The battle raged on deep into the night.
The eastern defensive line endured wave after wave of onslaughts. The Skitarii soldiers displayed astonishing discipline and endurance; they strictly executed rotation orders, rapidly replenishing their energy bars and water during combat lulls, checking their gear, and then silently returning to their posts.
Although the lasguns equipped by the Skitarii were not the weapons and gear they typically utilized, they continued to shoot in the most efficient manner possible, minimizing the consumption of their energy cells to sustain prolonged combat for as long as possible.
Even so, the six standard battery cells carried by each soldier were running low one after another under the continuous drain, and logistics personnel began systematically distributing spare cells.
Valerie keenly noticed that the Skitarii's combat style differed significantly from that of the local garrison and even the Raiders. They focused heavily on squad-level fire coordination and shooting efficiency, rarely relying on individual bravado for risky assaults.
The officers' command was conducted via concise encoded directives, resulting in an exceptionally fast unit response time.
Their handling of casualties was equally calm and efficient—the wounded were rapidly evacuated, and the equipment of the fallen was immediately recovered, a process that left the integrity and firepower density of the defensive line virtually unaffected.
By 03:00 AM, the eastern line had successfully repelled seven major onslaughts, eliminating an estimated total of over two thousand infected.
The cost borne by their own side was: nine Skitarii killed and twelve heavily wounded and combat-ineffective; twenty-three local militiamen killed; and five Raiders killed. Compared to the casualty reports trickling in from other defensive lines, this loss ratio was nothing short of excellent.
During a rotational rest break, Tychus squatted behind a barricade, chewing on a bland nutrition bar. His gaze swept across the Skitarii soldiers a short distance away, who were silently checking their gear and replenishing their energy.
He nudged Raynor beside him with his elbow and lowered his voice, saying, "Jimmy, these 'corporate security guards'... are freaky as hell. Fighting with them is no different from machines on an assembly line.
They don't even blink when someone dies; they just pick up the gear and keep going. I've been around for a long time, and I've never seen even the toughest Marines act this cold-blooded."
Raynor did not respond, choosing instead to wipe the receiver of his grenade launcher with greater intensity. He had certainly noticed the anomaly of this unit; that level of non-human, clockwork uniformity was absolutely not something an ordinary security firm could train.
But right now, holding the line and ensuring more people survived was the only thing that mattered; all other questions had to be suppressed for the time being.
Utilizing a brief lull in the fighting, Valerie made her way to the temporary "equipment repair point" established deep within the factory grounds. Originally a tool warehouse for the mining plant, it was now piled high with various pieces of damaged equipment.
Several individuals wearing "Far Star Alliance" technician uniforms were busy at work inside—in reality, they were Tech-Priest apprentices sent from the Eternal Seeker, having undergone basic behavioral camouflage training.
The warriors of Security Team B continuously delivered the salvaged battle-damaged equipment.
The current haul included: four suits of CMC-300 power armor (two with severe structural destruction, two with moderate damage); seven suits of CMC-200 light power armor (mostly equipped by the Raiders); twelve C-14 "Impaler" gauss rifles; three flamethrowers; and various other accompanying gear.
The "technicians" were performing surface cleaning, deep scanning, and a so-called "repair feasibility assessment" on these assets.
Valerie walked up to the apprentice in charge of the area. He was a young man, a single mechanical bionic eye reflecting faintly in the dim light of the warehouse, though his demeanor strove to mimic the slightly rushed manner of an ordinary technician.
"Progress?" Valerie asked directly.
"Initial scans have been completed for all equipment, and the data streams are encrypted and transmitted back to the mothership in real time," the apprentice responded in a low voice, his speech sounding merely somewhat raspy after adjustments by his vocal synthesizer.
"The main structures of three CMC-300 suits are relatively intact, possessing the value to be repaired for deep study. The reverse-engineering of the C-14 gauss rifle's complete structural schematics is approximately eighty percent complete."
He brought up a data pad, displaying several complex exploded-view structural diagrams. "The most valuable discovery came from here—we recovered a few fragments of technical documentation from the partially intact local storage module of one CMC-300, including basic assembly flowcharts and a bill of materials for major components.
Though fragmented, it greatly accelerates the reverse-engineering process."
Valerie nodded slightly. Lord Osiris's objectives were being steadily realized.
"How long to repair these and deploy them onto the battlefield?" she inquired. If these power armors and weapons could re-arm the soldiers, it would undoubtedly instantly enhance the resilience of the defensive line.
"A conservative estimate requires twelve hours. If more specialized resources are allocated... it might be compressed to eight hours. However, we need a plausible explanation to handle potential inquiries," the apprentice answered cautiously.
In reality, relying on the repair techniques of the Adeptus Mechanicus, handling this "primitive equipment" might take only three or four standard hours, but they had to conceal their true technological capabilities.
"Explain it to the outsiders based on a twelve-hour schedule. The justification is that we carried targeted, specialized repair equipment and core spare parts," Valerie instructed. "Prioritize repairing those three CMC-300 suits and the five C-14 rifles in the best condition. Once the repairs are complete, hand them over to our side for coordination; we can consider enhancing the assault and hold capabilities of the elite squads within the Raiders."
"Understood."
Leaving the repair point, Valerie returned to the observation post.
Almost simultaneously, Dr. Hanson's communication request patched through. Her voice carried the fatigue of long-term, focused analysis, but overlaying it was an intense, astonished excitement from touching upon a terrifying truth: "Miss Valerie, we conducted ultra-high-speed genetic sequencing on the biological remains of that 'roller' mutant. The results... point in a direction we previously misunderstood."
"A directional error?" Valerie walked toward a relatively quiet corner, signaling for the communication encryption level to be raised.
"Yes. Our initial hypothesis—that the infectors were human-made biological weapons independent of the Swarm—may need to be completely revised," Dr. Hanson spoke with extreme speed, every word dripping with urgency.
"Deep within its genetic sequence, we discovered highly explicit genetic imprints and regulatory command fragments belonging to the Zerg Hive Mind. These are not external 'additives,' but the source code constituting the bottom-level logic of its life."
She paused for a moment, as if digesting the conclusion herself. "More critically, the mutated genes causing it to exhibit this unique morphology are not entirely 'brand new.' Over thirty-seven percent of the characteristic sequences can find highly homologous fragments within the foundational Swarm gene banks we acquired from Mar Sara—such as Zerglings and Hydralisks—but the expression is far more... frenzied and uncontrolled."
"Your conclusion is." Valerie's tone remained calm, but her eyes sharpened.
"These infected are highly likely not some independent monsters from the very beginning," Dr. Hanson's voice dropped low.
"They are the Swarm itself—a kind of disordered 'mutant variant' generated when the Swarm's hyper-evolutionary infection spores act upon human hosts during the initial phase, devoid of the precise regulation of a Hive Mind. They retain the Swarm's foundational instinct to consume and evolve, but their morphology and behavior are chaotic."