October 21, 2046, 1140 kilometers south of Guanghan Station.
An assault craft flew at high speed, skimming the ground like a black panther galloping across the savanna, swift and agile.
Ou Zhanpeng gripped the controls, constantly adjusting the flight path, ensuring that his speed did not decrease while also avoiding obstacles along the way.
At the edge of his vision, a crater gradually came into focus.
That was Luojian Mountain, and ever since the broken ship had crashed into it, no one had ever mentioned its original name again.
Beep-beep—a prompt sounded, and Luo Jintang's voice emerged: "All units, proceed according to plan!"
"Roger!" Ou Zhanpeng confirmed the order. The assault craft turned lightly, decelerated, and stopped beneath a low slope.
Outside the mouth of Luojian Crater was a no-fly zone. Aircraft and warships were forbidden to approach, even for ultra-low-altitude breakthroughs—the scene of the enemy ship piercing the horizon was still vivid in their minds; what was a cannon blast through the mountainside?
The hatch opened, and everyone disembarked from the assault craft. The group hid behind the hillside, only extending their observation equipment over the ridgeline.
It was mid-morning, with the sun casting slanted rays. Half of Luojian Mountain was illuminated, while the other half lay in darkness. The blue Earth hung high in the sky, like a rare treasure.
The lunar surface was as desolate and lonely as ever. The novelty of their arrival had long since turned into habit.
Xie Yu whispered, "It's too clean!"
Around the low slope, there were rocks of all sizes scattered everywhere. But beyond the slope, not even a slightly larger stone could be seen, as if an invisible boundary prevented the moon rocks from crossing.
"Has the enemy cleaned it up?"
"Unclear, haven't heard of it." Ou Zhanpeng connected to the satellite, and the situation around Luojian Mountain became clear at a glance. "No enemy activity detected ahead!"
The reason for entrusting him with the drone operation was the poor electromagnetic environment on the moon. The communication range of individual equipment was limited, and signals had to be relayed through the assault craft and satellites.
The satellite, as viewed from above, showed the crater still shrouded in darkness. The enemy ship within the mountain only revealed the tip of an iceberg.
Just as he was about to observe closely, the screen suddenly went black, losing satellite signal.
Ou Zhanpeng blinked in surprise, and he had already received a notification from the fleet: "Satellite number four has been destroyed by the enemy!"
He immediately reported the situation: "Captain Xie, the enemy has destroyed the satellite. The fleet is deploying a replacement, but it will take time to reach the target area."
"Roger!" Xie Yu responded. "Launch the drones!"
Modern warfare was all about technology. Reconnaissance with human eyes? That was a relic from decades ago.
Several soldiers silently took out their gun-launched drones, attached them to their rifle muzzles, loaded the rounds, held the rifles steady, and pulled the triggers.
The muzzle blast erupted, and the drones flew low, only activating their own power systems a kilometer away, their boosters propelling them towards Luojian Mountain.
Another soldier moved away from the concealment point, stepped back a few paces, and placed the box on his back. Upon opening it, a mechanical structure linked to the lid pushed a half-meter long drone out of the box. He pressed the launch button, and the drone started its engine, launching itself into the air, also heading towards Luojian Mountain.
Seven combat teams successively launched over thirty gun-launched drones, along with seven self-launched drones. They flew low, approaching the target from different directions.
Through the lenses, the lunar surface rapidly receded, and Luojian Mountain enlarged quickly, appearing right before them in an instant.
Just as they were about to crash into the mountain, the view suddenly angled upwards. This was the drones reaching the base of the mountain and ascending along the steep, broken surface.
Only after crossing the ridge did the view level out again. Then, they turned and plunged into the crater.
With over thirty drones providing multi-angle shots, the scene at the bottom of the crater became clear—within the concave mountain, the broken ship lay still, its hull slightly tilted, like a dangerous giant dragon slumbering in its lair.
Ou Zhanpeng was staring at the broken ship when suddenly the camera shook, then flipped to black, losing signal.
He immediately switched to another signal source, but after trying several, the result was the same.
"Captain Xie, the enemy shot down the gun-launched drones!"
"Are there any still usable?"
Ou Zhanpeng continued to switch signals: "Yes, seventeen left!"
Gun-launched drones were designed modularly, with flight and reconnaissance being two independent systems. Being shot down only meant the flight system was damaged; in many cases, the reconnaissance system could still function.
However, after crashing, it was difficult to ensure the lens orientation. All seventeen lenses were pointed in random directions, skewed and contorted, with no single frame pointing at the target.
Ou Zhanpeng immediately locked onto one signal source and carefully adjusted the lens orientation, hoping for some useful information.
At this moment, seven self-launched drones flew over the ridge. Before they could even begin their dive, they opened their bays and released hundreds of micro-drones.
More accurately, they were bionic insect reconnaissance drones.
The self-launched drones were larger and slower. They were destroyed by the enemy almost as soon as they brought the enemy ship into view, but the insect drones they dropped along the way were continuously transmitting information about the situation ahead.
However, after a short while, the images from the insect drones became blurry, the signal grew weaker, and eventually, they disappeared completely.
"What's going on?" Xie Yu grew anxious.
"It's probably radiation. The insect drones are too small, and the radiation on the moon is too high," Ou Zhanpeng replied.
Insect drones were excellent reconnaissance equipment, but the environment here was too harsh, far exceeding the drones' tolerance.
Xie Yu was at his wit's end. If they couldn't even see what was happening inside the crater, how could they fight this battle?
"Zhanpeng, think of something quickly!"
"Thinking... done!" Ou Zhanpeng finished his adjustments and found three lenses that could capture the enemy ship. By piecing together the three images, they could barely form a complete picture of the enemy vessel.
The images were skewed, but at least they could see it.
"Good work!" Xie Yu was overjoyed.
The video was synchronized and sent back to the fleet, where relevant equipment and personnel immediately began comprehensive analysis. Within seconds, dozens of markings were made on the enemy ship's surface.
Some were hatches, some were gun muzzles, some were shield generators, and some were thruster ports.
Although these were guesses, they held significant reference value.
Xie Yu selected a marking that was most likely a gun muzzle: "Unleash the dogs!"
Six robotic dogs immediately rushed out of the assault craft. Their square bodies lay flat on the ground, their four mechanical legs supporting them above their bodies, extending and retracting rhythmically as they ran. In a short time, they had covered a significant distance, leaving shallow pits and kicked-up lunar dust in their wake.
"These things are dogs?" Ling Xiao's voice sounded as if he had seen a sow climbing a tree. "Where do they look like dogs? They're more like four-legged spiders!"
"Who cares if it's a cat or a dog, it's none of our business," Ou Zhanpeng said. "As long as it runs fast enough."
As the mechanical dogs ran, only their four legs moved continuously, their bodies showing no vertical oscillation, which prevented any loss of speed due to airborne motion.
"If only we could run this fast someday," Ling Xiao sighed.
Ou Zhanpeng rolled his eyes. What was the point of comparing themselves to mechanical dogs? Was running at the same speed an honor?