180: Mecha Cluster, Pioneering Change

The mecha descended.

The azure lightning dark halberd rapidly slid down the slope, Qin Jin was in the cockpit, his gaze sweeping in other directions. Below the entire Ark, transport compartments opened one by one, and countless mechas descended like dumplings.

Besides the task specialists who came to perform the cleanup mission, there were also warriors from the Pioneer Legion, acting in organized formations, making for a truly spectacular scene.

The combination of technology and the transcendent allowed the Starfire Federation to gradually establish itself in the Star Sea, and this scene now was the best proof of it all.

“This is merely a pioneering cleanup mission.”

A thought flashed through Qin Jin’s mind: “An operation of this scale is really nothing to the current Starfire Federation. On a true civilization battlefield, it would be thousands or tens of thousands of times grander than this moment.”

The terminal trembled slightly.

Candle Kite’s voice rang out, and accompanied by Qin Jin’s affirmative response, the terminal projected a light screen, showing the specific mission scope. This was a battle group-style collective action, and as the battle group leader had said earlier, everyone only needed to complete what they were supposed to do, without acting rashly.

The fluorescent sea area was divided into countless regions. Qin Jin quickly scanned it, confirmed his mission area, and with a splash, the sounds from outside suddenly became muffled—the azure lightning dark halberd entered the water!

Runes flowed across the mecha’s surface, attaching a layer of power light, blocking the surroundings.

Qin Jin’s heart stirred slightly. Below the mecha’s right arm, the mystic dragon halberd descended, expanding instantly and being grasped in his hand.

This was not the first time Qin Jin had piloted a mecha into the water, but it was his first time delving deep into the ocean.

The ocean of this numbered planet was extremely peculiar. A strange phosphorescence clung to the surface of the seawater, but the moment they entered the sea, the surroundings quickly darkened. It seemed as if that layer of phosphorescence blocked all light from entering the water.

But now…

With the continuous sounds of entry into the water, the mecha lights activated, and the interior of the ocean also burst forth with endless light sources, illuminating the path ahead.

Qin Jin’s body sank, and the azure lightning dark halberd, under his control, continued to dive deeper.

The uppermost layer of the sea did not contain life. As the depth increased, some strangely shaped marine life entered their view. In the mecha’s radar module, they had very few transcendent factors and could not yet be called normal transcendent creatures, clearly not the target of the Pioneer Legion.

The mecha cluster continued to descend.

After diving a further distance, the distance between mechas widened. Within each designated small area, at least three mechas were ensured to be present to provide mutual support in case of an accident.

The azure lightning dark halberd continued to delve deeper. Upon reaching a certain depth, Qin Jin’s spirit surged, deepening his connection with the azure lightning dark halberd. His perception spread out, combining with the mecha’s radar, both working in concert.

Just then.

His gaze shifted, suddenly looking downwards.

His first [prey] had appeared.

Violent ripples disturbed the water surface. Facing the collective intrusion of unwelcome guests, the transcendent beasts from the deep sea launched their attack first. From all directions, battle erupted at this moment.

The beast attacking Qin Jin from the depths was an octopus-like monster. Its entire body was earthy brown and massive in size. As its tentacles writhed, beams of strange power shot directly towards the azure lightning dark halberd.

Qin Jin’s expression was calm. As the azure lightning dark halberd’s energy shield activated, his own power, like a surging river, gushed forth. The energy shield vibrated, and the azure lightning dark halberd, holding its great halberd, struck directly forward.

The beams of power impacted the shield, creating layers of ripples, but unable to break through.

At the same time…

Qin Jin had already closed the distance. Facing the lashing tentacles that glowed with a mysterious light, Qin Jin chose to cut through the mess quickly. The great halberd was raised, and lightning power surged forth, striking downwards vertically. Astonishing aftershocks rippled through the water. With a single strike of the mystic dragon halberd, lightning power spread, severing everything.

