Global Crossing: Empire of Stars

As he thought it over, the Tengshe continued without pause, carving one arc after another through space. When the right opportunity came, it unleashed Spacetime Shockwave.

A conical Gravity Beam spread outward. The Spacetime Storm surged forward and slammed into the planet's Gravity Field, where the omnipresent forces immediately constrained and suppressed it. The shockwave visibly weakened until it struck the Pirate Base orbiting the planet.

The sturdy Energy Shield and Alloy Armor were torn apart with ease once again. Even weakened by the Gravity Field, the space pirates' base was still destroyed. Huge, jagged pieces of metal twisted and tore apart, crashing into the lava and splashing vast swaths of crimson magma.

The raging shockwave lifted the hundred-meter-thick lava and flung it into the sky. Then gravity pulled it back down, and a rain of lava fell across the planet's surface.

Just as Lin Zhichen had expected, Dakan I was much more massive and better able to resist the shockwave. The greatest damage it caused was the destruction of several Pirate Bases floating in orbit. Of course, that was already a glorious victory.

The Tengshe darted back and forth, unleashing a shockwave whenever it found an opening. After several strikes, the Pirate Bases that had been floating above the islands were all destroyed, leaving the planet's outer space completely clear.

But the battle wasn't over, because the Pirate Base buried deep within the planet was still resisting.

Blazing beams shot straight out of the lava, vaporizing matter, while Particle Light Spears pierced the sky and plunged into the depths of the darkness.

"Dozens of Particle Light Spears. It has to be a large Pirate Base!"

The Tengshe darted through space near Dakan I. The beams formed a unified front, like an iron wall closing in, intent on squeezing the starship into a particular region of space. Meanwhile, hidden beneath the lava, one gun platform after another stood ready to fire.

A base buried deep inside a planet was different from one in space or on the surface. It lay deep underground, perhaps dozens or even hundreds of kilometers below the surface.

Of course, the defensive systems of such a base couldn't be buried just as deep. Instead, an Energy Field held open a space within the surface lava to house the gun platforms and related equipment.

The advantage of these platforms was that they were well concealed. Before they opened fire, it was almost impossible to determine where they were.

But their weakness was just as obvious. Since they were spread out, each platform had a relatively fragile Energy Shield. Once its position was exposed, it was easy to target.

Of course, with the lava as cover, it was still difficult for an enemy ship to hit a platform precisely. These platforms were semi-floating and could move freely within a certain range, making them harder to detect.

But none of these difficulties applied to Lin Zhichen. As an Elite Tier Psionicist, his Psionic Power, enhanced by the Psionic Crystal, gave him a sense for Psionics that rivaled a Hero's. The platforms hidden beneath the lava stood out to him as clearly as a reflection in a mirror. As the Electromagnetic Cannons turned and fired their projectiles, a spot on the planet's surface—

A mass of lava erupted with a thunderous boom. It was a platform that had exploded.

One after another, every platform that revealed itself was picked off. Soon, all the gun platforms hidden in the lava sea had been destroyed, and the planet's surface returned to calm.

Yet Lin Zhichen knew all too well that this was only an outward appearance. His Psionic senses still detected danger lingering in his heart, flickering in and out like a venomous snake hidden in the shadows, waiting for its prey to let down its guard.

That was the second danger of a concealed base: its gun platforms weren't exposed, so they could remain hidden and wait for the enemy to show an opening before delivering a fatal strike.

Without wasting time searching, the Tengshe quickly pulled away and fired again at the general area of the Pirate Base. A superluminal Spacetime Shockwave!

The intense Gravitational Distortion warped space-time and unleashed its power once again. A billion tons of lava surged into the air, exposing the semi-liquid magma deep underground. The wide-ranging Gravitational Wave immediately destroyed the concealed platforms in the area. Once the rain of lava had fallen across half the planet, that persistent sense of danger vanished completely. There were no longer any threats beneath this sea of lava.

"Big brother, how's it going?" Wu Tianyi's voice came through the Holographic Projection. After flying for some time, the fleet was now only 6.5 light-seconds from Dakan I, already within radar range.

"The outer Pirate Bases are taken care of. Come on over," Lin Zhichen ordered.

"That fast?" Link sounded genuinely surprised. He'd had confidence in Lin Zhichen, but by his estimate, the battle should only just have begun.

"Something unexpected came up, but the result's good," Lin Zhichen said casually. His Psionic senses were fully extended as he probed Dakan I's lava sea.

