Chapter 362: Outpost

"Yes!"

After receiving Rus's order, the crew began steering the Totem Glory forward, and the view outside the porthole changed as the ship moved.

First they lowered altitude, then drew ever closer to the Space Gate until the bridge passed the blue‑arc edge and entered the sky above the Gobi on the far side of the gate.

It was also dawn, with sunrise light spilling over the desert, making the whole planet appear extremely dry and lacking moisture.

At the same time, an endless, densely packed black‑and‑yellow "sea" stretched out.

Upon close inspection, one can see that this "sea" consists of uncountable insects, numbering in the billions, and even the bright blue sky is filled with oily, gleaming green, bearing giant "mosquitoes" with a pair of sickle‑shaped skeletons.

Moreover, within the ground insect sea are numerous even larger black beetles, six meters tall and at least ten meters long.

These resemble light‑ and medium‑sized insect‑race tanks, capable of spouting flammable liquid from their mouths and using bio‑electricity to generate extremely hot spray.

Yet this massive scene had no effect on Fenris's Urban District 19.

The reason is simple: the Engineering Division, with the Space Wild Wolves containing the situation, dispatched wolves, pups, and support troops to breach the Space Gate, and after securing a foothold on the opposite Gobi side, quickly erected a wall thirty‑five meters high and sixteen meters wide, isolating the insect‑infested planet from Fenris.

Simultaneously, the engineering team installed an energy shield generator every four hundred meters along the wall, raising a Defensive Barrier that enveloped the entire Space Gate and outright cut off any further insect invasion of Fenris.

As for underground digging?

The Space Gate sits on the surface; even if the insects dig to the ends of the earth, they cannot bypass the barrier to reach Fenris.

Meanwhile, District 19's residents have long been relocated to safe zones and are continually being modified by the Engineering Division, preparing to build a permanent base for stockpiling supplies and gathering troops.

After all, once this Space Gate opens to the public, the galaxy beyond becomes effectively human territory, so initially it serves as a permanent military base; in the future District 19 may be converted into a large transshipment hub, but for now its purpose remains to facilitate the expedition.

At this moment, Rus's Totem Glory can pass through the Defensive Barrier unhindered, arriving directly above the insect sea.

"Roar!!"

The flying insects immediately attacked the Totem Glory, and even the ground beetles tried spouting high‑temperature fluid to bring it down, which…

That's literally "zero damage".

No matter the attack, they cannot breach the Totem Glory's automatically raised capability shield; even if the shield failed, the insects' purely physical assaults would at most scratch the ship's outer paint.

Thus, when the Totem Glory fully passed the Space Gate and entered the planet's sky, it opened a row of missile bays on its right side and immediately launched a "plain" missile.

"Swoosh~—!"

The missile lingered half a second upon ejection, then streaked upward with a white tail flame, and then…

Ri~—!

The warhead burst into a dazzling blue light sphere that somehow "silenced" everything around, muffling insect howls, engine roars, and leaving only "blue‑white" colors between sky and ground.

"Boom—!"

A fierce blast roared, the blue fireball rolled downward, scorching everything; sky and earth alike were devoured by the heat, including the Totem Glory that launched the missile.

!!!

Seeing the apocalyptic scene, the insects fled—perhaps from instinctual fear, perhaps obeying a "superior" retreat order, scrambling to turn away.

The insect sea receded.

Yet no matter how fast they ran, they could not outrun the fireball's spread; soon, within a thirty‑kilometer radius around the Totem Glory, the area turned to scorched earth.

When the fireball dissipated and the air "retracted," only black patches, crystal slag, and fragrant "insect barbecue" remained; the Totem Glory, the originator of the missile and fireball, remained unharmed and continued climbing, as if hurrying toward low‑Earth orbit beyond the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, increasing numbers of Zeus‑class, Achilles‑class and other vessels passed through the Space Gate, while ground forces dispatched numerous super‑heavy vehicles such as Mammoth‑type and siege tanks through the gate and towering wall to escort and protect the Engineering Division as they erected another forward base.

