From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 224 Unknown Bystander

In the cold universe, Amber focused on driving the experimental MK1 towards the area designated by Lilith at high speed.

The main propulsion array immediately behind the cockpit was emitting a steady low-frequency tremor.

In Amber's opinion, staying in this small cockpit and listening to this familiar noise made him, a 'visitor' who did not belong to this world, feel a moment of peace of mind.

As for the additional propulsion unit that was created through the joint efforts of the preparation team leader, Eugene and Orns, there was no abnormality that would cause Amber's cardiopulmonary arrest.

Looking at the various parameters that had remained stable on the multi-function display, Amber glanced at the 'throttle' on the left.

Since the Air Force was involved in the initial militarization transformation of HCP, many components in the cockpit continued to use the names of atmospheric fighters and aerospace fighters.

Moreover, in order to facilitate the pilots to quickly adapt to the operation of HCP, the functions of these control devices were actually the same as those on fighter aircraft.

Amber once again confirmed that all parameters were normal and showed a smile that no one could see.

He took a slow breath to prepare himself, then put his left hand on the throttle and pushed it forward gently.

"Huhu. Huh. Ha. Ha. Hahahaha!"

Of course what Amber said was a lie.

He had to admit that what Lilith said did make some sense.

"How happy?"

"."

Amber, as a fanatic, is even more so.

The transformation of the experimental MK1 was originally intended to achieve the ultimate in HCP in terms of long-distance navigation and acceleration performance.

At this moment, Amber realized that the strong artificial intelligence's 'emotional partition' might have completed another iteration.

"At least it's happier than when I was being awkward with Ms. Isabel and doing bad things with me in the virtual space."

"fake."

"Although I am not very involved in psychology and have only read a few thousand related books during this period, I can still see some problems in you, Master."

Amber asked while controlling the aircraft to fly along the virtual track line on the screen.

Amber calmly adjusted the posture and flight path of the aircraft. Every time she passed by these 'giants', Lilith, who was quietly observing, broke into a cold sweat.

To a certain extent, for the time being, only this strong artificial intelligence that coexists with him in this world can know his true thoughts.

The brief heart-to-heart talk between 'master and servant' was finally interrupted by a short beep from the police device.

"I don't know why, but I always feel that you are a little out of tune with this universe, like an 'outsider'. But at the same time, you seem to be under a lot of pressure, even though you have been telling Randall and the others that you want to be a 'club young model' 'Such weird words, but in fact you don't seem to have really relaxed."

Each flash represents a beam of light accurately cutting through gravel that may affect navigation safety.

The short-range defense laser arrays on both sides of the main monitor on the head flash at high frequencies under the guidance of the continuous operation of the power recharge system and the navigation, detection, and fire control systems taken over by Lilith.

"It wasn't until just now, when you were traveling unscrupulously in this asteroid belt, that I felt the joy from the bottom of my heart."

The two additional propulsion units on the legs of the experimental MK1 had previously been adjusted to a position parallel to the main propulsion array. At this time, a more dazzling blue light emerged.

These gravels were instantly shattered and vaporized under the impact of high-energy lasers, turning from potential safety hazards into a piece of cosmic dust in an instant.

Amber gradually got used to the strong push on her back and let out a hearty laugh.

Looking at Lilith covering her face with her hands as if she was shy, Amber was immediately choked when her face was run over by the wheel of a car.

"Really? Master~"

The surface covered with potholes and meteorite impact craters seemed to be only a short distance away from the cockpit. The unique icy atmosphere of deep space asteroids hit his face through the sealed helmet.

How could this asteroid belt, which stretches for several astronomical distances, be breached so easily as a famous 'rich mineral area' in the game?

Lilith's avatar appeared in the cockpit, still Amber's favorite 'JK skin'.

"To be honest, Lilith, if it hadn't been for the last sentence you just said, I might have been moved to tears."

This means that Amber has flown half the distance and can start preparing to detect this area.

In this dangerous asteroid belt, Amber also 'performed' her extraordinary driving skills and understanding of the performance limits of the experimental MK1 to the universe alone.

