Seven kilometers west of Guanghan Station on the moon.
A few moon rocks were arranged in a circle, enclosing a small open space. A hemispherical object sat in the clearing, its surface covered in moon dust.
Outside the rock formation, a tracked robot raised its simple mechanical arm and inserted a pre-fixed iron stake into the hemisphere, precisely hitting a movable pattern.
From several hundred meters away, hiding in a safe position, Ling Xiao looked puzzled. "Why isn't it doing anything?"
Ou Zhanpeng manipulated the robot to retract its arm and insert the stake into another movable part of the hemisphere. "Here it comes!"
Ling Xiao sneered, "Coming with what? Isn't it the same?"
Ou Zhanpeng, undeterred, replied, "It's coming..."
On the third insertion, the hemisphere suddenly retracted, bumping into a nearby moon rock. At the same time, a hole the thickness of a finger appeared on another moon rock.
Ling Xiao was very surprised. "Hey hey, you actually found it!"
"Of course. That thing almost killed me, how could I not know what it does?" Ou Zhanpeng stood up and reviewed the video captured by the high-speed camera, examining the weapon's usage process.
On the screen, the moment the iron stake touched the switch, a stream of silvery liquid suddenly shot out from the hemisphere, startling Ling Xiao. "Is that water? Is that water? Huh?"
Ou Zhanpeng was also a bit disbelieving. "It looks like it, doesn't it?"
The two looked at each other and said in unison, "Let's try it again!"
Bouncing over to the rock formation, the two secured the hemisphere to the ground. Instead of retreating to safety, they squatted behind the waist-high rocks and controlled the robot to activate the hemisphere.
Another water jet shot out, adding another hole to the moon rock.
Ling Xiao looked bewildered. He picked up the hemisphere and shook it vigorously. "There's really water! This thing can be a weapon? What kind of twisted logic is that?"
The key was that its power was not small.
"Alright, we know what this thing is." Ou Zhanpeng put away the hemisphere and placed a small ball, about the size of a walnut, with ancient patterns all over its surface, into the rock formation.
No one knew what this thing was, and the two dared not be careless, dutifully hiding several hundred meters away.
The robot triggered it again. The iron stake poked and prodded dozens of times without any reaction.
"Forget it," Ling Xiao said. "It's just a useless ball!"
Since it wouldn't trigger no matter how it was poked, it was definitely safe.
Ou Zhanpeng was also a little disheartened. "Okay, next one!"
He casually pressed the screen, and the robot gave a fierce poke. This time, for some reason, the small ball suddenly began to flash, emitting colorful lights, much like a disco ball in a dance hall.
Ling Xiao was utterly astonished. "What is this thing? If aliens brought something like this, were they planning to start a dance-off halfway through the battle to warm up before getting serious?"
Ou Zhanpeng sighed. "Can you stop saying such ridiculous things..."
Boom—
The rock formation suddenly exploded, sending debris flying for hundreds of meters. In an instant, the poor robot turned into a pile of scrap metal.
"Holy cow!" Ling Xiao swallowed hard. "This thing is that powerful? Ou Fatty, do you think that brainless alien is carrying a nuke? What if one of them detonates, and we're finished immediately?"
Ou Zhanpeng also felt a chill. "It shouldn't be, right?"
While saying that, he resolved in his heart to talk to Xie Yu about this matter as soon as they returned.
Just as they were recovering from the shock, they suddenly heard a communication alert, followed by Xie Yu's voice. "All personnel, gather in the briefing room!"
The two quickly tidied up the scene and sped back in their lunar rover.
When they entered the briefing room, not only were everyone else present, but Gong Yiding was also there. Ling Xiao couldn't help but mutter, "Why is he everywhere we go?"
As they took their seats, Xie Yu immediately connected with the Polaris. Luo Jintang appeared on the screen. "I've gathered everyone today for a few reasons. Firstly, earlier today, three spacecraft from the ground arrived successfully, bringing us much-needed equipment, including various individual combat gear prepared for you. However, no one knows which weapon is effective against the enemy, so there are no restrictions here. You can choose suitable equipment based on your own situations.
"Secondly, the fleet has just received news that our people have found an alien in synchronous orbit." At this point, the screen split in half. One side showed Luo Jintang, and the other showed a creature that was so badly burned and disfigured that its original appearance was unrecognizable.
"What is displayed on the screen is the alien found by the Cloud Palace Base. It is black all over, with a short tail, covered in scales, and stands 1.54 meters tall. It looks like an upright lizard."
The briefing room erupted in an uproar. Everyone's gaze shifted constantly between the screen and Gong Yiding.
Ou Zhanpeng suddenly understood why Station Chief Gong was present.
"Now, please let Station Chief Gong explain the specific situation," Luo Jintang said.
Gong Yiding cleared his throat. "This situation is quite unexpected. Based on the information we currently have, these black-scaled lizard-men are physically strong but have low brain capacity. Some believe this is because there are two or more alien species on the enemy ships. However, we compared the genes of the Brain-oids and the Lizard-men and found a very high degree of similarity between them, much like humans and chimpanzees. They are biologically close relatives. Therefore, there are not two races, but the result of a high degree of differentiation within the same species.
Everyone listened, utterly confused. What did it mean, high differentiation within the same species? Were humans and apes the same thing?
Gong Yiding continued, "We consider the fish and jellyfish to be the Brain-oids, representing the intelligent tier among the aliens, possibly the elite or ruling class of the alien civilization. The Lizard-men, on the other hand, were specially cultivated combatants, or 'soldier-men,' to compensate for the physical deficiencies of the Brain-oids."
Hearing him say this, everyone finally understood and showed a look of realization.
"Analysis indicates that the alien population is likely highly differentiated, similar to bees or ants, with different individuals serving different functions. Theoretically, besides Brain-oids and Soldier-men, there should be a large number of 'workers.' As for whether this is true, I'm not sure and require more detailed evidence to confirm."
After speaking, Gong Yiding stepped aside, returning the floor to Luo Jintang.
"Thank you, Station Chief Gong." Major Luo said politely. "Comrades, the reason I've told you all this is because the enemy has been leaving their ships frequently in recent times, launching probing attacks. Although they have all been repelled by our air force, our situation is extremely passive. Therefore, the high command has ordered us to proactively launch an offensive to disrupt the enemy's assault, annihilate their effective strength to the greatest extent possible, and, under this overarching goal, collect alien artifacts as much as possible. Comrades, do you understand?"
Everyone immediately stood up. "Understood!"
"Good, now I will explain the specific details of the mission!"