Colonia Storm Tour

Chapter Seventy-Three: A Chance Encounter (Part 8)

The value of an Epsilon construction site is immeasurable because it contains their complete set of technologies. Even if there are technology locks, they can be cracked. However, if it is data deletion, there is no way to break through them. Although the Epsilon Mind Legion's technology is rarely used, it does not mean that it will never be used.

The Epsilon heretics, who were only ordered by their superiors to find the crystal tower, install the psionic suppression device, and establish a small base, could not possibly be allocated a large amount of resources for base construction and maintenance. So when the heretics found that they had exhausted all their resource points and could no longer build war vehicles and cloned berserkers to attack, they decided to sell off their resources and launch a final assault!

Aside from retaining a biochemical reactor to power the psionic suppression device and having construction drones reclaim all buildings and walls, the cult packed up Epsilon mobile construction vehicles. They ordered other base personnel to carry explosives into the construction site, then packaged the site into these vehicles, turning them into large suicide trucks. These trucks were then launched at full speed towards the Pacific Front forces approaching from the southwest, a desperate charge akin to modern terrorists. However, most of the terrorists who dared to drive suicide trucks to sacrifice themselves for their prophets were already dead, and the remaining fundamentalists lacked the capacity to train such fanatics to drive suicide trucks. No suicide truck could compare to a mobile construction vehicle, neither in size nor in the cost of construction. The cult's desperate choice was based on the fact that failure and a hasty retreat would not only bring shame and accusations of incompetence, but also severe punishment for those who couldn't even complete simple tasks. Rather than face social death within the Epsilon system, they chose to fight to the death and ensure a good reputation after death.

"I'll dedicate myself to Lady Yuri!!!"

The Epsilon heretics shouted fanatical slogans as they drove their construction vehicles, loaded with explosives, down the mountain road with the momentum of a 59 descending a mountain, charging towards the Allied construction site in Linhai Plain.

Beep beep beep! Along with the piercing alarm, EVA's communication message also rang out.

"The unknown enemy forces have now left only two strange buildings, dismantled and sold off all other facilities, and are launching a final assault on us with their mobile construction vehicles!"

"They've exhausted all their troops and resources, choosing to dismantle unnecessary facilities and then gather their last men with mobile construction vehicles for a final assault. What a pity. Judging by this, they don't intend to surrender easily, giving me a chance to capture the construction sites and production facilities. I'll just have to blast them to pieces."

Lin Haiyuan didn't believe that the Blizzard Tank and Snow Maiden Tank could stop the Epsilon Mobile Construction Vehicle, which had turned into a raging bull. Although the Mobile Construction Vehicle wasn't fast, its mass meant that once it accelerated, its inertia wouldn't be easily intercepted by the freezing effect of the Condensation Ray. This was enough for the Epsilon Mobile Construction Vehicle to crush the poor Blizzard Tank and Snow Maiden Tank into two-dimensional shapes stuck to the ground before it came to a complete stop. If the Freeze Helicopter or Hummingbird Support Aircraft were present, they could safely intercept the raging Epsilon Mobile Construction Vehicle, giving Lin Haiyuan a chance to get close and use his mental powers to take control of it. Now, for the sake of his own and his troops' survival, he had no choice but to destroy it.

The Peacekeeper artillery, destroyers, and battleships have been assigned new firing coordinates. These coordinates are designed with lead time in mind, taking into account the time it takes for the shells to travel through the air. Therefore, holographic scan markers will not appear below the Epsilon Mobile Construction Vehicle.

Clang! Bang! Clang! Bang! The sound of the pacifiers' cannons rang out first, followed by the firing of the destroyers and battleships' guns. A large number of high-explosive shells fell towards the shelling coordinates with sharp whistling sounds.

