Chapter 222: Power Generation! Channel Everything Into Power!
At this moment, the holographic screen on V's tactical helmet was already displaying data from a pulse scan, revealing intricate terrain details and potential ambush points all around.
Thanks to the support of the reconnaissance system, V's assault team had successfully avoided most of the traps and ambushes. Even those who did fall into danger suffered nothing serious.
Just as V was about to lead his squad in a full-force charge toward the massive complex looming ahead…
Dozens of Stormhawk gunships and transport shuttles descended rapidly into the drop zone behind him.
It turned out that operations like V's "boarding-and-jump landing" were still ongoing.
To cover wave after wave of boarding troops completing their landings, nearly all of the fleet's carrier-based aircraft had been dispatched.
At that moment, a transmission came in from Reed:
[V, we need to split up for this operation. Johnny and Jack will stay here to hold the line, buying time for more reinforcements.]
[David and I will go hunt down the Reaper Queen and use the Matrix Device to plug that thing into the grid!]
[And you… you're taking Song Zhaomei and her engineering team straight into the Reapers' lair to hack their command center.]
[…]
After a brief exchange, V finally understood the scale of the reinforcement fleet that had just arrived—over five thousand strong.
Most were composed of Astartes aerial strike units, mixed with select AST power armor squads.
Even high-ranking officers from the Iron Hands legion had joined the landing operation.
Clearly, the honor of "first assault" would be credited to these young Astartes warriors. After that, it was full-force deployment—time to get serious.
Upon learning the mission assigned to him, V nodded thoughtfully. He had known from the beginning this wouldn't be something the younger fighters could shoulder alone.
A multifront offensive was the only way forward.
"Yes, understood."
Just as V was about to end the voice transmission, Song Zhaomei's face suddenly appeared on his holoscreen.
[V, the boss has already dispatched five Infinity -class arrays to this region. They're about to lock down and completely surround this star sector, trapping every last heretic.]
[Our mission is to infiltrate their command center. I'll need you to get us in there, V—this one won't be easy.]
Song Zhaomei's appearance and voice were just as V remembered.
Over the past two decades, her tone and demeanor had grown sharper and more composed, a reflection of her seasoned experience.
Among all the corporate executives, she was the frontrunner to succeed alt Cunningham's position—and also one of Li Ang 's most trusted confidants.
"Yes, I know."
V's voice remained calm and steady. After a quick exchange with Song Zhaomei, he switched over to the comms channel of his close friend, Jackie Welles.
While bantering back and forth with Jack, V also learned more crucial intel about the Reaper Queen—her characteristics, and more importantly, her weaknesses.
Including the true reason why she must not be allowed to escape!
V was utterly shocked when he learned the Reaper civilization still had a massive starship over 3,000 kilometers in diameter—three times larger than the battleship they were currently on.
He couldn't even begin to imagine the chaos if such a giant ship appeared in Earth's orbit.
The gravitational field alone could probably rip the Earth's crust apart on the spot.
That's exactly why Li Ang could not allow the Reaper Queen to escape.
If she managed to bring reinforcements, this war would drag on indefinitely.
But right now, V didn't have time to dwell on hypothetical disasters.
Once Jack and Reed arrived, they quickly regrouped and reassigned personnel.
"Don't worry, V. Leave this front to me and Johnny. You just take your old friends and go fry that system."
Jack grinned, then without waiting for V's reaction, he issued a new command to the troops around him:
"Gunners of all squads, load up! We've got a batch of heretics two clicks out. Let's send 'em a little welcome gift!"
As soon as he spoke, the surrounding soldiers responded in unison:
"Yes, sir!"
Immediately, a squad of Astartes activated their anti-Hulk armor systems. After assembling their modular laser cannons, they flew into the air.
Spotting the oncoming swarm of drone ants in the distance, they quickly locked onto the enemy zone. As soon as the cannons charged up—
They pulled the trigger.
Shhk—!!
In an instant, searing beams like death rays sliced through the swarm with precision, cutting down countless drone ants and triggering violent explosions.
After the first wave of attacks, the airborne warriors extended their palms and unleashed palm-thrown plasma bolts to finish off the remaining stragglers.
Within seconds, these "Iron Man" Astartes had annihilated the Reaper forces before them.
Their ease of victory was largely due to the fact that the Reapers' air forces were still being pinned down by the corporate fleet overhead.
And the enemy ground troops, rushed and unprepared, were unable to deploy their heavy armor units to support the Queen.
As things stood now, unless the warriors exhausted all their laser weaponry and strategic hydrogen bombs—
The Reaper drones were basically charging into a deathtrap.
While Jack and Johnny kept the enemy distracted with heavy resistance on the front line…
A formation of Stormhawk shuttles, cloaked and silent, streaked over the Reaper mothership.
This special operations squad had two objectives: infiltrate the enemy's command center and capture the Reaper Queen—
To complete the final decapitation strike.
Inside one of the shuttles—
Staring at the holoscreen streaming real-time intel, V and Song Zhaomei could clearly see the battlefield unfold around them.
The two didn't waste time on personal talk. After confirming that Jack and Johnny had successfully executed the first wave of the ambush—
They both let out a quiet breath of relief.
But before they could dive deeper into the mission data, the shuttle pilot sent a sudden transmission:
"Commander, we've found the Reaper mothership's command center!"
The pilot immediately activated visual sharing, allowing V and Song Zhaomei to see what lay ahead.
A towering structure, shaped like a colossal hive and nestled among a forest of megastructures, was now just ahead of them!
Upon seeing it, V gave a decisive order:
"Full speed ahead—get the soldiers and engineers inside first."
"Roger that!"
