355: Chapter 356 Locating the Zerg's Location

"Hiss—!!!" "Gah—!!!"

An indescribable screech, a mixture of physical vibration and mental shrieking, exploded in every corner of the battleship like a tsunami! In the next moment, the black swarm of insects, which had originally seemed scattered and fighting individually, was instantly organized as if by an invisible hand. They simultaneously changed direction, abandoned all current targets, and pounced toward the fleeing Nether Clones with a swift, synchronized posture that completely defied their biological instincts!

The swiftness of their reaction, the unity of their target, and the decisiveness of their actions made it seem as if they shared a single brain and were receiving the same supreme command!

The Nether Clones fled in panic, leading the growing swarm of insects behind them toward the perfect slaughterhouse meticulously prepared by Shen Muyao and Feng Ling.

Lin Muyang's eyes remained closed, his palm pressed against the source of radiance, but the state of the entire battlefield appeared clearly in his mind like a three-dimensional image. He could see the insect swarm like black oil, guided by invisible channels, frantically surging toward the trap that emitted a lethally sweet scent. He could hear the chaotic yet unified bloodthirsty hissing of the Zerg, as well as the faint, higher-frequency, and more hidden command signals mixed within.

Only when his perception told him that over eighty percent of the Zerg units had entered the range, and the density of Zerg in other areas of the battleship had plummeted below the safety line, did Lin Muyang's steady mental fluctuations suddenly transmit a cold, clear command:

"Do it."

As soon as the command was issued, the killing array was instantly activated!

"Absolute Zero: Glacial Century!" Shen Muyao, who had been waiting for the moment, released her long-accumulated magic without reservation! A visible, terrifying cold wave of deep blue, like frozen time itself, spread frantically in all directions! Wherever it passed, the space emitted an unbearable "crackling" sound, as if it were about to be completely shattered by the frost!

The insect swarm charging at the front, whether agile Worker Bees or heavy Assault Insects, were instantly frozen into ice sculptures of various poses. Even the energy luster on their carapaces and the red light in their compound eyes were solidified!

"World Purification: Burning Heavens!" Almost at the same instant, Feng Ling slammed her hands downward! The flames turned into countless golden fire lines, as thin as hair but hot enough to purify the soul! These fire lines accurately threaded, entwined, and drilled through the gaps in the insect swarm that had already been slowed and frozen by the cold wave! Whenever a fire line touched an insect's body, no matter how hard the shell was, it would instantly ignite it from the inside out, turning it into a puff of blue smoke! Even more terrifyingly, these fire lines intertwined with each other, instantly forming a covering, shrinking flame purgatory cage within the hangar!

Ice and fire, two extreme forces, were not in conflict at this moment but had reached a collaboration. The extreme cold made the insects move slowly, their carapaces brittle, and their energy flow stagnant; meanwhile, the extreme divine fire took the opportunity to invade, completely purifying and evaporating them from their weakest points! Those frozen insects often vanished silently along with the ice blocks the moment the flames touched them.

The slaughter was efficient, cold, and possessed a cruel beauty.

Gui Wanwan's Nether Clones had already quietly dissipated before the action began. The undead cannon fodder commanded by Jialiya had mostly died on the way after completing the lure mission, and their residual energy fluctuations further confused the Zerg's perception.

Chiba Ruri, Tashalin, Gu Shuanglin, and Gu Xiaoyu were like the most patient hunters, lurking in the shadows and ventilation ducts around the trap. Any stray Zerg that were lucky enough not to be attracted by the main trap or attempted to approach from other directions were instantly terminated the moment they revealed themselves.

The battle did not last long. Having lost their numerical advantage and the element of surprise, the insect swarm trapped in the meticulously arranged death field—despite their decent individual strength—were no different from lambs to the slaughter before Lin Muyang's team, who had doubled attributes, top-tier equipment, perfect coordination, and absolute geographical advantage.

In particular, Feng Ling's Nirvana Fire seemed to have an extremely strong restraining and purifying effect on the Zerg, creatures biased toward void and darkness attributes, often dealing damage far beyond the ordinary.

About an hour later, when the last Burrowing Insect trying to escape underground was forcibly pulled out from under the metal floor and crushed by Gu Shuanglin's World Tree roots, the hissing and energy explosions within the massive hangar finally subsided completely.

The air was filled with a strange atmosphere of alternating heat and cold, as well as the faint smell of burning and ozone left behind after the purification of a large number of Zerg. The floor was covered with a thick layer of eerie substance, a mixture of ice crystal ash and insect remains. The metal walls and dome of the hangar were covered with marks of scorching, frost erosion, and cutting, but the overall structure had not collapsed, proving its excellent construction craftsmanship.

Feng Ling slowly landed, the Nirvana Fire burning around her gradually receding. She let out a long sigh of relief: "It's done. It went smoother than expected; these insects have weaker resistance to fire than I thought."

"It's because your fire is too strong, Feng Ling; you have an attribute advantage against them." Lilia smiled and offered a warm holy light to relieve Feng Ling's exhaustion. Her holy light power had been used more for maintaining the team's status and purifying residual fel energy during the battle just now, and she seemed to have plenty of energy left.

"Good job, everyone." Lin Muyang's voice rang out. He had withdrawn his hand from the source of radiance at some point and walked to the edge of the hangar, his gaze calmly sweeping across the death field that had just been cleansed. His affirmation brought smiles to the faces of all the participating girls.

