Chapter 26: The Emergence of the Insect Beasts
At an astonishing pace of five calculations per second, totaling billions of calculations, Qinglong had already completed the task of cross-referencing the positions of all the meteors—both their current locations and those predicted earlier. The result was almost a perfect match, confirming the accuracy of the calculations.
However, two meteors—one large and one small—had gone missing. Their whereabouts were now unknown.
Qinglong promptly calculated the impact locations and trajectories of the two meteors, marking them in bright red and sending the data to a heavily collapsed pit.
"I've found you!" Tian Xiao squinted slightly.
The meteors, carrying the insect beasts, could alter their course due to the creatures' movement and influence inside, leading to deviations in their landing points. The seismic activity caused by the meteor's fall and the interference from the magnetic storms made it difficult for the surveillance center to track them effectively.
This wasn't a coincidence.
It was the insect beasts' intentional maneuver.
In other words, these two meteors were their targets!
Tian Xiao's alertness shot up instantly.
The Qingniao (Bluebird) maintained its flight altitude and speed, with its six-barrel Gatling gun silently extending from the cabin, pointing towards the collapsed area that had been hit by the meteor.
Tian Xiao didn't take immediate action.
The most dangerous insect beasts were the ones that couldn't be seen.
Now buried under the rock layers, the insect beasts were out of the reach of both the machine cannon and the Gatling gun.
To deal with the insect beasts, the first task was to neutralize the interference caused by the magnetic storm.
Chen Wuling and his team were already on the move.
While conducting a safety inspection of the meteors, they were also identifying those containing magnetic storm interference.
Meteors that carried magnetic storm interference often had their own magnetic fields.
Since their size was small, the strength of the magnetic fields was limited.
The simplest solution was to destroy these meteors and disrupt their internal structures, which would swiftly eliminate the effects of the magnetic storm.
As Chen Wuling approached one of the meteors, he noticed that the arrangement of sand and stones on the ground seemed slightly unusual. Grabbing a handful of dust, he tossed it into the air.
The dust fell in an arc, scattering in a peculiar pattern...
This scene was immediately captured by both Tian Xiao and the surveillance center.
Chen Wuling raised his gun, gesturing toward the Qingniao. Then, he squeezed the trigger.
Da-da-da!!
A burst of gunfire hit the meteor.
The intent was clear.
Chen Wuling's order was unmistakable—use the machine gun to destroy the meteor.
Tian Xiao had already simulated the firing trajectory, and the six-barrel Gatling gun began to spin.
Chen Wuling decisively retreated fifty meters.
Vroom!
The Qingniao roared through the air, spewing fire from its barrels.
The powerful machine gun bullets formed two fiery trails that converged on a single point, unleashing tremendous force, easily shattering the meteor's outer shell.
Fragments of rock scattered everywhere.
The meteor cracked open from the middle, then exploded violently.
At the surveillance center, the personnel who witnessed this were stunned.
It wasn't unheard of to use a heavy machine gun to destroy a meteor, but to do so so easily was rare.
Still, they didn't pay much attention.
The internal structure of meteors varied—some were tough, while others were relatively fragile. It was not something that could be generalized.
Once the first meteor exploded and its internal structure was damaged, Old Lu at the surveillance center quickly realized that the previously continuous area of magnetic storm interference now had a gap.
"Good."
"Continue!"
Luo Fei, in a good mood, immediately gave orders: "Find and destroy all meteors with magnetic storm interference, then send Chen Wuling and the team to carry out the mission with Qingniao."
The Qingniao also had mechanical arms capable of dismantling and transporting the mineral resources inside the meteors.
These meteors were about to be safely secured.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Just as the first meteor was destroyed, the main screen of the surveillance center suddenly lit up with a red glow, and the camera swiftly focused on the collapsed pit in the center.
Amid the scattered debris, several grayish creatures, resembling fierce beasts, suddenly leaped out. Like fast-moving lizards, they scurried quickly through the rough terrain, silently closing in on the nearby security personnel.
These insect beasts had obviously been lurking for some time.
They emerged from a very strategic location.
Positioned on the edge of the collapsed pit, their distance from the security personnel was no more than 500 meters, and the rocky terrain provided plenty of cover for them to move undetected.
Vroom!
Vroom!
Insect beasts detected!
Insect beasts infiltrating!
The base's surveillance center, through the data sent by Qingniao, detected the moving invaders and immediately issued a red alert.
The harsh alarm shook everyone to the core.
Luo Fei's face went pale. He leaned forward and shouted sternly, "Tian Xiao!"
"Immediately intercept the insect beasts!"
"Alert them!!"
Wu Hao, Tie Xiong, and Zhao Jia looked at each other, their eyes filled with intense excitement.
Insect beasts!
The meteor fall had indeed brought the insect beasts!
This was their chance!
If something happened to Chen Wuling's team, Luo Fei would lose his trusted subordinates, undermining his authority and influence within the security team!
Moreover...
While they could contact Tian Xiao, who was piloting the Qingniao, Tian Xiao was still a newcomer with no experience dealing with insect beasts.
Also, the communication between Tian Xiao and Chen Wuling's team could not be established through signals.
The only way to alert them was through gunfire.
The insect beasts were fast!
By the time Luo Fei had shouted, the six insect beasts had already covered two hundred meters, and they were now less than three hundred meters away from the six security personnel.
Due to the magnetic storm interference, the monitoring center's chip alerts couldn't be transmitted to the frontline security personnel in time.
Chen Wuling and the five other personnel, unaware of the approaching danger, continued to inspect the meteor, their assault rifles hanging loosely by their sides.
The insect beasts, like venomous snakes in the darkness, were closing in on their prey.
The H-series insect beasts were evenly matched against H-level human soldiers in combat.
But at close range, these creatures' speed, claws, and their natural ability to spray high-temperature corrosive fluids could easily destroy a small team before they even had a chance to react.
Now, the six insect beasts were silently closing in on the six security personnel.
Even Luo Fei did not believe that Chen Wuling's team could survive.
The insect beasts' strength far surpassed that of ordinary beasts!
At close range, they would tear through the combat suits of human soldiers and drag their bodies underground to be used as nourishment for their eggs.
"Captain, let me lead a team to support them!" Wu Hao suggested again.
At that moment, the long-overlooked Qingniao on the main screen began to fire at high speed. The six-barrel Gatling guns roared to life, and four blazing lines of fire suddenly snapped everyone's attention back to the screen.