296: Deep Space Probes and the Mystery of Their "Neighbors"

The strange signal that the Hive shot into the depths of the Anvil was like a cold needle, piercing the temporary calm of the base.

Although the signal flashed and vanished, with no further movement afterward, the doubt and unease it brought continued to fester.

'Calling for backup from below? Does its basement hide an even tougher character?' Zhao Iron Pillar shouted at the combat meeting. 'Why is this hunk of iron so lacking in martial virtue? It can't win, so it calls for backup, and it calls from downstairs, no less!'

'We're not sure what's down there yet,' Wen Youyi said in a deep voice. 'It could be another Reapers facility, some kind of dormant ancient weapon, or perhaps just the Hive's energy source or information repository. But regardless, we must find out. We can't wait for it to 'call' something out while we're left in the dark.'

Sending people down to investigate directly would be suicidal. The depths of the Anvil have structure so complex it's hair-raising, the energy environment is harsh, and the Swarm is lurking there. Sending the Hidden Dragon? The risk is too high, and the Hidden Dragon's size is still too large for that kind of complex environment.

'We need a reconnaissance tool that can drill into the depths of the Anvil, move flexibly, and has extremely high stealth,' Senior Brother Li said, rubbing his chin. 'The eye of dust is too small, its functions are too singular, and it can't float that deep. The spore isn't sturdy enough either...'

'Then let's build a new one!' Senior Brother Zhang pushed up his glasses, a tech-maniac's gleam flashing behind the lenses. 'Combine the camouflage of the eye of dust with the reconnaissance capabilities of the Hidden Dragon to build a small, remote-controlled deep space probe that can adapt to complex environments!'

They started right away. The technical team worked themselves to the bone again, aiming to create a probe codenamed 'pangolin'.

It needed to have the following characteristics: 1. Miniaturization, easy to conceal; 2. Sturdy, able to withstand high pressure and energy turbulence; 3. Highly mobile, able to drill through gaps in debris; 4. Equipped with various detection equipment, especially sensors sensitive to Reapers energy signatures; 5. Possess a certain degree of autonomous obstacle avoidance and path planning capabilities; 6. Most importantly, it must have powerful signal penetration and relay capabilities to transmit intelligence from the depths back to the surface (the surface of the Anvil).

'These requirements are almost like building a mini Hidden Dragon,' Wang Wu said, clicking his tongue as he looked at the design specifications.

'It doesn't need to be that complicated,' Wen Youyi proposed. 'We can use Flowing Silver as the main frame and power core. Flowing Silver itself has deformation and adaptive capabilities, allowing it to drill through narrow gaps. Internally, we can integrate a sturdy micro-energy core (upgraded from Dust Mites technology), equip it with necessary detection modules, and use highly inert, wave-absorbing Materials for external camouflage. For control, we'll use a semi-autonomous mode where the base remotely issues macro-instructions (such as 'explore downwards' or 'scan a specific area'), and the probe itself performs micro-path planning and obstacle avoidance based on the real-time environment.'

'This idea is feasible!' Senior Brother Li's eyes lit up. 'The collaborative ability of Flowing Silver is getting stronger, so if we let a small group of Flowing Silver combine into the probe's main body, they can handle many complex situations themselves. We just need a 'smart' enough core logic unit to coordinate everything.'

For this 'core logic unit,' they ultimately decided to use a specially reinforced and encrypted 'little bean sprout' core. It would be the 'brain' of the entire 'pangolin' probe, responsible for communicating with the base, receiving instructions, coordinating the movements of the Flowing Silver body, and processing detection data.

Soon, the first 'pangolin' probe prototype was manufactured. It looked like an elongated, dusty-gray rugby ball, its surface covered with tiny scale-like structures (the deformable Flowing Silver armor), and with a few inconspicuous sensor windows on the head.

In tests, it displayed surprisingly good performance: it could drill like a bug through simulated metal ruin models, deform to pass through extremely narrow gaps, and its detection sensitivity to Swarm energy signatures was also very high.

'Prepare for deployment,' Wen Youyi decided. 'Target: the Anvil area, below the location of the Hive, following the general direction of that signal to conduct preliminary deep reconnaissance. Priority task: confirm if there are any large artificial structures or anomalous energy sources below; secondary task: collect as much environmental data and information on the energy conduits extending downwards from the Hive as possible.'

The deployment task was once again entrusted to the Hidden Dragon. It needed to silently transport the 'pangolin' to the edge of the Anvil area, find a gap with the least Swarm activity, and 'stuff' the probe inside.

