Mech: Shattering of the Galaxy

"What an idea!"

Mu Fan blurted out.

"I think this matter... might be connected to those Star Map Relics. In the Cosmic Plane of the Yake Empire before, there was the same issue: some items from other planes were often eventually excavated from those Ancient Relics. According to limited data analysis, Ancient Relics seem to have a special attraction to foreign items, and many ownerless objects eventually get absorbed into them."

"To put it simply, Ancient Relics are like undeveloped treasures to the natives of this Cosmic Plane, but for those foreign Universe Plane items, it seems like a gathering place or sanctuary that protects them from the erosion of this space."

"Ancient Relic? The Extreme Special Soldier, or the current Taigu Mecha, its core engine Meteor 3 seems to be a product of an Ancient Relic, right?"

"That's right, start finding information related to Ancient Relics now. Shura should have a reaction to its weapons when in close proximity, shouldn't it? Once an Ancient Relic is found, take Shura over and see if it reacts, isn't that simple?" Lord Black said calmly.

"Great, prioritize the search for information on Ancient Relics."

Indeed, with Black's methodical summary, the information suddenly became much clearer. With Mu Fan's orders, this text was highlighted in red and embedded into the light screen.

"Next, project the 3D map and emphasize the areas where the Giant Corruptor might exist, then plan the optimal reconnaissance route."

Upon hearing Mu Fan's words, a stereoscopic map of planet 131 was quickly projected.

The areas, varying in size, were divided layer by layer, with colors ranging from light to deep, forming six concentric ring areas from inside out. According to Black, the colors were distributed by danger levels.

Theoretically, places with the highest danger levels would host high-level Zegs.

The location of the Shadow Base was green, and the marked areas were red.

Then, many routes began to spread out from the green area.

"The drone's detection range is limited, and it can only confirm scanning of land within 300 kilometers. Currently, a type of shipborne drone reconnaissance ship has been produced. These ships are not large, don't fly at high altitudes, and have good stealth capabilities. Their greatest strength is a biological radar specifically designed to target the Zeg Clan. Previously, we were afraid of alerting the enemy, so they've been on standby."

"Get ready to depart, starting from the first route."

...

The streamlined, elliptical hull and broad curved observation dome provided the best view for anyone seated inside, with the most breathtaking feature being the large transparent glass underfoot.

Sitting in the command cabin was like entering a panoramic observation ball.

Apart from the quiet electrical hum of the equipment, there wasn't a single bit of noise as the craft smoothly skimmed above the Primitive Forest.

This was the third day on planet 131. On the map's six layers of regions, he had only explored the smallest first layer.

Black set the engine power of the craft to 50%, minimizing the chances of being detected.

The biological radar showed an eerie calmness; no red dots had appeared for three days, making him almost believe the equipment was malfunctioning.

"Black, is there a problem with this radar?"

"How could there be a problem!? Out of the 62 drones dispatched, you can freely switch their viewpoints for viewing."

Ahead of Mu Fan, the light screen was indeed divided into various zones, each showing different footage.

The shared trait was that all these images were in motion.

Mu Fan only needed to move his finger to enlarge any of the images.

"The work of intelligence gathering is very monotonous; this is already several times the normal acquisition speed. You should know that conducting reconnaissance with maximum efficiency while ensuring safety is a perpetual topic for those major forces."

Another three days passed, and Mu Fan, in a shipborne drone reconnaissance vessel, had just penetrated the third layer of the area.

The two layers showed no suspicious Zeg Clan activity.

It seemed as if these insects had cordoned off an exclusion zone from prior human settlements; not only were there no insects, but no normal biological life was present either.

The radar remained quiet; during these six days, Mu Fan hadn't seen a single bird.

This boundless Primitive Forest, apart from its dense vegetation, exuded only a heavy lifelessness, leading Mu Fan to involuntarily pay more attention.

"In areas where the Zeg Clan exists, no other life forms are allowed to coexist. The food chain of these insects is very simple. The predators and the prey, the predators are themselves, and all other life is food. Finishing the exploration of the second layer implies the Zeg Clan previously existed here but withdrew due to unknown reasons?"

Black's voice carried a hint of doubt.

Previously, in the second layer, thirty drones would be deployed, and three or four would be shot down. Now it was exceptionally smooth; note that the second layer's perimeter was already 600 kilometers from the Shadow Base.

According to previously acquired data, this was an extremely abnormal phenomenon.

"Black, have the subsequent fleet land on the edge of the second layer and construct a temporary base."

"Understood."

In less than half a day, over sixty SCVs were transported and began bustling in this dense Primitive Forest, taking the dropped supply ship as the core for welding and construction.

In the plan Mu Fan and Black had discussed, the first and second layers would be explored through reconnaissance ships.

From the third layer onwards, should the drones dispatched by the ship be attacked, it would immediately switch to Mecha exploration.

Mu Fan dared not take any chances with the Zeg.

While Mu Fan was contemplating, the divided screen suddenly showed zone number 41 turn into an eerie green before the image turned blank white.

"Drone 41 has been attacked!"

"Drones 40 and 42, adjust detection direction."

Above the endless Primitive Forest, two streamlined silver-white drones, about thirty kilometers apart, tilted and began moving toward the area between them upon receiving the signal.

Beneath the green interwoven canopy and on the thick humus, four yellow-green jointed insects grouped together, simultaneously looking skyward.

The eerie yellow-green compound eyes conveyed a cruel gaze.

At that moment, their conical mouthparts still dripped green liquid, causing the humus to bubble upon contact and then dissolve.

Nearby, a flying craft barely a meter in diameter was stuck in the soil.

The faintly visible silver-white sheen of the craft was now mostly covered in green liquid, corroded with pits and troughs.

These were clearly the Zeg Clan's jet tiger insects!

Soon after, a strange buzzing sound echoed, causing the gathered jet tiger insects to abruptly tremble.

They quickly divided in two directions with jointed limbs, crawling toward the bases of those sturdy trees.

Strong pincers were raised high before stabbing down, embedding deeply into the tree trunks.

Their bodies angled at 80° to the ground.

Swish, swish...

Two silver-white shadows tore through the dense leaves, flashing swiftly amid the trees.

Thud~

Amid a faint jet sound, four green mucus clusters unexpectedly emerged from below the canopy at extremely tricky angles.

The originally parallel-flying drones suddenly overlapped.

The lower drone was instantly covered in green liquid, emitting thick blue smoke, beginning to plummet downward.

Meanwhile, the nose of the upper drone pulled up sharply, instantly changing direction to fly straight upwards.

The tail camera clearly captured the four yellow-green forms.

"Compared to the genius Lord Black, you are still much too green. Luckily, I held back. Even jet tiger insects have learned to ambush aircraft? Are these Zegs really getting smarter?... "

Black's somewhat astonished voice echoed.