Inside the storeroom;
Thud—thud—!
Plop, plop!
A series of dull impacts echoed in the dim space, and shortly afterward, two heavy sounds of bodies hitting the metal floor were heard.
Two assault troopers, as if struck by a wild beast, fell hard to the ground; their vision blurred and consciousness quickly faded.
They clearly had not expected that the security-type robot K-2SO, which had been silent and seemingly inconspicuous, would suddenly launch such a fierce attack.
Its fists, like steel hammers, struck the heads of the two troopers; in just a moment, both lost all ability to resist, collapsing onto the cold floor into a state of unconsciousness, unable to move even an inch.
"Oh? Was that a bit too forceful?"
Seeing that the two assault troopers were completely motionless, K-2SO glanced at "his" fists.
But David, also in the storeroom, paid no heed to K-2SO's teasing.
He quickly deactivated his optical camouflage, then removed his combat suit with swift, decisive movements.
Next, David deployed his prosthetic left arm, using the built-in tools to begin dismantling the armor of the two assault troopers, preparing to remove their power suits.
His gaze was calm and focused, long shed of the naivety and confusion of earlier times, as he deftly manipulated the complex prosthetic equipment—clearly, these small tasks were no challenge for him.
Meanwhile, outside the storeroom:
"What on earth is happening?"
"Why haven't they come out yet?"
"Could there be a problem?"
The remaining three patrol team members began to notice something was amiss. They instinctively sensed an unusual atmosphere in the air, though none could pinpoint the exact problem at that moment.
The leader of the patrol group, his expression already furrowed beneath his helmet, grew increasingly uneasy as the two team members who had entered the storeroom failed to respond.
In this highly alert area, any irregularity could signal the approach of danger.
And as time passed, the doubts of the group leader and the remaining two members deepened further.
Adhering to the principle of "better safe than sorry," they believed that rashly entering the storeroom might lead to a spy's ambush.
Thus, the patrol leader immediately decided to report the anomaly to higher command.
However, before he could transmit any message, an unexpected event occurred—
Thud—thud!
After several dull sounds, the leader felt a violent impact strike the back of his helmet. Immediately, a searing pain shot through his head, his vision blacked out, and he nearly lost control of his body.
The two troopers beside him also lost consciousness in an instant, collapsing as weakly as stalks of straw.
These three assault troopers had never imagined that, although there was no living thing around except for a security robot, they would still be ambushed by an "invisible" spy.
Until their consciousness faded away, it was clear that their opponent was not someone to be underestimated.
However, these three troopers did not collapse immediately as expected; instead, their bodies stiffened and became uncoordinated, as if controlled by some invisible force.
Their legs began to move in a strange manner; their steps were no longer smooth, as if they were puppets with strings being pulled, beginning to "walk" toward the storeroom.
?
None of this followed conventional patterns, prompting the security robot standing nearby to quickly sense that something was wrong.
Its sensors rapidly began to analyze, attempting to determine the cause behind this series of actions.
Yet, just as it prepared to record this bizarre situation, another "accident" occurred.
Almost instantly, K-2SO's vision blurred, and then its sensor system completely malfunctioned.
The robot's cold electronic eyes instantly lost their luster, and the entire system seemed to crash; its mechanical limbs began to droop helplessly, unable to execute any further commands.
The surrounding air appeared to fall silent, and all electronic devices seemed to have been instantly overtaken by some powerful interference, plunging the entire environment into an uneasy hush.
In fact, all of this stemmed from Lucy's incredible "hacker" abilities.
She did not interfere violently with the machines; instead, she cleverly accessed the enemy system through wireless signals, precisely locking onto the security robot's core processor.
With her commands transmitted, the robot's processor instantly overloaded, causing a severe short circuit, which led to a complete collapse of its internal circuitry and a total "shutdown."
The robot's movements ceased immediately; its optical sensors also went dark, and its massive metal body stiffened in an instant.
However, Lucy's abilities did not end there.
After the robot's system fell into paralysis, she used the special design of her own prosthetics to maintain a wireless connection with the robot, successfully bypassing its core control system and reactivating it.
She did not restore its original combat or alert mode; instead, she turned it into a temporary puppet, causing its stiff mechanical arms to start moving and gradually approach the storeroom.
As for Ryan, Chirrut Îmwe, and Baze Malbus, they took advantage of their optical camouflage to silently approach the three previously attacked troopers.
Even if the opponents had been somewhat alert, they failed to notice the impending crisis.
Ryan delivered a precise elbow strike that forcefully impacted the leader's helmet, quickly rendering him unconscious, while Chirrut and Baze each took care of the other two assault troopers.
In a mere instant, the three troopers were knocked out, as if a precise storm had silently swept through.
Then, they hoisted the three troopers and carried them toward the storeroom.
Before long.
A patrol team composed of five "assault troopers" and one "security-type robot" returned to their posts, resuming patrol away from the docking bay.
To the outside world, this patrol team continued their routine tasks in the area just as usual.
Soon.
They arrived at a spacious transfer zone.
This was one of the core hubs among the 12 sectors of the lower hemisphere of the Death Star, bustling with activities from all sides.
On the platform, multiple complexly intertwined elevators crisscrossed, and huge metal gates occasionally emitted heavy sounds as they slowly opened or closed with the comings and goings of people.
Several patrol teams moved about the area, alternating their rounds nonchalantly; among them were members of Ryan's patrol team.
Besides the patrolling team members, engineers could often be seen.
Dressed in standard engineering uniforms, they busily went about their work with heads down, carrying various equipment and occasionally exchanging brief instructions or discussing issues with nearby staff.
