The Emergence of Zerbeasts

With billions of calculations per second, Astra almost instantly compared the current positions of all the meteors with their previously predicted locations. The conclusion was that all predictions were nearly perfect matches.

However, one large and one small meteor were missing, their whereabouts currently unknown.

Astra immediately calculated the expected impact points and trajectories of these two meteors, marking them in bright red on the map, pointing to a severely collapsed pit area.

"Got you!"

Ryan squinted his eyes slightly.

He realized that the Zerbeasts hiding inside might have moved within the meteors, temporarily altering their trajectories and causing the deviation in their landing points.

The loud noise of the meteor fall and the interference from the magnetic storm had caused the monitoring center to overlook this.

This was not a coincidence but a deliberate result orchestrated by the Zerbeasts.

In other words, these two meteors were exactly what he was looking for!

Ryan immediately heightened his vigilance.

The Bluebird maintained its altitude and speed, with the six-barrel Gatling gun hidden in the cabin quietly extending, aiming at the area already collapsed by the meteor impact.

But he didn't rush into action.

The most dangerous enemies are often the unseen ones.

The Zerbeasts were now hiding beneath the rock layers, making it impossible for conventional cannons and Gatling guns to reach them.

To deal with the Zerbeasts, the interference from the magnetic storm had to be eliminated first.

Maughan and his team had already started moving.

While identifying and safely inspecting the meteors, they were also identifying those containing magnetic storm interference…

Meteors containing magnetic storm interference often had their own magnetic fields.

Due to their small size, the strength of these magnetic fields was very limited.

The most direct solution was to destroy these meteors, quickly eliminating the interference by disrupting their internal structures.

As Maughan approached a meteor, his years of experience allowed him to keenly detect a subtle anomaly on the ground—the arrangement of sand and stones showed a delicate pattern. He grabbed a handful of dust and threw it into the air.

The dust traced unique paths in the air before slowly falling… This scene was immediately captured by Ryan and the monitoring center. Maughan quickly stood up, raised his gun, signaled clearly to the Ryan, and then aimed at the meteor in front of him, pulling the trigger.

Rat-a-tat-tat!!

A burst of bullets fiercely struck the meteor.

His intention was clear—to destroy the meteor with the machine gun.

Ryan had already completed the attack's ballistic simulation, and the six-barrel Gatling gun began to rotate.

Maughan quickly retreated fifty meters, making space for the impending attack.

Buzz!!

The Bluebird spat fire in the air.

The powerful heavy machine gun bullets traced two lines of fire in the air, converging at a point, releasing astonishing destructive power, easily tearing apart the meteor's shell.

Debris flew everywhere.

The meteor split in the middle and quickly exploded.

In the monitoring center, everyone who witnessed this was momentarily taken aback.

Using heavy machine guns to attack meteors was not unprecedented, but it was extremely rare to see them explode so easily.

However, they were not overly surprised.

The internal structures of meteors varied greatly; some were extremely solid, while others were relatively fragile, and they couldn't be generalized.

As the first meteor exploded, its internal structure was destroyed, and Kazemi in the monitoring center quickly noticed a gap in the previously continuous magnetic storm interference area.

"Good."

"Continue!"

Carlos, in a good mood, immediately issued new orders: "Identify all meteors causing magnetic storm interference and destroy them all. Then have Maughan and his team use the Bluebird to carry out the next tasks."

The Bluebird's mechanical arms could not only perform demolition work but also transport valuable mineral resources from the meteors.

These meteor resources would soon be safely secured.

However, just as the first meteor was destroyed, the main screen in the monitoring center was suddenly occupied by a red glow, and the camera quickly focused on the central collapsed pit area.

Amidst the chaotic rocks, several dark, hideous creatures suddenly emerged. They moved swiftly and silently, like lizards darting across the desert, using the complex terrain as cover to quickly approach the nearby security personnel.

These Zerbeasts had clearly been lurking for a long time.

Their appearance was cunningly chosen at the edge of the collapsed pit area, no more than five hundred meters from the security personnel, with many rocks and pits as cover between them.

On their route, they consistently avoided the security personnel's line of sight.

The sudden alarm broke the silence of the monitoring center.

Buzz! Buzz!

The base's monitoring center, through data transmitted by the Bluebird, detected these rapidly moving intruders and automatically triggered the red alert system.

The sharp, piercing alarm tightened everyone's hearts.

Carlos's face turned pale instantly, and he leaned forward, almost shouting:

"Ryan!"

"Stop those Zerbeasts immediately!"

"Warn them quickly!"

Torres, Iron Bear, and Karim initially showed surprised expressions, but soon their eyes gleamed with eagerness:

Zerbeasts!

This meteor fall had indeed brought Zerbeasts!

This was a rare opportunity!

If Maughan and his team met with misfortune, Carlos would lose his trusted aides, and his authority and influence within the security team would be severely challenged!

Moreover…

Although they could contact Ryan, who was piloting the Bluebird, Ryan was still a novice and lacked the necessary experience to deal with creatures like Zerbeasts.

What's more troubling!

Communication between Ryan and Maughan's team was disrupted by the signal interference.

He could only fire to send a warning.

The Zerbeasts moved incredibly fast!

As Carlos anxiously shouted the order, these creatures had already advanced over two hundred meters, with the six Zerbeasts now less than three hundred meters from the six security personnel.

Due to the magnetic storm interference, the monitoring center's chip warning system couldn't directly convey the warning to the frontline task team.

Maughan and the other five security personnel, amidst the smoke, flames, and scattered rocks, were focused on analyzing the meteors in front of them, completely unaware of the impending danger.

Their assault rifles hung loosely at their waists, their alertness to the surrounding environment at its lowest.

The Zerbeasts, like predators lurking in the dark, were rapidly closing in on their prey. Even well-trained H-class human warriors couldn't guarantee victory against H-series Zerbeasts.

When the distance between enemies was reduced to the limit, the unscathed Zerbeasts would display their lightning-fast speed, sharp claws, and their innate ability to spray high-temperature corrosive liquid. In their final moments, such abilities were enough to easily destroy a small team.

At this moment, the six Zerbeasts were silently closing in on the six security personnel.

In the monitoring center, everyone, including Carlos, began to despair over Maughan and his team's fate.

The Zerbeasts' strength far exceeded that of ordinary ferocious beasts. In close combat, they could easily tear through human warriors' armor and drag the bodies back underground as nutrients for their next generation.

"Leader, let me lead a team to support them!" Torres urgently proposed again.

Just then, on the main screen, the previously overlooked Bluebird suddenly sprang into action. The two six-barrel Gatling guns began rotating and firing with a low hum, four bright lines of fire cutting through the night sky, immediately drawing everyone's attention.