The long tail of the electric hydralis has gone and come back, which is certainly not good news.
Especially this round of exploration, the performance was so direct and decisive, which inevitably made people suspicious. This kind of living "sensor" came down to make final confirmation after collecting enough credible information.
Of course it could also be a direct attack.
"It seems that Colonel Zhong, your decoy armor didn't travel too far."
Ronan smiled and said to Zhong He, and regardless of how that person reacted, he immediately gave an order to Sergeant Shannong:
"Transformation into Type II structure."
What he means is to compress the space of the "Soil Ranger", mainly to reduce the height.
Regarding the relevant instructions, Ronan had already given the order when he left the control room last time. If Shannong hadn't done it, Ronan could execute military law and kill him now.
Shan Nong was now highly nervous, subconsciously in a trance, and his vision was a little wandering. When he floated to Master Lezuo, whom he was accustomed to pay attention to, he immediately saw him sitting cross-legged - this man was huge and had a second-class structure about to meet.
Shannong was just in a daze for a moment. In fact, when his eyes drifted away, his fingers had already followed Ronan's order and entered the final command.
Since the preparatory work has been completed, the relevant components of the "Soil Patroller" have been put in place in advance, and the crew members in each area and at each station have received warning information, so the transformation was particularly smooth this time.
The slow flow of frozen nitrogen produced barely any ripples...but just barely.
No matter how smooth the deformation of a medium-to-large maintenance station that is tens of meters long is, some noise will always be exposed.
The momentum of the electric hydralis' long tail descending has not slowed down
, the tip of its tail even deflected while undergoing Category II deformation at the repair station, which made people wonder whether it had captured the latest information escaping from the frozen nitrogen.
Ronan's face didn't change...even if there were any subtle changes, others wouldn't be able to tell due to the double-layered mask.
He walked to the control area and continued to issue instructions: "Go down ten meters as a whole, retract all the work stations of the forelimbs, and I will operate the mimic armor.
"Everyone remains silent. Medical Officer Tao Xian links the status of all personnel, reports at any time, and takes comfort measures when necessary."
Ronan's instructions were still consistent with those given before he left last time. It naturally gives people the impression of being organized and confident.
In contrast, Shannong is particularly unsure of how to deal with the current situation, and Lezuo, who has always been the backbone, has simply sat on the floor. After a while, Shannong had no other choice. Ronan gave the order and he followed it. At least the pressure on his heart would be relieved.
However, the highlight of the operation is no longer on his side.
Ronan has taken over control of the Mimic Armor.
This is the outermost plug-in module of the "Soil Patroller". As the name suggests, it mainly uses surface mimicry to deform to confuse the enemy and avoid being discovered and locked. Not only was the "Soil Patroller" covered with a layer of camouflage, but also the necessary camouflage preparations were made on the working surface in accordance with the requirements of the operating regulations.
At this time, Ronan slowly spread out the mimic armor hanging on the working surface, pretending to look like a permanently frozen formation.
At this moment, the front limb segment drilled out by the "Electric Hydralisk"'s long tail was almost ten meters long. Because it penetrated into the hole, it was no longer permanent.
After a little adapting to the impact of frozen nitrogen due to the obstacles of frozen strata, the swing range continued to increase, not only increasing the depth, but also expanding the search range laterally.
Sergeant Shannong's eyelids twitched.
"Mimetic armor" is not a high-end product, although the preliminary preparations are quite sufficient, and stratigraphic samples have been collected to form a "camouflage layer" that can confuse most of the detection bands. But this layer of disguise, that is, what it is, when faced with the "physical" and "drilling" survey of the "Electric Hydralisk" long tail, can only be said to be better than nothing.
Therefore, Ronan's previous series of instructions were basically to compress the space occupied by the Soil Rangers to avoid direct contact with the "Electric Hydralisk" long tail.
This idea is correct, but the space for adjustment is too limited.
At present, the "Soil Patroller" has basically settled on the bottom, and further down is the lower edge of the cavity, which is a permafrost layer that is stronger than steel. Although they have point penetration engines that can forcibly dig passages and speed away, such a level of vibration is not only caused by the long tail hanging above their heads, but also by all the "iron-eating beetles" and "electric thorns" within dozens of kilometers around them. Snakes" can be caught instantly.
By then, it is hard to say whether we can escape. The working surface that was finally dug out here will have to be abandoned, and it will no longer be possible to complete the task on schedule.
Can you avoid running into me?
Even if you think about it, you know it's impossible.
Now that a hole has been discovered, no matter whether there is a suspicious target inside, it is necessary to find out the size of the hole and touch the boundary no matter what... at least what they think is the boundary.
As everyone expected, the long-term detection range continued to expand and the horizontal detection range continued to expand.
Finally, at a very close distance above the mimic armor, there was a wild swipe.
The long tail drew a beautiful conical arc, but it soon became distorted. The first thing it hit was not the "Soil Patroller", but the working surface on the side. The front end bounced a little, then swayed in an irregular trajectory and hit the simulated armor layer on the top of the maintenance station. It almost started all over again. Row to the end.
No equipment is needed for transmission, and the dull friction sound from above can be heard from the control room.