The flawless calculations led to a perfectly anticipated scene: the Epsilon mobile construction vehicle, charging desperately, was bathed in the flames of the explosion and the fresh mud and snow kicked up by the blast. Even though the Epsilon mobile construction vehicle was indeed comparable in size to an aircraft carrier, being hit head-on by a large number of high-explosive shells was still a very unfortunate outcome. Even with the protection of heavy composite armor, the shockwave from the explosion was enough to damage the internal equipment and the sensors of the electronic system. Most importantly, the 360mm high-explosive shells from battleships were powerful enough to create a crater the size of a football field. Therefore, the Epsilon mobile construction vehicle was undoubtedly blown into an even larger firework under the bombardment, with large amounts of metal fragments scattering in all directions like shrapnel.

"Holy crap, this guy is really something else. He actually stuffed explosives into his construction vehicle and turned it into a giant suicide truck."

Lin Haiyuan could discern clues from the battlefield view, the unique explosion sounds, and the fragmented parts. After all, he was quite familiar with the explosion effects and sounds of the shells fired by the destroyers, battleships, and the Peacemaker cannons, and he had a fondness for these non-human sound effects.

"The unknown enemy's mobile construction vehicle has been completely destroyed, leaving only a large number of shell craters at the scene, with no trace of any survivors... It turns out that the location of the mission objective where the mobile construction vehicle was located also has an unknown structure consisting of five fiberglass tanks and surrounding the mission objective, the specific purpose of which is unknown."

Due to the lack of relevant information in the database, the Allied EVA's conclusions regarding the biochemical reaction chamber and the psionic suppression device are unknown, but Lin Haiyuan himself knows them.

"EVA, recover all defensive structures and concrete walls. Have all troops assemble and head towards the mission objective. The enemy here should all be dead."

Lin Haiyuan thought that if that Epsilon heretic wanted to pull any more tricks, he should have done so by now. However, just to be on the safe side, he still sent three rocket pilot squads to scout ahead.

Use their eyes to see if there's anything else hidden on the high ground and cliffs. If the enemy didn't have F2A, there might be some overlooked troops still on the battlefield.

However, the rocket soldiers' reconnaissance found no more enemies "abandoned" by the heretics in any corner where they did not move. It can be said that the creatures called Epsilon on the Akutan Islands were temporarily wiped out.

However, Lin Haiyuan was well aware that if the Epsilon base here lost contact for too long, the Epsilon headquarters would definitely notice something was wrong and send an investigation team to check what was going on.

If the Epsilon forces were to discover that he was leading the Pacific Front forces, these vengeful creatures would relentlessly pursue him until they killed him.

He must rescue Exile as quickly as possible, then take the Crystal Tower and her away from the Akutan Islands back to the Spindle Islands, which is currently the safest place...

The effects of HE shells on tanks have been widely discussed. Even without considering the limited damage to tank armor from a direct hit, the explosive shock can damage tank parts and the crew inside. If it hits directly on the tank's head, it may paralyze the tank but not completely destroy it. However, this only applies to artillery used by the army. Naval artillery has both caliber and length, and with sufficient explosive charge, it is fully capable of directly hitting a tank and reducing it to parts.

Chapter Seventy-Four: A Chance Encounter (Part Nine)

The rocket pilots who arrived at the target location reported that they had not detected any enemies, and the ground troops could proceed to the area where the mission objective was located without worry. However, Lin Haiyuan did not let the ground troops advance so easily. Instead, he dispatched SEAL teams and Blizzard tanks to clear the way ahead. After being trained using the MO-style SEAL training method, these SEAL teams could sense the presence of cloaked units. Although they could not actually see the cloaked units with the naked eye, they could feel that there were indeed some cloaked things nearby. The Blizzard tanks were used to crush the gene mines.

Epsilon's genetic mines are lethal to infantry, used to transform them into berserkers who fight as Epsilons, but they are ineffective against armored units and will detonate.

Not long after the blizzard tank had been traveling on the road ahead, as the vehicle lurched slightly, a cloud of purplish-pink mist exploded and rose up beneath the vehicle with a loud bang.

