Chapter 25: The Anti-Eye Drone Hive!

Although the container was entirely black, it was effectively divided into two distinct sections.

The upper portion was covered in a dense, intricate pattern of regular hexagonal grids. Each grid measured approximately ten centimeters in diameter, with thousands of them blanketing the surface of the container.

The lower portion also featured numerous regular hexagonal grids, but they were not as tightly packed and were smaller, measuring only about two centimeters in diameter.

Beyond these, the container appeared clean and devoid of any other features. Yet, despite its plain appearance, everyone’s gaze remained fervent. This was weaponry from the interstellar era—authentic "alien technology" for their time.

"The war in that city is still ongoing, isn't it?" Interstellar Shen Yu looked toward the city's direction. "Actual combat is the best demonstration. Notify your soldiers to remain calm; we will explain through live action."

"Understood!"

The others immediately began their preparations.

On the front lines, a large group of soldiers—blindfolded, wearing only head-mounted cameras, and acting on detailed instructions relayed through their earpieces—suddenly received orders from their superiors.

"Powerful support is arriving shortly. Combat units at all levels, do not panic. All combat missions are temporarily suspended. Stay safe and follow commands."

Almost instantly, the frontline command channels were flooded with chaotic chatter.

"What kind of powerful support? Why would it cause panic?"

"Can you explain that more clearly?"

"Our company has already cornered four of them; are we really calling off the operation?"

"..."

For the lower-level commanders who remained in the dark, this sudden, unexplained order was baffling. Given that they and their soldiers were risking their lives on the front lines, it was only natural for them to discuss and question it.

However, it wasn't that their superiors didn't want to answer; they simply didn't know the specifics themselves. The existence of Shen Yu and the Multi-Dimensional Doomsday Civilization Mutual Aid Association had only been revealed to them a dozen hours prior. The situation was unclear, and because it was so paradigm-shifting, spreading information without preparation could easily lead to rumors and panic.

Nonetheless, in the military, orders must be obeyed. Once their questions went unanswered, the commanders ceased their discussions and immediately directed their frontline troops to suspend operations and seek cover.

Meanwhile, at the military airfield, Interstellar Shen Yu had already begun his work. He walked to the other side of the container, where a seemingly smooth surface suddenly revealed itself to be a screen.

"We have localized the interface to your national language and adapted it to your operational habits. I am now transferring top-level authority," Interstellar Shen Yu said, quickly completing the authorization for Jiang Hui. "The official name of this weapon system is the 'Anti-Eye-Bug Drone Hive and Core Trophy Recovery System.' The upper section houses the hive, which contains a total of ten thousand Anti-Eye-Bug drones, complete with an automated maintenance system. The lower section is the storage compartment for core trophies, designed to facilitate the counting of specimens and to minimize energy loss from the biological organs..."

The name alone made it clear that this weapon was specifically designed to counter the Eye-Bugs.

This realization left the senior commanders deeply shaken. After all, only eight hours had passed between the moment they sent the Eye-Bug sample and the moment this large-scale weapon was designed and manufactured. The productivity of an interstellar civilization was far beyond anything their era could comprehend.

However, for any weapon, the most important factor was combat effectiveness.

Jiang Hui did not hesitate. The interface before him was entirely in Chinese, user-friendly, and equipped with an AI system.

"The maximum combat radius is a full hundred kilometers? That covers the city entirely. Then, let’s make the city the center of operations and deploy all units!" He drew a circle around the city area on the map and issued the command.

The next moment, a vibration resonated through the air.

Everyone clearly saw strange, spherical objects emerging from the grids above. Indeed, they were spheres. They lacked the propellers found on the drones of this era, yet they hovered steadily in mid-air.

Before the onlookers could even discern the shape of the spheres, a series of sonic booms erupted in the air. The spheres zoomed off in various directions at incredible speeds, scattering with calculated precision. In the blink of an eye, they vanished from sight.

The sky above the airfield was empty, and even the sound of the drones had faded.

"That's fast!" someone exclaimed. "The acceleration is incredible, too. That sounded like a sonic boom!"

They weren't mistaken; those were indeed the sonic booms of small objects breaking the sound barrier. The key, however, was the acceleration. If faced head-on, human reaction times would be completely insufficient to respond.

"The Eye-Bugs have a maximum flight speed of 170 meters per second," Interstellar Shen Yu explained. "They are also extremely agile. While that speed is a thorny issue for you, it is insignificant to us, as we have mastered micro-anti-gravity propulsion systems. The Anti-Eye-Bug drones can reach 1.8 times the speed of sound, support rapid course changes, and share battlefield data via quantum communication to instantly generate a tactical map, allowing them to adapt to any complex environment."

1.8 times the speed of sound—and all this from something the size of a child's fist?

The commanders present were filled with awe, rendered speechless. They were well-versed in modern weaponry and had certainly considered using long-range drone strikes, but the speed and agility of the Eye-Bugs far exceeded the limits of their current small-scale drone technology. They were invisible, impossible to target, and impossible to hit; they had no practical combat value.

Yet, this new drone could toy with the Eye-Bugs based on speed alone.

"What about their offensive capabilities?" Jiang Hui took a deep breath, staring intensely at the screen. He could access the viewpoint of any single drone to observe the battlefield.

"Each drone is equipped with six micro-high-energy particle beam emitters, specifically designed for small, highly maneuverable enemy units," Interstellar Shen Yu said, his voice low as he watched the screen as well.

In his world, the Ethereal Civilization also possessed powerful biological weapon technology and had designed a wide variety of biological armaments. Highly mobile, small-scale enemy units like the Eye-Bugs were quite common.