Compared with the complete defense system in the New Federation, the Sherman Empire cannot be said to be slightly inferior in this area, it can only be said to be a mess.
This made Yang Luo's team, who were used to stealing things in the New Federation, somewhat uncomfortable at the moment.
"Aren't they afraid that the enemy will attack suddenly?"
Lu whispered:
//There are no gravity detection devices in the gravitational stable zone outside the star. In the airspace close to the administrative star, less than half of the networked detectors have aged to the point of being unusable.
"The radars of the patrol boats we just encountered didn't even turn on to maximum power. Through the portholes, we could see several male crew members drinking and dancing there."
"That's it!"
Yang Luo just asked: "Do you think anyone dares to fight Sherman head-on?"
Lu was immediately speechless.
At this moment, two new 'serious' chairs have been added to the Feinan's bridge.
Yang Luo was in charge of the driving area, 026 was in charge of the fire control area, and Hera temporarily sat behind the operation panel of the ship-based detector, smiling as she watched Yang Luo and Lu complain to each other.
It's been this way all the way.
The chattering virtual assistant and the maintenance man who was optimistic and cheerful but cautious in front of Yang Luo made Hera feel no sense of isolation.
After three galactic days of navigation and more than a dozen roundabout jumps, Feinan has successfully entered the star system where Zubin Star is located.
"Start planning the detection route."
Yang Luo greeted, and Lu immediately opened the three-dimensional star chart, adjusted the ratio between stars and star distances, and condensed as much details as possible of the current star system into a two-meter-diameter projection.
Yang Luo circled two planets.
"They are numbered according to their distance from the star. The nearest planet is target No. 1. It is greatly affected by stars and the detection instruments are prone to deviations."
The farthest planet No. 7 is the second target, which is relatively hidden.
"Planet 6 is a gas giant planet, and the environment inside is very harsh. We have prepared two special drones, which were launched when we passed by before. However, it will take at least ten days to complete the monitoring. There is a high probability that there will not be any there.
Insect eggs, first-order, and second-order insects cannot survive the storm of a gas giant planet."
"Except for Zubin, the other three planets are listed as the third targets and will be explored in order of priority."
026 raised his right hand.
"speak."
026 wondered: "Boss, why don't we explore Zubin?"
Yang Luo smiled and said: "There is a strict defense network on the periphery of the administrative star. Although Zubin star is lonely, the near-planet defense system is still very comprehensive."
"We have to consider the considerations of the New Federation when doing this kind of thing," Lu added. "They are unlikely to take such a huge risk. Once this place is discovered, the entire plan will be exposed."
Hera raised her hand in a decent manner: "I think the more this happens, the more we need to carefully explore Zubin."
Yang Luo asked: "Reason?"
"The steps to place the eggs are carried out by a small group of elite CIA agents."
Hera whispered:
/What the CIA is best at is all-round penetration. If they only transport female worms and not eggs, a container will not be too conspicuous.
Going against logic and taking things by surprise is also the CIA's style.
"They may create the characteristics of darkness under the lights, and although this Zubin star retains the foundation of the defense system, it itself has lost much activity and has a large uninhabited urban area."
"To detect Zubin, we have to get too close to their defense system," Lu thought carefully. "This way we will take greater risks. I suggest that we first carefully detect other planets."
Yang Luo clapped his hands and motioned the three elder sisters to look at him.
He said seriously:
I should be able to sense the Zerg when I'm close to them. In this case, we'll take a multi-pronged approach.
"Lü is responsible for driving and guarding, 026 is responsible for assisting Hera, and Hera is responsible for controlling various detection instruments. I will drive a stealth boat and perform rapid maneuvers on the surface of the planet to see if I can catch a dead mouse."
"This information was obtained by deciphering a document that was not completely deleted by the new federal CIA. The result may not be correct."
"This time, treat it as a vacation. It only lasts for twenty galactic days in total. If you don't gain anything, leave immediately."
"yes!"
Lu and 026 agreed in unison.
Hera nodded slightly to Yang Luo, put on her glasses, and began to adjust the parameters of various detection instruments.
Feinan left the back of the asteroid, looked at Zubin across the stars, and headed straight for target No. 1.
In the bridge, three women were busy dividing their labors.
026 runs around wearing a maintenance worker's large work clothes. In addition to working as a support, he also constantly brings tea, snacks and warmth to Hera.
Lu sat in the captain's seat in a decent manner, and controlled the Feinan to complete various difficult flights and avoid areas where airspace detectors might be present.
Half a day later, Yang Luo drove a small ship and galloped back and forth on the surface of target planet No. 1.
Hera constantly adjusted the nine biological detectors of various types installed on the Feinan, carefully watching the data feedback, and occasionally tried to relax her mind and use her own body to sense it.
After working continuously for more than ten hours, Yang Luo returned to the Feinan.
Target No. 1 is confirmed to be normal.
There was no feedback from the instrument, and Yang Luo and Hera didn't feel anything unusual.
