Chapter Seventy-Five: The "Super Commando" Powered Exoskeleton Armor

“Birthday boy is looking energetic today! Do you have the confidence to succeed on the first try?”

Li Decai walked over to Zhou Shu, smiling as he asked.

“Absolutely not a problem. Just watch, Elder Li. We might even be running field tests tonight, keeping you all busy round the clock. No one’s sleeping tonight,” Zhou Shu replied, his eyes on the data streaming across his tablet.

After spending more than a month together, the group had grown familiar, and all the formal titles—professor, teacher, chief engineer—had faded away.

Of course, this casualness was reserved for Zhou Shu and these “old gentlemen” and “old buddies.”

“My, aren’t you ruthless? Making us old bones run circles with you,” Li Decai feigned outrage, then added, “If you keep testing all day, what about your birthday party? We’ve got a little gift ready for you.”

“What’s to celebrate? I’m only eighteen. There’s plenty of time to throw a party when I reach your age.”

Zhou Shu had little anticipation for his birthday. His parents weren’t with him; even the scientific expedition team he’d been following had headed into the mountains recently, with communications temporarily cut off.

Originally, he should’ve been at home, celebrating the weekend with his grandparents, but duty called and there was no way to return.

Fortunately, his clever cat kept his grandparents company, so they wouldn’t feel too lonely.

As for himself, having the “Super Sentry” pass its tests would be the best birthday present he could ask for.

May 21st, 8:34 a.m.—the “Super Sentry” faces its first human trial. Begin!

Since it’s single-operator gear, the donning process for the “Super Sentry” is simple and fast. There’s no need for robotic assistance or for the wearer to manually fasten straps.

The armor coverage of the “Super Sentry” reached ninety percent: save for the gaps left for mobility, the rest was shrouded in rigid plating.

Zhou Shu used the encasing action of these plates to secure the pilot in place.

With the computing core, battery pack, and folding support platform all housed on the back, the “Super Sentry” adopted a front-entry design.

The chest plate hinged open from the abdomen upward, while the leg and arm armor split along the inner centerlines. Wearing a ballistic vest and groin protector, Sun Congliang stepped directly into the open exoskeleton from the front.

His head emerged through the collar, hands slid into mechanical gauntlets, feet locked onto the mechanical soles, and the armor compartments closed around him, clamping him securely in place.

Finally, Sun Congliang took the full-coverage tactical helmet from the side and set it on his head.

Limited by the technology at hand, Zhou Shu and his team had built a powered exoskeleton suit, not a fully enclosed powered armor, so the wearer still had to don a ballistic vest and groin protector.

The vest was standard issue for combat, but the groin protector was less commonly worn.

Still, this was only the first prototype. No doubt, future iterations would resolve such issues.

As for the mobility gaps, several layers of flexible ballistic material lined them—the same as the vest and groin protector—providing decent protection from impact.

—

Watching Sun Congliang fully suited up, Zhou Shu stood outside and asked, “How does it feel? Is the securing effect strong or weak?”

“It’s fantastic! I’ve never felt this good in my life!” Sun Congliang replied, his voice brimming with excitement.

“Alright, set aside your subjective feelings and give me something useful,” Zhou Shu said. “Move around a bit—tell me if you feel pinned so tightly you can’t breathe or if it’s loose enough to affect your movement.”

“Yes, sir!”

At Zhou Shu’s words, Sun Congliang obediently began testing his range of motion—lifting his legs, stretching his arms, twisting his waist.

“It’s a comfortable fit, securing effect is excellent, center of gravity is stable, and there’s no significant forward or backward tipping while moving…”

“Try taking a few steps. See if you can run?”

“Yes, sir!”

“How about large movements? Test the joints—are they suitable?”

“Understood!”

Sun Congliang followed Zhou Shu’s instructions to the letter while Zhou Shu and the team of engineers analyzed the data.

Of course, Sun Congliang’s personal feedback was only part of the test; the sensor data was just as crucial.

“Looks like mobility isn’t an issue—it’s very agile. He can even make big jumps.”

“Right, the shock absorbers are working fine. The impact on all components is within controllable limits.”

“Battery drain is normal too. If that’s all, four graphene cells will keep it running for three days!”

“Incredible. Such a small battery packs that much punch?”

“You’re not a battery specialist, so it’s understandable. But we’re not running at full capacity yet. Realistically, under full load, endurance should be around thirty hours.”

“Ask Zhou—should we test the weapons system next? Fighting monsters is all about the firepower…”

The tests were going smoothly. With Zhou Shu doubling as chief designer and chief engineer, all procedures passed in one go, making for rapid progress.

Since the “Super Sentry” was chiefly designed to combat mutants—and as of yet, there was no record of them wielding firearms—it enjoyed a range advantage with its high-powered weapons over the mutants’ close-quarters attacks like ramming, clawing, and stabbing.

The main problem for humanity so far had been the inability to quickly aim and shoot when facing a mutant alone; sometimes, even after lining up a shot, there wasn’t time for proper aim and only ineffective fire resulted.

Where human limits fell short, technology would compensate.

The “Super Sentry”’s combat assist system was designed to solve this. It could rapidly lock onto targets and, using the stable exoskeleton as a platform, deliver accurate shots to the mutants’ vital points.

The system Zhou Shu provided was exceptionally advanced, and given the obvious differences in appearance between mutants and humans, the recognition rate was extremely high.

—

They were testing just behind an indoor shooting range, so Sun Congliang could immediately open fire.

No static targets this time—only dynamic ones, with images of humans and mutants flashing across the range. The combat assist system deployed the rear-mounted support weapon and commenced firing.

The heavy sniper rifle achieved a one hundred percent kill rate, blasting through two-centimeter steel plates with ease.

The heavy machine gun, mini-missiles, and grenades provided impressive fire coverage as well.

The modular design allowed for quick and easy weapon swaps.

Of course, no matter how simple it was to reload, nothing was easier than discarding empty weapons.

When the support platform’s armaments ran out of ammo, the foldable mechanical arms and launchers became dead weight. In situations where the operator had to engage in close combat or retreat, three quick commands would jettison the cumbersome firearms, reducing the load instantly.

Once in close quarters, the retractable melee blades and the heated weapons built into the mechanical arms came into play.

The armor on the operator’s body could withstand several mutant charges or claw strikes, giving them a chance to counterattack—or even kill the assailant.

This was the solution for fighting mutants. If the “Super Sentry” was to become a true battlefield weapon for direct warfare, it would require targeted modifications.

After all, armor for ramming and claw protection wasn’t quite the same as bulletproof armor.

Zhou Shu had Sun Congliang try discarding the excess weight—it took just two seconds to drop it all.

At the end of the tests, with the “Super Sentry” having finished its offensive trials, it was time to face the defensive ones.

After shedding the support weapons, Sun Congliang stepped into the attack test zone, withstanding impacts from large objects and cuts and stabs from smaller sharp implements.

Sometimes he was knocked down, but the titanium alloy frame provided excellent support. As long as the framework wasn’t deformed, he was unharmed.

The armor would absorb some of the impact, and the flexible material inside took the rest. Very little force actually reached his body.

Only high-powered stabs posed a real threat; while most didn’t penetrate, some still drew blood.

But bleeding was better than being killed outright.

Moreover, when a mutant’s strike got lodged in the armor, the operator had a chance to counter and possibly eliminate the attacker.

The day’s testing ended on a nearly perfect note—until, unexpectedly, the Demon Suppression Division’s alarm suddenly blared.

“Emergency assembly!!”