The Situation

The Kari hidden in the wall, positioned in a semi-fixed state, was glued to the wall at its base. Since it had been shattered, the tactical squad was unsure how it moved.

Although the B-3 is a repair robot, it is used on warships and possesses some basic navigational equipment. For example, its hot melt gun for welding metal has a strong offensive capability.

Although this Zerg tentacle moves at speeds hundreds of times faster than it can be seen in slow motion when attacking, it doesn't seem like the type capable of rapid movement no matter how you look at it.

If the Zerg tentacles were to move and attack B-3, it would be impossible to destroy it before B-3 could react, inevitably leaving some traces of the battle. The robot's built-in image capture function could also provide more intelligence.

However, judging from both the situation on the ground and the received video footage, it can only mean that the Zerg brachioths had been lying in ambush along B-3's route from the very beginning.

Judging from the traces left by the destroyed Zerg tentacles, it corroded a portion of the wall, replacing it with itself, and then used powerful camouflage to deceive all friendly detection instruments. However, the corroded area will not regenerate on its own; once the Zerg tentacles are destroyed, obvious traces will be left in their place.

Gwendolyn has located the location of the attack based on the last footage of the B-3 before it lost contact, and marked it with a red area on the team's visual screen.

However, the team members found nothing unusual in that area—no signs of battle, no B-3 wreckage whatsoever. This was highly unusual.

If the Zerg tentacles were lying in ambush there, they would have corroded a section of the floor, but it remains perfectly intact.

"Be careful. If our guess isn't wrong, then it means that thing is still there."

"Fire!" Although they were inside the ship's cabin, since permission had already been granted to fire on the suspected target, Knox could not order his squad members to probe the target with their own bodies in this situation.

Although this body is only temporary and its destruction is not a big deal, as it can be replaced later, that will all take time. In the current situation, everything is still unknown, and he must ensure that the squad maintains sufficient numbers and combat effectiveness. One member has already left the combat ranks; there can be no more such reckless casualties.

The ZR-2 aircraft did not engage, but the other two aircraft revealed their Vulcan cannons. These individual weapons used for fire suppression, although having an extremely high rate of fire, have relatively weak single-shot power and limited destructive force against metal alloys, making them well-suited for the cabin environment.

Apart from the destroyed Kari and Gale providing aerial vision, the remaining six Vulcan cannons unleashed their full firepower, their incredibly fast rate of fire creating a dazzling barrage of bullets.

With the support of modern warfare technology, close-range crushing fire at a distance of no more than 100 meters is virtually impossible to miss. The red area marked by artificial intelligence received comprehensive coverage; the Vulcan cannon's molten shells struck the metal alloy floor, scorching it black and leaving it pitted and uneven.

However, one irregular area was splattered with juices and even smelled of roasted meat.

"@#￥%*, there really is one there!"

"I walked past there before, why didn't this thing attack me? If it had attacked me, I probably wouldn't have been able to dodge it."

"Don't overestimate your brother. Please remove the possibility, otherwise it will hurt your Kari."

"I guess it's because this thing is too immobile, and when you passed by, its main body was three meters tall, which was beyond its attack range."

"Oh, Kari's still unlucky."

"The Zerg's cloaking technology is indeed well-deserved, living up to its reputation."

"This isn't stealth technology at all, but this camouflage technique is far more advanced than our metal mimicry. I think it's necessary to report this to the Alliance."

"Hmph, that's none of your business, you lowly soldier. The captain is watching, and he'll decide what to do."

"Alright, let's get back to what we're doing." Knox promptly interrupted the team's discussion, continuing, "We don't know how much of these things are left, so everyone be careful."

"The Captain is right. If there's one, there will be two, and if there's two, there will be three. There might be many more."

"Maybe there are only two of them. Once we've dealt with them, our mission is complete, and we can go home."

"Shut up, you idiot! Have you ever wondered how they even got onto our warship?"

"Indeed, these things are almost incapable of movement. Their presence on the warship indicates that there is at least one transport unit lurking nearby."

"Looks like everyone's got work to do. Our small team definitely can't search such a huge warship."

"This is a Major Worker. Even if all the teams participate in the search, it won't be finished anytime soon, and who knows what unexpected things might happen along the way."

"The situation could be even worse. We've seen what happened before; even if that thing was right in front of us, we couldn't detect it. We can't possibly scan every corner of the warship with Vulcan cannons. In my opinion, the detection problem must be solved. No matter how many teams we send out, it won't make a difference."

"Agreed. Moreover, the situation is extremely dangerous. If we don't know their location in advance, given their attack speed and intensity, we have no way to dodge them and can only trade one for one. If there are many of them, we don't have many spare robots."

"This is indeed a problem, but these are matters for the captain and his team to consider. Until there are new conclusions, we need to focus on our own work."

"Captain, what do we do now?"

"First, eliminate the danger on B5 Level!"

The squad regrouped, maintaining a relatively safe distance from each other, ensuring that neither more than two mechs would be attacked by the same tentacle, while still providing support as quickly as possible.

Because the Zerg's brachial units attack at extremely high speeds, far exceeding the reaction limits of the human body, while artificial intelligence can react in time, the material and performance of the machine cannot withstand such rapid and variable operations.

Therefore, once they enter the attack range of the Zerg's tentacles, it will inevitably be a one-for-one exchange. And who gains or loses in this exchange of casualties depends on who has more units and can hold out until the other side is wiped out.

Fortunately, the entire Z-Series Squad completes missions by remotely controlling robots. Even if the robots are damaged, the members will only be slightly frightened and will not suffer any other problems. They can simply reconnect their control devices to a new robot and rejoin the battlefield.