usatvline Chapter 628 The Catastrophe Arrives 4
Chapter 628 The Catastrophe Arrives 4
Chapter 628 The Catastrophe Approaches (Part 4)
Xu Weiwei pushed open the door and hurried to the central hall. There was a 720° real-time monitoring screen there.
Kane and Ryan were already standing there. And of course, Ganz was there too.
More than what was on the screen, Xu Weiwei noticed Ganz's reaction first. Even though she was mentally prepared, her heart still skipped a beat when she looked up.
The starship moved slowly, scanning the ruins for any signs of life that might have yet to emerge.
Everyone stared intently, afraid of missing anything.
Ten minutes later, the voice from the control room was broadcast to the ship's cabin:
"Report to the General! The current area has been explored, and no survivors or remains of the victims have been found."
"All men, heed my command!" Sifus's calm and authoritative voice rang out.
"Left flank squad one advances northeast along the ridge for search; right flank squad two conducts a large-scale search of the northwest woodland along the river tributary; the main ship is responsible for the southwest. Maintain vigilance throughout; if hostile elements are encountered, they may be killed directly without reporting. Move out immediately!"
"receive!!!"
The three starships changed course and headed toward their target.
Xu Weiwei gently pried open Ganz's fingers one by one, holding his large hand and comforting him, "Some houses can be rebuilt, but the important thing is people. The fact that there isn't a single corpse means everyone is still alive, doesn't it?"
Ganz's hand twitched, then tightened: "You're right, they must all still be alive."
A hint of disdain flashed in Fast's eyes, but he knew when to stop and didn't say anything unkind. He simply said, "Notify me when you find the leader," and then left the hall with his butler.
Turning around, he smiled nonchalantly, thinking: Maybe the one who will talk to me in the end will be Ganz's adopted son?
The starship moved westward at a constant speed. At the same time, Seifert also dispatched five soldiers, piloting mechs, to detach from the starship and search ahead in a fan-shaped formation.
Embedded mechs are suitable for aerial combat, but due to their high mobility and strong offensive and defensive capabilities, they are also used in some special situations, such as now.
Ganz seemed to suddenly come to his senses and strode toward the control room.
Upon seeing Siforth, he pleaded, "Father! I can too! Let me go down with you! My skills are quite good now!"
He feared that Siforth's impression of him was still that of someone who couldn't even stand properly on the palace stage last year, so he desperately tried to explain, saying how skilled he was. In the past, he would never have uttered such boastful words.
Sifus neither agreed nor refused outright, only saying, "Your time will come, don't rush."
Ganz was eager to try again.
This time, Sifuss directly displayed his commander's authority, ordering, "Get out, do not interfere with official business."
He had always been kind and gentle in front of Ganz, and this was the first time he had shown such a stern side, which startled Ganz.
Xu Weiwei and Kane seized the opportunity to come in and led him out, one on each side. Ryan, standing behind, gave his father a forced smile and then slammed the door shut.
Kane, having taken so many years of military theory classes and been trained as an officer, naturally knew more, so he helped explain: "The situation is unclear right now, and it would be dangerous to leave the starship rashly. Do you know where the enemy is in the shadows? No. But they can see where we are."
"We can't let our father and these soldiers be distracted by protecting us during this critical time."
“Once the situation becomes clearer and we find a breakthrough, we will go down to help. By then, Father will definitely not stop us.”
"Um……"
Ganz was very receptive to reason. After being persuaded, he sat obediently in the hall, watching the monitor above. His three siblings accompanied him.
Time ticked by. At first, everyone remained calm, but as time went on, their anxiety grew. Ryan started pacing back and forth. Ganz's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
Half an hour later, the three starships had traversed hectares of land, covering nearly half of the planet Goodell, but still found nothing.
What about people?
Where have his father, mother, and clansmen gone?
Just as everyone was filled with doubt, a soldier in the control room made a discovery.
