A Convenient Coincidence

Capturing Chloe is not a one-off deal; after the modification is complete, the Swarm will send her back.

Therefore, for the sake of the subsequent plan and the capture of her, the capabilities exhibited by the Swarm must not exceed the acceptable range for the Riken Race.

Fortunately, with over a hundred "insiders," the Swarm ultimately accomplished this difficult task.

First, the Swarm needs to cut off Chloe Base support.

This problem is easy to solve; the Swarm considered this when they released the "insider." As long as the Riken Race are exposed and alive, the commanders, for whatever reason, will eventually launch a rescue operation.

The Swarm's deliberate actions at the "Granary," such as reducing the number of Riken patrol members each day, now become very meaningful.

The Riken Race were "lucky" to discover this, so they had to act quickly.

The Swarm's plan was to lure their forces deeper into the Crypt while other bases began their assault, only to have them bogged down by the Zerg. Meanwhile, the Swarm amassed a massive army and launched a lightning attack on Chloe Base.

The plan proceeded exceptionally smoothly. Although the Riken Race was not known for its martial spirit and even used flamethrowers to clear a path, preferring to proceed slowly rather than venture too far in.

On the other hand, most of the troops at Chloe Base were actually dispatched to support other bases. Due to the low level of the Swarm's inside agents, the Swarm did not receive this information until just before the start of the war.

The Swarm originally amassed over 30 million Raider around the Chloe Base, ready to be deployed to the battlefield as needed. If the Chloe Base was well-defended, a massive number of swarms might be deployed. Even if the Chloe Base was successfully breached, the sheer size of the Swarm would alert the Riken Race.

The news came at just the right time, and before the Swarm could even react, they received news that the Sentry had an "insider" involved. This greatly surprised Sarah and the Blade, indicating that the vulnerability of Chloe Base was beyond their expectations.

Previously, because the "insider" was of low level and was still wounded, wandering around the base might arouse suspicion, so the Swarm did not know much about the situation inside Chloe Base.

Now, with an "insider" joining the Sentry, the defenses of Chloe Base are laid bare before the Swarm. The Swarm can easily avoid the minefields and sensors outside the base, along with their associated automated defense weapons. This allows the Swarm to significantly reduce their troop deployment.

Although the Riken Race might wonder how the Swarm managed to evade these things, thus concluding that the Zerg possessed intelligence, it no longer mattered, as this information had already been revealed many times before.

Using a piece of already revealed information to conceal the true size of the Swarm is still very worthwhile.

As for how the Swarm knew about the defenses, the Riken Race, lacking information, certainly couldn't deduce the real reason.

With the help of an "insider," the Swarm crossed the barrier directly and reached the outer edge of the base's main structure. Those sentries, both visible and hidden, had nowhere to hide from the Swarm, which possessed multiple observation methods, let alone with the help of an "insider."

However, the role of these "insiders" ended after they helped the Swarm delay their discovery for a little while. The Swarm would not allow them to open the base gates directly and let the Zerg in.

It would be incredibly foolish to reveal one's trump card for something so easily solvable.

So these "insiders" were eliminated in their posts, but they only died physically; their spirits returned to the Swarm Network. As long as Rowan is safe, the Swarm Intellect is immortal.

Those sturdy gates can be easily dealt with by a specially made Acid Bug. And it's perfectly acceptable to expose some of these readily available hand cards.

The approximate organizational structure of the Chloe Base has been obtained by the Swarm through an "insider." The Swarm Network, a cheat code that allows for covert real-time communication, will play an unimaginable role in wartime.

Therefore, the Swarm that stormed the base headed straight for the command center, and the Blade speculated that Chloe was most likely there. Even if she wasn't there, it didn't matter; some of the Swarm's tiny reconnaissance Zerg had already begun spreading throughout the base. Even if these Zerg were discovered later, it wouldn't matter; they were a decoy, meant to expose themselves.

At the same time, the Swarm's oppressive attack will force Chloe to reveal her position.

Sure enough, the Swarm received information from their "insider" during their journey that they had located the target location. However, bad news followed: reinforcements from the Riken Race would arrive sooner than expected.

If the Zerg were to capture Chloe inside the base and then take her away, firstly, there wouldn't be enough time, and they would likely be caught by reinforcements. Secondly, doing so would make their purpose too obvious, which contradicts the image of the Zerg as having some intelligence but not a high level of intelligence.

Moreover, doing so would create significant problems for Chloe's future return. A prominent figure clearly known to the Zerg, a figure the Zerg were willing to conquer a base to capture, would seem suspicious to any normal person if he were simply rescued.

Therefore, an unexpected event is needed to make Chloe leave the base on her own initiative.

So the insects began to press closer, maintaining a certain distance, constantly creating tension and a sense of oppression. Under these circumstances, a "reasonable" suggestion was conveyed to Chloe, while subtly guiding and implying her in their words.

The base can no longer stop the bugs, but the bugs can't fly, so they'll be safe once they take off in an airship.

The suggestion was adopted because it was "reasonable".

With the selfless cover of the "Patrol Wounded," Chloe finally boarded the Gunboat.

At this point, the plan was nearing completion, and the Blade, who had been closely monitoring the battle, breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Indeed, with both the ground resistance forces and the Gunboat pilots being "on their own side," Chloe was already trapped.

The insects' attack intensified, and the commander of the defensive line, "forced into a corner," ordered the dome to be opened, allowing the Gunboat to fly out.

The Acid Bug, who had been waiting outside, easily damaged the Gunboat with the help of the pilot.

Under these circumstances, it was perfectly "reasonable" for the Gunboat, billowing black smoke, to make an emergency landing far from the base. Even if the Gunboat hadn't been damaged, it would still have made an emergency landing, and Gunboat Riken Race inspection of the damaged ship that the pilot was inexperienced and made an operational error.

After all, they were just new recruits on patrol. Under such tense circumstances, it's quite reasonable for them to make some mistakes while operating the spaceship, isn't it?

After the Gunboat makes an emergency landing, a Zerg hive will "coincidentally" appear nearby. Chloe Base a radius of fifty kilometers and is riddled with underground tunnels, so no matter where the Gunboat lands, there will "coincidentally" be a hive there.

Since it was precisely during the Zerg's "hunting time," it was perfectly "reasonable" that the people on the Gunboat were captured by the Zerg.

Thus, the plan to capture the high-ranking commander of the Riken Race came to a successful conclusion.