From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 451 "Colonel Thompson! Those guys are highly contagious!"

Whoosh. Whoosh.

The ambient amplifier in the helmet clearly captured several faint gunshots, the tones were sharp and slightly irregular.

Jaynes Thompson frowned slightly, and his expression suddenly became serious.

From the unique frequency and tone of the gunshot, he quickly determined its source. It was the unique sound of the old-fashioned plasma rifles that were once widely used by the Covenant.

A moment later, the auxiliary system embedded in the helmet had located the source of the gunshot and marked the direction on the screen.

According to the display, the source of the gunfire was located on the north side of their landing area, about a hundred meters away.

Jaynes looked in the direction indicated by the system, and his sight soon fell on an obvious collapsed area. Deep cracks extended to the unknown underground, and seemed to be connected to a huge underground space.

"That must be the entrance to the underground city," Jaynes said to himself.

His gaze did not linger for too long, but quickly turned to other information on the screen, trying to infer the current situation from the known intelligence.

According to the analysis of the Intelligence Department, there are frequent internal conflicts among the extremists in Kuikangtuo. These guys often engage in infighting and even large-scale armed conflicts in order to compete for scarce resources.

But right now, Janes couldn't determine what had caused the gunfight in the dungeon.

The gunshots coming from now may just be an internal fight between these extremists.

However, he could not ignore the possibility that this conflict was not simply an internal fight, but that the underground city was being attacked by external forces or unknown forces, which completely tied down its defenses and caused it to not notice the arrival of the Stealth-class ships and the big commotion made by this group of people.

In just a few seconds, several possibilities quickly emerged in Jaynes' mind.

Either way, it means that their current actions will face considerable risks.

Then, he glanced at the right side of the helmet screen, which showed that it would take another 20 minutes for the transport fleet to arrive. He immediately ordered everyone who had left the airdrop bay:

"All ODSTs and special forces, as well as Tyrant pilots, please pay attention. Build a defensive line near the landing zone, provide cover, and wait for the arrival of the transport formation."

"Yes, Colonel!"

Everyone who received the order also quickly began to act.

Twelve heavily-armored Tyrants armed with large-caliber plasma cannons and 10mm six-barreled Gauss machine guns immediately arrived at the outermost edge of the landing zone, and half of them set their "sights" on the collapsed area.

In addition, there are four Cyclops mechas belonging to ODST, which also cooperate with the Tyrant to guard the outermost perimeter.

The ODST and special forces members, totaling nearly 300 people, also dispersed quickly, focusing on the direction of the collapse area.

As for Jaynes at this moment, he continued to order: "Clone First to Third Companies, accompanied by Hellhounds and Reconnaissance Hunters, go to the collapsed area I marked for in-depth exploration to confirm the internal conditions of the dungeon and the source of the gunshots."

"learn-."

A hoarse and nasal reply was heard over the communication channel. At the same time, five hundred clone soldiers, who had been airborne and deployed in airdrop bays similar to large containers, advanced toward the collapsed area in an orderly manner in the form of tactical teams of six.

The Cerberus and Hunters, which were deployed in the same manner as the clone soldiers, rushed to the collapsed area first and carried out advance reconnaissance missions with extremely high efficiency.

The hundreds of hellhounds ran at an extremely fast speed, and in just a short moment, they completely disappeared from everyone's sight.

At this time, Jaynes and others could only observe the real-time movements of these "friendly forces" by slightly zooming in on the friendly force logos on the radar, indicating that the hellhounds were flexibly and quickly shuttling through the tunnels in the collapsed area.

After continuous improvement and upgrading by the Biological Department, these hellhounds can adapt to most extreme environments, such as highly toxic and high-radiation areas, and can even survive in a vacuum environment for more than ten minutes.

Compared to mechanical dogs, the biggest advantage of hellhounds is that their manufacturing cost is extremely cheap.

Even if thousands or even more are lost in a single operation, such a loss is still "harmless" to the huge biological department, because their breeding cycle is extremely short and they are truly "disposable assets."

Paired with the Cerberus are ten Hunters, which also serve as reconnaissance units.

