Chapter 93: Alliance and the Hive

A massive bio‑energy signal from the southeast of the continent hangs over the New Hope fortress like a sword of Damocles. The enemy is no longer scattered hunting squads, but a legion that could form a tide.

"We can no longer rely on passive defense," Chen Mo declared resolutely at the strategy meeting. "We must take the initiative to gather intelligence, determine the Harvesters' main force size, composition, and… where their nest is."

The mission is exceptionally perilous, deep behind enemy lines, confronting an unknown and powerful bio‑civilization. The obvious choice is Han Qing and his "Ghost" team, supplemented by the "Anvil" veterans skilled in wilderness survival and reconnaissance.

"I'll go with you," Makusi volunteered, his remaining arm gripping a modified Gauss rifle. "We know that area better than you do, and the Anvil's blood debt must be repaid with blood!"

Chen Mo looked at the stalwart veteran, nodded, and said, "Be careful. Your mission is reconnaissance, not combat. Whatever you find, you must return within ten days."

Han Qing and Makusi led a lean joint reconnaissance team, slipping silently into the ruins outside the fortress.

Waiting is torment. During the ten days, the fortress ran at full capacity: Kaiwen's team, using data from previous battles, accelerated development of purification bombs and energy disruptors against bio‑weapons; Hui Jin trained more Pure Fire Cultists, spreading the purification rite that fuses Life Fire with Order Light into everyday defense; Zhang Yang and Wang Hu rigorously intensified army training, incorporating anti‑bio unit tactics into the regular curriculum; Su Yu continuously worked to expand her True Knowledge Vision, hoping to issue earlier warnings of distant threats.

On the evening of the tenth day, as everyone grew restless, an alarm sounded on the fortress perimeter! A ragged squad appeared on the alert line—it was Han Qing and Makusi's reconnaissance team! They set out with twenty men, returned with fewer than ten, all wounded, and Makusi had lost a leg, carried on Han Qing's back.

"The situation... is terrible," Han Qing, unable to rest, inserted a slime‑coated data crystal into the console and reported hoarsely.

The holographic projection displayed a suffocating scene:

A vast area that was once fertile plain is now entirely covered by a malignant, constantly writhing dark‑red fungal carpet. Upon the carpet rise several colossal, organ‑like pulsating Mother Hives. Countless Harvesters swarm around the hives like worker ants, gathering resources—devouring any remaining organic or inorganic matter—and incubating new combat units.

In the footage, one can see "Crushers" the size of old‑era main battle tanks, low‑altitude swift "Wing Blades", and "Jetters" that resemble mobile artillery… The variety of troops makes it appear as a highly advanced bio‑military empire.

"Their numbers... are incalculable," Makusi said from the stretcher, weak but his eyes filled with anger and fear. "We were only on the outskirts and almost suffered total annihilation. They are extremely sensitive to vibration, heat, and life energy… that fungal carpet itself is a massive sensory organ! We witnessed an abandoned city, covered by the carpet, being completely broken down and devoured within days…"

The most terrifying fact is that, based on energy scans and trajectory analysis, this massive Mother Hive cluster is moving slowly but steadily toward the northwest—the direction of the New Hope fortress!

"At their current speed, the vanguard will reach our perimeter within at most three months," Han Qing gave the final assessment.

Three months!

The command room fell into dead silence. Facing an enemy of such scale and strangeness, three months is far too short!

"Scorched‑earth intelligence" weighed on everyone's hearts like a boulder. The morale that had just risen inside the fortress plummeted again, and panic and despair began to spread. Some suggested abandoning the fortress and moving to farther wilderness; others fell into numbness, awaiting the final moment.

Even within the core team, divisions emerged.

"Three months... we haven't even finished the walls! How can we block them?" Zhang Yang, irritated, tugged his hair, showing helplessness for the first time.

Wang Hu silently sharpened his war axe, but his tightly pressed lips revealed inner unrest.

Kaiwen murmured at the massive Mother Hive cluster data on the screen, "The total biomass... equals several mountain ranges... unless we have a relic nuclear arsenal from the old era, then..."

Even Su Yu's True Knowledge Vision could "see" that distant, plague‑like, suffocating chaotic bio‑energy spreading, placing enormous mental strain on her.

Chen Mo observed everyone's reactions. He knew that any hollow encouragement now would be pale. He had to offer concrete hope.

He called another all‑hands meeting, held at the central plaza.

Without a rousing speech, he had Kaiwen project the Mother Hive cluster images and data onto a massive screen. The hellish tableau provoked a wave of suppressed gasps and sobs.

"Everyone has seen it," Chen Mo's voice rang through the loudspeakers, clear across the plaza, calm yet powerful. "This is the enemy we will face. Strong, very strong. So strong it drives one to despair."

