Alien Relic Hunter

"Don't these people have their own goals?" Maginot frowned, "Like the prophet of the heresy, isn't his purpose just to become a god? I don't believe they would give that existence so willingly Work hard and have no selfish desires at all.”

"You can understand that his subconscious cognition has been rewritten by that existence... Just like eating and reproduction, dedicating everything to that existence will also become the instinct of these eroded people." Ke Lan said.

"To be honest, without personal experience, it's hard for me to imagine what it feels like..." Levi, standing aside, whispered, "Then what is the function of this giant tree? It is some kind of dedication. A sacrificial ritual or a weapon used against us?”

"I don't know, but I always feel familiar." Ke Lan couldn't help but recall the "trial" he had received under the bottomless sinkhole.

In the second stage of the trial, Ke Lan's task was to control the Blasphemer mecha to blow up the giant alien plant "Crown of Ashes" on an asteroid called "Ashes".

According to the mission description, the "Crown of Ashes" can directly draw energy from the core of the asteroid, and can also interfere with the magnetic field and gravity of the asteroid to control the movement trajectory of the asteroid. In order to collide with this asteroid and swallow other celestial bodies, it will provide more nutrients for the Crown of Ashes.

Although the giant tree on the screen was very different from the Crown of Ashes in shape and color, Ke Lan's subconscious kept telling him that this giant tree and the Crown of Ashes were the same thing.

Since the mission of the Crown of Ashes can be recorded in the trial program, it means that the Alpha civilization should have resolved the crisis of the "Ashes" asteroid hitting Alpha... Then, the genetic sequence of the Crown of Ashes also has a lot to do with The probability is stored in the ruins of a certain Alpha civilization.

That the undead crew would be able to obtain the genes of the Crown of Ashes and cultivate similar plants... it makes perfect sense logically!

"I understand." Ke Lan's expression froze slightly, "The undead crew will want to sacrifice not only the entire human civilization, but the entire Alpha Star... and even the entire galaxy where Alpha Star is located!"

"What?!" This time, not only General Maginot was stunned, but even the hound, who was accustomed to these things, couldn't help but exclaimed.

"The entire galaxy... Let's not talk about this. Just Alpha Star, or the Earth in this time and space... How do they plan to sacrifice such a big planet? Just rely on this... tree?" The hound said incoherently. asked.

"You have to ask the people in the Undead Crew Association..." Ke Lan shook his head, "Since this plan can be implemented, it means that the entire Undead Crew Association should have been eroded, even if there are resisters. , they should all have been killed."

The meaning of Ke Lan's words could not be more obvious: The Survivor Alliance can only rely on its own strength now, and there is no need to expect any internal response from Ark.

"But no matter what the function of this tree is, it should be the key to the Undead Crew's plan. As long as we can destroy this tree, we should be able to destroy their plan." Levi said.

"Everyone knows that this tree is the key, and what you said is pure nonsense." Hound rolled his eyes at Levi and continued, "The guys from the Undead Crew still dare to release this giant tree in front of us. , that means they have enough confidence that we can't destroy it."

"You can try long-range attacks." Levi said, "I have a plan. Although it has not been carefully calculated, I think this plan has certain feasibility."

"Tell me about it." Ke Lan nodded to him.

"I have watched the previous video of the Skati's fire reconnaissance of the Ark many times. I can basically confirm that the original anti-aircraft weapons of the Ark, except for the protective cover, have basically been scrapped. In this way, the Ark is completely It has lost the ability to intercept long-range ballistic missiles. And now the fleshy carpet has all shrunk, and the last obstacle has disappeared." Levi said, "It happens that Mukach Fortress has three long-range ballistic missile launch bases, and another Forty tactical nuclear warheads with an equivalent of 10,000 tons of TNT and two strategic nuclear warheads with an equivalent of 14 million tons. As long as the security program in the locking device is cracked using hacking technology, the Ark can be set as the target of the missile."

