Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1367 Lighthouse Guerrilla Warfare (Part 2)

The Martian mechanical soldier program is an extremely large project, encompassing tens of thousands of unique implants, as well as a large number of specialized light weapons, individual heavy weapons, and armored forces. These components can be combined to form new units to address different battlefield situations and tactical needs. Rangers are the backbone of the Martian mechanical soldier force. As the most basic light infantry system, Rangers are capable of handling most battlefield tasks, including hunting, guerrilla warfare, and reconnaissance. They can perform all the battlefield duties that other light infantry systems can handle.

Alpha Bronze 2, as the leader of the Rangers, possessed all the implants that other Rangers lacked, and even more. His numerous mechanical implants made him not only taller than the slightly modified ordinary soldiers of the First Class Regiment, but also extremely conspicuous among a large group of Rangers. Numerous scanning implants allowed the Rangers to move with ease in the dark, and their highly advanced respiratory and circulatory systems enabled them to draw large amounts of oxygen from their flesh and blood, which had not yet been replaced with steel or had their internal organs modified. The soldiers of the First Class Regiment, dressed in all-encompassing combat suits, could not do this at all. Even with the aid of searchlights and night vision goggles, they still stumbled along, because the air-raid shelter tunnel was far too slippery.

However, Alpha-Bronze 2's earlier words didn't seem to be sarcastic; he genuinely ordered the Rangers to slow their pace and wait for the First Secret Regiment soldiers to catch up. "This is proof of their frailty," a Ranger said over the internal communications network. "I can even hear their breathing filtration systems working under immense strain."

“Yes, they were not fortunate enough to undergo the modification. Even so, they remain the Regent's armed force, and we must show respect to Viktor von Doom and the Emperor.” Alpha-Bronze 2 turned to the First Secret Regiment sergeant beside him. “The map indicates there will be a steel gate 40 meters ahead,” he said in a synthesized voice. “I need your forces to use their thermoelectric weapons.”

"It will take at least three minutes to open a gap that can allow all of us to pass through," the sergeant said menacingly. "That blast door is too thick; any soldier using a blimp can only manage this much."

"Do your best, sergeant," Alpha-Bronze 2 said calmly. "We still have time to waste."

The sergeant, who had just completed a rapid sprint, nearly fainted from exhaustion. Before they set off, their superiors had repeatedly emphasized that those Martians didn't understand any social niceties, and their speech was utterly devoid of tact. Their minds were already machines; there was no need to get angry with Martian soldiers. When communicating with those mechanical soldiers, just use the simplest and most direct language. Any other humorous expressions or metaphors were simply beyond the comprehension of the mechanical soldiers.

"I'll arrange the manpower." The sergeant took a deep breath. "But I also need your soldiers as the first assault team, because we don't know if there will be armed forces waiting for us behind the door."

"I see."

As soon as the words were spoken, the ten Rangers broke away from their original ranks and took their positions in front of the Alpha-Bronze 2. It was as if they knew their mission beforehand, instantly forming an assault formation at the very front of all the other units. This incredibly efficient and intuitive command would be the envy of any frontline commander. The Martian mechanical soldiers' level of informatization was unbelievable; it was said that the Martian Sage could even control the ground-based mechanical soldiers from an orbital space station, communicating with the space station or orbital information relay station, and precisely hunting down all targets under the guidance of operational procedures.

"Triangulus-Alpha-01 to Triangulus-Alpha-10 will be the first assault teams. I will try to give instructions in a way you can understand and convey the tactical intelligence you need," Alpha-Bronze 2 said. "Because you don't have the information network among Martian soldiers, I have to use this inefficient method of communication. However, the error is within an acceptable range, and this method of communication is permitted."

The sergeant took a deep breath and repeatedly told himself not to get angry.

"Thank you very much." He really wanted a cigarette. "I will thank you for all the help you have provided."

The Alpha-Bronze 2, whose head was completely covered by metal and mechanical implants, nodded up and down. "You're welcome."