"Damn it, did the tank tracks crush something? And what exactly are those purplish-pink clouds?"

The driver of the Blizzard tank exclaimed over the radio, and from his words, it was clear that he was a rather useless person.

"Calm down, Boulez-1. That gas is specifically designed to kill infantry. It has absolutely no effect on armored vehicles. Just make sure to manage the ventilation properly and you'll be fine."

Lin Haiyuan immediately opened the communication channel to contact all the Blizzard tanks, letting them know that this was not a threat to them.

"Ah, I see. Brez-1 received. The air conditioning system is already fully operational. But Commander, how do you know that thing isn't lethal to armored vehicles?"

Brez-1 looked at the damage report on the onboard computer, which showed no damage, and asked him in surprise.

"That's another matter, you'll find out later. And if it was lethal, you and your vehicle are already disabled. Keep going."

Lin Haiyuan didn't plan to tell these soldiers about Epsilon now, because it wasn't the right time to tell them—as for the paralysis, it was because Epsilon occupied an entire IS world, and in that world, China, with its Deadly Hour + Red Rise technology, could provide Epsilon with enough EMP mines, which would be quite lethal against infantry and tanks. If it were neutron electromagnetic pulse mines, they would be even more insane, not only paralyzing vehicles but also killing the pilots inside. Only drones could escape unscathed.

As the next column approached, the Blizzard Tanks charged forward in a line, seemingly determined not to crash into anything. They repeatedly detonated gene mines buried on the ground, creating a series of purple-pink smoke trails. However, the gene mines had no effect on armored vehicles, so the Blizzard Tanks were able to clear the mines unharmed amidst the genetically mutated aerosols, creating a safe path for the infantry behind them. In this way, they arrived at the outer area of ​​the former Epsilon small base without encountering any resistance, where they saw the massive ruins of man-made structures.

"According to the intelligence we have, the Akutan Islands should be a barren and desolate place where no one has ever set foot. However, there are a large number of man-made structures half-buried in the snow and ice. These man-made structures are unusually large, as if a town had once existed here. However, these man-made structures do not seem to have any similarities with man-made buildings... We need time to conduct further analysis."

The Allied EVA couldn't figure out what these man-made structure remnants originally belonged to, but Lin Haiyuan's 45-degree battlefield vision allowed him to recognize these man-made structure remnants.

These man-made structural remains are not scattered everywhere like building materials or oil drums. Instead, they are scattered in a regular pattern, with no particularly fixed shape. Although the structure of these man-made remains has been scattered to the point that it is almost impossible to destroy the original shape, there is always a relatively tall and still intact central area. However, a large amount of ice and snow covers these man-made structural remains, making it impossible for Lin Haiyuan to correctly "assemble" the original shape of the man-made structural remains. Furthermore, the crystal tower standing on the outer part of its center has also destroyed the original shape and structure.

"Forget it, now is not the time to investigate these man-made structure ruins. When we have time, we'll have construction drones clear the snow off these man-made structure ruins, and then we'll understand."

As Lin Haiyuan said this, the mobile construction vehicle, escorted by infantry and other vehicles, had already passed through the dazzling array of man-made structure ruins and arrived in front of the crystal tower surrounded by psionic suppression devices. There was also a separate biochemical reaction chamber that powered the psionic suppression devices, and nothing else.

"The power of this psionic suppression device is stronger than any I've seen in the database of the Colonia flank air base. But it's easy to deal with. EVA, have the engineers on board get off the MCV and take over that bio-reactor room to cut off the power supply to the psionic suppression device."

Lin Haiyuan looked at the biochemical reactor in front of the giant monitor. He didn't need to blow up the biochemical reactor to disable the psionic suppression device. He knew that obtaining a biochemical reactor that could generate electricity would save the resources of an Allied (natural gas) power plant. Moreover, the Allied power supply was entirely dependent on the combination of natural gas power plants and power turbines, which meant they would easily need to build a large number of natural gas power plants to provide power to maintain the base's operation. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, solved all the power problems with a single nuclear reactor. Of course, both were conspicuous targets in the eyes of the enemy.

