Six bursts of flame immediately rose inside the base, tearing a huge gap in the dense firepower net. All six turrets were destroyed almost simultaneously.
As the dive ended, a stabbing sense of danger came through Lin Zhichen's psionic perception. The Qinyuan accelerated again, escaping the danger zone before the next wave of attacks arrived.
Lin Zhichen and the Qinyuan were as one. Like a seasoned hunter, he dove from time to time, striking like a goshawk stooping from the sky to launch one deadly attack after another at its prey.
Round after round, electromagnetic cannon shells shot down at the base, while the pirates' counterattack grew increasingly feeble. Whenever a gap appeared in their once-dense firepower net,
the Qinyuan's ability to threaten them plummeted. In the end, the pirates had no choice but to activate point-defense cannons designed to counter Space Fighters and even landing forces, using them against a space battleship.
Most point-defense cannons were multi-barreled electromagnetic machine guns. They could unleash a large number of miniature electromagnetic projectiles in the shortest time, posing a serious threat to low-defense targets like missiles and Space Fighters.
But against the Qinyuan, those electromagnetic projectiles pierced the Improved Electromagnetic Deflection Shield and struck the ship's armor, doing nothing but showering it with sparks.
Instead, exposing those firing positions made them easy targets. Destroying them in advance cleared a major obstacle for the Army's landing force.
By the time the last point-defense cannon fell silent, the military Transport Aircraft had already closed in on the pirate base. One cylindrical landing pod after another was launched directly toward it.
Orbital drop: the fastest and most dangerous form of airborne deployment, sending Army troops straight into the most perilous battlefield.
If the pirate base's point-defense cannons hadn't been destroyed, launching the landing pods now would have been tantamount to sending the Army to its death. Electromagnetic machine guns were ineffective against starships, but they posed a lethal threat to landing pods, Army soldiers, and even light armored units.
The landing pods streaked through space at high speed, punching straight through the Energy Shield. Their conical bottoms slammed into the steel plating on the pirate base's surface. As vapor billowed, the hatches sprang open, laying out a series of steps to victory.
The first to emerge weren't Army infantry, but swarms of buzzing drones.
Controlled by Army soldiers, these combat drones were like miniature cruise missiles. When they spotted a target, they rammed into it at high speed. The high-energy bomb inside each drone could blow an armored vehicle to pieces.
Soon, explosions rang out across the pirate base one after another. NPC Army soldiers clad in white plastic-steel armor rushed out with Laser Guns in hand, surging toward key positions all over the base.
Anti-gravity Armored Vehicles and tanks rolled out. Large landing pods had delivered these heavy weapons directly to the battlefield, boosting the Army soldiers' combat power by several levels.
Aboard the Transport Ship, Wei Peng stood beside the holographic combat analysis console, examining the battlefield.
Thanks to the combined efforts of drones and shipboard radar, the situation inside the base was crystal clear. On its complex streets, red and green dots moved rapidly, and lights went out from time to time—usually a sign of casualties on either side.
The real-time holographic battlefield interaction system combined the views of every friendly unit to construct a complex, dynamic picture of the battlefield. Enemy and friendly forces were clearly marked, and the data was shared directly with the combat personnel on the front lines.
By now, the Automatic Turrets scattered throughout the base were ready, firing intelligent shells at the enemy with pinpoint accuracy based on their coordinates.
This digitized, intelligent style of warfare had once been the combat system the great powers of the Planetary Era dreamed of. In the Interstellar Era, it was the most widely used battlefield technology.
When defeat hit, it came like a landslide. With the pirate fleet destroyed and the base's turrets picked off one by one, the morale of the pirate NPCs rapidly collapsed. As the Army NPCs advanced, they killed large numbers of pirate fighters who resisted. Before long, pirates whose will to fight had broken began surrendering.
Once the first person surrendered, a second and a third soon followed, until every part of the base's surface had been captured.
"Dapeng, relax. The fleet AI has suppressed the pirate base's main control AI. Even if they wanted to take us down with them, they couldn't!" Wu Tianyi said over the command system.
Another challenge in capturing a pirate base was that every base had a nuclear bomb installed as a last resort, allowing its occupants to take their enemies down with them. Of course, in the Information Era, this wasn't an unsolvable problem.
"I understand." Wei Peng breathed a sigh of relief. It was his first time commanding troops in actual combat, and now he didn't have to worry about being wiped out by the enemy.
By now, only the pirate leader and a group of senior officers remained. They were holed up in the base's sturdy central control room on the lower level, putting up a futile last stand.
A platoon of Army soldiers reached the door. It was made of Universal Alloy, and ordinary methods couldn't open it.
The mechanical lock had already engaged. Even the fleet's main AI couldn't reopen the door remotely.
But there was a way. A spider-shaped Mechanical Person soon came over. The metal machine, nearly three meters in diameter, emitted a dazzling Laser Beam that shone on the door. The extreme heat quickly melted the sturdy alloy.
Two minutes later, a passageway with molten metal dripping from its edges opened before them, revealing the terrified pirate officers.
After an exchange of fire, the control room was captured, marking the complete fall of the pirate base.
"We can notify our buyers now." Wei Peng breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled at his companions, who were watching through the Holographic Projection.
"We lost more than ten soldiers, but the result was pretty good."
