The Gamma-9 and Bower charged into the workshop.
Both held a freshly printed red document in their hands, their palms drenched in sweat.
Just a moment ago, Xiao Liu had issued a "Warning Order" across the internal network.
In a standard military command structure, this was a document designed to inflict maximum psychological stress.
Its sole purpose was to inform you that "a battle is coming," detailing "who the enemy is," "where the enemy is," and "roughly when they will arrive."
What it explicitly omitted was "how to fight," "what to fight with," or "what the specific tactics are."
It was the equivalent of a doctor barging in to inform you that you have a terminal illness, before turning around and walking out without writing a single prescription.
For core members, receiving a document that delivered nothing but bad news without offering a solution triggered explosive levels of anxiety.
Gamma-9's expression was currently darker than the bottom of a burnt pot.
He glared fixedly at the parametric specifications for the "Læss Giant Centipedes" listed in the document—Andy still had no idea what these creatures were actually called.
Several kilometers in body length, a biomass armor thickness exceeding thirty meters, and possessing overwhelming kinetic energy and sheer mass.
Even though Gamma-9 was a Tech-Priest with severely half-baked technical expertise, he understood with absolute clarity what those numbers meant!
Pure, unadulterated physical flattening!
It did not matter what high-grade concrete Horisenburg's city walls were poured with.
When tens of millions of tons of biomass slammed into them at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour, there could be only one outcome.
The walls would collapse, and everyone would perish!
In the face of absolute mass, faith and tactics alike were utterly meaningless!
Gamma-9's logical core could not compute a single winning scenario.
Bower fared no better.
Forcing himself to appear calm, he leaned over the holographic map, tracing lines across various defensive nodes with his electronic stylus.
"If we plant all our landmines in Sector Three—"
"No, the yield is insufficient; it won't snap their legs."
"What if we concentrate all Iron Ostriches for indirect saturation bombardment—"
"Still useless. Their wave-absorbing carapaces are too thick; high-explosive artillery shells won't even penetrate their armor."
Bower continuously proposed plans, only to immediately shoot them down himself.
Sweat trickled down his forehead, dripping onto the map.
He could find no solution.
It appeared to be a defensive battle doomed to defeat.
"Enough."
Andy sat in his chair, tapping a finger on the armrest.
"Stop blindly wringing your hands. Let me share my thoughts."
Both men silenced themselves instantly, standing at attention, their eyes filled with hope.
In their hearts, the Lord Sage was omnipotent. He surely possessed some earth-shattering black-tech trick—like elevating another giant cannon from deep underground—to resolve this hopeless situation.
Andy stood up, straightening his yellow robes.
"I plan to ride out and fight them myself."
"..."
Dead silence descended upon the workshop.
Gamma-9 and Bower stood with their mouths agape, their expressions frozen solid.
They doubted whether their auditory sensors were malfunctioning.
The boss was going to lead a personal expedition?
And fight them single-handedly?
Are you serious, Lord Sage? At a time like this, you're still in the mood to joke around?
Isn't that a bit too large-hearted?!
However, after a brief circuit overload, their brains caught up.
Oh no!
The boss... actually seemed serious!
Furthermore...
This genuinely appeared to be the only way.
Conventional troops could not scratch them, heavy firepower could not break their armor, and the city walls could not hold them back.
Apart from this Sage—who possessed unknown powers and was shrouded in mystery—stepping in personally, there were truly no other variables left!
But...
Could it actually work?
Bower stole a glance at Andy.
While the boss usually demonstrated all-around competence—capable of fabricating precision parts, modifying code, and performing surgeries...
Taking the field in actual warfare—specifically confronting two city-destroying megastructures head-on, alongside several thousand elite xenos warriors...
That was a completely different beast from day-to-day technical work.
How could a single person stand against a thousands-strong army?
Ignoring their skeptical gazes, Andy pointed directly at a set of coordinates on the map.
"I plan to engage them here."
The coordinates were located approximately 400 kilometers south of Horisenburg.
"This is an extremely flat wasteland with no ruins and no tall structures."
"The terrain is wide open with an unobstructed line of sight."
Andy explained, "The Læss's greatest advantage lies in utilizing shadows and complex terrain to execute stealth infiltration."
"If we join battle near Horisenburg, the intricate ruins surrounding the city would serve as their natural cover."
"On this wasteland, however, they will have nowhere to hide."
"I intend to intercept them before they reach the ruins."
The tactical logic was crystal clear.
Leverage terrain advantages to neutralize the enemy's tactical strengths.
Yet embedded within this plan was a massive hidden danger. Andy did not voice it, but Bower spotted it immediately.
Time.
It was currently four in the afternoon.
It would take Andy approximately three hours to reach those coordinates.
Which meant the engagement time would fall around eight in the evening.
After dark.
When Aethel defeated the Læss, it was high noon, allowing him to exploit the suppression of sunlight.
