Chapter 112: Past Failures
What is life, the standard answer is an open system with energy metabolism, response to stimuli and reproduction.
This gigantic, twisted monster active on the outer decks of the Space Barrier is to some extent life, but whether it is intelligent enough to think, the answer is no.
It is not so much a 'one life', but rather a 'monster' formed by the gathering of countless distorted individuals with similar components. It does not have an actual center, but only relies on some extremely rough and superficial instinctive reactions to carry out activities.
Lorraine Hill was floating in outer space, looking at the "huge monster" in front of him. When the size increased to hundreds of kilometers, almost the size of an administrative province, it was already difficult to use adjectives to describe the "magnificence" in front of him.
Like some sort of heaped dump, with all sorts of wet and dry mixed together, most of the surface burnt red from recent battles and invasions.
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When a normal person sees this kind of monster, the first time he feels it is not fear, because the fear that it is too big but diluted is like some kind of natural phenomenon. Then there was a strange and incomprehensible sense of twisting, it seemed to be a living thing, but it seemed to be a dead thing, in an ambiguous state.
The attack on the outer layer of its body will not irritate 'it', because it has no emotion and thinking, and the part of 'it' that invades the inside of the barrier will not know what the 'companions' on the outside are experiencing now.
"This feeling is disgusting." Vimiya hovered beside Lorraine Hill, looking at the unknown 'monster' in front of her.
"Yes." Lorraine Hill nodded, closed his eyes, tried his best to calm down the various emotions surging in his mind, and slowly suppressed the feeling of wanting to vomit in his stomach.
If it is said that there is an extremely bitter and unpalatable dish in front of them, an ordinary person would probably simply lick it and then put it down, but as the original wind, she has a very high perception, even if she tastes every detail of this dish at the same time, the shock and discomfort will be tens of thousands of times that of ordinary people.
After a long time, Lorraine Hill turned pale and looked at the monster below again. Another round of main gun salvo was fired, and then a small drone carrying a nuclear warhead rushed into the opened gap.
Violent explosions and fire waves flooded the field of vision, and it was incandescent. The spreading shock waves and heat waves scratched the outer armor of the barrier with countless tiny scratches, and various debris and sundries flew all over the sky and scattered into the vast space.
The flames were gradually extinguished, and the molten metal slowly turned from incandescent to dark red, and then slowly condensed.
Although there was a huge hole in its body, this 'monster' still didn't respond, and continued its previous behavior, constantly dipping into the depths of the barrier, looking for what it instinctively longed for.
That will be the soul of life, clear consciousness, items that gather magic power, and things that are connected to the sea of Aijiaka.
After several rounds of attacks, although the monster in front of him was covered in scars, and there was a huge defect in the upper part, it was still wriggling slowly, and stretched its arms and parts into the barrier, continuing to grope and search.
"The Holy White Barrier is being invaded!"
"The Holy White Barrier is being invaded!"
"The Holy White Barrier is being invaded!"
The indicator light above the head was bright red, and then kept flashing, telling the surviving personnel in the inner structure of the barrier that the situation was critical and they had to take immediate action.
"Damn it." Jeremy supported his injured head and stood up from the ground in a dazed state. There was a strange smell in the air, like the smell left after oxygen welding.
"The oxygen supply concentration in the environment is low and continues to drop. The host should immediately find an oxygen supply device, or leave the environment." The small indicator light on the combat suit lit up yellow, and a reminder sounded from the side of the collar.
A day ago, Jeremy's warship returned to the space barrier for repairs and supplies. He thought he could take a good rest for a day or two before continuing to participate in the battle, but he didn't expect the accident to happen so quickly.
Some kind of unknown 'life' appeared in the phantom of chaos, and within a day of hearing the news, 'it' really came to the door.
Perhaps because of the gathering effect, this barrier floating in space has gathered a large amount of magic power, energy, personnel, and countless transcendental beings, like a huge torch that is clearly visible, causing the nearby chaotic phantoms to come quickly like moths to a flame, and the speed is getting faster and faster.
