From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 450: Icefield, Silence, Beginning, "Gunshots"

The outer frontier galaxy of the chaotic universe——

If you "look down" at this galaxy, you can find that it is mainly composed of twelve planets orbiting a blue giant star.

This star is about five times the size of the sun, with a hot and dazzling surface, emitting a dazzling blue-white light, dyeing the outer edge of the entire galaxy with a faint blue glow.

The planets in the first to fifth orbits are all barren and desolate places similar to Mercury.

Their surfaces have been eroded by fierce stellar winds for a long time and have long lost their stable atmosphere, revealing a rocky surface full of holes.

Scorching heat, cold, and radiation are rampant here, and no sign of life can exist. It is like a dead wasteland swallowed by a star.

The planets located in the sixth to ninth orbits are finally protected by relatively dense atmospheres and magnetic fields, which protect them from the direct destruction of blue giant radiation.

But even so, the environments on these planets are still extremely harsh.

The planet in the sixth orbit is covered with endless desert, which is difficult to sustain even the simplest life form.

The planets in the seventh and eighth orbits are like pre-transformed Mars that have been magnified several times. Rocks and dust occupy almost all the landforms, and the rare traces of rivers have been completely buried by the dry climate.

It seems that every Earth-like planet in the galaxy is filled with storms and droughts, like an endless hell.

However, when the line of sight extends to the ninth orbit, a completely different planet comes into view.

This terrestrial planet seems to be covered with thick ice and snow, with its surface covered by endless glaciers and snow, and the ice fields seem to extend to the end of the horizon.

The coldness and silence of this planet complement the harsh environment of the entire galaxy, and also add a unique "beauty of dead silence" to the frontier of this chaotic universe.

Moreover, this planet is exactly the destination where the joint agent team and the joint force led by Colonel Jaynes Thompson are about to launch reconnaissance.

Kui Kangtuo.

The history of Quekonto can be traced back to hundreds of years before Atlas set foot in the Halo universe. At that time, it was one of the key colonies of the Covenant Empire, managed and developed by an elite clan.

With advanced technology and a rigorous elite social system, this planet once became the shining pearl of the Star Alliance.

However, about a century ago, Queconto experienced a disaster that changed its destiny.

The cause of all this was that the planet's elite governor declared rebellion without any warning and openly challenged the rule of the Covenant.

After the news came out, it immediately caused a shock in the entire Star Alliance Empire.

After all, the elite tribe regards honor and loyalty as the supreme principles, and the rebellion of their tribe members is undoubtedly an unforgivable crime.

But what puzzled the elite leaders and generals at the time was that the governor's betrayal was quickly supported by all the local elite members of Quekangtuo and even the entire galaxy where Quekangtuo was located. These followers also openly broke with the Star Alliance.

The furious and ashamed elite leaders simply ignored the underlying reasons for the rebellion. They could not tolerate even the slightest bit of betrayal.

Afterwards, they did not investigate why the governor chose to rebel, nor did they explore in depth why so many tribesmen responded to the call. They even refused to negotiate with the other party and quickly mobilized the main fleet to launch a full-scale attack on Quekangtuo.

However, this military operation failed to achieve victory as quickly as planned.

The rebels of Queconto showed extremely tenacious fighting ability, and in the ground battles, the elite troops suffered unprecedented heavy losses.

This situation was intolerable to the top elites, who finally decided to take the most extreme measures:

"Glassification".

That is, they used the high-power plasma cannon on the belly of the battleship to carry out a saturation incineration bombardment on the planet.

This devastating blow completely vitrified more than 70% of Queconto's surface. Civilians, rebels, and underground building shelters were all devoured by the plasma flames.

The once prosperous colony was turned into a dead, scorched earth, with only a few areas left that were spared from complete burning due to the protection of the special terrain.

However, the ecological environment has already suffered irreversible damage, making Kuikantuo completely become a "forgotten land".

In order to cover up the entire process of Queconto's rebellion, the Covenant's top leaders conspired to destroy all relevant files and block any information about the planet.

The glory of Quekangtuo, along with the secret of his betrayal, is buried in this desolate world.