An Allied engineer, carrying a toolbox, nimbly jumped down from the hatch of the mobile construction vehicle, then quickly ran to the biochemical reaction chamber. He took out his toolbox to prepare to crack the security program of the biochemical reaction chamber, then entered the chamber, installed their security program, and connected it to the control chain of the Allied mobile construction vehicle. The wireless power supply to the psionic suppression device naturally stopped.

"Objective Complete, Mission Accomplished."

After the Allied EVA announced that the sole objective of this mission had been achieved, it immediately declared the mission a success without further ado. Upon hearing the EVA's voice message announcing the mission's completion, the rocket infantry and ground troops in the sky cheered, as they no longer needed to explore other areas outside the island. Instead, they only needed to stay here to protect the crystal tower and the mobile construction vehicle.

Exploring an unknown, uninhabited island is a dangerous undertaking, especially if you've just fought an unknown enemy on that island...

-Post-war report on Allied EVA-

The appearance of the unknown enemy forces on the Akutan Islands was truly unexpected. They also possess their own mobile construction technology. We were already surprised that the Ikchino Republic Alliance had its own mobile construction vehicle technology, but we were even more surprised that this unknown enemy force possessed mobile construction technology, because we were completely unaware of it. From the two facilities they left behind, we can see that their technology is quite different from ours, and there are even aspects that we cannot understand.

Regardless, we have successfully completed this expedition to the Akutan Islands, ensuring the safety of the Crystal Tower and allowing Commander Lin Haiyuan to approach him. However, the remains of those man-made structures still leave us with doubts. Currently, construction drones are clearing the snow in hopes of seeing what lies beneath the ice and snow. The headquarters in the Spinning Arms Islands has dispatched reinforcements via transport aircraft.

Thank you to Muyu, Shuke51, Pianyi and Broken Sky, Youlanlian, and professional book lovers for their generous donations.

The encounter on a narrow path has ended.

Chapter Seventy-Five: Exile (Part 1)

Theme song: Frank Klepacki - Viratia

-

After deploying the Allied mobile construction vehicles as Allied construction sites, Lin Haiyuan meticulously devised a battlefield base construction plan. The remaining troops were then assigned to various locations within the battlefield base to ensure security. He then left the command center and headed to the Crystal Tower where Exile was located to put an end to this two-year wait and obtain the answer to the question of whether his daughter was alive.

The psionic suppression device has been dismantled and broken down into parts by the engineers and construction drones, awaiting further orders to determine how to dispose of the parts. He is currently desperate for an answer to whether his daughter is alive, so he tells the engineers and construction drones to just leave it aside and ignore it for now.

The crystal tower stood alone on the snow, its outer ring and inner crystals rotating at different speeds. Apart from that, there were no other patterns; it was a rather simple seal.

"Exile, I have arrived at the crystal tower that seals you. Tell me what to do next to free you from the seal?"

Lin Haiyuan directly used his mental power to send his thoughts to Exile inside the crystal tower.

"I have been waiting for you for two whole years, psychic. Fate still favors you and me. Now I will tell you how to break the seal."

Exile's telepathic communication showed clear signs of relief, and she then told Lin Haiyuan how to break the seal, which was exactly the same method Lin Haiyuan used to share his memories with others through his telepathic vision. He quickly felt that his head had a lot of unfamiliar knowledge, which was undoubtedly related to breaking the seal.

"No wonder you were stuck inside the Crystal Tower and couldn't get out on your own. Turns out there was something else preventing you from escaping. Is this a case of being trapped by your own actions?"

