Chapter 540: Virtual Intrusion (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
So long as the machine could be remotely controlled, the virtual intrusion skill could tamper with the data to gain operational authority, snatching command of the machinery. Spaceships were naturally included within the scope.
The difficulty of the intrusion would depend on the intelligence level of the target machinery. Furthermore, even if the invasion was successful, they would be constantly harassed by the opposing party’s artificial intelligence. One had to successfully break past the artificial intelligence before they could retain the command authority.
As for the operational authority, it could be understood as how many commands that would be unlocked by the user.
Once the first intrusion was successful and intelligence data from the target had been recorded, the subsequent intrusions would decrease in difficulty. As such, in galactic wars, Virtual Mechanics were to most hated class of all. Every mechanic that got attacked by such methods would feel as though their wives had been taken advantage of by another man, giving them the feel of a cuckold.
This ability of the Virtual Mechanic was very suitable for space warfare. In fact, among the five Superhuman classes, the Virtual Mechanic was the class with the highest efficiency.
The defense of the spaceship’s firewall was very strong. According to Han Xiao’s standard, his success rate was not high, but having an auxiliary intelligence on his side improved the success rate as well as intrusion speed. Risda was an AI lifeform, with a startling operation speed that could increase the chances of success by thirty to forty percent.
On the battlefield, Han Xiao took over an assault ship, first opening fire at it and crippling its systems, before manipulating it to crash toward its companions surrounding it and disrupting their formation.
The DarkStar strike force jumped in shock at the unexpected turn of events. They had originally thought that the BlackLight Stealth would be unable to break through their defenses, so they had paid them no attention. To think that they actually managed to crack their firewall and invade their assault ships! They could no longer ignore that potential deadly threat.
The strike force assigned ten spaceships to entangle with the BlackLight Stealth, and the remainder continued firing on the surface whilst stretching their formation.
The reaction of the enemy was within Han Xiao’s expectations. As long as he managed to divert some firepower away from the surface, more time could be won for them. The BlackLight Stealth possessed high capabilities, with speed as its biggest advantage. Ginette’s maneuvering skills were also excellent, allowing them to constantly avoid the crisscrossing green lights.
Boom!
In the sky, a sleek, black spaceship was weaving left and right amid the ten assault ships.
“The fastest way to get rid of these enemies is through boarding them! Other than those operating the ship, everyone is to occupy a hatch, ready to occupy the enemy’s ships!” Han Xiao commanded loudly as he activated his Void Dragon Mechanical Suit. He connected his mechanical suit to the BlackLight Stealth, and with a flash on his arm, a virtual intrusion interface appeared in the form of a projection above his arm. In this way, he eliminated the need to stay in the spaceship to operate the virtual intrusion, allowing him to move to the hatch like everyone else.
Since he was an essential part of their combat force, Han Xiao had to utilize himself in the battle.
“The enemy has thirty assault ships, and we cannot make it in time if we intrude them one by one. Thus, we can only use more destructive means.” A glint flashed through Han Xiao’s eyes, and the data inputted by him also changed.
There existed many forms of virtual technology intrusion. One was to forcefully rob control from the original owner, which was the most time consuming. Other than that, one could also use different means to tamper with the enemy’s data in order to conceal or confuse. This was usually used for single infiltrations. As for the most destructive form, it would be utilizing a virus or flooding the system with large amounts of redundant data to destroy the intelligence of the target AI, crippling most of its functions for a short amount of time. This method was the fastest, equivalent to sending a direct punch to the person.
However, the most direct method would be to simply allow one’s side to fight against the enemy’s AI. For someone at the level of Risda, the DarkStar assault ships were not even at the level of little toddlers when facing him. When facing such tool-type AIs that had not developed independent thought, he could just destroy them with a wave of his hand.
If one likened robbing control of an AI to stealing one’s wife, then destroying the intelligence was akin to breaking the other party’s wife!
On the data stream level, Risda resembled a Fixed Star, emitting countless heat and light rays. As for the firewall on the assault ships, they were akin to shields on the data stream level, constantly forming large holes due to being pierced and the intelligent structure inside being shot and riddled with holes.
The results of the battle in the data world were immediately reflected into the material world.
Ohm!
With a chain of loud noises as the only indication, the engines of four of the assault ships suddenly stalled. They quickly tumbled down, their shields flickering before vanishing completely.
The AIs of the affected ships had fallen into a slump, unable to continue operating the ships for a short period of time. The pilots scrambled for the controls, attempting to switch over to manual mode during free fall. There was indeed plenty of time to switch to manual mode before the spaceship crashed.
However, the BlackLight Stealth suddenly dived, and their laser cannons locked onto the four assault ships, firing continuously.
Peng peng peng!
The outer armor of the four assault ships was blown open.
At the same time, taking advantage of its speed, the BlackLight Stealth swept past the four assault ships that were free falling, and the hatch opened to release the mercenaries. The grapples on their arms shot out and latched onto the armor of the assault ships before contracting and allowing the mercenaries to invade the enemy.
While the DarkStar ships might have lost their shields, the armor plating on the ships still boasted a certain amount of defense. A beam from the laser cannon would not be able to blow the ship up so easily. Thus, the fastest way to eliminate them was to destroy the ship from the inside!
In addition, as long as they boarded the enemy ship, not only would they be able to blow the enemy out, they would also be able to use force to seize control of the spaceship!
Boom!
The invading mercenaries wantonly destroyed the insides of the spaceship. Flickers of lights constantly appeared within each assault ship, and the guards inside each DarkStar ship were completely unable to stop them. The command centers of each ship were wiped out.
