Finn was killing Originium Larvae rapidly, even pushing the frontline forward. Yet her lone advance exposed her to greater danger. Suddenly, two green lights flickered on her body—that was Nightingale and Gavial’s healing.

“I’m here!”

A tall man wielding a standard Rhodes Island shield charged into the swarm. Using brute strength, he knocked away several enemies blocking his path. Striding forward, he reached Finn’s side and raised his shield. A blue glowing shield projection appeared on its surface. Instantly, all the frontal attacks from the Originium Larvae landed on the shield, relieving much of Finn’s pressure.

“Finn, fall back!”

Amiya cast a spell, pulverizing one Originium Larva instantly. Seeing Finn falter, she shouted urgently.

Finn swung her short spear forward, knocking away the nearest Larvae, then leapt back into the heavy guards’ defense line. Zhou Jinru noticed Finn’s shield was badly damaged, nearly shattered. Suddenly, he understood—

The healers lacked sufficient proficiency to sustain the battlefield’s demands!

Boom!

A fiery blast erupted among the Originium Larvae, sending a swarm of black-backed, red-bodied creatures flying. 12F’s magical support had finally arrived. His attack had limited range, effective only at close quarters.

“Don’t rush. Heavy guards, slowly retreat and create distance. All vanguard operators, withdraw immediately!”

Amiya commanded calmly, casting spell after spell, harvesting the life of the Originium Larvae. The dead creatures left no corpses; within seconds they turned to black ash and dissipated into the air, reminiscent of the scene Zhou Jinru had seen in a movie when Thanos snapped his fingers.

(End of chapter)