Age of Cosmic Exploration

Chapter 253: Attack!
Chapter 253: Attack!

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Very quickly, the transport shuttles were directed to the mother ship with the Prototype 003s’ protection. They headed towards the holes that were made on the walls and entered the mother ship through them.

The inside of the mother ship had fared slightly better. Electrical circuits and devices were sparking all over the place. However, other than the few spots were the damage was especially serious, most of the area suffered nothing more than a few burnt circuits. Generally speaking, there wasn’t much danger.

Even though the Defense Unit soldiers weren’t wearing space armors, they still had on uniform space combat suits. These were already the fourth edition combat suits. If taken back to 3rd revolution Earth, this suit would be stronger than any bullet-proof outfit on Earth. Even sniper rifles wouldn’t be able to pierce through it, much less common bullets. Even with tank cannon, the person would only die from the vibration and the combat suit would remain unharmed.

This version of space combat suit came with internal energy storage, so it could create an electromagnetic shield. Defense against common firearms like Gaussian rifles was available. Of course, its defense against heavy artillery was still lacking. Then again, it wasn’t part of the plan for Defense Unit soldiers to be involved in classified missions. They had always used their advantage in numbers and firepower to overpower their enemies, so this space combat suit was more than enough to serve that purpose.

Just like that, 1,000 Defense Unit soldiers entered the space merchants’ mother ship. Under Guang Zhen’s leadership, they were divided into five units. The units weren’t able to connect with each other because the mother ship was in a state of shut down, meaning they were all covered by creator’s particle.

It had been years since mankind had received this technology from the junkyard civilization, so they had come up with a solution to this kind of problem. It was something akin to a signal relay station, a mini creator’s particle isolator so to speak. It could undo the effect of creator’s particle within a certain radius. Even though the area covered was small and it could only last for twelve hours before it required a change of battery or completely malfunctioned, it was fairly cheap to produce and almost every Defense Unit soldier was equipped with one.

Without wasting any time, the five units were formed. Other than the main unit, which was led by Guang Zhen, the rest of the four units each brought along a Black Dragon and spread out to explore the mother ship. Simultaneously, signal relay stations were set up at regular intervals. That way, information from all the units could be compiled at the main unit’s location. The main unit therefore had set up a basic defense barricade and a computer server to monitor and analyze the war situation.

The Defense Unit pressed forward according to training procedures. Not long after that, about 50 Black Star Troopers under Yao Yuan’s command also entered the mother ship. They arrived at Guang Zhen’s side and their command was given to non-Homo Evolutis who were wearing space armors similar to theirs.

Guang Zhen didn’t stand on courtesy, he immediately arranged for 30 troopers to go assist a soldier unit who was ambushed by the alien merchants’ military. The enemy unit was a mechanized siege unit. Currently, the Defense Unit’s troop was in hiding, and progress was halted because this was not a hurdle they could pass with just the support of one Black Dragon.

The 30 Black Star Troopers arrived at the scene swiftly. Under Guang Zhen’s command, the 30 troopers and Defense Unit soldiers launched a surprise attack. The one at the front line was, of course, the Black Dragon. The result was out of everyone’s expectations. Once this siege unit, which had impressive-looking vehicles, saw the 30 Black Star Troopers storming their way in, they started to turn and run. The bigger siege machines, which had trouble turning, were completely abandoned. The alien pilots climbed out and joined the retreating party. The battle was concluded with the aliens deserting and not firing even a bullet!

Just like that, the 30 troopers and 200 Defense Unit soldiers managed to capture about 200 aliens. 40 of them even committed suicide.

After confirming they wouldn’t be able to run, they committed suicide after being captured.

This was unbelievable. The aliens not only had regrettable fighting spirit, they were also extremely afraid of mankind. After they saw the 30 Black Star Troopers and 200 Defense Unit soldiers charge at them, they didn’t even dare to retaliate. They pretty much allowed themselves to be captured, and after capture, they decided to commit suicide. What kind of logic was this?

