Age of Cosmic Exploration Chapter 236

The spacecraft and combat jets that the space merchants sent out during the temporary power outage finally reached the Hope. However, they didn’t conduct any attack on the Hope’s exterior. Instead, they flew closer to the hangar, and a platform extended out of the spacecraft and one unit after another of the space merchants’ military swarmed into the Hope.

Back in the meeting room that was used to host the space merchants, Yao Yuan stood over the bodies of 10 alien merchants, his sawblade gunning and expression severe.

In the previous battle, 30 plus Defense Unit soldiers died and one Black Star Trooper was heavily damaged by the four-armed gorilla. He needed immediate medical attention.

Not only that, based on what Yao Yuan knew, all the Black Star Troopers' space armors were nullified. Other than that, all the devices and tools that had internal computer system were offline, this included the Prototype 003 Combat Jets and the Hope’s internal defense system. Other than the Defense Unit’s low-power Gaussian rifles, mankind was practically defenseless.

Under these circumstances, the space merchants had started their complete infiltration! There was no need for the use of surveillance to confirm this observation. One could look outside the Hope’s window and see the alien troops that kept pouring out of the few large alien spacecraft and more than a thousand combat jets. It was undeniable that the infiltration had begun!

Yao Yuan’s heart was filled with regret, but he knew that it was useless to focus on it. Rather than wallowing in regret, he should focus on handling the task at hand. He pulled himself together and ordered the remaining Defense Unit soldiers, "Get the troopers out of their space armors and start gathering the troops…"

Guang Zhen, who was beside him, asked seriously, "Are we going to set up a defense perimeter at the hangars?"

Yao Yuan shook his head. "No, we don’t have enough firepower or manpower to put up any form of a fight. However, like the liquid metal civilization, these merchants want to capture us alive, so we still have a fighting chance… Ol’ Wong, gather all the Defense Unit soldiers and have them go to the central mainframe and set up the defense barricade there. Grab any Black Star Troopers and Homo Evolutis you see on the way. Also, bring along all the Black Star Troopers' space armors."

Guang Zhen did a double-take. He asked Yao Yuan for confirmation, "Are you sure about this? Have you thought it through? How about… how about everyone else, the civilians and the families of the soldiers?"

Yao Yuan nodded in confirmation. "Of course I’ve thought it out. Don’t you get it? The space merchants’ targets are the Homo Evolutis, that is all they want! Therefore, with us gathered at the central mainframe, it will pull their troops towards it and away from the normal civilians. They will come for us first because if we decide to commit suicide, the loss will be unbearable for them. Get it now? We’re the bait!

"Other than that, we must make sure we regain control of the central mainframe as soon as possible. We must, or today shall be the end of humanity!"

Guang Zhen nodded grimly. He stopped hesitating. After saluting Yao Yuan, he led a group of soldiers out of the meeting room while others helped the troopers get out of their armors. After that, they divided the space armors into smaller pieces and carried them to the central mainframe.

In such a pivotal situation where the survival of humanity hung on the line, Guang Zhen didn’t dare to dally. He corralled all the lieutenants and sub-lieutenants and relayed to them Yao Yuan’s orders and plan. He tasked them with the job of pacifying the emotions of their units. After that, Guang Zhen split the soldiers into three teams. One was to gather the straggling Homo Evolutis like Zhang Heng and Bo Li, another was to go to the weapons warehouse to move all the space armors to the central mainframe, and the last was to rush to the central mainframe and start setting up the defense barricade around it. This would be the Hope’s last bulwark!

On the other hand, back on the space merchants’ ship, Ying’s group’s space armors weren’t affected. Perhaps the creator’s particles had prevented the Hope’s central mainframe from reaching their space armors. All of the twenty space troopers had helped everyone get back into their spacesuits and they had dropped down to the lower ground through the hole that Ebon had sawed through.

This level below the condemnation hall was a level that was equally broken and grimy. However, this level’s ceiling was much lower than the one they were previously in. At many places, the troopers had to bend down to get through. After they went deeper in, they found some snake-like life forms scurrying away to save their lives. The entire ship had sounded a piercing alarm. It was barely a minute from when Ying’s group jump down the hole but several quarantine walls had dropped down attempting to block their way.

