The urgent alarm echoed in the cockpit of the Bluebird: "Zerbeasts detected!"
"Zerbeasts invasion!"
"Security personnel under threat!"
The cabin lights turned red, casting a determined glow on Ryan's face. His eyes were sharp as knives, and every movement exuded seriousness and focus.
On the main screen, six rapidly moving Zerbeasts were precisely locked on. Their images were magnified: these creatures, over three meters long, resembled lizards with elongated, flat bodies, powerful limbs, and claws that could leave deep marks on rock layers. Their tails were like double-edged swords, and their mouths constantly dripped with pale green corrosive saliva.
H-class Zerbeasts—Lacertoclaweus, marked with the highest alert in red.
The positions of Maughan and the other five security personnel flashed as dark yellow dots on the screen, indicating the danger they might face.
"Astra!" Ryan calmly issued the command. "Calculate the Zerbeasts' movement trajectories immediately."
"Predict their routes."
"Fire in one second."
Ryan's calmness and composure were crucial at this moment. Time was tight, and there was no time to warn Maughan and his team. Their survival depended entirely on his judgment and preparation.
Fortunately, Ryan was fully prepared.
The six-barrel Gatling gun was already preheated, its muzzle steadily aimed at the collapsed area ahead.
The Bluebird's altitude advantage allowed it to cover the entire battlefield.
Although the number of Lacertoclaweus exceeded expectations, the movement patterns of these low-level Zerbeasts were not difficult to predict.
On the trajectory quickly calculated by Astra, the six Lacertoclaweus were moving as expected, using the terrain's cover and depressions to avoid the security personnel's sight.
Target movement trajectory generated; Machine gun ballistic prediction completed; Fire!
Ryan decisively pulled the trigger.
The firing lines from the Bluebird's gun barrels shot out simultaneously, almost instantly switching targets. Four lines of fire cut through the air at incredible speed, shattering the Zerbeasts' bodies before they even realized the danger.
With the fierce impact of the fire lines, rocks exploded beneath them, and debris and flesh flew everywhere.
The sound of gunfire and the impact of bullets intertwined, creating a symphony of death.
One Lacertoclaweus was instantly shattered at the waist, its body split in two, and with a shrill howl, it was thrown into the air.
The heavy machine gun bullets were immensely powerful, far exceeding the lethality of ordinary assault rifles and even more ferocious than shotguns.
Dozens of bullets, like the scythe of death, effortlessly reaped the lives of the Lacertoclaweus.
Four Lacertoclaweus were knocked to the ground by the sweeping fire lines.
The sudden firing of the Bluebird immediately caught the attention of Maughan and the other security personnel.
They saw the blood splattering at the fire line's impact points, the sight of Zerbeasts being hit was shocking, and their faces turned pale.
"Oh my God!" "It's Zerbeasts!"
They quickly raised their assault rifles, ready to fight.
Four of them witnessed the Zerbeasts being shattered at close range; the other two saw the Lacertoclaweus leaping out of the depression, rushing towards the security personnel at incredible speed.
The sound of gunfire rang out again, assault rifles firing.
"Fall back!"
"Hurry up, fall back!"
"Create distance, give Ryan time."
Among the six security personnel, five almost simultaneously raised their assault rifles, while Maughan made the wisest choice.
Maughan knew very well that at close range, ordinary security personnel facing Zerbeasts, the firepower of their assault rifles was far from enough to kill Lacertoclaweus. If they responded poorly, there could be casualties!
However…
With two low and powerful whooshing sounds, bright flames suddenly erupted under the feet of two Lacertoclaweus.
Boom!!
With a loud explosion, the Lacertoclaweus were thrown into the air by the intense blast wave, their bodies flipping in mid-air, torn apart by the explosion.
The heavy bodies fell to the ground, lifeless.
Like divine retribution, the aerial cannons precisely killed the last two Lacertoclaweus, and the battlefield fell into a dead silence.
However, the six security personnel did not relax their vigilance. They held their guns and quickly retreated from the meteor crater.
The Bluebird hovered in the air, its muzzle always pointing at the collapsed pit area, maintaining high alert.
Maughan rushed out of the combat zone, quickly entered the cockpit, and piloted the Bluebird into the air, launching a fierce attack on the meteors marked with magnetic fields.
Boom! Boom!
The cannon's power far exceeded that of the heavy machine gun, enough to destroy the meteors' structures.
Maughan's attack was exceptionally fierce. The recent narrow escape made him deeply aware of his mistake as a captain. His greed for the raw meteor ores had made him neglect the vigilance of the mission area, almost leading to his companions' sacrifice, a grave error!
Fortunately, Ryan acted in time, making up for everything.
But!
Maughan couldn't forgive his own mistake.
Because Ryan's outstanding talent had likely already alerted Torres, a situation they had always tried to avoid.
Ryan's talent being exposed too early could bring him great danger.
…
In the monitoring center, Carlos and the others witnessed Ryan's series of precise and coherent actions, solving the six Zerbeasts.
Carlos breathed a sigh of relief, a relieved smile appearing on his face.
The six security personnel were safe and sound.
However, Torres, Iron Bear, and Karim's faces turned exceptionally grim.
Ryan had demonstrated not only strong control skills and on-the-spot adaptability but also the decisiveness and talent of a warrior.
They asked themselves, even if they were on the scene, could they have done better?
Iron Bear and Karim exchanged a glance, both showing serious expressions.
One Maughan might not be a threat, but two such strong opponents posed a serious threat to them.
The six survived… Carlos dodged a bullet.
With the end of the meteor fall incident, Carlos would undoubtedly gain a lot of resources from the meteors, making his future power even stronger and harder to deal with.
Although Torres appeared calm on the surface, his heart had sunk to the bottom.
The more outstanding Carlos's subordinates were, the more stable his position in TerraNova Corporation would be.
This was the last thing Torres wanted to see.
Carlos deliberately provoked Torres, smiling smugly: "Deputy Leader Torres, how did the newcomer I recommended perform?"
Excellent? Torres cursed inwardly, but as the deputy leader, he had to give a fair evaluation. "Indeed, a newcomer making decisive decisions in a crisis, saving the situation and his companions, is a rare quality. Carlos, I suggest we report to the company and commend Ryan, while encouraging all security team members to learn from him. What do you think?"
"Learning is unnecessary; he's still a newcomer with little experience. This time was just a lucky success. But commendation is deserved, give him some bonus, it's what he earned!"
Carlos turned, sternly ordering Kazemi: "Immediately save today's monitoring data and send it to the company executives. I, Carlos, along with Deputy Leader Torres, will jointly recommend Ryan for his heroic actions."
"Understood, sir!"
Kazemi responded quickly, glancing at Torres with a hint of a smile, and began skillfully operating the control panel.
Meanwhile, Jane had not yet fully recovered from the shock.
Her thoughts were still on Ryan's coherent and precise shooting—four lines of fire and two aerial cannons, solving six Zerbeasts in an almost impossible way.
At that moment…
Jane suddenly felt a vague illusion, as if the battlefield was Ryan's true stage.
His past life as a miner seemed like a diamond in the rough.
Now, he was finally showing his true self.
Jane couldn't help but recall what Ryan had once said to her: "How could I ever abandon the quest to conquer the vast universe for something as trivial as a "vase"?"
At the time, she thought it was just Ryan's boast to protect his pride.
However, after witnessing the recent battle, Jane began to believe his words.