âThis is the C134 observatory. Everything in the observation area is normal.â
âPlease continue to monitor and report the situation every ten minutes.â
âReceived...â
After closing the communication channel, Osmond cursed as he leaned back in the office chair, âAre these guys in the headquarters crazy? Report every ten minutes? Report what? Is there any point in doing this?â
Seeing how his colleague was upset, Rohard, who was sitting next to him, comforted him.
âMaybe there is an emergency... Letâs take turns, I will report in 10 minutes.â
This was a mining station located at the inner edge of the asteroid belt.
In addition to the production of iron ore, there was a more important task assigned here. The task was to monitor the movement of the Lagrange Space Base and the Pan-Asian First Fleet and provide intelligence support to those ârighteous menâ active in the asteroid belt.
However, even if each of them had a strong sense of mission and honor for their work, this sense of mission and honor had a limit.
Wasting their life alone in the middle of nowhere, even a man with a revolutionary spirit would inevitably feel meaningless.
Moreover, their revolutionary spirit wasnât that strong.
Just as Osmond was thinking about how to write the report in 20 minutes, the green dot on the radar screen of the observatory suddenly fluctuated.
Noticing this change, he immediately operated the space stationâs No.1 telescope and pointed it at the Lagrange Space Base.
He saw the hatch of berth 17 open, and a bright silver spaceship slowly emerged from it.
His pupils contracted. He immediately sat upright on the chair, reached out his hand to the colleague sitting next to him, and pointed to the holographic screen on the console.
âLook, there is movement over there, the Qinling has left the berth.â
Upon hearing these words, Rohard suddenly became energetic. His eyes were firmly locked on the console.
âRecord its flight course!â
âI am! Sh*t, thereâs no point.â
Osmond slammed his fist against the arm of the chair.
Had it not been for the seat belt, his punch would be enough to make him float up from the chair and hit the ceiling.
Sitting next to him, Rohardâs eyebrows were tightly furrowed. He muttered to himself as he looked at the starship that had disappeared from the radar.
âWarp speed technology? Such a convenient thing.â
When he said this, an expression of envy appeared on his face.
It would be great if they also had such technology.
If they could master faster than light technology, they could build a fleet that could dominate the solar system with their powerful industrial capabilities in less than a month. They could complete the great cause of âbuilding a country that belongs to the Martiansâ.
âIt is convenient... Apparently, it only takes 5 minutes to go from the Earth-Moon system to Mars.â
âWhat do you think they are dispatching for?â
âGod knows what they want to do.â Osmond said, shaking his head, âI guess itâs to test the equipment. They seem to be doing tests recently.â
This answer did not make Rohard feel relieved.
Intuition told him that things should not be that simple.
However, intuition was just intuition. Although he felt something was wrong, he couldnât tell exactly what was wrong?
After saying âmaybeâ, he reached out and pressed the button requesting communication. He connected to the command center, intending to report the abnormality.
At this moment, a change happened.
Several berth hatches of the Lagrange Space Base suddenly opened together. Under the shining glow of the plasma engines, majestic starships slowly sailed out.
Both Rohard and Osmond had their eyes wide open.
They recognized every single starship on the screen.
However, the last time they were all dispatched was because of the robot rebellion a year ago...
âThis is the command center. The communication request has been received... What happened?â
The two didnât speak for a long time. The other end of the communication channel was obviously a little impatient.
Recovered from the shock, Rohard stammered and spoke with a trembling voice.
âHuashan and Taishan... Itâs the aircraft battle group of the First Fleet! There are 20 starships in total... They are heading to Mars!â
Upon hearing this report, there was a brief silence in the communication channel for a few seconds.
Immediately after a series of commotions, the voice of the liaison officer sitting there sounded panic.
âAircraft battle group? Are you sure you saw it right? Wait a minute... Isnât the time for military exercises next month? How come it has been advanced?â
Osmond finally couldnât help but explode.
âF*ck knows!â
The strongest fleet of the Pan-Asian Cooperation had left the port, and the target was Mars.
Even a fool could feel that something big was about to happen...
...
Suburbs of Tiangong City.
The Security Bureau stronghold, which was hidden in the residential area, suffered a devastating blow.
Without the slightest warning, a group of militants from unknown origins suddenly attacked them.
Since almost all the intelligence personnel were scattered to search for Lu Zhouâs whereabouts, the militants encountered almost no resistance when they attacked, and they took it down without any effort.
The only intelligence worker stationed here was killed on the spot in the gun battle.
Looking at the corpse on the ground, the militant standing nearby poked him with a muzzle and asked, âBoss, we donât need to keep anyone alive?â
âThere is no need. Since we are standing here, it means we have already sent a message.â
Standing in front of the whiteboard by the walls, the man called the BOSS unbuckled the exoskeleton armor mask and stared at the photos and news briefings posted on the whiteboard. His eyebrows were tightly furrowed.
Sure enough, as expected by the mayor, the N-177 flight incident had alarmed the Security Bureau. Over the year, the intelligence personnel deployed by the Security Bureau in the colony had been investigating the truth behind the hijacking incident.
âUnfortunately, the target is not here...â
Withdrawing his gaze from the whiteboard, the man called BOSS glanced around at this destroyed stronghold, thought for a moment, and continued, âHe should have been transferred to another place.â
The goal of their operation was Lu Zhou.
Based on the clues collected from the hotel room, they concluded that the intelligence personnel of the Pan-Asian Security Bureau had noticed something, so they sent someone to move Lu Zhou away.
However, what they didnât expect was that those security agents didnât transfer Lu Zhou to the stronghold in Tiangong City and that they didnât even encounter any effective resistance when they invaded here.
Everything seemed to indicate that there might be some problems with their information.
And the problem was not small...
âBut where did they transfer him?â A militant standing next to him with a rifle couldnât help but ask, âThe entire Tiangong City is under our observation. Other than here... I canât think of any place that would be safer.â
The man named BOSS was just about to speak, but at this moment, a strange voice floated from not far away.
âYeah, I was wondering about this too.
âWhere did you guys put Academician Lu?â