Chapter 349: 349. Lost and found again
```
[Hey~ guys, Beth here~]
At this moment, the edgy host with a nose ring was squatting in a sewer, lifting the manhole cover just enough to poke out her phone for a live stream.
In the distance was the raging battle, a vista filled with firelight, thick smoke, and explosions.
Compared to drone-filmed videos, her live stream was much closer, which made it all the more dedicated.
Thanks to Lu Yao's miraculous rescue, Beth's fans had easily breezed past the million mark.
But she wasn't satisfied with that and continued her perilous live streaming activities.
Now, being extremely close to the battlefield, the tremors from the explosions could be clearly felt through the live stream. If she got hit by a stray cannonball, she would certainly be done for.
[Oh my God! He just ripped open the hatch of a tank! Oh~ he's been hit by so many rounds! Fortunately, he's okay.]
The intense and thrilling combat, accompanied by Beth's commentary, had her channel's viewers on an emotional roller coaster.
However, what's interesting is that while initially 99% of the people online called Lu Yao a terrorist,
now, many had started calling him "Superman," and the earlier unanimous slander and opposition had ceased.
And in Beth's live stream, there gathered a crowd that thought Lu Yao was "cool".
At this moment, the battle was still going on, and the commentary didn't stop: [Look! He just threw a car!]
Lu Yao was seen kicking a car at the side of the road, sending it flying dozens of meters through the air and smashing it into the face of an enemy.
Many Star Alliance soldiers screamed as they retreated, firing wildly, but it was of no use aside from sending sparks flying everywhere.
There were also soldiers firing their Recoilless Rifles at ultra-close range.
Unfortunately, this subsonic weapon's initial velocity was only 250 meters per second, which was far too slow for an Innate Martial Artist like Lu Yao, who could easily dodge them all with slight body movements.
Sometimes, when he was too lazy to dodge, he'd just raise his arm for a precise block, deflecting the cannonballs.
Others tried using grenade launchers, but Lu Yao would catch them in mid-air and hurl them back, causing his opponents to tumble from the explosions.
The morale of the Star Alliance soldiers collapsed; they frantically discarded their useless "junk" equipment and ran off without looking back.
Lu Yao picked up two Recoilless Rifles and started dealing with the biggest threats—the M2 infantry fighting vehicles.
This type of lightweight armored vehicle, designed to coordinate with tanks, was extremely agile.
Its 25MM machine gun had a firing rate of 200 rounds per minute, which was much harder to dodge than the single-fire cannonballs of tanks.
Most of the True Qi Lu Yao exhausted was used to fend off their attacks.
Now, carrying several Recoilless Rifles, he leaped onto an M2 infantry fighting vehicle and delivered a direct hit to the roof with one shot.
A 'thud' resonated, and a puff of smoke erupted from the rear of the recoilless rifle. An armor-piercing projectile the size of a forearm instantly penetrated the thin armor on the top of the vehicle.
The high-temperature and high-pressure metal jet poured into the vehicle, igniting its ammunition, resulting in a catastrophic explosion; it turned into a "flame tank" in an instant.
Lu Yao discarded the empty tube, pushed hard with his feet, and with a roar that tore through the air and shook the ground, leaped onto another vehicle.
Amid the frantic screams, he repeated the process, giving birth to another "flame tank," even blowing off the turret.
With the enemy's armored vehicles being successively destroyed, when Lu Yao leaped onto the last tank, the hatch suddenly opened.
The tank commander stood up with hands raised high, stammering repeatedly: "We surrender... we surrender..."
Lu Yao put away the Recoilless Rifle and, with a bound, swiftly left the scene.
Now, wreckage of vehicles lay scattered around, buildings nearby were seriously damaged, and the air was filled with gunpowder smoke and black ash; a veil of dark fog enveloped the entire battlefield.
The armored forces of the Star Alliance Country had suffered heavy losses and had already begun to retreat.
Lu Yao didn't pursue but instead looked up at the sky.
Even without activating Heavenly Eye, he could feel the overwhelming power of faith converging like a vast ocean.
This was the spirit of billions of people from Blue Star!