Immediately, he turned to the Angel Captain Remiel, who had been guarding the side and witnessed the entire process, his face now a mixture of shock and wild joy: "The threat is temporarily cleared, but the root cause hasn't been removed. Captain Remiel, next, I need you to take me to see the battleship's complete command and detection system. I want to retrieve all records regarding this Zerg attack, especially the spatial coordinates, energy signatures, and march trajectories when they first appeared. We must find out the true source of this swarm and whether there is really a commander behind them."

Remiel snapped back from his shock. The way he looked at Lin Muyang had changed from the initial doubt and cooperation to deep awe and conviction. He nodded heavily without hesitation: "Understood! Your Excellency, please follow me! The command center is on the upper level of the main control hall. Although it might be damaged, we have the best engineers and will do our best to restore its functions!"

He quickly arranged for some angel warriors to stay behind to help clean up the battlefield and guard against any possible remaining stray threats. He then personally led Lin Muyang, along with Gui Wanwan, Feng Ling, Lilia, Jialiya, and other core members, through a still-functioning emergency elevator to the strategic command room located on a higher level of the battleship.

What they saw along the way was even more shocking than the lower levels. The magnificent decorations had long since turned to dust in the battle, and the walls were covered with scorch marks from energy weapon exchanges and bite marks from the Zerg. Some passages were blocked by collapsed metal structures, forcing them to take detours or have Feng Ling briefly melt the obstacles. The air was filled with a faint smell of blood, burning, and the ozone scent of overloaded circuits.

When they finally arrived before the command room door, which was engraved with defensive runes but now covered in cracks, their hearts sank. The door had been violently broken through, leaving an irregular gap with half a sharp Zerg limb still hanging from the edge.

Entering the command room, the scene inside was even more dismal. The space that should have been filled with dozens of floating giant holographic star maps and flashing consoles was now a mess. Most of the console screens were black, some still emitting small electrical sparks; the exquisite star map projector lay tilted to the side, parts scattered everywhere. The floor and control panels were covered with a thick layer of stains from dried, viscous dark green Zerg body fluids, emitting a pungent odor. The bodies of several angel technical officers lay slumped over the control panels, maintaining their final operational postures.

"Can part of the functions be restored here?" Lin Muyang frowned and looked at an angel engineer who had followed them. This engineer was one of the technical officers most familiar with the battleship's systems, whom Remiel had urgently found among the survivors, named Karyer.

Karyer was a female angel who looked a bit thin but had sharp eyes. She quickly scanned the room, ignored the filth on the ground, crawled in front of several key control panels, and her hands flew as she attempted to start the backup power and low-level self-test programs.

A moment later, she looked up, her face showing exhaustion and a hint of hope:

"It seems some redundant modules of the core processing unit survived, and a few backup power lines weren't completely cut. If I'm given time and manpower, I should be able to restore basic monitoring, star map retrieval, and some functions of the short-range passive detection array. But advanced modules like active scanning, weapon control, and hyperspace communication... the damage is too severe to be repaired in a short time."

"Basic monitoring and star map retrieval are enough," Lin Muyang said in a deep voice. "I need all spatial anomaly records, energy fluctuation logs, and any suspicious mass shadows or biological signals captured by the passive array within a ten-light-year radius of the holy radiance before and after the Zerg attack. The time range should be from 72 hours before the first attack warning until now. As fast as possible."

"Understood! I'll start immediately!" Karyer said no more and called over two other surviving technical officer assistants to begin clearing, wiring, and attempting to restart the system in the chaos, racing against time.

Amidst the busy humming of the engineers and the occasional burst of electrical sparks, Lin Muyang walked to the command room's giant viewing window made of high-strength transparent material. Outside was the eternally silent, deep, and boundless cosmic starry sky, with stars dotting the distance, remote and indifferent. Some Zerg remains and debris from the battleship itself floated slowly in the weightless environment, like silent tombstones in a graveyard.

His fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the cold windowsill with a steady rhythm, but his eyes grew deeper and colder, as if he wanted to pierce through this boundless darkness to see the truth hidden behind the scenes.

"What are you thinking?" Gui Wanwan appeared silently by his side like a ghost, her cold voice kept very low, so only the two of them could hear.

Lin Muyang did not look back, his gaze still locked on the depths of the starry sky. His voice was low and slow, carrying a chill that suggested he had seen through a conspiracy:

"This swarm of Zerg is massive, their coordination is skilled, their targets are clear, their actions are unified, and they even understand tactical deception and targeted destruction... This is by no means a group of beasts driven by natural evolution or simple instinct. Behind them, there must exist a sovereign or command node with high intelligence capable of such fine control over such a large-scale swarm."

He paused, and the rhythm of his fingers tapping the windowsill quickened slightly: "And this mastermind, driving the Zerg to attack the holy radiance at any cost with the target being the source of radiance... I'm afraid it's not as simple as just plundering energy."

"The source of radiance might be a great supplement for the Zerg, but for a truly high-level intelligent civilization, its value might not compare to a complete Princess-class vessel and the knowledge and technology on it. I suspect this attack is some kind of test or part of a larger plot. Its ultimate goal is likely not just the Angel Race..."

He slowly turned his head to look at Gui Wanwan, and also at Feng Ling, Lilia, and the others who had gathered at some point, his eyes flashing with an unprecedentedly sharp light:

"We need to find out the truth as soon as possible. Otherwise, what gets dragged in might not just be one Angel civilization. The flames of war may have already quietly spread across the sea of stars."