Command communication channel.
"What?"
Deep Sea, the half-mechanical soldier, thought he misheard.
"Is there a high chance that there are Blade Beasts building a new nest under Fortress 76? That's impossible! Unless the Blade Beasts have developed a new underground variant that allows them to operate below two thousand meters and withstand the intense pressure of the earth! Could such underground passages even exist? And if there is such a variant, why isn't it coming to support the Young King Worm? It just needs to dig deeper and destroy the passageway, and we won't be able to pursue!"
Dongfang Zhenghong quickly replied, "I don't want to believe this conclusion either, but the ones pointing out this possibility are Wang Zheng and Wu Man."
Outside the command vehicle, over a dozen medium to large multi-rotor aircraft had taken off, pulling the emergency mobile troops' mechs and armored vehicles, moving quickly towards the fortress.
Fortunately, the operation to hunt the Young King Worm had gone smoothly this time. The emergency mobile troops at three locations weren't needed, and two tactical nuclear bombs took care of an undeveloped King-level Blade Beast.
Now, these emergency troops could quickly return to the fortress, needing just two hours and twenty-five minutes to get there.
Dongfang Zhenghong said in a low voice, "Report the damage to your three mechanical arms."
"The Ling Tong mechanical arm suffered an electromagnetic shock. The two of us have external mech coverings, so our main bodies are fine, but she needs maintenance," Deep Sea quickly replied.
"Please have our supply convoy head towards the fortress. We'll catch up from behind. Maintenance will take at least half an hour, and Ling Tong will use her backup mechanical arm. The two of us will go ahead first. Now we can only hope that if... there really is a new nest for the Young King Worm beneath Fortress 76, the fortress's own defenses can hold for two hours."
Dongfang Zhenghong said, "I am already contacting the governor. Once the Blade Beasts are detected, the fortress's independent defense systems will be activated immediately. Fortress 76 plays a crucial role in the Middle Basin war zone and the D5 comprehensive war zone. I will request support from the two command centers right away!"
Deep Sea didn't respond.
Dongfang Zhenghong took a deep breath to keep calm, even though his fingers were trembling slightly.
He glanced over at Zhou Zhengde, who was sitting at a technician's station, looking at a projection screen.
The screen showed the inside of an aircraft.
Wang Jixuan was putting a nano-mask on his face, and beside him was a black tactical helmet.
Wu Man and two accompanying technicians were adjusting a simple signal amplifier. This amplifier wasn't very powerful and had a limited range, but it was portable.
These instruments were quite complex.
Dongfang Zhenghong kept thinking.
There were still two B-level psychics, over a dozen C-level psychics, and more than twenty D/E-level psychics in the fortress. If the Blade Beast disaster broke out, they should be able to play some role.
Now, it was just a matter of when the Blade Beast disaster would happen. The nest of the Young King Worm would have a lot of soft-bodied larvae. If they could delay until the mobile troops returned...
"Commander! Blade Beast response! A Blade Beast response detected 300 meters below Fortress 76!"
Dongfang Zhenghong shot up in his seat and almost shouted, "Map! 3D map!"
Whoosh!
A 3D map of the fortress appeared in the center of the holographic sand table, with a cross-section of the fortress beside it.
The fortress looked like a standard barrel, embedded in the shallow crust, with forty-nine layers of varying heights inside, marked in blue, green, and yellow for upper, middle, and lower cities.
Outside the fortress were seven or eight marked "thin layers," which included the fortress's outer wall, external composite wall, multi-layer armor wall, and self-defense walls that could be thickened infinitely.
Surrounding these walls was a dark area about three hundred meters thick, which was a triggered minefield filled with mechanical detonators that would explode if a digging beast touched them.
This defense layer, in theory...
A flashing red dot appeared below the fortress's 3D map.
Dongfang Zhenghong held his breath and stared.
A red dot approached the bottom of the minefield, paused slightly, then moved up a little before quickly dropping down.
