Saturday, September 2, 2023

Forcefully Doting On You - v2c20

 

Chapter 52

Note: Early chapter release, thanks to Sakuradahl's Ko-Fi donation 


The Galactic Empire and the Kale Federation dispatched a considerable number of warships, totaling ten.

Even though each person present had acquired information about the Kotal situation in advance from the military, and roughly knew the state of the Zerg, mankind hadn't actually seen the zergs in three hundred years. Seeing the audiovisual records left from before and still images from surveillance satellites simply wasn't as shocking as the actual live sight.

Mu Cai once saw a photograph of planet Kotal before it was invaded by the Zerg. As a resource planet, it wasn't teeming with life, but it boasted blue oceans, expansive grasslands, and spectacular rocks. But now, as far as the eye could see, it had been completely covered by the Zerg, a closely packed mass, a veritable nightmare for anyone suffering from agoraphobia.

Upon detecting their arrival, the ground-dwelling flying bugs began to tremble their thin, translucent wings, akin to a cicada's. The next moment, countless flying bugs rose into the air from the dense cluster, assaulting the warships like miniature fighter jets.

The warships were colossal and limited in agility. The swarm of flying bugs formed a well-distributed network, so dense as to cover the sky. The idea of the warships evading this onslaught simply didn't seem realistic.

Soon enough, the thick swarm of flying bugs covered the warships' external viewing glass.

Their abdomen wriggling, their giant compound eyes rotated against the glass, and they opened their mouths revealing rows of sharp teeth clamp down on the glass.

The sight was truly horrifying, and the more Mu Cai watched, the more nauseated he felt. Instinctively wanting to turn his head away, he suddenly felt a gentle pressure on his shoulder.

Claire stood by him, pulling him into his arms. There was a gentle look in his sharp eyes as he comforted Mu Cai by stroking his hair then gave a stern command: "Activate the protection program."

The operator immediately pressed the button. The glass instantly became ablaze with a burst of flame. Soon, two wind tubes jutted out from the hidden doors beside the glass, blowing a gust of wind at the flying bugs on the glass.

The flying bugs were a smaller species of the Zerg. While they had tough exteriors, their wings were thin, just like dragonflies. In the raging fire, the wings of the flying bugs burnt quickly. They were then removed off the glass by the powerful wind.

Everyone saw - outside the glass, once filled with dark swarms - the flying bugs peeling off, layer by layer, brightening up the view. Unexpectedly, the next moment, the flying bugs at the bottom of the pile were incinerated by the intense fire, causing their hard, supposedly fire-resistant shells to burst open suddenly.

Green blood and brownish-yellow excreted filth were thrown out, sticking to the glass.

The expression of everyone present changed.

Mu Cai felt somewhat nauseous.

Without hesitation, Claire ordered: "Activate the cleaning program."

The water guns and brushes hidden in the secret compartments swiftly cleaned up all the disgusting slime. Nevertheless, when the piece of glass in front of the warships was cleared again, everyone saw through the window several cloud-like swarms of bugs positioned above all the warships.

Upon closer inspection, Mu Cai realized that what he saw was not a swarm of flying bugs, but a fleet made up of warships stacked with countless shells of dead zergs!

These warships were massive due to the numerous zergs attached to them. Several such warships forming a fleet looked like a vast nebula.

And now, these massive nebulas were converging overhead,

Just like shadows sweeping by during the passing of the Grim Reaper.

Claire furrowed his brows and ordered, without hesitation, “Immediately report to the Military Department and request support from HQ.”

His words served as a strong stimulant, pulling everyone present out of their shock and fear. An operator on standby immediately transmitted an SOS request to HQ for reinforcements.

At this moment, an interference similar to mental power echoed in Mu Cai's mind.

His thoughts were abruptly thrown into turmoil.

Holding his head, Mu Cai carefully discerned the disturbance in his mind and found the noisy, rhythmically pulsating sound somewhat reminiscent of the chirping crickets he used to hear on summer nights.

Claire had been attentive to Mu Cai this while. Seeing him appearing uncomfortable and holding his head, an unusual worry and anxiety showed on his usually calm and aloof face.

The situation with the Zerg far exceeded their imagination. Given their current dilemma, Claire couldn't assure that he'd be able to lead Mu Cai to safety. He didn't even dare to imagine a scene where none of the ten warships survived.

If he could, Claire would willingly trade his life for Mu Cai's wellbeing. But if Mu Cai fell ill at this time, he feared that even if he managed to create the conditions, the latter might not have the ability to escape.

Claire couldn't help but ask, "Cai Cai, how are you..."

His words were cut off when the communicator on the console buzzed with an update from the crew stationed at the rear of the ship, "Sir, flying bugs are attacking the ship's power system!"

The power system was crucial for the operation of the warship. If it were blocked by flying bugs, the ship is likely to crash. Once fallen into the swarm, the consequences would be unimaginable. The surroundings of the power system were all robust protective devices, which lacked such attack facilities.

To drive away the zergs, they needed to send people out to handle the situation. But under the current circumstances, it would be difficult for mech soldiers sent out to receive effective support if they were surrounded.

The flying bugs had a remarkable level of coordination and strategic awareness, aiming specifically at the enemy's weaknesses. 

Everyone present felt a chill down their spine thinking about this.

If an already powerful opponent also possessed wisdom and was an unequivocal predator, humans would be on the brink of extinction.

Just as everyone was terrified, Mu Cai suddenly made a bold conjecture about the similar cricket-like mental power fluctuations in his mind based on the actions of these flying bugs.

Nolan was arguing with Claire on how to handle the current situation. With their differing opinions and considerations, they were in the midst of their indecision when Mu Cai spoke up:

"The flying bugs are commanded by the brain bug. We need to attack it first."

All eyes turned to him at his words.

