In the arena control room…
"Any progress?"
"Still no signal."
"Send a squad of inspectors with comms experts to the signal tower," the security chief ordered. "Equip them with traditional communicators to stay in touch with the control room."
The security chief, a stern-faced Imperial, had a snow ferret spirit perched on his shoulder. Since the arena's chaos began, the ferret had sat upright, staring at the screens, front paws never dropping.
The arena's security team comprised both Imperials and Federals, trained together pre-match to ensure basic coordination and task efficiency. The chief commanded the entire unit.
A Federal inspector beside him hesitated, eyeing the monitors, then spoke. "We have more manpower. The Federal military placed plainclothes agents in the audience…"
The chief glanced at him. "How many?"
The inspector gave a number.
The chief: "…Your Federation's thorough."
So, the arena was crawling with undercover agents.
The inspector scratched his head, sheepish. "They're perfect for maintaining order—more than enough for that."
The chief asked, "Who's giving them orders?"
"Me," the inspector said, straightening, expression serious.
The chief smirked. "Your military communicators still work?"
Inspector: "…"
Apparently not.
"Useless troops aren't troops," the chief said, his glance mocking. "Let them stay in the stands."
The control room fell briefly silent.
Ten minutes later, the dispatched squad reported: "We're 300 meters from the signal tower. It's dark, likely malfunctioning—argh!"
A shrill whistle preceded static crackling through the communicator, followed by a soft thud—likely the device hitting the ground.
"Enemy attack!" The communicator was picked up, a frantic shout cutting through like a blade. Chaotic gunfire muddled the voice. "They've set a massive jammer at the tower! Unknown spacecraft nearby… their… numbers…"
The voice warped, stretching into distorted tones. A final snap, then cold beeps signaled a dead line.
The chief's face darkened. He tried reconnecting, but no response came.
The situation was clear: a deliberate assault.
The Federal inspector's expression soured.
The squad's brief report offered little—enemy identity and scale unknown. But their near-instant wipeout meant fierce firepower, not a small group.
"We should pause the match and evacuate the audience," the inspector suggested. "The signal tower's down, but the arena's broadcast system should work."
"The issue is, we've got tens of thousands here," the chief said calmly. "Without external reinforcements, how do we ensure a safe evacuation with our numbers? The enemy's scale is unknown—rushing to evacuate will only breed chaos."
Inspector: "So we stay and wait to die?"
Chief: "The arena has no other free access points, and main exits are heavily guarded. If push comes to shove, you can rally your agents to fight. For now, we stall, holding out for external rescue."
The match was live-streamed.
A broadcast cutoff screamed trouble. Federal and Imperial reinforcements would come eventually. They just needed to hold the arena and maintain order.
Meanwhile, the audience grew restless—
"What's going on? It's been blacked out forever."
"We were at a critical moment! What are we supposed to watch now?"
"Don't tell me they'll announce the match's end when the signal's back…"
"What happened?"
The crowd buzzed, craning necks, but stayed seated. Some, bored, tried their light-brains to browse the starnet, only to find no connection.
"No signal? That's ridiculous!"
"This… something's wrong…"
Closer to the arena, some spectators noticed an anomaly.
"Is it just me… or is something black oozing from that ruin?"
…
Elsewhere…
Cen Yuehuai's group, finding comms dead, hurried to the crater where Bai Sha and Yan Jingyi had dueled.
The Federal and Imperial teams officially converged.
Zhou Ying scanned the group, realizing he was the only Federal still piloting a mech.
Zhou Ying: "…"
"Ahem," Bai Sha coughed, pointing at Yan Jingyi, lying in the crater. "Her mech might be salvageable. Want to check?"
Zhou Ying glanced at Zhou Ye, slowly waking, and the pile of mech parts behind him: "…"
Bai Sha added, "I'll help rebuild his mech."
Zhou Ying sighed, hopping into the crater to inspect Yan Jingyi's mech.
Yan Jingyi, playing dead, saw Zhou Ying approach with a toolbox and asked lazily, "Match over?"
"Not a chance," Zhou Ying replied, examining her mech. He shouted to Bai Sha, "You wrecked her energy core?"
"I've got a spare," Bai Sha said, tossing one to Zhou Ying while working on Zhou Ye's mech.
Zhou Ying caught it—Janice's energy core.
Speechless, he noted Yan Jingyi's and Janice's mechs differed but swapped it in anyway.
