The "Feather" spacecraft spent three weeks making multiple trips between the "Bird's Nest" and the "Soyuz" space station to transport the necessary supplies.
Although the size of the "Feather" was similar to that of the "Apollo", it did not have a cargo hold in the middle, but rather a passenger cabin.
If Apollo was a large truck, then Feather was a large bus.
The supplies could only be temporarily fixed to the seats in the passenger cabin and made several trips. Food made up a large part of the supplies being transported.
Zhang Fan felt it wouldn't matter if he made a few more trips. There was plenty of water and fuel; he could take as much as he could, and he would implement a scorched-earth policy, leaving absolutely nothing for the enemy.
Liao Changtian told him that he might not be able to stay at the "Bird's Nest" anymore.
rustling sound—
On a hillside outside the "Bird's Nest" base, a group of insects crawled around.
The insect in the center is one meter long, with huge, sickle-like chelicerae on its head. The chelicerae also shimmer with a silvery-gray luster, like metal.
When Zhang Fan first saw this huge insect, he realized that his previous estimates had been too optimistic. There were no adult insects the size of piglets...
It's clearly bigger than a wild boar, okay?
Some people might ask, how could there be such a huge insect?
Come on, this is Mars, okay? Anything is possible.
rustling sound—
A dozen or so insects, each over half a meter long and clearly his underlings, circled the large insect a few times, touching each other's antennae. As if receiving a command, they turned and charged toward the "Bird's Nest" base.
rustling sound—
Zhang Fan lay on the ground, and the sound of the insects crawling was really unpleasant to hear, much like the buzzing of mosquitoes in his ear.
Sizzle sizzle—
Snap snap snap—
The insects that charged ahead crashed into the power grid erected around the base, which was connected to the solar photovoltaic power station of the "Bird's Nest" base.
A huge electric current passed through the insects' bodies, producing a dazzling spark. Some insects couldn't withstand the powerful voltage and their bodies exploded, leaving the ground littered with their remains.
Zhang Fan felt he should be grateful that this was Mars; the thin air prevented insects from flying, and many insects' wings had long since atrophied.
Click click click—
The large insect opened its sickle-like pincers and charged towards the electric fence, its sharp pincers gleaming metallically in the sunlight.
Bang--
A bullet pierced the giant insect's facial exoskeleton, exploding its head. The massive impact of the armor-piercing bullet wiped out the insect's left side of its face, and one of its chelicerae was blasted several meters away.
Pulling the pin and ejecting the spent cartridge, Zhang Fan jumped off the roof with his AWP, walked to the electric fence, and kicked the big bug.
The giant bug was dead. The armor-piercing bullet hit its head, and the bullet spun behind it, forming a scar the size of a bowl. The back of the giant bug's head was blown off.
After confirming that the surroundings were safe, Zhang Fan took out a remote control to turn off the electric grid and kicked away all the dead insects around him.
There's no need to worry about these corpses rotting and smelling bad; based on past experience, their kind will come and take care of them quickly.
Zhang Fan had no interest in these small insects. He had lost count of how many he had dissected in the past few days. Only the largest insect, known as the "soldier cockroach," was dragged back to the base by him on a cart.
After entering the pressure chamber and undergoing disinfection, Zhang Fan hung up his AWP sniper rifle, took off his spacesuit and helmet, and removed the holographic sight from his left eye, placing it aside.
The AWP sniper rifle was made using a 3D printer on-site. It looks similar to the AWP, but its internal structure has undergone a complete transformation, making it essentially a completely different gun.
This was specifically designed to be used in the Martian environment, and the bullets use a special propellant, resulting in very little recoil. Thanks to the lower gravity and air resistance on Mars, the new AWP has increased power, range, and accuracy. Liao Changtian provided Zhang Fan with several loading options for this purpose.
This includes a holmium laser gun solution that uses electricity from a specially designed space backpack as its power source. A single shot can pierce through the insect's hard shell and body like a rock crusher.
However, Zhang Fan ultimately used the most primitive bolt-action loading system. He liked the raw, mechanical feel of the metal that he could control himself; the simpler the technology, the higher the reliability.
