Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
No monitoring cameras or radars noticed that an attack craft had left the battlefield and was heading towards the moon. Even if the EMP did not destroy cameras and detectors, the chaos on the battlefield already had the Zenith warriors fully occupied. The drones did not use deadly offensive weapons, but they were made with black technology that could influence the outcome of the battle. They maneuvered around the battlefield at high speed using near-field warp jumps and inertia-suppression machines. Their movements were so utterly physics-defying that the Zenith fighters completely could not catch up. It was all the more so when the drones jammed the signals, making the situation worse for the Zenith communication network, which had already been overloaded due to signal congestion. The fact that communications could not be recovered further undermined the command and coordination of the Zenith’s defensive forces. But that was not all; the engineering drones approaching with the armed drones were creating even more chaos and panic.
The drones were destroying the Zenith’s command system as well as communication network more thoroughly and crudely.
Like an insect with a slender body and multiple robotic arms, the little devil drones tore down everything they deemed could transmit and receive signals. The engineering drones even cut open the walls and slipped into the inside of Zenith through the pipes and support frames. Once inside, the drones devoured the command and communication hardware rapidly, causing total signal blackout wherever they went.
Nolan called the operation Physical Deletion.
Hao Ren had issued two critical instructions to the drones: taking down the command and communication systems of the Zenith and disarming the space station. The drone cluster’s mission was not only to cover the actions of Hao Ren and his team but also to keep the enemy forces in the space station busy. That way, even if the Cortex Prime on the lunar base went crazy, Hao Ren could still make sure that at least half of the Executor forces were on the higher orbit of the planet.
Meanwhile, in the attack craft flying toward the moon.
N-6 sat beside Hao Ren, feeling nervous. When thinking of the battle around the Zenith space station, she suddenly questioned herself if she had made the right decision. She now knew that these powerful alien lives were not humans of her home planet. They had summoned a group of war machines to besiege the Zenith. The siege aimed not to kill, but the fact that it was still a siege was not going to change. Now, these alien creatures wanted to go to the lunar base, the shared sacred land of the humans and Executors, and the fortress that would never fall.
Their reason for going to the lunar base was to fix the faulty Cortex Prime, and N-4 had also confirmed the problem of the Cortex Prime.
But that did not alleviate the dilemma N-6 was facing. N-6 was only an AI, but her logic circuit was as complicated as the human mind; she was questioning herself now, and her power consumption was rising.
“Are you all right?” Vivian glanced at the robot girl, curiously. “Some parts of your body are heating up. Did we forget to install back the radiator when we repaired you earlier?”
N-6 shook her head. “I think you all are a huge threat to us.”
“Of course, if you look at the ability to seriously damage or even destroy your civilization, we are almost like a natural disaster for you and no less destructive than the planet devourer who has once swallowed the human civilization.” Hao Ren was frank. “If we have bad intentions, your Cortex Prime and the ultimate palace where humans live will be in great danger because we have already acquired a spacecraft with an identification code that can land directly on the moon. We also have gotten a map to the fortress and a floor plan from N-4. The Cortex Prime is unaware of all these because the drones have blocked the transmission from the Zenith space station—not even an SMS could be sent out.”
N-6 was calm. She looked at Hao Ren quietly, eyes looking inorganic. “You would not tell me if you want to do this. Even if you really want to do it, I will have no way to stop you. But I am curious: why are you interested in a civilization like us? Judging from your spaceship and the drones you have brought, your technology is much more advanced than ours, and we and our planet are worthless to you people.”
Hao Ren glanced at the robot girl who was in a dilemma and said softly. “Six, you have no idea; it is because of the year-end bonus.”
“I do not understand. The society in which I am in does not have this concept.”
