The Electric Spine Serpent's long tail had returned. Of course, that was no good news.
Especially since this latest probe had been so direct and decisive. It made people suspect—made people suspect—that this living "sensor" had gathered sufficiently reliable information before coming down for a final confirmation.
Of course, it might also be launching a direct attack.
"Looks like your decoy armor didn't get very far, Field Officer Zhong."
Ronan smiled as he said it to Zhong He. Without waiting for the man's reaction, he immediately ordered the Shan Nong Non-Commissioned Officer:
"Transform into a Type II Structure."
What he meant was to compress the Soil Layer Voyager's occupied space, chiefly by lowering its height.
Ronan had already given the preliminary instructions before leaving the control room last time. If Shan Nong had failed to carry them out, Ronan could enforce military law and shoot him on the spot.
Shan Nong was under extreme mental strain. For an instant, he blanked out, his gaze drifting. When it fell upon Sergeant Major Le Zuo, whom he habitually watched, he saw the man immediately sit cross-legged on the floor—the man was large enough that the Type II Structure would have him bumping his head.
Shan Nong was only dazed for that moment. In fact, while his gaze drifted away, his fingers had already followed Ronan's command and entered the final instruction.
Since the preliminary preparations had already been completed, the Soil Layer Voyager's relevant components had moved into position ahead of time. The occupants of every area and workstation had received advance notice, and this transformation went exceptionally smoothly.
The slowly flowing Frozen Nitrogen barely stirred at all... but only barely.
No matter how seamless the transformation of a medium-sized Maintenance Station dozens of meters long might be, some sound was bound