Despite the thick layer of lava, his Psionic senses still passed through the high-temperature material and probed deeper.

Though Psionics were formless and intangible, matter still affected their range. He could only search bit by bit with his intuition, which was far slower.

"The concealed platforms are mostly in this area. Based on what we found earlier, there's a Battleship going in and out of the underground base, so the entrance obviously can't be small."

As he thought this over, he searched carefully. This kind of base had one obvious flaw: its entrance was much narrower than those of surface or orbital bases.

A search this thorough would take considerable effort, but if he kept at it, he would eventually find the right spot. Sure enough, after three days of searching, the base entrance finally came into view.

Unlike what he had imagined, he saw an Energy Curtain, firmly holding back millions of tons of lava.

The design was unusual, but Lin Zhichen only had to think about it briefly to understand the advantage of this energy door. When ships entered or left, there was no need to worry about lava or other liquids seeping into the underground base.

What's more, this kind of energy door wouldn't prevent starships from passing through. It was much more efficient than a metal door that had to open and close.

"Not bad. It'll make breaking in easier, too," Lin Zhichen thought. Of course, it wouldn't be that simple. There had to be defensive weapons between the entrance and the underground base.

He didn't need to think twice to know that the Transformers, sent in as the vanguard, would be in the most danger before they could determine the enemy's defenses.

He considered all the Army Soldiers at his disposal, then ultimately decided to send the Transformers first. Neither hover tanks nor Armored Vehicles could match the Transformers' super-strong armor, which rivaled that of a Battleship!

At his command, seven Transformers in humanoid form swiftly crossed the lava and Energy Fields, their feet propelled by Ion Engine exhaust, and plunged deeper toward the underground base.

After some exploration, the Meteor Mercenary Group had already determined roughly how deep these underground bases were: about 23 kilometers below the surface.

Even more astonishingly, this underground base was arranged like a flat disk, with a diameter of more than a hundred kilometers and an enormous interior.

Fortunately, it was a base that had simply appeared. If someone had had to excavate it, then even with the productivity of the Interstellar Era, it would have taken years to dig it out, let alone install its complex internal facilities.

For spacecraft in the Interstellar Era, a few kilometers was a short distance. The seven Transformers descended rapidly with the help of their engines, soon passing through several kilometers. The second Energy Field wall was now close enough to touch.

Given the possibility of equipment failure, a base built underground couldn't rely on a single Energy Field wall to hold back the lava. Instead, there was one every few kilometers to prevent an accident from destroying the base.

Just as the first Transformer broke through the Energy Field wall, the unexpected happened. Several high-energy Laser Beams struck, hitting its outer armor.

"Zzzzt."

Its thin Energy Shield was no match for high-energy beams comparable to ship cannons and quickly shattered. The scorching rays swept across the Transformer's body, leaving a shallow mark. If lasers like these had kept burning for several or even a dozen minutes, they might have managed to cut through the Transformer's Superalloy body.

But in reality, the high-energy laser could only fire for a few seconds before overloading and breaking down. Besides, Transformers were Silicon-based lifeforms; they weren't going to let themselves be attacked without responding.

"Zzzzt—"

The Electromagnetic Cannon on its shoulder swiveled and fired several forearm-thick projectiles, directly destroying the Laser Cannon embedded in the tunnel.

The other Transformers descending behind it spotted the threat and immediately worked together. In barely a second, more than a dozen high-energy Laser Beam emitters had been destroyed.

In fact, these defensive weapons were mainly meant to deal with enemy Transport Ships. If their hulls were exposed to sustained scorching, it would spell disaster.

After passing through five Energy Field walls and destroying several defensive installations, the seven Transformers finally reached the end of the tunnel—a semicircular space 2.5 kilometers in diameter. Right before them stood a tightly shut Alloy door. On either side, closed gun platforms rotated, revealing their menacing muzzles.

"Bang!"

A Sub-lightspeed projectile struck a Transformer. Its Deflection Shield was almost useless. The Alloy Projectile hit the Transformer's body, but it was like an apple bouncing off the ground.

Aside from a great many shattered metal fragments, a lump of metal stuck to the Transformer's Alloy Armor and made the Steel Giant stumble. But that was the extent of the damage.

With 15 points of armor, the Transformers were practically walking fortresses. No matter how fiercely the weapons around the base entrance fired, they were no more effective than a child's toys.