“That will not be necessary. You just have to know one thing.” Hao Ren shrugged. “If we want to destroy your civilization, we could have used the thousands of drones to flatten the galaxy. We have a thousand and one better ways to attack the lunar base if we want, but we have not done so. So, you do not have to worry. N-4 has confirmed to you the problem of Cortex Prime, which is the backbone system on which your society depends on. Failure to fix its problem will ultimately lead to the destruction of the lunar base and the Zenith, even if there is no external threat. I guess you have already known that we are your hope at least, and your logic system should be able to see this.”
N-6 nodded. But it was also the cause of her paradox. Her logic system could make judgments based on available data and future predictions. She knew that if the Cortex Prime’s problem continued, destruction would await the lunar base and the Zenith no matter what the Executors did. These alien visitors with advanced technology and a certain degree of goodwill were the only ones that could reverse their fate. But the emotional system in her made her worry because she was unsure whether she could trust the kindness of these alien visitors.
She disliked not being able to make the precise calculation. The idea of surrendering the future of her race to probability overwhelmed her logic circuit.
After some hard thought, Miss N-6 chose to switch to power-saving mode.
“She seems to have cooled down suddenly.” Vivian looked back at the robot lady, surprised. “It is a strange life form.”
“Maybe you blocked her cooling vent.” Lily shot Vivian a sideways look. “She just did not want to embarrass you.”
“I did not! I was at least one meter away from her! It is you! The hair of your big furry tail might have clogged the air inlet of N-6.”
Hao Ren decided to intervene lest the two quarrelsome partners went physical. “Stop arguing. By the way, N-6 has no radiator vent and air inlet. Nolan has said that N-6 is liquid cold.”
“Mr. Landlord,” Lily looked at Hao Ren with despise. “Most liquid cooling systems need radiator vents.”
Hao Ren was embarrassed.
The husky had embarrassed him in terms of common sense and intelligence.
But Hao Ren could not care less because the spacecraft was approaching the moon now.
Hao Ren and his team were in the lower compartment of the spacecraft. It was initially the weapon bay and part of the redundant system storage, but the autonomous robots had modified them into the passenger compartment. Hao Ren, Vivian, Lily, N-6, and Y’zaks were the main team members while Lil Pea, who hid in Hao Ren’s collar and poked out her head looking around curiously, could not be counted as one.
At first, Hao Ren had no intention of bringing the little mermaid along in this operation, but the little guy was enthusiastic. She nagged until Hao Ren gave in. Since Lil Pea had been well-behaved in several previous missions, Hao Ren decided to bring her along albeit reluctantly.
Hao Ren figured that he could readily hide Lil Pea in the dimensional pocket if the situation turned ugly. But letting the little mermaid stay onboard the Petrachelys, which was now in the middle of the battlefield, did not seem to be a good idea after all.
The rest of the men, including N-4 and her team members, stayed on board the Petrachelys.
Since the two transport planes that N-4 brought had lost their identification rights, Hao Ren suspected that the Cortex Prime had also blacklisted, or even issued an arrest warrant for N-4 and her team. The appearance of the N-4 team on the lunar base would guarantee the triggering of the alarm and failure of the operation. So, Hao Ren made them stay onboard the Petrachelys but brought along N-6 because he needed a guide.
Hao Ren could clearly see the situation of the lunar base through the external camera of the spacecraft.
Thousands of years of development and transformation had turned this lifeless, quiet, natural satellite into something unrecognizable from its original appearance. Deep gullies and holes covered the surface like dehydrated fruit. A layer of metal like a coat covered the land; those were the factory and residential complexes that the Executors built.
There was no clear boundary. The entire surface was a megabase of factories, mines, domes, and reactors with crisscrossing tracks and piping system that connected them together. Among the sea of metal structures, some places were even more densely populated with facilities, which, in a sense, could be deemed as the “cities”.
Above the moon, space stations and satellites were hovering in orbit. There were also orbital cannons pointing at the home planet neatly arranged in space.
The battered spacecraft began to decelerate, change directions, and swiftly but stably zoomed past the orbital cannons and surveillance satellites. Whenever the spacecraft passed by a checkpoint, there would be a brief security check.
They passed the identity verification.