This curious development was immediately reported to Guang Zhen, and it befuddled him. He too couldn’t figure out the logic behind this. Logically speaking, a lack of fighting spirit meant a fear of death, and since there was fear of death, it would deter suicide. If they had the courage to commit suicide, why didn’t they use it to fight back?

Guang Zhen had a Black Star Trooper take a Prototype 003 Space Combat Jet and report this information back to Yao Yuan. After receiving the update, Yao Yuan rushed to the ready bridgehead and started discussing it with Guang Zhen.

”…Indeed, this doesn’t make sense from a logical standpoint, but it is not completely unexplainable either…”

Yao Yuan used his Thinker power and explained, ”It is quite likely they’ve stumbled into human Black Star Troopers, or probably Ying’s group, earlier, or they are unable to differentiate between the Black Star Troopers and Defense Unit soldiers. After all, Ying’s group was only 10 to 20 people in size and they managed to take down the energy core of this mother ship. I don’t believe that it was a covert operation either. This means that they must have taken down a sizeable amount of alien soldiers along the way before they reached their destination. Plus, you too are familiar with Ying’s disposition…”

Understanding dawned on Guang Zhen’s face. ”You know what, you’re probably right. I’ve told Ying many times, but if it was him leading the team, he would not leave the captives alive. There was probably a massacre as well. From the looks of things, the aliens are highly traumatized by the Black Star Trooper’s combat capability and probably Ying’s bloodlust as well. That must have sown the fear in their hearts. If viewed from this perspective, then their actions of committing suicide even after being captured can be understood.”

Yao Yuan nodded. ”Indeed, but this is a good advantage for us as well. In terms of war, the first thing we need to combat is the issue of psychology. Since the aliens are afraid of us, why not make use of this weakness? Let’s take a look at the captives we have. Find a few that are willing to surrender and lead us to the nearest important locales or secret cores or to meet with the alien merchants’ higher executives. Along the way, if we run into more alien units, we can use the captives as a bridge of communication, to present them with a choice. If they want to fight, then their deaths will be gruesome after capture, but if they surrender, I will make sure we will not harm their lives and will not torture them.”

Guang Zhen nodded along, but he hesitated when Yao Yuan mentioned massacre. ”Are we really going to give gruesome deaths for those that resist, or is that just a scare tactic?”

Yao Yuan answered with a chilling tone, ”Of course it is for real! Any alien unit that dares to resist us humans will be slaughtered after they are captured! If not, how are we going to convince the rest that we are going to stick to our word? Why should we repay their aggression with kindness? This is a tipping point for us. Whether we can get our forces deep into the mother ship to secure strategic locations for negotiations later on hinges on this very moment. So why are you still hesitating?”

Guang Zhen seemed to be unconvinced. After all, a veteran Heaven’s Group soldier like himself was emotionally scarred by events like massacres…

”This is an order!” Yao Yuan had no choice but to pull ranks.

Guang Zhen immediately saluted and replied, ”Sir, yes, Sir!”

Just like that, the 4 Defense Unit soldiers powered on with the aid of 10 Black Star Troopers each. With the troopers and Black Dragon leading the charge, the infiltration speed gained a tremendous increase. At the same time, all the alien soldiers and civilian captives were sent over to Guang Zhen’s bridgehead.

Guang Zhen started to form a unit that would lead mankind deeper into the mother ship. Using the computer to translate human language into the junkyard aliens’ language, he tried to select volunteers from the alien captives. However, it seemed like some of the captives even understood human language. To increase the efficiency of this leading group, Guang Zhen even promised those that volunteered that he would not only ensure their safety but also the safety of three of their friends. The human military would not harm them.

Unsurprisingly, many of the aliens volunteered; not only the civilians, but also the soldiers. At that moment, Guang Zhen saw a new face of the alien merchants. They seemed to have weak or even no loyalty to their race, country, or team; they would turn on their own should the situation become too high-pressured.

Just as Guang Zhen sent off the leading unit to join mankind’s military, Xi Kong had managed to locate Liu Bai, Ebon, Zhang Heng, Ren Tao, Xiao Niao, and the last remaining Survivor wandering through the space merchants’ mother ship.

And Ying…

Was ascertained to be dead!