1RomanceEB Chapter 10 The Out-of-Control Crystal Rock Man
Chapter 10 The Out-of-Control Crystal Rock Man
When they gathered, Cheng Xu noticed that Director Hu's gaze kept glancing at him, intentionally or unintentionally.
"Director, is there something on my face?"
Hu Zhou shook his head, concealing the turmoil in his mind:
"No. This is your first time participating in an interstellar mission, and I'm a little worried. After landing on Golun, stay close to me."
"Understood." Cheng Xu nodded.
Their transport ship was currently hovering in near-Earth orbit around the planet Golun. Looking down through the porthole, colorful crystalline rocks covered every inch of the planet's landmass.
"Old Hu, Little Cheng, it's your turn!"
Tang Shutong, the director of the logistics support department, stood by a cabin door and waved to the two of them.
The humanoid mechanical assistant behind him took small, quick steps and handed a thick protective suit to Cheng Xu.
By analyzing the data transmitted back before and after the Nightshade-class spacecraft crash, the branch's technicians conducted simulations and assessments throughout the night, and ultimately selected the "Star Debris Barrier" protective suit as the standard operational equipment.
This advanced combat protective suit, constructed with multi-layered heterogeneous armor to create a protective barrier, can effectively cope with scenarios such as strong magnetic fields, strong radiation, high gravity, and extreme temperatures.
The protective suit was originally designed to protect operators while they investigate and search among the remains of planets, hence the name "Star Debris Barrier".
With the assistance of a mechanical assistant, Cheng Xu drilled into the stellar barrier, triggering an automatic sensor that began to conform to his skin.
Countless tiny mechanical devices operate inside the protective suit, gradually shrinking the bulky suit until it is compressed to the thickness of an ordinary cotton coat.
Cheng Xu tried moving his hands and feet, and apart from being slightly slower, there was no difference from when he wasn't wearing the protective suit.
"Thank you for your help, Director Tang. Xiao Cheng, let's get into the airdrop capsule."
Given the current condition of Golun, the Whale-class transport spacecraft will remain in low Earth orbit to provide remote support to ground personnel.
Therefore, if the operators want to reach the surface of Golun, they need to use the drop pod inside the spaceship to be dropped onto the planet below.
The airdrop capsule is similar in structure to the boarding capsule used when traveling on a spaceship, but it is larger and contains various supplies that can sustain the two people's basic survival needs for three months.
Ten minutes later, the airdrop capsule carrying Cheng Xu and Hu Zhou was launched from the transport ship, leaving a trail of flame in space.
As it approached the ground, the anti-gravity device activated, and the airdrop capsule landed safely at the designated location.
But as the two were about to exit the cabin, they discovered that something was wrong.
After successfully landing, Cheng Xu wanted to report to the transport ship, but no matter how he called, he could not get a response.
It maintained normal communication frequencies during its descent, but now it has simply disappeared.
This means that they lost contact with the whale transport ship as soon as they landed.
Fortunately, the landing points of all the airdrop pods were pre-calculated and not far apart.
While Cheng Xu and Hu Zhou were still trying to debug the equipment, knocking sounds came from outside the cabin door. The rhythm of the knocking matched the pre-arranged code.
Through the observation hole, Hu Zhou saw familiar faces: "It's Director Wen and the others."
The hatch opened, and Dai Shan, who was following behind Wen Mu, saw the two people inside the airdrop pod and hurriedly asked on Wen Mu's behalf:
"Director Hu, is there also a problem with your communication frequency band?"
Hu Zhou and Cheng Xu exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.
"Ours too! It seems this isn't an isolated case, but rather all communications are down."
Hu Zhou frowned: "The communication equipment we're using this time has anti-interference measures. If it still doesn't work, it might be related to the Crystal Rock Tomb."
Cheng Xu's viewpoint is consistent with Hu Zhou's.
Only the effects of an anomaly can disregard such specialized equipment and cause a complete communication failure.
But what is the underlying principle? Besides communication, what other things have been affected?
"Regardless, as previously agreed, if remote communication is affected, we should head to Valley Thirteen as soon as possible to rendezvous with the others."
Hu Zhou remained calm. This unexpected situation was within the branch office's expectations.
When Fu Chen was explaining the map, he had already emphasized the location of the group's base camp after landing.
Valley Thirteen is a flat plain surrounded by mountains on the planet Golun. The terrain is flat and it is not far from the original facilities on Golun, making it an excellent place for temporary encampment.
