NABC Chapter 55 Something's Wrong
Chapter 55 Something's Wrong
The shelter has three underground floors, and the original storage rooms have now been converted into a temporary tactical intelligence center.
Dozens of monitors covered an entire wall, filled with dense static and flickering green data streams.
The air was filled with the burnt smell of overheated electronic components, and the angry roar of Gamma-9.
"Number 74! Number 74 has disconnected again!"
Gamma-9 slammed the wrench on the table, making the water glass next to him shake violently.
"Who the hell was in charge of unit 74? I just went to the restroom, and who drove unit 74 into the high-voltage distribution box?!"
A young oilman apprentice huddled in a corner, clutching the control lever, trembling with fear.
"Mentor... Mentor, not me, it's the Machine Soul... The Machine Soul itself wants to taste the flavor of that electric spark..."
"fart!"
Gamma-9 was so angry that its one eye almost popped out.
"That's because you didn't calm its logic circuits down in time! It was a short circuit, not the machine spirit feeding!"
Ever since Andy deployed five hundred "Black Spirit" stealth servo spiders into the sewer network of Middle Nest Sector 9, Gamma-9 and his crew haven't had a full night's sleep.
These reconnaissance robots, only the size of a fist and with six legs, are advanced and have an automatic cruise mode, but the environment they face is simply too harsh.
The sewers of Zhongchao not only contain a large number of industrial equipment that have been carelessly discarded, but also highly toxic corrosive gases, radioactive wastewater, and even mutated rats that are larger than cats.
Just now, Gamma-9 watched helplessly as a black spider on the screen was carried away by a two-headed rat, and the screen instantly went black.
This is not just the loss of a scouting node, but also the loss of a sacred asset entrusted to them by the Sage Andy.
The loss of each Black Spider felt like a knife to the heart of Gamma-9.
Therefore, their work is very demanding now.
In addition to constantly monitoring these hundreds of images and preventing the Black Spirit Spiders from causing damage, they also had to manually piece together the fragmented information transmitted back by these little guys.
For example, this black spider saw the left side of the corridor, while that one saw the right side.
Gamma-9 and his team had to stitch these two images together in their minds and then mark them on a huge holographic map, showing where Helios's sentinels were, where the blind spots of the automated turrets were, and where the entrance to the starship wreckage was.
This work is extremely tedious, and there is no room for the slightest mistake.
If the marking is wrong, Andy and his men will infiltrate and run into a heavily armed security team around the corner, and they'll be finished.
"Everyone, perk up!"
Gamma-9 forced himself to drink a large gulp of a low-quality engine oil-mixed beverage to stay awake.
"Switch the view from area D to me!"
"The Sage said that Zone D is crucial; even a fly flying by must be recorded!"
The apprentices frantically operated the control panel.
The largest screen in the middle flickered a few times, and then the picture became clear.
The live feed transmitted by three Black Spiders hiding behind the louvers of the ventilation ducts was directed at the wide starship landing deck in Sector D, the entrance that the Helios Group had previously attempted to storm.
Gamma-9 stared intently, preparing to record the enemy's troop deployment and firepower configuration.
However, the next second, he froze.
The wrench in his hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," hitting his own toes without him even noticing.
"This...this isn't right?"
Gamma-9 pressed its face against the screen, and the aperture in its single eye contracted rapidly.
The footage showed no gunfire, no laser beams intertwined in a web of fire, and no trace of the previous fierce charge.
Several Leman Russ main battle tanks painted with the "Iron Skull" mercenary group logo were reversing.
Their massive cannons were no longer pointed at the starship's entrance, but instead hung down, even covered with dust shields.
Engines roared, tracks kicked up dust, and these behemoths were orderly withdrawing from their combat positions.
Beside the tanks, groups of Helios security soldiers were busy dismantling bunkers, not building them.
Several twin-mounted heavy logging guns, which had just been set up, were removed from their tripods and loaded into transport containers.
The boxes of ammunition that were originally piled up were also reloaded onto trucks by the movers.
Even the searchlights used for illumination were turned off by half, and workers were recycling cables.
The entire frontline position in Zone D is becoming empty at a visible speed.
"Why did those people leave?"
Gamma-9 felt its brain was a bit overloaded.
Logically speaking, the Helios Group would risk their lives for that black box and the engine.
They were fighting fiercely just a few days ago, so why did they suddenly stop today?
Could it be a trap?
A strategy to lure the enemy deep into our territory?
Gamma-9 dared not be careless. He immediately grabbed the communicator on the table and pressed the button to connect directly to Andy's core studio.
"Sage! Whatever you are doing right now, please come to the command center immediately!"
"The people of Helios...it seems they've stopped fighting!"
……
Ten minutes later.
Andy, dressed in a bright yellow modified robe, strode into the command center.
He still smelled of machine oil, clearly having just been hand-making parts in the workshop.
"What happened?"
Andy walked straight to the big screen.
Gamma-9 pointed to the image on the screen, his tone urgent:
"Look, sir."
"Helios' heavy units began to retreat half an hour ago."
"Even the infantry defense line is shrinking now. The large force that was originally blocking the entrance to Sector D is now reduced to less than two platoons on guard."
Andy crossed his arms and quietly watched the screen.
In the footage, Helios's retreat was very orderly, without any signs of panic.
Tanks provided alternating cover, supplies were packed up and taken away, and even a lot of shell casings on the ground were recovered.
Although Helios has indeed suffered heavy losses in the past few days, this is clearly not a rout, but more like a strategic retreat.
"Have they backed down?" an apprentice muttered quietly.
"No, they've probably gotten smarter."
Andy sneered:
"The Helios Group is, after all, a business, not a charity."
"The previous offensive suffered huge losses. They poured in tens or hundreds of billions of dollars and didn't even make a sound. Their higher-ups must be feeling the pinch."
"Moreover, the starship's main control AI is too fierce; conventional firepower simply can't break through it."
"If we continue like this, we'll only deplete their resources."
Andy stretched out his hand and drew a large circle on the holographic map.
This circle did not enclose the entrance to Zone D, but extended far to the outer boundary of Zone 9.
"I guess they're thinking, since we can't break through, we'll just surround the area."
"They're going to turn this place into a giant prison, cut off the power, cut off the signal, and trap that crazed master AI inside."
"Then we'll just have to wait. I guess they'll have to bring in even stronger heavy firepower from somewhere else."
"Of course, this is just my guess. If they have any other plans, I don't know..."
"Hiss," Andy suddenly realized something, "that's not right."
Now that they have withdrawn their main force, it means that there is now a regulatory vacuum in Zone D.
Although the starship's main AI is powerful, she must have let her guard down now that she has repelled the enemy.
Moreover, although Helios's blockade is being established, it will take time to completely close it.
This is a golden opportunity to snag a bargain!