Mech: Shattering of the Galaxy

Just by watching the speed at which those red dots moved, Mu Fan didn't need Black to remind him he already knew what they were.

"Flying Winged Dragons!"

"The initial count exceeds five hundred! The drones have been caught up."

In Black's angry voice, the divided monitoring areas on the light screen were extinguished one by one.

"Based on the temporary data estimation, these Flying Winged Dragons came out from the deep-seated area, there's an 82.1% chance we've been exposed."

"Hold on tight, I'm controlling those drones to divert the bugs' attention. These bugs have successfully enraged Lord Black, they dared to dismantle my base!"

Mu Fan felt a strong pushing sensation from behind, the originally quiet aircraft suddenly erupted with intense vibration, the rear engine turned from dark to bright. The reconnaissance ship no longer concealed its tracks, spun sharply, and darted backward.

While those drones originally heading towards the reconnaissance ship completely turned back, facing the flock of Flying Winged Dragons. The silver-white drones and the brown Flying Winged Dragons collided instantly, and a vast green corrosive liquid enveloped them. These drones only managed to launch missiles exploding in the air, but were entirely corroded away.

The brown Flying Winged Dragons, clustered together, suddenly dispersed. Intense explosions erupted in the air but were deftly evaded by the highly mobile Zeg. Only a small part was consumed by the raging flames.

Burning limbs fell from mid-air like a rain of fire.

These swiftly flying Zeg soon turned their cruel gaze towards the remaining drones and swiftly flapped their wings, flying upwards.

Until this moment, Black's goal was finally achieved. These drones secured precious time for the reconnaissance ship's evacuation.

The reconnaissance ship transformed into a stream of light, performing continuous semi-curved turns to confuse its route.

With the loss of drone visuals, the endless Primitive Forest instantly turned into a gigantic maze.

Mu Fan and Black, high above, no longer knew what threats lurked within the dense forest below.

Nor did they know, as they departed, from the depths of the lush Primitive Forest, came a sharp and fierce screech.

Thirty minutes later, the reconnaissance ship flew past the side of the temporary base, about ten kilometers away. Monitoring equipment on the bottom captured the situation clearly and presented it to Mu Fan.

The originally sizable temporary base was long gone, with the base as the center spreading out in a radiating, charred wasteland.

The charred wasteland was still covered in viscous green liquid, with no metal reflection visible at all.

Beyond the wasteland, a vague brown Fungus Blanket of the Zeg Clan was visible, but there was no insect silhouette on it anymore.

Even the underground entrance Mu Fan had seen on the surveillance earlier was now gone.

As if it never existed.

This made the Zeg hidden in the Primitive Forest even more mysterious.

"The passage of the Zeg Clan... this is what concerns me most," Black's voice carried deep worry.

"What do you mean?"

"The passage you just saw, if it's fixed, perhaps it's just an ordinary tunnel dug by Zeg. But that kind capable of instantly transporting countless bugs, only that kind of insect can manage it; this is no ordinary tunnel..."

"What kind of insect?"

"Pupa Worm," Black's voice was grim, in Mohandas's shared memories, the individual capability wasn't very strong but the threat level was high.

Or to say, when such creatures appear, it becomes clear those bugs aren't just low-grade organisms relying on limb evolution, but possess some extraordinary technology that humans or even Mohandas do not have.

"This Pupa Worm Channel, in my Cosmic Plane, hasn't been seen more than a few times. But Mohandas, in constant battles, is more familiar with them."

"What are Pupa Worms, are their channels very special?" The reconnaissance ship began to ascend, distancing from the temporary base, but those impressions still froze before Mu Fan, his brows furrowing as he watched the screens.

"These are high-level Zeg with little attack power, appearing like gargantuan leeches."

"They grasp some unknown technology, such as humans can perform space transitions through Warp Engines. The tunnels these Pupa Worms dig equal miniaturizing cosmic wormholes and realistically using them on the battlefield." Black provided an answer sounding like a fantasy to Mu Fan.

And Mu Fan frowned slightly, asking in a serious tone, "You're saying if those channels were truly dug below, there might not be a normal pit at all?"

"That's right! This is a self-evolved ability akin to fixed-point spatial teleportation from the Zeg Clan. It lacks the exaggerated distance and efficiency of human ships' transition capabilities, but the benefit is evident; instant mass transfer or shipment of Zeg."

"Then isn't this ability too exaggerated, if previously established directly in the base, wouldn't everyone be doomed?"

"Theoretically, yes, but the practical situation has constraints of distance and Fungus Blanket, those Pupa Worms were certainly under cover arriving near the temporary base, building a channel like this. The key isn't the Pupa Worm as such; the key is why such strategic-level Zeg would appear on Planet 131!"

Black's words instantly reminded Mu Fan, he and Black almost spoke in unison, "Unless there are higher-grade insects inside!"

"Exactly, only this explains it; based on the direction of those Flying Winged Dragons' emergence, it can be deduced there are certainly higher-grade Zeg inside."

"...possibly Giant Corruptor!"

"Or even higher-level ones."

"In any case, we must return to the Shadow Base now. The situation is likely to face hard confrontations next."

The reconnaissance ship, flying in arcs, finally safely escaped that unknown forest, where the sea-like red vegetation of Red Valley now appeared exceptionally welcoming.

Like a towering fortress standing on the plains, the Shadow Base continuously echoed rumbling sounds.

Masses of High Crystal Stones constantly surged into the base interior via conveyor belts.

No sooner did the reconnaissance ship touch down, Mu Fan's silhouette disappeared within the base.

...

Meanwhile, in space about 150,000 kilometers from Blue Capital Star, a ghostly Transport Ship just had all engines extinguished, hovering immobile in the cosmos.

The gray hull exterior revealed no emblem, even inside the ship's corridors and halls were entirely empty of people.

Regarding the central control room, at present, only a large screen flickered continuously.

The screen displayed a line of red text:

[Automatic cruise destination reached, awaiting receipt.]

Clearly, this was a ship primed for automatic cruise direction.

If Star Thieves appeared nearby now trying to board this ship, they'd surely be surprised at how unimpeded it was.

Could this be a deliberately abandoned vessel?

Yet even an ordinary transportation space vessel's valuation starts at fifty million.

If attention was paid to the steel giant lying quietly in the cabin, then the cost might multiply several times over.

This region deviates several tens of thousands of kilometers from normal routes, due to harsh celestial conditions, rarely traversed by ships.

Nonetheless, at present, eight black smaller vessel bodies suddenly emerged nearby, merging together towards the Transport Ship.

Front, back, left, right, instantly splitting into four positions, simultaneously adhered to the dormant vessel.