Chapter Sixty-Three: The Counterattack

After deploying the anti-aircraft missiles around the base, Wang Jing immediately returned to the control room.

“How’s the moos process going?” Wang Jing asked.

“It’s extremely slow. He’s already detected me. We need more servers to increase the speed,” moos replied.

“I’ll handle the server issue.” With that, he returned to the main dimension and brought over the already-prepared Galaxy IV supercomputer, accompanied by the technicians responsible for installing it.

As the technicians set up the Galaxy IV, the anti-aircraft missiles outside the building ignited one after another, firing at the incoming waves of Terminator transport ships closing in on the base.

The transporters struck by the missiles fell to the ground in flames. Amid the resulting explosions, Terminators strode out of the blazing inferno, their menacing metal skulls and skeletal frames making them seem like demons emerged from the very depths of hell.

The massive horde of Terminators launched their assault on the base, the relentless firepower of their Vulcan cannons pinning the Expeditionary Force and Resistance fighters under a storm of bullets.

At that moment, the Expeditionary Force commander shouted over the radio, “Rocket artillery support!”

As soon as the command was given, volleys of rockets streaked skyward, trailing white smoke behind them. The sound of rockets launching sent a surge of adrenaline through everyone.

Five seconds later, in the midst of the distant Terminator ranks, a wave of explosions erupted—like a hundred-string firecracker on New Year’s Eve—wiping them out in less than two seconds.

Seeing the dense bursts of fire and the sudden halt in enemy fire, the soldiers on the walls erupted in raucous cheers.

But just as the celebration began, the long-range anti-aircraft missiles in the center of the base suddenly launched into the sky. Seeing the missiles rise, the Expeditionary Force commander shouted, “Everyone, brace for nuclear shockwave!”

“Damn, they’re going nuclear this quickly? Have they no shame?” a soldier grumbled as he switched on his armor’s radiation shield.

“That’s an AI—it doesn’t have shame,” another soldier quipped.

“True enough. But with this kind of action, I’ll have stories to tell for a lifetime!”

“Better keep your mouth shut. In the movies, whoever says that always dies before the credits roll.”

“Shut that jinx of yours! If I die, it’ll be your fault for cursing me.” No sooner had he spoken than a blinding fireball, brighter than the sun, appeared in the sky. Six seconds later came an earth-shattering explosion, followed by a powerful shockwave that sent some soldiers tumbling from the ramparts.

With the shockwave, the telltale crackle of Geiger counters rang in every soldier’s ear.

Inside the building, the freshly assembled Galaxy IV supercomputer suddenly sparked, followed by the smell of burning circuitry. Wisps of smoke rose from some of the servers.

“What happened?” Wang Jing turned to Li Yiyi.

Li Yiyi tapped his now-black tablet, his face on the verge of tears. “It’s the electromagnetic pulse from the nuke. Skynet didn’t mean to kill us with the blast—it wants to cripple our electronic equipment with the EMP.”

“Moos, are you still online?” Wang Jing asked.

“I’m still here. Skynet’s servers weren’t affected by the EMP, but I’m barely holding on. Skynet just launched a full-scale assault against me!”

Listening to the steady roar of the servers’ fans, reminiscent of jet engines, Wang Jing knew moos was nearing its limit.

“So what do we do now? Just sit here and wait to die?” John Connor asked anxiously.

“Don’t worry, there’s another way.” With that, Wang Jing entered the Wandering Earth dimension, retrieved the Seed of Fire, and struck the EMP-fried Galaxy IV servers beside him.

A rush of energy swept through the room, and every supercomputer transformed into an identical Transformer.

But at Wang Jing’s command, all the Transformers reverted back into servers, connected to Skynet’s network, and joined forces with moos to counterattack.

Immediately, the Terminators surrounding the base ceased fire, turned their weapons, and began attacking other Skynet-controlled Terminators.

Chaos erupted on the battlefield.

But when a new wave of Terminators arrived, order was quickly restored. These newcomers were immune to moos’s control.

“Why aren’t those Terminators being controlled anymore?” a soldier asked, watching the machines stride over the wreckage.

“Isn’t it obvious? That’s a super AI that almost wiped out humanity. It wouldn’t make the same mistake twice,” another replied dismissively.

“I bet Skynet disabled the radio receivers on those Terminators, leaving them to run on internal programs only,” a third soldier guessed the truth.

Although the T-600s weren’t as intelligent as the T-800s, they were more than adequate as cannon fodder.

To prevent moos from seizing control, Skynet issued orders to shut down the Terminators’ radio receivers before they entered moos’s area of influence, forcing them to operate in standalone mode.

Thus, the fire and explosions returned. Every meter the Terminators advanced cost them dearly, and soon the battlefield was piled with robot wreckage.

The fighting was brutal, but the Terminators showed no sign of retreat. From a distance, wave after wave kept advancing, ferried in by transport ships.

Missile and aerial attacks continued unabated, though the well-coordinated anti-aircraft defenses intercepted them all.

But this also meant that ammunition was being expended at a staggering rate—each time Wang Jing transported supplies, they were gone in minutes.

“At this rate, the anti-air missile stockpile in the main world will soon be depleted. We need another way to handle those missiles and aircraft!” Liu Peiqiang reminded him.

Wang Jing nodded and sought out Optimus Prime, who was unleashing a torrent of firepower.

“Optimus! Optimus…” Wang Jing called several times before Optimus finally snapped out of his battle fervor.

“What is it, Wang Jing?” Optimus knelt down to listen.

“I need you to lead a team to destroy the nearby Skynet military bases and ease the pressure on our air defenses,” Wang Jing shouted.

“No problem. I’m on it!” With that, Optimus soared into the sky, followed by more than a dozen F-22s transformed from Autobots.

On their way to the nearest Skynet base, Optimus casually shot down several approaching Terminator aircraft, including a transport ship carrying Terminator robots.

When the transport was destroyed, its cargo of Terminators spilled out like a heap of potatoes tumbling from a shipping container.