A second red dot appeared, rose slightly again, quickly dropped, then moved forward, rising two small steps before slanting down.
The minefield was breached.
Two "digging worm" Blade Beasts were injured or killed.
A third red dot entered the detection range, quickly rose, passed through the gap in the minefield, and reached the outer wall of the composite defense layer.
"It can hold, this layer must hold!"
Dongfang Zhenghong almost clenched his palm until it bled.
The red dot suddenly jumped up significantly!
The fortress's 3D projection turned red in an instant!
A mass of red dots appeared below, rushing towards that passageway!
"The defense has been breached!"
"The fortress is under attack by a horde of Blade Beasts!"
"Blade Beasts have appeared at the bottom level of the lower city! A large number of Blade Beasts! Confirmed count... four thousand! And still rising!"
Dongfang Zhenghong cursed loudly. He just wanted to ask why the bottom defense layer had no effect at all!
"Activate the layered independent defense equipment! Let the psychics go down! Where is the fortress's cleanup team?"
"They are in combat!"
"Let them die if they have to, but hold the line! Damn it! Why did the bottom defense layer fail?"
"Professor Zhuang and Kong Nu's secret laboratory was dug too deep to avoid daily inspections, and they laid down a camouflage layer. There hasn't been a case of the bottom being breached before..." Zhou Zhengde swallowed hard, "Probably."
On the screen in front of Zhou Zhengde, Wang Jixuan, who had already learned about the fortress's situation through communication, leaned back in his chair.
"Is there any faster way to get back?" Wang Jixuan asked softly.
Zhou Zhengde frowned in thought.
Wu Man quietly said, "There is a way. I saw it in the battle sister's violation manual. A battle sister once used this method to rush to the battlefield. However, it requires the use of a missile and a body that can withstand extreme acceleration."
Wang Jixuan was taken aback for a moment, then immediately nodded.
This was better than doing nothing.
...
Five minutes earlier.
On the forty-ninth floor of Fortress 76, in the former territory of the Black Fire Gang, the cleanup team was stationed.
The commander of the cleanup team, Wang Lei, leaned against an armored vehicle, watching the reports from the front lines pop up on the screen on his wrist.
He was a burly man in his forties, with a square face. He had worked in the fortress's cleanup team for twenty years and was a well-known figure among the garrison at Fortress 76, someone who could directly request to see the governor.
"Captain, how's it going? Did you take down the Young King Worm?" a team member asked curiously.
"It's done," Wang Lei smiled. "Three battle sisters attacked simultaneously, along with psychics from the front lines, and we even used two tactical nuclear bombs."
A team member in the armored vehicle seized the opportunity to say, "Then, Captain, how about we celebrate for them? Let's go have a drink!"
"Drinking is not allowed during work hours."
Wang Lei clicked his tongue and said, "Once this mission is over, I'll request a holiday for you all. Then we'll have a big desert barbecue feast!"
A few people laughed.
Suddenly, his command wristwatch vibrated rapidly, and a red frame popped up.
It was an order from Dongfang Zhenghong at the front command.
[The fortress may be under attack by a horde of Blade Beasts, likely from directly below. Please prepare for battle immediately.]
Wang Lei was stunned for a second, then thought of something and quickly dashed back to the armored vehicle, slamming down on the red button in front of him.
"Everyone! Enter battle mode immediately! Issue a Blade Beast disaster warning! Set up all heavy firepower to high points! Quick! Full area lighting! Issue a Blade Beast disaster warning! Have everyone try to hide in refrigerators or narrow spaces like sewers!"
The previously relaxed cleanup team base suddenly erupted into chaos.
But they were well-trained and regularly practiced emergency drills. Dozens of armored vehicles in the area started up and quickly assembled under Wang Lei's direction.
Boom!
A deep, muffled explosion suddenly resonated from deep within the earth.
The ground trembled slightly.
Some dust fell from the simple buildings.
