Chimera Pirates

September 20, 2489, about 40 miles into the Purgatory Corridor, the Augustus convoy sped along.

The Purgatory Corridor is a wide canyon with rock walls over a thousand feet high. The air inside is dry, and the ground is as hard as solidified rock. Gravel mixed with yellow bone fragments and metal shards and tree-like thorns a dozen feet high are the only features of this monotonous world. Even the wind is scorching hot, as if it can suck the moisture out of a person's body.

The vast region of Ridgecrest Plains - Purgatory Corridor - Gray Spotted Wasteland has not seen rainfall for many standard revolution years, with only the most tenacious native species hiding underground, barely clinging to life.

Even the most adaptable Mar- Sara immigrants would not establish a home in this extremely desolate region. It would require a great deal of unnecessary effort to settle down in this land of death and support their families, and a sudden sandstorm or a bandit attack could wipe out an immigrant's savings.

Augustus and Raynor's Vulture led the way, followed by a large Vulture. To Augustus, the scenery along the forty-mile journey had hardly changed; apart from sand, thorns, and exposed sedimentary rock layers on the ground, he saw nothing else.

Along the way, they passed three or four outposts of the Revolutionary Army. Each outpost was constructed from welded steel plates of glass from SCV, and they were several miles apart. Inside, there were enough food and ammunition supplies to last for a month.

Since all radio communication equipment will fail or become inaccurate once you enter the Purgatory Corridor, all outposts, forward bases and camps are connected by fiber optic cables.

After driving sixty miles, Augustus's convoy finally stopped in front of a marked, steep rock face in the Purgatory Corridor.

Compared to other sections of the Purgatory Corridor, the rock walls here are no different; they are almost vertical to the ground and lack any footholds or handholds. About a hundred feet above the ground grows the agave-like barnacle, Sara barnacles. The fruit of this rare medicinal plant contains a small amount of water and is the main food source for the Koprulu glider.

However, as Augustus approached the rock wall, it suddenly vanished, and a steel gate cast from refined steel appeared between Augustus and the rock wall. With the roar of the rotating axle, a Revolutionary Army front-line base carved into the rock wall appeared before Augustus, Raynor, and the others.

Former Heaven's Devils Power Armor Technician Fick, accompanied by two Revolutionary Army soldiers clad in brown denim Gauss Rifle rifles, awaited Augustus: "Sir, this base has enough supplies to sustain a full-strength Revolutionary Army battalion for three months. We have already secured the canyon entrance from the Purgatory Corridor to the Ridgecrest Plains, and these supplies were transported here by transport planes and trucks."

"Well done, Fick. Have you encountered any pirates or other organizations?" Raynor bent down and patted Fick on the shoulder. Compared to the many tall and burly Revolutionary Army soldiers around him, Fick's dwarf-like stature was immediately apparent.

"The Ghost operative who were providing cover for us captured two Chimera Pirates. Through mind reading, we easily obtained the location of the Chimera Pirates' research base, and they have clearly already noticed our intrusion." Because his legs were a full two sections shorter than everyone else's, Fick needed to walk a few more steps to reach Augustus.

Fick is now in charge of this frontline base. Although he is not a tunneling expert like the Kel-Morian, he is equally adept at building bases and bunkers in various treacherous terrains. And because Fick is a member of the Heaven's Devils and enjoys Augustus's deep trust, he has also been given the position of leader.

Just as Fick finished speaking, a female Ghost operative dressed in a light blue, tight-fitting combat suit appeared before Augustus. This Ghost operative was one of the seven Ghosts Augustus had captured from the Confederacy research station at Victor V, and these Ghosts, unsurprisingly, all defected to the Korhal Revolutionary Army after having their Psionics suppressors removed.

The Ghost operative's right forearm had been replaced by a prosthetic, and her left eye had been replaced by a Umojan mechanical eye that emitted a faint red glow. As she spoke, the mechanical eye continued to rotate, radiating a captivating light.

"My God, I love that thing." Mira Han, the squad leader of the Revolutionary Army Guard standing behind Raynor, pointed to the mechanical eye of the Ghost operative and said very rudely.

