1275 Corruptors
Celestial City, the gravity-free section of the dock.It was the midst of the ceremony of the Envoy-cla.s.s stars.h.i.+p, however, Jiang Chen, who was speaking to Kelvin, showed a gradually tense expression.
“…the Marines we sent underground were attacked by unknown Martian creatures…not the Devil Worms. Three Marines were killed, two soldiers and a researcher were seriously injured.” Kelvin took a deep breath and transferred a video file to Jiang Chen’s phone. “This is the recording of the battle.”
[Transfer completed]
Jiang Chen checked behind him to ensure that no one was around before he clicked play.
In the picture, Celestial Marines were engaged in a fierce exchange of fire against the Martian creatures that suddenly appeared.
A Marine soldier grabbed a researcher’s back while he used a Gaussian rifle to return fire.
The Martian creature that was. .h.i.t screamed in pain as green blood splattered. It tried to dodge to the side while also creating s.p.a.ce of its kind. At the same time, it sprayed corrosive acid with its menacing giant mouth.
The intensity of the battle made the video extremely shaky.
Jiang Chen suddenly pressed the pause b.u.t.ton.
The picture was fixed on the giant, terrifying mouth.
Jiang Chen zoomed in, then zoomed in further before he fixed his sight on the creature.
Powerful feet, long tail with barbs, a fusiform-shaped head, arms extended forward and sharp claws; the appearance of the creature looked explosive and lethal. The crustaceans on its back were lined up like a heavy cavalry armor.
All of a sudden, Jiang Chen’s pupils shrank.
He felt like the appearance looked familiar.
Not from the apocalypse, nor in the memory of the Gaia civilization.
It came from the memory of Gliese 581g!
Yes, that’s right!
The bugs that first fought with the Brahma looked exactly like this!
But why?
Jiang Chen’s head was filled with countless questions.
He did not understand why the opponent that the Harmony civilization once faced, now appeared on Mars.
After some careful thought, the way the Devil Worms attacked was almost identical to the bugs that sieged the Brahma colonists. The only difference may be that the bug Brahma encountered was bigger than the Devil Worm, and its back was dotted with a quartz sh.e.l.l…
A coincidence?
But it was too similar.
Jiang Chen frowned as he tried to piece the puzzle together.
Kelvin saw that Jiang Chen did not respond, so he tried to get an answer.
“President?”
Kelvin’s voice reminded Jiang Chen that he was still on the call.
No longer stuck in his thoughts, Jiang Chen turned off the holographic screen, and immediately ordered.
“Wait for me at the command center. I will come over immediately.”
“Yes.”
Jiang Chen hung up the phone and returned to the dock to quickly inform Wu Changfeng and the other people at the boarding entrance about his early departure. Then, he rushed to the command center for Project 071.
When he arrived, everyone in the command room was running in circles.
Jiang Chen walked next to Kelvin and asked with a sense of urgency.
“How is the situation on the front line?”
“It’s not optimistic… We have a drilling rig stuck underground. Fortunately, the people inside the rig has been evacuated in time. The seriously injured researcher is still in critical condition, another seriously injured researcher is now in stable condition,” Kelvin responded as his expression looked tense and serious.
Jiang Chen nodded and then asked.
“What about the situation inside the tunnel?”
“The tunnel is currently occupied by the unknown Martian creature. We are building a database for this creature… Yes, what should we name this monster? Do you have any ideas?” Kelvin asked.
“…just call them the Corruptors.”
“Corruptors? The name seems fitting since they do spit out highly corrosive acids which can corrupt anything.” After a pause, there was a look of disbelief on Kelvin’s face. “The most amazing thing is their eggs can explode when irritated by external stimuli, and the explosion is not weak either…”
“How powerful is the explosion?” Jiang Chen asked.
“Close to half a ton of TNT, with corrosive damage. This can have miraculous effects in a small and confined s.p.a.ce,” Kelvin said.
Half a ton of TNT?
The number was not daunting, but just like Kelvin had said, it would be surprisingly effective inside a tight corridor
More importantly, the target area was too close to the ruins of the Gaia civilization. In order to avoid damage to the remains, even dealing with the eggs must be exercised with caution, let alone thinking about the possibility of using powerful missiles.
…
The alarm rang at Mine 071 on the desert.
The moment the battle broke out in the tunnel, the people in the entire operation base moved.
All the non-combatants boarded the Mars rover for orders. Fully-loaded armored vehicles rolled out from the garage and moved toward the tunnel. When the armored vehicle carrying the wounded left the tunnel, an attack formation formed by four armored vehicles headed into the tunnel.
In the middle of the tunnel, the attack formation engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the Corruptors who attacked back.
However, the acids not only could corrode through s.p.a.cesuits and aeros.p.a.ce exoskeletons, but they even corroded through the vehicle armor.
A white mist formed on the surface of the armor, and the green acid seemed to be boiling as white bubbles formed. Fortunately, the composite armor was still superior in being corrosion resistant. Especially after a.n.a.lyzing the blood vessels of Devil Worms, the scientists at Future Heavy Industries designed a corrosion-resistant gel.
The gel could quickly condense into a high-viscosity colloid in a low-pressure environment. It could be used to repair a damaged s.p.a.cesuit in an emergency, effectively s.h.i.+elding the corrosion of organic acids, and to a certain extent greatly improve the survivability of front-line forces against Martian species.
But unfortunately, the battle ended in a draw.
The Corruptors in the depths of the tunnel were like floods. After the vehicles entered the tunnel, the electromagnetic pulse cannons on top of the armor vehicles did not stop for a single moment.
The high-speed projectiles caused havoc in the tunnel, accompanied by rocket explosions from time to time. While the exchange of fire happened between the two sides, the broken concrete wall finally gave in and the tunnel collapsed into several sections.
Fortunately, the armored vehicles evacuated in time and prevented any further tragedies.
“DAMMIT, did we not build an ultrasonic fence?”
Hong Zewei frowned as he looked into his holographic screen.
“The ultrasonic fence is only effective against Devil Worms. It is clear that we have driven away Devil Worms, and now another group of bugs have occupied the nest that once belonged to them,” a scientist coughed first, then responded to Hong Zewei.
“Can you figure out the ultrasonic frequency that gets rid of these… Corruptors?” Hong Zewei immediately asked.
With Project 071 dragging on for almost a year and was finally about to come an end, the sudden unexpected change made him extremely irritated. He was most concerned about the possibility that the Corruptors would behave like Devil Worms and target the colony…
“It’s feasible in theory, but it requires us to understand their body structure to a certain degree.” The scientist shrugged. “It takes a lot of specimens, and it’s even better to have a few eggs…”
Even better to have a few eggs?
What do you think this is?
Free refill for coffee?
Hong Zewei bitterly smiled in his mind and turned his sight to the colony outside his window.
The red desert had been replaced by alloy flooring, the new steel factory was pumping out white mist, and the graphene dome on the farm had a green sheen that was faintly visible. The colony was growing; they could not accept another rebuild.
If these Corruptors intend to win in numbers, it would definitely be a disaster for the almost undefended colony on the surface.
His clenched fists loosened as Hong Zewei clicked on the holographic screen twice and ordered the engineering team.
“All ongoing projects must be stopped. All engineering teams immediately commence wall construction. We will surround our colony with concrete walls!”