Suddenly, his eyes fixed on a screen, and he skillfully zoomed in again and again, until the scene twenty kilometers away appeared clearly—
It was a flock of birds flying in all directions.
Behind the flock of birds, a wisp of barely visible white smoke dissipated into the air. If one did not look closely, one might mistake it for clouds or mist.
The soldier quickly marked the location, then looked up at Sifus and said, "General! There's a flock of birds taking flight in an unusual manner at the 12 o'clock position! They're about 20 kilometers away!"
Sifus immediately replayed the clip, then his eyes sharpened: "Let's go take a look."
"Yes!"
The sudden acceleration caused Xu Weiwei to tilt her body slightly, and she gripped the handle next to her tightly with both hands.
Looking at the rapidly receding scenery outside the window, the group exchanged glances, realizing that they must have made a new discovery ahead.
Ganz took a deep breath, feeling uneasy.
Meanwhile, the mercenary on the other end lowered his binoculars, sweat beading on his forehead: "They're coming! Very fast! Five minutes at most!"
"Damn it!" His companion kicked the ground hard, sending up a cloud of wet dirt mixed with fresh blood.
"We almost caught them! We were so close!"
The mercenaries had already spotted them long before Sifus and his group noticed anything amiss.
There was no way to ignore the commotion of a starship landing, especially three of them, given how small the planet Goodell is.
Such a large-scale operation, with one main force and two auxiliary forces sandwiched in between, most likely involves a regular army unit.
They had initially held onto a sliver of hope, thinking they might be able to put up a fight. But after seeing the markings on the starship, they just wanted to get as far away as possible.
The Empire's military strength is ranked number one in the universe. There's simply no comparison. The enormous gap renders people powerless to the point of having no will to resist.
But if their goals are the same, then that's another story.
Let's rewind to the day before.
After their initial setback, they decided to keep the few remaining aerial reconnaissance drones and replace them with robot dogs.
They initially thought that although the speed was slow, at least it was relatively safe. But they soon faced a devastating reality.
This forest is full of swamps. Or rather, it's basically a huge swamp.
Sometimes what looks like solid ground or grass can suddenly sink into your paws as you walk.
The robot dog has its own propulsion system on its bottom, designed to prevent it from falling into traps or pits and to allow it to escape on its own. The latest generation developed by the military even incorporates a ladybug design. The covers on both sides of its back slide down, extending a pair of wings to lift it into the air, making it more energy-efficient and suitable for a wider range of applications.
For example, the exhaust port will not be blocked by mud.
The robot dog encountered all the problems that the drones didn't.
The mercenaries were furious. They had wasted half a day, suffered losses, and gained nothing.
One of them roared in fury, "Why don't we just burn it down?! We can just wait over there. Why bother with all this trouble?!"
Everyone suddenly realized: "Hey—that's right!"
"Fifth brother, you've finally shown some intelligence today!"
The mercenary leader interrupted impatiently, "What are you burning? Can this place even catch fire?"
Why won't the wood burn?
The man was too lazy to waste words with them and simply told them to give it a try.
The men, skeptical, tried it. And just as their leader had said, it wouldn't light, wouldn't burn; even with alcohol poured on it, the fire only burned where the alcohol had been. Once the alcohol burned away, the fire died down.
The man cursed, "Use your brain! You're as stupid as a pig! Don't you see how humid the air is?! Every breath I take gets water droplets in my nose! There's a river right here! These trees are practically growing in the water! How are you supposed to burn anything?!"
His subordinate's face turned purple with rage, clearly furious but unable to refute him.
"so what should I do now?"
"What do we do? There's only one way left now."
Drones and robotic dogs have already paved the way for them. Now, they'll have to get to work themselves.
"Dapeng, stay here and watch the starship. The rest of you, get your gear and follow me into the forest." The man's eyes revealed a ruthless glint.
His men immediately sprang into action. Their expressions were excited, like wolves that hadn't eaten for three days, drooling and eager to tear their prey apart.