Bardi halted in place. The fiery red flas surrounding his body from high-speed flight extinguished in an instant, stopping as effortlessly as a thought. The sudden stillness created a shockwave of dazzling light.
The high-frequency giant blade sliced past his nose with a piercing "zzz" sound. The razor-sharp azure edge emitted a hot, oscillating hum.
"Transforming combinational machinery..."
Bardi looked up at the 3,500-ter-tall chanical jellyfish with surprise. This level of technological strength further elevated his understanding of Brainiac's scientific prowess. An entire space base was a single, transformable war fortress. It was excessive. No—generous.
It felt like the universe had delivered technology to his doorstep.
"Initiating individual biological data collection."
"Extracting database, targeting Kryptonian-variant organism."
"Energy level... Unknown."
"Biological cell strength... Unknown."
"Destruction capability... Planetary-level. Subject is capable of planetary-scale destruction."
"Subject has collection value."
"Final directive of the sentinel: Collect and analyze combat data, transmit across space-ti."
At the core of the chanical jellyfish, the sentinel control system imdiately launched Brainiac's collection protocol. Once it determined Bardi's combat data held value, it initiated long-range transmission. The term "final" was used because the sentinel's probability analysis estimated a 99.9999% chance of destruction—either self-initiated or forced.
This triggered the final protocol. The base would now attack at full capacity to extract all possible data for Brainiac before being lost.
The tentacles went berserk, writhing across space like a sea of chanical serpents. At the ends, weapons manifested in all forms, striking wildly at Bardi.
High-frequency blades, laser beams, matter-decomposition rays, ionized plasma blasts, shrink-rays, pulse cannons—an all-out swarm of chaos bombarded Bardi. Dozens of tentacles boxed him into a confined zone, alternating between real and feint attacks.
Bardi's eyes lit up. The more he saw, the more delighted he beca. He weaved between the tentacles, dancing through the storm of strikes.
He had long wanted to transform the Emperor Building into a giant mobile Gundam-like structure. But due to limitations in materials, hardware, and technology, he could never complete such a feat.
But now—this tal jellyfish was a godsend. With this space-combinational design, he could implent a mobile orbital base.
Once modified and established in space, this chanical base could fire surface-targeting lasers. With a single command, he wouldn't need to act personally. The system could vaporize entire nations from orbit.
Bardi had already decided: this jellyfish would beco his. He envisioned repurposing it into a three-kiloter-tall Gundam.
Who didn't have hobbies these days?
He imagined commanding a 3,000-ter Gundam in the stars. And if Brainiac's technology could be harnessed, he could produce a fleet of super Gundams, planet-sized Gundams—even sun-sized war machines—sweeping across the galaxy. Just the thought thrilled him.
A laser beam sizzled past his cheek, brushing his skin with warmth.
Thud...
A tal tentacle as thick as a pipeline slashed toward him. Bardi caught it with his hand, emitting a dull, vibrating ring.
He held the severed tentacle, frowning with regret.
This machine already felt like his. He didn't want to damage it. He cherished it, reluctant to destroy even a part of it.
But the attacks intensified. The tentacles surged again, swarming Bardi like a tidal wave. Support beams, missiles, particle streams—fireworks of destruction lit up the void of space.
The tentacles moved like wild seaweed, attacking in relentless waves, all to provoke Bardi into revealing more combat data.
Yet Bardi, like a nimble fish, darted through them unhard. Not a single strike landed.
Still, Bardi frowned. The sheer number of attacks was wearing down the base's energy. He didn't want to damage this precious creation, but the machine refused to stop.
The only attacks capable of harming him were the shrink-ray and matter-decomposition beams. Even then, hitting him was next to impossible.
And even if they did, the damage would be minimal. Bardi's body could now only be injured by weapons on the level of star-destroyer cannons or antimatter blasts. This base's arsenal was too weak.
Activating telescopic and microscopic vision, Bardi peered through the layers of tal. His line of sight pierced to the center, where the green humanoid sentinel stood connected by dozens of cables.
Boom!
Bardi stopped dodging and charged straight into the chanical jellyfish's central core. Countless tentacles tried to block him. He smashed through them, sparks flying with each blow.
He wanted to keep the base intact, but the reckless attack patterns were draining its energy reserves. Any further delay risked irreversible damage.
Lasers rained down. Among them, shrink-rays and decomposition beams struck Bardi's chest.
In an instant, his body shrank to the size of an ant. From this distorted perspective, the jellyfish lood even larger.
Bardi felt his body overtaken by strange particles, compressing him uniformly. But within monts, he consud the shrinking energy, neutralized the effect, and reverted to full size.
With renewed speed, he barreled toward the jellyfish's core.
He tore through the chanical shell, smashing through layers of cold alloy and robotic units. Tentacles pursued like a horde of serpents. Bardi reached the central control unit.
"Data transmission… complete."
The sentinel opened its green eyelids and looked at Bardi, expressionless.
Without hesitation, Bardi plunged his fingers into the sentinel's black eyes. Green fluid sprayed, and he ripped out the chip from its brain.
The chip sparked, burned black, and disintegrated, releasing the stench of scorched circuitry.
All at once, the jellyfish's tentacles went limp. The machine ceased functioning, floating weightless in space.
Bardi's face lit up with joy. He exited the jellyfish and pushed the entire structure toward Earth. His prize.
...
Deep space, in a distant galactic system.
A colossal chanical planet floated in the dark. Its entire structure was forged of cold tal. A fortress world.
At its core, a tall green figure hung suspended, head bowed. Thick data cables connected to the back of his skull and spine.
Suddenly, Brainiac opened his pitch-black eyes. The data transmitted across space-ti finally arrived.
He lifted his head.
"A Kryptonian… different. Worth collecting."
(To be continued.)
...
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