A Fish That Slipped Through the Net?

The Riken Race on Laze Planet were filled with apprehension.

Because of their location, it would be difficult for them to evacuate in a timely manner if the war went against them.

In other words, once the Riken Race are defeated, they will be expendable. The Riken Race will definitely prioritize preserving their warships and other vital forces, and will not leave them behind to provide support.

Fortunately, while listening to the radio, the information delivered by the sweet-voiced announcer consistently gave them the upper hand.

The alien Zerg combat units are being countered by our new weapons, and the situation is improving. If this continues, the war will likely end soon, and they will be able to complete their mission safely.

It would probably take the alien Zerg another decade or even several decades to launch a war of this scale again. By then, they would have long been promoted and received raises. Even if there were another war, they would at least be able to secure a position on a warship or even in the rear, without having to live in such a dangerous place.

But then the detector suddenly sounded an alarm, and everyone's hearts skipped a beat. Why did it have to go off at this time? The timing was too coincidental.

It was hard for them to believe that this was an accident.

"Captain Laide, what's going on? Is it an earthquake?" an engineer asked, hoping for the best.

Only Captain Laide and two members of the guard team can understand the instrument data here; the rest are engineers who maintain the nuclear power plant.

Rickon stared at Captain Laide with hopeful eyes.

Captain Laide frowned, staring seriously at the data before him. He looked up and glanced at everyone, understanding what kind of answer they wanted to hear, but this wasn't something that could be resolved by self-deception.

He hesitated to speak, not because he didn't want to shatter everyone's expectations, but because he himself didn't understand what was going on.

"Just say what you need to say, Captain Laide. Everyone knows the nature of the work here; the will has already been written," said one of the engineers, his tone somewhat somber. Laide's expression seemed to say it all.

"It wasn't an earthquake, but I'm not sure what it was either," Laide quickly explained, noticing the misunderstanding.

"What do you mean?" the crowd asked, puzzled.

"The earthquake data map doesn't look like this."

"So the enemy has arrived?"

"Uncertain. The trend of this data chart is very strange. I've never seen it before." Laide shook his head with a serious expression. He had a good memory. When he participated in the training, he memorized the data charts generated in various situations, such as those generated by various tools, animals, machinery, various explosives, weapons, and even earthquakes of various levels.

It was precisely because of his excellent performance in the assessment that he was appointed as the Captain of this three-person team. But he didn't recognize a single data chart in front of him.

He passed the data chart to the two team members for review, and they both shook their heads. Laide's expression became even more serious, with a hint of doubt in his expression.

The data graph is so smooth, it's like someone is walking through the soil without any obstacles.

They had never seen it before; this was the first time the Tunneling Worm had appeared, and the excavation method was completely different from before.

"Don't worry, we're surrounded by a 20-meter-thick reinforced layer. Even if there are enemies, it will be very difficult for them to break through here," a guard reassured the group.

Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, everyone felt a tremor in the cabin. Although it was slight, it was very noticeable, and dust from the ceiling covered everyone's heads and faces.

What's going on?

"Oh no! Something has hit the outer protective layer! Sound the alarm!" Laide reacted quickly, shouting as he lunged towards the alarm.

"Captain, we're still not sure what's outside. What if it's a false alarm..." one of the team members warned.

"Damn it, even if it's a false alarm, I'm willing to be punished afterwards," Laide roared, as he reached the siren and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

A piercing alarm blared throughout the underground base, while news of the attack on the nuclear power plant was also sent to the space fleet.

Upon hearing the alarm, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, regardless of their inner thoughts. Indeed, what did a little punishment matter compared to their lives?

--

"General, multiple underground bases on Laze Planet have reported being attacked."

"The Zerg?" Hamis asked, frowning, upon hearing his Adjutant's report.

"It's not certain yet."

"Hmph, it must be! I knew they were going to attack Laze Planet for some reason." The three legion commanders had been keeping video communication on for easy contact and command of the battle. Arther had also received the news and said angrily.

"But how did they get through our defenses and infiltrate Laze Planet?" Novaru wondered.

"Why infiltrate? I think they're the ones who slipped through the net last time." The hot-tempered Arther's intelligence kicked in.

"I think so too. We have a tight defense around Laze Planet, so the Zerg couldn't have approached silently. It seems that the most likely possibility is the remnants that were missed last time," Hamis agreed.

"Let's send Special Operations Team to handle this!"

The three had long suspected that something was amiss on Laze Planet, and since the Zerg hadn't revealed themselves yet, they were somewhat uneasy. After all, the greatest threat is the unknown.

It has now been discovered that the Zerg's backup plan consists of only a few survivors. The group was already prepared for these survivors. Although there is no direct evidence, it is reasonable that some of the many Space Octopus that descended upon Laze Planet escaped along the way.

Even if they cleared some areas, Laze Planet, and this guy is so good at hiding, it would be abnormal if they didn't miss anything.

However, given the number of these escapees, they can only carry out attacks on energy facilities, and even then, the scale won't be large. Aside from causing some minor trouble, they can't influence the course of the battle.

This is likely just the Zerg's last stand, and the war will soon be over, with the Riken Race.

But they have clearly become too arrogant.

They still have only a superficial understanding of the Swarm's technological system, yet they have an inexplicable confidence in asserting that those "escaped fish" cannot pose a greater threat.

Even a 20-meter-thick reinforcement layer could only slightly hinder the Tunneling Worm; their hard and dense structure still could not withstand their terrifying spiral-shaped teeth.

The rubble and steel bars were all bitten and swallowed, submerged in the earth. The Tunneling Worm forged ahead relentlessly, creating a three-meter-diameter tunnel that led directly from the depths of the underground to the nuclear power plant.

Behind the Tunneling Worm were countless Larval Form, who had been hiding underground since hatching, growing and developing on radioactive minerals. Now, their time had finally come to see the light of day.

Even those beings with only mechanical thinking would surely yearn for the vastness of the cosmos.

Thank you Jiyu the 1500 Qidian Coins reward.