The red paint on the experimental MK1 fuselage reflects a cold metallic luster under the light of extremely distant stars.

This is the confidence he has after being deeply involved in the airframe development process as a requirement proposer and 'test pilot'.

But she knew that her Master was sailing according to the shortest path given by the navigation system.

As the blue-white trail continued to lengthen, the relative speed on the cockpit's multi-function display soared like a rocket.

Lilith's voice was so serious that Amber had never heard before.

"A few thousand copies, okay, what's the problem?"

When the experimental MK1 passed by the last larger asteroid nearby and entered a relatively safe airspace, Lilith, who had been holding back for a long time, couldn't help but say:
"Master, this is the first time I've seen you so happy since you brought me out of the laboratory."

No man who loves 'big robots' can remain calm at this moment.

Pushing forward from 'High Speed ​​Cruise', we came to a gear called 'Test (Warning)'.

At this moment, the airspace around the body is actually not that vast, but filled with countless cold and silent observers - this is a dense and intricate asteroid belt.

Whenever the experimental MK1 flew past huge asteroids in a nearly ground-hugging manner, Amber would look at them through the full-circle monitor.

It really came in handy at this moment.

When Lilith told him that he had discovered an abnormal electromagnetic signal, Amber rushed towards the area without even a moment's hesitation.

Because he trusts Lilith's judgment.

After all, she is a strong artificial intelligence, not a human.

There is no such thing as 'feeling'.

If Lilith detected an abnormal electromagnetic signal, it would mean that she really discovered the signal through the asteroid base's detection array.

Although the mysterious signal had disappeared at this time, Amber knew that electromagnetic signals could not appear out of thin air.

The fact that it can pass the filtering of the asteroid base detection array further proves that this signal is not clutter.

So there will be something emitting signals in this area anyway.

And judging from the current situation, this unknown unit is very likely to have the ability to operate covertly.

But no matter what, Amber believes that as long as the distance continues to shrink, this mysterious unit will be discovered. Because the experimental MK1 was envisioned by Amber and the maintenance team leader as a long-distance assault aircraft with heavy firepower.

To put it bluntly, Amber was developed according to the positioning of 'deep attack'.

Red paint, deep attack.

What a perfect combo except not being able to fly kick.

Although it is still a prototype now, it is not even equipped with any weapons that can change the situation of the battle.

But Amber believes that as long as he continues to accumulate combat data and make adjustments, he will eventually be able to develop a 'phantom machine' suitable for this universe.

As a long-distance assault machine, Amber and others also racked their brains to improve the performance of the machine's detection components.

In the end, Orns, who still 'abandoned the dark and turned to the bright', took out the technology that Mary Bay Industries was still experimenting with - a new detection unit that has battleship-level detection capabilities but can be miniaturized to be equipped on a large HCP.

This is why Amber is confident that she can find this hiding guy.

In the asteroid belt, the target airspace marked by Lilith.

A two-seat reconnaissance boat with optical camouflage turned on is quietly lurking here.
The 10 200-meter-long nanotube lines released from the EWAC (Early Waning And Control) backpack carried in the rear half of the boat, together with the investigation units at the end of the pipelines, formed a temporary investigation array.

In this state, the reconnaissance boat can detect and collect battlefield intelligence at extremely long distances and with a certain degree of precision in the area directly ahead of the axis.

In the tandem two-seater cockpit at the front of the reconnaissance boat, the driver in the front seat is looking at the interface of the omnidirectional warning device, and from time to time he raises his head and looks around the dark universe - although this visual observation is just a kind of comfort. own behavior.

The electronic warfare officer in the back seat of the cockpit was concentrating on the tactical control interface on the screen in front of him.

The battlefield information collected from the EWAC backpack is constantly updating on the screen.

"The exchange of fire has basically disappeared. It seems that the battle has come to an end. Hey, the Timler family and the fleet of some company in the federation are really easy to fight."

"Does this mean we can prepare to withdraw?"