With the situation dire, Bai Sha and Zhou Ying pulled out all stops, repairing mechs with fluid precision. Tools spun in their hands, slotting parts perfectly.
Xino watched Bai Sha, then Zhou Ying, sighing. "Didn't expect the harder we fought, the trickier the repairs. Should've gone easier on Zhou Ye."
Ten minutes later, Zhou Ye's mech was reassembled, and Yan Jingyi sprang up, fully revived.
"Done," Bai Sha said, dusting her hands. "Now, what happened?"
Zhou Ying and Ji Ya exchanged glances, recounting the ruin's events.
"Unknown substance leaking from walls?" Bai Sha's eyes narrowed, her unease growing. "We need to investigate."
"Federals, consider withdrawing," Ji Ya said, looking down at them. "Especially those without mechs—prioritize your safety."
"We'll discuss retreat later. First, we figure out what's happening," Yan Jingyi said coldly, climbing out. "A cockpit can fit two. Ya Ning, squeeze with Zhou Ye; Zhou Ying, keep carrying Janice. Your mechs stay out of danger—try contacting the outside."
Yan Jingyi's prowess was undeniable. No one objected to her joining Bai Sha.
Bai Sha and Yan Jingyi shared a look, then left.
They piloted their mechs to a high ridge, gazing at the ruins.
The gray ruins were gone, replaced by a black domain spanning kilometers.
Worse, the black marsh seemed alive—its edges writhed with slimy, viscous tentacles, dragging the marsh outward, expanding slowly.
"…This is insane," Yan Jingyi murmured, stunned. "In that short time, it's swallowed all nearby land?"
Left unchecked, would it consume the entire planet?
Seeing the marsh, Bai Sha's suspicions solidified. She took a deep breath and said to Yan Jingyi, "I need to get closer, ideally to collect a sample for analysis."
Yan Jingyi: "You carry a composition analyzer?"
Bai Sha: "Prepared for the barren star exercise. You know—barren stars often have rare or hidden resources. I brought it just in case."
She pulled out an analyzer. Unlike the hulking lab machines Yan Jingyi pictured, it was compact, with a scanning lens and screen, resembling a handheld thermometer.
"It's less precise than lab gear," Bai Sha sighed, eyeing the writhing black mass, "but it'll do."
"What do you think it is?"
"Hard to say, but its appearance and traits match something I've seen," Bai Sha said quietly. "I even worked on a related research project."
Slime mold material.
Derived from mutated slime mold organisms, Bai Sha had seen specimens in Professor Jiang Gui's lab, strikingly similar to this black substance.
Normal attacks barely harmed mutated slime molds. Their unique trait: evolution. Each disruption strengthened their structure, with rapid self-repair.
Even deactivated specimens were tough. A massive, living slime mold colony… what would that be like?
And this substance seemed more complex—
"Let's get closer," Bai Sha whispered, as if not to startle it. "I'll draw its attention. You grab a sample."
Yan Jingyi raised an eyebrow. "Draw its attention? You make it sound alive."
Bai Sha said gravely, "I suspect it is alive."
She handed Yan Jingyi a sealed vial. "Don't overdo it. Get a sample if you can, but don't risk it. Watch out for those tentacles."
Yan Jingyi nodded, taking the vial.
Then, Bai Sha ignited her engines, soaring upward. Her mech's broad, silver-white wings unfurled, gleaming coldly, a meteor streaking toward the black marsh!
The dim sky blazed.
Her mech's six wings spread, unleashing a torrent of laser rounds at the writhing mass. White smoke billowed, fiery trails weaving a dense net, colliding with the surging black matter!
Boom, boom, boom!
Yan Jingyi's vision flashed white, so bright it stung tears from her eyes.
She hadn't realized Bai Sha's mech packed such ferocious firepower. Had Bai Sha unleashed this on the Federals from the start, would the match have ended instantly?
No time to dwell. Yan Jingyi inhaled, eyes wide, cloaking her mech in a thin, glowing sensory shell. She leaped, plunging into the white smoke!
Her ears rang with the black matter's warped, hoarse screeches, like a wounded beast. Countless tentacles shattered under the barrage, bursting into sticky black droplets, only to regroup swiftly by some unseen force.
Yan Jingyi, quick and precise, slashed a nearby tentacle with her blade.
The tentacle let out a faint shriek.