As the power diffused, the entire body of the giant octopus seemed to be cut by countless sharp lightning blades, instantly being sliced into innumerable pieces.

Simultaneously.

The lightning power was completely contained, without the slightest spill into the surroundings, preventing any impact on the combat areas of others.

After completing all this.

Qin Jin no longer paid much attention, preparing to continue deeper.

Later, personnel from the Pioneer Legion would retrieve the remains of the transcendent beasts, assess their value, and calculate them into the mission rewards upon final departure.

This was also why Qin Jin did not choose to directly annihilate the opponent.

The azure lightning dark halberd passed by the remains, delving into the seabed.

Just as he passed by.

With a sense of perception, Qin Jin’s brows furrowed, and his gaze turned back to the remains.

The opponent appeared to have completely lost all signs of life, without any movement.

However…

With such close contact, and with Qin Jin having pushed his perception abilities to the extreme after entering the deep sea, he clearly detected some abnormalities.

Within the Spirit Ruins, the Cave Heaven fluctuated, providing him with a boost. Qin Jin’s eyes sharpened, and his spiritual perception spread out, meticulously investigating. Just as his spirit lingered on a piece of the body, no longer than an arm, his gaze narrowed slightly. A hint of frost flashed within the black orb rotating on the azure lightning dark halberd’s chest, completely freezing it. Then, with a slight thought, he directly pulled it back with power, into the palm of the azure lightning dark halberd.

The mecha hovered in the deep sea. Other transcendent mechas in the vicinity continued to delve deeper. As Qin Jin followed, he looked at the extremely cold ice crystal in his hand, his thoughts stirring.

At this instant.

Amidst the dispersal of power, the ice crystal shattered with a bang, completely disappearing. Along with it, the flesh and blood of the giant octopus’s remains also vanished and were annihilated. In Qin Jin’s hand, only a small item, less than the size of a fingertip, remained.

It was a square object, entirely black, of unknown material. Compared to the giant octopus’s massive body, it was truly insignificant, which made it all the more peculiar.

The giant octopus looked quite terrifying, but it was still a creature of flesh and blood. This unknown object, however, did not seem to be something that a flesh and blood body could generate.

Thoughts flowed through his mind.

Qin Jin pondered for a moment and said, “Candle Kite, through the mission program, inform the Pioneer Legion of my discovery.”

“Yes.”

Candle Kite’s reply was full of vigor. After a few seconds, she continued, “The Pioneer Legion has received the information. Their response is to ask you to continue with the cleanup mission.”

“If you discover any more of these special constructs, you need to collect them. After the cleanup mission ends, they will send someone to contact you.”

Hearing this, Qin Jin nodded. Frost surged from the azure lightning dark halberd’s palm, re-sealing the object, and he continued to dive.

He would do his own part.

Since the Pioneer Group already knew about it, there would certainly be corresponding arrangements and investigations.

The azure lightning dark halberd continued its descent.

As the depth increased, the number of lurking transcendent beasts sharply rose, and battles constantly raged in the deep sea.

Qin Jin appeared to be at ease.

After killing another deformed beast, Qin Jin looked around and found that the closest mecha to him was being besieged by several beasts. He did not hesitate. The gem on the azure lightning dark halberd’s chest rotated, and a beam of light shot out, sweeping through the deep sea. Everything in its path froze, and it directly froze the beasts attacking that mecha.

With Qin Jin’s help, the battle became much easier and was quickly resolved. After the resolution, the standard mecha piloted by the other party waved in acknowledgment towards Qin Jin.

If task specialists entered the Pioneer Legion’s mecha sequence, it would instead affect the coordination between legion warriors. Therefore… the areas where task specialists were located were often similar, allowing for mutual cooperation.

In this area where Qin Jin was located, including him, there were a total of four mechas. During the battle, after Qin Jin killed the beasts he faced, he would also provide assistance to others.

Continuing deeper, time passed.

After once again smashing a long, python-like, scaled beast, the azure lightning dark halberd dived another nearly hundred meters. Then… its feet landed on the seabed.

