Chapter 1 The Beginning

He slightly adjusted his mentality and responded helplessly, "It's not too bad, I feel okay."

"Far from the masters I know!"

The Fake Creator·Devourer replied with certainty.

Su Mo was even more speechless. He asked, unwilling to give up, "Okay, then let me ask you, if you were to replace one of your so-called masters, piloting a Black Steel mecha, how long would it take to defeat this Type III monster?"

"One second."

The Fake Creator·Devourer responded deeply.

After listening to the Fake Creator·Devourer, Su Mo didn't bother arguing with him. Solve it in one second? That would be like crushing an ant. This guy was either忽悠(hū yōu, deceiving) him or his data was glitched.

Forget it, no matter which problem it is, there's no need to argue with it.

At this time, Su Mo suddenly remembered something. He said to the optical brain, "Aren't you able to devour monsters? There are quite a few Type I and Type II Doka insect corpses here and outside. These insect eggs should be fine too, don't waste them."

The Fake Creator·Devourer was silent for a while, and then said, "Are you asking me to eat sh*t?"

Su Mo was stunned when he heard this, and his expression was wonderful. Then he coughed and replied, "I'm just making a suggestion."

Although Su Mo said so, he couldn't help but slander in his heart. This guy is really picky.

"I'm going to hibernate, don't call me if you don't need me."

"Wait, you ate so much, and you still need to hibernate? Don't tell me you're not charged yet, right?"

"Charging progress is one percent."

The Fake Creator·Devourer replied casually, and then fell silent.

Su Mo was also speechless after hearing this. How much could this guy eat? It only charged one percent after eating so much.

"Sigh~~"

........

Not long after, Su Mo drove the Black Steel mecha back to the transport ship.

As soon as he entered the cargo hold, he saw Mo Boke again, scolding his returning companions.

"Are you idiots? I told you to look for valuable things, valuable things! Look at the other teams, which one isn't full of loot?"

Su Mo jumped out of the mecha cockpit, walked over quietly, stood at the end of the assembly team, and stood with Zhao Bo. He asked in a low voice, a little guilty.

"Why is Mo Boke so angry? Is our income not ideal?"

It's no wonder Su Mo felt guilty. He hadn't brought back any income these days, and he was indeed dragging them down.

"What? Our team's income is okay, especially Captain Ke Liev found a lot of supplies. Mo Boke is complaining that we didn't tell him about the income privately..."

Zhao Bo complained with disdain.

Su Mo felt a little embarrassed after hearing this.

At this time, Mo Boke had vented his anger, so he issued an order.

"The ship will return to port for repairs. If you fail to complete my mission target in the next search, wait for your self-criticisms!"

Then Mo Boke turned and left.

Ke Liev stood up at this time and said a few words to everyone, "Everyone has worked hard during this period. I know everyone has tried their best, so just have a clear conscience and don't have too much psychological baggage. Our transport ship will return to the Black Yao soon. Everyone should rest well after going back. Maybe there will be a big operation later."

"Understood, sir!"

Everyone responded.

.........

In the evening, Su Mo followed the transport ship and temporarily returned to the Black Yao.

The L2 hangar, which was temporarily docked, was also very lively. There were staff unloading and transferring goods everywhere, and everyone's faces were beaming.

As the ban was lifted, more and more exploration teams poured in, and the income was getting higher and higher. Although there were some casualties, it was nothing compared to the income.

Su Mo picked up his phone and tried to call Sun Duo Xiang to see if he could get through.

Of course, Su Mo didn't have too much hope.

Maybe that guy is still working outside.

Beep beep~

"Boss, why did you suddenly think of calling me?"

At this time, the phone was connected, and Sun Duo Xiang's tired voice rang from the phone.

"What's wrong with you?"

Su Mo felt that Sun Duo Xiang's condition was not very good.

"Don't mention it, I've been as unlucky as I could be. We went on an exploration mission not long ago, but the intelligence was wrong and we were ambushed by monsters. We managed to escape, but we lost several brothers."

Sun Duo Xiang was also very depressed. He himself had walked through the gates of hell. The key point was that he couldn't blame Lu Qi for the inaccurate information.

If there were no accidents, Lu Qi would probably have sacrificed as well.