The available ammunition types include armor-piercing, high-explosive, incendiary, and armor-piercing, high-explosive, and incendiary rounds that combine the functions of all three, making this AWP very flexible and easy to use.
Due to the limitations of the spacesuit helmet, this gun can only be used with iron sights outdoors, and the scope cannot be used.
To perform ultra-long-range shooting, a portable holographic sight should be worn on the left eye, allowing the user to see what is visible through the holographic image.
Katerina, Yui, and Su Muran have already gone to live on the Soyuz space station, so Zhang Fan has fewer worries in the "Bird's Nest" and doesn't have to secretly bring back the insect corpses anymore.
Zhang Fan moved the insect onto the operating table in the research cabin and skillfully dissected its body.
Practice makes perfect, and now he can complete the entire dissection process of insects without the help of online guidance from elderly people.
Zhang Fan examined the dismembered chelicerae under a microscope and then performed a 3D scan using a life scanner.
It does indeed contain metallic components!
Zhang Fan was not surprised by the result; it was just another confirmation.
In addition to feeding mainly on fungal mats, the insects also consume small amounts of Martian rocks and soil. The metallic elements in these materials transfer within their bodies and eventually accumulate on their exoskeletons, making them exceptionally hard.
Because insects have a cannibalistic habit, according to the accumulation effect of the food chain, the higher the level of the insect, the more metallic elements it contains, which manifests as a larger area of its exoskeleton covered with metal.
Zhang Fan used a knife to pry off a crystal that looked like an eye from the forehead of the "soldier cockroach".
This is good stuff!
This single-color crystal, about the size of a peanut, represents a squad leader among insects.
When Zhang Fan was driving the "Firefly" around, he once observed from afar an insect with four-colored crystals on its forehead, which was already a "male cockroach" of the commander level.
The elderly people on Earth have conducted a comprehensive study and analysis of the sample data collected by Zhang Fan, and have concluded that cockroaches on Mars have evolved into a social structure similar to that of ants.
"Worker cockroaches" are undeveloped female cockroaches, the smallest individuals in the group, but the most numerous. They have small compound eyes and very small or absent ocelli. Their mandibles, antennae, and three pairs of thoracic legs are well-developed, making them adept at walking and running.
"Worker cockroaches" are infertile and their main duties are to build and expand their nests, collect food, and feed larvae. At the same time, they themselves also become food for the superior insects, making them the most pitiful.
Their body structure is basically similar to that of cockroaches that underwent DNA modification surgery 100 years ago, meaning they have not evolved.
"Soldier cockroaches" are the managers among insects. They have large heads and well-developed mandibles, which can crush hard food. They are also soldiers in the insect colony.
The leaders of the "soldier cockroaches" can be called squad leaders, company commanders, or battalion commanders, and they have one to three crystals on their foreheads. They also have scissor-like claws on their heads, which can easily crush rocks.
Those with four or more crystals on their foreheads are powerful "male cockroaches," the leaders among insects. Those with six-colored crystals are called "father cockroaches," and they are extremely rare.
Zhang Fan had never seen it in person, but an infrared camera set up in the wild had once captured a scene of it.
It was a terrifying monster, over two meters long, capable of standing upright to move, with its forelimbs evolved into something resembling the sickle-like arms of a praying mantis. In addition to its powerful combat abilities, the "father cockroach" also had the responsibility of reproducing offspring with the queen cockroach.
The footage captured at the time showed a male cockroach using a sickle to cut open the body of a four-star soldier cockroach like tofu to eat.
The one with the highest grade seven-colored crystal is the "Queen of Cockroaches," the queen of insects and the sole mother of all insects.
Zhang Fan had never seen it in person, and the outdoor infrared cameras had never captured any images of it.
Its existence is merely a bold speculation by elderly people based on existing research findings.
rustling sound—
It was already dark. On Mars, there were no frogs or insects chirping in the night, and even the slightest sound would be very noticeable.
Zhang Fan pulled the power switch.
call--
Dozens of powerful searchlights lit up, forming a circle around the base and shining into the desert outside.
In the darkness, countless shadows surged across the ground...
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