Chapter 412: Cooperation with the UDF
"We can establish a temporary intelligence-sharing and cooperative relationship," Maine replied. "We will provide limited military support in exchange for basic information on the local situation, the characteristics of the hostile creatures, and the geographical environment."
The UDF officer visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
"I am Lieutenant White, assigned to the 42nd Mobile Battalion of the United Defense Force. We can provide all the intelligence we currently possess regarding the Mimics, as well as tactical maps of the war zone. Our forward command post is just three kilometers away."
"The proposal is accepted," Maine stated. "Please provide a safe passage route. Warning: Any hostile action will be viewed as a unilateral termination of cooperation and will trigger corresponding consequences."
Lieutenant White looked at Maine's cold mechanical body, then at the squad members with their superhuman physiques and armaments. He nodded solemnly. "Understood. We will lead you to the forward command. Please follow our vehicles."
The UDF soldiers began to carefully dismantle their defensive positions, and the armored vehicles turned around.
Throughout the process, their gazes never left Maine's squad—especially the two "Iron Guards" that began to follow with heavy, rhythmic strides. Their eyes were a mixture of awe, fear, and a sliver of hope.
Sasha silently accessed the squad channel. "I've performed a preliminary scan of their communication network architecture; the firewall level is low. I can establish deeper access at any time."
Kiwi added, "I'm continuously analyzing the residue of the Mimic communication signals recorded earlier in the background, attempting to build a signature model."
Pilar reported his latest findings: "The spacetime reading fluctuations are still present; the background intensity hasn't weakened. This phenomenon is extremely unusual."
David, meanwhile, was rapidly browsing the basic biological data on Mimics just downloaded from the UDF's open database.
Maine's squad followed the UDF's lead into the interior.
Two teams with vastly different technological levels had temporarily come together because of a common enemy.
Rebecca remained dismissive of the UDF's equipment, while Dorio continued to gather tactical information along the way.
Maine was calculating various possibilities. Cooperation with local forces was only the first step; they needed to understand the anomalies of this world as quickly as possible and find a way to report more valuable information to Ryo.
The UDF forward command post was located within a reinforced semi-underground bunker.
Lieutenant White guided Maine's squad through fortifications made of sandbags and concrete barriers. Along the way, UDF soldiers stopped their work, their eyes focused on this oddly equipped team.
They paid particular attention to the two "Iron Guards" following behind, their heavy footsteps echoing through the bunker's corridors.
Inside the command center, the light was dim, and the air was thick with the smell of sweat, dust, and the heat from electronic equipment.
Various display screens hung on the walls, showing war zone maps and troop deployments.
A middle-aged man, his epaulets indicating the rank of Major General, stood before the central tactical table. He was tall, his expression stern, and his gaze sharp.
Lieutenant White stepped forward to report in a low voice.
"General Briggs," Lieutenant White introduced, "this is Captain Maine. They are... willing to provide assistance."
General Richard Briggs's gaze swept over the members of Maine's squad, lingering briefly on Maine's ceramite body, Dorio's extraordinary physique, and the heavy weapons on Rebecca's back, before finally returning to Maine.
"I am Richard Briggs, Frontline Commander of the UDF European Theater." His voice was low, carrying the authority developed from years in high command. "White reported that you eliminated an entire swarm of Mimics with zero casualties of your own."
"Confirmed," Maine's synthesized voice replied. "The threat was neutralized."
"Your equipment does not belong to any known military system," Briggs pointed out directly. "Source?"
"Independent research and development." Maine avoided the core question with his usual brevity. "Our focus is the current threat—the 'Mimics'. Sharing intelligence is in the interest of both parties."
Briggs stared at Maine for a few seconds, seemingly weighing his options.
Ultimately, he gave a slight nod.
"Very well. In the current situation, any force capable of effectively killing Mimics is worth recruiting." He turned to a staff officer. "Grant them Level 1 war zone intelligence access."
Then, to Maine, he said, "We have a hangar area where your... heavy units can rest and refit."
"Accepted," Maine said.
Guided by a junior officer, Valerie and Jackie piloted the Iron Guards toward the designated hangar area.
The hangar originally housed several UDF main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers. As the two nearly four-meter-tall dark-red mechs stepped inside, the space suddenly felt cramped.
UDF ground crews and technicians watched from a distance, not daring to approach, whispering about the Iron Guards' angular armor and weapon interfaces they couldn't understand.
Valerie informed the UDF personnel through the Iron Guard's external speakers in a calm tone: "Please maintain a safe distance. We are about to perform system self-diagnostics and weapon status checks."
Subsequently, she and Jackie began executing standard maintenance protocols.
The armor plates on the Iron Guards' backs slid open, revealing complex internal energy circuits and cooling structures. Mechanical arms extended from the sides of the chassis to perform module diagnostics.
The low hum of the plasma reactors and the high-frequency whine unique to energy weapon charging echoed through the hangar, drawing gasps of amazement from the UDF technicians.
The standard-model Iron Guard piloted by Jackie demonstrated the compatibility of its multi-purpose hardpoints. Based on the local map data downloaded from the UDF database, he rapidly adjusted the configuration parameters for the auxiliary sensors and secondary weapon systems.
Meanwhile, in a temporary rest area assigned to them in the command post, David and Lucy were analyzing the Mimic samples collected earlier.
The samples were placed in portable isolation boxes, with Lucy's quadrupedal automaton standing by, its sensors also aimed at the samples.
"The biological structure is extremely specialized," David said, operating the analyzer as data scrolled across the screen. "There is a high-density metallic fibrous network embedded within the tissue, serving both neural conduction and structural support functions. The cells exhibit a degree of mechanical-symbiotic character."
Lucy pulled up the basic information on Mimics from the UDF database for comparison.
"UDF reports describe them as a collective consciousness organism. Individual units have low intelligence, but group action efficiency is extremely high. Their core driving units are called 'Omegas', possessing high intelligence and some kind of... special ability." She pointed to the energy readings on the analyzer. "A continuous low-intensity energy signal has been detected within the samples. It is different from any known bio-electricity or chemical energy; the signal pattern has non-local correlation characteristics."
"Like a kind of biological telemetry beacon," David speculated. "This might be related to their group coordination. We need more samples, especially from different individuals and suspected command units, for comparative analysis."
Pilar cut in from the side, "My spacetime chronometer is still showing background fluctuations. Whether these fluctuations are linked to the Mimics' energy signals remains unknown."
Sasha and Kiwi focused on electronic warfare.
Sasha utilized the limited network access granted by the UDF to quickly browse through war zone communication logs and after-action reports.
"UDF engagement records show that the Mimics' learning and adaptation speeds are incredibly fast. They can rapidly adjust their tactics to counter human weaponry and deployments."
Kiwi was attempting to track communication frequency bands potentially used by the Mimics that went unrecognized by the UDF. "If they are using quantum entanglement or other non-electromagnetic wave communication methods, conventional detection means will find it very difficult to spot them."