"Well, it's best not to unless absolutely necessary. We've been here for over ten thousand years without any progress. Going back like this would disappoint the people. If all else fails, we can first wage guerrilla warfare against Li Shun in the Matter River. If that still doesn't work, I'll go into the danger zone alone and have the general bring you back."
"That won't do. Leaving you alone in the danger zone will only get us executed if we go back. How about this, Academician, let's deal with Li Shun in the Matter River first. If it doesn't work out, we'll go back to the fleet and come back another time. The Reception Plan' can bring us back and also send us here."
How much longer until Li Shun arrives?
"About a year and a half, or at most two years if our defense system can be somewhat effective."
"Hang in there a little longer. Let's conduct a final analysis of our project as soon as possible, record the relevant data, and then see how things go."
"Alright, academicians, you need to hurry."
Beyond the Matter River, a fleet of 50 billion ships has assembled in the air. The sheer size of this fleet is in no way inferior to the Reaper fleet, and their disc-shaped appearance makes it easy to recognize that this is Li Shun's fleet.
"Sir, why don't you have the fleet clear the defense system? That would be faster."
"We're not in a hurry. If these beasts die, they die; there's no need to waste our warships. Besides, have you forgotten the terrifying weapon they used last time?"
"The Führer is right. They can't escape anyway; there are swarms of insects everywhere outside."
"Hmm, let the fleet follow the swarm. We'll go in after they clear out the defenses, and ideally after they activate that terrifying weapon. I reckon that weapon can't operate continuously; it'll take a lot of time to deploy. Let the swarm clear the minefield. Isn't that what these beasts are here for? They'd better all be wiped out, hmph."
"The leader has considered everything carefully; it was I who forgot. Rest assured, as long as our plan succeeds, these insects will naturally be no problem," Wei Kaiyuan said.
"Hmm, that's true." Li Shun revealed a slightly eerie smile.
Swarms of all sizes have rushed into the river of supplies, and countless laser beams, extremely high-temperature armor-piercing projectiles, and energy balls have flooded into the swarms.
These weapons exploded within the swarm, sending lower-level insects' fluids flying and corpses scattering everywhere. There were many weapons, but the swarm itself was even larger. They were like a rolling torrent of insects stretching for hundreds of millions of kilometers, advancing relentlessly forward, destroying everything in their path.
The defense system's weapons can kill the insects, but they cannot stop the swarm's advance; their overwhelming numerical superiority allows them to disregard the reduction in numbers caused by the defense system.
It wasn't until a year after the swarm had been cleared that Li Shun mobilized 5 billion warships to follow. Moreover, these 5 billion warships resembled a Hydra, and having learned from the previous lesson, Li Shun became even more cautious.
With a deafening roar, the massive tremor caused Li Zhixiong and Chen Peng to experience ringing in their ears and nearly bleed from their seven orifices. The entire base shook, and the surrounding meteorites, large and small, were instantly reduced to dust.
" Zhuge Xiong! Zhuge Xiong!" Chen Peng shouted loudly.
"Huh--?" Li Zhixiong picked at his ear with his finger and shook his head a few times. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"I have no idea--"
Chen Peng forced himself to recover a little, squinted, and began to focus on the holographic screen. These instruments were still working normally; instruments that couldn't withstand this kind of impact were simply incapable of fighting.
" Zhuge Xiong, here, here there's a huge explosion! Ah!!! Look, what is that?!" Chen Peng exclaimed in surprise.
Li Zhixiong's hearing had recovered somewhat. "It seems to be the same explosion as when we first entered the Matter River, except this time the explosion area is smaller. What is this dark pillar?"
"It looks like... a worm's leg!" Chen Peng guessed, looking at the image. By this time, both of them had basically recovered.
"Impossible! That leg is already 5,000 kilometers long! If it were an insect's leg, how big would that insect be?!"
" Zhuge Xiong, haven't we encountered enough things that have overturned our understanding since entering the Insect Zone? The first insect we encountered, which was around level 25, was already 50,000 kilometers long. Later, when we rushed into the Matter River, we also encountered five insects of this size. So, I wouldn't be surprised if the insect to which this leg belongs is even bigger."
"Strange, why is only one leg visible? Where is the rest? Is the reconnaissance equipment malfunctioning?"
"Sigh, you call yourself Little Zhuge, yet you still don't understand."
"You understand? Then tell me! If you can't give me a straight answer, I'll kick you away."
"You're not convinced? Haha, let me tell you, I understand everything now."
"Speak quickly, stop dawdling, you're driving me crazy!"
"Didn't the Heavenly Peak Civilization say that they resisted high-level insects in the fourth dimension? The insect to which this leg belongs is naturally also in the fourth dimension. The fourth dimension corresponding to the three-dimensional space to which this Matter River belongs should be the territory of this giant insect, so the insects outside dare not enter."
" Academician Zeng said that if a higher dimension is brought into a lower dimension, the higher dimension will fall and release enormous energy. The last and this unexplained explosions must have been caused by this giant worm bringing the fourth dimension into our three-dimensional universe during its activity. This is the only reasonable explanation."
"Then why haven't the insects attacked us all these years?"
"You still don't understand. Insects can definitely sense each other through their Consciousness Field, but they can't sense us. Last time, the red beetle entered this place and was sensed by this giant insect. This is its territory, so it set up an explosion to establish its dominance. It's the same this time, except this time it not only set up an explosion but also stretched out one of its legs to show the surrounding minions its power."
"That seems to be the case. Wow, not bad, not bad at all. You've improved. Keep up the good work; I have high hopes for you."
"Haha, General Chen Peng's explanation is indeed very reasonable." Academician Zeng walked in with a smile.
"Academician, what brings you here?" Li Zhixiong greeted him.
I've come to tell you some good news.
"What good news?"
"Of the hundred Reaper we deployed to the danger zone 300 years ago, one has just returned!"
"Real!!!"
"Of course, I wouldn't joke like that."
"Yes, yes, yes, Academician, but what does this return flight mean?"
"Well, you'll see in a bit. First, come with me to take a look at this Reaper."
Outside the Matter River, the surging insect swarm had changed direction and retreated towards the outside of the Matter River. The explosion had killed at least half of the insect swarm, but Li Shun's fleet was not affected because it was far away.