44: The Red Barrier and the Disappearing Signal

The smoke of battle gradually dissipated, and the Martian gales kicked up reddish-brown dust, attempting to mask the recent tragedy. Forward Camp "Alpha" was in ruins; the Communication Relay Station and Energy Barrier Generator were completely destroyed, and the Landing Craft lay paralyzed on the ground, emitting black smoke.

But the survivors successfully rendezvoused with the "fortress one" battle fortress, and relying on this steel behemoth and the surrounding wreckage of warships, they established a temporary defensive perimeter—the "Crimson Bulwark."

Sun Zheng ordered "lü ou ii" and "seagull three" to keep watch in a higher orbit, while the flagship "seagull one" took the risk of landing on the edge of a crater several kilometers away from the "Crimson Bulwark" to serve as the frontline Command Center.

The immediate priority was to stabilize the situation, treat the wounded, and assess the losses.

"Report the casualties." Sun Zheng's voice came through the newly established temporary communication network, tinged with exhaustion.

"Commander," Lieutenant Colonel Falcon's voice was hoarse, "Two killed in action, four seriously wounded, and seven lightly injured. The Landing Craft is destroyed, and the only heavy equipment left is the 'fortress one' battle fortress and some individual weapons."

The cost was heavy. Especially the two fallen soldiers; their lives were left forever on this alien soil.

"Send the seriously wounded back to 'seagull one' immediately for emergency treatment. As for the fallen... settle them properly and mark the coordinates." Sun Zheng gave the order with a heavy heart. The Mars expedition had been stained with blood from the very beginning.

"Commander, what about the enemy's movements?" Lieutenant Colonel Falcon was more concerned about the immediate threat.

"The Scrin forces have withdrawn to the edge of the Interference Zone, but they haven't gone far. The 'overseer' crystal energy signal is still active and is restabilizing the energy field." Sun Zheng frowned as he looked at the scan. The enemy was clearly gathering strength, preparing for the next wave of attack.

The defensive strength of the "Crimson Bulwark" was severely insufficient. Relying solely on one battle fortress and a small number of infantry, it would be difficult to withstand another Scrin attack.

"We must strengthen our ground forces immediately." Sun Zheng made up his mind. "lü ou ii, seagull three, begin airdropping the second batch of ground troops and defensive facilities! Prioritize the deployment of prism towers and patriot missiles!"

The two Transport Ships risked lowering their altitude again, acting like busy worker bees to airdrop prefabricated defense tower modules, ammunition supplies, and new units—including prism tanks, American Soldiers, and Engineers—around the "Crimson Bulwark."

The Engineers worked quickly amidst the wind and sand. prism towers began to rise, and patriot missile silos took shape rapidly. With the fire support from these fixed defenses, the defensive capabilities of the "Crimson Bulwark" were greatly enhanced.

Meanwhile, Sun Zheng ordered the technical team to fully analyze the data from this encounter, especially the energy characteristics and attack patterns of the "overseer" crystal.

The analysis results were worrying:

Phase Weapons: Scrin's Phase Beam possess spatial distortion characteristics, allowing them to effectively penetrate conventional energy shields, posing a massive threat to fixed defenses and large units.

Interference Field: The Interference Zone not only blocks scans but also seems to enhance the energy recovery speed and coordination of the Scrin units within it.

"overseer" Crystal: Preliminarily identified as a Scrin battlefield command node and heavy support platform, with extremely high energy levels and a regional enhancement aura.

"We must find a way to weaken the Interference Field or find a way to deal with the Phase Weapons." Sun Zheng paced within the temporary Command Center. Brute force was not the answer.

He once again sank his consciousness into the homeworld space, carefully sensing the strange resonance between the glimmer keystone and the "overseer" crystal's energy field. He discovered that when the crystal's energy field fluctuated violently, the keystone's resonance became clear; when the crystal was stable, the resonance was faint and hard to discern.

"Perhaps the energy source of the Interference Field is closely related to the 'overseer' crystal itself?" A hypothesis emerged. If the crystal could be destroyed or heavily damaged, would the Interference Field weaken or even disappear?

But how to do it? A frontal assault was too risky.

Just then, a technician monitoring communications brought unexpected news:

"Commander, we conducted a retrospective analysis of the source of the 'voyager' distress signal... and discovered a strange phenomenon."

"What phenomenon?"

"The signal doesn't seem to be coming from the surface of Mars." The technician's voice was confused. "Its propagation path and attenuation characteristics suggest it's coming from high in Martian orbit, or even from the direction of the near-Mars Asteroid Belt!"

"What?!" Sun Zheng stood up abruptly!

The distress signal wasn't from the surface of Mars? It was from orbit? Or even further?

Then what was this battlefield all about? Where exactly was the "voyager"? Had they really crash-landed, or were they destroyed in orbit? Was that distress signal sent by survivors in orbit? Or was it a decoy pointing to this battlefield?

Instead of dissipating, the fog only grew thicker.

Sun Zheng felt a chill. The situation on Mars was far more complex than he had imagined.

He walked to the porthole of "seagull one," looking at the death zone shrouded by the Scrin Interference Field in the distance, then looked up at the orange-red Martian sky.

"voyager... where on earth are you?"

"And what secrets are hidden beneath this battlefield?"