The two men continued their advance through the corridor, incessantly activating biological scans in accordance with Qin Mo's orders to locate the psionic entity he required. After traversing approximately a thousand meters, a purple marker appeared on the HUD.
"Psionic response detected; target has been marked."
The cold, electronic voice resonated within their helmets. Grey turned his gaze towards the direction of the purple marker, aligning his shoulder cannon to obliterate a path through the metal wall. Given that no aliens could possibly be lurking within the wall, Grot was designated as the primary attacker.
Initially, Grot believed that his gravity hammer would suffice against the alien horde. However, upon examining the HUD, he noted the combat system's analysis of the aliens. The claws of the creatures were magnified and labeled with warnings of danger.
Without hesitation, Grot stowed the gravity hammer in his weapon slot and raised both hands to aim his shotgun laser forward. Once more, a swarm of aliens surged at the corridor's end, and Grot opened fire, effortlessly blocking their advance.
While the aliens proved resilient, the sheer volume of shotgun lasers overwhelmed them, leaving a trail of corpses scattered across the corridor.
"These alien carcasses are rather plentiful," Grot remarked, raising his hands to allow the shotgun lasers to cool. The heat generated from the firing was swiftly absorbed by the energy engine, enabling Grot to unleash another torrent of fire within seconds.
"You could simply stand there and let the gravity shield crush them," Grey advised casually as they walked.
"I know, but I relish in exterminating them. Otherwise, why equip this power armor with weapons?" Grot replied with a grin.
Upon reaching the end of the newly cleared passage, Grey once again opened a route with his shoulder cannon while Grot continued to rain fire upon the encroaching aliens.
This experience felt less like combat and more akin to a leisurely stroll, allowing the two to engage in conversation.
"Weren't the brothers urging you to have the legion commander name your power armor?" Grot inquired. "What did you decide to call it?"
"Power armor; the name is simply 'Power Armor.' That's what he said," Grey replied dismissively.
"Surely, our power armor should be distinguished from that of the regular soldiers?"
"That's what I argued at the time, but I vexed the commander so much that he casually concocted a name—'Imperial Guard.'"
"'Imperial Guard'? That sounds decent."
After proceeding either downward or sideways for half an hour, Grey noted he was a mere ten meters from the psionic response marker. As his shoulder cannon fired again, expending seventy percent of its energy to create a molten path into the subterranean void, it became evident that the enemy was already aware of their intrusion and had prepared accordingly.
As Grey surveyed the expansive underground chamber, he observed a throng of rebel soldiers hiding behind cover, laser rifles and conventional weapons aimed directly at him.
In a corner of this cavern, an ally soldier wielded an alien long knife, weakly fighting against two rebel infantrymen.
"Albert." Grey recognized the soldier, recalling the previous mission where he, alongside Qin Mo, had rescued Albert and Duncan.
The struggle between Albert and the rebel infantrymen resembled a public execution; he was thoroughly overpowered, having lost an arm and bearing countless wounds.
While the primary objective of this mission was not to rescue Albert, Grey felt compelled to help him, provided he could first fulfill Qin Mo's task of capturing a psionic entity.
The rebel psion stood just behind the infantrymen, accompanied by another psionic.
Upon closer inspection, Grey realized that the psionic response markers were not singular but rather two overlapping signals.
"Open fire!" one of the psionics bellowed.
A barrage of beams and live ammunition hurtled toward Grey and Grot, who stood unfazed amidst the hail of gunfire.
Grey raised both hands while Grot deactivated his gravity shield and retrieved his gravity hammer from behind.
With the shotgun laser firing from Grey's hands, the rebel infantrymen and their cover were riddled with holes within two seconds, leaving no intact corpses in their wake.
While some might not yet be dead, their defenses had certainly been obliterated.
The thrusters on Grot's jetpack ignited, propelling him rapidly toward the two psionics.
As he charged, one of the psionics raised her hand, causing an array of debris to levitate and ensnare Grot, momentarily halting his advance.
Just as Grot sought to free himself from the entangling objects, the other psionic unleashed a torrent of flames.
"I am an Imperial Guard! You wretched beast!" Grot roared amid the flames, the power of his jetpack allowing him to break free from his constraints and swing his gravity hammer forcefully at the psionic's head.
As Grot crushed one of the psionics into a flat shape, Grey lifted his left hand, using telekinesis to pull the other psionic toward him, gripping her neck with a vice-like hold.
The integrated psionic suppressor within the power armor rendered the psionic helpless, her futile attempts to claw at his armors only serving to signal her inability to breathe.
The battle concluded.
Grot rushed to Albert's side to assess his condition. After conducting a biological scan, Albert's outline was highlighted, with a stark message floating in the center.
"Severe blood loss; survival probability: 0."
"He's dead," Grey announced.
"Indeed," Grot nodded, his gaze lingering on Albert's face. "He appears to be smiling, likely having witnessed our slaughter of the rebels."
In silence, Grey activated the biological detection, identifying any enemies who had not yet been completely slain and using his telekinesis to explode their heads.
After ensuring there were no living foes in the underground chamber aside from themselves and the captured psionic, Grey turned to Grot. "We cannot leave his body here; we must take him back."
As they retraced their steps, it became evident that they had not exterminated every alien. By the time they embarked on their return, the corridor was already teeming with grasping, clawing aliens.
This time, Grot led the way, shouldering Albert's corpse while clearing the path with his shoulder cannon.
As beams shot from the cannon, the aliens ahead were instantly turned to ash, proving far more efficient than using the gravity hammer or shotgun lasers.
During the journey back, silence enveloped them.
Grey and Grot both found themselves contemplating that the only distinction between themselves and the ordinary soldiers might simply be their possession of Imperial Guard power armor.
Without this armor, they could only imagine how many times they might have perished.
Though Grot appeared boisterous, he possessed a delicate sensibility and began to worry for the soldiers merely clad in standard power armor across various positions.
Grey, on the other hand, pondered whether he should undergo further enhancements, ensuring he could still retain combat effectiveness even without the Imperial Guard power armor.
Upon exiting the collection site, the two boarded a transport vessel, heading back to the fortress where the 47th regiment was stationed.