Celestial City, gravity-free dock.
The handover ceremony of the Envoy-class starship was in progress. Jiang Chen walked to the side to talk to Calvin, but his expression gradually turned serious.
"… The Marines we sent to the underground ruins were attacked by unknown Martian creatures … not Devil Worms. Three of our Marines were killed, two soldiers and a researcher were seriously injured. " Calvin took a deep breath and sent a video file to Jiang Chen's watch. "This is the battle video."
The transmission was complete.
After Jiang Chen looked behind him and confirmed that there was no one else nearby, he clicked the play button.
In the video, Celestial Trade Marines engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the Martian creatures that suddenly appeared.
A Marine soldier dragged the researcher back and fired back at the mutants with a Gauss rifle.
The Martian creature that was hit let out a shrill scream, and green blood spurted out of its body. It dodged to the side to make way for its kind behind it while using its ferocious mouth to spray corrosive acid at the Marines.
Because of the intensity of the battle, the video shook violently.
Just then, Jiang Chen suddenly pressed the pause button.
The image froze on a ferocious giant mouth.
Jiang Chen zoomed in and focused on the Martian creature.
Powerful feet, long barbed tail, spindle-shaped head, forward-bent arms, and barbed claws. It looked full of explosive power and lethality. The carapace on its back was lined up like the armor of heavy cavalry. Wait.
In an instant, Jiang Chen's pupils suddenly contracted.
This appearance, he felt a bit familiar.
Not in the apocalypse, nor in the memory of the Gaia civilization.
But in the memory from Gliese 581g!
Yes, that's right!
The group of insects that had fought against the Brahma were almost the same as these insects!
But why?
In an instant, Jiang Chen's brain was filled with countless question marks.
He didn't understand why he would encounter the opponents that Harmony once faced on Mars.
Thinking about it carefully, the attack methods of these Devil Worms were similar to the Siege Bugs encountered by the colonists of the Brahma. The only difference may be that the Siege Bugs were larger than the Devil Worms, and their skin was dotted with a quartz shell …
Coincidence?
But it was too much of a coincidence.
Jiang Chen's brows furrowed together and he fell into deep thought.
Seeing that the boss didn't speak, Calvin tried to speak.
"Chairman?"
Calvin's voice reminded him that they were still on the line.
After Jiang Chen collected his thoughts, he turned off the holographic screen and immediately ordered Kelvin.
"Wait for me at the command center of Project 071. I'll be right there."
"Yes."
After he hung up the phone, Jiang Chen returned to the dock and informed Wu Changfeng and the others. He left the warship delivery ceremony in advance and immediately rushed to the Project 071 command room in the Space Command Center.
When he arrived, the command room was already bustling with activity.
Jiang Chen walked to Calvin's side and immediately asked.
"How's the situation at the front line?"
"It's not very optimistic … We have a rig trapped underground. Fortunately, the people in that rig have been evacuated in time. Currently, the seriously injured researcher is still being rescued, and the other seriously injured Marine Corps soldier is temporarily out of danger, "Calvin said with an ugly expression.
Jiang Chen nodded and asked.
"What about the situation inside the tunnel?"
"The tunnel is currently occupied by an unknown Martian creature. We are building a database for this creature … By the way, what should I call this monster? Do you have any suggestions? "Calvin asked.
"… Let's call it Corruptor."
"Corruptor? This name is quite appropriate. They do spit highly corrosive acid. " After a pause, Calvin's face was filled with disbelief. "The most surprising thing is their eggs. Their eggs will explode when stimulated by the outside world, and the yield of the explosion is not low at all … "
"What's the yield of the explosion?" Jiang Chen asked.
"Close to half a ton of TNT, and with corrosive damage, it has a miraculous effect in a narrow space," Calvin said.
Half a ton of TNT?
The number was not large, but as Calvin said, it had a miraculous effect in a narrow space.
More importantly, the target area was too close to the ruins of the Gaia civilization. In order to avoid damage to the ruins, they must be careful when dealing with the insect eggs, not to mention using a lethal weapon like the penetrator to clean up the area.
…
At Mine 071, the alarm rang across the desert.
Just as the battle broke out below the tunnel, everyone in the base began to move.
All non-combatants boarded the rover and stood by. Armored vehicles full of soldiers drove out of the garage and surrounded the tunnel. When the armored vehicles carrying the wounded withdrew from the tunnel, four armored vehicles formed an attack formation and drove down the tunnel.
In the middle of the tunnel, four armored vehicles engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the attacking Corruptors.
However, the acid could not only corrode spacesuits and exoskeletons, but it could even corrode the armor of the armored vehicles.
Dense white mist rose from the surface of the armor, and the green acid looked like it was boiling, with white foaming bubbles rolling. Fortunately, the armored vehicle's composite armor was still a level higher in terms of corrosion resistance. Especially after analyzing the blood vessels of the Devil Worm, the technicians of Future Heavy Industries designed a corrosion-resistant gel.
This gel would quickly condense into a high-viscosity colloid in a low-pressure environment. It could be used to repair damaged spacesuits in an emergency and effectively isolate the corrosion of organic acids. To some extent, it greatly improved the survival rate of frontline troops fighting against Martian species.
Unfortunately, the exchange of fire ended in a draw.
The Corruptors from the depths of the tunnel were like a tide. After they rushed into the tunnel, the electromagnetic pulse cannons on top of the armored vehicles never stopped firing.
High-speed bombs raged in the tunnel, accompanied by one or two high-explosive rockets from time to time. Just as the two sides fought fiercely, the damaged concrete wall finally couldn't hold on any longer, and the tunnel collapsed into several sections.
Fortunately, the armored vehicles evacuated in time and the tragedy of being buried did not occur.
"Dammit, didn't we build an ultrasonic fence?"
Hong Zewei's eyebrows twisted as he watched the armored vehicles withdraw from the tunnel on the holographic screen.
"The ultrasonic fence is only effective against Devil Worms. Obviously, we drove away the Devil Worms, and now another group of worms has occupied the nest that once belonged to them. "A researcher standing behind Hong Zewei coughed softly.
"Can you study the ultrasonic frequency to drive away this … Corruptor?" Hong Zewei asked immediately.
Project 071, which had been delayed for almost a year, was about to come to an end, but now a new variable suddenly appeared. How could he not be anxious? What worried him the most was that if these Corruptors, like Devil Worms, targeted the Mars colony …
"In theory, it is possible, but we need to understand their body structure to a certain extent." The researcher shrugged. "This requires a lot of specimens, and it is best to have a few more eggs …"
A few more eggs?
What do you think that is?
Coffee that can be refilled?
Hong Zewei smiled bitterly in his mind and continued to look at the colony outside the window.
The red desert had been replaced by alloy floors, and the newly built steel plant was spewing white mist. Green spots were faintly visible through the graphene dome of the farm … Everything in the colony was thriving, and they couldn't afford to start all over again.
If these Corruptors planned to win with numbers, it would definitely be a disaster for the almost defenseless colony on the surface.
Hong Zewei clenched his fist and released it. He reached out and clicked twice on the holographic screen and issued orders to the colony's engineering team.
"All ongoing projects stop, and all engineering teams immediately invest in the construction of the wall and surround our colony with concrete walls!"
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