The Transformers weren't fools who just took hits without fighting back. Their mechanical bodies shifted, and the gun platforms built into them unfolded. Their Electromagnetic Cannons fired. Using ship-mounted weapons to deal with defensive gun platforms was overkill; in the blink of an eye, dozens of gun platforms, large and small, were utterly destroyed.

With all the defensive weapons destroyed, the Electromagnetic Cannon on a Transformer's shoulder aimed at the base door. Amid ear-splitting impacts, the Alloy door was smashed into a lump of scrap and hurled into the base.

The pirate guards organizing a defensive line behind the door, preparing to fight to the death, were caught in the accident. The door, weighing dozens or even hundreds of tons, crushed them into pulp.

"Zzzzt."

As the pirates reeled from the sudden impact, an Electromagnetic Projectile tore through the air and struck a defensive gun platform. Along with more than a dozen nearby guards, it was shredded into a heap of mangled flesh by flying metal fragments.

"Stop it!" the pirate leader roared. Around him, several pirate NPCs hovered in midair with Lightsabers in hand, darting through the base. They were clearly Awakened Psionicists.

"Big brother, this base has NPC Psionicists—five of them! Looks like the information on StarNet is right. Wild bases of medium size or larger can spawn Psionicist guards!"

In orbit around Dakan I, members of the Meteor Mercenary Group used the Transformers' vision to observe the Pirate Base's defenses.

When they saw the NPC Psionicists appear, the group clearly grew excited.

Wild NPCs could also spawn with Psionic Awakening, but they were rarer than some of the rarest gifted people.

These special NPCs were often hunted by the Federation's established factions. Once captured, they could be put to use after a period of brainwashing. Though their talent was usually inferior to that of Natural Persons who had awakened, they could be "mass-produced" and steadily recruited in large numbers. Their combat strength was quite impressive.

"Tianyi, you're in charge of the fleet. Dapeng, you command the Army Soldiers landing, but remember: don't enter the battlefield!" Lin Zhichen ordered as he headed for the flying car, clearly intending to join the fight himself.

"Big brother, I can help too!" Wei Peng protested, eager to volunteer.

"When you reach Elite Tier, then we can talk," Lin Zhichen flatly refused.

The battlefield was dangerous, and anything could happen. Even he had to be careful, let alone a rookie who hadn't even reached Warrior Tier.

The fully loaded military Transport Ships quickly landed. With the Transformers having cleared the way, the hidden defensive weapons were already destroyed, making it far safer to move in.

The Pirate Base was enormous. Seven Transformers alone couldn't possibly take it down. In fact, the big guys' role was to destroy the enemy's powerful defensive weapons. Clearing out the enemy troops was the job of the Army Soldiers—that was why cannon fodder infantry still had a place in the Interstellar Era.

As one Transport Ship after another landed and unloaded its troops of NPC Army Soldiers, tanks led the way, followed by Armored Vehicles and infantry. The information-age combined-arms battalion used the Transformers as its spearhead and launched another swift assault.

The seven enormous metal giants trampled across the Alloy Floor, leaving shallow footprints. The Electromagnetic Cannons mounted on their bodies fired repeatedly, unleashing waves of death throughout the Pirate Base.

Whether defensive gun platforms or heavy ground tanks, they were as fragile as cloth against the Transformers' starship-grade weapons. One stomp was enough to flatten them into scrap.

With the heavy weapons focused on the Transformers, the NPC Army Soldiers met little resistance. Coordinating their Laser Guns and electromagnetic rifles, they easily surrounded and wiped out the pirate guards, whose defensive line had been torn apart.

"Vmmm."

The air rippled. An inconspicuous wave struck an NPC pirate Psionicist hidden in the shadows. Powerful Psionic Power wrapped around him like an invisible rope, binding him completely.

The Psionic Apprentice struggled desperately, but the difference of a single tier was like the difference between heaven and earth. Lin Zhichen casually wrenched away the Lightsaber in his grip. With a flick of Psionic Power, he struck the back of the Psionic Apprentice's head. Before the powerful Psionic Apprentice could even display his strength, his vision went black and he fell unconscious.

After subduing one Psionicist, Lin Zhichen fully opened his Psionic senses and spread them across the entire battlefield. By now, as Transport Ships continued to shuttle down from space, batches of NPC Army Soldiers were being sent into the fight without end.

With the Transformers charging about and wreaking havoc, the pirate guards inside the base had no time to organize their defenses before their lines were easily torn apart.