“Overlord, the Riken people we captured this ti are just ordinary soldiers, with the highest rank being a sergeant. They don’t know much. All they could confirm was that the Rikens have indeed experienced several technological breakthroughs in recent years, but the specific reasons remain unknown.” Within the Swarm Network, Morgan reported to Luo Wen.
After so thought, he added, “However, they haven’t heard of any alien species. Could this an there’s no other civilization behind them? After all, if another civilization was aiding their technological advancent without showing itself, what would be the motive?”
Luo Wen shook his head and replied, “We can’t entirely rule out that possibility. The needs of civilizations vary greatly. Take the Rat Folk, for example. Ordinary Rat Folk have no idea the Swarm is lurking behind them.”
Hearing this, Morgan nodded in agreent. It made sense. Although he considered the Swarm an extrely unique existence, there was no guarantee the Rikens weren’t similarly backed by so special form of civilization.
“How about Reggie and the others? Can they deduce anything from the Rikens’ external behavior?” Luo Wen continued to ask.
“They’re relics from a century ago and are quite out of touch with the current Riken population. Solely relying on external observation, they haven’t gathered any useful information. However, they speculate that the surface bases must house higher-ranking officers who know the details. If we don’t expose too much of our strength, it’ll be challenging to prevent those officers from escaping.”
“The Infiltrators still need so ti to prepare. It seems we need a good script to keep performing for them. The cast for the first act is ready. This ti, it’s your stage, Sarah,” Luo Wen said thoughtfully.
“I will live up to your expectations, Overlord.”
—
Night was falling, and the assembly site was illuminated by towering light pillars, each over a hundred ters high. Powerful bulbs cast bright light, and with the array of lights from the construction site and the ships, the entire area remained vividly visible even in darkness.
“Stay alert, everyone. The analysis from the staff office indicates these creatures are likely nocturnal. Tonight, there’s a chance we’ll face an attack. Rest in shifts for two hours each, but everyone will be on night duty tonight.”
“Get so rest first. Stay sharp tonight and be ready for an attack.”
Similar orders were issued across the various Riken teams.
At the construction site, several gigantic excavators, each over 30 ters tall, had already been assembled. Once the remaining machinery was assembled and the team worked overti, they estimated construction could formally begin tomorrow.
Ti quickly reached deep night, yet the site remained brightly lit. Countless Riken engineers bustled around, and the soldiers on guard were equally vigilant. So even resorted to stimulants to keep themselves alert.
As the patrol’s previous encounter with the unknown attackers drew closer to the sa ti, the military analysts predicted that if these attackers were low-intelligence creatures acting on instinct, they might have a fixed hunting schedule.
Suddenly, the monitoring devices blared with piercing alarms.
“They’re here, Captain! Abnormal underground vibrations detected—sothing’s coming up!” a monitoring team mber shouted, startling everyone around.
“Alert the engineering team to retreat!” The ground would likely beco a battlefield in the event of combat. While the site itself was bait, the personnel still needed to be preserved.
The engineers had so understanding of their dual-purpose mission. If they weren’t attacked, they would proceed with assembling the machinery. But in the event of an attack, escape was the priority.
Thanks to prearranged plans, the personnel evacuated quickly, albeit with so panic.
However, the creatures erging from the ground moved faster. Holes suddenly opened up across the site, catching the Rikens completely off guard.
“Why are there so many holes all of a sudden? How did we not detect them earlier?” a Riken engineer exclaid, leaving behind his final words as a monstrous creature lunged toward him.
“Damn it! Those people are going to military court!”
“Run!”
“What are these things?!”
“Ahhh!”
The communication channels were a cacophony of chaos, filled with screams and frantic shouting.
After a brief mont of shock, the soldiers on guard finally sprang into action.
“Cover their retreat!”
“Open fire at will! Crossfire defense! Don’t let them through!”
The night sky lit up with streaks of red as energy weapons fired chaotically. Despite technological progress, the Rikens had clearly stuck to their tradition of energy-based weaponry.
anwhile, a separate discussion was taking place.
“That’s impossible. We conducted multiple thorough inspections before. Within a five-kiloter radius, there was only one hole.”
“Look here!” The video was slowed down to hundreds of tis its normal speed. In the footage, a flat area suddenly caved in as the soil fell away, revealing a black pit. Monts later, creatures about 30 centiters long rapidly crawled out.
“They dug these themselves. These creatures have incredibly strong burrowing abilities!”
“They live underground. Isn’t digging tunnels normal for them?”
“No, look at this picture.” The image zood in on a close-up of one of the creatures. With its eight jointed limbs outstretched, webbing connected the lower halves of its legs, making it resemble a gliding drone. The perspective suggested the image had been captured by a personal terminal belonging to a Riken engineer or soldier during their final monts.
A Riken biologist, rare among their kind, pointed at the gleaming limbs on the creature and explained, “Look at these. Judging by appearance, these blade-like limbs are likely its primary weapons, probably used like this.” He mimicked a stabbing motion and continued, “However, this limb structure is unsuitable for digging. Furthermore, no other features on its body suggest burrowing capability.”
“Now, return to the earlier video,” he instructed, replaying the footage of the ground collapsing. “Here, notice the brief pause after the hole opens. I suspect a different burrowing species exited first, then stepped aside for these creatures to erge.”
“So?” Military leaders nodded as the biologist’s professional analysis offered fresh insights.
“So, I speculate these creatures may or may not possess high intelligence, but they exhibit ticulous specialization and skilled cooperation. At the very least, they are a social species. Their behavior strongly resembles an insect from Riken’s past. Let’s call them the Insectoid Swarm.”
Thus, the Swarm, under the guise of the Insectoid species, officially took the stage in the interstellar theater.
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