The long-range ballistic missile configured in Mukah Fortress is the "Apocalypse III", with a cruising speed of Mach 28, which is 28 times the speed of sound. At this speed, even if the air defense system on the Ark is still alive, it cannot respond at all - it can really To intercept the ballistics, you have to rely on the seemingly weak but actually extremely strong super energy shield.

"In the first stage of the combat operation, I had thought about using long-range ballistic missiles to carry out a nuclear strike on the Ark, but at that time, two factors were taken into consideration, so I did not propose it." Levi continued, "First, it was There may be survivors on the Ark, and a nuclear strike does not distinguish between friend and foe. It may even fail to kill the enemy leader, but kills a large number of survivors accidentally. Secondly, with the existence of energy shields, it is difficult for a nuclear strike to cause a fatal blow to the Ark. , especially the core area where protection measures are the most stringent.”

The core area is the physical location of the members of the Undead Crew. In addition to the outermost super shield, the core area also has at least four to five layers of energy shields and up to a dozen layers of physical defense, which can directly withstand strategic nuclear weapons. of blow.

"But now," Levi changed the topic, "the height of the suddenly appeared 'giant tree' has exceeded 20,000 meters, and the energy shield of the Ark cannot protect it - we don't even need to attack the Ark below. For the main body, just set this 'giant tree' as the missile target."

"This method seems to really work!" Maginot made a fist with his right hand and slammed it into the palm of his left hand, and said with some excitement, "Activating the missile launcher requires certification from the Undead Crew. Although the Undead Crew will be us enemy, but Ke Lan is still here!"

The network connection between Mukah Fortress and the Ark has long been disconnected, so the database of the missile launcher has not been updated. Even if the undead crew will erase all Ke Lan's authority now, this order cannot be issued at all. Go to the missile launcher at Mukah Fortress.

"No... I think it's better to keep the nuclear warheads. They can be used for very critical purposes, but not now." Ke Lan shook his head and rejected the proposal.

"If you don't need it now, then when?" Maginot was stunned for a moment, and a Chinese proverb came out of his mouth, "The tree is in the growth stage now. When it is fully grown, I'm afraid we won't be able to Ruined its chance!”

"I'm afraid it's useless to attack the tree trunks and crowns." Ke Lan said slowly, "Do you still remember the ruins of the bottomless sinkhole?"

"Remember." Maginot and the hound nodded together.

At that time, according to the order of the Undead Crew Association, Maginot, as Ke Lan's liaison, actually assumed the role of a monitor. After Ke Lan returned from the undersea city, Maginot did not dare to take a series of actions after returning from the undersea city. It was said that he knew everything, but at least he knew a few things. It was not until after the trip to the sick village that Maginot was transferred to Mukach Base, ending this "mission".

As for the hound, he is simply the relic hunter who came out of the bottomless sinkhole with Ke Lan. He is also the life and death friend who can depend on Ke Lan's life. He knows everything about what happened under the sinkhole. Clearly.

"You mean, that trial mission?" The Hound quickly recalled it and whispered, "Do you think this 'giant tree' and the Crown of Ashes are the same thing?!"

"That's right." Ke Lan nodded.

"What trial mission? What Crown of Ashes?" Maginot looked at the hound blankly, and then at Ke Lan, "Why can't I understand what you are talking about?"

Ke Lan kept the story short and recounted his experience in the bottomless sinkhole to Maginot and Levi, and the two immediately fell into a brief silence.

"How about it, now you know how tricky this thing is?" said the hound.

"The annihilation bomb made of antimatter... Although I don't know the specific yield, judging from the description, it is probably much more powerful than our strategic nuclear warhead..." Levi murmured to himself, "But just Even such a large-scale murder weapon must venture deep into the ground and be set at the roots of the Crown of Ashes to destroy it... No wonder you say that attacking the crown and trunk will have no effect..."

Ke Lan did not tell them about the existence of "Experimental Subject No. 1197". He only said that due to unexpected changes inside the ruins, the trial process was suspended. Even he did not know what the root system of the Crown of Ashes looked like. , whether detonating the annihilation bomb can kill it.

"What a pity." Ke Lan said in his heart.