Did the aliens really think the walls were going to stop the troopers? The sawblade was not for show. As long as it was not a pure laser fence, cutting through the walls was like cutting through cheese!

The walls did have some thickness to them, but before the sawblade, they were nothing. They couldn’t stop the killing machines the Black Star Troopers were!

A unit made up purely of Homo Evolutis coupled with the armor that was meant to promote their reaction time and tenacity to the maximum with a sawblade that was unbeatable in close-quarters combat and Gaussian rifles that had long-distance piercing capability? Yes, they were killing machines!

After tearing through multiple walls, Ying’s group finally crossed paths with the space merchants’ first military unit!

One thing was for sure, the space merchants’ weapons were definitely better than mankind’s.

The merchants still employed Gaussian weaponry because no plasma weapons were in sight other than the earlier laser fence. Even so, it was observable that the alien’s equipment was indeed better than what the troopers wielded.

The alien soldiers were of different shapes and sizes, but their weapons were standardized. There was a curious-looking triangular Gaussian gun. Before firing, the front of this weapon would disintegrate into three arrows, acting as a scope, aiming at the Space Troopers. The accuracy was much better than mankind’s Gaussian rifles, but of course not better than Ying's.

Secondly, whenever the bullets rebounded and hit the walls, ceilings, or floors, a thin layer of electromagnetic shield would appear, blocking the bullets from piercing through and harming the body of the spaceship.

Other than these standardized weapons, the alien merchants had a commander-like character in each unit. Normally, this role was held by an alien who had a ginormous head and small body. They didn’t have any Gaussian weaponry on them, but beside their heads were three floating plate-like objects. These circular plates kept on spinning, and after a short period of charging, they would tear through their target with alarming speed. Not even the electromagnetic shield could block them. However, after they hit their targets or went beyond their targets, they would return automatically to the brain alien’s side. Furthermore, these spinning plates would automatically block the bullets that came at the alien.

This was an extremely powerful weapon that had taken down two space troopers. Since electromagnetic shields and covers were useless before this weapon, one could only avoid them with one’s instinct. Two Survivors died from being ambushed by the plates.

However…

This did not stop the troopers!

On paper it might sound amazing, but the 20… 18 space troopers after their first encounter with the military unit of about 500 people practically ran over the resistance like a ballast roller. The spinning plates required charging time and could be avoided if one read the malice projection of the brain alien well beforehand. Even if they blocked the Gaussian bullet, they could do nothing if the troopers rushed in for close quarters combat!

Of course, there were alien species that were good at close quarters combat too. One was the four-armed gorillas that had on giant armor that looked similar to Black Star Troopers’ space armor, and the other was the insectoid scorpion-like aliens. With their many appendages, they were fast and furious.

However, in comparison, even the Survivors with the aid of the space armors could reach upwards of 150 meters reaction time per second. That was a concept that was by itself hard to encapsulate!

None of the alien species could match their speed! Occasionally, the gorilla aliens would leap forward to attack the troopers with giant clubs that shimmered with electrical pulses, claws, knives, or bats, but none of their attacks would land on the troopers. Instead, many of them would fall to the floor in two or in many pieces!

The victory was clearly one-sided!

However, Ying had no idea where they were or where the space merchants’ crucial spot was. He could only power on deeper into the spaceship. After all, the merchants had fired the first bullet, so there was no reason for them to show any kindness. They cut down any alien that they came into. The soldiers alone, Ying’s group tore through 3 platoons of them. That equaled to at least 2,000 soldiers, and they hacked down about ten times of that for other non-combative aliens.

This bloodlust was a mixture of the betrayal and their worry for their families and friends back on the Hope.

Both parties started moving. On one hand, about ten thousand alien space merchants had infiltrated The Hope, while on the other, 18 Black Star Troopers combined with a group of light-headed business experts and normal civilians headed deeper into the inner chasms of the space merchants’ spaceship…

The infiltrations had officially started!

Chapter end