Otaku Translation: Carrying the Bases of Starcraft C129

Please support the translation by reading the translation and commenting on otakutl official site.

Thank you.

Everyone from Otaku Translation

Chapter 129: Fatal Radiation

Inside the weather observation station, Pitman and Xia Yuanhua were shouting at each other. The wind carried their voices away, making it hard to make out what they were saying, but it was probably something along the lines of "run faster."

Boom. Suddenly, a muffled sound echoed as an air-burst cannon fired. A flash of light followed, and a mini-grenade—about 32mm in diameter—shot out at an angle, slamming into the ground just ahead of them.

Whoosh. A blinding flash erupted, and rolling clouds of smoke billowed into a small mushroom cloud. The high-altitude winds quickly dispersed the toxic haze in every direction.

Beep-beep-beep. At first, Tang Fang found it odd that the grenade’s aim had been so poor; all the two men needed to do was leap backward to avoid the blast radius entirely. But then, as the warning tone blared, a radiation alert popped up on his powered armor's UI interface—a stark yellow triangle with a black radiation symbol.

"Neutron radiation detected. Contamination level: Three."

"Huh? Neutron radiation?" Before Tang Fang could process the implications, the plume of smoke, now saturated with neutron beams, surged forward, swallowing both figures whole.

"No!" Xia Yuanhua screamed. Against a neutron beam, the steel-heavy exoskeletons might as well have been made of paper. Even with anti-radiation coatings, at such close range, there was no way the suits could fully shield their wearers.

Pitman reacted instantly, yanking Xia Yuanhua to the ground and slapping a gas mask over his face. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"We’re over fifty meters away from the blast site," Xia Yuanhua said, glancing down at the lead-lined vest he wore. "It should be fine."

"It should be fine, but if it isn’t, we’ll already be dead."

With their masks securely fastened, the two stood up and stared silently at the swirling smoke ahead. They knew full well that anyone inside a “Guardian Knight” suit caught within that range would have no chance of survival. If they somehow survived the initial exposure, the aftermath would be a slow descent into agony, their bodies ravaged by radiation sickness until death finally claimed them.

The defensive robots farther back ceased fire, their operators clearly assuming the two men were already doomed.

Xia Yuanhua suddenly recalled a phrase: "Dreams are grand, but reality is cruel." Throughout human history, revolutions had always been paved with suffering, betrayal, and sacrifice. Until dreams became reality, they remained distant illusions.

He didn’t know who those two people were—their names, where they came from, whether they had siblings—but one thing was certain: they had come here to save them. To save the rebel miners, to save everyone trapped in this fight for freedom.

As the thick smoke curled like wisps into the sky, and glowing fragments of shrapnel burned on the ground, Xia Yuanhua felt a pang of guilt. He wished he could trade places with them. At least, if he lay dying there, they would carry on the fight, avenging him and continuing the revolution. With their guns, they could pierce the skull of Colcrav Stuart, and with their knives, tear down the Celtic banner that loomed over Holy Sword Square, mocking the oppressed masses below.

But alas, it was him who lived—weak, helpless, indecisive. All he could do was stand there, mourning, cursing, lamenting.

If being a miner meant enduring the brutality of a merciless system, a society rife with oppression and servitude, then perhaps it was time to become something else. A revolutionary soldier, armed with weapons and fueled by fire, ready to burn away the darkness choking this nation. And if one life wasn’t enough, then let blood-soaked corpses pile high, until the sheer weight of collective will crushed the rotting tyranny of Stuart.

His fists clenched tighter, fingernails digging crescent-shaped wounds into his palms. A true man must be fierce, unyielding, his passion blazing like wildfire to live up to the name of "man."

Xia Yuanhua glanced at the discarded rocket launcher lying nearby, crouched low, and scooped it up.

"What do you think you're doing?" Pitman grabbed hold of him, trying to restrain him.

"Revenge."

"You’re going to get yourself killed."

"So what? It’s better than sitting here watching them die in agony. If I go before them, I can set up a feast in the afterlife, and we can drink ourselves silly before moving on together. If I die later, I’ll catch up soon enough. Either way, we won’t be alone."

"Damn it, calm down!"

"Calm down? We’re descendants of Yan Huang! Our veins run with burning blood, not lukewarm water!"

"Xia Yuanhua… look… LOOK!" Pitman’s voice shifted from frustration to astonishment, then to disbelief.

"What is there to look at?" Xia Yuanhua was prepared to charge toward his death, unwilling to waste breath arguing. But when he instinctively followed Pitman’s pointing finger, his eyes widened in shock.

"They… they’re alive? How… how is that even possible?" Through the dissipating smoke, two shadowy figures emerged, growing clearer with each passing second. Then, defying all logic, the pair burst through the haze, sprinting toward them.

Though the damage inflicted by neutron bombs was relatively limited, the core radiation levels were lethal enough to penetrate even powered armor, threatening the lives of those inside.

Typically, fatal neutron exposure would render someone immobile almost immediately. White blood cell counts would plummet, followed by lymphocyte depletion, leading to death via bone marrow failure, sepsis, or organ collapse. In severe cases, victims endured months of unimaginable torment before succumbing to death’s embrace.

And yet… these two? Running, jumping, healthy as bulls?

Pitman finally snapped out of his stupor, his face pale with awe. "It has to be those suits. Those damn suits…"

Compared to their stunned reactions, Tang Fang and Housen were seething—with anger and relief. The impervious metal shells, the neutron bomb, the tracked robots, the transforming tanks—it all pointed to one conclusion.

"Holy hell," Tang Fang muttered under his breath. "This has to be what Grant was talking about—the infamous Heavy Armor Warriors."

They hadn’t encountered them in Blue Lake Town or at Makanda Arsenal, but here they were, not in the hands of the 408th Division as expected, but instead deployed at Kabuto Air Force Base. What was going on?

Tang Fang wasn’t privy to Aldrich’s innermost thoughts, nor could he fathom the depths of Governor Krotan’s scheming. For a weapon as devastating as the Heavy Armor Warriors, sending them into battle alongside armored divisions made little sense. Instead, deploying them via air drop deep behind enemy lines during critical moments of conflict maximized their firepower and psychological impact, ensuring they’d crush resistance decisively.

Aldrich’s plan was sound—in theory. But he hadn’t accounted for one wildcard: the sudden emergence of a third faction between the government forces and the rebels.

This wildcard had sunk an entire fleet of submarines and ships, dismantled Aldrich’s carefully laid plans, and disrupted his broader strategy across Odin’s eastern front. Worse still, it had exposed one of his most important hidden pieces.

"Damn government troops—they actually went through with it. Do they realize what kind of devastation that weapon would cause against civilians? The casualties…" Tang Fang’s voice trailed off, shaking with fury.

Housen’s voice crackled through the comms, quieter than usual but laced with venom. "Those bastards… if it weren’t for our suits being more advanced than Guardian Knights, what would’ve happened to us? Instant death might’ve been merciful, but imagine lying in some field hospital, screaming in agony for months while your body rots away before they finally zip you into a body bag. That’s the real nightmare."

"Housen, prep the concussion rounds." Switching his C-14 Piercer back to single-shot mode, Tang Fang issued the order.

Please vote for this novel at

https://www.novelupdates.com/series/carrying-the-bases-of-starcraft/

If you would like to support this translation, you may choose any one of the options below.

Tier 1: 10 Advance chapters

Access fee $3.00 Monthly