Facts proved that Hong Zewei's choice was correct.
In the second week after the Corruptors' nest was discovered at Mine 071, more than five hundred Celestial Trade Marines stationed nearby had to abandon the base of operations and evacuate from Mine 071.
These insects were very smart. They knew that going up from the tunnel was equivalent to ramming their heads into the muzzle of the Celestial Trade Marines, so they used the tunnel left by the Devil Worms to go around the side of the base of operations and launched a surprise attack.
If HMS Expedition had not been monitoring the life signals in the area around Mine 071, they would have been caught off guard by the Corruptors when they discovered that something was wrong when the Zerg had crawled five kilometers underground and notified the garrison in the base to withdraw from the Corruptors' encirclement in time, they might have been caught off guard.
Fortunately, these Corruptors were not as sensitive to sound waves as the Devil Worms. Five hundred soldiers and the stationed engineering team were able to retreat from the base of operations without any mishap.
The specimens captured from the tunnel were also brought back to the base.
Although it was not easy, the Celestial Trade Marines managed to get a few.
In addition to more than a dozen specimens that were more than 80% intact, they also obtained four larvae!
For the Mars colony that lacked specimens, the four larvae were undoubtedly a pleasant surprise.
The four Corruptor larvae were stored in different large glass enclosures in separate isolation rooms.
The smallest was only the size of an adult's palm, and the largest was almost the size of a washbasin. They were like a miniature version of the Corruptors, except they did not spit venom. Unlike Devil Worm larvae, the small size did not weaken their aggressiveness at all. Instead, it made them more dangerous and deadly!
The researcher tried to put a bull and the Corruptor larvae into a glass enclosure at the same time. As a result, in less than a second, the Corruptor larvae grabbed the bull's head and pierced its head with its tail. In the process of eating, the Corruptor larvae showed an amazing digestive ability and devoured half a bull in just three days.
In these three days, its size almost doubled, from the size of a palm to a full half meter high, and it could already spit a small amount of corrosive acid from its mouth.
At this rate, with sufficient organic matter, it would grow to the size of the Corruptors outside in less than half a month.
"Twenty babies can be born in one litter, and each one is only as big as a washbasin … God, can you imagine that? This thing can grow to this size in adulthood! " The researcher in a white coat kept shaking his head. "The experimental environment here is too simple. We must immediately send the specimen back to Celestial City for research."
"How long will it take for them to reach adulthood?" Looking at the restless little guys in the glass cover, Hong Zewei frowned.
"I don't know." The researcher shook his head and looked at the bull skeleton inside the glass cover. "This one can't be used as a reference. There shouldn't be enough organic matter underground for them to develop. Sample No. 3 consumed the oxygen-producing bacteria, and its growth rate was only about one-tenth of its speed. "
"Just how many more bugs are hiding in this damned desert?" Hong Zewei cursed.
"I don't know if you have noticed." The researcher pondered for a moment and said, "Every time we encounter a new problem, it's because of Mine 071 … I'm very curious as to what's buried underneath Mine 071."
Hong Zewei paused for a moment, then he frowned and fell into deep thought.
However, at this moment, the alarm from the broadcast on the wall interrupted his thoughts.
Hong Zewei looked up at the broadcast on the wall and immediately rushed to the door of the institute.
…
The alarm rang in the colonial cabin, and the entire colony was in a frenzy.
At this moment, the Celestial Trade Marines showed their combat skills. In less than half a minute, the fully equipped soldiers rushed into the front door, opened the storage box, and took out their equipment.
Zhang Hai inserted the clip and loaded the Gauss rifle in his hand.
"What happened out there?" The white woman with curly hair stepped forward and tried to stop Zhang Hai. She asked in broken Chinese, "There are other things outside besides the Devil Worms, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have built a wall … "
"No comment." Zhang Hai replied coldly. He buckled the last button of the tactical helmet, pushed the UA woman away, and jogged to the buffer cabin with the rifle.
The woman still wanted to say something, but she was stopped by Braith who was standing next to her.
"Enough, Jenny, calm down first." Braith looked at his teammate and shook his head.
"But …" Jenny looked at the captain anxiously. "They must be hiding something from us! I had this hunch when they built the wall, now — "
"Yes, they are hiding something from us." Braith shook his head, and there was a hint of helplessness and self-mockery in his smile. "Don't forget that we're now living under someone else's roof. If you continue to interrogate them, we might even lose our right to call home every month."
The Caucasian woman named Jenny immediately shut her mouth and stopped talking. She looked at Braith with a stiff expression and nodded after a while. She lowered her gaze with a somewhat dejected expression and said.
"I understand."
"It's good that you understand," Braith said emotionlessly as he looked at the back of the soldiers.
He only hoped to go home safely.
He hoped that Celestial Trade's troubles would not affect the "poor people".
…
Outside the colony, the Corruptors rushed out from the tunnels behind the sand dunes one after another and rushed to the wall of the colony, forming a black swarm of insects.
Zhang Hai's front foot just stepped on the alloy floor outside the colonial cabin, and the commander's voice rang in his ears.
"The insect swarm is approaching, immediately take your people to the wall!"
"Roger." Zhang Hai looked at the coordinates of the defense area sent to the holographic map, then he pressed his hand on the helmet and switched to the team channel. "Attention all personnel, immediately go to the wall defense area. Open the safety and fire at will! "
"Roger!"
The armored vehicles rushed from the slope to the shooting platform on the wall, and the muzzle at the top was aimed at the insects that rushed up like a tide, unleashing a torrent of firepower.
After rushing to the wall, Zhang Hai gestured to the comrades next to him, then leaned behind the corrosion-resistant alloy plate that served as a bunker, and fired back.
These insects were very smart, at least their brains were more flexible than Devil Worms.
The formation of their charge was very loose, and they surrounded in waves, which effectively reduced the accuracy of Celestial Trade's rifles and machine guns. While charging, some of the insects were responsible for spitting acid, and the rest of the insects tacitly charged under the cover of the acid.
From time to time, a soldier's face was smeared with acid, and they had to be taken to a safe place for treatment by medics.
Zhang Hai dodged a string of acid, gritted his teeth, and raised his rifle. He gave the last few bullets in the magazine to the annoying insect, then took the magazine from his comrade and inserted it into the rifle.
Looking at the swarm of insects that continued to rush out from behind the sand dunes, his eyebrows twisted together, and he cursed in a low voice.
"Fu * k, where did these bugs come from …"
He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he felt as if an eye was staring at them.
Every time they made progress at Mine 071, trouble would come to them.
Coincidence?
He didn't think so.
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