"We've captured information about the intruders." Melinda May handed a data panel to Maria Hill, who had been sitting in the control room. This kind of intelligence should normally be given to the commander in a level-three classified room, but Melinda May didn't care at this moment. Agent Maria Hill's cold face and past identity were enough to deter other agents who knew her; not many people would overhear their conversation. The cybersecurity department had already burned the sixth mainframe, and the stench of burning electronic components and PCBs filled the entire room.

"The fourth contingency plan has been activated, and all entrances and exits have been sealed off with concrete and alloy, but we can't get out either," she said. "The hidden entrance to the outermost air-raid shelter has been destroyed, and we've discovered that the intruders are not...human, but most likely some kind of robot."

Maria Hill spotted the intruder through CCTV surveillance.

Due to practical factors, the modernization process at the Lighthouse base has been slow. Agent Coulson had limited resources and could not install the clearest surveillance cameras with cash registers on the outermost layer. Therefore, the footage that Agent Maria Hill received was just a grayscale image captured by an ordinary infrared night vision camera.

The moment she saw the image, she understood why Melinda May was so hesitant.

The footage showed an irregular hole melted through a blast door. A large group of soldiers, all the same height and clad in dark robes, walked with terrifying precision across a pool of bright white, muddy liquid. It was clearly a large pool of molten, hot metal, and these soldiers fearlessly waded through it, their black iron legs burning in the intense heat, bright flames climbing the alloy. Their faces were devoid of flesh, only metal, and what should have been visible to the naked eye was now glowing. A few seconds later, a robot with a distinctive head entered and glanced at the camera, causing the monitor to display static. Maria Hill felt that the robot had seen her through the monitor. She couldn't help but look up at the monitor above her; the cold light quickly dispelled the chill, but she was still shaken.

Melinda May asked, "Is this also in the information you have?"

“No,” Maria Hill admitted. “I’ve done some in-depth research on one of the orders, but I don’t know all the secrets, not even the secrets of that order itself. The enemy’s intelligence control is extremely strong; even Nick Fury doesn’t know much more. But I have a theory… Did you see the mechanical skulls on those robot robes in the footage? I only know of one place where that symbol is present.”

"Where?"

“Mars, the Olympus Foundry,” Maria Hill said. “Long before the Emperor unified the Balkans, he had already sent people to Mars. Now he’s negotiating with countries around the world, inviting top scientists to build colonies on Mars. To achieve this, the Balkans will conduct a public Mars landing to demonstrate their technological prowess to other nations. In reality, the Emperor wants to take those scientists to the Martian foundry; he wants to invite them to work at the research facility on Mount Olympus, the highest peak in the solar system. I’ve seen them receive landing craft marked with Martian symbols, which means they were able to exchange resources with Mars long ago.”

"So, these robots are all from Mars?" Melinda May muttered under her breath. Since joining S.H.I.E.L.D., she'd encountered many bizarre things, but facing a swarm of robots from Mars was something straight out of science fiction. "How are we supposed to deal with these robots? Recoilless rifles, rocket launchers, or machine guns? Our concrete structures can withstand a recoilless rifle attack, but the shockwave would be enough to cause non-combat casualties among our agents."

"It might not be robots; it could be cyborgs." Maria Hill's words were chilling; normal people couldn't imagine the pain of having flesh replaced by machines. Melinda May had seen old movies like *RoboCop* that depicted cyborgs, and while she knew the reality was different, she was certain the suffering would be immense. "Stretch the battle lines, and then do what you're supposed to do. Even if the enemy breaks through the blockade, we can wage a guerrilla war here. I'll make sure the ventilation system's generators are safe and order the logistics personnel to distribute food and water to various secret rooms. If they really are robots, we ordinary people won't last long after they shut down the heating and ventilation systems."

The fourth contingency plan at the Lighthouse base is designed to defend against alien invasion, while the third contingency plan is designed to defend against nuclear attacks.