Although there were various shelling and bombing obstacles along the way, after peeling off the layers of chaotic phantoms around the 'shell', the huge monster inside also appeared in the middle of all the screens. Soon, it pounced on this barrier, and began its invasion amid rounds of salvos and missile bombings.
All kinds of distorted gray and black chaotic phantoms wandered inside the barrier. They could easily corrode non-combatants with low resistance. Although the quick-response isolation gates played a part in the initial stage, these chaotic phantoms soon began to distort the wall and advance along various pipes.
Break apart the eroded armor faults, so as to temporarily stop its spread.
Jeremy, who was temporarily resting in the barrier, was urgently recruited as a combatant when the crisis came, and his task was to clean up the scattered phantoms of chaos that had spilled into the security module.
As the fighter pilot of Sequence 7, he quickly started to act with the cooperation of two companions who were also temporarily recruited.
A companion of Dragon Sequence 7 and him picked up the scorching sun annihilation gun that was issued, and were responsible for destroying the chaotic phantoms that suddenly appeared. Another nurse lady of Necromancer Sequence 6 was in charge of detecting and perceiving the chaotic phantoms, and using the equipment in hand to perform harmless purification on those scattered chaotic phantoms.
The battle is not difficult in the early stage. With the command and dispatch of the central AI, they can accurately find the chaotic phantoms hidden in the corridors and various small spaces, and then break them up and deal with them, but the situation after that is not so good.
The monster's 'arm' tore through the outer armor of the twisted barrier, and more and more modules inside were classified as dangerous areas that needed to be isolated. Therefore, the energy and strength that the central AI could mobilize became smaller and smaller. They also had to move back again and again under command, until they received the final notification from the central AI a few minutes ago.
[Please leave this space barrier urgently, the self-destruct procedure is about to start]
&nbi After marking the escape route for them on the map, no new orders came.
Originally, they were also going to leave on that escape boat, but...
In the rift that was torn apart suddenly, the 'long arm' mixed with twisted objects penetrated the side of the aisle, and then pierced into the structure inside the barrier. Under this sudden attack, half of the dragon's sequence companion was instantly torn off, and he was stunned by the heavy metal armor he brought up. He woke up a few seconds later under the electric shock of the battle suit.
There was still severe pain and dizziness in his head, but the situation in front of him forced Jeremy to get serious as soon as possible. He had to take action immediately, otherwise he would become an insignificant number on the death list.
Three meters away, the thick 'arm' with various 'parts' continued to penetrate deep into the barrier. The process was a kind of ground drilling machine, and the scattered parts on the arm were all 'flesh monsters' corroded by the phantom of chaos. This kind of thing was specially recorded in the chaos disaster in the early third era.
Their composition is extremely complicated, but most of them are beings that have lost their self-awareness after being corrupted by the phantom of chaos, but have not yet completely died. The soul inside is already fragmented and messy, but the body is dominated by the phantom of chaos, becoming something similar to the phantom of chaos, which only has instinct.
Compared with ordinary chaotic phantoms, it may still use some skills and speaking methods in life under the influence of incomplete soul fragments or partial memories, but you must not be confused by its appearance, thinking that he can still be saved, so your heart softens. Too many tragedies have occurred in history because of this kind of fluke hope.
Sometimes hope is not a good thing. It makes people feel lucky, so they become weak, and at the same time they can't make up their minds, and they can't get rid of the status quo. Therefore, in the allusion, the goddess did not release the last thing in the box because of pity, and its name is "hope".
Now presented in front of Jeremy are a few remnants peeled off from the 'arms', two of them should be the barrier staff who passed through the module, one of them only has the upper body, the other only has the side body, and it seems that they are not completely dead yet. Looking at Jeremy, he was a little confused, as if he was at a loss, and then approached this side.
Seeing the various organs and parts in its viscera constantly wriggling on the ground, dragging out long bloodstains, Jeremy felt nauseated, but the good training made him hold back.