His gaze swept around.

Other task specialists in the area had also arrived here. Judging by the light emitted by mechas in the distance, this was the deepest part of this sea area. Except for some trenches, they had reached their final destination.

It was at this moment.

The terminal trembled, and the mission program sent a message.

[You have completed the beast cleanup mission]

[Mission rewards being calculated…]

With a glance, Qin Jin retracted his gaze. Just then, a voice sounded in the nearby communication channel.

“This cleanup mission was easier than expected.”

“Gentlemen, when we return to base, shall we all have a meal together? We’re comrades now, and I still don’t know your names.”

“Sure.”

“After all, this mission was mainly executed by the Pioneer Legion. Their combat zones are the truly dangerous places. We’re just providing support, so it’s normal for it to be easier.”

A slightly cold but enthusiastic voice rang out.

Qin Jin also responded.

In the recent battle, they had indeed cooperated fully.

“Everyone, let’s head back.”

Whispering softly in the communication channel, Qin Jin piloted the azure lightning dark halberd and began to ascend.

At the same time.

In the deep sea, light shone, and mechas rose one by one, climbing upwards.

The mecha cluster was primarily composed of Pioneer Legion warriors, so they maintained a nearly similar speed to avoid any accidents.

Just as they had ascended about several hundred meters.

Suddenly, from the deep sea, something seemed to explode at that moment. A deafening roar echoed in the deep sea, and an unparalleled terrifying aftershock swept from the deep sea, spreading in all directions.

This aftershock was sudden and extremely astonishing. Amidst the surging aftershock, the mecha cluster, which was ascending in the deep sea, was directly scattered. Under the impact of the aftershock, the mechas were carried by the strong currents and dispersed in all directions.

There was a brief moment of chaos.

But then, in the public channel, a calm command sounded: “Maintain stability, continue ascending.”

The aftershock surged.

The first explosive roar seemed to be just the beginning. In this deep-sea explosion, the seabed surface suddenly churned. In a scene like an underwater earthquake, a dark and mysterious deep-sea abyss appeared, leading to an unknown destination.

The moment it appeared.

Ocean currents swirled, and a vortex formed in the deep sea. The moment it formed, it rapidly expanded, devouring everything around it, unleashing infinite suction.

Inside the deep sea, the remains of alien beasts, cleared from battle, and countless reefs and rock walls on the seabed were all swallowed up.

As the gravitational pull spread, the battle mechs rapidly ascending were also bound by the suction of the vortex, their speed involuntarily slowing as they struggled against it.

"This power..."

Through his azure lightning dark halberd, Qin Jin also sensed this suction.

After a brief perception, his expression became solemn: "This doesn't seem to be a purely natural disaster-induced suction; there are other forces at play."

As thoughts flashed through his mind, on the public channel, the command sounded again.

"Execute Protocol 3."

With that command, within approximately a few seconds, among the mech cluster, the standardized mechs from the Pioneer Legion had their extraordinary runes light up, and at this moment, their power erupted!

This power was not for attacking enemies but for coordination.

As power surged, first, the closest standardized mechs completed power exchanges, connecting in pairs, and then... more connections formed.

Throughout the deep sea, with the standardized mechs as anchor points, countless light rings of varying sizes, alternating and overlapping, seemed to form.

When the largest outer light ring materialized, a defensive barrier rose, and the deep-sea vortex's impact on the mechs dramatically decreased.

The azure lightning dark halberd could not participate in this joint effort, but Qin Jin clearly noticed that the areas where the mission specialists were located were all at the center or sub-center of the mech cluster, and now with the connections complete, they were also protected within it.

The power rings illuminated the entire deep sea and began to ascend slowly.

After the power connections, these standardized mechs, whose numbers could not be judged by the naked eye, seemed to become a unified power collective.

While their defense was enhanced, their speed was involuntarily slowed down to maintain stability.

