Abyss Solo
Chapter 317 - 154 Secret Insect Swarm_3

Chapter 317: 154 Secret Insect Swarm_3

The communication channel transmitted the humming of 026; she seemed to use this to bolster her courage.

Yang Ming rarely had a leisurely moment, standing by the porthole, gazing at this ’aging’ administrative star shrouded in dark clouds.

The Sherman Empire had existed for tens of thousands of Galaxy years, and these administrative stars had experienced multiple cycles of glory and decline, leaving deep historical deposits.

In the footage sent back by the Stealth Boat, Yang Ming saw a long-dead city.

Skyscrapers towering into the clouds were reduced to ruins, standing for who knows how long. Apart from their main structures, the other parts were weathered, like lonely flagpoles.

The relatively low buildings were overgrown with various plants, making this place look like a bizarre jungle.

The ground was littered with shards of glass, with fabrics of various synthetic fibers floating around, and occasionally one could see the corpses of animals.

Why did people abandon this place?

Was it because of the dark clouds in the sky and the acid rain that occasionally fell, with harmful substances in the air perennially high?

No, these were not the main reasons; technology could help people adapt to this environment.

The real reason for its gradual abandonment was perhaps only one: the persistent economic decline, with the youth drawn away to planets with more opportunities.

Yang Ming turned his head and glanced around, noticing Hera’s eyebrows knitted tightly and her lips slightly pursed.

"What’s the matter?" Yang Ming walked over slowly, hands behind his back. "Is there something unusual? Not feeling well?"

"I suddenly feel a bit irritable," Hera said in a low voice. "The data is very normal, no signs of life in the mantle layer. Do you feel anything?"

Yang Ming shrugged.

Hera took off her glasses, rubbed her tired eyelids, and continued to stare at the display screen.

Suddenly.

"Boss," 026’s voice suddenly broke. "Do you want to take a look at this?"

Yang Ming followed the sound, and Lyu immediately opened the video communication.

"Which one?"

"This one!"

pointed the camera outside the window, filling a relatively intact wall with the silver-gray exoskeleton-clad, black tactical helmet-wearing figure.

White Ghost.

This should have been painted in the past two years, with little weathering.

Yang Ming shook his head, smiling, "There might be human activity here, be careful."

"Mm!" 026 quickly turned the camera towards herself. "I’ll keep working!"

"Something’s not right," Lyu’s projection appeared beside Yang Ming.

"What’s not right?"

"Energy," Lyu said softly. "This city clearly hasn’t been inhabited, yet some circuits buried underground still operate normally. A few areas still have energy transmission."

Yang Ming pulled up an aerial view of the city below.

Lyu quickly marked several coordinate points, circling the areas with abnormal energy feedback.

Yang Ming felt as if his brain had been struck by lightning, immediately realizing something.

"Lyu, insects feed on radiation."

"Yes, boss."

"What provides stable radiation is not just a natural star; a constant star’s energy also comes from nuclear fusion," Yang Ming frowned. "Hack into this administrative star’s database, see if there were ever large-scale nuclear industries here."

Lyu was silent for over ten seconds.

A sense of unease gradually grew within Yang Ming.

Soon, Lyu spoke again. "This planet once had many fusion nuclear fuel cell production bases; however, they were abandoned hundreds of years ago due to technological innovations. Logically, no residual fuel should remain unless the New Federation people reactivated some dormant reactors... moreover, boss, our detection instruments mainly target the depths of the crust."

"Hera, change the detection target to the surface layer of the crust! Lyu, mark these abandoned factories’ locations, find these energy sources, guide 026 to investigate!"

"Understood, boss."

"Got it."

The bridge of the Feinan fell silent.

The small vessel piloted by 026 began heading towards the locations marked by Lyu.

After a dozen minutes.

Hera’s calm voice was the first to sound:

"A biological energy reaction appeared between three thousand and twelve thousand meters underground, very faint. I’m adjusting the parameters... If it were conventional detection instruments, these anomalies couldn’t be captured at all."

"Boss!"

spoke quickly, "Some surface buildings here have developed irregular cracks, seemingly sinking downward. But the terrain-mapping instrument’s feedback shows no voids underground... Seems like an issue, boss. I found a marker for an underground mining hub, but the mapping feedback... there’s no cavity beneath..."

No cavity?

Yang Ming decisively ordered, "Leave there, return to the Feinan."

"Yes, boss."

Beside him, Hera’s expression changed slightly.

She looked up at Yang Ming, her lips quivering slightly, and turned the screen halfway to face Yang Ming.

The screen was filled with dense green dots.

If the Earth were ’skin,’ these green dots formed capillaries beneath the skin.

The numbers in the upper left corner of the screen were constantly jumping, reaching seven digits at this moment and still rapidly climbing.

"Obviously, to avoid detection, they withdrew from near the mantle layer to the vicinity of the surface, disguising themselves as rock material," Hera said in a low voice. "This planet is done for."