The deep green military uniform could not suppress the young man's delicate, snow-white face. Standing under the light in the command room, he seriously pointed in a direction, "The brain bug of these attacking flying bugs is over there. We move the ship there and bomb that area."

The flying bugs were numerous, but most of them were witless fighting machines controlled by the brain bug.

Whenever a certain number of zergs are reached, a group will split off and give birth to a brain bug, specifically for commanding these zergs in combat actions. Here, no one doesn't understand the principle of capturing the leader first. However, the brain bug, being the soul of a zerg formation, always hides deep in battle, making it quite challenging to locate.

Nolan and Claire were arguing whether to send people to clean up the flying bugs or let the mecha warriors descend to the surface of Kotal star to search for traces of the brain bug.

But to their surprise, Mu Cai pinpointed the brain bug's approximate location. Everyone was astonished as to how he knew and at the same time doubted the veracity of his claim.

Claire snapped back to reality, his pair of green eyes fixed on Mu Cai, "Cai, did you sense something?"

Mu Cai nodded and explained to Claire, "Just before the flying bugs attacked the rear of the ship, I felt a mental power similar to the hum of insects sounded in my mind, coming from that direction."

The expressions on Claire and Nolan's faces changed.

Mu Cai had the ability to control others using his mental power, a secret known to few other than the high-ranking officers of the military. They knew well that the sudden appearance of other mental power fluctuations in Mu Cai's mind was far from normal.,

And it occurred just before the flying bugs took action, confirming that his claim was not groundless.

Mu Cai looked out at the distant ground through the glass, "The flying bugs attacked more than just our ship, their numbers are huge, hence more than one brain bug commanded them."

At this point, he looked at Nolan, "Major, I'd like to communicate with the people on the other warships."

Nolan immediately understood his intent. He looked at Mu Cai as if he had never seen him before, his gaze full of meaning, "Have you thought it through? This operation is no joke—it's a matter of life and death for everyone."

Regardless of the configuration of the battleship, every cannonball fired was irreplaceable. At such a critical moment, every resource was precious as their quantity determined how long everyone could survive.

Mu Cai said firmly, "Major Nolan, I understand your concern. But at this point, we must seize every opportunity."

Claire nodded vigorously in agreement.

Finally, Nolan ordered the operator to connect the communication with the other nine battleships. When the connection was established, a variety of voices were heard over the intercom — some calm, others tense, and still others hiding pain — reflecting the mental strain caused by the incoming swarm of flying bugs and overhead zerg fleet.

Without wasting any time, Mu Cai quickly briefed all captains on his situation and the approximate location of the brain bug.

The communicator fell silent for a moment.

Leon was the first to ask, "Cai, can you guarantee its accuracy?"

Mu Cai spoke honestly, "I can't. I judged the location of the brain bugs based on the mental power fluctuations in my mind, which only gave me the general direction and rough distance. I couldn't perceive the exact distance."

There was a pause from Leon's end, then his voice came through, clenched teeth and all, "Fine, having a rough distance is enough. In the end, it's just within this area — our detectors should be able to locate the brain bugs more precisely."

Since three hundred years ago, humans have been wary of the Zerg resurgence. Nowadays, warships are equipped with mental power detectors covering a limited range. These detectors have a small detection range, so without the general direction given by Mu Cai, finding the brain bug commanding the flying bugs in the vast land area of the planet Kotal might be impossible.

Leon was from the Kale Federation, considered an outsider compared to the people of the Galactic Empire. Seeing an outsider trust Mu Cai so much, most of the other Galactic Empire captains could no longer stay silent and agreed to give it a try.

Mu Cai communicated the source direction and approximate distance of the mental power fluctuations in his mind through the communicator. He also directed the operator of the 'Star of Dawn' to search at a distance of about one thousand meters in the one o'clock direction of the battleship.

Soon, the Star of Dawn battleship locked onto the source of the mental power and launched the first artillery shell. The moment this shell fell, countless flying bugs suddenly stopped their assault on the power system and flew towards the direction of the artillery fire.

However, it was already too late. In just an instant, the shell had landed. Although the surrounding swarm of zergs on the ground had begun to surge towards this location, attempting to protect the brain bug, this artillery shell had been specially designed by humans and had an extremely destructive force. It pierced through the entire swarm, obliterating it in the process.

After the rumble of explosions and the resulting dust dispersed, the flying bugs that had been circling the battleship suddenly lost their target and spun around like headless flies. They were then dealt with one by one by the mecha warriors protruding from the battleship.

Under Mu Cai's command, the explosions kept ringing, with countless flying bug corpses dropping to the ground. The mental power fluctuations in Mu Cai's mind gradually decreased, and the voices of the other captains coming through the communicator showed increasing confidence.

A look of joy appeared on Mu Cai's face.

Despite knowing that it's not the right time, Claire couldn't help but greedily look at Mu Cai. His behavior seemed slightly different from usual.

The young man stood in front of the communicator, wearing a headset, his soft black hair hanging at his ears, a calm and composed expression on his delicate white face. When he directed people in battle, his face was focused, and his eyes were shining.

He looked like a jade that had been weathered and polished, shining brightly.

It made him so captivating.

With the mental power fluctuations in his mind all gone, Mu Cai breathed out a sigh of relief and finally sensed Claire's gaze.

Turning his head and about to smile at Claire, he saw Claire's gaze, so deep it was like he wanted to swallow him whole.

Mu Cai was taken aback.

At the same time, a powerful mental power fluctuation, like the sharp cry of an insect, exploded in his mind.

The Zerg queen was about to give orders!

________________________


Author's Notes:

Claire: Cai Cai working seriously is so beautiful! I want to eat (✿﹃✿) (drooling)

Mu Cai: He's looking at me as if I'm a juicy peach.


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