Meanwhile, inside the cockpit of one of the dropships, a pilot was operating the controls when something caught his attention in his peripheral vision.
He turned and saw red smoke rising into the sky in the distance.
'A smoke flare!'
He immediately grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked through them. Four soldiers came into view, struggling against a horde of mutants on a distant rooftop.
As soon as he saw them, he radioed the flagship.
"Mother, this is Angel Four. Confirmed visual on personnel at our seven o'clock. Requesting permission to move in for evac."
The radio remained silent for a while, probably because the flagship was assessing the situation. But when the reply finally came, it wasn't what he wanted to hear.
"Negative, Angel Four. Too risky. If that thing has already noticed the flare—"
"They won't make it if we don't go, sir," the pilot cut in before he could finished.
"Stand down. That's an order. They're on their own now."
Hearing the order, the pilot remained silent for a moment before looking at his co-pilot. The co-pilot nodded, and the pilot nodded back.
Taking a deep breath, he gripped the controls and steered towards the signal. At the same time, he radioed his superiors aboard the flagship.
"Sorry, sir, but I'm going in."
*****
Back on the rooftop, the situation of the group had quickly gone from bad to worse.
Perhaps because of the flare, more mutants were drawn to their location. Some were even climbing the exterior of the building to reach the rooftop.
Jason, Sergeant Jock, Ethan and the Cane Corso had been pushed into a corner of the roof, desperately fending off mutants trying to tear into them.
The building's walls were smooth as ceramic and rose above two sides of the rooftop. The corner where they met acted as a barrier, protecting the group from behind.
The Cane Corso acted as a living barricade, using its massive body to block most of the mutants charging from the front. As a result, it bore the brunt of the attack.
Claws and sharp teeth had torn into its body, leaving scratches and wounds across its black fur. Blood—both its own and the mutants'—staining its coat green.
Jason and Sergeant Jock weren't idle, though.
Using the canine as a shield, they eliminated any mutant that slipped past it. They also made sure the mutants couldn't swarm the Cane Corso.
Jason in particular, having switched to single-fire mode to conserve ammunition almost always landed a headshot when he pulls the trigger.
Even Ethan, who was being protected behind the others alongside Fredrick, was firing one shot after another from his pistol without saying a word.
The situation could only be described as desperate.
"I'm almost out!" Sergeant Jock shouted over the gunshots.
"Same here!" Ethan shouted as well.
'The situation isn't looking good. I'm down to my last five magazines as well. I don't think we can hold on much longer,' Jason thought with a frown.
Even after switching his rifle to single-fire mode, the ammo consumption didn't reduce much. They were just too many mutants.
Feeling frightened, Ethan looked up at the sky hopefully and his expression immediately brightened.
HUMMMMM!
Jason had just swapped out an empty magazine when the hum of an approaching dropship grew louder.
"They came! Ha-ha, they really came!" Ethan shouted excitedly.
Jason and Sergeant Jock briefly glanced at the approaching dropship before resuming fire to keep the mutants at bay.
[Bzzt... Soldiers, do you copy?]
As soon as the dropship arrived above them, an urgent voice crackled through their GEC devices.
"I hear you loud and clear," Jason replied.
[This is Angel Four. That's a hot LZ. I can't bring this bird down there]
"Angel Four, this is Baby Killer. Lower your hatch and stand by while I clear an area. We'll make this a quick extraction. Get low enough to drop the rope ladder and get us all out—and yes, before you ask, that includes the giant dog," Jason replied.
[Including the beast? That's a mutated beast, and what do you mean clear out an area?]
The pilot's surprised response came a moment later. Apparently, he had finally noticed the Cane Corso.
"Just do it," Jason said before bursting forward.
WHISTLE!
Running past the canine, Jason whistled, and it followed. While he switched his rifle back to full-auto mode.
He briefly withdrew his left hand supporting the rifle barrel to draw his knife, before plunging into the mutant horde alongside the Cane Corso.
By then, the dropship's hatch was already open. Angel Four's three crew members stood near it. Two held their rifles ready to provide cover, while the third prepared the rope ladder.
"What's going on? Why are they opening the hatch?"
"Is this another pickup? But the plane is still in the air."
"Whoa! Look at the size of that horde. I'd be toast if I ever got caught up in that."
The rescued players' voices echoed through the dropship as they watched the scene below through the open hatch.
"The hell is that?" One of the players exclaimed, pointing at a particular spot in front of the horde where two figures were tearing through horde.
The Cane Corso bit, rammed, and crushed the mutants with the brutal ferocity of a beast unleashed. But what stunned the players, the crew, and even Ethan and Sergeant Jock was Jason.
