274: A labyrinth of wreckage and a chaotic dance of "swarms"

The "Hidden Dragon" resembled a wounded silver Dragon, dragging four or five sizzling dark gold "tails" behind it that were still attempting to extract energy, and plunged headlong into the denser, more complex maze of wreckage ahead.

Behind it, the dark gold "Swarm" followed like a shadow; ignoring the complex environment, they moved with astonishing speed, weaving through the gaps of the steel jungle and leaving behind streaks of cold, flowing light, locked onto the "Hidden Dragon" without letting go.

"Turn left! Enter that 'canyon'! The wreckage structure on both sides is loose, and the energy turbulence is strong!" Wen Youyi stared intently at the holographic terrain map in front of him, his fingers moving rapidly across it to mark out perilous "paths of survival."

[Execute!] The "Hidden Dragon" did not hesitate; the hull made a sharp turn so agile it almost defied logic, cutting sideways into a narrow gap formed by two huge, slanted starship armor plates. Inside the gap, the chaotic energy turbulence acted like invisible blades, slicing at any intruder.

The fine-tuning capability of the "Hidden Dragon's" surface "Active Armor" was pushed to the limit, constantly adapting to energy scouring from different directions and of different natures, emitting a faint hum. In this chaotic environment, the dark gold chains remaining on the hull also seemed to be interfered with, and the corrosive energy being injected became intermittent.

The pursuing "Swarm" was not so lucky. The dozens of dark gold crystals charging at the front slammed into the energy turbulence zone and were instantly like insects caught in a storm; their trajectories became chaotic, some colliding with each other, others swept into the wreckage by the turbulence, crashing and sending sparks flying, and a few with weaker structures even disintegrated directly into dim fragments.

"It's working! Their adaptability to complex energy environments is not as good as ours!" Senior Brother Li perked up. "Continue! Lead them toward the 'Junkyard'!"

"Junkyard" was the nickname given to an area by the reconnaissance team, where a large amount of small, loose, and easily disturbed metal fragments and energy residue had accumulated; it usually resembled a quiet graveyard, but once stirred by external forces, it would immediately trigger a chain reaction, like a collapsing pile of sand.

The "Hidden Dragon" twisted and turned through the maze-like wreckage, specifically choosing narrow, rugged paths with chaotic energy backgrounds, fully utilizing its advantages of being small and agile with strong "Active Armor" adaptability. It would sometimes graze past huge broken metal walls, sometimes weave perilously through the gaps of several intersecting steel beams, and sometimes plunge suddenly into a "mist" composed of countless tiny metal particles.

Although the pursuing "Swarm" was numerous, its formation was gradually stretched and scattered in this environment, and its speed was restricted. Unlucky "Gold Crystal Bees" constantly crashed into suddenly appearing wreckage or were swept away by chaotic energy, and their losses gradually increased.

However, the "Swarm's" pursuit was exceptionally tenacious, and it seemed to possess some form of simple collective intelligence. They began to disperse and flank, attempting to surround the "Hidden Dragon" from multiple directions.

"There's interception on the front right! And above! They are trying to force us into that 'Dead Silence Zone'!" Wang Wu reported nervously. The so-called "Dead Silence Zone" was a blank area where energy was nearly exhausted and the spatial structure was exceptionally stable; once forced inside, having lost environmental cover, the "Hidden Dragon" would face a frontal siege by the "Swarm."

"We cannot go to the Dead Silence Zone! Charge upwards! Go over the 'Dragon Bone Bridge'!" A flash of ruthlessness crossed Wen Youyi's eyes as he pointed to a long, thin, and twisted metal structure on the terrain map that spanned two huge pieces of wreckage; it was the broken spine of some giant starship.

The "Hidden Dragon" suddenly lifted its head, its thrusters unleashing their final potential as it charged toward the perilous "Dragon Bone Bridge" above. The remaining dark gold chains were pulled taut, emitting creaking sounds of being unable to bear the load.

Just as the "Hidden Dragon" was about to rush onto the "bridge deck," dozens of dark gold darts that had flanked from above whistled and arrived!

"Now! Prepare 'spore Induction'! Release!" Wen Youyi said sharply.

Senior Brother Li had long been prepared and slammed the control node.

The ends of the few remaining dark gold chains on the "Hidden Dragon's" hull suddenly lit up with an abnormal dark red light, and immediately after, the chains themselves began to oscillate and twist at high frequency, as if a violent energy conflict was occurring inside! At the same time, some extremely tiny silver energy "spores," mixed with the "pollution" from the "Hidden Dragon's" own energy and "simulating" some characteristics of the dark gold chains, were forcibly "squeezed" out from the contact points between the chains and the hull, quietly drifting behind the "Hidden Dragon" like virus-infected "droplets."