In comparison, the tens of millions of faith power gathered by The Empress Dowager seemed as laughable as a tiny water pipe.
~~~~~~~~~~
At this moment, public opinion on Blue Star had completely exploded.
When things first started, countless people were dumbfounded, unable to believe their eyes, and even doubted if they were dreaming.
The world has always been about physics and science; what was this Superman who was impervious to gunfire?
And having witnessed this spectacle with their own eyes, no one cared about the so-called public trial anymore; everyone rushed online to express their amazement.
```
[This is unscientific; how could Blue Star possibly have a Superman?]
[He's not a Superman, look at his movements and posture, it's obviously systematic cultivation]
[The way he dodged those cannonballs was so cool, just like the protagonist of The Matrix!]
[Look quick, he's going to interrogate that female spokesperson now!]
...
After the military retreated, Lu Yao approached Janice.
Thanks to the bulletproof car she used as cover, she wasn't killed by the random gunfire, and at the moment, she was still trying, hopelessly, to break the metal "collar" off her neck.
Unfortunately, this was completely in vain. She might have had a sliver of hope if she had the strength of an adult brown bear.
Seeing Lu Yao coming, Janice said coldly, "Don't delude yourself, I won't tell you anything!"
"That's not certain~" Lu Yao infused his voice with Mind Force, hypnotizing her, "Where is my nuclear bomb?"
A hint of confusion appeared in Janice's green eyes, but it quickly turned firm as she scoffed:
"You're trying to hypnotize me? A specially trained agent? You must be dreaming!"
She was not wrong; such things are closely related to one's mental willpower.
Lu Yao got serious, staring into Janice's eyes, unleashing the full power of his Mind Force, and asked again:
"Where is my nuclear bomb? It belongs to me, and nobody else should even think about taking it."
This time, Janice struggled violently, but soon her mental defenses were breached, and she became completely blank.
"At... Andrew Air Force Base B-9 warehouse... about to be transported to a nuclear lab for disassembly and dilution into nuclear fuel..."
"Good girl, that's right."
It was very convenient to obtain information in the network society, Lu Yao could even look up the exact location of the air force base on Baidu.
Then, Agent Janice suddenly woke up, shouting furiously, "What did you do to me!"
Lu Yao shrugged nonchalantly, "I did what you guys always do—brain control program. I have similar methods, how was it, did you enjoy the experience?"
Fully conscious yet having her will dominated caused terror to finally appear on Janice's normally calm face!
If the initial hypnosis could still be understood by ordinary people, what followed was akin to "Mental Dominance."
And she knew—Lu Yao was merely seeking revenge for what happened to Sergey.
At that moment, Lu Yao used his Mind Force to hypnotize and ask again, "Where is the backup data of the lab?"
Janice's features twisted, her body convulsed violently, but she still resisted revealing anything.
At this point, Lu Yao was still labeled a terrorist, with the Star Alliance Country being seen as the side of justice.
Although the public opinion had begun to shift after witnessing his terrifying power, overall, it still favored the Star Alliance Country.
But once the contents of this hard drive were made public, Lu Yao would truly become the "Superman combating an evil nation!"
Janice couldn't allow that to happen!
As an elite agent, she resisted the hypnotism of a Spirit Refinement expert with her willpower, even as blood flowed from her nose.
But her consciousness was not very clear, and her eyes unconsciously glanced towards her Chevrolet.
Lu Yao exclaimed with delight, "Such an important thing, and you actually brought it in your car?"
He walked over to the distorted car to search. It was clear that the vehicle had undergone many modifications, not only bulletproof but also equipped with an advanced onboard computer.
The storage compartment had been turned into a high-tech safe that could only be opened if the fingerprint, iris, and voice all matched.
Lu Yao yanked it out by force, and with a wrenching sound of tearing metal, he ripped it open.
To his delight, the lost hard drive was right inside!
Lu Yao grinned and took it out, carefully placing it in his pocket for safekeeping.
Janice witnessed this scene and completely fell apart, wailing miserably.
The data on the hard drive was very important, and typical agents had no clearance to handle it.
Originally, she had planned to finish the press conference and personally hand it over to Colonel Reynold.
But now, it was all over...