"Inject me with combat stimulants." Under the helmet, he lowered his body and said, and then there was a response from the portable AI in his ears.
"Yes, start injecting t-470 stimulant. This medicine will temporarily stimulate the host's physical fitness. Its effect will reach its peak within 20 minutes, and then decay. After that, it will usher in a period of weakness for nearly 12 hours. Please pay attention." The mechanical synthesis voice explained quickly, and then Jeremy only felt a slight pain in his arm, and then a slightly cold liquid was injected into his body.
"It's started." He sank slightly, and then rushed out, kicking away the flesh and blood that was coming towards him, and quickly picked up the annihilation gun that was left on the ground when he landed.
Touching the firearm with his finger, the self-locking system on it was released instantly, and then he fired. The blue light-speed shot shot in sections, and three shots hit, opening a few holes in the flesh and blood monster one meter in front of him. Then, when the opponent fell to the ground, Jeremy backed up again and opened the distance.
The battle angered other flesh and blood in the distance that had nothing to do with them. Compared with the chaotic phantom, they still have some soul fragments and incomplete distorted consciousness, so they will also produce some basic emotions, such as 'anger'.
These flesh and blood monsters rushed towards Jeremy, one of them seemed to be a dead combatant, and there was an annihilation gun on Shula's arm, and the sporadic shots of the other party, even though they were inaccurate, made Jeremy shudder.
This kind of annihilation gun that comes to deal with the phantom of chaos is naturally effective when used to deal with people. It can even easily tear the battle suit on his body. If a part is irradiated for more than 0.5 seconds, it means that it will penetrate the protection and burn through the flesh.
.
Even with the injection of stimulants, Jeremy's back was still in a burst of cold sweat at this moment, and then in the rapid movement of repeated turns, he carefully avoided the muzzle of the annihilation gun, and then quickly shot it while taking advantage of the gap to shoot it out.
It took less than ten seconds, but as if experiencing life and death, after the opponent lost the most threatening gun, Jeremy easily eliminated all these flesh and blood monsters without much wisdom in the remaining minute.
[The energy of the annihilation gun is less than 10%, please pay attention to replace the battery] Just when he was happy, a mechanical synthesis sound rang in his ears, breaking this state.
"Well, it's really too early to be happy." Jeremy's eyes began to scan the surrounding environment, looking for possible supplies.
After turning around, the supplementary battery was not found, but another teammate who passed out was found, which was another necromancer sequence nurse in the trio just now.
Jeremy walked over, helped the opponent up, and then checked the indicator light on the opponent's combat suit, and found that although his condition was not good, fortunately his life was not in danger.
Holding up the slightly lighter body and carrying it on his shoulders, Jeremy took a few steps forward, and saw the huge and twisted 'arm' behind the corner. Before he got close, a dizzy shock hit him.
[Warning, the erosion of chaos is deepening, please leave the host immediately away from the current environment]
"Damn it, it seems that I can't take the escape route designated by the central AI."
"Call me the map and find other escape routes."
[The system receives it, starts searching, and starts connecting to the central ai...]
&nbi No response, unable to determine the real situation of the route, the specific choice is up to the host to decide] After that, a three-dimensional virtual 3D map appeared in front of Jeremy's eyes, in which four routes were marked.
"Choose the line in the h3 area below." Just as Jeremy was thinking about how to choose, a slightly clear voice came from his ear. It turned out that the unconscious nurse woke up.
"Why?" he asked subconsciously.
"I don't know how to explain it, because it's just some kind of strange intuition, but I believe it, because it has saved my life several times." The nurse struggled off Jeremy's shoulders, a faint brilliance lit up inside her helmet, and then went out, as if she was doing some kind of self-examination.
"Okay, then go this way." Jeremy is not a very curious person, and the situation is really critical now.
"I will open the way ahead, and you will follow quickly. How is the current situation?"
"Give me a minute, I need to heal myself." The nurse's voice was still clear, like cold mountain spring water, revealing a trace of indifference and calmness in her agility.
