Chapter 25: Emergence of Dangerous Memories

C25 Zone

The meteorites hadn't even touched down yet, but a group of people were already panicking!

The vast electromagnetic interference zone, the intense high-temperature environment, and the geological changes calculated from the monitoring center caused Chen Wuling, Liu Xuesong, Qiao Dazhi, and the others to hold their heads in despair.

"D*mn it!""The electromagnetic interference zone is this huge?!""How are we supposed to do this?!""Exactly! The Bluebird can't even get close… Are we supposed to hike in and search for the meteorites by hand?""Are we kidding ourselves?!""We can't even get near the meteorites with the Bluebird—are we going to disassemble them by hand? D*mn!"

The group fell into a state of frustration.

Then, intense bright lights suddenly appeared in the distance.

Boom!!!

A burst of blinding light and a thunderous shockwave slammed into the Bluebird.

Luckily, the security team had already prepared. They all anchored their ships to the nearby hillside's reverse slope, avoiding the initial shockwave.

The ground began to tremble violently.

The Bluebird swayed slightly.

The chip's external sensory capabilities were completely blocked by the deafening roar, and the strong electromagnetic storm also interrupted the Bluebird's communication with the base.

This was the cause of the electromagnetic storm's spread.

On Tian Xiao's screen, the countdown was visible.

15, 14, 13...

This was the countdown to the meteorite impact.

Once the meteorites hit, it would be time for the operation to begin.

As the countdown hit zero, Chen Wuling's voice, firm and commanding, rang in everyone's ears:

"Move out!"

"Lao Liu, Lao Qiao, stay sharp! Don't get too greedy! There could be insect beasts inside the meteorites. Safety first!"

"Got it.""Stop nagging."

Liu Xuesong and Qiao Dazhi responded, their voices filled with excitement and eagerness.

Despite the severe electromagnetic interference, and the Bluebird being unable to directly enter the heart of the impact crater, their enthusiasm didn't wane. To them, every meteorite was money in the bank.

"Tian Xiao."

"You'll pilot the Bluebird, responsible for the outer reconnaissance!"

Chen Wuling gave the order.

Tian Xiao understood; it was a precaution given that it was his first time handling a meteorite event.

"Understood!"

Tian Xiao responded promptly.

The Bluebird ascended into the sky.

The aircrafts numbered 28, 17, and 22 separated quickly, forming a fan-shaped pattern as they closed in on the outskirts of the meteorite impact zone.

Meanwhile, the other three Bluebirds, belonging to another team, were also approaching the smoking meteorite pit.

Tian Xiao continued his ascent.

His task was to monitor the entire meteorite crater's dynamics.

Although the chips couldn't detect the interior of the crater, since the chip was embedded in his body, Tian Xiao could analyze the retinal feedback from his eyes through independent channels.

He now saw himself as a tool, providing analytical data to Qinglong.

Soon, Qinglong had successfully reconstructed the images of the meteorite impacts and was analyzing them without any obstruction.

But then...

As Tian Xiao continued observing, an unsettling feeling crept over him.

The scene before him felt strangely familiar.

He seemed to have seen it somewhere before.

The arrangement of the more than three hundred meteorites after impact.The layout of the meteorite crater.The twisted, disfigured terrain following the catastrophic geological destruction.

It seemed...

He had seen this before.

Tian Xiao furrowed his brows, confusion mounting.

At that moment, the six Bluebirds landed. Chen Wuling and the others, fully armed and equipped, exited their craft, moving in perfect tactical formation as they advanced into the meteorite pit, heading towards the marked meteorites.

Tian Xiao dared not lose focus. He guided the Bluebird along the magnetic interference zone's edge, uploading real-time data to the monitoring center.

...

"...""Communications are restored.""Real-time data upload from the target area is proceeding.""Chen Wuling's team is entering the meteorite pit to carry out the mission."

"Well done."

Old Lu, while reporting, couldn't help but praise:

"This kid seems to understand everything."

In fact, it wasn't just Old Lu who realized that Tian Xiao was performing the most crucial task of uploading data. The six security personnel in charge of maintaining communication with the monitoring center—Luo Fei, Wu Hao, and the others—understood that Tian Xiao's actions were compensating for the electromagnetic interference and ensuring that the base and the front line remained connected.

Luo Fei now wore a confident expression, reassured that everything was under control.

On the main screen, as Chen Wuling's team neared the outermost meteorites and began analyzing them, small meteorites were quickly identified and marked as safe.

After landing, the meteorites had shrunk in size—no larger than ten meters, with some as small as a basketball.

The safe meteorites were marked in green.

The mission was progressing smoothly.

However...

After completing a full aerial inspection, Tian Xiao made a startling discovery.

He finally remembered where he had seen this scene before.

The meteorite event had been under the responsibility of the security team. Back then, as a miner, he hadn't had any chance to contact or learn about the event or the imagery.

However, after joining the security team and before being assigned to his first meteorite fall event, he had undergone special training with other recruits.

During that training, he had seen several meteorite fall cases.

One of the slides showed a scene identical to what he was witnessing now.

That meteorite fall event had resulted in at least two security personnel losing their lives, and in the subsequent six months, dozens of miners had gone missing, which eventually became a painful lesson for the Feiying Corporation. It was turned into a mandatory lesson for all security personnel.

The memory began to clear.

Tian Xiao felt a cold sweat running down his back.

Two people had died!

If it hadn't been for his presence, another security team member would have likely replaced him in this mission.

Tian Xiao grew tense.

The six people currently operating in the meteorite pit were all under Luo Fei's command!

If any two of them died, it would be a huge blow to Luo Fei.

Tian Xiao and Luo Fei had a good relationship from their previous lives, and now, with Luo Fei's sponsorship and Tian Xiao having obtained the H3 Citizen Chip in advance, both out of duty and affection, he couldn't just stand by and let anything happen to his brothers.

He had to do something.

Memory!

Tian Xiao started to recall everything he had seen in the case, forcing himself to remember the details bit by bit.

The culprits behind the deaths of the two security personnel had been insect beasts.

The cause of the disappearance of dozens of miners was also insect beasts.

The reason was...

A meteorite over ten meters in diameter had crashed into a deep pit and disappeared beyond the monitoring range, going undetected.

But after all the meteorites had been marked as safe, the insect beasts were discovered.

The insect beasts attacked the security personnel.

Caught off guard, the personnel were dragged away, their bodies shredded beyond recognition.

As a result...

Feiying Corporation launched a comprehensive investigation.

"The key point was a meteorite that was missed."

"The largest meteorite is missing."

Tian Xiao grasped the critical clue.

"Qinglong!"

"Immediately analyze all the predicted meteorite impact locations and compare them with the current meteorites!"

With a command, Qinglong began its analysis.