The mercenaries quickly took over each spaceship. Because the AIs of the assault ships had already been turned into idiots by Risda, it was impossible for them to verify the pilot’s authority. The mercenaries quickly switched to manual mode, obtaining control rights over the spaceship.
In an instant, Han Xiao’s side gained four more battleships. The team immediately became stronger, as the four assault ships aimed at the other DarkStar ships and opened fire.
During this time, another six sieging assault ships had their AIs crippled, and the mercenaries rushed in to begin a grand killing.
Pa!
Flying through the gap in armor that was surrounded by flames, Han Xiao landed on the cabin aisle. The mechanical wings behind him automatically folded as his wrists threw out a large number of compressed orbs. As they landed, they transformed into dozens of leopard-type mechanical beasts as well as two Protectors. They opened fire in all directions.
Bang bang bang!
Lasers flew everywhere, blowing up various parts of the spaceship. The insides of the spaceship turned into a charred, smoky mess as the bulkheads were torn apart. Following these gaps, the machines marched toward other areas of the spaceship, cleaning up the DarkStar guards.
Han Xiao bumped his fists together, and two giant fists expanded, wrapping themselves around his arms. He did not need to follow the aisles, instead simply bashing through everything as he proceeded in a straight path. He left behind a wreckage of twisted metal.
He made a beeline directly toward the control room of the spaceship.
Dozens of DarkStar guards rushed to the scene, obstructing Han Xiao’s path. One of the team leaders shouted, “Quickly, block him. Don’t...”
Before he could even finish, Han Xiao waved his hand, his mechanical arm sending a huge slap over. Merely the wind pressure produced by the hand extinguished all the flames around him. Before the team leader could finish his words, his vision was fully occupied by Han Xiao’s giant metal palm.
Bang!
A huge sound was heard as the giant mechanical palm slapped the team leader against the wall of the spaceship. A huge imprint was even left there!
When the palm was removed, only some residual flesh could be seen in the indent created. Blood was splattered all over the contact point. This Grade C DarkStar warrior had been killed in a second, even simpler than swatting a fly.
In such assault ships, the strongest would probably be a Grade C guard. The elites of Grade B and above would not appear in such a place.
The rest of the guards paled, but before they could even make a move, Han Xiao brought his palms in front. The fingers of the two giant hands closed together as the five fingers transformed into a drill, and it spun at high speed toward them.
Whir!
The drill bit created a howling gale as it spun!
The next moment, the two mechanical drills swept past with no one able to stop them. The screams of misery were deafening, but in less than three seconds, the guards that had been blocking his path were all shattered. This was the literal sense of offering one’s life in sacrifice.
Blood drenched the surroundings, turning the place into something akin to a slaughterhouse. However, Han Xiao had long become familiar with such a picture, and his face remained impassive as he strode forward. He would not go easy, and those who blocked him would immediately be killed.
There was nobody that was his match on the ship. Amid the explosions and screams of misery, Han Xiao began a matchless killing spree as he rushed to the control center. Behind him was a series of warped metal holes that created.
The whole journey took less than a minute, as though he had entered an empty ship!
In no time, Han Xiao destroyed anything that could breathe in the control room and came in front of the operations panel, directly taking over the assault ship. Immediately, he pulled the ship to accelerate up like a madman, even as he split his attention in that dizzy scenario to continue his virtual intrusion.
In order to save time, he was prepared not to return to the BlackLight Stealth, instead driving the hacked assault ship to ram the enemy.
The machinery that was clearing the rest of the ship of living beings quickly came to the control panel. They transformed back to compressed orbs, automatically moving to Han Xiao’s hands.
Taking this short respite, Han Xiao eyeballed the mission interface.
The [Godora’s Ally] was a Main Storyline mission, with the objective being to fight against DarkStar. There were several sub-missions, including a requirement of having to destroy the DarkStar spaceships. This included [Fleet Killer] and [Frontal Battle], which were high reward tasks. The easiest among them would be the [Assault Ship Destroyer], which required one to destroy five DarkStar assault ships to complete. The reward was 6,300,000 experience and 300 Godora Favorability.
An idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.
“That’s right. This mission should originally have been the main storyline of the players, but since they did not join the Godoran faction, I guess they cannot trigger this...”
The corners of Han Xiao’s mouth tugged up, but he quickly refocused his attention. Goodness, since he was fighting, he just needed to concentrate on fighting! He should not think about such trivial matters like the players being obstructed. It had almost made him feel guilt!
He increased the engine thrust, rushing toward another ship. As the distance shortened, the other party’s hull constantly enlarged in his own field of vision, allowing him to clearly see the outer armor of the enemy ship.
Boom!
The two assault ships collided into each other, and the bow of the ship pierced into the abdomen of the other assault ship. Shrapnel flew all over the place!
Han Xiao drove the spaceship at close range as he opened fire, blasting several holes in the armor. He then smashed apart the walls of his current ride to fly outside, entering the other enemy ship to once again begin another round of slaughter.
The DarkStar assault ships begin to plummet one by one. Some fell down to the ground, whereas some were taken over by the mercenaries and used against their enemies. There were even some that exploded in midair. The Black Star Mercenary Group quickly gained control of the situation, surrounding the remaining DarkStar ships.
At the same time, the Six Nations and Sanctuaries were observing through Natural Satellite imagery. Upon seeing Black Star show his power, all of them could not help but let out jubilant looks on their faces, a wave of joy coursing through their hearts.
This sort of reliable feeling... was akin to Black Star being the guardian of the entire planet!