Chapter 37: Mobile Evasion!

On the deck, Old Zhou and his team quickly took their positions at the cannons and the heavy machine guns. In front of the Frost Cannon, Gunner Ning Wen finished loading the shell and wiped the sweat from his brow, then gave a thumbs-up while calculating the enemy’s distance, wind speed, and humidity. In the cockpit, steersmen Tang Fang and A‐Bai wore grave expressions as they carried out a series of maneuvers. On the street, two convoys raced forward with escorts flanking the Tomorrow on both sides. Amid the city ruins, two massive steel behemoths advanced slowly; their treads crushed concrete while torrents of steam and thick smoke burst from the exhaust valves. “1500 meters, 1400 meters, 1300 meters...” Lin Xia on the watchtower reported urgently. “The target is getting closer—prepare to fire!” The Tomorrow opened fire first. The sharp whistling of shells tore through the silence of the ruins as four regular cannons fired simultaneously, their rounds streaking through the sky before landing near the Crimson Hound. At the same time, the enemy returned fire. Shells screamed fiercely, exploding around both mobile cities. The blasts tore away the outer steel plates of both vehicles, flames spouted, and smoke roiled as gunpowder filled the air. “The Crimson Hound has eight regular cannons—if we go toe-to-toe we’ll lose badly...” Li Ye made his decision. “Tang Fang, start mobile evasion!” Mobile evasion. It referred to the tactic of a mobile city using engine power, tread or wheel steering, and center-of-gravity adjustment to dodge enemy fire or to seize tactical positioning in advance. Because mobile cities were huge and slow to turn, this always required precise engineering coordination and anticipatory planning. That’s why steersmen were so essential to handling mobile cities. Treads shifted sharply, serpentine advances, center-of-gravity tilts—these evasion moves pushed the steersmen’s skill and judgment to their limits. On the wasteland, mobile evasion also had an elegant nickname... “The Iron Dance.” As another volley of artillery came in, Tang Fang yanked down the control stick and twisted the steering wheel hard. In an instant, the Tomorrow’s starboard tread locked while the port tread accelerated fully, causing the whole mobile city to drift laterally with a screech of metal—and miraculously dodge several shells. “S...success!” A‐Bai exclaimed in shock as explosions flared behind them. Tang Fang felt no joy, only cold sweat and clenched teeth. Ever since being appointed steersman, he’d felt lucky. Lucky that he had high driving talent, lucky that maybe a better steersman would replace him someday, lucky that future journeys would go smoothly... Only now did he deeply realize the weight of the steersman’s responsibility. The entire direction of the mobile city rested in your hands, and everyone depended on you. And in your hands lies each of their lives. With that thought, Tang Fang took a deep breath and his gaze grew steady. “Continue mobile evasion!” The two mobile cities wove through the urban ruins, using toppled stairwells and buildings as cover and taking turns firing. The Crimson Hound kept accelerating in relentless pursuit. “They’re trying to close in for a duel!” Li Ye realized. A duel. A brutal, simple tactic unique to mobile-city combat. It meant two mobile cities closing to very short range, unleashing furious crossfire from their decks’ heavy machine guns and cannons. Combat personnel aboard them would even board the enemy’s deck, fighting to the death with firearms and melee weapons. These fights were devastating and merciless, often decided in under a minute. They were often called “games for the brave.” Li Ye naturally did not want a duel with the Crimson Hound. The enemy had a full eight regular cannons, 14 heavy machine guns, two Grade‐1 cannons, and 96 fighters—an absolute advantage in a duel! At Li Ye’s command, the Tomorrow accelerated too, maintaining a steady distance from its opponent. Several minutes later, Lin Xia’s voice crackled again from the watchtower. “The enemy convoy has caught up! Prepare to meet them!” At this moment, Crimson Hound’s four convoys had rushed up from the distance, their members wielding guns and rocket launchers, leaning casually on their windows with sinister grins twisting their lips. In mobile-city battles, these convoys usually kept some distance, firing cannons at each other and carrying out mobile evasion. This stalemate could last a long time—but that’s when the convoys become critical. Each city would dispatch convoys to rush toward the opponent’s mobile city. Convoys were usually equipped with heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, and rifles, and their top priority was... To destroy the enemy city’s treads or tires, crippling its movement. Once a mobile city lost its mobility, it could no longer evade—it’d be stuck in place as a stationary target. Then enemy artillery would land precisely on its deck. Some new convoy recruits wondered: if they could get close enough, why not just concentrate fire on the enemy’s cockpit, fuel tank, or ammo hold? The answer was simple: the fuel and ammo are deep inside the core—unreachable. Though the cockpit was at the very front of the deck, it had thick armored protection. Also, the deck stood five or six meters above ground. Even if someone poked half out of a window and aimed high, they probably couldn't hit it. And up close, convoy teams would face heavy machine-gun sweeps from the enemy mobile city—it was extremely dangerous. At that moment, Tomorrow’s convoy teams One and Two began engaging the enemy convoys. Several off-road vehicles weaved through the streets in pursuit, firing back. Although they were outnumbered, Tomorrow’s teams used Grade‐1 off‐roaders armed with Grade‐1 rocket launchers. The enemy had only standard vehicles. Thus, in a close-range firefight, Tomorrow’s second convoy suffered minimal losses, while one of Crimson Hound’s off-roaders was blown over by a rocket. On the deck, Gunner Ning Wen focused entirely on calculating distance. “There are only two shells left. I have to hit... I have to hit!” he muttered. To achieve one-shot kill, he had to rely on that Frost Cannon. At present, the firing rights for the cannon rested in Ning Wen’s hands. Just minutes ago, he’d fired it. That shell had been dodged by the Crimson Hound’s mobile evasion, striking a nearby building instead—and froze it solid in an instant. That miss sent a chill through Ning Wen’s heart. Even more sweat-inducing was that the enemy’s two Grade‐1 cannons were already ready, and their gunners were computing distance too. Ning Wen understood clearly... they were also aiming for a single decisive strike. With two thunderous booms, both Grade‐1 guns fired together.