The riot, like a prairie fire, quickly swept across the entire Kerna City.
Even the elite Imperial Army—no, the space station's security personnel—felt a bit overwhelmed at this point. They had indeed considered the possibility of pirates rebelling in the city, and had even prepared several emergency suppression plans; however, this sudden riot developed too quickly, far exceeding their imagination and all their pre-planned directions.
What was more troublesome was that Vice Admiral Tadan and Marquis Odgar were still at the port, where a violent explosion had just occurred, and the situation should be very critical. The area where the rioting pirates were located was much closer to the port and shipyard. Who knew if the rioters would suddenly decide to run to the shipyard for some 'zero-dollar shopping'?
Once the Imperial space shipyard, built with heavy investment, was destroyed, it would be a major dereliction of duty for all the security personnel Present. If a Navy Vice Admiral and a high-ranking Imperial noble were also injured… according to Imperial military regulations, none of them would have a good outcome, and it might even affect their families.
Just thinking about that possible future, the Imperial soldiers and officers Present shivered with anger, but couldn't even cry.
"Your Excellencies, please evacuate immediately through the emergency escape route! Third Squad, go and rendezvous at once!" The Imperial Army Brigadier General, responsible for defense and management in the military zone, could only give such an order.
"But, sir, the emergency passage pipeline was also affected by the explosion just now. The entrance hatch connecting to the dock is damaged and cannot be opened for a while. And..."
"And what?!"
"Reports from the port area indicate that pirates are already assaulting the shipyard! Also, several emergency passages that happened to run through the commercial district were damaged during the riot just now... Our forces and combat robots cannot mobilize quickly!"
"This is no coincidence!" The Brigadier General slammed his fist on the table in front of him: "The enemy knows the structure of this space city, they know everything here! We have a traitor among us!"
The officers Present exchanged glances, feeling that the General's words made a lot of sense, but the more sense they made, the more suspicious their colleagues next to them seemed.
But even so, they understood that now was not the time to look for a traitor. They could only suppress their doubts, grit their teeth, and dispatch more troops to enter the riot scene from the front.
They had to fight their way through the chaotic "commercial district" to reach the port area and shipyard, which desperately needed support.
But at this moment, the pirates arrived first. They crowded into the hatchway, which they usually wouldn't dare to look at directly, each one like a bull on steroids.
The Wookiee bandit leader let out a "Waaagh!" and then led a hundred or so particularly capable pirates and mercenaries through the wide passage, rushing towards the main gate of the military exclusion zone.
"Warning! Warning! Intruders, you have approached this station's restricted area! You have approached this station's restricted area! After three warnings, if you do not retreat, we will automatically open fire!" The automated sentry gun turned its barrel and issued a warning.
"For the Solar Wind Radish! For the Free Nebula!"
"For the Free Nebula! Down with the Imperial oppressors!" The pirates shouted in unison, their eyes glowing red, as if they could ignite the old world.
The alert robot at the gate was still carrying out its final verbal warning procedure: "Retreat immediately! Pirates! Stop your riotous behavior immediately!"
"This isn't a riot! This is a revolution!" The Wookiee roared again, firing a grenade to knock out the diligent loudspeaker, then charged ahead with a power hammer.
He was a brave pioneer, and so he quickly met the end a pioneer deserved, being precisely riddled with holes by Imperial soldiers, yet he could not stop the utterly frenzied pirates in the slightest.
Were these even pirates? Even the elite Empire Assault Team, who constantly shouted "Repay the Emperor's grace with death," were only this much.
"spiritual energy user detection shows extraordinary fluctuations... They must be under the influence of mental spiritual energy!" A technician quickly sent a report, then looked at his superior with expectant eyes.
His meaning was simple: if there were spiritual energy users among the enemies, shouldn't our Star Realm Knights be dispatched as well? Wasn't there always a rumor that a combat group of three Star Realm Knights, plus their attendants, were permanently stationed at the Kerna City fortress? The existence of these Star Realm Knights was one of the reasons why pirates dared not cause trouble here arbitrarily! Now, with the pirates so arrogant, it was time to show them why the Empire was the father of half the galaxy!
The Brigadier General's face was taut, and he said nothing, thinking, if I had Star Realm Knights in my hand, would I be wasting my breath with you here?
After all, as a General and also from a minor Imperial noble family, he had some understanding of the power struggles among the big figures in the Imperial Capital. He knew that constructing such a massive space fortress in the Far Shore Nebula would cost more than building twenty or thirty in other places, not to mention the compensation for personnel who died in the line of duty. Additionally, it required the Empire to deploy its most elite engineering and technical personnel. This was no longer just a major undertaking, but pure madness.
In short, because of this matter, the Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council routinely clashed, and the Privy Council also clashed internally. After nearly ten years of infighting, it finally ended with the victory of the proponents, but many high-ranking officials still had doubts about this arduous construction project. Some ministers, who came from a technical bureaucratic background, even believed that even if the fortress was built, its future maintenance costs would be an astronomical figure, and it would eventually be abandoned due to a lack of necessary revenue and strategic value.