"I'm in the L2 cargo hangar now, come and find me as soon as possible."

After listening, Su Mo simply said to Sun Duo Xiang.

Sun Duo Xiang was slightly stunned and subconsciously replied, "Okay!"

......

Su Mo stood in the hangar and waited quietly for almost two hours before he saw Sun Duo Xiang running from a distance, panting for breath.

After a while, he ran up to Su Mo, panting and said.

"Boss, boss, I'm here."

Su Mo looked around to make sure no one was staring at him, and then said to Sun Duo Xiang in a low voice.

"I have something I need you to do."

"Tell me, boss."

Sun Duo Xiang replied without asking.

"Put your hand out."

Su Mo said in a low voice.

Although Sun Duo Xiang was a little surprised, he still did as he was told and stretched out his left hand.

Su Mo took a pen from his pocket and wrote a series of numerical coordinates on Sun Duo Xiang's left palm.

"What's this?"

Sun Duo Xiang asked in surprise.

"This is the area I explored. I found a batch of genetic biological raw liquid here, a total of 100 boxes of Type I and ten boxes of Type II. I hid them in the nearby wreckage. Find a way to get them back for me."

Su Mo briefly explained the matter.

After listening, Sun Duo Xiang's eyes were filled with admiration for Su Mo.

"Boss, you're awesome, you can find such good things."

"Okay, stop flattering me, just get the job done."

Su Mo replied lightly.

However, Sun Duo Xiang suddenly thought of something and said to Su Mo very seriously, "Boss, it's no problem for me to get this batch of goods back for you, but there's something I need to make clear to you."

"What's the matter?"

Su Mo was also a little curious, it was rare to see Sun Duo Xiang so serious.

"It's just, boss, I can get this batch of goods back for you, but I can't hand them all over to you."

"Why?"

"The Black Yao has rules. Any private exploration and mining income is subject to a 50% tax, which means half of it has to be handed over to the Federation."

"That much?"

Su Mo was also a little surprised.

"That's right, the tax on plunder is as high as 50%. Otherwise, how could the Federation turn a blind eye to our private plunder?"

Sun Duo Xiang replied very certainly.

After thinking for a while, Su Mo suddenly understood. He had never understood why the Federation would allow capital and寡头(guǎ tóu, oligarchs) to follow the exploration, but it turned out that it was collecting high taxes! This not only mobilized the enthusiasm of all personnel for exploration, but also increased the Federation's income. And the Federation absorbs so much tax revenue, it will theoretically be stronger than those capital and寡头(guǎ tóu, oligarchs).

This is indeed a very good rule.

"Fifty percent is fifty percent."

"Uh, that's not all. In addition, I also need to pay taxes to the Lin family. After all, I have to use the Lin family's channels to bring the goods in legally. Although my relationship with Lin Ming is very good, these are unavoidable. I've estimated that there's about 30% left, but boss, believe me, I definitely didn't embezzle a penny."

Sun Duo Xiang explained awkwardly.

Su Mo stretched out his hand and patted Sun Duo Xiang on the shoulder and said, "You don't need to say anything, I naturally believe you. In addition, 30% is not bad. If I hand over this batch of supplies through my channels, it's estimated that it will just be recorded, with some verbal commendations and accumulation of points. It's nothing in normal times, and I don't care, but I really lack valuable supplies now, so let's just handle it this way."

"Okay, I understand, I'll take people to get it now. I guarantee that I'll do this for you perfectly."

Sun Duo Xiang responded誓旦旦(shì dàn dàn, solemnly).

"Go ahead."

Su Mo nodded.

.......

----------------------------------------------------

In the Black Yao command room, Pute Mi looked at the feedback report and said to Li Ruiqi with a smile.

"A great harvest."

"Not bad."

Li Ruiqi did not refute. As the exploration deepened, the income increased exponentially.

Pute Mi coughed, and then said, "There is also good news. The two elite exploration teams dispatched by the GT department have found a giant transport ship wreck and a high-level warship wreck in the depths of the ruins of the stars, as well as several other high-value income areas. Therefore, the GT department is applying to transfer a large force for unified large-scale operations. In addition, other exploration teams have also searched for many high-value areas and are also applying for the lifting of the ban on combat personnel."