Jason was the complete opposite of the Cane Corso, moving with the calculated finesse and precision of an experienced veteran.
He positioned himself just behind the Cane Corso, using the canine's massive body as a moving shield against the swarming horde.
He fired his rifle continuously, helping push the horde back alongside the Cane Corso. Any mutant that got too close received a knife strike to the skull.
"Who the hell is that? Is he a player or an NPC?" one of the female players asked.
"Can't make out his face, but that's got to be an NPC. There's just no way that's a player," another replied.
Before long, Jason, the Cane Corso, and Sergeant Jock had pushed the horde back ten metres in a fan-shaped arc. The price, however, was a fresh collection of scratches and gashes across Jason's and the Cane Corso's bodies.
"All right, Angel Four, bring her lower," Jason called as soon as they'd cleared enough space.
Though shocked, Angel Four's pilots wasted no time bringing the dropship lower. The crew began providing cover fire while the third crew member lowered the rope ladder and a quick-strap harness for the injured Fredrick.
"Sergeant Jock, you're with me. We'll hold the line. Ethan, strap Fredrick into the quick-strap harness, then climb the ladder," Jason shouted over the fighting.
"Roger."
"Got it."
They answered together.
Sergeant Jock advanced slightly to support Jason and create a second line of defense. While Ethan immediately began securing Fredrick.
He fumbled through the process of securing the harness but managed to do it with Fredrick's instructions.
Once the crew began pulling Fredrick up, Ethan started climbing the ladder himself.
'Damn, this is a lot harder than it looks. Those movie stars always make it look so damn easy,' Ethan thought as he struggled up the rope ladder.
"Don't fight the sway. Focus on grabbing the next rung and keeping a firm grip," Fredrick instructed Ethan as the crew hauled him up alongside the ladder.
The straps, made to look like a big baby carrier, helped kept Fredrick's body upright as the crew pulled him up beside the ladder.
Meanwhile, back on the front line, Sergeant Jock ejected an empty magazine and dipped his hand into his vest pocket for another, but his hand came out empty.
"Shit, I'm out!" he shouted to Jason.
'I'm also down to my last mag.' Jason thought.
He briefly glanced at the dropship. Seeing Ethan near the top of the ladder but still struggling, he made up his mind.
"All right then, start climbing."
Sergeant Jock said nothing more. He slung his rifle over his back and ran to the rope ladder. As a veteran soldier, he climbed it quickly and efficiently despite its swaying.
Ethan had just been pulled into the dropship when Sergeant Jock climbed aboard right behind him.
As soon as he climbed aboard, he turned to the two crew members providing cover fire.
"Ammo, I need M16 magazines."
One of the crew members pulled out two magazines and handed them to him.
He quickly grabbed both magazines, slid one into the rifle, racked it, and joined the crew members in providing cover fire.
[Baby Killer, everyone's on board. You're the only one left]
The pilot's voice crackled through the GEC device, reminding Jason that he and the Cane Corso were the only ones left on the rooftop, surrounded by living mutants and mutant corpses.
Having run out of M16 ammunition, Jason had already slung his rifle over his back and was now firing his pistol and slashing at mutants with his knife.
'Time to leave, then.'
"All right, Angel Four, bring her lower and make room for the big guy," Jason replied through the GEC device.
WHISTLE!
"Hey, big guy, we're pulling out," he called to the Cane Corso before beginning to run back towards the dropship.
The canine immediately ran after Jason as the pilot lowered the dropship closer to the rooftop.
The crew and Sergeant Jock provided cover fire from the dropship, easing the pressure on Jason and the Cane Corso and allowing them to disengage.
As they approached the dropship, Jason pointed towards it. "Up there. Go!"
'Let's hope the dropship gets low enough for the it to jump aboard by the time we reach it,' Jason thought.
However, just as Jason finished speaking, the Cane Corso crouched and leaped straight into the descending dropship.
'It seems I was worried for nothing,' Jason thought with sigh.
"The hell!"
"Shit, it's a mutated beast!"
"Take it down!"
Chaos erupted among the rescued players as the Cane Corso landed inside the dropship. Several immediately reached for their weapons and prepared to fire.
Don't shoot unless you want to die!" Ethan shouted, quickly stepping in front of the Cane Corso with his arms spread wide.
Jason, on the other hand, arrived beneath the dropship and grabbed the rope ladder.
"Take her back into the air, Angel Four. We're pulling out," Jason radioed through his GEC device. The dropship began to ascend with him hanging from the rope ladder.