The airdrop pod landed right next to Valley Thirteen. Following the map, the group of five crossed the crystal rocks and soon arrived at the edge of the valley.
At this moment, in the very center of the valley, stood a metal sphere as tall as a several-story building.
This is why the airdrop pods weren't dropped all at once into the valley—enough space needed to be made for this metal sphere.
The surface of the metal sphere rippled like ocean waves, and then, under the watchful eyes of the group, it began to decompose and expand, constructing a flat ground and walls, dividing the space into individual rooms.
Cheng Xu had heard long ago that this was also one of the facilities carried by the Administration Bureau, which was airdropped from the transport ship and automatically constructed a solid metal barrier.
During the mission, this fortress will serve as the base for all personnel, a safe haven, and a base for researching the anomalies of the Crystal Tomb.
The personnel who had just landed on Golun Star from the spaceship gathered from all directions and entered the self-constructed metal barrier.
After putting down their luggage in their small rooms, without even a moment's rest, everyone was immediately summoned to the top of the metal fortress for a meeting.
With communication completely lost, another contingency plan was automatically activated. The team's next objective will be to open up a passage and rescue survivors as much as possible.
Several directors gathered together to determine the next course of action.
Boom, boom, boom...
Cheng Xu faintly heard a muffled sound, and the entire fortress seemed to be shaking very slightly.
"Did you hear anything?"
Sitting next to him, Dai Shan spoke up, confirming to Cheng Xu that the commotion he had noticed was not an illusion.
Dai Chuan stood up, his face pressed against the observation window of the rampart: "It seems to be coming from this direction..."
The next second, his expression froze, and he shakily stretched out his finger, pointing outside.
Something's coming!
The temporary meeting room fell silent for a moment as everyone turned to look at Dai Chuan.
Hu Zhou, Fu Chen, Xue Zijing and others reacted the fastest, rushing to the observation window and seeing a huge figure outside the valley attacking the fortress.
"That's... the Crystal Rock Clan!"
Its appearance is exactly the same as that of the Crystal Rock Clan stone figures seen in the previous demonstration.
"Old Fu, let's go deal with it!"
Xue Zijing rushed out the door, with Fu Chen following closely behind.
Seeing the Crystal Stone Man marching straight toward the barrier, no one would assume it was just there to greet them.
The temperature on Golun Star was significantly higher than that on Chengming Star. Even with the protective suits, everyone still broke out in a fine layer of cold sweat.
Upon closer inspection, the oppressive feeling emanating from the Crystal Stone Man is completely different from that of the All-System Projection.
If it gets close, a single punch from the stone golem could absolutely smash flesh and blood into a bursting bag of tomato sauce.
The exoskeleton prepared for the Special Operations Unit was not far from the metal barrier. Xue Zijing and Fu Chen ran downstairs and jumped into the cabin behind the exoskeleton.
The moment Cheng Xu saw the machine start moving, his eyes lit up.
The design of the machine is mainly based on the human body structure. When it stands up, it looks like a giant robot.
The machine is about 3 meters tall, only slightly shorter than the stone man.
Its upper body is shaped like an inverted triangle, while its lower limbs are slender and powerful. Its entire body is covered in jet-black armor, without a single blemish, as if it can even absorb light.
It was clear that Xue Zijing and Fu Chen were quite skilled at controlling the mechs. The two mechs had only just started up when they were already in position, facing the Crystal Rock Man from the left and right.
The high-energy laser swords shot out from the weapon slots in both hands, touched the rocks beneath them, and almost instantly burned them into flowing lava.
"superior!"
Inside the machine, Xue Zijing looked excited.
As long as they are prepared, dealing with the stone golem in front of them will be a piece of cake.
The recovery of the Crystal Clan remains is a crucial part of the branch office's plan.
As the cause and outward manifestation of the Crystal Tomb, the abnormal changes are very likely to be reflected in these stone figures.
He never expected that stone men would come knocking on their door so soon after they landed on Golun Star.
"Don't break it into too many pieces," Fu Chen reminded Xue Zijing.
"Okay, okay, I got it."
Xue Zijing gave a perfunctory reply, and the crystal rock man in front of him was already close at hand, swinging his thick rock arm at him.
Blue flames burst from the exoskeleton joints as the machine nimbly slid to the side to dodge.
The ground exploded with a roar, the rocky arm smashed a spiderweb-like crater, and flying debris clattered against the mech's shoulder armor.
"Wow, that's really strong."
