Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 341 Landing on Terra

In the silent space.

While war raged on Tianshui Star, the two manned rockets, "Dreamboat-1" and "Imperial Pioneer," launched by the countries of Beixing and Soloma, arrived and landed on the satellite Terra as planned.

Everything went smoothly during the landing process, and no unexpected incidents occurred.

Given the technological capabilities of North Star and Soroma, it's not surprising that they could achieve this.

Because the space colonization plan represented by the two rockets is exceptionally important, and is one of the crucial paths to preserving human civilization, the current chaos on Tianshui Mother Planet will not affect this plan.

After landing, the exploration machine on board the rocket began its extravehicular activity, while the astronauts waited for feedback before taking action according to instructions from the ground-based space agency.

"Fortunately, this rule doesn't affect us."

The astronauts aboard Dreamboat-1 chatted while waiting.

"Yes. I don't want to have to worry about the rules while carrying out a mission."

"But things are a bit chaotic back home right now, aren't they? It seems like they've even started fighting."

"A fight won't bother us on Terra. As long as they don't destroy NASA, we won't be able to get back!"

"If even NASA is destroyed, there will probably only be ruins left when we get back..."

[Data analysis complete]

At this moment, the rocket system issued a warning, and the astronauts stopped chatting and focused their attention.

Shortly after, NASA sent a message.

"As per the established mission, attempt to establish a small survival point on the ground."

The astronauts received orders and, following the procedure, put on their spacesuits and opened the hatch.

The moment their feet touched Terra, every astronaut was filled with excitement.

Without the Firebringers and the rules of the apocalypse, they would undoubtedly be the focus of the world's attention.

Unfortunately, the rules of the apocalypse have stolen their thunder. Now, the general public on Tianshui Star is preoccupied with the war, and many have even forgotten that two manned rockets will land on Terra Star today.

But it doesn't matter, this moment of scenery belongs exclusively to the astronauts.

They looked up.

Terra has no atmosphere, so from their perspective, they can see the universe directly.

Although filming with a camera can cause overexposure, making the universe appear completely black, the naked eye can still see the slightly dim stars and the blue planet hanging in the endless depths of space—Tianshui, humanity's home planet.

The overall effect evoked a complex and indescribable emotional response in every astronaut at that moment.

They felt that their home planet was both great and insignificant, strong and fragile.

The thought that such a beautiful place had been ruined by the fire-stealers filled the astronauts with anger.

"Alright, stop watching," said the leader of Dream Boat One. "Let's carry out the mission first and start building the survival point according to the division of labor during training. Once the survival point is built, you can watch for as long as you want."

"clear."

The astronauts looked away and got to work.

To establish a survival point, the basic survival needs of humans must be met.

The most basic necessities are food, shelter, and oxygen.

Food and oxygen were temporarily provided by nutrient and oxygen replenishment tanks carried on the rocket, while accommodation was temporarily provided by specially designed inflatable cabins.

However, to establish a long-term survival point, it will definitely be necessary to launch more rockets to transport materials and other resources, or go further by mining Terran ore and other resources, and using 3D printing technology to build permanent buildings on Terra.

But all of this is long-term preparation. Now the astronauts' task is to conduct minimum achievement verification, that is, to first establish a temporary survival point to verify the feasibility of habitation.

After the inflatable capsule was fully deployed, the astronauts continuously removed more equipment from the rocket and assembled it.

Radiation shielding insulation layer, high-efficiency solar energy storage array, low-consumption small electrolysis equipment, etc.

[Imperial Pioneer - Communications Access]

Hey, how's it going over there?

The voice of the captain of the Imperial Pioneer came through the communication equipment.

The two rockets did not land in the vicinity, but each chose its own landing site.

The leader of the Dream Boat No. 1 team replied: "So far everything is going smoothly, how about you?"

"We're doing well too, and we're establishing a survival point!"

"Okay, keep in touch."

After the leader of the Dream Boat No. 1 finished speaking, he suddenly looked back.

Behind him, besides the space rockets, was only the endless gray-white soil on the surface of Terra.

Is it my imagination?

For a fleeting moment, the team leader felt as if he were being watched by some kind of gaze.

……

"The Aerospace Force has completed air defense suppression of the A1-A13 area."

