Choice Two

The hatch closed silently, and the team members switched the control room to concealment mode.

From the very beginning of the equipment's development, researchers envisioned a variety of scenarios. Because the Z-Series Squad are fleet defense squads, their deployment usually indicates that the enemy has already infiltrated the warship.

Therefore, the interior of the warship was no longer safe, and the members of Z Squad were completely unable to protect themselves because they had to remotely control the robots in combat.

Therefore, the operating cabin is not only exceptionally robust in response to this situation, but also offers a variety of modes to choose from. For example, the concealment mode is currently in use.

Once this mode is activated, an opening appears in the metal floor beneath the control cabin, allowing it to sink. The floor then returns to its original position, and the room becomes much more spacious and quiet.

However, what this team didn't know was that the things they feared most were often the most likely to happen, and a very low probability possibility was magnified infinitely.

In the corner of the room's ceiling, a flash of light appeared; upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a very tiny reptile.

Although the Komok's technological level is at the bottom of the Mid-Ring Civilizations, they are still a Mid-Ring Civilizations, a powerful civilization that all Outer-Ring Civilizations have to look up to.

With this level of technological capability, in the early stages of technological civilization, many lines that used to be laid via pipelines have already been replaced by more advanced technologies.

For example, the energy transmission channels have changed from the early separate design of electrical wires to the current integrated design. These transmission channels have long been integrated into the ship's hull, accomplished through special manufacturing processes.

This Mature Form ensures that the hull and energy transmission channels are perfectly sealed, leaving no space that could be exploited by outsiders. However, certain design requirements of the hull, coupled with some physiological defects of intelligent life forms, prevent the hull from being truly completely seamless. Some buffer zones, ventilation ducts, and other features allow for loopholes to be exploited.

However, to reduce the possibility of civilizations emerging in these areas, they have made these passages as small and complex as possible. But this still cannot prevent the infiltration of small Scout Bug.

Although Z Squad's operations bay was well-hidden, it had an exhaust duct leading to it. The Zerg have always been adept at knowing their enemy and themselves, and fighting a war of information asymmetry.

Therefore, the mutated queen Insect Empress, formed from the Nano-Seed that infiltrated the warship, immediately produced a large number of reconnaissance units. These small reconnaissance individuals do not require much material, and due to their rapid growth caused by the mutation, they can quickly join the battle after hatching, providing information support to friendly forces inside the ship.

The scout bug had already reached the room, but finding nothing amiss, it remained idle. It had recorded all of Z Squad's actions; the fluorescence was a sign of accelerated information transmission and energy activation. This only occurs under overload mode and doesn't happen under normal conditions.

The three models of Z-series robots, which were originally idle in a passageway, suddenly trembled, and the eyes of the humanoid robots lit up, indicating that someone had regained control of them.

The team members exchanged a few words and quickly moved in a certain direction. Along the way, they encountered some Zerg units. Perhaps because the Komok had already surrendered and the allotted time had not yet arrived, and because their direction of movement was correct, the Zerg did not attack these robots.

Taking advantage of this, the squad moved recklessly through the passageway. They needed to secure a favorable position near the command bridge before acting.

Time passed slowly, and the Zerg had already given them half an hour. After taking control of the warship's energy hub, the Zerg had gained significantly more energy. By conserving their resources, they created a fully equipped Wolf Striker, the only one on the warship so far.

Such an important combat force certainly cannot be used for posing like its downgraded counterparts; it needs to make the most of its equipment.

At that moment, the Wolf Striker appeared at the door of the control room where Z Squad was hidden. The Zerg never bothered with these unruly guys who had no further use.

The Wolf Striker extended its right claw, which seemed to be wrapped in some kind of terrifying energy. It gently scratched at the tightly closed door in front of it a few times.

To prevent these annoying creatures from getting wind of the situation and diverting resources, the Zerg did not communicate with the ship's captain but instead took their own approach.

The Negative Energy and Positive Energy on the blade neutralized each other, and the sturdy alloy door was cut open like tofu. The violent act of breaking down the door triggered the alarm inside the room.

Taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, Z Squad had successfully completed their previous tactical objectives and reached a good position where they lay in ambush.

Moreover, they discovered that the Zerg ignored the metal lumps unless they initiated an attack with their robots. Of course, they would soon find out that the Zerg's indifference wasn't actually due to this reason.

The house where they were located was alerted by an intrusion alarm, waking them up. At this point in time, only the Zerg would commit such an act of intrusion. However, their entry into the room did not mean the Zerg had discovered them.

Therefore, the team members did not choose to act rashly. They still had faith in their own people's technology and in the stealth capabilities of the control pod.

The team members secretly turned on the surveillance equipment in the room, and what they found delighted them. Just as they were unfamiliar with the Zerg's methods, the Zerg were indeed unfamiliar with their technology. Even after the Zerg had taken control of the command bridge, their access system had not been lifted, and they still had the authority to view the surveillance equipment.

However, their joy was short-lived. Through the high-definition images, they only saw some spider-like Zerg units rushing into the room. Then, less than three seconds later, the surveillance footage went dark one by one, indicating that the monitoring devices had been destroyed.

This situation gave them a strange sense of foreboding; the Zerg seemed all too familiar with the layout of the ship's cabin. But before they could react, a desperate cry came through the communicator.

"No!..." A roar followed by a dying groan.

"Nascito, how are you?" Knox asked anxiously.

But instead of Nascito's response, he heard the dying screams of another teammate.