Currently, Augustus's army is divided into three main systems: elite squads, the Marshal's Guard, and the Revolutionary Army's regular army. The regular army is further divided into the core of the Korhal soldiers and a brigade of new recruits from the Deadman's Port. It is worth mentioning that the fighting spirit of the troops from the Deadman's Port is no less than that of veterans who have experienced several major battles.

"No, you don't like this," Augustus said sternly to Mira, who was three years younger than him. "If you continue to be this crazy, I'll make you practice shooting in the army next time."

"Please forgive this child's youthful ignorance; she didn't mean any harm," Augustus said apologetically to the Ghost operative.

The Ghost operative who survived Operation Victor V all had some physical disabilities, with the best-case scenario being the loss of an index finger.

"She's a quick-witted person." The voice hidden beneath the Ghost operative mask was unexpectedly melodious and rhythmic, like a nightingale singing. "But I can see that beneath her protective shell lies a kind heart."

"You're right," Mira replied proudly.

"Tell me about those Chimera Pirates, Natasha." After removing the Psionics suppressors from these Ghost operative, Augustus had been referring to them by their former names rather than their assigned numbers. This meant that the Revolutionary Army's Ghost operative Ghost operative acquired personalities, and they chose to fight for the Revolutionary Army solely because of their hatred for the Terran Confederacy and their personal worship of Augustus.

"The Chimera Pirates have stored a considerable amount of sophisticated weapons, ship parts, and equipment components in their research bases. They operate black market markets of varying sizes on more than a dozen colony planets of the Terran Confederacy, taking a large cut for guarantees on transactions and acquiring ship parts through numerous channels," Ghost operative Natasha replied.

"Simply put, the Chimera Pirates are a group of profit-driven technology dealers. They not only use the advanced technological products and precision parts they obtain through robbery, purchase, and theft, but also sell them to others for huge profits. These pirates not only plunder private enterprises, but also attack or attempt to seize sophisticated high-tech weapons from research stations of the Terran Confederacy, the Kel-Morian Combine, and the Umojan Republic, while also stealing military intelligence that can be sold for high prices," she said.

"Rumors circulate that the Chimera Pirates originated from the Umojan Republic, and were once a research Fleets of the Umojan Protectorate Umojan Protectorate, but ultimately defected for some reason. Although the Umojan Protectorate vehemently denies this, the founders of the Chimera were indeed Umojan people."

"One of the leaders of the Chimera Pirates is a Psionics, Chimera Pirates generally believe that their current leader is a former Confederacy Ghost operative."

"The Chimera sound like an uncontrollable chaotic element in the Koprulu Sector. There's nothing they wouldn't dare to do if they had access to high-tech components. They're the most ruthless thugs and tech fanatics in the Koprulu Sector." Tychus had also heard rumors about the Chimera Pirates; they were present in many of the Terran Confederacy's black markets. Their notoriety in the Koprulu Sector was likely second only to the Kel-Morian Pirates.

After listening, Augustus nodded and summarized, "Like Captain Jackson's men, the pirates are profit-driven, only the Chimera Pirates have slightly different preferences."

"Perhaps we should negotiate with these pirates," Faraday said. "The Chimera Pirates also take on mercenary jobs, just like many pirates. Sometimes they are ruthless pirates who kill anyone they see, and sometimes they are mercenaries who uphold the spirit of contracts."

"Just like we did with the Jackson Avenger, turn enemies into friends and use money to get them to work for us."

"How do we negotiate?" Tychus chuckled. "My suggestion is to take them out first, and then negotiate with the dead."

"Frankly, unless we really hurt them, those Chimera Pirates will never settle down to negotiate with us," Augustus said at this point. "If they're willing to provide the Revolutionary Army with some technology, then everything is negotiable. We can buy it; the Revolutionary Army never takes by force."

"The attack on the Chimera Pirates research base will begin at dawn tomorrow, which is fifteen standard Earth hours from now. This is only the first step in our complete control of the Purgatory Corridor." Augustus took a few more steps forward, and Fick and the others standing in front of him immediately made way for him.

"The key is to unravel the mystery of the Purgatory Corridor."

The Revolutionary Army base, built inside the rock wall, is supported by sturdy cylindrical alloy pillars, and the conical dome is adorned with LED lights emitting pure white light. Augustus walked straight to the airlock labeled "Laboratory," and as the airlock swung open, he found an old acquaintance in the laboratory, which could only accommodate a few tables and glass containers: Dr. Francos from the Victor V Confederacy Research Station.