As Lin Haiyuan spoke, he came to the front of the Crystal Tower, squatted down, and flicked his right hand on the snow. A carved disc with mysterious symbols appeared in front of him. Without thinking much, he poured his mental power into it, placed his right fingers on the three mysterious symbols, and then turned it to the left. The carved disc emitted a blue light and rotated to the left.

"Is this a self-inflicted trap... It's an undeniable fact, but in order to escape the distorted consciousness of the Void Realm and the pursuit and reckoning of the Void Realm's master, this is the only option left."

Exile herself is not a masochist with a penchant for finding pleasure in confinement play; she wouldn't have locked herself in the Crystal Tower if it weren't for safety and the possibility of future combat.

"Now all those distorted consciousnesses and illusory beings should be dead. There should be many other interstellar empires around the interstellar empire you once belonged to, and they will be the first targets to be attacked."

After Lin Haiyuan made the action of injecting mental energy into the rotating sculpted disc, the psionic matrix radiating outward from the crystal tower, along with the white and pink psionic energy flow that appeared out of thin air, was drawn on the ground and could be seen directly by the naked eye. Anyone who was not a Han Zong player could see it. However, the psionic matrix outlined by the white and pink energy did not have the usual light blue outline. Instead, it was a very girlish white and pink, which formed a strange contrast with the blue Kedarin crystal. This was due to the power of Exile.

With a rumbling sound, the ground beneath Lin Haiyuan's feet began to shake. Eight white stone pillars, inscribed with profound runes, burst forth from the ground from eight directions of the psionic matrix. These profound runes, like specially made streetlights, emitted a white-pink light one after another, with specks of psionic energy emanating from them as particles of light. It is worth noting that only Lin Haiyuan, who was in this area, could feel the ground shaking. People and things standing elsewhere did not feel any vibration at all. Furthermore, there was no one around the crystal tower at this time, and the soldiers had been dispatched to patrol or guard the outer perimeter. Therefore, the rise of the eight white stone pillars inscribed with profound runes did not cause any exclamations. Thus, he could continue to break the seal in peace.

His hands were imbued with a mental power that resembled intertwined lightning. He crouched down, tucking his hands in, then suddenly stood up, making an upward throwing motion. The mental power gathered in his hands surged into the eight white stone pillars and the white-pink psionic matrix in front of his feet. Following the method and intuition given by Exile, he began to guide the white-pink psionic energy in the white stone pillars, forming translucent waves that began to flow into the crystal tower. The psionic matrix outlined by the white-pink psionic energy stopped radiating energy outward and instead absorbed the psionic energy of the Kedarin crystal, flowing into itself continuously.

The guided pinkish-white psionic energy didn't flow into the Kedarin crystal first; instead, it surged towards a rectangular phantom atop the crystal tower. Soon, with a large influx of psionic energy, this phantom was filled with energy, transforming into a striped stone pillar. Eventually, it became completely brimming with energy, transforming from a dull, black striped pillar into a dark blue pillar with pinkish-white stripes amidst a blue energy shockwave. The tiny gaps within these pinkish-white stripes indicated that it was a pieced-together pillar.

Did I get the Xel'Naga artifact? This thing called the Purification Key looks so damn familiar, Lin Haiyuan thought to himself as he continued his next step in breaking the seal.

He then channeled a portion of his spiritual power into the purification key, guiding the psychic energy within it to flow simultaneously into the Kedarin crystal and the white-pink psychic matrix. During this process, the purification key, which had initially only emitted a faint glow, gradually increased the brightness of its white-pink stripes, and the decibel level of the humming energy also gradually rose.

His eyebrows twitched, and his expression suggested that he was dealing with something thorny. Simultaneously controlling three mental forces and guiding the flow of three streams of spiritual energy was a considerable challenge to his mental and physical strength, especially since completing this challenge would take half an hour. He didn't know if he could have endured it if he hadn't been enhanced by Rahn-level genetic modification.

"I knew you could do it, psychic! Keep going, hold on for another 30 minutes and victory will be yours! Go for it! Go for it!"