Ignoring the 'critical comment' in the second half of his partner's sentence, the pilot asked back, shaking his neck, then raising his hands and stretching reluctantly in the small cockpit.

"That's about it. I'm going to change the mode and do another round of detection, and then we'll retreat."

"Are you sure? Don't let me get overturned at the last step."

"An Xin, I have done this operation countless times. Even if it is discovered, it will only be a momentary signal and will basically be ignored by the radar controller."

Although his partner said reassuring words, the pilot of the reconnaissance boat silently put his hand back on the control column.

"Why do you think the superiors suddenly wanted us to collect information about this battle?"

"Who knows? Or the captain came directly to give the order, which is indeed quite rare."

"Hmm~"

The electronic warfare officer skillfully operated the screen and the surrounding volumetric light buttons while continuing:
"Before I set off, I heard from the captain that it seemed that the captain was given a direct order from above. This order even went beyond the fleet commander."

"Hey, we can't figure out what these big shots are thinking. Don't think so much. Just end the mission and evacuate. I don't know why, but I always feel so scared."

"Why, are you feeling weak? Are you doing too much 'self-generating' on the ship lately?"

"Fuck you, uncle" the scout boat pilot laughed and cursed.

He was just about to say something more when he suddenly heard the panicked voice of his partner behind him.

"Isn't it possible? We seem to have been discovered?!"

As soon as these words came out, the driver who was already a little tired suddenly woke up.

He looked at the situational awareness interface on the screen in front of him. His partner in the back seat had already shared the information, and he saw a red dot rushing towards the area at a very high speed.

"What the hell is this speed?" the electronic warfare officer was still sighing,

"Are you sure this thing is for us? HCP?"

"The characteristics of the maneuver look like HCP, but the speed is too outrageous. Anyway, the predicted track is coming in this direction. It is probably that the last round of detection was detected just now."

While speaking, the electronic warfare officer had already begun to recover the detection array deployed on the EWAC backpack.

“I feel bad”

The electronic warfare officer looked up at the nanotube lines being recovered and shook his head.

"We have already asked the maintenance team to report the problem of slow recycling of EWAC backpacks to the manufacturer, but they have never given us a reply! These are these stupid aristocratic capitalists."

The electronic warfare officer cursed to himself, and then opened a new interface on the screen.

"I'm going to activate a backup plan. At least the information from this investigation must be sent back."

The driver in the front seat didn't speak, but the tacit understanding in the past let the electronic warfare officer know that the other party was aware.

He quickly clicked a few times on the screen, and soon a progress bar appeared and began to operate.

"Okay, we are encrypting and packaging it, and it will be sent out in a moment."

"I think we may not have 'a while', and we have already entered the attack range. If it is the HCP, it will probably use the diffusion mode of the heavy particle cannon to force us out."

"Even the diffusion mode shouldn't be able to handle this thing under our butts, right?"

"That's right, so I'm going to run away."

At the same time as the pilot's voice came from the front, the electronic warfare officer also felt the scout boat turn a 180° somersault.

A strong pushing sensation suddenly appeared on his back, causing him to be temporarily pressed into the chair and unable to operate.

He looked at the EWAC backpack module with a red light on the schematic diagram representing the various modules of the reconnaissance boat on the screen, and reached out with difficulty to press a physical button.

"boom!"

There was a slight explosion, and before it could be fully recovered, the reconnaissance unit that was towed behind the reconnaissance boat was thrown away.

At the same time, the progress bar on the screen also came to an end.

The electronic warfare officer, who had gradually adapted to the forward G force, pressed the send button without hesitation.

An invisible electronic signal was immediately sent out into the depths of the universe.

The electronic warfare officer, who had already anticipated something in his mind, just wanted to hasten a word with his partner.

A deadly blue charged particle beam tore apart the dark space, and also tore the basically unprotected reconnaissance boat into pieces.

Seeing the fire bursting out of the locking frame, Amber put away the charged particle cannon, her face under the helmet mask expressionless.

(End of this chapter)