Now, Andy was about to face the main force of the Læss fighting at night—operating at the absolute peak of their combat potential without a single environmental penalty.
It was straight-up nightmare difficulty!
"Alright, hold down the fort."
Andy gave them no chance to let their minds wander further.
"Zor will be here shortly; have him keep an eye on the reactor."
"You can use the equipment here to monitor the battle on the front lines in real time."
"If I get pinned down out there," Andy paused briefly, "activate Level One Readiness immediately, seal off the underground entrances, and abandon the surface."
With that, Andy strode out of the workshop.
He headed straight for the employee residential area.
Andy needed a hand.
Although his upgrade to a Commander-type Abominable Intelligence had granted him an explosive surge in combat power, relying solely on six floating compute units was still insufficient to handle so many targets simultaneously.
He required a super-addon capable of sharing the operational strain—someone whose combat prowess was absurdly broken.
Hulie.
The name lit up inside Andy's logic circuits.
Over the past few days, Andy had heard Kaelber and his crew brag endlessly on the comms channels.
They praised Hulie's performance at the Necron research facility as something divine, describing her tearing massive beasts apart with a wave of her hand and manipulating ancient alien technology effortlessly.
Since she was so useful, there was no reason to let her idle!
Andy arrived at Building C of the residential area and located the room number for the four-person dormitory.
Knock, knock, knock!
He knocked.
No response.
Andy activated a thermal imaging scan.
Inside, a single heat source lay sprawled across a bed in a spread-eagle posture, displaying a steady core temperature and even breathing.
Well, well, well—sleeping like a log, aren't we?
Andy had just broadcasted a full-spectrum emergency order that had everyone else running around frantically, yet this creature was sound asleep?
Andy did not hesitate for a second.
Raising his leg, his hydraulic actuators engaged.
CLANG!
The door lock snapped, and the iron door slammed directly against the wall.
Andy strode inside.
Surprised awake by the deafening noise, Hulie sat up groggily, not yet grasping what was happening.
Andy walked over, grabbed her back collar like picking up a chick, tucked her under his arm, and turned to leave.
The fluid execution featured zero unnecessary chatter.
Hulie felt her world spin wildly before finding herself hanging off a rock-hard object, jostled up and down by his long, rapid strides.
"Huh? Hey?!"
Hulie let out a bewildered cry.
"Let go of me! Abominable Intelligence! What are you doing?!"
"This is a kidnapping?!"
Andy remained completely deaf to her protests, hauling her out of the residential sector and charging straight toward the auxiliary hangar.
Half an hour later.
Wild winds howled across the open wasteland.
Hulie snapped fully awake amidst the violent jolting.
She discovered herself sitting in the rear seat of a white, light-duty hovercraft.
The hovercraft flew low over the terrain at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, blurring the surrounding landscape into streaks of light.
In front sat the Abominable Intelligence.
Floating alongside both sides of the hovercraft were six strange objects.
Six black, elongated structures assembled from unidentified metal components, resembling extracted spinal columns.
Trailing behind six small spheres, every segment of these "spines" flickered with a faint, eerie green light.
This was the fruit of Andy's Necron study over the past few days.
He had taken the Gauss generator components retrieved from the research facility and reassembled them using the "matrix arrangement" concept Hulie had demonstrated earlier.
Although his lack of understanding of Necron aesthetics resulted in an exceptionally ugly appearance—resembling strings of dried sausages—their power was by no means diminished.
These six floating structures were six high-power Gauss disintegrator cannons.
Custom-built specifically for Hulie.
"Awake?"
Andy's voice drifted back from the front, slightly scattered by the rushing wind.
"Where are we going?!"
Hulie gripped the handrails, shouting at the top of her lungs.
She was still furious over having her sweet dream interrupted.
"To a fight," Andy replied succinctly.
"A group fight."
Hulie: "?"
Hulie was almost brought to tears!
All she wanted was to live in a single room! Why was she being dragged out to engage in a brawl?!
"I'm not going! I want to go back to sleep!"
"Once we reach the spot and finish the job," Andy said without turning back, reaching into his robes to pull out an object before tossing it backward.
Jingle~
A set of shiny keys cut an arc through the air, landing square in Hulie's lap.
"Building A, Room 1001."
"Finish the job, and these keys are yours."
Hulie clutched the keys, stunned.
Was this not the exact thing she had been dreaming of?!
A golden ticket to say goodbye to the stinky-footed odor of the communal dorms!
She was finally holding the physical item!
Not bad at all, Abominable Intelligence!!
Her gaze shifted in an instant.
Transforming from her previous grievance and anger into a resolute, heroic determination to face death itself.
"Who are we hitting? Speak up!"
Hulie stuffed the keys into her pocket, standing tall and proud as she demanded loudly, "How many are on the other side?"
"Two thousand," Andy answered.
"How many do we have?"
"Two."
"..."
Hulie fell silent for a second.
Then, she stood straight up from the back seat, shouting, "More than enough!"
"Let's beat the hell out of them!!"