Li Ruiqi naturally understood the implication of Pute Mi's words. He wanted to send a large number of troops to carry out large-scale operations to maximize the collection of resources and maximize the income.

In fact, there was nothing wrong with his proposal.

But this involves a problem, that is, the plan准则(zhǔn zé, criteria) that Li Ruiqi set before. The reason why Li Ruiqi was so conservative about the Scavenger Project was so that he could断臂求生(duàn bì qiú shēng, cut off one's arm to save one's life) when he encountered an accident.

If so many people are sent out at once, this准则(zhǔn zé, criteria) will be broken.

"I'll think about it."

Li Ruiqi replied after pondering for a while.

Just as Pute Mi was about to persuade him, Augulas walked in. He said in a deep voice, "I don't think there's need to worry so much. Pute Mi's suggestion is pretty good."

"Since Deputy Speaker Augulas said so, let's do it."

Li Ruiqi didn't insist anymore. He had concerns, but now it was obvious. Because of the income, probably everyone would agree with Pute Mi's suggestion, so why cause conflict.

"Yes, very good, then issue the order."

Augulas responded very 만족히(manjokhi, satisfactorily).

In the L2 hangar, Su Mo was lying in the mecha cockpit, resting with his eyes closed.

At this time, an emergency notice rang in the communication channel.

"Emergency notice, all reserve teams of the GT department participating in the operation, please assemble immediately after repairs. The GT department will carry out a designated area cleaning battle mission."

......

Su Mo subconsciously opened his eyes and sat up. He didn't expect a collective combat mission to come so soon.

At this time, Mo Boke's urgent voice rang in the communication channel.

"Assemble! Assemble immediately!"

.....

Su Mo was also helpless for a while, so he quickly drove the mecha to assemble.

Not long after, the Black Yao's one by one boarding exits opened, and densely packed mechas and ships took off like群蜂(qún fēng, swarms of bees).

They flew towards the distant ruins.

On the fourth floor of the Dun Ke Ye cemetery area, Tuo Wusi was driving the third-generation mecha·烈虎(Liè Hǔ, Fierce Tiger) to patrol around.

A subordinate piloting the second-generation mecha·黑钢(Hēi Gāng, Black Steel) flew over and reported to Tuo Wusi: "The main force has entered the ruins of the stars, and is expected to arrive soon."

"Yes, very good."

Tuo Wusi nodded.

At this time, in the distance, Type II aliens·Floating Touch Beasts, with black wings, hairy touch絨(róng, fluff) all over their bodies, flat heads, and very sharp claws on their limbs, suddenly turned red in their eyes. A mechanical flying insect could be seen in their heads, the bottom of their bodies was split open, and sharp needles were exposed, piercing into their heads.

The next second, these Floating Touch Beasts attacked Tuo Wusi and others in groups.

"Another enemy attack!"

Tuo Wusi's subordinates immediately became alert.

"A bunch of trash! Destroy them!"

Tuo Wusi was unusually angry. Of course, he couldn't be blamed for this. Since entering the depths, they had been inexplicably attacked and harassed by monsters.

Moreover, these monsters that attacked them usually escaped after fighting for a while, making them exhausted.

Otherwise, Tuo Wusi wouldn't have proposed a large-scale sweep and cleanup request to headquarters.

Of course, being attacked by monsters wasn't entirely a bad thing. As they were exterminating monsters, they unknowingly went deep inside and accidentally found the wreckage of a giant abandoned transport ship.

"Yes!"

The subordinates responded one after another.

On the other side, Su Mo was driving the Black Steel, following Ke Liev.

It had to be said that there were still advantages to having a lot of people. Not to mention that there was strength in numbers, at least the momentum was very good. The journey was unusually smooth, and they didn't encounter many monsters at all.

Occasionally, a few monsters that didn't know whether to live or die popped up, and they were shot into sieves by Su Mo and the others.

At this time, a prompt popped up on Su Mo's operator platform.

"Task log update: The latest combat objective is to clear all the lurking monsters in the area at coordinates 2319, 813, 134!"

At this time, Ke Liev said in a deep voice: "Everyone, follow me!"

"Understood!"