The appearance design of these units draws on the basic structure of Hextech robots, but is more sharp and aggressive.

It is not large in size and looks like a six-legged spider robot, with its body lines presenting a cold, sharp geometric beauty.

They move almost silently and are good at moving in complex terrain. Unless you observe them carefully, it is difficult to detect their presence.

The unit that is most similar to it is the "terror robot" in the "Red Alert" universe.

The abdominal handle of this model of hunter is also equipped with a small "mother nest" device, which can release twenty magnetic levitation reconnaissance aircraft at the same time.

These smaller reconnaissance aircraft, although inexpensive, have powerful detection capabilities and can help draw detailed terrain maps, analyze enemy situations, and even mark the strength distribution of energy fluctuations.

The cooperation between the Hunter and the Cerberus is perfect, one life and one machine, one fast and one steady. The Cerberus explores the way and the Hunter makes maps, providing accurate reconnaissance support for follow-up troops while minimizing risks.

With these biological and mechanical reconnaissance units, ground forces do not have to worry about accidental casualties caused by unknown terrain or potential enemy situations.

What's more, even if an emergency occurs, the clone soldiers, who are all wearing "windbreaker" type fully enclosed combat uniforms and have strong adaptability and combat effectiveness, can also "block the knife" for these real humans.

Clone soldiers have also gone through many iterations, and they have long had the ability to "interact" with humans.

Their physical fitness is much stronger than that of ordinary people, and their loyalty is unquestionable, so they can be regarded as a solid barrier on the battlefield.

After all, the ultimate goal of the Biological Department's continuous updating and upgrading of clone soldiers is to allow real human soldiers to stand in safer command or fire support positions without taking high risks to detect the enemy situation.

Whether it is Hellhounds, Hunters, or Clones, their common role is a "low-cost, high-efficiency" suicide force.

The most important thing is that the "container-type" airdrop warehouse that carries them through the atmosphere is also a disposable consumable.

There is no need to consider overly complicated safety devices, just make sure there are buffer devices and thermal insulation protection.

Therefore, the Diana III stealth-class ship, which is "only" 3 meters in length, can "stuff" four such large containers into its airdrop dock and perform orbital ejection to the surface.

Soon, three companies of clone soldiers entered the crack tunnels in the collapsed area one after another.

And Janes used the authority he had to project the first-person view of the clone company commander onto the left side of his helmet screen, observing every move below in real time.

The screen showed that the crack tunnel was about five meters wide, with a rough rock structure, and had obviously undergone natural erosion and artificial transformation, with mottled cutting marks vaguely visible.

The clone troopers advanced steadily along the sloping rock steps, always alert to any threats that might suddenly appear around them.

The screen showed that the tunnel was about five meters wide and had rock steps leading directly downward.

As the efficient reconnaissance data from the Hellhound and the Hunter continued to be transmitted back, the preliminary outline of the dungeon entrance gradually appeared on Jaynes' tactical radar.

The fissure tunnel extends downward for about thirty meters and connects to a sizable "hub area".

Inside the hub area, a huge space is formed at the intersection of the tunnels, with an intricate network of passages distributed around it, radiating like a spider web and leading to unknown areas deeper underground.

Meanwhile, the Hunter's optical detectors sent back more crucial details.

The stone walls and ground of the hub area were covered with scorch marks from plasma weapons, and signs of residual temperature indicated that these marks were formed not long ago.

In addition, the needle-shaped crystal bullets inserted into the rock wall flashed a faint pink light, and their material properties and energy fluctuations clearly showed that they were weapons and equipment belonging to the Covenant's technological system.

What is even more striking is that the Hellhounds and Hunters also discovered large bloodstains, with colors ranging from "common" red and purple to rare dark green, as if some large-scale conflict had just ended.

The bloodstains were scattered everywhere, and the dripping tracks showed the chaotic process of the battle.

Moreover, through the analysis of blood samples conducted by hunters, it was preliminarily confirmed that the creatures involved in the battle included members of the Covenant such as Jackals and Jiralhanae, but the dark green blood came from an unknown species.