Below, the deep-sea vortex continued to devour everything.

...

At the same time, above the sea surface, the fluorescent sea, no longer calm as when they arrived, was turbulent, with waves rolling up, and the fluorescent light clinging to the sea and sky, creating a terrifying spectacle.

Above, in the command hall of the Land Ark, the commander of the Third Battle Group, who had spoken before the mission began, stood upright, hands braced on the table, watching the images on the light screen, his brow deeply furrowed.

His name was Zhou Yutang.

It was he who had issued the command on the public channel.

With a slight thought, the public channel communication was temporarily closed.

He looked at the continuously ascending mech cluster and glanced to his side: "What's going on?"

"That strange power source deep in the seabed, wasn't it assessed and determined to be in an extremely stable state?"

"Why did it suddenly erupt?"

As his words fell, another voice spoke.

"Battle Group Commander, according to the power eruption level for this mission, we should still be far from [waking] it."

"We are currently unclear.

Our personnel are conducting an emergency investigation."

The man he questioned had fluctuating eyes and said very earnestly: "Before establishing this mission, we conducted hundreds of assessments and tests, confirming that this cleanup mission could be successfully executed.

Logically speaking, such a change should not have occurred."

"I don't need your explanation."

Zhou Yutang glanced at him: "I only want the reason."

"Even if there's an emergency plan to deal with it and no serious consequences, such an accident shouldn't happen in our battle group."

"We are a battle group subordinate to the Pioneer Legion.

You should know what it means for the Pioneer Legion to have an accident."

Amidst the serious voice, Zhou Yutang turned back, once again looking at the light screen.

Within the light screen, the mech cluster continued to ascend, slowly but steadily.

As it ascended, everything in the ocean outside the mech cluster's power rings was swept downwards, unable to resist the immense suction of the deep-sea vortex.

Zhou Yutang stared intently at all of this.

Next to the light screen, a series of data was also listed.

These were data related to the current changes in the deep-sea environment.

As the mech cluster ascended, at this moment, one of the data points suddenly soared.

"The suction of the deep-sea vortex is still ongoing."

"That strange power source seems to have been fully awakened!"

An exclamation sounded in the command hall, and at the same time, deep within the sea, a dazzling light suddenly emerged from the vortex, and strange power surged out from within the vortex.

As the light flashed, the vortex's suction did not intensify, but within the mech cluster, a strange power, in a very peculiar way, directly bypassed or penetrated the power rings, acting internally.

As the strange power extended and infiltrated inside, it formed transparent cubic strange spaces, with only their borders made of solidified power, isolating them from their surroundings.

Inside these spaces were either Pioneer Legion soldiers in standardized mechs or mission specialists piloting their own mechs.

Qin Jin and his azure lightning dark halberd were also among them.

The strange space formed in an instant.

Qin Jin clearly sensed the blocking force appearing in a flash.

Although he didn't know its purpose, Qin Jin reacted extremely quickly, almost without any hesitation.

His azure lightning dark halberd was raised, and the Spirit Ruins' power was activated, empowering his mech.

A halberd strike descended from above, directly slamming into one side.

The halberd struck with extreme speed.

But as his great halberd struck, Qin Jin clearly saw the exterior of the cubic space ripple for a moment, then, carrying the azure lightning dark halberd and the seawater contained within the isolated space, it [teleported].

The surrounding environment changed in an instant.

Qin Jin's movements did not stop.

As his great halberd struck forward and hit the top, power erupted, completely shattering the entire cubic space.

The turbulent aftermath of power swept forward, with continuous booming explosions.

Everything around was directly destroyed.

Qin Jin stood with his halberd, looking around.

At this moment, he was in a hall with a distinct architectural style.

Under the power eruption, the hall was already in ruins, but after a quick glance, Qin Jin confirmed one thing: this was not the common architectural style of the Starfire Federation.

Everything happened suddenly, and whoever possessed such spatial teleportation ability would certainly not be benevolent.