"No problem, I'll look for the energy battery again." When Jeremy spoke, he had rushed to the side room and started searching.
Time passed quickly, and a minute later, Jeremy came out of the room with several things, including emergency food cubes, drinking cleaning fluid, and a small pistol.
"Although it can't kill the Chaos Phantom, if it's a real monster of flesh and blood, it can still restrict the opponent's actions." Jeremy handed the pistol to the opponent, then pulled off the mask, quickly replenished water, and then took a big mouthful of emergency food ointment.
In this way, after 20 seconds, the two began to act.
The warning lights on the wall are still flashing, and the emergency evacuation notice conveyed by the central AI is repeated.
[All personnel inside the No. 3 barrier please leave quickly, the self-destruct system is about to activate! ]
[All personnel inside the No. 3 barrier please leave quickly, the self-destruct system is about to activate! ]
[All personnel inside the No. 3 barrier please leave quickly, the self-destruct system is about to activate! ]
Ignoring the tired-heard information, the two quickly shuttled through the bright or dark environment in silence, occasionally seeing the bodies of some dead insiders, as well as some chaotic phantoms wandering in the air.
But this meeting doesn't have time to deal with these guys. As long as they don't directly block the way, they all skip quickly and approach the target. The process is just like the nurse said, and it went extremely smoothly without any major emergencies.
Finally came to the cabin where the escape boat was parked. At this time, there were still two staff members who did not leave. They were very surprised to see the two people who walked in suddenly.
"You guys are really lucky. If it's another 2 minutes at night, we'll have to leave."
"Come on, this is the last escape boat, with a load of six people, there is already a wounded number lying in it, and you can set off with the two of you."
After speaking, he quickly opened the flap on the side of the escape boat and lay down by himself.
"Thanks." Jeremy didn't say much, pulled the panting nurse beside him into the lifeboat, and then sat on the side seat himself.
Soon, there was a roar and shaking. The lifeboat sailed into the predetermined orbit according to the procedure and began to accelerate. There were huge friction sounds, airflow sounds, and debris impact sounds from outside the cabin, and occasionally the interior would shake as a result.
Some of the five people inside turned pale with uneasiness, some prayed silently, and some concentrated on recovering, ignoring the outside world.
The sound, amidst the nervousness, the escape boat finally sailed out of the barrier and rushed into the vast and empty universe.
[Already out of the dangerous area, the surrounding environment is currently stable, and the external situation will be played, and the forward route will be set by you]
In the originally closed and dark environment, a screen appeared, showing the situation of the outside world. Now they are about ten kilometers away from the barrier, and they can see countless warships and fighter planes in outer space firing at the crawling 'monster'.
After setting the route away from the barrier and approaching the rear, the people inside were a little relieved, and only then did they have the leisure to observe the battle situation outside.
"What kind of monster is this?" Jeremy looked at the huge body that was almost endless in the screen, and was surprised.
"I don't know. We belong to the Ministry of Communications inside the barrier, but we still haven't received a certain title or explanation. There are a few conjectures, which came from the research institute at the rear headquarters."
"Oh, what did they say," Jeremy continued.
"This may be a certain dead Sequence 10 apostle. After being completely corroded and corrupted by the phantom of chaos, it formed an unknown monster." The sigh of the staff member came from the headset.
"It was supposed to die in the huge tidal impact of Ajaka, but the power bestowed by the Sun Crown gave it a certain kind of eternity, that is, the power of continuous resurrection and living."
"Under the leadership of consciousness and soul, this shattered power was gradually eroded and distorted by the phantom of chaos, thus forming the indescribable monster in front of me. This is why it has not lost its vitality even after drifting in space for tens of thousands of years."
"It's very sad, isn't it, the eternal torture and pain, the consciousness that has been torn into pieces, but can't die, can only rely on some kind of instinct to keep chasing the shadow of the'sun'."
"This is the past we have to face, the failure of human civilization."