What's even more strange is that no bodies were found in the entire hub area, only remaining traces of battle and scattered bloodstains, as if the battlefield had been quickly cleared.

At this time, the hellhound's enhanced sense of smell began to take effect, sniffing the remaining smells in the air, trying to restore more details of the battle.

The hunters, on the other hand, expanded their reconnaissance range and released a large number of small magnetic levitation reconnaissance aircraft to scan the environment and traces of the hub area from different angles.

Some reconnaissance aircraft followed the trail of blood and traces of battle, trying to track potential targets or even the whereabouts of the disappeared bodies.

In order to ensure the efficiency of reconnaissance, the Hellhounds dispersed into small teams and advanced in different directions through narrow passages.

These biological units demonstrate extraordinary adaptability and mobility, easily crossing steep slopes or narrow gaps.

The hunter advanced along the path discovered by the hellhound, providing it with more detailed environmental data, while continuing to use spectral scanners and energy detectors to search for possible hidden entrances to the dungeon.

"."

Faced with this series of abnormal phenomena, Jaynes' expression became more and more solemn.

Through analyzing the intelligence currently obtained, he realized that the situation here was far more complicated than expected.

The remnants of the Star Alliance,

Unknown species,

The missing bodies, as well as the traces of blood and weapons, all hint at a recent battle, which may have involved unusual forces.

The legendary chaos?

After his good friend Rod Hoyneld retired, Jaynes continued to fight for Atlas and even confronted the Flood head-on in the Halo universe.

So the first thought that came to my mind when I saw the dark green blood was the Flood.

However, the hunter-killer analysis data gave a completely different result.

The biological characteristics of the bloodstains were classified as "unknown" and could not be matched to any known life form in the existing database of the Biological Department.

Theoretically, if the bloodstains really belong to the Flood, even if it has mutated or evolved, the core characteristics of its cell structure, namely the super-microstructure (FSC), must be retained.

After all, the reason why the Flood can become a Zerg species that is extremely threatening and even capable of destroying the entire galactic civilization is because of the FSC that the Biological Department has not been able to decipher so far.

But the current results show that the possibility of the Flood has been directly ruled out.

In this case, what exactly are the mysterious species that are engaging in firefights with the remnants of the Covenant or interstellar pirates in the hub area?

Jaynes immediately turned the focus of his speculation to the possibility of "heresy".

According to the archives provided by the Inquisition, these individuals usually refer to creatures and groups that have been corrupted by the evil gods of chaos or have mutated.

The dungeons where the remnants of the Covenant and interstellar pirates gather may even become a breeding ground for these heretical creatures if they are polluted by Chaos for a long time.

However, as an elite veteran, although Jaynes has experienced countless battlefields, he has never directly confronted the forces of Chaos.

Beep——!

Just as Jaynes was analyzing the current situation, a sharp alarm suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Immediately, the latest footage from the scout hunter flashed on the helmet screen—

The hunter released a small reconnaissance plane and captured the chilling scene.

In the picture, a group of twisted and weird ghost-faced beasts and jackals were dragging the corpses of their own kind and moving quickly deep underground.

Their bodies are extremely irregular, and their armor seems to have been squeezed and deformed under the pressure of excessive expansion. Their bones and joints have also lost their normal support. However, even though their steps are sometimes staggering and sometimes shaking, they still maintain a relatively fast speed.

What is most disturbing is that even though their combat uniforms and armor have been torn, exposing fragmented skin and muscle tissue, these severely deformed guys are still able to survive in extreme environments, as if they no longer need sealed equipment to fight against the low temperature, low oxygen and low pressure atmospheric environment.

Witnessing this scene, Jaynes instantly realized that the dark green blood came from the group of deformed ghost-faced beasts and werewolves.

Then, he immediately shared the video footage captured by the small reconnaissance plane with the agent who still needed ten minutes to land.

Just after the video transmission was completed, within a few seconds, a reply from an agent came over the communication channel. It was heard:

"Colonel Thompson! Those guys are highly contagious! Inform the troops to keep a distance from them and not engage in close-range fire!"