Ambush

In the darkness, the two-meter-high grass rustled softly in the breeze. The grass was so dense that it would be difficult for someone three meters away to spot it without guidance.

The patrol team hadn't felt anything while chatting and joking, but now that it was quiet and they were looking at the deep darkness around them, a sense of inexplicable fear sent chills down their spines.

"Captain, Kendal is alive. The monitors show he still has vital signs." Gade's voice suddenly came through the communicator.

The wristbands worn by the team members can monitor their pulse in real time and transmit the information to a monitoring terminal. Each squad also has an information scout carrying a monitoring terminal to check the vital signs of the team members.

With the Drone's guidance, the six-person team finally reached Kendal's side after covering a distance of over 300 meters.

The combat suit was sealed, so Kendal's condition couldn't be seen from the outside. The Captain stepped forward, turned Kendal over, and pressed a button on the side of his helmet. A faint light shone inside the helmet, revealing Kendal's terrified face.

"Kendal, what's wrong?" the Captain asked.

Kendal didn't answer; he just stared with terrified eyes.

Because the Riken Person cannot be exposed to the environment of the Big Origin Star, the Captain did not dare to directly remove his helmet to check the situation. He could only pat his helmet and ask a few more questions.

But still no reply was received.

"Gade, Kendal is in trouble. Call headquarters for transport support. We can't carry him back."

"Received, ah!"

"Gade, what's wrong?"

"Damn it, something pricked me, it hurts so much!" Gade's muttering came through the communicator.

"Are you kidding me? Quickly check if your combat uniform is damaged!" the Captain roared. Combat uniforms are sealed, and a prick from one of them hurts a lot. This must mean the uniform is torn.

"Huh? What's wrong with you two?" Gade's puzzled voice came through the communicator.

What happened!?

There was no reply from Gade.

"Gade Babulin Sig? Answer received! What's wrong with you?" The Captain called out each name, but there was still no response from the other side.

"Damn it!" the Captain cursed. "Get Kendal on board, we're going back to check." With that, out of caution, he pulled a signal pistol from his back and fired a flare into the sky.

A blinding white light exploded in the sky, illuminating the area as if it were daytime. It served as both illumination and an alarm; although he hadn't yet confirmed the situation, he preferred to be punished later rather than risk continuing to venture into the darkness.

If he finds out that these little brats are up to some kind of prank, he'll shove a flare gun down their asses.

"Corporal Kaida, what's going on over there?" The flares were too conspicuous in the night, immediately attracting the attention of the area command center, and inquiries followed.

"Sir, one member of our team is in an unknown situation and unable to move, and three other members are out of contact. I was just about to go check on them, but just to be safe, I activated the alert." Captain Kaida replied as he led his team back.

The 300-meter distance was covered in an instant. The Captain parted the grass and saw three people lying on the ground. They were in the same state as Kendal. Although they were still alive, they were all staring wide-eyed in terror.

This is absolutely not normal.

He quickly reported, still connected with the regional command center, "Sir, four men in my team are exhibiting the exact same symptoms. Although they have vital signs, they are completely immobile and unable to speak. One of them mentioned feeling pricked by something, suggesting an attack."

"Corporal Kaida, stand by, remain on alert. Medical assistance will arrive within five minutes," the other side replied quickly.

Hearing that rescue was on its way, Captain Kaida breathed a sigh of relief. Nearly half of the team was in trouble; they would need to rest for several days before coming back. This damned alien planet was no place for humans; he regretted signing up for this expedition.

"Captain, watch out!" Just as Kaida was lost in thought, a teammate suddenly shouted from behind him. His excellent combat skills made him immediately take tactical evasive action.

But as soon as he made his first move, he felt his limbs quickly go numb, his evasive movements became distorted, and he collapsed to the ground. He stared wide-eyed in horror, not knowing what had happened or why his body had suddenly lost control.

He tried to ask, but his mouth was numb and he couldn't speak. He now knew what had happened to his teammates, but he didn't want to know it this way.

The other team members stared in astonishment at what had just happened. They had seen a transparent object land on Captain Kaida's back when the flare in the sky flashed. They had barely spoken up to warn him when the Captain collapsed to the ground.

They were all new recruits who had never experienced any combat operations, and at this critical moment, their reaction was a beat too slow. It was this slight delay that caused them to collapse to the ground before they could even go forward to check the situation.

Attacking them were a new version of the Spider War-Bug, which Rowan had prepared extensively for over the years. These bugs were a specially designed variant based on the characteristics of the Riken Person's combat uniforms.

Although the technology of the Riken Person has advanced by leaps and bounds over the past hundred years, their combat uniforms seem to have not improved much. Faced with this full-body protective gear, Rowan improved the stinger of the original Spider War-Bug.

Spider War-Bug are given the genes of Metal Snail, and after hatching, they absorb a special mineral solution, which eventually forms an alloy needle about one millimeter long at the tip of their stinger.

With that one-millimeter-long trailblazer, the stinger could penetrate two centimeters into even the steel plates of the Cat Ear Spaceship, let alone these combat suits.

Meanwhile, the Spider War-Bug's venom sacs were also improved. The Swarm obtained a great deal of experimental material from the Cat Ear Spaceship, and like the Rat-folk before them, Rowan developed a toxin specifically for the Riken Person.

These toxins can rapidly spread throughout the target's body within seconds, paralyzing the central nervous system of the Riken Person and preventing the transmission of nerve signals from the brain. By the time they realize something is wrong, they have already become wooden figures with only consciousness but no control over their bodies.

The reason the Spider War-Bug weren't equipped with deadly toxins was because Rowan had discovered a vital signs monitoring system on the combat suits on the Cat Ship he had previously captured.

Killing the Riken Person would immediately expose their presence, but simply paralyzing them would avoid this.

Unfortunately, every species has its oddballs, and Gade of the Kaida Squad is one such special case.

Once the stinger pierces the target skin, a paralyzing toxin immediately flows out, severing nerve signals around the wound. Ordinary Riken Person can hardly feel anything being pierced.

But Gade is the type of person who is extremely sensitive to pain; even the pain of a mosquito bite is amplified countless times in his perception.

Therefore, after being stung, Lima cried out in pain, even though the paralyzing toxin was still effective against him. However, his earlier words had alerted Captain Kaida.

Even though the Spider War-Bug quickly retaliated and ambushed the entire patrol team, the raid was still exposed.