Since it was such a remote fortress, built with mutual contention, compromise, and amidst countless accusations and doubts, how could the lofty Star Realm Knights truly be permanently stationed here to suffer hardships?
However, how could such matters be revealed to outsiders? Wouldn't it be reasonable to let the pirates think there were several reclusive Star Realm Knights here?
Who knew that at this moment, a situation would truly arise that required their appearance!
Facing the expectant gazes of his subordinates, the Brigadier General sternly ordered: "Do you really need the Knights for such a minor skirmish? Are you still worthy of being glorious Imperial soldiers? This, um... have the frontline soldiers put on their anti-force field helmets and prepare tranquilizers!"
Some scientists believed that a spiritual energy user's mental control over people was related to various force fields, so they developed these helmets for frontline soldiers. It was hard to say if they were effective, but combined with high-concentration tranquilizer injections, they provided good resistance against general mind-control combat techniques.
"Release all combat robots!" the Brigadier General added. He was very fortunate that the main backbone of this fortress was drawn from various departments. The biggest patrons, Valente King and King Dandor, were two of the more flexible-minded Great Elector Kings, and they didn't have the airs of those old military legions with glorious histories, allowing them to shamelessly use robots, a weapon of war disdained by old-fashioned military men.
Subsequently, twelve metallic spheres rolled out from the passage next to the front of the Imperial Guard, then emitted a series of creaking and twisting sounds, before expanding into two-meter-tall crawling machines, unfolding their sturdy armor, and leaving shooting angles and fields of vision.
These large robots slowly advanced, carrying shield-like armor plates, while their extended arms on both sides were equipped with Vulcan cannons and revolving grenade launchers, unleashing a barrage of fire towards the crowded areas.
Imperial soldiers, wearing powered exoskeletons and anti-force field helmets, also poured out, advancing step by step under the robots' cover, picking off and finishing any pirates who slipped through.
The well-equipped Imperial soldiers quickly gained the upper hand. Of course, their current goal was to break through the chaotic "commercial district" to support the port area. That area was actually composed of dozens of large space modules pieced together, appearing relatively spacious, but the connections between the various compartments created a bottleneck effect, making it a bit troublesome for these nearly three-meter-tall large robots to pass through. This battle indeed still had a long way to go.
Neither the Imperial Army nor the pirates noticed that, not far from their battle, in a crevice of a pipeline, a creature with a peculiar skeleton, an unidentified organism, was huddled in a corner, observing in secret.
The unidentified organism pondered for a moment, then transformed into a liquid state like a slime. With a light leap, it slipped from the crevice into the relatively spacious engineering pipeline. It gently stretched its distorted body, then reverted to a human "girl" of fourteen or fifteen.
She climbed little by little, moving towards the core of the fortress. She knew very well that what could quickly restore her body and enhance her strength was not only the diverse genes of various organisms but also some rare Zero Elements that could be absorbed by the body, such as spiritual marrow fluid, moon dew, golden blood, and various life gems. And the knowledge she possessed also told her that the storerooms of such large military bases should have some Zero Elements, especially for the Empire, which was rich and extremely skilled at manipulating alchemical equipment.
In fact, she did sense the scent of Zero Elements—in this regard, the girl's sensory ability could definitely rival that of the top-tier demigods.
However, the Imperial Army's actions were truly watertight; they had arranged various autonomous weapons for vigilance and guarding even in places inaccessible to normal people. The "girl" felt that the possibility of being discovered if she rashly infiltrated was very high. After all, she was still a fugitive and dared not show herself or take risks.
Fortunately, now that the Empire's combat robots had all been dispatched, there were many more openings for her.
Even so, she remained extremely cautious, maximizing her perception, crawling forward carefully, while contemplating the current situation.
In short, the Empire was being attacked? But that had nothing to do with her. After consuming the Zero Elements, she would find a way to escape! She could just break through a wall and escape. Anyway, there was a war going on, and no one would notice her. Oh, and the spiritual energy fluctuations just now... there were experts fighting! It was even less advisable to stay here for long.
If it were in the Past, the "girl" would have long since secretly run to a nearby hiding spot to see if she could become a benefiting fisherman. One should know that, for her, spiritual energy users were the most precious delicacies and the most nutritious supplements, even more potent than ordinary Zero Elements or even Phantom Beasts.
But recently, she always felt as if she was being maliciously harassed by the universe spirit. Her recent years had been unlucky, either being beaten by passing experts or being judged by heavenly justice. She felt that it was better to secretly develop for a while, at least until her power broke through to Five Rings or above, and then accumulate an army of her own before considering anything else.
"Don't worry..." The girl touched her flat stomach again, whispering, "We will find our home."
She wanted to say something else, but she involuntarily recoiled. Her spiritual sense caught even more intense extraordinary fluctuations, mixed with heart-pounding pain, anger, and even terror.
Someone was hurt? Ugh, maybe... No, no, you must be calm! You can't be misled by a small immediate gain!
The "girl" forced herself not to think about the battle there anymore, compelled herself to calm down, and continued to carefully crawl and sneak.