Strong Yet Weak

"I thought security would be looser inside. I didn't expect it to be this excessive..."

After burrowing into the building, the Collectors encountered radiation scans even tighter than those at the checkpoints along the shield's perimeter. There were fewer people, but pressing deeper became more difficult. Even a creature the size of a mosquito would be detected if it flew in.

The Collectors sacrificed part of their mass to create an independently flying specimen and tentatively sent it into contact with the scanning rays. In the next instant, the specimen was burned to ashes by a thermal beam.

These scanning rays were merely triggers. Identification was handled by computers installed somewhere unknown. Once something was identified as foreign, thermal laser beams would immediately be released, incinerating it at high temperatures.

However, the Collectors were not without countermeasures. After all, they were not Kess; there was no need for them to take the corridors the Kess had lined with layer upon layer of scanning rays.

They chemically etched through the walls and burrowed inside. Once they had determined the direction, they could reach any location within the Kess buildings without obstruction. With almost no one stationed there, the chances of the Collectors being discovered actually fell. The Kess would never have dreamed that the invaders they sought to defend against would bypass their ray scans in such a manner.

"Is this what those Kess went to such lengths to protect?"

The Collectors passed through a wall and infiltrated a room, but they did not enter it. The room was filled with all kinds of scanning rays and contained radioactive materials, sending its radiation levels off the charts. Forget small insects—even bacteria drifting through the air would have a hard time surviving in such an environment. The room's designer had truly stopped