The Alpha Assault Squad Arrives

Invincible Cheng Ge: March! I've got a situation here. Come help, quick!

Cute Is Justice: I know, I know. It's the middle of the night... I'm so sleepy...

Invincible Cheng Ge: Hurry up...

Cute Is Justice: Relax, relax. I'm getting dressed.

Invincible Cheng Ge: Forget getting dressed, just get over here! Any later and I might be dead!

Cute Is Justice: You animal, pervert, creep...

Lin Chen watched as March 7th sent a string of angry emojis across his phone screen.

Lin Chen felt a headache coming on.

Sure enough, entrusting his life to March 7th had been a very risky move.

Scrrrape...

The eerie, mournful singing outside the window continued.

The sound of fingernails scraping metal also came from the cabin's alloy door.

Lin Chen was still holding his phone.

Out of the corner of his eye, he vaguely saw something red float past the window.

Hmm... it moved horizontally, without any sound of contact with the ground.

"Was I seeing things?"

Lin Chen hurriedly put down his phone, his pupils contracting sharply.

His gaze locked onto the window.

People supposedly experienced associative hallucinations under extreme terror.

The instinctive images of horror buried in their minds would awaken.

He had been too busy looking at his phone just now.

Lin Chen wasn't sure whether his eyes had played tricks on him.

But the very next moment, the red human-shaped figure floated past the window again.

Long black hair, a blood-red dress...

This time, he saw it clearly!

"Holy shit... a ghost!"

"Central control tower command: deploy the Space Marine squad!"

Lin Chen sucked in a cold breath and hesitated no longer.

With a thought, he played his only trump card.

He genuinely had no idea what that ghostly thing floating past the window was.

But given the situation before him...

It seemed the so-called "Uncanny" had already pinpointed his location.

[Command accepted. Space Marine squad warp-in complete!]

The system's cold, mechanical voice sounded in his mind.

The next instant, a dazzling flash of cyan-blue light streaked past.

Six Space Marines wearing heavy powered armor and carrying Gauss Electromagnetic Rifles appeared.

They packed the already cramped living cabin to bursting.

Lin Chen, who had been sitting by the window, was shoved straight into a corner.

"Commander! The Alpha Assault Squad has arrived on the battlefield."

"Assault squad leader, designation 001, awaiting your orders!"

A Space Marine in blue powered armor with chipped paint dropped to one knee before Lin Chen.

Looking at the heavily armored soldier towering over two meters tall, Lin Chen felt much of his fear subside.

Whether they were useful or not, they could at least bolster his courage, right?

"Hold this position! Shoot to kill any threat you detect!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Upon receiving Lin Chen's orders, designation 001 made a hand signal.

All the Space Marines assumed formation and aimed their heavy rifles at the cabin door.

"Designation 001, have you detected any threats?"

With the Alpha Assault Squad backing him up, Lin Chen regained some composure.

He turned his gaze toward the window again.

"Reporting, Commander. No target units detected!"

Marine 001 answered crisply.

"Just as I thought... looks like they really aren't much help."

"Physical methods alone probably can't deal with these uncanny entities."

Lin Chen let out a long sigh and rubbed his temples.

He felt utterly overwhelmed.

"Commander, if we had a Psionic Detection Field Generator..."

"We should be able to detect fully concealed targets effectively."

"The Alpha Assault Squad is not equipped with such a device..."

Seeing Lin Chen's troubled expression, designation 001 offered a reminder.

"System! How do I get a Psionic Detection Field Generator?"

Prompted by designation 001, Lin Chen perked up and immediately called on the system.

[The host can purchase the corresponding item from the system store.]

[Cost: 500 conquest points.]

The system's voice sounded promptly, answering Lin Chen's question.

"How do I earn conquest points?"

[Performing Field Decomposition on anomalies provides a continuous supply of conquest points.]

[Completing conquest events in interstellar regions rewards large amounts of conquest points.]

[Acquiring world-class influence through broadcasts across vast star sectors can also...]

After hearing the system's answer, Lin Chen nodded silently.

Judging by the system's functions, there were definitely ways to deal with these uncanny entities.

It was just that getting started was always the hardest part.

He had only just entered the game and didn't have a single conquest point.

"Reporting, Commander. A suspicious target has been detected approaching at high speed."

"Human female build. Species unknown. Weapon carried: a composite bow made from special materials."

"War database analysis indicates an extremely high threat level!"

"Commander, should we initiate an elimination operation against the suspicious target?"

Designation 001 delivered his report rapidly, his deep voice steady and entirely free of panic.

The soldiers of the Conqueror Legion were fearless and would enter any battlefield, regardless of the cost.

Their loyalty was also beyond question.

Although the Alpha Assault Squad didn't seem particularly useful against the present crisis...

This trial run had still given Lin Chen a little confidence.

"Designation 001, do you have a name?"

Looking at the Space Marine encased entirely in powered armor, Lin Chen asked casually.

Numbers were easy to identify.

But Lin Chen still preferred to address the soldiers under his command by name.

"Reporting, Commander. You can call me Jim Raynor!"

Designation 001 answered without the slightest hesitation.

"All right, I'll call you Reynolds, then."

"Reynolds, lead the Alpha Assault Squad in retreat. The combat deployment is over!"

Lin Chen nodded solemnly and spoke in a composed tone.

"Commander, that threatening target..."

"Don't worry. I'll handle it."

After Lin Chen spoke, a dazzling cyan-blue arc flashed past.

The entire Alpha Assault Squad vanished before his eyes.

"Looks like the Conqueror Legion's soldiers aren't puppets incapable of thinking for themselves."

"That's not bad. An army of puppets would be boring..."

From Reynolds's reaction just now, Lin Chen could more or less confirm it.

If he had been merely a puppet, Jim Raynor would never have questioned anything.

A moment later, hurried knocking sounded outside the door.

Along with it came March 7th's pleasant, melodious voice.

"Idiot! Open the door already!"

"If you don't open up, I'm leaving you to fend for yourself!"

Through the window in the cabin wall, he saw March 7th wearing a wary expression.

The weight on Lin Chen's heart finally lifted.

Thank goodness... March 7th had made it here.

Lin Chen was rather relieved that the red figure outside the window hadn't floated straight inside during those last few moments.

Perhaps the Alpha Assault Squad's imposing presence had intimidated that suspected female ghost?

Whatever the case, he had managed to survive for now.