Chapter 1279 Flag
Time flowed slowly amidst the howling of the wind and sand, and the rotation of the sun and stars. In the heart of this desolate sea of sand, Amethyst and Early Summer waited from sunrise to sunset, and from sunset to the first light of dawn. Apart from the sound of the wind, there was an almost frozen silence.
Zijing sat cross-legged, her gaze still fixed on her surroundings and the girl before her, but her thoughts inevitably drifted to distant places, concerned about the unusual events in City A and City B. Although she trusted Alicia and Fu Hua's abilities, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
He finally spoke again, his voice slightly low from the long silence, "What are you waiting for?"
Upon hearing this, the girl with pigtails sitting on the rock gently turned her head, the morning light outlining the delicate profile of her face. She didn't answer, but instead a subtle smile curved her lips as she gazed into the depths of the desert, as if there lay a landscape that only she could perceive.
Not getting an answer, Zijing didn't press the issue. After a moment's thought, he took out a specially encrypted communicator from his pocket, one that could maintain a weak connection even in extreme environments. He quickly and concisely reported his current situation to Mei—being in the heart of the Sahara Desert, with Chuxia whose purpose was unknown, and who seemed to be waiting for something. At the same time, he also asked Mei to help him get real-time updates on the battle situation and progress in the other two battlefields (City A and City B).
Having done all that, he put the communicator away and turned his attention back to the present. Whatever Chu Xia was waiting for, he had to remain vigilant. And he also needed to know about the battle situation in the distance.
Thanks to efficient intelligence transfer and coordination, Destiny and Anti-Entropy completed the sharing of key information in a very short time.
Inside the command center, a holographic projection displays dynamic maps of City A and City B side by side, along with analysis reports transmitted back by Cecilia, Einstein, and others.
“Confirmed,” Einstein’s voice came through the communication channel, with the faint roar of mechs operating in the background. “Based on the reverse deduction of the residual energy trajectory of the Herrscher of Consciousness Aggregate in City A, and the wide-area scan and comparison of the energy sources of the same type of individuals that have been killed in City B… the main bodies of the two Herrschers, or rather their core clusters, are moving.”
Walter's face appeared on another screen, his expression grave: "Direction of movement... they are converging on each other. Although the speed is not fast, the trajectory is clear."
"Two Herrschers...want to reunite?" Siegfried frowned. "What are they planning? To throw a party?"
Cecilia gently patted him on the shoulder and calmly analyzed, "It could be complementary powers, or it could be some kind of evolutionary or fusion mechanism that we don't know about. In any case, we must prevent them from merging. Unknown aggregates could bring unpredictable risks."
“In that case, the interception mission is established.” Bishop Otto’s voice joined the channel, still carrying that elegant and aloof tone. “Schicksal will do everything in its power to restrain the Herrscher of Consciousness in City A and limit their movement speed. As for our Anti-Entropy allies, those 'little mice' in City B who are good at stealth, we’re counting on you.”
“Understood,” Walter replied in a deep voice.
With communication temporarily interrupted, Reverse Entropy immediately began high-speed maneuvering, heading towards the predicted interception area.
While struggling to steady himself in the swaying vehicle and adjusting the detection instruments in his hands, Dr. Tesla couldn't help but complain: "Intercept? Easier said than done! That thing is like a ghost, most of the time you can't see or touch it! You can only wait for it to reveal a weakness, or rely on Einstein's complex multi-angle observation algorithm to occasionally catch a glimpse of it! Just tracking its trail has already consumed most of our computing power! How can we effectively intercept it?"
Beside her, Einstein appeared quite relaxed. She sat comfortably inside a specially designed, eggshell-shaped mecha, even holding a cup of coffee. She silently stared for a moment at the nearly empty brown liquid in the cup, which had been churned by the vibrations, before slowly speaking, as if discussing the dinner menu:
"There are two options, Dr. Tesla."
“First, predict the movement trajectory of their core group. Since they need to move, they can't remain perfectly ‘unobservable’ forever, especially at high speeds or when changing direction, their interaction with the environment will inevitably produce more obvious disturbances. Using our wide-area monitoring network and real-time calculations by supercomputers, we can lock down the ‘corridors’ they are most likely to pass through in advance, and then…” She paused, took a sip of her nearly empty coffee, “and launch an indiscriminate saturation energy bombardment or physical impact. With coverage, we'll always be able to hit them.”
“Second,” she put down her cup, tapped her finger on the holographic control panel, and brought up the data model of Eden’s Star, “if Welt allows it and the situation permits, we can try to deploy Eden’s Star’s gravity field in the predicted key areas in advance. We don’t need to capture it completely, just create a gravity anomaly zone that is strong enough and wide enough. Even a Herrscher who can distort spatial perception will have their movement hindered in an abnormal gravity environment, and the probability of them becoming visible will increase significantly.”
She added, "Of course, both options have risks. A saturation attack could accidentally damage the environment or cause other uncontrollable consequences. Maintaining the gravity field requires a lot of the leader's energy and could be targeted and breached by the enemy. However, considering that these individual Herrschers have limited individual power strength due to their large numbers, they should not have the ability to easily break through this scale of interception."
She glanced at the communication interface: "Moreover, Schicksal will also suppress and restrain the Herrschers of Consciousness under their command, diverting their attention and reducing the efficiency of their mutual response."
After listening, Tesla still found it troublesome, but she knew it was the most feasible approach at the moment. She muttered, "Hopefully that thing won't come up with any new tricks..." Then she focused even more intently on capturing that elusive trace.
On the other side of Destiny, Fu Hua, who had been the main force in the battle and seemed somewhat relaxed during the tracking and interception, also received her support.
"Hey Hua, did you miss me?"
“…Vilvie, please don’t talk like Alicia.”
"Haha, it seems you've been bothered by her quite a bit lately. But you figured it out so quickly, is there really that much difference between my tone and Alicia's?"
Dressed in a mechanic's outfit, Velvet jumped from behind Fu Hua to in front of her.
Fu Hua pursed her lips and chose to get straight to the point: "What do we need to do next? What are our plans?"
"Don't rush, don't rush, let me explain slowly. Anyway, Sue and Desdobia are all on standby. If we go together, a mere Herrscher will be a piece of cake, won't it?"
"I think it's best to say things like that less often..."