Dr. Francos was one of the few scientists under Augustus's command. Although he specialized in the dissection of Zerg and had never participated in the research of rare crystals, Augustus had no choice but to capture him for the time being when there were no other scientists available.

"Doctor, how's the research going?" Augustus, dressed in a cowboy outfit, approached Dr. Francos.

Meanwhile, Sarah Kerrigan, the Ghost operative had been secretly protecting him, revealed herself from stealth. Her shapely buttocks swayed beneath her black, form-fitting, light-emitting combat suit, and in her hand twirled a butterfly knife that gleamed coldly under the light. The rose-colored butterfly knife was flipped by her beautiful, nimble fingers, creating a dazzling display of blade slicing.

Immediately afterwards, Kerrigan didn't say anything, but simply sat down on the table, supporting herself with one hand. Her red lips were tightly pursed, and her pale green eyes were looking at Augustus rather than the panicked Doctor.

Sarah Kerrigan, the former Confederacy Ghost operative is inseparable from Augustus and reportedly never leaves his side for a second and follows him in everything, only appears under certain specific circumstances. Kerrigan's appearance at this time can only mean one thing: she believes that Dr. Francos may threaten Augustus's safety, and therefore this is a warning.

However, Kerrigan probably just bored and wanted to show off. Perhaps Kerrigan simply wanted to make her presence known.

"Some progress has been made." But Dr. Francos, who was weighing a piece of rare crystal ore excavated from the Purgatory Corridor, trembled. The appearance of the red-haired female ghost naturally startled him.

"Most scientists in the Confederacy believe that the anomaly in the Purgatory Corridor's wavelength is caused by rich crystal mineral deposits in the geological strata. But in fact, this speculation has no scientific basis; at least, the crystal mineral metal samples we obtained are no different from ordinary Ardien Crystal."

After taking a few deep breaths, Dr. Francos was finally able to shake off the psychological pressure brought on by Sarah Kerrigan's appearance.

"Marshal." Dr. Francos connected his personal terminal to the only Holographic Projection screen in the laboratory via a data cable.

When Augustus looked over, he found that Francos was showing a floor plan of the Purgatory Corridor.

"High-intensity electrical pulses with disrupted frequency bands are present throughout the entire Purgatory Corridor. The signal sources are buried underground, with the strongest signals even buried hundreds of miles underground," Francos said confidently. In fact, studying crystal mines is not difficult. As long as experimental observations are conducted using analytical equipment, discoveries can be made through analysis and comparison.

"This aligns with the common assumption that the source of the interference is a rare crystal mine vein; however, the true cause remains unknown."

"So you still don't know the reason," Kerrigan glanced at Dr. Francos.

A few beads of sweat trickled down Francos's bald head. "I think the interference source is most likely an old Confederacy facility with strong interference capabilities, or some mysterious alien relic."

"I've consulted some literature, and several Kel-Morian explorers have discovered mysterious pyramids and temples of giant creatures on planets outside the Koprulu Sector. Through analysis of the materials used in those mysterious buildings, we can conclude that these structures may have existed between the Big Bang and the birth of the planet, making them at least 14 billion years old."

"The clusters of crystal mines that grow alongside those temples also have a strong influence on electronic devices that use radio wave communication."

"You're just guessing," Augustus said, feigning impatience. "What made you make that connection?"

"I have a fragment here that is made of the same material as the exterior wall of the mysterious temple." Dr. Francos took out a triangular, dark green fragment from the pocket of his white coat—it was an isosceles triangle perfectly conforming to the golden ratio, with both base angles at 72° and the vertex angle at 36°, and the ratio of the base to one of the legs being the golden ratio. There were some cracks on the triangle, and the edges and corners were so neat that it looked as if it had been cut by a machine tool.

Setting aside the possibility of infinite coincidences in the universe, this clearly originates from some extraterrestrial civilization.

"This must be a fragment of a container, and I've observed that it's slowly—on a scale of decades or more—absorbing energy to repair the damaged parts."

The doctor said confidently, "I swear, this place is definitely related to some mysterious alien ruin. Maybe there's a temple of a mysterious race that's far older than humans right beneath our feet."

I'm home.

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