Exile encouraged Lin Zhongyuan, who was feeling immense pressure, through telepathic communication. She could also sense that the restrictions binding her were slowly being broken.

"I really hope you can live up to all my hard work and give me the answers to the questions I want."

As Lin Haiyuan said this, the purification key emitted a spherical white-pink psionic wave that enveloped the eight stone pillars, forming a white-pink psionic vortex that was spinning rapidly within it.

The originally dull dark blue surface of the purification key began to be filled with spiritual energy, emitting a soft white light that illuminated everything around it. He had already closed his eyes to avoid being uncomfortable by the white light.

"The answer hasn't changed, psionicist. The answer you seek still exists; it's not too late."

Exile can sense what Lin Haiyuan cares about, and that is his eldest daughter, Lin Shiyin.

The discarded footage can finally be recycled and reused, which has reduced the workload a lot. Of course, there will still be no comedic battles; this is the set of Command & Conquer.

Chapter Seventy-Six: Exile (Part Two)

The 30-minute induction and charging time is neither fast nor slow. As Lin Haiyuan simultaneously operated the three mental forces and guided the three spiritual energies to this point, warm sweat was already flowing down his forehead, and he looked like he was about to be covered in sweat. Moreover, both mental and physical fatigue were gradually increasing.

His eyelids were starting to droop, and a stiff, tingling sensation was spreading throughout his body, but his mental strength remained firm and stable without wavering.

Once the 30 minutes were up, the psionic energy within the Purification Key had reached its peak. With a low, rumbling energy surge, a rainbow-like halo appeared around it, and the Purification Key itself radiated a near-pure white pink light. Another harmless, near-pure white pink psionic shockwave erupted from it, but quickly disappeared into the previously generated psionic vortex.

"The purification key has absorbed enough energy, the internal restrictions have been broken, let's begin the final step, psionicist."

Exile called out in his mind, an extra psychic power in her telepathic communication encouraging Lin Haiyuan, but Lin Haiyuan, even though he felt physically and mentally exhausted, was not swayed by it.

This kind of psychic stimulation might have a good effect on ordinary people or those with strong willpower, but as someone with a strong will and a materialistic psychic, it has no effect on him.

This might be of considerable benefit to a psionicist who values ​​idealism, but for someone who prioritizes matter above all else, the so-called power of the mind cannot truly alleviate his physical and mental fatigue.

Lin Haiyuan had no time or energy to reply. Instead, he squatted down again and slammed his hand on the carved disc with all his might, then flipped it over. This time, Lin Haiyuan rotated the carved disc to the right. At this moment, the white and pink psionic matrix and purification key also began to flip rapidly to the right with his movement. The carved disc then bulged out of the ground, and then he pressed it down again.

Layers of spacetime ripples appeared around the purification key, rapidly shrinking and contracting into the spacetime ripples. After a brief moment of calm, the fully charged purification key popped out of the spacetime ripples again. To an outsider, it would look like a key being inserted but not matched and popped out, but that's not actually the case at all.

After the purification key popped out, it released several white lightning bolts randomly in the surrounding area before disintegrating into several stone pillars, revealing a white psionic sphere formed by an astonishing density of psionic energy inside. This white psionic sphere was like a star, radiating pure white light in the surrounding area. However, this process of radiating white light did not last for more than a few seconds before the purification key, which had shrunk again, was suppressed back inside.

Finally, the entire Purification Key seemed to continue its core-like collapse, shrinking back to a size invisible to the naked eye. A white psionic energy burst forth from the point where the Purification Key had shrunk and disappeared, transforming into a shockwave and two jets. This psionic shockwave was so powerful that it not only swept across the Akutan Islands but also continued its momentum towards the open sea. One jet shot straight into the sky, forming a visible white pillar of light. This pillar of light was pure white, like angels from heaven guiding the souls of the dead to heaven. The other jet flowed directly into the Kedarin crystal inside the crystal tower.