Ch.160160. Unknown Ancient People

Scorpions, spiders, ants, centipedes, bees, cicadas, and cockroaches.

Though different in appearance, size, and even classification—divided between insects and arthropods—

there was only one similarity.

A wave of mechanical bugs, all sharing a silver base with purple accents,

attacked the mercenaries of the “Travelers” mercenary group.

The smallest specimens were sometimes even smaller than their real insect counterparts,

while the largest mechanical bug was an impressive 8-meter-long mechanical centipede.

Of course, these mechanical insects could never match mid-tier mercenaries with pure force alone,

but they compensated with what could only be described as an endless swarm.

[Flame coming through, everyone clear out!]

WHOOOOOOSH───!!!!!

But such mass attacks were inevitably vulnerable to area-of-effect attacks like psychic flames,

so several flamethrower operators and psychic users specializing in psychic flames were preventing the insects from advancing beyond the entrance.

The rest of the personnel stood ready to launch grenades or other psychic attacks toward the entrance at any moment───

This seemingly paranoid response was necessary to prevent the catastrophe that would unfold if the bugs managed to infiltrate.

The mouths, jaws, snouts, and various other attack organs of these bugs were equipped with

blades coated in the distinctive purple energy used by Nec-Rocists.

While the mercenaries could handle the larger bugs with blades that emitted energy capable of decomposing inorganic matter and dissolving organic matter,

the smaller bugs posed the real problem.

Though small bugs had physical limitations in penetrating armor plating, they could still cut through the thin armor at the joints of powered armor and infiltrate the interior.

Moreover, this risk would be significantly higher in the chaos that would ensue if the corridor defenses were breached,

so they were determined to hold the line at the corridor───

Their efforts seemed to be working as the swarm of mechanical bugs gradually thinned, but this was merely the vanguard.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

As the mechanical bugs now approached sporadically in reduced numbers,

Rocists different from the standard mechanical ones were advancing in formation behind them.

While typical mechanized Rocists (Nec-Rocists) stood about 2.2 meters tall, these were 2.5-2.6 meters,

with additional armor plating making them appear not only larger but also more robust and sturdy.

They carried silver energy shotguns emitting purple light,

and each appeared to be equipped with a psychic shield generator.

[············Rocist armored troops?]

The mercenary captain recalled a military unit from the former Rocist Empire that they had encountered during past operations, but only briefly.

[Activate the shield jammers!]

They activated their psychic shield deactivation devices—shield jammers—to strip away the protective barriers, and began their counterattack while blocking the shotgun energy blasts.

[Fire away, fire away!!!!]

RATATATATATATATATATA───!!!!!

Their weapon of choice for the counterattack was a multi-barrel machine gun (Vulcan cannon) carried in space-expansion pouches,

one of the few ballistic weapons to survive until the 10,000th year of the Common Era.

Unlike various energy weapons that solved ammunition and loading issues with a single battery pack,

ballistic weapons required bulky ammunition that made them practically obsolete in military use.

Nevertheless, certain ballistic weapons remained in use among mercenaries for good reason,

with the multi-barrel machine gun they were currently using still employed purely for its firepower.

RATATATATATATATATATA───!!!!

Firing 10,000 high-velocity armor-piercing explosive rounds per minute, coated in plasma, this devastating weapon would have been too much even for an assault trooper grandfather to withstand,

reducing the enemies to metal scraps in just five minutes.

[Disassembly complete!]

By around that time, the entrance breach operation was also complete, allowing them to enter the interior at any moment.

[Only the entry team goes in. The rest stay here on standby!]

Of the 100 mercenaries, 80 remained to defend the entrance,

while 20 veterans, led by a high-tier mercenary, entered to explore the interior.

[········The facility is, still operational?]

Surprisingly, despite clearly being abandoned for at least thousands of years, the facilities beyond the door were still functioning.

In laboratories filled with life science and biotechnology equipment, test tubes with bubbling oxygen droplets were numerous,

often containing what appeared to be green cultivation fluid or the corpses of strange lifeforms.

[If we report this to the government············.]

[At least 6 trillion········maybe even over 10 trillion if we play it right.]

Beyond the ancient civilization specimen corpses, the operational status and lighting conditions suggested a high probability that internal data remained intact.

Adding the value of the facility itself, there was ample justification for such a price estimate, so they proceeded satisfied toward the facility’s core.

Based on the pipes connecting test tubes to the core along the walls,

the mercenaries determined that a power source maintaining the facility must exist in the core,

and indeed, a power source did exist.

However, its appearance was a little········no, “very” different from what they had expected.

[········A child?]

[With tentacles, and it looks bigger too·······.]

Surprisingly, the entity supplying power to the entire facility was

an unidentified alien lifeform resembling a human girl,

suspended in green fluid like the other strange lifeforms,

connected to the test tube by various wires and electrodes.

She appeared to be about 11-14 years old,

wearing what looked like a simple white sleeveless dress,

floating with closed eyes in the green solution.

Her hair, almost as long as her height, was so white it seemed to lack any pigment whatsoever,

and her skin was extremely pale, nearly white, with quite cute features.

But at the same time, one could tell at a glance that this girl-like being was not human,

starting with her size, which was quite large despite her appearance.

She seemed to be about 1.8 meters tall, though her proportions were those of a girl simply scaled up, so she didn’t necessarily look large,

and upon closer inspection, her facial features were subtly different, giving the impression of convergent evolution.

And the most decisive factor confirming she wasn’t human:

this girl-like alien lifeform had pink intestine-like tentacles growing from various parts of her body.

The tentacles, primarily growing from her back and neck, spread like tumors, staining the surrounding skin pink,

constantly writhing inside the test tube, proving the being’s continued existence.

While it might appear that the tentacles were parasitic or implanted,

the mercenaries were convinced they were part of the girl’s body,

as parts of her body continuously transformed into tentacles and back again.

[········What should we do?]

[Well············usually touching something like that leads to disaster.]

[Yeah, like in classic movies where things go wrong when someone touches something they shouldn’t. Why don’t we just leave it alone and report what we’ve seen?]

The 20 mercenaries began discussing their options, sharing various opinions,

but all implicitly agreed on one point.

Such an ominous thing should absolutely not be disturbed.

Accidents from mishandling something in ancient civilization laboratories were countless,

and even if not, the release of some ancient virus could undoubtedly lead to catastrophe.

So the mercenaries decided to leave it untouched───

CRASH!

[Wh-what───everyone on alert!]

Unfortunately, regardless of their decision, the tentacles moved and shattered the test tube,

and amidst the flowing green liquid, the girl?—who didn’t appear wet at all—began walking, moving her tentacles like spider legs.

One step, another step. And another.

Extremely unsteady, this sight put the mercenaries on edge as they prepared their weapons, ready to attack at any moment.

THUD!

But just before combat could break out, the tentacles suddenly retracted and the girl? collapsed,

bringing the ruin exploration to an unsettling conclusion.