219: Chapter 219 Technological Gap: Absolute Power Overwhelming
The aftershocks of the "Underworld" platform's self-destruction rippled slowly through the dead silence of the void like a sarcastic rest note. That rapidly expanding cloud of metallic dust was the final tombstone of an old era's ambition and madness, yet it could not dilute even half of the purer aura of destruction sweeping in from the direction of the Moon.
Inside the bridge of the soaring heavens, the pungent smell of char mixed with the ozone scent of ionized air. The gravity simulation system had not yet fully recovered; Long Zhantian had to grip a fixed handle to steady himself. On the screen, multiple areas of the soaring heavens's 3D model were flagged in red. Under the impact of the "Underworld's" final strike and the self-destruction's aftershocks, shield readings had plummeted to a dangerous 8%, hull structural damage exceeded 30%, and two of the three main engines had stalled, leaving only the auxiliary thrusters and the remaining main engine to maintain basic orientation and slow displacement.
"Taishan Ship reporting! Scavenger vanguard units have broken through the Yumen Pass outer firepower net! They are approaching our ship and the Moon at high speed! Estimated entry into effective engagement range in two minutes and seventeen seconds!" The anxious voice of the Taishan Ship's captain came through the communication channel.
Long Zhantian coughed, the taste of blood in his throat. He glanced out the bridge's viewport; in the distance, those three dark red points of light were rapidly enlarging in his field of vision, their trailing ghostly blue energy wakes looking like the cloaks of death being dragged behind them.
"Taishan Ship, Huashan, and the Lunar Defense Fleet, execute Phase Two of the 'Torch Dragon' contingency plan! Delay them at all costs! Buy time for us... for Guanghan Palace to repair and reorganize our defenses!" Long Zhantian's voice was hoarse, yet still resolute.
"Understood!"
"We will fight to the death!"
The loyal wingman ships and the lunar defenders did not hesitate for a moment, immediately acting according to the plan. The Taishan Ship led the fleet units that were still maneuverable, charging without looking back toward those three killing machines that represented absolute technological superiority. On lunar orbit, all defense platforms opened fire with everything they had, weaving a dense barrage of light beams and missiles.
What happened next caused a bone-chilling cold to wash over all who witnessed it—it was a near-desperate realization of an absolute crushing level of power.
Facing the saturated firepower coverage from the Taishan Ship fleet and the lunar defense platforms—firepower sufficient to instantly vaporize an entire fleet of the old era—the leading Scavenger-Type 7 unit (tentatively designated Alpha) reacted with what could only be described as... composure.
It performed no complex evasive maneuvers, nor did it deploy any visible energy shields. At the moment those scorching beams and speeding missiles were about to hit it, its dark red, polyhedral crystal-like hull surface suddenly rippled with visible spatial undulations like waves on water.
Immediately following that, a phenomenon occurred that nearly overturned the understanding of human physicists: the moment all high-energy particle beams, lasers, and plasma shells touched those spatial ripples, they seemed to hit an absolutely smooth and constantly "flowing" mirror. Over 90% of the energy was eerily deflected and scattered! It was like heavy rain hitting a rapidly spinning umbrella; water Droplets splashed everywhere, yet could not wet a single inch beneath the umbrella!
The fate of the physical missiles and kinetic warheads was even more bizarre. They did not explode; instead, the moment they entered the range of the ripples, their own trajectories underwent erratic and frantic distortions, as if being torn and twisted from different directions by countless invisible hands. Ultimately, they either collided and destroyed each other or were flung toward completely irrelevant deep space. A few were even slung back the way they came, nearly hitting friendly forces!
"Active spatial curvature deflection field... and local gravitational turbulence manipulation..." In the Ark City Research Center, Dr. Elena Chen, who was monitoring the battlefield data, turned pale, her voice trembling. "They aren't using energy to counter energy; they are using higher-dimensional spatial and gravitational rules to create impassable 'terrain' on our attack 'paths'! Our weapons, in essence, cannot touch them!"
This was the generational gap. It wasn't a difference in power magnitude; it was that the fundamental logic of attack and defense was not on the same level!
After neutralizing the first wave of interception as if "strolling through a garden," the Alpha unit finally made an offensive move. At its polyhedral core, a "black dot" so dark it seemed to absorb all light suddenly lit up. Then, a slender dark purple ray that caused all sensors to instantly overload was fired silently at near-instantaneous speed.
The target was precisely the Taishan Ship, which was charging at the front, attempting to use its own shields to buy time for the fleet behind it!
