They say I'm a world-destroying anomaly.

Chapter 96 Autonomous Machines

The sudden appearance of the red light made everyone in the team stop in their tracks. Omar and the others completed the entire process of raising their guns, charging, loading, and aiming in less than two seconds.

Pointing at them with several electromagnetic rifles, the red light continued its steady movement, steadily approaching the group from the other end of the passage.

As the red light drew closer, with the help of the dim lamplight, everyone finally saw the true face behind the red light.

There were five flat, round flying machines lined up in front of everyone.

They were about the same size as the lynxes that were lounging around Cheng Xu's feet, and the red light was emanating from their core.

The aircraft's outer shell is armed with thick, curved armor plates, and its overall lines are rough and lack any elegance, making it seem more like a direct modification of a heavy industrial drone.

"This seems to be a kind of self-defense mechanism."

Fields whispered.

His words had barely left his lips when the brief standoff was broken by the aircraft opposite him.

"Unauthorized intruder detected! Unauthorized intruder detected!"

The standard interstellar language of the mechanical voices emanated from the spacecraft. All five spacecraft spoke simultaneously, echoing through the corridors and creating a subtle sense of resonance.

"Please leave immediately, or emergency defense measures will be activated and the intruders will be expelled!"

Five voices came over one another, in addition to the standard interstellar language, two other languages ​​were used.

Cheng Xu discerned that these other two languages ​​were also common languages ​​of two major interstellar civilizations.

At the same time, the sound of mechanical structure operation came from the aircraft, and five evenly distributed holes appeared on the flat, round edge.

These aircraft changed from level flight to vertical flight, with deep cannon barrels protruding from the openings and rotating continuously.

Without waiting for Cheng Xu's instructions, Omar and the others kept their guns held horizontally, ready to react immediately.

An encounter seems imminent.

Cheng Xu frowned slightly.

He had anticipated encountering obstacles inside the spaceship.

However, in such a relatively narrow space without any obstacles to cover him, the opponent's firepower is unknown. If they actually engage in combat, the outcome is still uncertain if he does not use his abilities.

"According to the Interstellar Convention, this ship is a regular civilian transport vessel and is entitled to self-defense under the law! Please leave immediately!"

Seeing that the intruders remained motionless, the aircraft continued to urge them on.

Based on the operating mechanisms of autonomous aircraft that Cheng Xu had seen before, the intelligent programs implanted in these machines are often quite patient, and generally focus on deterrence, and will not launch an attack on people unless absolutely necessary.

Even if they are allowed to fire on illegal intruders as stipulated in the Interstellar Convention, they will only remain at the level of repeating "please leave" as long as Cheng Xu does not launch an attack.

He stretched out his right hand and raised his right arm high.

This was a hand signal he had previously agreed upon with Congrett, Omar, and others, meaning to remain vigilant while refraining from firing first.

However, this is only a temporary measure to maintain the stalemate. If they want to further explore the interior of the spaceship, they definitely have to get past this hurdle.

He glanced casually at the outstretched right arm, and in a flash of inspiration, a thought struck Cheng Xu.

He called out to the autonomous defense system, "I am a special investigator from the Anomaly Management Bureau, responsible for checking for any anomalies within the ship. Please open the alert."

'

As is well known in interstellar society, the history of the Anomaly Management Bureau can be traced back to the very beginning of the Great Interstellar Civilization.

At least three thousand years ago, the Anomaly Management Bureau's activities already covered the entire universe, and it was responsible for investigating and containing anomalies.

You say that according to the Interstellar Convention, you have the right to self-defense. Fine, as a special envoy of the Anomaly Management Bureau, I also have the right to conduct proactive investigations according to the Interstellar Convention.

Sure enough, after Cheng Xu said those words, the five aircraft immediately stopped rotating, and the red light in the center began to flash.

The identification and intelligent judgment process lasted for a few seconds. The central aircraft turned from red to blue and flew towards Cheng Xu.

"Please submit to verification."

Cheng Xu extended his right arm, allowing the aircraft to read his identity chip.

"Special Operations Division Special Agent, Anomaly Management Bureau, Cheng Xu, identity verification passed. Identity verification passed again."

The blue lights instantly turned emerald green, and even the mechanical voice of the aircraft seemed to carry a hint of respect.

"Hello, Commissioner Cheng Xu."

Invisible electromagnetic waves traveled through the corridor, and the aircraft successively lit up their green lights while retracting their weapons.

The tense atmosphere from before quickly dissipated, and Cheng Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

It's always better to resolve things peacefully and amicably than to go to war.

"Please take me to the command center. I need to verify this further."

Cheng Xu coughed and stated his request.

"Yes."

The aircraft immediately replied, "Please follow me. Behind you—"

"These are my helpers; you can think of them as temporary outsourced workers for the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs."

With his identity deemed legitimate and compliant, Cheng Xu gained confidence and directly assigned new identities to Fields and others.

"Understood."

Seeing the self-defense machine transform from a menacing appearance to a docile one, the others were somewhat unaccustomed to it.

They looked at Cheng Xu, and their impression of this "Mr. Cheng" was refreshed once again.

Could this tourist who claims to be visiting Shaxing really be some important person?

The indigenous people didn't even understand the concept of anomalies, let alone the Anomaly Management Bureau, but now they still felt the value of Cheng Xu's identity.

The aircraft led the way, traveling through the interior of the spaceship, where they encountered all sorts of autonomous machines.

The cleaning machine resembles a flattened beetle or a giant dustpan. Its main body is an openable garbage bin with several pairs of casters at the bottom, used to wipe the lower parts of the bulkhead and the outer walls of the pipes.

The moving-worker-like machines are larger and have a simpler, more rudimentary structure, resembling mobile metal shelves or forklift platforms, used for transporting and scheduling goods.

Small maintenance units are scattered throughout the spacecraft. They resemble swarms of cockroaches, crawling into narrow pipes...

In the corners of the maintenance area and engine compartment, there are stubborn oil stains, coolant, or insulating gel that are difficult to remove.

Cheng Xu realized that this spaceship was not only maintaining the most basic operations, but also had a large number of autonomous machines performing routine maintenance and upkeep inside.

This behavior has probably been going on for nearly three thousand years.

He seemed to see an elderly person whose children had left home, who would carefully clean their children's rooms every now and then.

"Investigator, we've arrived."

The autonomous positioning system emitted a sound, and Cheng Xu looked up; the spaceship's central control area was now right before him. [Command Room]