It's perfectly normal for this base, renovated during the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union, to have facilities to prevent nuclear attack. It even has atmospheric nuclear radiation detection equipment to assess the external environment and prevent agents hiding inside from being contaminated. This facility could allow agents to remain inside for up to fifteen years without leaving the premises, as the nuclear reactor could sustain all their electricity needs for that long. However, an alien invasion as part of the fourth contingency plan was something no one had anticipated. At that time, humanity had not yet made public contact with extraterrestrials, the Chitauri had not yet invaded, and the Skrulls and Kree were still a secret. Therefore, the person who designed the fourth contingency plan must have been Nick Fury or the controller of Project Pegasus—related to the Tesseract. Apart from these individuals, no one knew of the existence of extraterrestrials at the time. Maria Hill didn't know the builders of the Lighthouse base, but she knew that many scenarios had been considered in the initial design. Melinda May, as a top-notch field agent, would certainly be able to delay the battle until it was discovered.

This is not a large-scale invasion; time is on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s side.

The hunting cavalry advanced in an orderly fashion.

They breached the last layer of camouflage in the air-raid shelter, encountering only sporadic attacks from pre-positioned machine gun turrets. The rudimentary equipment and the weak fire of 7.62mm bullets merely tore at the rangers' blood-red robes, unable to halt their advance. The rangers' presence puzzled the simple thought processes and programs within the machine gun turrets. Subsequent remote active control, limited by the reaction speed of ordinary humans, rendered the delayed attacks largely ineffective. Before all the machine gun turrets could lock onto their targets, an electromagnetic explosion completely destroyed all the effective structures of the rudimentary attack equipment.

Although the First Classified Regiment was not content with merely serving as engineers, under these circumstances, the sergeant still allowed Alpha-Bronze II to lead the way into the underground passages of the Lighthouse base. Explosives being unloaded from heavy trucks and loaded onto the Wind One by the Second Combat Squadron were being continuously delivered to the front lines for the Rangers to use. Violent explosions and blinding flashes accompanied the Rangers' footsteps; their replaced legs were surrounded only by scattered corpses. Most of the SHIELD personnel chose to evacuate immediately after they destroyed the blast doors or concrete, without the slightest hesitation.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is luring us forward," the sergeant concluded. "I believe they've already set up an ambush."

"This probability has risen to 70.6%, and it's been added to the operational procedures. Priority, Crimson, notification issued." Alpha-Bronze 2's voice remained unchanged, as if he hadn't fired the shot at the small drone carrying grenades two seconds ago, as if he hadn't just saved himself and the other combat personnel. Alpha-Bronze 2 paused, seemingly invoking some program, then his voice suddenly softened. "Your suggestion was very helpful, sergeant."

"You're welcome."

"Praise be to the sage's foresight; the communication program truly enhances combat efficiency," Triangulus-Alpha-01 said on the internal communication channel while changing rifle magazines. "The minds of ordinary humans are so fragile that they require communication programs for maintenance."

"This is a common ailment of flesh and blood, a tendency towards irrational impulses."

Triangulus-Alpha-02 and Triangulus-Alpha-01 are a rare pair of twins on Mars. Born from the same numbered incubation chamber, they share remarkably similar physical genes and thought processes. This is a fascinating trait; genes, as the machinery that composes flesh and blood, hold many secrets yet to be fully explored on Mars. All Martian sages know that only the Emperor possesses the complete wonder and mystery of all genes; others can only offer clumsy imitations. The Rangers even have accents, a phenomenon many Martian sages cannot comprehend, attributing it solely to undiscovered epigenetic traits etched into their genetic code.

"The modifications the Sage Epsilon-Rodney-Radium 223 made for us have overcome this weakness." Triangulus-Alpha-02 fired another shot. Although he couldn't see the target, the hunting program indicated radio signals and electricity in the darkness not far away. "Now it's time to focus on the mission, Gene Brothers in the Incubation Pod."

"I thought you were talking about me; we share the same genetic makeup," Triangulus-Alpha-03 briefly communicated. "But you're right. The adrenaline injector is almost empty. We need to end the battle quickly and replenish our bio-hearts with high-concentration adrenaline."

(End of this chapter)