In fact, the reason why the elite governor chose to rebel is easy to guess. That is because he discovered that the Prophet had deceived all the Covenant races with the help of the Forerunner's relics.

In addition, the elite governor was very likely to realize that the so-called "pilgrimage" was not a pursuit of glory and the future for himself and his compatriots, but rather a process of acting as the executioners of prophets to clear obstacles for a group of hypocritical and greedy rulers.

So after realizing the true face of the Prophet's clan, the Elite Governor was also furious and chose to "revolt."

Unfortunately, without the help of Sui Yang, who has powerful psychic powers, and the help of smart AI.

Moreover, the status of the Jiralhanae a century ago was far from being a substitute for the elite race, so there was no opportunity for the Covenant civil war to break out, and the uprising war of the elite governors was quickly disintegrated.

As hundreds of years passed, Kuikangtuo has long since cooled down and turned into the "ice and snow world" it is today.

Before the complete collapse of the Covenant Empire, Queconto had lost its strategic significance, but precisely because it was deliberately concealed and forgotten by the Covenant's top brass, it became a hiding place for many people who were regarded as "heretics" or traitors by the Covenant.

Although the atmospheric environment is no longer suitable for the survival of the elites, ghost-faced beasts and other races, the remaining resources are still able to support those who have fled here to build a large underground city that can accommodate millions or even tens of millions of people.

Based on the information extracted from the archives left by the Star Alliance Empire and the limited data, the intelligence department preliminarily speculated on Queconto's current status.

However, these speculations lack actual verification after all, and their actual situation still needs to be confirmed through "field investigation".

The Inquisition and the Investigation Department attached particular importance to this operation.

They reasoned that if the underground city of Queconto really accommodated a population of more than 10 million, then against the backdrop of the disintegration of the Covenant Empire and the breakdown of order, this dead land might have become a hotbed for extremists.

Most of them may have ambitions to rebuild the Covenant Empire, and even the fanatical emotional fluctuations generated in the process may be enough to attract the attention of the Chaos God, making the subspace activities in this area extremely dangerous.

Therefore, Kuikangtuo was listed as one of the targets of key monitoring and investigation by multiple departments.

At the same time, in the deep space of the Milky Way, the silence at the edge of the galaxy was broken by a jump.

Buzz—swish!

A faint blue vortex flashed past the outskirts of the galaxy like an instantaneous explosion of light, and completely dissipated after just a few seconds.

If observed from a distance, this phenomenon appears to be the final explosion of a star at the end of its lifespan, or a dazzling beam of light inadvertently projected by a neutron star, which then "happens" to reach the visible range of the galaxy after hundreds of years of travel.

Without using highly sensitive equipment to conduct a full-band scan of the area, it would be almost impossible to discover that a stealth-class ship belonging to the human empire, hidden in the void, had quietly entered the interior of the galaxy.

Then, Diana Type 3, which maintained its stealth mode, started warp speed travel and headed straight for Queconto in the ninth orbit.

In a moment;

The Diana 3, with optical camouflage activated, arrived at the dark side of Queconto and, keeping pace with Queconto's rotation speed, "parked" in a low-Earth orbit about kilometers above the Earth.

In fact, at this stage, Diana, regardless of whether she maintains optical camouflage and stealth mode, may be detected by Queconto's forces.

But this mission was just a "low-key" one, not a completely "silent" infiltration.

Otherwise, the Inquisition and the Investigation Department would not have specially dispatched thousands of armed personnel, as well as numerous biological and mechanical weapons.

The purpose is to be able to engage in a head-on "bombardment" with the enemy when abnormalities are discovered or when they are under fire suppression.

At this stage, 1 Grey Knights have evacuated the Trench Crusaders universe and have been divided into one hundred four-man teams, ready to cooperate with the various legions of the Halo universe and the st Company of the Thousand Sons to fully release important colonies such as Earth, Reach, and Mars.

After all, the imperial territory of the Halo universe is extremely important, and the Inquisition needs Grey Knights who are good at confronting demons head-on to act as a "baffle" to deal with the chaotic forces entering the physical universe and buy more time for the arrival of reinforcements.

In addition, the Flame Lizards led by Vulkan also divided into ten companies to provide support to the universe with many colonized galaxies.