The explosions temporarily ceased, but just over twenty seconds later, more explosions sounded, getting closer and closer, and the ground shook more noticeably.
Suddenly!
Woo—
Several large red lights lit up on the ceiling of the forty-ninth floor, and a piercing alarm sounded throughout the fortress!
Bang!
The ground shook violently, and several low buildings in the northwest corner of the Black Fire Gang suddenly collapsed!
"Over there! Shine the lights!"
Wang Lei circled a red dot on the map, and several searchlights immediately illuminated the area.
The collapsed pit slanted downwards, forming an irregular oval shape, and it seemed nothing was rushing out; the buildings had blocked the opening.
A suffocating wave filled the air!
The biological detector suddenly turned red!
Wang Lei looked at the dense red dots on the instrument, his face pale and breathing rapid, but his gaze remained steady.
"A large number of Blade Beasts are approaching! Attention! A large number of Blade Beasts are approaching! The first to come out should be the digging worms. Do not unleash firepower immediately; digging worm Blade Beasts have hard skulls and exoskeletons, and our firepower cannot penetrate their armor..."
A dark shadow shot out from the slanted pit!
A giant Blade Beast over thirty meters long, with completely regressed limbs and a mouth evolved to break through diamond, burst out of the hole!
The debris blocking the opening was mostly swallowed by it, and its massive body, propelled by inertia, completely emerged from the hole, crashing down the nearby low buildings.
Following closely, a low-tier basic Blade Beast crawled out, its mouth opening and letting out a sharp screech.
"Team One, open fire!"
Wang Lei shouted.
The soldiers unleashed firepower from their weapons designed for humans.
The terrifying Blade Beast's mouth spewed green blood, its limbs shattered by the armor-piercing rounds, severed limbs and blood splattering everywhere.
Everyone held their breath, gripping their weapons tightly.
A dense scratching sound came from the pit.
That was the sound of limbs scraping against the rock walls.
Wang Lei watched the number of red dots on the biological radar... getting closer and closer...
The slanted pit seemed like a water-filled pipe, suddenly spewing out!
The horde of Blade Beasts surged forth!
In just two seconds, over a hundred Blade Beasts leaped out of the pit!
They charged towards the armored vehicles, towards the crowd. The firepower of the cleanup team, which could suppress all human gangs, seemed so weak and fragile before them!
Armored vehicles were constantly overturned.
Soldiers holding guns retreated while firing, but a rapidly charging Blade Beast easily pierced the chest of one soldier with its forelimb, rendering the bulletproof vest useless.
The fast-moving assassin-type Blade Beasts surged into the crowd, and several soldiers screamed as their chests were directly severed.
"Open fire! Covering fire!"
"Ah!"
"Our firepower is insufficient! Firepower is insufficient!"
"Grenades! Throw grenades!"
"Pulse cannons, fire! Damn it! I'll fight you all!"
The voices in the headset quickly dwindled, and the screams grew louder. On the screen in front of him, the once several hundred strong unit rapidly dwindled to just a hundred.
Wang Lei pressed a button in front of him:
"Call the command center, the forty-ninth floor has been lost, my unit is completely wiped out, I recommend sealing off the lower city."
After speaking, he dropped his rifle and dashed out of the now-empty armored vehicle.
A few team members set up their guns on either side of the armored vehicle, firing wildly. Wang Lei crouched and rushed towards a nearby overturned armored vehicle, picking up a multi-barrel machine gun that had fallen on the ground.
His command vehicle had been overturned by several Blade Beasts, and a few team members were left with just two final screams.
Wang Lei lifted the multi-barrel machine gun, aiming it at a Blade Beast's mouth. His forehead was beaded with sweat, and his fierce face was illuminated by gunfire.
"I'll screw you all!"
The mouth of a Blade Beast was quickly shattered.
A shadow shot past Wang Lei from behind, and his upper body slid back.
The gunfire ceased.
(End of Chapter)