Everyone responded one after another.

This combat operation was still led by Ke Liev, and Mo Boke stayed on the transport ship. According to him, as the commander, he needed to sit in the rear to provide Su Mo and the others with sufficient confidence and support.

Su Mo and the others were speechless at this!

Soon, Su Mo drove the mecha and followed Ke Liev, changing direction and flying towards the designated area.

......

Inside the Twilight Fortress, the silver mechanical man looked at the monitoring images fed back from various areas.

Its red electronic eyes kept flashing, and it made a mechanical soliloquy.

"The prey has taken the bait."

However, the mechanical man in front of him did not act immediately, but fell into deep thought. The situation was somewhat unexpected.

It was originally worried that the prey entering the ruins to explore would not be weighty enough, and the Black Yao would escape at a critical moment.

Therefore, it dispatched mechanical puppet monsters to lure the exploration team into the depths, helping them explore enough valuable things to attract more people to come in.

It had to be said that its purpose was not only achieved, but the effect exceeded its expectations.

The number of prey that poured in was very large, so large that it exceeded its expectations.

Thinking of this, the eyes of the mechanical man in front of him kept flashing with light.

It suddenly realized a problem, since the other party released so many combat troops. When the troops that came in were damaged, the mothership would also come in to fight.

At that time, it would not be able to calmly clean them up.

Instead of this, it would be better to change the method.

Since the other party's mothership released so many troops, it was destined that the inside of the mothership would be very empty.

Then it would simply be better to attack the mothership directly and strike first.

So it stared at the Black Yao.

At this time, a line of commands was automatically generated on the holographic image operation screen.

"Twilight Fortress propulsion system activated!"

"Start! Recall the combat troops."

"The lurking mechanical worms execute the rampage plan, driving the monster潮(cháo, tide) to attack the prey."

"Main combat objective: Surprise attack on the outer invading mothership."

"Simulated combat evaluation in progress!"

"Data analysis....."

"Winning probability 99.99999%"

"Simulated plan approved!"

"Execute!"

.......

In the ruins of the stars, the stationary Twilight Fortress began to sink, slowly moving and迂回(yū huí, detouring) towards the periphery.

------------------------------------------------------------------

In the depths of the ruins of the stars, countless mechanical flying insects flew out from inside the floating wreckage.

These mechanical flying insects all scattered and locked on one by one Type I and Type II monsters.

Like parasites, they寄宿(jì sù, lodged) on their heads.

Start controlling the wandering monsters to gather.

......

In the distance, Su Mo was driving the Black Steel, carefully searching the wreckage in the sky, clearing any possible hidden enemies in the operation area.

In fact, although this job was a bit繁瑣(fán suǒ, tedious), it was still easy, as long as he finished his area.

"Hey, it's really speechless, why can other teams be assigned to explore and discover resource points to earn merit! We can only perform cleaning tasks. This Mo Boke is really not helpful."

Zhao Bo kept complaining in the communication channel.

"That's right, it's not fair at all."

"Okay, stop complaining, you wouldn't really believe Captain Mo Boke, would you? That guy can only brag and scold us in normal times, he's useless at all. Relying on him is not as good as relying on Su Mo. When Su Mo becomes a substitute team member in the future, we'll also be successful."

"That makes sense!"

"Okay, stop complaining, do your job."

Ke Liev said in a deep voice.

"Yes, captain."

Everyone immediately quieted down.

Su Mo coughed and said, "Everyone, adjust your mentality, it's actually good to perform cleaning tasks. Although it's a bit boring, it's relatively safer than exploring resource points."

"Su Mo is right."

Everyone responded one after another.

At this time, a deep voice rang in Su Mo's mind.

"Leave here, you are being targeted, a monster潮(cháo, tide) is gathering."

Su Mo's heart jumped violently, and his expression was startled. Wasn't this basically slapping himself in the face? Just a second ago, he said it was safe here.

"Retreat to where?"

"The rear."

But now was not the time to worry about these things, Su Mo's eyes were constantly changing.

Then he used a separate communication channel to say to Ke Liev: "Captain Ke Liev, I feel something is wrong, it's not safe here."

Ke Liev was also stunned when he heard Su Mo's words.

