There was a movie called Lucy.
Its story was about a heroine who was accidentally captured by drug traffickers and forced to help smuggle drugs across a border.
The method of transport was to cut open her abdomen, insert a package containing a new type of drug, then sew the wound shut. By hiding it that way, they intended to fool the border inspection.
Because the heroine resisted, the traffickers beat her violently and kicked her in the abdomen, causing the package to rupture. A large amount of the new drug poured into her body, triggering a mutation.
The drug accelerated the development of her brain and physical abilities, granting her powers beyond ordinary people: telepathy, telekinesis, instantaneous knowledge absorption, and more.
Her brain became like a supercomputer. As the development ratio of her brain continued increasing, that biological computer kept upgrading, allowing her to understand all things in creation. Everything came under her control.
Time travel or even the creation of all things became possible.
So, back to the current question. Kain's current situation was somewhat similar. Similar only, of course. Absurd things like time travel or creating all things were impossible.
At this moment, after injecting a large amount of D99, the Untouchable Domain it generated shrouded the Hive and covered the Brain-class's mind.
Then, because the Brain-class had actively formed a mental connection with him, attempting to forcibly invade his mind through telepathy, the result was that he read its mental data instead.
He could now freely browse all the knowledge it possessed.
The Brain-class should originally have been able to connect to a higher-ranking Superior Brain-class as well. But the instant he opened the Untouchable Domain, it established a physical shield, severing the connection to the Superior Brain.
The current Kain was equivalent to having entered the server room of a supercomputer that had been physically isolated and cut off from the network. Then his consciousness logged into the supercomputer through a device, and he became its highest-authority administrator, with permissions even above the computer's own AI.
Everything stored on that server was now open to him. He could read it freely.
However, the volume of data was so vast that he did not have enough time to read it, because he was limited by D99's duration.
Once the effect faded and the Untouchable Domain disappeared, he would be kicked out.
As for how long it could last, in this Lucy-like state, he could clearly tell how much time he had. He could also tell how long he could maintain it if he used up all the D99 he was carrying.
So before time ran out, he had to understand what he wanted to know.
First, he directly eliminated the BETA's origins from consideration. The moment the thought of understanding their origins emerged, he realized that the sheer volume of information would instantly crash his physical brain.
In that case, he would learn the specific functions of the BETA types on Earth, how they were manufactured, and where G Elements came from.
After trimming and cutting down the scope, once he determined roughly what content could be processed within the allowed time limit, he began reading the corresponding data on the server.
In that instant, he understood the precise functions of the Soldier-class, Warrior-class, Tank-class, Laser-class, and the other types. He also understood how G Elements were mined and refined.
At the same time, he constructed a new design. The result showed it was feasible, so he began implementing it.
Then he opened his eyes.
He would have to split his attention.
First, he released a Knight mech and let the Brain-class extend its tentacles to drag it away. It was pulled into the BETA manufacturing "factory."
He would give the Knight mech a brand-new upgrade using BETA technology.
That was one side of his divided focus.
The other side was that, while operating the upgrade process, he also had to control the mech he was currently piloting and face the enemy.
The BETA currently flooding into this hall were about to attack him and his machine.
He also had to be careful with the connection between the tentacles extending from the Brain-class's body and his machine. This was a wired connection.
If it was severed, his connection to the server would be severed as well.
As for why he did not make the Brain-class obey and issue orders while he was controlling it?
Naturally, because that was impossible. Otherwise, he would have done it long ago.
It seemed that under the Untouchable Domain, the Brain-class's body could no longer wirelessly transmit information to the enormous BETA swarm.
As for the factory that manufactured BETA, that could be operated because it was a wired connection.
...
Bao-Feng Squadron was still approaching the Hive.
"This is strange."
"Normally, once we got this close, the BETA should have noticed us."
"But there's no movement."
That made Bao-Feng Squadron extremely curious about what was happening inside the Hive.
"Cui Yifei, your team will guard outside. We'll go in and observe."
The captain of Bao-Feng Squad gave that order because Yifei's team was made up entirely of rookies. She did not want them dying this early.
"I refuse, Captain!"
"We refuse too, Captain!"
Their attitude made the captain smile wryly. It seemed they would not listen.
"Fine, then. But you must stay behind us. Understood?"
"Understood!"
"Bao-Feng Squad, beginning infiltration of the Cheorwon Hive!"
Even after they entered the Hive interior, no BETA came to intercept them. That eerie situation made them deeply uneasy.
At the same time, once they entered the Hive, Bao-Feng Squad could clearly feel their brains growing uncomfortable. Still, it remained within a tolerable range.
"Bao-Feng Squad has entered the second level of the Stem. BETA encountered: none."
The captain continued transmitting that information to the outside world.
But after entering the second level, the dizziness in their heads doubled.
"Bao-Feng Squad has entered the third level of the Stem. BETA encountered: none."
On this level, the dizziness was already making the squad members beside her operate their machines as if they were drunk. They could not descend another three levels.
Under normal circumstances, reaching the deepest area would require descending at least another seven or eight levels.
"The Main Shaft is ahead. Be careful!"
The Main Shaft was like the root system of a tree piercing into the ground and spreading in all directions. The Main Shaft itself was the central taproot, a deep pit extending straight down.
When they approached to a certain distance from the pit, the detection alarm rang.
"Based on these vibration and acoustic signature readings, the estimated number inside the Main Shaft is approximately thirty thousand!"
That instantly made every member of Bao-Feng Squad tense their muscles. A force of that scale was not something this squad could withstand.
However, the results of further detection were strange. The BETA were not moving upward. Instead, they were wandering back and forth underground?
They moved closer to the pit. With every meter of approach, the detected vibrations and acoustic signatures increased, and the estimated number rose with them.
By the time they reached the edge of the Main Shaft, which was nearly two hundred meters wide, the estimated number had already exceeded one hundred thousand.
When they extended the camera toward the pit, they saw the bottom packed densely with BETA crawling back and forth.
"What is going on, Captain?"
The ever-curious Yifei asked again.
"Don't ask me. This is my first time entering a BETA Hive too. I don't know."
Boom!
A sudden explosion startled every member of Bao-Feng Squad.
The explosion came from below the pit.
That blast also scattered the dense mass of BETA at the bottom, allowing them to see a scene that shocked every one of them.
In the lowest space, there was a TSF of unknown national origin, fighting alone as it slaughtered the BETA that kept trying to rush in and drown it.
And beneath that machine's feet, an unknown number of BETA corpses had already piled up.
(End of Chapter)
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