49: Insect Swarm (Part Two)

"Calling Headquarters! Our ammunition is exhausted! Requesting to return to base!"

"..."

"Command! Command!"

"The firepower density in sectors E, F, and G of the first line of defense is severely insufficient!"

"Requesting support!"

"..."

In the joint command center of the Defense Force located around Planet Five in Ursa Major V12.22, everything was bustling with activity.

Erot, the Commander of the system Defense Force, stood beside the holographic sand table, watching the staff officers around him arguing until they were red in the face over the deployment of several defense lines.

Reports from the front line flew in like snowflakes; it was either ammunition running out or requests for reinforcements, with not a single piece of good news.

Erot sighed deeply and rubbed his aching head.

The current manpower was severely insufficient...

After the "Great Cleavage" occurred in the orbit of Planet Three, Erot, out of caution, immediately recalled all patrol fleets that had been previously dispersed.

Perhaps because the patrol range was wide and the fleet concentration was low, that cleavage void did not cause unacceptable losses to the Defense Force.

However, it was precisely because they were spread too thin that those dispatched fleets could not return to base for the time being.

Moreover, what was worse was that a group of inexplicable bugs suddenly appeared out of thin air,

overwhelming and aggressive.

Facing the indiscriminate attacks of these bugs, Erot made a prompt decision, quickly organizing the elite fleet remaining at headquarters to construct three temporary lines of defense centered around Planet Five.

"Commander!"

"After our discussion, the current optimal solution is to abandon the first line of defense,"

"and withdraw the first-line fleet to the third line of defense for rest and reorganization."

After the heated discussion ended, the Chief of Staff beside him presented a detailed document.

Erot didn't even look at it, simply waved his hand and said:

"Just execute it..."

"It hasn't even been ten hours, has it?"

"The first line of defense has already been forced to be abandoned..."

Seeing this, the Chief of Staff could only nod silently in acknowledgement and uploaded the plan to the communication cloud.

"Report!"

"According to radar information, a Warship signal has appeared in front of the first line of defense!"

"Preliminary identification is a 'corrier'-class fast cruiser!"

"Accompanied by multiple small ships! It might be a returning patrol fleet!"

The Radar Operator's report suddenly rang out, pulling Erot out of his deep thought—

Finally, a fleet had returned!

They should be able to bring back at least a little intelligence from the outside, right?

Thinking of this, he immediately ordered loudly:

"Attempt to establish contact with them! Quickly guide them back to port for rest and reorganization!"

...

...

"Finally... we are almost there."

Looking at the Swarm that had thinned out quite a bit outside the observation window, and the Warship not far away on the radar,

a feeling of relief from surviving a disaster welled up from the bottom of Gulac's heart.

About ten hours ago, after they fished up Alexei, those strange bugs became more and more numerous.

At the same time, the long-range communication on the Warship seemed to be subjected to some kind of interference, leaving only static across all frequency bands.

Fortunately, the pilot's skills were excellent,

and in the dense sea of the Swarm, relying on the most primitive mechanical orbiters and gravity rangefinders, comparing them with the star map that had stopped moving after the disconnection, he managed to pilot the Warship out and found the location of Planet Five.

"It seems they have initially established a line of defense around the stronghold."

Floating bug corpses, sputtered metal fragments, and the increasingly obvious traces of fire nearby,

gave Gulac a preliminary assessment of the current situation of the Defense Force:

At the very least, self-preservation was not a problem.

"Buzz—"

"Pfft— Pfft— Crackle— Buzz—"

The communication console suddenly emitted a sharp, ear-piercing sound; the long-disconnected communication began to recover.

"Please... your side... buzz... designation... buzz..."

Bursts of unclear communication came through, occasionally mixed with electronic noise.

Looking at everyone on the Bridge, Gulac personally grabbed the microphone,

and replied:

"We are one of the remnants of the Defense Force Second fleet."

"Our ship is the flagship of the Fourth Squadron, 'lucky',"

"Identification codes will be uploaded via one-way communication!"

"Our ship's condition is very poor, and we hope to return to port for resupply and repairs."

"..."

However, after waiting for a long time, no response came, and only the static generated by the current remained on the communication console.

Suddenly, the helmsman and Radar Operator let out an exclamation, breaking the silence on the Bridge—

"torpedo detected on the port side!"

"Port maneuver engine damaged!"

"Unable to perform emergency evasion!"

"!!!"

...

...

In the airlock of a CAS066,

Baili Ying and Gunt walked nervously off the Shuttle that had been arranged specifically for them.

Until their feet stepped on the silver-white ground, they were still in a state of bewilderment:

When the Shuttle passed by the side of a ruby-class—

four hideous behemoths were revealed in their field of vision.

This size, this firepower,

this must be a battlecruiser, right?

Definitely, right!

And there were four of them! They all looked exactly the same!

Just by looking, they were mass-produced models!

Staring blankly as the Shuttle flew in and the outer hatch of the airlock closed,

air was injected, and then the Shuttle opened, and Baili Ying gradually developed an absurd thought:

Could it be that she was already dead, and now this was just a hallucination at the moment of death?

She pinched her palm hard with her nails, and a piercing pain came instantly.

Alive! It was alive!

"Baili Ying!"

"Gunt!"

"You two have had a hard time these past ten-plus hours!"

A familiar voice came—

White Shark was standing at the door of the airlock, staring at the two.

Seeing this guy, Baili Ying felt relieved, and instantly stopped her wild thoughts.

Immediately after, a wave of curiosity rushed into Baili Ying's heart, and she pointed to her feet and asked:

"Fish!"

"Where did this battlecruiser... come from?"

White Shark automatically immunized himself to that nickname Baili Ying had called him countless times, cast his eyes toward the Shuttle parked in the airlock, and the few Marines standing by the Shuttle,

and replied,

"It's just our new boss's."

"Didn't you notice?"

"The equipment of the Marines here is exactly the same as the batch that boarded our space station earlier."

Baili Ying immediately turned her head to look, whoa, it really was!

Subsequently, White Shark looked at Gunt and asked softly:

"Are the brothers who came out together all okay?"

Gunt punched White Shark on the shoulder and laughed:

"Of course they're fine."

"Except for a few unlucky ones who got injured during the last part..."

Halfway through speaking, he frowned, and his tone suddenly changed,

"No,"

"At the very end, a newcomer committed suicide."

"The state of everyone wasn't very good at the time, but you guys came immediately, so things didn't continue to develop."

White Shark felt a trace of surprise,

"Suicide? That serious?"

Gunt responded seriously,

"Yes."

"I suggest arranging immersive psychological trauma treatment for everyone."

White Shark nodded,

"I will take note of that."

"Now you two come with me first,"

"go and report the specific situation here to the Chairman."

"We just arrived and need to know to what extent the Void Seepage here has developed."

A bit stuck,

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