Chapter 1243: [Extra: Mechanical Labyrinth Star (Part 3, Completed)][New Book “Resurrection Empire” Please Collect]_3 Chapter 1243: [Extra: Mechanical Labyrinth Star (Part 3, Completed)][New Book “Resurrection Empire” Please Collect]_3 …

Eight hours have passed.

On the vast J919 star, huge mining machines lay motionless on the mountain range, plains, and deep sea…

These once tireless giant machines have been turned into nothing more than lifeless objects.

In the sky, rows of floating heavy-load cranes hang like tangled nets, with cargo carriers stopped in groups.

From time to time, the cranes tremble. The native mechanical giant birds on J919 are attacking them.

In the past, whenever these giant birds approached the cranes, they would be quickly eliminated by human unmanned armed machines.

The birds had even developed a biological instinct to avoid making contact with the cranes.

But now, without the unmanned armed machines to hunt them out, the birds can vent their accumulated rage, gnawing at the metal above.

Occasionally, the anti-gravity device in the cranes is completely destroyed, and a large chunk of metal structure falls from the sky like a collapsing mountain, crashing down to the ground with a thunderous noise.

The once prosperous J919 star is rapidly descending into desolation and ruin within just a few short days.

All that humans have built through continuous effort on J919 is falling apart quickly, like the curtain closing on a boisterous festival.

Yet, this is also a carnival for the native mechanical life on this planet.

“We can leave now.”

Summer Owen instructs Derrius, who is sitting at the driver’s seat.

Derrius nods and starts to manipulate various valves and physical buttons in front of him at great speed.

The once clean and refreshing driving platform is now a mess, with various wires tangled together.

Exposed copper cores occasionally spark as Derrius presses the switches.

The other ends of the wires are connected to various colored buttons, resembling a chaotic Soviet heavy industrial panel.

This is Derrius’ “masterpiece” completed in just a few hours.

His only goal is to achieve a successful take-off and seek rescue in outer space. As long as it barely works, he doesn’t care about aesthetics. In fact, most of the buttons were taken from his personal collection of old figurines.

With a rumble, the armed ship slowly ascends.

Samantha sighs, “Finally, we can leave this hellhole. It’s all over now.”

Derrius doesn’t speak, but rather focuses his attention on the various indicator lights in front of him.

By now, the ships from other research stations have already taken off, with some even flying out of J919’s atmosphere and entering outer space.

Intuition tells Derrius that Summer Owen’s decision to leave last must have some hidden purpose.

He doesn’t know what will happen next, but his heart is filled with a sense of danger.

Taking a deep breath, Derrius focuses on a joystick to his right.

His mounted turret has been restored to firing status, albeit manual aim and fire.

He can still manage a 90% hit rate within 10 kilometers after a couple of sighting shots, though it’s not as accurate as the automated feature.

While he fixes the guns, Summer Owen, the academic expert, helps him adjust the power module parameters and connects the main and backup power modules, improving the gun’s endurance by five times the normal rate.

Looking at the retreating clouds through the window, Summer Owen shakes his head, “It’s not over yet. I won’t run away like a coward.”

Samantha: “What do you mean?”

Summer Owen takes out a mini-phased pistol from the box at his feet and throws it to Samantha. He then picks up a larger Ion Beam Gun and says, “As the acting commander, I have given you weapons authorization. Join me on the ship bridge to prepare for battle.”

“Battle?” Samantha asks, puzzled.

Summer Owen nods, “Yes, the Gaia Consciousness on this planet is determined to drive us away.”

Samantha: “Gaia Consciousness?”

Summer Owen explains, “That’s right. We were all wrong. There is intelligent life on J919. I’ve completed all calculations related to it, and I know the nature of the special alloy that composes the Mechanical Intelligent Life on J919. It is indeed similar to amino acids in Earth’s lifeforms, but it also serves as a neurotransmitter for Gaia Consciousness. The entire planet J919 is an intelligent lifeform with independent thinking.”

Samantha: “But we’ve dealt with planetary lifeforms before. Their thoughts move at a much slower pace, taking hundreds of thousands of years.”

Summer Owen: “That’s why we’ve encountered a particularly cunning opponent this time. But I won’t let it have its way.”

…

The armed ship hovers at the boundary of J919’s atmosphere. One step up is the vast universe that represents freedom, while one step down brings them back into J919’s troposphere.

At this moment, the surface of the entire planet is undergoing dramatic changes.

It’s trembling.

Accompanying the tremors, powerful gravitational waves tear at everything near the planet.

The sound of creaking can be heard inside the armed ship due to the intense resonance.