Before Liu Hai's plan could be implemented, Stallone's team had already made a discovery—though it wasn't a pleasant one.
"Open fire! Three moving shadows spotted at three o'clock! Armed robots, suppress with firepower! Tear them apart with the Electromagnetic Gatling Cannons!"
The leader of Team One had just been preparing to withdraw from the side passage of the space station when three dark figures abruptly appeared, charging straight toward the retreating Clone Soldier squad.
Fortunately, the Clone Soldiers were highly alert. The rear guard squad leader noticed the anomaly immediately and ordered two armed robots to execute a saturation attack.
Inside the space station, as the squad leader's command was issued, the twin-barreled Electromagnetic Rapid-fire Cannons on the backs of the two armed robots spat out a torrent of metal pellets. The barrage, interspersed with tracer rounds, illuminated the passageway like a bright light source.
"Team One, fall back and maintain a safe distance! Armed robots, deploy Concussion Grenades—full corridor saturation!"
Seeing the three shadowy figures advancing leisurely through the hail of electromagnetic fire, closing to within 300 meters of the squad in mere seconds, the squad leader decisively ordered his team to retreat and widen the gap while the armed robots launched Concussion Grenades.
Simultaneously, partial verification data on the shadow creatures had been transmitted to the research team aboard the fleet for analysis, in hopes of quickly identifying their weaknesses for targeted strikes.
The armed robots unfolded panels on their sides, revealing four cannon ports. Three consecutive volleys launched a total of twenty-four Concussion Grenades.
These disposable weapons, specially designed for vacuum conditions, flashed with an intense white light before distorting the surrounding space. A powerful compressive force instantly engulfed the entire metal corridor, warping and deforming the walls under the pressure.
The shadow creatures came to a halt under this force, faint cries seeming to echo—yet their true forms remained obscured, still shrouded in a dark mist.
"Switch to Plasma Weapons," the squad leader commanded again.
The Plasma Cannons mounted on the shoulders of Team One's members had already been charged and ready to fire. Upon receiving the order, they unleashed their payload instantly, sending superheated Plasma Orbs—reaching temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius—seamlessly following the Concussion Grenades' aftermath.
Three consecutive Plasma Orbs struck, scorching the metal walls red-hot and melting the impact points into molten metal.
Under the searing plasma assault, part of the dark mist surrounding the creatures dissipated briefly, revealing what appeared to be crystalline bodies for the briefest moment before the shadows cloaked them again.
The wounded shadow creatures swayed, attempting to retreat and distance themselves from the dangerous Clone Soldiers.
"Quick! Keep firing Plasma Orbs!"
Seeing the effectiveness of the high-temperature Plasma Orbs, the squad leader eagerly ordered another volley. However, without the Concussion Grenades to hinder them, the shadow creatures' astonishing speed allowed them to evade all incoming fire effortlessly.
"Hurry! Deploy another round of Concussion Grenades to pin them down! Prepare the Force Field Cage—we're capturing them alive!"
Stallone, who had rushed to the scene upon receiving the report, was thrilled. Other squads entering the space station had also encountered attacks from the shadow creatures, with two Clone Soldiers even sustaining severe injuries.
Now that there was a chance to capture one alive, Stallone was beyond excited. Joining the fray with Team One, he quickly devised a capture plan.
As Stallone arrived in the space station corridor with Team One, their firepower doubled. Under the continuous suppression of concussion grenades, the shadowy creatures were repeatedly struck by high-temperature plasma orbs.
The hit shadow creatures rapidly exhausted the black smoke surrounding them, revealing enlarged single-celled organism-like forms with severe crystallization. Their outer skins became charred under the plasma orb attacks, yet while their mobility was restricted, their movement showed no signs of weakening.
With the Clone Soldiers fighting hard to buy time, two of them quickly equipped four drones with force field generators and launched them immediately after installation.
The two Clone Soldiers piloted the drones along the ceiling of the corridor, avoiding the concussion grenades as much as possible. Upon reaching their targets, four force fields formed spherical cages, trapping all three creatures before compressing the internal space.
Unwilling to be confined, the shadow creatures thrashed violently, causing the force fields to tremble precariously. The drones immediately switched to full power output, barely stabilizing the fields.
Seeing the drones succeed in trapping the creatures, Stallone rushed forward. "Quick! Establish force field cages and stabilize them with energy output!"
"Link with the combat mechs for remote energy transfer! Have the warship deliver three independent cages—now! The current energy won't last long."
Stallone's assessment was correct. After failing to break through the force fields on their first attempt, the shadow creatures began attacking them relentlessly. The drones' energy reserves plummeted, nearly depleting within seconds.
Fortunately, the mechs patrolling nearby reacted swiftly. Following Stallone's orders, they quickly reached the corridor and channeled their energy directly into the drones, stabilizing the force fields.
The arriving Clone Soldiers also deployed their force field devices, combining several units to isolate each shadow creature separately.
Without delay, Stallone's team carried the force field cages straight toward the breach. The alerted landing craft had already begun preparations to receive the cages.
With additional mechs arriving to supply energy, the fully stabilized force field cages barely budged no matter how hard the creatures struggled. Stallone's team successfully loaded them into the landing craft's hold, where the craft's binding force fields took over containment.
Liu Hai and his team, who had watched the entire capture process, eagerly awaited the arrival of the shadow creatures. The biology researchers had already begun preparing their experimental equipment.
Every scientist aware of the discovery was intensely curious about these rare creatures capable of evading radar detection—an undocumented species in their records. If they could decipher their principles and develop corresponding technology, both Liu Hai's coffers and their salaries would skyrocket.
Several hours later, a cruiser and three corvettes successfully rejoined the fleet. A landing craft carrying the three shadow creatures docked inside a transport ship.
The new laboratory, located in Transport Ship Two, had been converted from a repurposed fighter jet hangar. Most of the experimental equipment was manufactured on-site by Liu Hai's Pyramid Core, though its technological sophistication still lagged behind that of the Federation's home systems.
However, this gap is no longer considered a disadvantage when tens of thousands of light-years away from the Federation—instead, it appears quite impressive.
After all, providing such high-quality research equipment for scientists within a combat-focused fleet already exceeds the capabilities of most Pioneers.
Liu Hai, leveraging this advantage highlighted by his peers, won the hearts of the research team.
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