The Taishan Ship's energy shields, which were strong enough to withstand the gravitational turbulence aftershocks of the "Underworld," were as fragile as soap bubbles before this dark purple ray. The moment the ray contacted the shield, there was no violent explosion; the area of the shield that was hit had its energy structure "erased" directly from the level of physical rules by some higher-order power, leaving a smooth-edged, instantly penetrating hole!
The ray passed through the shield without hindrance and hit the Taishan Ship's thick bow armor. Again, there was no loud bang. The material structure of the hit armor area underwent a terrifying disintegration at the microscopic level, silently annihilating and vaporizing like a sandcastle, leaving a terrifying through-and-through wound dozens of meters deep into the hull, its edges smooth as a mirror! Internal cabins, pipelines, equipment, and even personnel who hadn't had time to evacuate were all reduced to nothingness in this single strike!
One hit! The Taishan Ship instantly suffered a fatal heavy blow, lost power, and its massive hull began to spin uncontrollably and disintegrate!
"No!!!" Long Zhantian and countless soldiers witnessing this scene felt their eyes nearly burst with rage.
But this was only the beginning. At the same time the Alpha unit fired, the other two Scavenger units (Beta and Gamma) also began their performance.
The Beta unit did not use that terrifying disintegration ray; its attack was more "exquisite." It flickered like a ghost through several short-range warps within the lunar defense firepower net, avoiding most attacks, then fired several fist-sized, shimmering silver "Droplets" toward the largest "Thunder Department" planetary defense battery array on the outskirts of the Guanghan Palace base on the lunar surface.
These "Droplets" were extremely fast and their trajectories were unpredictable. They easily penetrated the batteries' energy barriers (as if those barriers didn't exist) and then "seeped" into the batteries' thick alloy shells and internal structures like living things. A few seconds later, those massive batteries did not explode; instead, they began to "melt" from the inside, their structures twisting and collapsing as if being corroded away from the inside out by invisible strong acid! This was a more bizarre directional disintegration technology targeted at material structures!
The Gamma unit was more direct and brutal. It stopped at a relatively safe position and deployed several complex energy arrays on its hull surface. Then, a wide-reaching, invisible ultra-strong electromagnetic pulse (EMP) mixed with some kind of informational disturbance wave swept across the entire lunar battlefield airspace at the speed of light!
Instantly, the electronic systems of all human ships and defense platforms that were not specially shielded suffered a devastating blow! Screens turned into static, communications were cut, fire control systems failed, and thrusters malfunctioned! Even for the soaring heavens and a few of the latest model warships with reinforced electromagnetic protection, systems experienced severe lag and errors! The command and coordination of the entire lunar defense system were nearly paralyzed at this moment!
The crushing weight of the technological generational gap was demonstrated vividly at this moment. Human attacks could not effectively reach the opponent, while the opponent's attack methods were diverse, efficient, and aimed directly at the fundamental weaknesses of the human technological system. Energy weapons, kinetic weapons, electronic warfare, information warfare... the opponent held an overwhelming advantage in every dimension. The fleet and defense lines that humans were so proud of were like children waving wooden sticks at fully armed mecha warriors in the face of the true Scavenger main force.
"The Taishan Ship... signal lost..." the communications officer reported with a sob.
"Losses in the lunar outer defense battery groups exceed 70%!"
"Fleet electronic systems will take at least five minutes to recover! We've become blind and deaf!"
Bad news pelted Ark City and the remaining human command nodes like hailstones.
Long Zhantian watched through the viewport as the disintegrating wreckage of the Taishan Ship slowly drifted away. The other two Scavenger units began clearing the remaining human resistance in lunar orbit like reapers, while the most terrifying Alpha unit had already turned its "muzzle." Its dark purple "Eye of Death" lit up once more, this time locking onto the precarious soaring heavens and, further back, the brightly lit Guanghan Palace base on the lunar surface.
Despair, like a cold tide, flooded the hearts of every human soldier.
Could it be that all the unity, all the sacrifices, and all the technological progress were merely futile struggles in the face of this absolute, hopeless technological generational gap?
"'Torch Dragon' protocol... final phase..." Long Zhantian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with nothing but a desperate, all-or-nothing madness. "It's not over yet... it's not time to give up..."
Meanwhile, in Ark City, Lin Mo stared intently at the near-one-sided slaughter on the screen, his face as pale as paper. He clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug deep into his palms, drawing blood.
The technological generational gap was like a chasm standing between human civilization and survival.