If that impact had been solid, even with the machine's shock absorption protection, Xue Zijing would probably have coughed up blood.
"Lock its joints!"
With a spin, the laser sword increased its power and extended its blade, piercing the stone golem's elbow joint before it could retract its force.
The high-energy saw blades rubbed against the minerals, creating blinding sparks and spraying rock dust. The stone golem let out a low, rumbling roar, and blood-like lava seeped from the cracks, wisps of smoke rising from where it dripped.
The injured crystal rock man suddenly spun around, his giant arm sweeping out an arc like a meteorite.
But how could Xue Zijing, a veteran of countless battles, possibly give it a chance to retaliate? With another nimble dodge, he narrowly avoided the powerful blow.
"Just a fool, nothing to worry about."
Xue Zijing burst into laughter.
Fu Chen wasn't idle either. While Xue Zijing was attracting the attention of the Crystal Rock Man, his left shoulder opened, and a nozzle-like cannon barrel extended from it.
The fire button was pressed, and a hissing sound filled the stone man's entire back with a -196°C stream of liquid nitrogen.
A crisp cracking sound, like firecrackers, rang out, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the rocky shell of the stone figure.
He then moved across the machine's forearm, the exoskeleton unfolded, and three more pulsed magnetic field vibrations were ejected, bombarding the area frozen by liquid nitrogen.
"Click click click..."
A large section of the rocky outer shell was completely shattered, and colorful fragments of ore fell to the ground.
The onlookers breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
No one present was stupid; they all possessed basic discernment.
They could see that, under the combined attack of Xue Zijing and Fu Chen, the Crystal Rock Man was like a piece of meat on a chopping board, completely at their mercy.
Especially after the combo attack, the Crystal Rock Golem's movements slowed down considerably, making it even harder for him to pose a threat to the two.
A few minutes later, the laser sword sliced the crystal rock man in half, turning him into crystal rock blocks of varying sizes.
Something's not right.
Hu Zhou whispered to Cheng Xu.
"Hmm? Is there a problem?" Cheng Xu turned to look at the director.
"The battle went smoothly. Xue and Fu are both formidable opponents, and with the exoskeleton, they were more than capable of dealing with this stone golem."
Hu Zhou didn't keep Cheng Xu in suspense and answered his question:
"But this crystal rock human's condition... is very wrong."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Xu immediately realized what he meant and recalled a piece of information related to the Tomb of Crystal Rock.
Under normal and stable conditions, the threat posed by the Crystal Stone People is almost zero. They will maintain their daily routines as they did in life, and will not be attacked as long as they are not provoked.
But the shattered crystal rock man in front of them was different.
It came to us aggressively, with a very clear objective.
If an ordinary person had been standing on Valley Thirteen just now, they would probably have had to run faster than the Crystal Rock Man to escape.
"Did the anomaly in the Crystal Rock Tomb really affect the movement mechanism of the Crystal Rock Clan remains?"
Cui Tang walked to Hu Zhou's side, frowning.
Looking at her expression, Cheng Xu immediately thought of something deeper.
Even the Crystal Rock People they encountered by chance were like this, so how many Crystal Rock Remains on the entire planet would actively launch an attack?
Could those people who were originally on Golun Star survive the onslaught of these stone golems?
It's important to know that in certain areas, the density of Crystal Rock People is far greater than in desolate wilderness areas like Valley Thirteen.
What is the current situation in those areas?
"It seems we need to intensify our research. Hopefully, we can glean something from the crystal rock remains."
Cui Tang looked at Hu Zhou.
Hu Zhou rubbed his cheek: "Let's hope so. To date, we know almost nothing about the changes in the Crystal Rock Tomb."
Just as everyone was about to approach the Crystal Stone Man to begin their research, the two exoskeleton machines simultaneously made a "wait a moment" gesture.
Xue Zijing and Fu Chen jumped off the machine.
"The exoskeleton contains communication signals!"
Only after the battle did they belatedly realize that they had been able to communicate through the machine's built-in communication facilities during the operation.
Realizing this, the two immediately contacted the Whale-class transport ship and successfully made contact with the anxious personnel stationed on the ship.
Why is that?
Being able to re-establish contact with the outer reaches of the planet Golun is undoubtedly a joyous and wonderful thing.
But soon, new questions arose in everyone's minds.
Why is it that only the exoskeleton has the function of communication, while other communication methods are blocked?
"It's silicon."
A calm voice sounded from behind. Wen Mu walked past the crowd and stood beside Xue and Fu.