He regretted two things - the first thing was naturally that the trial process was suspended and he was unable to obtain more information. The second thing is that "Experimental Subject No. 1197".

Ke Lan once thought it was an existence similar to the prehistoric species, but now it seems that Experiment No. 1197 probably came from a family that believed in "different gods" and was hostile to the Alpha civilization that believed in "that existence" at that time. relation.

But with its strength, it is not difficult to annihilate the entire Alpha civilization by itself... This family may have broken away from the "cannon fodder" level described by the hive master.

The reason why the Alpha civilization was able to capture it was most likely because it missed it on the edge of the conflict area between the two clan civilizations.

"Experimental Subject No. 1197" did not show much hostility towards Ke Lan, perhaps because Ke Lan was not branded as "that being" at the time. In religious terms, this was classified as "no belief, no belief". sectarians".

People who believe in religion generally regard heretics and heretics as enemies, but for people who believe in nothing, they will maintain a subtle neutral attitude. Perhaps this is why "Experimental Subject No. 1197" did not go smoothly after escaping from trouble. The reason for destroying the Ark.

People without faith are often regarded as potential development targets by believers... and the current Ark civilization is still too weak for "Experimental Subject No. 1197" and is not worthy of "development" at all. Just like that being who kept the Alpha civilization in captivity and allowed it to "grow on its own", perhaps after the Ark civilization reaches a certain level of strength, Experiment No. 1197 will appear again and pull the Ark civilization into the camp of that alien god.

For a civilization that is not threatening at the moment and may be an ally in the future, Experimental Subject No. 1197 maintains the lowest level of goodwill... It not only chatted with Ke Lan for five cents, but also relieved Alpha in the bottomless sinkhole. The safety facilities left by others allowed Ke Lan and his companions to escape in the elevator.

From Ke Lan's point of view, Experimental Subject No. 1197 is not an enemy, at least not for the time being.

But for the undead crew that has been eroded, the situation is different.

"The enemy of my enemy is my ally." If Experimental Subject No. 1197 is still on Alpha Planet or in the nearby space, the crew members who find the undead will completely surrender to that existence, and maybe they will come back directly to destroy the Ark. Drop it...

From its position, it was impossible to watch the undead crew sacrifice the entire civilization and the entire planet together and turn it into the power of that existence.

"What a pity... what a pity." Ke Lan sighed crazily in his heart, "It would be great if this guy didn't get out of trouble at that time. Go and release it now, and all problems will be solved."

Just when Ke Lan was depressed about missing a good opportunity to gain powerful combat power, Levi thought of a new idea: "By the way, the Blasphemer mecha controlled by Miss Valentina is equipped with annihilation bombs." Such a weapon?"

"No." Valentina, who was leaning against the door, replied immediately.

"The annihilation bomb was specially prepared for the mission of blowing up the Crown of Ashes. It should not be considered the standing weapon of the Blasphemer mecha." Ke Lan replied, "This kind of thing is too dangerous. If you are not careful, you can kill it." The entire Mukakh base was destroyed in one fell swoop."

"Are there any existing annihilation bombs on Planet Alpha? Are there any stocks in the unexplored ruins? Perhaps we can copy the operation of the Alpha civilization to blow up the Crown of Ashes?"

"I'm afraid I have to ask the master of the nest... It's just that place. If I go back now, I might not be able to make it in time." Ke Lan sighed, "In addition to the annihilation bomb, I also have many things I want to do about the Crown of Ashes. I asked him... I had already forgotten about the Crown of Ashes at that time, but I didn’t expect that the undead crew would be able to do something like this now, and it’s too late to regret it.”

The space where the master of the nest city is located is easy to get out and difficult to enter. If Ke Lan hadn't been lucky enough to crash into that special time node for the first time, he might have had to stay in there for a long time before he could find the master of the nest city. will.

And in those space-time fragments where the flow rate of time is synchronized with the outside world, how much time he spends, how much time the outside world will pass... By that time, I am afraid that the giant trees growing on the Ark have already "bloomed and bear fruit"...

[P.S. Another hole has been filled, to be precise, one and a half...]