In contrast, millions of octopus‑shaped engineering sentinel robots required no ground escort; "they" followed preset protocols, splitting into groups of five that scattered to locate usable minerals and raw materials to aid the engineering team in building the forward base.

The lack of escort stems from the fact that, although "engineering" appears in their name, they possess extremely strong individual capabilities.

Therefore, when insects encounter an engineering sentinel, their first action should be to flee and report, not to engage, lest they be torn apart by these machine hands.

Earlier, the missile launched by the Totem Glory carried a plasma‑burn warhead; its explosive power is far weaker than that of tactical plasma weapons, yet plasma‑burn warheads are among the best "screen‑clearing" methods against biological foes.

Rus mobilized nearly one‑third of the corps as the main force of this expedition, about thirty‑five thousand Astate (non‑reservists), over five million corps support troops, and nearly a hundred million UNSC ground and naval forces.

Defense of the Oslo Star Region is temporarily assigned to Corps Champion Luogen Gelimu Na under Rus's command, and, as "neighbors," Kelakesi and Angelong will also keep constant watch for their brothers.

Moreover, Rus kept the Space Wild Wolves' homeworld vessel Hrafnkel in the Oslo Star Region, so in theory no external invasion need be feared before the expedition ends.

Shortly after.

About three hundred kilometers above the surface in low‑Earth orbit, the Totem Glory has already docked with several vessels.

From here one can also overlook the planet's surface—a boundless desert and Gobi with almost no green of life, but a lake whose area rivals the Mediterranean Sea.

On the bridge.

Rus crossed his arms and stood beside the central console, waiting patiently; after just over ten seconds, the console displayed a holographic thumbnail of the planet beneath his feet, with a brief text strip on the right side.

Through the Totem Glory's scan, Rus learned that the planet's atmosphere and gravity are marginally suitable for human habitation, but far more suitable for the insects.

The scan also indicated the planet appears to be an insect colony, with a tangled network of tunnels beneath the surface showing they have built nests underground, and human structures and activity traces are already present on the surface.

At that moment, the thumbnail automatically zoomed in, locking onto an area about nine hundred kilometers east‑south of the Space Gate.

Zoom in again.

The thumbnail shows a metal structure perched against a cliff, rising above the ground; its shape, continuously scanned, matches human aesthetics and construction, and most importantly, the scan detected countless human combat traces.

Humans?

Rus raised his left eyebrow, thought for a few seconds, then asked, "Which battalions have exited the Space Gate?"

"The 3rd, 9th, and 13th Battalions, sir," a crew member reported immediately.

"humm…" Rus murmured, brow slightly furrowed, contemplating which battalion should claim the opening honor of the expedition.

A bit conflicted.

Both the palm and back of the hand are flesh…

"Fine," Rus said, too lazy to agonize or emulate brother Robert's so‑called balance; he marked "01" on the thumbnail and ordered the bridge communicator, "Notify the 3rd, 9th, and 13th Battalions' troops to rush to Area 01 for pest control, and also rescue and capture any humans there; whoever kills the most, who rescues the most, will earn the first merit!"

"Yes, sir!"

The communications officer, long accustomed to the OriginalBody's command style, hesitated not and relayed Rus's casual order to the 3rd, 9th, and 13th Battalions.

Meanwhile.

Moored not far from the Totem Glory, inside the bridge of the 13th Battalion's flagship, the Beowulf…

"First come, first served?" the second company commander standing beside the main control console blinked a little, but… this indeed is their OriginalBody, and even the style of the entire legion.

"Dad! Let us have a good slaughter!" Shala Kairuigan was quite excited; she hadn't expected that upon arriving in a parallel universe she could go into battle and kill the enemy, feeling impatient.

As for the title "Dad"…

Several decades have passed, and Shala Kairuigan has completely come to regard her adoptive father Gen Luo Xige De as her own "Dad".

"It's time for a massive slaughter!" Gen Luo wholeheartedly agreed with his daughter's viewpoint, then twisted his neck, loosened his joints, and with his single eye looked out the porthole, loudly ordering: "All battalions, advance to Sector 01, prepare for battle!"