Sergeant Shannong's heart thumped loudly, almost covering up the sounds in his ears. Looking around, Ronan, Zhong He, and Le Zuo didn't move. He almost thought that this blow was just a shallow slap. Pass.
However, looking at the display readings, it was confirmed that this blow had basically scratched the mimetic armor to the bottom, and whether the metal shell underneath was exposed was only a matter of millimeters.
The specific details will depend on the long-tail "sniffing" results.
No, that's not right! On the working surface where the initial focus was, the mimic armor had been penetrated. Fortunately, the working surface itself is also permanently frozen. After the work station is recovered, there is no equipment. As for whether the traces of the operation will be exposed...
God knows.
Sergeant Shannong finally couldn't help himself: "Lieutenant! Let's dive..."
Now start the point-to-point penetration engine, dive and leave, you will definitely be exposed, and there may still be a chase. But if you sit at the bottom here, the next time the "Electric Hydralisk" drills down with its long tail, it will almost certainly release a large number of "Iron-Eating Beetles". Once that thing spreads in the repair station, I am afraid that it will not even be qualified for the chase. .
"Be patient and don't be impatient."
Ronan beside him responded calmly. Take it
After arriving, he directly contacted Medical Officer Tao Xian: "How is everyone doing?"
"I can only say that it's okay. Two people took the initiative to apply for comfort measures. I made four determinations and they all received measures."
"Okay, continue monitoring."
Ronan ended the communication, seeming to express his feelings, and also seemed to take the initiative to talk to someone: "In this toxic environment, the negative effects must be immediate... and it can save a lot of trouble."
Sergeant Shannong wasn't sure whether to respond, but the next second he didn't need to worry about these minutiae.
The long tail of the "Electric Hydralisk" was raised for the first time since it entered the hole. Of course, it was not to leave, but to readjust its angle and conduct a more targeted attack towards the area it had just touched, which was suspected of being a permafrost formation. Vertical drilling.
Without any hesitation, the tip of the long tail dropped, just at the edge of the crack in the mimic armor that had just been opened, and drilled downward.
Although it didn't hit the scratch that was suspected to have touched the metal armor, it didn't take much trouble to drill to the same depth.
"Strength of the mimicry layer..."
Sergeant Shannong would like to remind that there is a big difference in strength and hardness between mimic armor and real permafrost formation. But at this point, what’s the point of bringing it up?
Not to mention him at this time, Sergeant Lezuo, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground, couldn't help turning his head and staring at the display readings, finally feeling a little nervous.
As for Colonel Zhong He, he simply walked up behind Ronan and said, "Give me the matching exoskeleton."
Obviously preparing for a battle that might break out at any time.
"Back off and control your breath."
Ronan probably forgot that he is no longer the highest-ranking member of the "Soil Ranger"
of that.
However, as soon as he spoke, the slicing instruments surrounding Colonel Zhong He accelerated and shrank significantly inward, as if there was an invisible lasso exerting its effect.
Colonel Zhong He really took two steps back.
At this moment, the blood-red alarm light in the control room flashed. The built-in smart brain actively sounds reminders:
"The outer armor of 1-97 is damaged and the pressure is being rebalanced."
This is a direct breakdown... It's over!
The moment the outer armor was damaged, the difference in temperature and pressure between the inside and outside caused a huge bulge to form at the breach, and complete collapse was only a matter of seconds.
For a moment, Sergeant Shannong almost wanted to snatch the control button to start the point penetration engine from Ronan, but it was just a thought. He was completely frozen there now, not knowing what to do.
"Lieutenant?" Medical Officer Tao Xian took the initiative to contact him. "The general stress index of the members of Group B has increased sharply... Now the whole station is calling the police. It is difficult for Group A to maintain a deep sleep state."
"receive."
Ronan responded calmly, without any fluctuation in his voice.
Almost at the same time, Zhinao's warning sound came for the second time: "The load-bearing deck in Area 1 is damaged..."
"Lieutenant, the floor is pierced!" Shannong shouted, pointing to the surveillance screen that had changed to the inner area, "Now... huh?"
Logically speaking, the "Electric Hydralisk"'s long tail, which should have completely locked onto the "Soil Patroller"'s position, somehow did not reach down further, but began to pull away and recover it. During this period, it was also swinging in the space inside the cabin, causing a mess in that area.
However, from beginning to end, this thing did not release fatal high-voltage current, nor did it spit out such
These are iron-eating beetles that can paralyze large amounts of equipment in a short period of time.
It seems that it still thinks that it is moving in a cavity where frozen nitrogen flows - there is no difference between the alloy armor layer and the permafrost layer, and there is no difference between the nearly 100-degree temperature difference between the inside and outside.
As a result, the long tail of the "Electric Hydralisk" retreated, and continued to pull upwards, gradually disappearing into the permafrost formation at the upper end of the cave.
It was only then that the damaged outer armor of the "Soil Ranger" was sprayed with rapid gelling agent to seal the breach. The cabin that had just been completely disrupted also formed a diffuse cloud of water vapor due to the sudden cooling and heating of the temperature, just like the huge doubts that were unexplained at this time, shrouding everyone's minds.
Finally, Le Zuo, who was sitting on the floor, said in a hoarse voice: "The 'slicing instrument' just sent out..."
"Replace the beam with the pillar. Well, I mean, the effect is not bad."
.