The Feinan began to head towards the target planet No. 2. The three carbon-based life forms on the ship took the time to rest, and the rules worked non-stop around the clock without any blind spots.
Twelve days in a row.
The Feinan circled around in the star system, and Yang Luo flew the small ship for countless thousands of miles.
No trace of bugs.
Not only the planet itself, but also the satellites Yang Luo searched carefully.
The detection drones in the gaseous planet sent back relatively comprehensive data, but also found no traces of the Zerg.
Lu felt that maybe the coordinate point analysis was wrong, or the information itself was misleading.
The tired Hera didn't care to maintain her ladylike image, lying half in a chair with the blanket sent by 026 wrapped around her body. The dark circles under her eyes were already very obvious.
She said slowly:
"There is another possibility that our current detection methods are ineffective."
The Zerg are a very magical collective life form. Their civilization level is actually higher than the human technological civilization of the galaxy. They themselves are the most sophisticated instruments.
"According to past data, when the insect swarm is relatively fragile in the early stage, they will evolve various means to save their lives."
"/There is a connection between insect swarms, this has been proven. In the past two years, dozens of low-level insect swarms have been wiped out, and the remaining insect swarms are likely to have evolved accordingly."
"Well," Yang Luo said with a smile, "these bugs are very smart. Maybe their shells have turned into stone by now."
"026 whispered: Then do we still want to explore Zubin?"
Yang Luo crossed his arms and thought for a while.
"Let's go and investigate," Yang Luo said, "I'm here now."
"Lu smiled and said: "I knew the boss would make such a decision. We have already planned the route map. We can first hack some defense satellites, and then send small stealth ships into the planet's atmosphere. Because we cannot orbit the planet unscrupulously, we must rely on
The small stealth ship is approaching the surface, let’s change the detection method.”
Yang Luo shrugged: "I'm going to continue working hard. If I'm discovered, just turn on the particle transmission machine and pull me back."
"You can't go," Hera said suddenly.
Yang Luo blinked.
Hera would not let personal feelings affect her work. She must have her own reasons for saying this.
Hera sat up and stared at Yang Luo: "Didn't you say that? When you come into close contact with the Zerg, it will trigger a Zerg riot."
"Yes, they will most likely be afraid of me."
"There are tens of millions of people on this administrative star."
Hera said:
//If there is a swarm here, and the number 014 represents the batch of swarms planned to be sown early, and after the stimulation of the past two years, there may already be a high-level queen.
"If they are triggered to riot, it will lead to disaster. The Zerg will kill life forms that are not of its own species. This is their characteristic."
"There is no powerful imperial fleet nearby, and we cannot stop the losses in time after the disaster occurs."
Lu said aside: "I suggest giving up this operation. In this case, even if we find that there are bugs underground on Zubin, the boss will not be able to log in directly to kill the bugs, and the purpose of our coming here will not be achieved."
Hera frowned and looked at Law: "Why give up? If there are really bugs here, we can also notify the empire and save tens of millions of human lives."
Ludao: "My personal emotional tendency is naturally to save lives, but this has nothing to do with the boss's core interests. We still have to bear a lot of risks. We can find a way to let the empire dig up the planet.
On the surface, search and verify bit by bit.”
026 tried to interject: "that"
Hera said slowly: "We have the most sophisticated instruments for testing. If we don't try this, the time cost of the first half month will be completely sunk."
Lu said: "Risk estimation is part of my job. After all, Zubin is the administrative star of the Sherman Empire, and the risks that cannot be estimated are too great."
"Maybe we can try it on the outside," Hera said, "We can't just go back empty-handed."
Law: "What's the point of trying to go to the outside? If you want to detect the hidden Zerg, you must conduct detection close to the surface. The boss can't get close to the atmosphere rashly."
"You two," Yang Luo said with a smile, "can you look at the crew member No. 3 next to her who raised her hand? She has been raising her hand for a long time."
Ritsu and Hera turned to look at 026 at the same time.
Both the mechanical thinking body and the biologist have sharp eyes, as if they are asking 026 who to choose to support.
"I can go to the surface for exploration on behalf of the boss," 026 said softly, "I have been on the ship for two years. Once I meet the conditions, I will be bound to this particle transmission machine. I can transmit it back directly. I will not cause any harm to the Zerg."
reaction, and I am very familiar with the ship’s operation.”
Law and Hera nodded at the same time, both thinking this was a good idea.
Yang Luo looked at 026 hesitantly.
Is this little girl really reliable?
What makes Yang Luo very gratified is that 026, who has been training for more than two years, is now able to stand alone.
On the backside of Zubin, over an uninhabited city, the Feinan was suspended in stealth. The small stealth ship piloted by 026 had used the cover of the uninhabited city to stick to the surface and conduct a slow scan.
The two detectors mounted on the stealth ship are fully powered and continuously transmit back underground data.
On the projection screen, you can still see 026's slightly nervous round face.
Wearing a blue loose maintenance suit and a pair of white gloves, she looked like a young master operating machinery on a construction site.