"The drone formation and ground mine-clearing troops have been deployed and are advancing."

The Black Flag Kingdom, located on the outskirts of its capital, Uze.

The People's Union coalition is launching a fierce attack on the city.

Based on satellite tracking and ground radar reconnaissance, the coalition forces determined that the main force of the parasite was concentrated in the city of Uze.

The coalition's objective was to capture the city and apprehend the parasites within it.

As for the parasites hiding in the mountains and forests, the allied forces do not plan to search for them for the time being.

This is a "focus on the big and let go of the small" strategy formulated by the Strategic Command of the People's Federation.

Due to the urgency of various factors, the coalition forces did not have the time to gradually eliminate all the cities occupied by the parasites.

What the coalition needs to do is to use its air and space forces to completely suppress the parasite's air defenses, and then airlift a large number of soldiers and combat robots to the city of Wuze.

Once this area is occupied, the parasites in other regions will lose their core. Even if they can continue to lurk and escape, they will no longer pose a threat to humanity as a whole in the short term.

Meanwhile, a massive formation of drones swept across the sky, forming a matrix as they advanced. Ground-based mine-clearing vehicles detonated and cleared all the hidden mines deployed by the parasites near the city.

As for the soldiers, they were all waiting.

In an era where people are of paramount importance, the coalition would rather lose a thousand drones than lose a single human soldier.

First, drones eliminate the threat, then robotic soldiers lead the charge, and human soldiers clean up the mess – this is a human-centered warfare tactic.

Even more valuable than ordinary soldiers are the coalition's special combat units—teams composed of powerful ascendants from various countries.

"War is truly terrifying... If I were a parasite, seeing these drones flying all over the sky, I would probably only feel despair."

A blond, blue-eyed young man gazed at the sky above Wuze, his tone tinged with emotion.

"Blame these parasites for choosing the wrong country to conquer. Black Flag Country was already militarily weak, lacking high-tech weaponry. How could it possibly contend with the Allied Forces?"

"Their stupidest thing is that they actually dared to declare the establishment of a country, which shows a complete disregard for us humans."

"Let's seize this opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop, and send them to Sisia before the rules end, to be used as food for that alien intelligent being in exchange for a problem." The elite Ascended from various countries discussed, their words revealing their contempt for the parasites.

The blond youth noticed this emotion and said, "Don't be too careless, everyone. The enemy is very cunning."

"Adam, with your strength, there's no need for you to be so cautious."

"These parasites mostly possess ordinary people. Even if they tap into some of their physical potential to enhance them, they still can't compare to us. Let alone compare to you, Adam."

This blond youth was none other than Adam, the Ascended One, sent by the Solomon Empire.

In the past, the Solomon Empire spared no effort in promoting Adam, making him very famous among the world's ascendants.

Moreover, unlike other well-known Ascended beings, Adam had a very positive reputation; almost no one spoke ill of him, and he did not do anything outrageous.

In contrast, Lucifer, another famous Ascended being from Soma, was equally famous, but notorious and had long been a public enemy.

While Shadow is more famous, many people cannot agree with some of his practices.

Especially regarding his several assassination attempts, even after investigations revealed evidence that he assassinated heinous criminals, many people still cannot accept it.

The reason is that he would set a bad example by doing so, creating a trend of vigilantes using the law, which would make the world more chaotic and disorderly.

As a result, Adam became a core figure in the Allied Ascended Corps as soon as he arrived on the battlefield, and was highly respected.

Hearing the crowd's disdain and contempt for the parasites, Adam shook his head slightly and said nothing more.

"Ascension Corps, heed my command."

At that moment, the voice of the coalition commander rang out in everyone's earpieces.

"We have received intelligence that the high-ranking members of the Parasite Corps are suspected of hiding in a refuge deep beneath the National Shrine in the city. The Allied forces will conduct a bunker-buster bombing of the area in twenty minutes."

"Your mission is singular: take a transport plane to the area above the National Shrine and parasitize the remaining high-ranking members of the parasites in the underground shelter."

……

Senantata Town.

After Guan Tong finished speaking to Shang Yuanzi, the latter fell silent, unsure how to respond.

The person he killed in his revenge was none other than the elder brother of the governor of Sisya.