He said in a deep voice; "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, but I don't have any substantial evidence, it's more of a sense of danger."

Su Mo gritted his teeth and made it up. He couldn't say it was the optical brain's warning, right?

"Then what should we do?"

"We should retreat immediately and notify everyone to gather and form a strong line of defense to deal with the impending danger."

Ke Liev's expression changed for a while, and then he replied: "Okay! But are you sure they will listen to you? After all, you are not the commander, maybe they will blame you."

"Just have a clear conscience."

Su Mo replied in a deep voice.

"Since you say so, then count me in!"

Seeing Su Mo say this, Ke Liev said without hesitation.

...........

Below the edge of the Dun Ke Ye cemetery area, countless FX-4 small defense drones poured out, quickly forming a barrier with camouflage and interference effects, and then the臃腫(yōng zhǒng, bloated) Twilight Fortress slowly moved out.

Its scanning system quietly locked onto the Black Yao.

Inside the Twilight Fortress command room, the silver mechanical man raised four mechanical hands, and countless codes were automatically generated and entered into the operating system.

"Automatic analysis of ship structure in progress!"

"Confirm the vital weakness·power output area!"

"The Twilight Fortress's main炮(pào, cannon)·heavy ion beam cannon begins hidden charging!"

"Charging progress fifty percent!"

"Fifty-five percent!"

......

Inside the Black Yao command room, Li Ruiqi was watching the operation while tapping his fingers on the armrest.

Since there were a large number of people entering the operation this time, many relay signal devices were撒(sā, scattered) along the way, as well as a large number of ships serving as signal relays.

So here he could get real-time intelligence feedback.

At this time, an operator reported: "Report, Commander Li Ruiqi."

"What's the matter."

"The eighty-sixth編隊(biān duì, formation) of the GT department reserve forces has left the operation area without authorization and issued a warning, saying that the troops are about to be attacked by monsters."

"Who issued the warning specifically, is there any substantial evidence?"

Li Ruiqi frowned.

"Isn't it normal to be attacked by monsters, what's all the fuss about. When did the people in the GT department become so胆小(dǎn xiǎo, timid)?"

Pute Mi replied with some dissatisfaction.

He had finally persuaded Li Ruiqi, and the manpower had been sent out. It was only halfway through the operation, would he really have to stop the entire operation because of this little thing?

Seeing that Commander Li Ruiqi and Lord Pute Mi seemed displeased, the operator swallowed hard and said.

"It's the deputy captain of the eighty-sixth reserve force, Lieutenant Ke Liev, and Lieutenant Su Mo. In addition, they didn't explain the reason, they just said they were being targeted and there was danger!"

Li Ruiqi was also stunned, Su Mo issued the warning.

"Absurd!"

Pute Mi said unhappily.

At this time, a very bad feeling suddenly lingered in Li Ruiqi's head, and he subconsciously asked: "Is there anything abnormal detected by radar scanning?"

"Everything is normal."

The operator replied subconsciously.

"Turn on the scanning device at full power and monitor carefully."

Li Ruiqi suddenly remembered that the Black Yao was attacked by monsters the first time it stopped. The radar scanning device also failed to detect it.

The scanning device of this ship was not as advanced as imagined.

"Yes."

The operator was slightly stunned and subconsciously began to operate.

As a result, just after entering the command, the entire scanning screen immediately popped up a black warning box.

"Warning, high energy reaction detected!"

"Warning, the Black Yao is locked!"

.....

Li Ruiqi's heart shrank violently, and he shouted sternly: "Energy罩(zhào, shield) activated, the ship evade immediately! No matter which direction"

"Yes!"

......

In the next second, the main炮(pào, cannon) extended from the Twilight Fortress emitted a brilliant light. A terrifying red beam of light shot out instantly,消融(xiāo róng, melting) all the wreckage that hindered it, and swept towards the power area of the Black Yao mothership like a破竹(pò zhú, splitting bamboo).

At this time, the energy罩(zhào, shield) of the Black Yao was forming rapidly, but it was too late.

In an instant, the heavy ion beam炮(pào, cannon) passed through the unformed energy罩(zhào, shield) and bombarded the Black Yao ship.

Rumble~

A huge explosion swept away.