Hera concentrated on analyzing the various data returned from the stealth ship;
Law is closely monitoring the planet's defense power and the gravitational changes in the outer airspace.
They were ready to abandon the small stealth ship at any time and bring 026 back to escape together.
The humming sound of 026 came from the communication channel. She seemed to be using this method to embolden herself.
Yang Luo had a rare moment of leisure and stood by the porthole, staring at the 'old' administrative star that was filled with dark clouds everywhere.
The Sherman Empire has existed for tens of thousands of galactic years. These administrative stars have also experienced more than one glory and loneliness, leaving behind a profound historical accumulation.
In the surface footage returned by the stealth boat, Yang saw a long-dead city.
Only the remains of the towering building are left. It has been standing for an unknown period of time. Except for the main structure, the rest has been weathered and looks like a lonely flagpole.
The relatively low buildings are covered with various plants, making the place look like a weird jungle.
The ground was filled with broken glass, various synthetic fiber cloths were flying everywhere, and occasionally some animal carcasses could be seen.
Why do people abandon this place?
Is it because of the dark clouds in the sky and the acid rain that falls from time to time? The harmful substances floating in the air remain high all year round?
No, these are not the main reasons. Technology can help people adapt to the environment here.
There may be only one reason why this place is gradually abandoned: the continued decline of the economy, and young people being sucked away by planets with more opportunities.
Yang turned his head and glanced, and found that Hera's brows were frowning tightly and her lips were slightly pursed.
"What's wrong?" Yang walked over slowly, with his hands behind his back, "Is there anything abnormal? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I suddenly feel a little irritable," Hera whispered. "The data is normal. No signs of life have been found in the mantle. Do you feel anything?"
Yang Luo shrugged.
Hera took off her glasses, rubbed her sleepy eyelids, and continued to stare at the screen.
Sudden.
"Boss," 026's voice suddenly sounded, "Do you want to take a look at this?"
Yang Luo looked around, and Lu immediately opened the video communication.
"Which one?"
"this!"
026 pointed the camera outside the window. A relatively complete wall was filled with figures wearing silver-gray exoskeleton armor and black tactical helmets.
White ghost.
This should have been painted in the past two years, and the weathering degree is not high.
Yang Luo shook his head and smiled: "There may be human activities here, so be careful."
"Well!" 026 quickly pointed the camera at himself, "I will continue to concentrate on my work!"
"Something's not right," Lu's projection appeared next to Yang Luo.
"What's not right?"
"Energy," Lu said softly, "This city is obviously no longer inhabited, but some of its circuits buried underground are still functioning normally, and energy transmission still exists in a small area."
Yang Luo called up an aerial view of the city below.
Lu quickly marked several coordinate points and circled the area with abnormal energy feedback.
Yang Luo's brain seemed to be hit by electricity, and he immediately thought of something.
"Law, bugs feed on radiation."
"Yes boss."
"It's not just natural stars that can provide stable radiation. The energy of stars also comes from hydrogen nuclear fusion," Yang Luo frowned, "Invade the database of this administrative star and check if they have ever had a large-scale nuclear industry here.
."
Lu was silent for more than ten seconds.
Yang Luo gradually felt uneasy.
Soon, Lu spoke again: "This planet once had many fusion nuclear fuel cell production bases for ships, but they were abandoned due to technological innovation hundreds of years ago. Logically speaking, there is no way that there will be fuel left for such a long time, unless
It was the New Federation that artificially activated some deactivated reactors, and boss, our detection instruments are mainly aimed at the depths of the earth's crust."
"Hera changed the detection target to the outer layer of the earth's crust! Law marked the locations of these abandoned factories, found these energy sources, and guided 026 to investigate!"
"Okay boss."
"clear."
The Feinan's bridge fell silent.
The small ship piloted by 026 began to move towards the location marked by Law.
Ten minutes later.
Hera's calm voice sounded first:
"There is a bioenergetic reaction in the area between 3,000 and 12,000 meters underground. It is very weak. I am adjusting the parameters. If it is a conventional detection instrument, it will not be able to capture these anomalies."
"boss!"
026 said quickly: "There are irregular cracks in some places on the ground buildings here. It seems to have collapsed downwards, but the feedback from the terrain mapper shows that there are no gaps underground. There seems to be something wrong. Boss, I found it.
The transportation hub sign of an underground mine, but the plotter reports... there is no cavity underneath."
No cavity?
Yang Luo decisively ordered: "Leave there and return to Feinan."
"Yes, boss."
Hera's expression changed slightly.
She looked up at Yang Luo, her lips trembled slightly, and she turned the screen in front of her half a turn to face Yang Luo.
Dense green dots appeared on the screen.
If the earth were 'skin', then these green dots would be the capillaries under the skin.
The number in the upper left corner of the screen keeps jumping. It has reached seven digits now, and it is still rising rapidly.
"Obviously, in order to avoid detection, they retreated from close to the mantle to near the surface, disguised as rock material," Hera whispered, "This planet is finished."