Amid the chaotic atmosphere, a few small, black box-like "toy cars" could be seen gliding across the metal floor, emitting faint "beep beep" sounds as they unhurriedly followed behind the patrol teams or engineers, as if carrying out some automated task.
Their distinctive "gait" stood out in this busy area, yet they did not attract too much attention.
The official name for this "small box" is the MSE-6 series universal robot.
These small robots typically work alongside the fleet, and each can switch or add various capabilities, though their functions remain singular.
Their duties and skills include cleaning, security, communication, basic repairs, etc., and multiple MSE-6 units can connect end-to-end to form a tiny, multifunctional robot chain.
Most importantly, these "little fellows" have a strong sense of self-preservation; once danger is encountered, they will immediately scurry away.
Thus, they can also be referred to as "rats," representing one of the most iconic robots in the Star Wars universe.
At this moment, Ryan and his team silently moved through the bustling crowd, as if completely merging with the busy space.
The surrounding workers did not pay them much attention; only a few occasional glances were cast at these hurried figures, and they adeptly avoided any unnecessary attention.
As they advanced, they arrived at a quiet elevator waiting area, where the light was soft and the metal floor reflected a faint gleam.
"Newest update: The latest release from '6-9 Book' has just been announced!"
Ryan calmly pressed the call button.
Ding~!
After the crisp prompt sounded, the security gate slowly opened.
Then, the five of them and K-2SO stepped into the elevator in succession, moving briskly without a hint of slack.
At that moment, an engineer hurried over, clearly intending to join them.
However, Baze reacted swiftly without hesitation, extending his hand to block the engineer, casually indicating that their patrol mission was far more urgent.
The engineer pursed his lips in displeasure and cast a glance at the group beside him, evidently dissatisfied with the sudden rebuff.
Nonetheless, the engineer knew he was no match for this team, so he reluctantly turned and quickly walked toward another elevator.
As the security gate closed once more and the elevator began its low, humming ascent, it carried them quickly upward toward the mid-level of Sector 7 in the lower hemisphere of the Death Star.
Inside the elevator, the lighting remained steady, as if this small space were unaffected by any changes outside.
At that moment, Ryan and his team were exchanging information via the communication system in their helmets.
On the communication channel, the voices were compressed to a minimum to avoid any unnecessary interference.
And in Ryan's view, the individual soldier system screen for the assault troopers—much like the helmet screen of the main universe—displayed real-time data and information, providing him with various key details.
For example, in the top left of the screen, a miniature radar displayed a simplified image of the surrounding area, differentiating various target positions and potential threats.
On the right side of the screen, his current status data was shown, such as heart rate, body temperature, air supply, and equipment operational status.
More importantly, thanks to Lucy's ingenious manipulation, their identity information perfectly matched that of the original owner of this equipment.
Every piece of data and every signal had been meticulously adjusted; even the voiceprint system had been subtly altered under her modifications.
When Ryan spoke, his voice was indistinguishable from that of the equipment's original owner. In theory, unless subjected to extremely detailed analysis and verification, conventional detection systems would be unable to discern their true identity.
At that moment, the voice coming through the internal communication was Lucy's—calm and clear:
"Director Kennedy, we are about to arrive at the floor where the main control room of Sector 7 is located. In theory, with our current identity and clearance, we should not have access to this area."
Her tone was unwavering, as if this were merely a routine report.
"However, I have already modified our access permissions in the system to ensure we can proceed smoothly. As long as our immediate superior in this patrol team has not detected any anomalies, we will have a complete window of action for the next five minutes."
Ryan nodded as he listened to Lucy's instructions.
At the center of his helmet screen, a simplified blueprint of the main control room floor in Sector 7 was displayed.
The edges of the blueprint were highlighted, showing the exact location of the control room and their planned route.
Every path had been precisely calculated by Lucy, guiding them through the complex facility while avoiding any potentially alert zones.
After listening to Lucy's report and seeing the route she provided, Ryan felt immense satisfaction with this young subordinate.
As an experienced investigator, Ryan well understood the significant advantage that a top-tier hacker like Lucy could bring to the team.
With her assistance, what used to be a challenging and arduous stealth mission now became much easier and more precise.
Ryan couldn't help but reflect that previous infiltration and penetration missions were always fraught with risks and uncertainties, exuding endless hardship and bitterness.
Now, it seemed that simply hacking into the enemy's operating system could resolve all difficulties.
He quickly organized his thoughts, summarizing the action plan forming in his mind, and then, over the internal communication, stated:
"Five minutes is enough. The 1st, 2nd, and 6th squads of the Special Forces have already trailed behind us, ready to provide support at any moment."
He paused briefly before continuing, "Once we are exposed, we will immediately launch an assault on the main control room in Sector 7, aiming to seize control of the core command system there in the shortest time possible.
Moreover, the main force of the Blood Raven Company, led by the original entity, is about to arrive, which will provide us with the strongest cover. No matter how the enemy reacts, we will have sufficient strength to hold this position.
Also—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Ryan turned his gaze toward Chirrut not far away.
With complete trust, he whispered, "Mr. Îmwe, according to the intelligence from Captain Gabriel, Darth Vader has already led half of the fleet into hyperspace, temporarily evading their monitoring range."
At this point, Ryan's voice carried a hint of gravity as he continued, "So, I would like to know: Are there any Sith warriors within the Death Star who can control the Force? Their presence would pose a tremendous threat to our operation."
After Ryan finished speaking, everyone fell silent, waiting quietly for Chirrut's reply.
Because everyone knew that any information regarding enemies inside the Death Star would directly determine the subsequent operational strategy, especially intelligence concerning Sith warriors.
After all, even someone as formidable as Gabriel Angelos had been suppressed by Darth Vader.
Should they encounter any Sith warriors, the probability of mission failure would skyrocket.
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