Chapter 1153: Electronic Attack

Jialage frowned.

"Father, this is too dangerous. You should remain on the flagship to command..."

"Command can be conducted remotely via the tactical network."

Ferrus interrupted Jialage's dissuasion.

"But some information requires being on-site to obtain. Besides... the Iron Hands need to prove to the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance that we are not just technical experts, but also a lethal force on the battlefield."

The order was not to be questioned.

Jialage lowered his head.

"As you command, Father."

"All units, move to attack positions."

Ferrus took one last look at the star map.

"Remember our principles: efficiency over glory, precision over power, reason over emotion. The Iron Hands do not fight for honor; we fight for victory."

"For the Emperor! The flesh is weak!"

The warriors on the Bridge responded in unison.

The main engines of the "Tie Zhi" ignited, leading the fleet to slide silently toward Nankang Star.

Nankang Star, Fengqi Logistics Command Center.

Planetary Logistics Director Malcolm stood before the central Control Console in the command hall, his three eyes bloodshot from exhaustion.

Over the past seventy-two hours, he had received urgent supply requests from every front line in the theater of war, each marked with "Highest Priority."

Ammunition, fuel, medical supplies, ship parts... the list of demands was endless.

"The Energy Core of Transfer Station No. 3 is overloaded and needs an emergency replacement!"

A technical officer reported.

"But the spare core is still in Warehouse No. 7, and transport will take four hours..."

"Then four hours it is!"

Malcolm roared.

"Tell the frontline troops to conserve their usage! Our reserves are not infinite!"

"But the repairs for the damaged ships in the Ningjing Huilang require..."

"Get in line! Everyone get in line!"

Malcolm rubbed his forehead, his Third Eye throbbing with pain.

"Sort by priority: first, fleets currently in engagement; second, troops about to enter combat; third, units under repair. Everything else goes to the back!"

The command hall was a scene of frantic activity.

Holographic screens displayed flowing data on material allocation, transport ship scheduling, and inventory statistics... this was the main artery of the Fengqi frontline theater, and every heartbeat concerned the life and death of the front.

Suddenly, an operator looked up, their three eyes filled with confusion.

"Director... there is abnormal interference in the communication network. Contact with the orbital transfer stations is intermittent."

Malcolm frowned.

"Check the repeaters."

"Checked, they are fine. But the signal attenuation rate has reached 87%, which does not conform to..."

The operator's words were interrupted by an alarm.

"Unknown energy signal detected! Outside the planet, quantity... impossible to determine! The signal signature is blurred, as if there is some kind of stealth field!"

Malcolm rushed to the sensor Control Console.

On the screen, an eerie "blank" area appeared at the edge of the planet.

It was an area where signals had been deliberately erased, like a black hole in the void.

"Initiate full-spectrum scanning! Mobilize all defense platforms to aim at that area!"

Malcolm ordered, an ominous premonition rising in his heart.

But the order could not be transmitted.

The communication network was completely severed, and the indicator lights on the Control Console went out one by one, turning from green to red.

"Electronic attack!"

The technical officer's tone rose.

"We are being jammed comprehensively! All wireless communications are paralyzed!"

"What about the wired network?"

"It is also being breached! Abnormal data flow detected... something is infiltrating our systems!"

Malcolm felt a chill.

The Fengqi defense network had been designed with electromagnetic interference in mind, but it had never encountered an attack of this magnitude.

It was as if the information dimension of the entire planet had been throttled by an invisible hand.

"Activate emergency protocols! Switch to backup communication channels! Manually control the defense systems!"

The staff operated frantically, but it was to no avail.

The backup channels were also jammed, the manual control interface displayed garbled code, and the turrets of the defense platforms began to rotate uncontrollably, aiming... aiming at each other.

"The automated defense system has been breached!"

A cybersecurity technician said, losing their voice.

"An external program has taken over the control permissions! They are... they are shutting down our weapon systems!"

The lights in the command hall flickered and then went out, with only the emergency lighting providing a bleak glow.

The holographic screens went black one by one, and finally, only the main tactical console was barely functioning, but the image was already distorted and blurred.

Malcolm watched all of this, his heart shocked.

He had never seen an attack like this; the enemy had not even appeared, yet his entire defense system was already paralyzed.

"Director! The Orbital Defense Platform... is being destroyed one by one! Some kind of high-speed kinetic projectile, from the zenith direction... precisely hitting the core of every platform! Our Intercept system didn't react at all!"

Malcolm rushed toward the viewing window.

Outside, the defense platforms in orbit were exploding one after another.

No enemy ships appeared, no Energy Beam exchanges, only silent death descending from the sky.

Precise. Cold. Efficient.

Just at this moment, the alloy doors of the command hall emitted a harsh sound of metal tearing.

Amidst the dust, a tall figure walked in.

Ferrus Manus.

The Primarch wore silver-gray Power Armor, held a Power Hammer in his hands, and two mechanical limbs extended from his back, their muzzles glowing with charging light.

Behind Ferrus, ten Iron Hands Space Marines filed in, their Bolters aimed at everyone in the hall.

"Drop your weapons, surrender and live."

Ferrus's voice transmitted through his helmet's loudspeaker.

Malcolm looked at this giant.

The Primarch was taller than he had imagined, and more... inhuman.

Malcolm asked in a hoarse voice.

"How... how did you get in? The orbital defense... the ground anti-air..."

"All paralyzed."

Ferrus walked toward the central Control Console, his mechanical arms extended, and interfaces pierced into the control panel.

"Your automated system design has seventeen logic loopholes, the firewall has nine backdoor programs, and the encryption protocol is based on the Fengqi third-generation number theory that was cracked two hundred years ago. Childish."

Ferrus's mechanical arms operated rapidly on the Control Console, the holographic screen lit up again, but what it displayed was no longer the Fengqi interface, but the Double-headed Eagle Emblem of the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance and scrolling data streams.

"You are... hacking our core system..."

Malcolm was incredulous.

"Not hacking, taking over."

Ferrus corrected him.

"From now on, all defense systems, communication networks, and material management systems of Nankang Star... are all controlled by the Iron Hands."

Ferrus turned to Malcolm.

"You have two choices: cooperate with us to complete the material inventory and transfer, saving the lives of your subordinates and the civilians of this planet; or resist, and then die on the spot. Choose."

It was not a threat, but a statement of fact.

Malcolm could not hear any emotional fluctuation in Ferrus's tone.

Resist? With what would he resist?

Their weapon systems were controlled by the enemy, communications were cut off, and even the doors had been disintegrated.

"I... I need a guarantee... a guarantee for the safety of my subordinates and the civilians."

"Those who surrender will not be killed, this is the principle of the Star Alliance."

Ferrus said.

"But the level of cooperation will determine the level of treatment. Now, order all ground troops to drop their weapons and open the security systems of all warehouses."

"If... if they do not obey?"

"Then the Iron Hands will execute the purge procedure."

Ferrus stared at Malcolm.

"The efficiency loss is about 12%, but it is acceptable. Do you wish to see that result?"