The Hidden Dragon was now a seasoned scout familiar with the drill, and it completed the deployment smoothly. The 'pangolin' probe, like a small silver fish returning to the sea, wiggled its body and drilled into the dark and intricate 'underground world' of the Anvil, which was composed of countless metal and rocks.

In the base's main control room, the huge screen was divided into multiple windows, displaying real-time data transmitted back by the 'pangolin': depth, temperature, pressure, energy background, scanned images of obstacles ahead...

The initial images were very monotonous; apart from cold metal and rocks of various shapes, there was only the omnipresent energy turbulence. The 'pangolin' was like a real pangolin, relying on its head's vibration sensors and energy detectors to drill downwards through the gaps, laboriously but firmly.

The depth continued to increase: one thousand zhang, two thousand zhang, five thousand zhang...

The surrounding environment gradually changed. The density of the metal debris seemed to be increasing, and it looked much older; some metal surfaces were covered with strange crystals. The energy turbulence began to contain a trace of fluctuations that were homologous to the Hive, but older and more obscure.

'Attention, detected weak, regular energy pulses coming from deeper down. They have similarities to the Hive's signal characteristics, but the frequency is lower and the intensity is more stable,' Senior Brother Zhang reported, staring at the data stream.

The 'pangolin' continued to dive. When it approached a depth of ten thousand zhang, regular geometric outlines suddenly appeared in the forward scan images!

Those were not naturally formed rocks or randomly piled debris, but cross-sections of neatly arranged, huge artificial pipes and support structures! Most of these structures had been buried and deformed by later falling debris, but their artificial traces were unmistakable. Furthermore, analysis of the Materials and energy residues showed they were of the same lineage as the Hive and the Reapers creations they had seen before!

'Large underground artificial facility ruins discovered!' Wang Wu's voice was filled with excitement and tension. 'The scale... is immeasurable! The scanning range is limited, but I can see pipes and cavity structures extending in all directions!'

Even more shockingly, in the depths of these ancient facilities, the 'pangolin's' energy detector captured an extremely weak but incomparably massive energy source signal. The signal was like the heartbeat of a sleeping giant beast, slow and heavy, and every pulsation caused the energy field of the entire surrounding facility to ripple slightly.

'There really is something hidden down here!' Senior Brother Li gasped. 'It's not the Hive's 'basement,' it's more like... a buried, larger Hive or some other Reapers base!'

The Hive sending signals downwards was very likely an attempt to establish contact with this dormant ancient facility, or... an attempt to wake it up?

The 'pangolin' tried to advance a few hundred zhang further towards that massive energy source, but the environment became extremely harsh, the intensity of the energy turbulence increased dramatically, and there were clear signs of energy barriers and automated defense nodes. Some dark golden, small devices that appeared to be dormant and attached to the ancient pipes began to have light circulating on their surfaces as the 'pangolin' approached.

'Cannot advance any further!' Wen Youyi ordered decisively. 'Collect all possible data in the current area, and then immediately return along the preset route! Avoid triggering defenses!'

The 'pangolin' faithfully executed the order, nimbly turning around and quickly retreating upwards along the path it came from before those defense nodes were fully activated.

Although it was only a fleeting glimpse, the information brought back by the 'pangolin' was already shocking enough.

Beneath the Anvil area lay an ancient facility, suspected to be a Reapers base, with a scale far exceeding the Hive, and it likely contained a massive energy source still operating at low power. The Hive was very likely the 'surface outpost' or 'maintenance outpost' for this ancient facility!

'No wonder the Hive's silence was so strange,' Mo Chen murmured. 'It might not have been 'saving energy' or 'calling for backup,' but rather communicating for some kind of... 'permission request' or 'wake-up protocol'? If it really can wake up that big guy down there...'

The consequences would be unimaginable.

The main control room was silent; everyone felt that heavy pressure.

They had previously thought they were just dealing with a 'sentry,' but now they realized that behind the sentry, a whole 'legion' might be sleeping.

'Immediately strengthen monitoring in all directions, especially the energy readings in the depths of the Anvil!' Wen Youyi's voice broke the silence. 'At the same time, the construction of the hope must be accelerated at all costs! We may... not have much time left.'

He looked at the giant ship's skeleton in the dock, which was already covered with large patches of silver 'flesh' and 'nerves,' his gaze incomparably determined.

No matter what was sleeping underground, they had to possess enough power to protect themselves or even fight back before it was completely awakened.

The shadows beneath the star sea were slowly writhing.

(End of chapter)