In order to prevent Chaos from launching a sneak attack on the main universe, the Imperial Guard has not yet deployed a large number of troops. It has only dispatched a "small" team of 100 people, which is temporarily deployed on the "hub" of the Halo universe, the Planet of Plenty.

If it is confirmed that the Halo universe is the main target of Chaos, then this team of 100-man Imperial Guards will also provide a certain degree of assistance.

At this time, in the Diana 3 hangar;

Charlie and thousands of other Marines have taken their positions as planned and boarded four Silver Gulls and three Luna-class heavy transport boats in batches.

The ODST combat company and the special forces team led by Janes Thompson were in the airdrop warehouse of the airdrop dock.

They will be the first to land on the surface of Queconto to pave the way for subsequent troops.

In addition, corresponding biological and mechanical weapons will also be deployed on the surface of Kuikangtuo through airdrops.

As for the dozen or so agents, they were also fully armed and were sitting in the Luna transport boat with Charlie and others.

"."

Charlie is now looking at the agents on the opposite side through the helmet screen.

The other side was wearing nano-combat uniforms similar to those of the joint reconnaissance force (advance team), and they were all silent and skillfully checked their weapons and equipment, always revealing the confidence and calmness gained from rich actual combat experience.

Of course, they are most likely using dedicated encrypted communication channels to conduct internal briefings or tactical discussions.

Although the helmets concealed their expressions, the aura they exuded still gave Charlie an inexplicable sense of security.

It was mainly this kind of coldness and concentration that formed a sharp contrast with the slightly nervous posture of the surrounding Marines.

"All units, attention."

The voice of Janes Thompson suddenly rang out from the communication channel inside the helmet, instantly breaking the silence in the cabin.

I just heard: "According to the existing intelligence, there is a suspected entrance to an underground city directly below us, which is also one of the key search targets of this operation."

Having said this, Jaynes paused for a moment, as if to ensure that every word could be clearly conveyed to the ears of every soldier.

Then he continued: "Marines, obey the command and arrangements of the agents throughout the process. This is not only an order, but also a necessary condition for the success of the mission.

Whether it is our special forces or the ODST, we must fully cooperate with the operation, without exception, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very good. In thirty seconds, we will officially begin the deployment operation. Everyone must remain on high alert."

After saying that, Jaynes cut off the communication, making the channel quiet again.

The atmosphere in the cabin became more solemn.

As the countdown on the right side of the helmet screen shows "0", it means that the ODST and special forces, as well as various biological and mechanical forces, have already popped up the Diana III airdrop dock.

As for the Luna transport boat they were on, it also used the magnetic levitation slide and instantly passed through the plasma gas valve to leave the hangar.

At this time, Charlie was able to clearly observe the outside world with the help of multiple shared screens.

Outside the cabin, there was endless silence and darkness. The side of Kuikangtuo that was not facing the sun was cold and mysterious, as if it was swallowed by the abyss.

Even for well-trained soldiers, such silence carried a sense of oppression that was difficult to ignore.

Everything seemed so quiet on the screen, until the darkness below was suddenly broken.

That was the friction flame produced when the airdrop capsule broke through the atmosphere.

On the screen, these airdrop pods dragged short but dazzling trails, quickly crossed the void, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

It wasn’t long before;

Boom.Boom.~!

The cabin began to vibrate noticeably. Although the amplitude was not severe, it was enough for Charlie to feel that they were quickly passing through the atmosphere of Queconto.

The darkness outside was completely illuminated, and on the screen one could see an orange-red glow around the outer shell of the machine.

"."

Charlie adjusted his sitting position slightly and closed his eyes, allowing the vibration of the cabin to spread throughout his body, feeling every moment of the transport boat's descent.

Because when these vibrations gradually subside and the transport boat lands steadily, that is when the operation officially begins.

-

At the same time, Janes Thompson had already landed on the seemingly vast ice field.

Moreover, Janes was the first to jump out of the airdrop cabin, holding his own hard-light rifle, and with the help of various auxiliary functions of his individual equipment, he scanned everything around him.

Just when he thought that such a "high-profile" airdrop operation would not attract any interception firepower and would even return in vain, the helmet captured a subtle "gunshot".