Age of Cosmic Exploration Chapter 154

Chapter 154: Base and the Anima
Yao Yuan followed the Hope Defense Unit to the battlefield. When they reached aboveground, the Black Star Troopers had already removed more than 100,000 aliens and had cleared a 10 by 10 kilometers ground. This prevented their transport shuttles from being shot down by the aliens. However, when Yao Yuan saw the ruins of the previous 2 shuttles smoldering, he crash-landed the shuttles and immediately ordered everyone out.
Yao Yuan wore a red space armor, so he stood out quite fairly. It didn’t take too long for Guang Zhen and Ren Tao to spot and reach him. He caught up with them mid-way and asked, "Give me a field report! Any deaths?"
Guang Zhen saluted, "So far… only 1 death, he died… in combat. The rest is still unknown because they’re still in combat."
"Isn’t that a given? How else is the soldier going to die, tripped and fell to his death? Ren Tao, you’ve been here the longest, so give me an update. Also, explain what you do meant when you told Liu Bai that we’ve been tricked." Yao Yuan coughed.
Ren Tao smiled ruefully. "Well, we’re holding up surprisingly well. The Black Star Troopers are unexpectedly strong, so I believe we aren’t in any danger at the moment. The actual number of fatalities that I predict will not be more than 10. However… I suggest you immediately send someone back to the Hope to ask Saburo, the Japanese doctor, to speed up his progress of producing a vaccine, or else there will be more people that die from sickness than in combat…
"About the fact that we were tricked, do you believe these aliens appeared suddenly? That’s impossible. I guarantee they snuck over and hid themselves on the other side of this planet during the day. Since the sun is blinding on this side during this day, that coupled with the creator’s particle, it’s a perfect ambush plan."
Yao Yuan frowned and looked about. "How about their numbers? Hmm… Never mind, I can see for myself how seriously we’ve been ambushed…"
Yao Yuan whirred around and shouted, "Battalions 1, 2, and 3 gather within the shuttle’s isolator range!"
The soldiers instantly separated into their assigned battalions and crowded orderly around the shuttle.
Yao Yuan turned to Guang Zhen. "Ol’ Wong, you’re good at commanding, so I need you to stay behind and be the commander. Ren Tao will also stay as your strategist. In 10 minutes, Support Battalion B will arrive, and Scrapper Battalion C will arrive 20 minutes after that. I’ll leave the men and women in your capable hands." Yao Yuan saluted before leaving to join the skirmishes.
Guang Zhen led Ren Tao to the front of the battalions. He hollered, "Battalion commanders and second-lieutenants, please fall out!"
The commanders and second-lieutenants of the 3 battalions immediately showed themselves. Guang Zhen ordered, "With the shuttle as the center, spread out to secure a perimeter. Start setting up a base. Each battalion will be responsible for a 120 angle perimeter. Support the Black Star Troopers with long-ranged weapon if necessary, and kill any non-human threats that approach the perimeter!"
The commanders and second-lieutenants saluted. "Yes, Sir!" Under the guidance of their leaders, the battalions started to mobilize. A circular perimeter was formed and the sound of gunshots rang throughout the battlefield.
Guang Zhen sighed. "Do you know, Ren Tao? Military discipline is very much related to crowd psychology. If isolated, each and every one of the soldiers are brilliant in their own right, but when pulled into a crowd, they will often be dragged into doing stupid things. If one starts going off the rails, many will blindly follow. You’ve seen for yourself how much damage the 5 Survivors caused."
Ren Tao waved his hand. "The Black Star Troopers have an inherent problem. I’m sure Yao Yuan has noticed that."
Guang Zhen shook his head resignedly.

"Homo Evolutis… they’re not trained soldier and yet they aren’t civilians. Ren Tao, you yourself are a Homo Evolutis; haven’t you noticed this problem? Hopefully Yao Yuan will be able to come up with a solution soon. If not, things might not end so easily next time. Don’t be so surprised; I know him better than you do. If the situation requires it, he will not hesitate to revamp the troopers. And trust me, the death count won’t be in the single digits then."
Ren Tao opened his mouth but caught himself. He knew that this was not his place to comment. Therefore, he switched the topic. "By the way, your work isn’t finished, is it? Don’t you still need to send someone to hurry Saburo?"
Guang Zhen quickly waved a few soldiers over and sent them to the task.
Like a surging flame, Yao Yuan burned through the battlefield in his red armor.
Yao Yuan had many reservations about this gaudy suit, but the designer, Bo Li, shut him down. "You have to prepare for situations where creator’s particle has been activated. Under those situations, you need something obvious to signify your presence since you’re the commander. Red is the perfect color; they’ll be able to spot you from miles away."
Regardless, the body armor was specially made for Yao Yuan the all-rounder, so its functionality was even better than Space Armor Prototype 1.
Its reinforced shell could withstand for about 3 seconds even when cut with the sawblade, and gaussian bullets would be blocked by an internal electromagnetic shield generator.
The armor was fitted with 3 high-power batteries and not the 2 that were given to the normal armors. This was to support the special armor’s capability for greater speed. When Yao Yuan’s all-rounder power was fully activated, the armor could help him increase his speed to about 500 meters per second!
In other words, his body would become as fast as a fired bullet!
Its power was showcased perfectly in that battle. Like a cannon, Yao Yuan stormed through the alien horde, mincing every enemy that stood in his warpath.
Witnessing this, Yao Yuan relaxed slightly. He finally understood what Ren Tao meant when he said that victory was already in the bag.
Space Armor Prototype 1 coupled with the Homo Evolutis was truly a force to behold. The two supported each other in growth, making the Black Star Troopers a force to be reckoned with!
If one was to tabulate combat capability, unarmed civilians would have power of 10, unarmed Homo Evolutis power of 20, civilians with guns would have power of 100, and Homo Evolutis with guns would have power of 500. In other words, the better the weapons he was paired with, the greater the Homo Evolutis’ combat capability.
When a civilian was paired with Space Armor Prototype 1 and the sawblade, their power would be 1,000. However, when Homo Evolutis was paired with similar equipment, their power could reach up to 50,000. The difference was so big that you would think they are different species altogether… Wait, different species?
Yao Yuan slowed in his onslaught and observed the situation around him. He himself only just found out how strong the space armor was, so how is it possible for the new Homo Evolutis to be so brave and willing to launch themselves into the midst of combat without prior knowledge about the strength of the combat suit?
(Ol’ Wong… No wonder he hesitated before mentioning that one person died "in combat.") The thought flashed across his mind. However, he realized that the troopers were starting to come into their own. There was no shred of fear in their demeanor as they mowed down their enemies. In fact, there was even a sense of bloodlust surging through the troopers after they realized that the enemies weren’t as scary as they thought but were actually as fragile as paper.
However… Many started to tire, especially Ying and Ebon, who had been there since the beginning. Their steps had gotten sluggish and their faces were suffused with a faint blush.
"Ying! Ebon! Retreat to the shuttle! This is an order!"
A voice spoke in their ears. The startled pair looked around them to search for the source, then they saw a red shadow skipping around a 6-meter-tall alien. The alien then broke into pieces. The shadow materialized into Yao Yuan, who looked straight at them.
"I’m communicating with you through my Anima power. Retreat to the shuttle! Don’t make me repeat myself!"
Ying and Ebon stopped short in their tracks and stepped towards the shuttle. Yao Yuan’s voice then sounded in every trooper’s ears.
"This is Yao Yuan! Take down the giant alien that’s creating the electromagnetic shield!"

Chapter end