Inside the cockpit, Qin Jin remained calm, and stealthily, an item was taken out by him and placed by his side, ready to be used immediately if anything went wrong.

That was... the calligraphy scroll given to him by Gui Xu Martial God, Senior Su, which contained the means left by Gui Xu Martial God to protect him, and he had never used it before.

Just then, in the hall, a voice with an extremely strange tone spoke in a language Qin Jin had never heard before.

However, perhaps due to some extraordinary influence, Qin Jin naturally understood the meaning of this unknown language upon hearing it.

"A high-level life form in its infancy."

"Hello."

...

On the Land Ark, everything that happened in the deep sea was seen by everyone in the command hall through the light screen.

Gaps appeared throughout the mech cluster; at a glance, about a hundred mechs, in the sudden situation just now, were enveloped by the cubic spaces and vanished.

As they vanished, the areas enveloped by the cubes immediately became vacuum zones, which were then filled by the surrounding seawater.

And after they disappeared, the light within the vortex in the deep sea rapidly receded, and at the same time... this terrifying scene occurring in the deep sea also came to an end.

The deep-sea vortex rapidly calmed down at an astonishing speed, and the originally turbulent sea surface returned to its usual quiet state, as if the scene just now had never happened.

With no external force obstructing them, and after receiving the command, the mech cluster rapidly ascended.

In the command hall, Zhou Yutang looked at the calm sea surface, his brows deeply furrowed, and spoke very quickly: "Immediately confirm how they disappeared, and have the research team begin related work."

"Compile a list of the disappeared and report it to me, finding any commonalities among them."

Speaking of this, his gaze shifted to one side: "When will the personnel from the Ancient Civilization Exploration and Development Department arrive?"

"They have already entered the Weiyang Star System and are on their way."

A voice replied: "According to the plan we discussed earlier, after we complete the clearing of the outer areas, they will enter and cooperate with us to conduct a comprehensive investigation of that strange power source."

"According to our initial assessment, this strange power source should come from another civilization, which is their area of expertise."

"Send a communication, tell them to speed up their arrival."

"Immediately blockade this sea area and notify the Legion Headquarters."

Zhou Yutang made a series of arrangements.

Just then, not far away, someone approached.

It was a woman in military uniform: "Battle Group Commander, the list of disappeared personnel has been compiled."

She walked over, and with a light touch in the air, a small light screen appeared, displaying a list.

Besides names and ages, it also contained some public information.

Zhou Yutang's gaze fell on it.

His female subordinate's voice was soft and quick: "Among the disappeared personnel, the ratio of mission specialists to legion soldiers is 7:3.

Their commonality..."

She hesitated.

Zhou Yutang rubbed his temples, looking at the list, and said in a deep voice: "Their commonality is that they are all relatively young, with good or even excellent talent, outstanding geniuses."

"That's right."

Zhou Yutang let out a long breath, his expression showing clear agitation.

His gaze swept across the list, looking at each name.

[Corridor Star System] [Wu Yuan Academy] [Qin Jin]

[Glass Star System] [Mitian Daochang] [Su Jinxiu]

[Third Battle Group] [Seventh Battalion Direct Command Squad] [Lin Yi]

Zhou Yutang's brows furrowed even deeper.

He waved his hand, and the light screen dissipated.

He said in a deep voice: "Report the latest situation to the Legion Headquarters, and then contact the respective parties behind these mission specialists."

Hearing this, on the other side, one person's expression changed slightly: "Battle Group Commander, if they find out..."

"Enough."

Zhou Yutang reprimanded: "Hiding it, do you think they won't have channels to find out?"

"There are quite a few mission specialists involved; do you really think you can silence all of them?"

"This is an error of our Third Battle Group.

After everything is over, I will take responsibility, and the Legion Headquarters and the Federation will make the judgment."

"Now..."

"Contact them, explain the situation, and first gather forces to remedy the situation and resolve it properly."

"That is the top priority."