He laid bare the severity of the situation, stirring the crowd below even more.

"But!" Chen Mo's tone shifted, his voice suddenly rising, "We are not without the power for a battle!"

The holographic projection switched, showcasing the power New Hope possesses:

— Enhanced Luo Ya technology weapons, and continually refined special‑effect ammunition against bio units.

— A collective purification ability that fuses Order Light with Life Pure Fire, effectively curbing bio contamination and regeneration.

— Warriors and experience drawn from the Anvil camp and other survivor enclaves, hardened by the harshest environments.

— And... himself, an individual who resonates with planetary order and has purified the Abyssal Echo.

"We possess what they lack!" Chen Mo pointed at the Mother Hive on the screen. "They have only the instinct to devour and destroy, or rather, are driven by a unified will to annihilate! And we! We have intelligence! Courage! The resolve to protect our home at any cost! We have each other!"

"Three months is short. But it is enough for us to prepare to meet the enemy! Enough to forge sharp swords and sturdy shields to defend our home! Give up? Where could we flee? On this wasteland, is there any place safer or more hopeful than New Hope?"

His words struck like a hammer upon each heart. Panic gradually gave way to a resolute, all‑or‑nothing determination.

"We may die," Chen Mo's gaze swept the crowd, "but we will make those monsters that only know how to devour understand that humanity is not the weeds they can harvest at will! We will make them pay with blood! We will guard our last light on this scorched earth!"

"Guard New Hope!"

No one knows who shouted it first.

Immediately, tens of thousands of voices merged into a torrent, dispersing the gloom and soaring skyward!

"Guard New Hope! Guard New Hope!"

Morale was reignited, higher than ever before! It was a belief reborn from death itself!

Just as the New Hope fortress united in full‑scale preparation, an unexpected team arrived.

They were not survivors, but... robots.

About a hundred in number, their design simple and efficient, with streamlined silver‑gray shells glinting rational blue optical lenses. They escorted three silver‑white coffins resembling those previously used by the Observers, but with sharper, more industrial contours.

The coffins opened, and three personnel in silver‑gray uniforms emerged, faces solemn and rigid. Leading them was a middle‑aged woman, eyes sharp, who introduced herself:

"I am Commander Ai La of the Guardians' Seventh Vanguard Corps. We have detected a large‑scale, high‑threat, non‑standard bio‑civilization expansion in this star sector, deeming it a catastrophic threat to the survival of the Civilization Spark. According to Article 117 of the Watchers' Accord, witnessed by the Recorder sequence (she pointed to the sky, where the faint outline of an Observer vessel could be seen), the Guardians sequence is authorized to intervene and assist the local civilization in defensive operations."

"Guardians?" Another unfamiliar faction! And it sounds like they belong to the same larger system as the Observers, but their duty is "guarding"?

Kaiwen's eyes widened: "R…Robot Legion? Officially certified? Have we triggered the universal peacekeeping protocol?"

Commander Ai La ignored Kaiwen's sarcasm and pulled up the data: "We will provide the following assistance: 1) Heavy engineering robot units to accelerate defensive construction; 2) Standardized energy weapon production lines and blueprints; 3) Energy shield deflection technology against this bio‑civilization; 4) A tactical support squad composed of 'Exterminator' combat robots."

Her technical aid is exactly what New Hope urgently needs! Especially the energy shield deflection technology, which could greatly reduce casualties if it effectively blocks those corrosive bone spikes and bio‑webs.

"What is the price?" Chen Mo asked calmly. He did not believe pies would fall from the sky.

"The price is that after this battle, the planet's civilization must join the Civilization Spark Guardians Alliance, share portions of non‑core technological developments, and abide by the alliance's basic code—namely, not to initiate extermination against civilizations below its own technological level," Ai La replied matter‑of‑factly.

The condition was not excessive, even arguably meant to protect weaker civilizations.

Chen Mo exchanged glances quickly with Su Yu, Han Qing and the others.

"We accept the assistance and agree to join the alliance after the war," Chen Mo decided on behalf of New Hope. More strength means a greater chance of victory.

With the Guardians' engineering robots joining, the fortress's construction speed surged. New automated weapon towers sprang up like bamboo after rain, and energy shield generators were installed at critical nodes. The Exterminator combat robot squad, heavily equipped, operated calmly, precisely, tirelessly, becoming a reassuring iron torrent within the defensive forces.

A faint glimmer of hope grew brighter amid the shadows of despair.

Yet Chen Mo stood on the raised, reinforced wall, gazing at the approaching, writhing dark‑red mass in the distance, his mind clear.

Although help arrived, the ultimate decision of fate still rested with themselves. Three months later, this land will be dyed red with blood and fire.

Survival or destruction, the answer lies not far ahead.