"Nicely done," Lin Zhichen praised.
Army soldiers and pilots were cannon fodder. Even fleets were cannon fodder on the battlefield. It was impossible to avoid losses forever.
He had noticed that after this battle, the Main Combat Skills of these rookies who had just entered the battlefield had generally reached Expert-level. That was already the standard for selecting the Federation's Elite Army.
"Just as I thought, Diligence Repays the Heavens works best when you get real combat experience."
After reviewing the past several days, he had found that the simpler a technique was, the better it performed in actual combat. As cannon fodder among cannon fodder, his talent made training Army troops absurdly fast.
"Big brother, what do we do next?" Wu Tianyi asked.
"Call the highest bidder, have them transfer the money, and hand over the base," Lin Zhichen said after a moment's thought. "Also, go through the pirate NPCs in the base. Take along the useful ones and those with high talent. And while we're at it, train the NPCs from the pirate fleet too, so they can become part of our crew."
"Understood. But, big brother, won't this take a month?" Wu Tianyi asked.
"A month it is. We're in no hurry," Lin Zhichen replied. "Our top priority now is to expand the fleet!"
After assigning the tasks, he relaxed again. Having a capable deputy he could trust saved him a great deal of energy to devote to more important matters.
"We didn't use the mechanical transformation this time, since we wanted to train the Army!" He pondered for a moment, then looked at the metal cube hovering in the command cabin.
Mysterious energy patterns flickered across the silver-gray cube, and countless runes flashed briefly before vanishing.
The AllSpark was a divine artifact of the Mechanical Civilization. It could transform any mechanical body into a Transformer, a form resembling a Silicon-based lifeform.
"We can't waste a month." Lin Zhichen casually looked around and selected a Pirate Raider. "You'll do!"
"Hum—"
The AllSpark trembled, releasing a surging flow of energy. A beam of light shot out, passed straight through the Qinyuan's hull, and struck the Raider.
The energy was so immense that for an instant, Lin Zhichen felt as though he were facing a Battleship's Particle Light Spear. But in truth, although the energy released by the AllSpark was powerful, it seemed to be merely a wave—information, perhaps. It didn't react with any matter in the physical universe.
No, that wasn't quite right. The moment the beam struck the Pirate Raider, the mechanical body seemed to come alive, giving him the sense that it had gained a life of its own, just like the Qinyuan.
A minute later, the beam finally disappeared. Lin Zhichen glanced at the AllSpark and noticed that the energy waves radiating from its surface had weakened considerably.
"Energy level: 150/300"
Clearly, transforming the Pirate Raider into a Silicon-based lifeform had consumed half its energy. But the remaining half couldn't be used for another transformation because of the month-long cooldown.
"Clack—"
The Raider, which had been motionless until now, stirred under the light, drawing everyone's attention.
After a series of complex mechanical movements, a metal giant over a hundred meters tall appeared in space.
"Holy crap, it's a Gundam!" Wei Peng's astonished shout came over the communications channel.
A Gundam had been an idea from the Planetary Era: a person directly piloting a giant combat Mechanical Person into battle, capable of even cleaving a battleship in two. It was insanely cool.
But comic artists ultimately relied on imagination, while warfare depended on technology grounded in reality. The Federation had considered building a weapon like the Gundam, but after producing a prototype, they found that it was not only expensive to build, but also less powerful than a Space Fighter. So they shelved the project.
"Commander, Transformer HWJ reporting!"
The Mechanical Person's cold voice echoed through the communications system, and the channel fell silent.
Lin Zhichen didn't reply. He opened the personal status panel of the one who called himself a Transformer:
Transformer HWJ, Intelligent Mechanical Body, red Size: 102.5 meters tall, 101,300 tons Occupation: Apprentice Soldier Talent: 1: Transformation, yellow: freely switches between humanoid, fortress, and battleship forms - Kong Transformation, yellow: absorbs higher-quality alloys to strengthen its body and armor, up to the limits of this unit: Frigate-class - Rapid Fire, pale red: weapon firing rate +12% Skills: 1- Shooting, red, Apprentice 0.16%: weapon hit rate +1%, shooting damage +1%; 2: Rapid Fire, pale red, Apprentice 0.35%: weapon firing rate +1% Hull Value: 350 Armor: 10 Shield: 200 Shield Recharge Rate: 5% Damage: 8.13 Speed: 210 Evasion: 50% Evaluation: Good grief, the hunk of metal has come to life!
"What a weapon!" Wu Tianyi stared at the Transformer in amazement. He had clearly seen its personal status panel too.
"It's actually a Silicon-based lifeform with its own personal status panel. That means it can grow!"
Evolving from an industrial product into Intelligent Life, the Transformer form was a kind of evolution.
Just think of the difference between the NPCs they'd just bought and Expert-level or even Master-level NPCs, and you'd understand what the Transformer's arrival meant. For quite some time, it would be one of the Meteor Mercenary Group's main forces!
"Let's see its fortress form!" Link urged.
Lin Zhichen gave the order. In just one minute, the enormous mechanical being curled up in space and transformed into a steel fortress—a turret made up of three small Electromagnetic Cannons.
"This is a defensive form. It works best alongside an asteroid and can be used as a fixed turret." Wei Peng immediately saw the key point.
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