Even if he and Yelena were very close, how could it compare to the murder of a loved one?

Shangyuan Zi thought it was absurd that Guan Tong could still sleep in this small town. The safest and most prudent thing to do would be to leave immediately after taking revenge.

Moreover, she really didn't understand how Guan Tong could think he had a chance to get Ye Lianka's permission to approach an alien intelligent being... through deception?

"If you don't tell her, she might not know that you killed her?"

"...No. As long as she knows I'm in Cissia, she'll definitely know I killed the person."

"Why? Did you tell her you were coming to Cissia to kill her brother?"

"Yes."

"..."

Uehara Tsuki really couldn't figure out what was going on.

Guan Tong explained, "It sounds complicated, but it can actually be explained in one sentence. That is, Ye Lianka and her brother don't have a deep relationship."

If the older brother had any feelings for his younger sister, why would he have sent an assassin to threaten the teacher who was trying to kill her?

From this incident, Guan Tong could see the superficiality of their sibling relationship.

Moreover, Yelena later became the governor while Rijeka was exiled to the Icefield Prison, making the struggle between them even more dangerous.

"But... he's her brother after all, isn't he? You'd better be careful."

"Ah."

Hey.

Guan Tong felt a vibration in her pocket and took out her phone.

"It's Zhang Minglu."

"The PhD from that research lab?"

After the joint operation against Misawa Jun, Uehara Yukari also learned that Dr. Zhang Minglu was the liaison between Guan Tong and the Beixing Countermeasures Research Lab.

"It's him."

Guan Tong was quite surprised when she saw the message sent by Zhang Minglu.

“Mind Network… Let’s go, Shangyuan, let’s go out.”

Shang Yuanzi got up and followed Guan Tong out of the tavern, returning to their rented room.

“Zhang Minglu told me that the human conjoined entity asked the alien black mud the question of ‘how to identify the parasite.’ The only answer it gave that humans could understand was ‘mental network.’”

"Can mental networks identify parasites?"

Shangyuan Zi was also surprised to hear this, and did not understand the connection between the two.

She guessed, "Is it just to exclude ordinary people?"

The Mind Network can only be used by those who have transcended, while the vast majority of hosts are ordinary people who have transformed. If the Mind Network can be rebuilt, then by excluding ordinary people, those within the network can trust each other.

“Not necessarily,” Guan Tong said. “Although the number of those who have transcended is small, some have transformed into parasites. Even if the mind network restarts…”

He paused for a moment, then asked uncertainly, "Could it be that those who have transformed into parasites are unable to establish a mental network with ordinary ascendants? Is this the key to identification?"

Shangyuan Zi asked, "Does Zhang Minglu have a way to rebuild the mental network?"

"Not yet. It's just that an academician named Han in the research lab suggested finding the world's top sublimators to conduct tests."

"That definitely includes you. Are you going to agree?"

“If it were just Zhang Minglu, I might agree. But this Academician Han… Although he’s in the research lab, I’ve never had any contact with him, and I don’t trust him yet.”

"Then refuse."

Uehara Yuki was quite straightforward. Since Yuzawa Jun's death, she seemed to have come to terms with things a lot, and her words and actions became more direct.

"That's what I'm planning too. Especially since Zhang Minglu means that I want to go to the Countermeasures Research Office's base to participate in testing, which is unlikely."

Shang Yuanzi nodded. She knew that Guan Tong still wanted to see if there was an opportunity to ask questions of the extraterrestrial intelligent beings, and she certainly wouldn't leave Xisia to return to Beixing at this time.

“However, we can test it.” Guan Tong looked at Shang Yuanzi. “Our mental power limits are among the top in the world’s ascendants. If we fail, it means this path is not viable.”

"can."

The two decided to give it a try.

The initial establishment of the mental network was extremely simple; all it required was for both parties to have mental contact and simultaneously have the idea of ​​"establishing a network."

At this moment, Guan Tong stretched out her hand, and Shang Yuanzi also took off her gloves, revealing a palm covered with scales.

Her mental energy could move freely across the scales, while Guan Tong could concentrate her mental energy in her hands as energy through the flow of mental energy.

After they clasped hands together, they silently recited in their hearts, "Establish a mental network."

　Happy New Year to all our dear readers!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)