"Whooo!!" Shala Kairuigan and the company commanders shouted loudly.

———————

…

South‑east of the Space Gate, about 900 kilometers away.

"Blazing sun high overhead."

The star beats down directly on the entire region, also shining upon the endless sea of insects.

One could see a military outpost built of silver metal, featuring towering metal walls and elevated above the ground, already encircled layer by layer by the insect swarm, leaving no hope of escape unless aerial support could be obtained; otherwise the soldiers stationed inside the outpost would only be devoured by the insects and then torn apart.

Despair, fear, confusion and other negative emotions shrouded the entire outpost.

"Rat‑tat‑tat!" gunfire erupted.

"Howl! Howl!" Compared to the howls of tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of insects, the gunfire is practically insignificant; nevertheless, the sight of a hundred soldiers firing in unison is still quite impressive.

These soldiers, belonging to the Earth Citizens Federation and seemingly abandoned by the Federation—or perhaps used as bait—wore dark gray‑purple combat attire, sported silver mechanical exoskeletons, and had black armor plates attached to key parts of their bodies.

Although the helmet visor can provide various real‑time data and can be combined with the mechanical exoskeleton for shooting assistance, its design resembles the old‑style helmets used by humans in the main universe at the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty‑first, somewhat mismatched.

Besides these standard infantry, many wore large mechanical exoskeletons, with heavy cannons and large‑caliber machine guns mounted on their shoulders and arms, and carried ammunition boxes and shell boxes on their backs as heavy troops.

Overall, judging solely by the equipment of these abandoned soldiers, the Federal government's military gear should be roughly comparable to that of Umbrella's private forces from 2010 to 2015, barely adequate.

However, if the Federal government possessed a population in the trillions (ten trillion), even up to a quadrillion (ten quadrillion), and this is also the basic equipment of federal soldiers…

That strength is still not bad—at least far stronger than the humans of the Zero‑One Universe (the Matrix).

At this moment.

At the edge of the outpost's wall, a lieutenant wearing tactical glasses, with a Mediterranean‑Sea hairstyle, a stern and resolute face, and a left forearm replaced by a prosthetic, after emptying his magazine, immediately withdrew to reload.

After the lieutenant had finished changing his magazine and was about to move forward, upon gazing at the endless, unkillable sea of insects, his already solemn expression grew even darker, and he immediately bellowed at the handsome, rather young corporal beside him:

"Rui Ge! Go ask where our evacuation flight actually is!!"

"Yes, sir!"

Upon hearing this, the corporal named Rui Ge, relying on his mechanical exoskeleton, leapt straight down from the nearly ten‑meter‑high metal wall and ran toward the communications room at the center of the outpost.

Not long later, just half a minute, the lieutenant heard via his personal communicator a report from Rui Ge: "Sir, Fuluosi still cannot make contact with the fleet!"

"…" Upon receiving this reply, the lieutenant, as an officer who also possessed a keen political sense, naturally knew that he and his "Hard Bones (Roughnecks)" company had been turned into bait by the Federal high command.

After all, the order he received was that the Whiskey outpost had encountered a small‑scale insect disturbance, requiring him and his men to rush to reinforce.

Furthermore, intelligence indicated that the planet they were on, "L-03", belonged to the Yellow Zone, which in other words should mean fewer than two hundred million insects.

However, upon arriving here and learning from a hiding surviving major general that this was a false distress signal released by an insect‑controlled communications officer, and given the scene of insect hills and seas before them, it directly proved that the insects possess a not‑shabby "IQ".

And they, after the high command finished its verification, became expendable dispensables, since rescuing them would require mobilizing the fleet, dispatching bomber squadrons, and a series of other operations—far more costly than sacrificing them.

Damn it, are human lives worth nothing?!

"Lieutenant, look quick! Support's here! It's support!" Suddenly, a long‑faced soldier, unable to contain his excitement, pointed at the sky and shouted:

?

The lieutenant followed the direction indicated by that soldier, and through the visual assistance provided by his tactical glasses, he indeed saw a sky‑filling formation of aircraft, only……

Not a single one of them was a Federal model.

(End of chapter)