The pursuing "Swarm" seemed to experience a momentary confusion and hesitation regarding this "homologous" but "abnormal" energy signature. Especially those dark gold darts that were attempting to flank and were closest; their pursuit trajectories showed obvious chaos, and some even briefly turned their "spearheads" toward those drifting silver "spores," or... toward other "companions" nearby that were also contaminated by the "spores"?

"Their identification Systems are experiencing logic conflicts!" Senior Brother Zhang said, looking at the monitoring data with pleasant surprise. "They've misidentified the 'spores' as 'wounded companions' or 'infected foreign objects'!"

Taking advantage of this brief chaos, the "Hidden Dragon" charged fiercely onto the "Dragon Bone Bridge," its underbelly grazing past the rugged metal surface, kicking up a trail of sparks. Behind it, a portion of the "Swarm" fell into a brief "infighting" or "hesitation," and the pursuit formation was thrown into disarray.

However, the number of the "Swarm" was simply too large, and the main body still followed closely. Moreover, at the other end of the "Dragon Bone Bridge," the terrain suddenly opened up into a large, relatively flat "plaza" paved with huge armor plates, which was disadvantageous for shaking them off.

"We cannot stop! Charge across the plaza! Enter that 'Rotating Blade Forest' on the other side!" Wen Youyi indicated the next perilous area. It was an area composed of countless slowly rotating, sharp metal blades, resembling a giant, deadly shredder.

The "Hidden Dragon's" energy reserves had already dropped to 45%, the repair speed of many damaged parts on the hull had noticeably slowed, and those few remaining chains were still stubbornly extracting energy and causing interference. However, it did not hesitate in the slightest and, like an arrow released from a bow, charged toward that forest of death.

Just then, another unexpected change occurred!

In the center of the "plaza," that seemingly flat, giant armor plate suddenly arched upward without warning! Immediately after, countless cracks split open on the surface of the armor plate, and dense, varying-sized dark gold metal spikes, like a forest from a nightmare, instantly burst out from the plate, covering the entire plaza area!

Each of these spikes was several to dozens of zhang long, their entire bodies flowing with the same cold luster as the "Swarm," their tips glinting with a cold light; it was clearly a ground trap that had been set up in advance!

With the "Blade Forest" ahead, the "Swarm" behind, and a "Spike Hell" suddenly emerging beneath its feet!

The "Hidden Dragon" was instantly plunged into a true desperate situation! Above, there was the flanking Swarm; ahead, there were rotating blades; below, there was a suddenly erupting spike thicket! There was almost nowhere to escape!

"Damn it! There's a second layer of traps!" Wang Wu's voice was distorted.

"Charge upwards! Drill through the gaps in the spikes! Trust in the 'Hidden Dragon's' control!" Wen Youyi practically roared it; this was the only glimmer of hope he could think of at the moment—although the spikes were dense, they were not without gaps, and having just erupted, their rising speed was limited! By relying on the "Hidden Dragon's" extreme control and the deformation capability of the "Active Armor," a miracle might be created!

[Understood!] A resolution and focus unprecedented in the "Hidden Dragon's" consciousness erupted. It did not try to climb or turn again; instead, it pushed the thruster power to an overload state, the hull sank slightly, and at an extremely tricky angle, it charged fiercely toward an area diagonally above where the spikes were relatively sparse and had not yet fully closed!

Inside the bridge, everyone was holding their breath, their heart modules almost jumping to their throats.

The "Hidden Dragon's" silver hull could be seen weaving like a fish between stalagmites, grazing past the suddenly rising dark gold spikes by a hair's breadth! The sharp sound of metal friction was incredibly piercing, and dazzling sparks erupted from the surface of the hull! An armor plate on the left side that had just been repaired was grazed by a spike, instantly tearing and curling!

But it had made it through after all! Before the spike forest fully closed, it dashed out perilously!

However, the price paid was also heavy. A long, shocking tear appeared on the left side of the hull, the internal structure was vaguely visible, and the alarm for energy leakage sounded shrilly. Two more of the remaining dark gold chains snapped during the violent maneuvers, but the remaining two were embedded even deeper.

A violent "dizziness" and "weakness" came from the "Hidden Dragon's" consciousness, and the light of its dark blue "dragon eye" dimmed rapidly.

But it did not stop; dragging its damaged body and the portion of the "Swarm" that was still following closely, it plunged headlong into the "Blade Forest" ahead, which was composed of countless slowly rotating, sharp metal blades, and was instantly swallowed by the cold light flying all over the sky...

(End of Chapter)