Once V issued the command, both the transport engineers and V's shuttle began descending, preparing to sweep toward the Reaper command center.
Meanwhile, the shuttle carrying Reed and David maintained its original course, not participating in V's current operation.
Their mission was to act as the hunter lurking behind the scenes—to capture that damned Reaper Queen.
"David, our task this time is absolutely critical. Don't underestimate that Queen—it's not as simple as you think," Reed said with deliberate weight in his voice. His eyes were full of appreciation and approval as he looked at the promising young warrior before him.
This time, their boss, Li Ang , had deliberately allowed the honor of "storming the front" to go to the younger Astartes warriors—and had entrusted David with the crucial decapitation mission.
It was clear: Li Ang was grooming David Martinez for greatness.
And with the boss's plan in place, there was nothing left to say. This mission had to be executed cleanly, decisively, and flawlessly.
"Yes, sir!"
David nodded without arrogance or hesitation, maintaining his usual focus and caution.
Anyone like David who had risen through the ranks of young officers was definitely no naïve "goody two-shoes."
He clearly understood Li Ang 's intention—and knew full well this was his chance to rise, which made him value this opportunity more than anyone else.
"Listen carefully. The Reaper Queen we're facing this time…"
Under Reed's detailed briefing, David learned that the Reaper Queen he was about to confront was a towering monstrosity—thirty meters tall!
That put it almost on par with a Kaiju-class beast.
By all logic, a Queen should be a non-combatant unit—mainly responsible for reproduction, a core node in the swarm.
But in the case of the Reapers, the Queen wasn't just the species' brain making strategic decisions—she also wielded overwhelming physical power!
On top of that, she was protected by an energy shield comparable to a capital ship's—capable of withstanding close-range nuclear blasts.
David pondered this for a moment. No wonder the boss had dispatched additional units.
Even with V and his Astartes warriors, they might at best reach the gates of the Reaper command center—there'd be no way to push farther on their own.
"David, take this. It's the key weapon we'll use to defeat the Reaper Queen—this thing's better than any conventional weapon!"
With that, Reed handed David a palm-sized Matrix integration device.
Their mission was to use the Matrix to launch a fatal blow against the Queen—sucking that damn alien heretic into the Matrix and converting it into raw fuel!
…
…
At the perimeter of the Reaper command center…
Thousands of worker drones were methodically loading transports, prepping to support the space battle raging beyond the mothership.
Under the control of the Queen's powerful hive-mind—acting like a single-core CPU—the soldier drones outside battled while the worker drones inside maintained production.
Running such a high-efficiency, high-complexity system was a serious test of the core unit's capabilities.
Fortunately, the Reaper Queen was still holding up. Both the outer battle and internal logistics remained orderly under her control.
But then, the busy worker drones suddenly sensed an unusual shift in the air. They all stopped working and looked upward.
Before they could react, a squad of massive warriors wielding chainswords appeared on the landing platform.
It was V's elite Astartes vanguard.
Seeing the Astartes—clad in full armor—the worker drones froze on the spot, as if their brains had just blue-screened.
To be fair, Reapers in their default form were freakishly grotesque—looking like giant-headed infants with masses of tentacles and oversized brains.
That's why they constantly relied on biomechanical exoskeletons to assist in both labor and combat.
But these exosuits used by Reaper workers and soldiers offered virtually no protection—they couldn't withstand explosions or shockwaves at all.
That's why V had easily wiped out the soldier drones during the initial assault—Reaper combat capabilities were laughable.
In fact, in one-on-one combat, these underdeveloped drones might not even beat a normal human adult.
Granted, they did possess neuro-wave infiltration abilities, allowing them to hijack human minds.
But V's powered armor could completely block the Reapers' brainwave signals, effectively rendering him immune to their psychic attacks.
As the stunned worker drones attempted to transmit data back to the Queen, V struck, decapitating the nearest one with a single sweep.
At the same moment, the surrounding Astartes warriors did the same—mirroring V's movements.
With every swing of their chainswords, they tore through Reaper flesh. Bright green blood and muscle tissue splattered and oozed in all directions.
Under heavy escort from several warriors, Song Zhaomei and her engineering team disembarked from the shuttle and followed closely behind V.
"Move!"
After finishing off the last Reaper in his path, V issued a voice command through his helmet to the others.
Then he marched toward the hangar exit.
The Astartes squad formed up in their standard tactical formation—spreading out in a wide arrowhead around V.
Together, they advanced into the facility, with Song Zhaomei's team staying tightly packed at the rear, shielded by the soldiers.
Before long, the team entered the inner corridor of a massive structure.
A pulse scanner began mapping the building's layout, constructing a 3D model that projected onto each warrior's holographic HUD.
When the scan revealed that this single facility alone housed nearly a million worker drones, Song Zhaomei felt both stunned and exhilarated.
So many heretics—just imagine the electricity they could generate!
This Reaper mothership alone had over 2 billion drones—possibly as many as 3 billion.
In the previous Pacific Rim campaign, the Pan-Universal Conglomerate had lazily opted to use massive quantities of Scorpo Li Ang Virus.
As a result, billions of similarly scaled Precursors were wiped out—an entire species driven to extinction.
When Song Zhaomei heard the news, no one was more devastated—so much high-quality fuel had gone to waste!
But now, with control over the Reaper command center, they could finally capture billions of Reaper drones—soldiers and workers alike—and convert them into power!
With so much biomass feeding the Matrix, they could generate more AI units.
With those AIs controlling the minds of others, they could ramp up production of clones, replicants, and robots.
The Conglomerate's supply of free labor would soar to unprecedented heights.
At this moment, only one thought consumed Song Zhaomei's mind:
"Power generation!"
"Use them all for power!!"
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