Chapter 977: Chapter 843: Double-Edged Sword
In Little Lake’s words, "It feels like the equipment on the other side is a swamp; no matter how hard I try, I can’t move fast!"
"I’m puzzled; since it’s a digital battleship, why are these devices and underlying logic tying their own hands?"
Qu Jianlei was originally a bit confused too, but after hearing the last sentence, he nodded thoughtfully.
"It’s not that they can’t do it; I think it’s very likely... they are aiming for safety!"
"Safety..." Little Lake listened, somewhat understanding, "Why does it always seem a bit stupid?"
Maybe I’m the stupid one! Qu Jianlei shook his head, murmuring softly, "Probably because they have too many choices."
When the other side realized they encountered a formidable artificial intelligence, the commander promptly changed tactics.
"Digital battleship, launch electromagnetic and logic attacks with full force, especially an electromagnetic attack!"
"Digital battleship received, initiating full-scale electromagnetic attack, followed by logic attack!"
In terms of logic, the digital battleship can only bitterly defend at the moment, unable to spare much computing power for a counterattack.
"Firepower support ship, launch a super-saturation attack, target... vessel number 8384!"
"Firepower support ship received, 80% of attacks targeting 8384, other attacks are feigned diversion!"
Their judgment was not wrong; since the opposite has a powerful artificial intelligence, there must be a large computing platform.
Now it seems, this platform is highly likely built on that rundown starship.
"Attention, Space-Air Carrier, stop launching unmanned small ships, switch to manned... reply received!"
"Space-Air Carrier One received, retrieving unmanned small ships, switching to manned."
"Space-Air Carrier Two received, but lack of crew to operate ships... how many manned small ships to dispatch?"
The configuration of these two Space-Air Carriers is entirely designed to be used with two digital battleships.
The small ships are configured for unmanned operation, although they can be converted for manned use, the interface is not user-friendly.
The most crucial issue is that there aren’t many crew members on the mother ship itself; further assigning crew for small ship operation would result in a severe manpower shortage.
"Maintain the minimum number of crew to operate the ship, everyone else boards the small ships!"
"We are having a tough time now, but believe this, the opponent has it harder... now it’s just a matter of who endures!"
This is entirely true; currently, Qu Jianlei’s side has already lost three small ships, and two more are heavily damaged.
The two armed merchant ships acquired from Sanhe also sustained damage, mainly because Little Lake had too little time integrating with these two starships.
As one manned small ship after another took off, Qu Jianlei’s fleet fell into a grueling battle again.
Little Lake tried to seize control of the small ships, but it was challenging — after all, the opponent has artificial intelligence assisting in defense.
Before long, another small ship on Qu Jianlei’s side was shot down.
Soon after, an armed merchant ship was hit by heavy fire, losing control instantly.
Under the collective fire of the opponent’s powerful weaponry, this merchant ship quickly went up in flames.
The computing unit on 8384 also began smoking — although it was mostly caused by water vapor, it had been overloaded for a long time.
Big Head Butterfly spun wildly, mumbling, "Where is 3344, where is 3344?"
It even started cursing softly, "Damn, a starship was lost just like that... this is not over!"
This is the uncertainty of battle; even though the 8384 bearing 80% of the firepower managed to hold, our side suffered significant losses.
In essence, it’s no surprise, the burning merchant ship had run out of decoy shells, unable to withstand the attacks anymore.
But for the other side, this was a rare achievement, "The opponent’s main fleet has lost one-fifth, victory is in sight!"
Destroying one is just among the achievements; the remaining four are also heavily scarred.
What they found strange, however, was that the armed merchant ship seized from the Gem Blue Star Body was the least damaged!
"How many crew members did this merchant ship add? It seems no worse off than 8384... using such deceptive tactics!"
"That’s not the point; the point is that this merchant ship is heavily stocked with munitions, especially numerous decoy shells!"
"Does this mean that this merchant ship is where the computing platform is stationed, and we were all deceived?"
"Can you guess any more wildly? How long did it take them to get this merchant ship?"
Just then, someone suddenly shouted, "Reinforcements are here... two armed merchant ships!"
They’ve been struggling to hold on, despite having heavily damaged the opponent, their side fared not much better.
At the same time, Little Lake also detected abnormal signals.
"Damn, boss, two more unknown merchant ships are coming... it looks... bad, they’re going to encircle us!"
"Where are our three starships? Where are our starships? Alright, finally, they’re here!"
The two incoming starships of the other side were unknown, but on Qu Jianlei’s side, it was 3344 and another coast guard ship.
The Omen Ship was also about to arrive, but it deliberately slowed its speed,
This was also part of Qu Jianlei’s prior arrangement; he didn’t want this starship to be exposed easily unless utterly necessary.
The other side, however, was still jubilant, ordering the new two armed merchant ships to join the fight.
"Apart from the 8384, other starships can be directly destroyed!"
As the Digital Battleship’s persistent Electromagnetic Attack continued, they gradually confirmed that 8384 is indeed the computational support platform.
Although Little Lake is an extraordinarily advanced artificial intelligence, it is still vulnerable to Electromagnetic interference, which is undeniable.
Once affected, its invasion becomes intermittent; otherwise, the opponent wouldn’t have been able to turn the tables.
Its effort to maintain this invasion was precisely because of this, prompting the opponent to observe the source of the electromagnetic waves.
Upon discovering this, they held a nonchalant attitude towards other Starships, but were keen on capturing this particular Starship.
Although the Rhodiola rosea is indeed important, the computational power and artificial intelligence of this Starship are also quite significant.
After all, it has been tested in combat, showing clear aspects worth emulating.
An Armed Merchant Ship inquired, "What if the 8384 ship doesn’t stop resisting... or even self-destructs?"
The commander coldly stated, "Then let it destroy itself."
Two Armed Merchant Ships joined the battle; the originally precarious Qu Jianlei fleet instantly became wobbly.
"Put in more effort!" someone fervently shouted, "Take out that still somewhat intact merchant ship first!"
At the next moment, a shrill alarm sounded, "The opponent’s data invasion is accelerating... Be careful, control is transferring!"
"We’ve detected reinforcements on the opponent’s side, detected reinforcements on the opponent’s side!"
The newly arrived 3344 ship, with stronger computational power, had maintained a silent approach on its way and now suddenly decided to strike.
Supposedly, the opponent’s Warship Perception Ability is also very strong, but the scene... is just too chaotic.
Not to mention the chaotic Electromagnetic environment, which makes probing unusually difficult.
Furthermore, most of the fleet’s computational power is dedicated to repelling Little Lake’s invasion, leaving very little to be redirected.
Indeed, although Little Lake’s invasion is difficult and exposed, the opponent is certainly not much better off; it’s a true double-edged sword.
However, Big Head Butterfly was previously in a better position, so relative to that, Qu Jianlei’s side was more affected.
ship arrived quietly, housing fifty million computational units, among which Little Lake’s clone was originally present.
It suddenly launched an aggressive attack, making defense almost impossible.
The first to lose control was the Firepower Support Ship.
This Warship’s advantages and disadvantages are equally obvious; its firepower is indeed powerful, but it lacks many defensive weapons.
While it’s thick-skinned, its counterattack means are limited, requiring other Starships to coordinate defense.
This naturally includes data defense.
The Firepower Support Ship’s data defense is quite weak, it is independent, only slightly affected by the outside world, nearly physically isolated.
With the support of Digital Battleship, it can effectively resist Little Lake’s invasion.
But with the sudden appearance of 3344, the Digital Battleship’s artificial intelligence prioritized self-protection, leading to its misfortune.
Little Lake deeply hated the opponent’s ruthlessness, which actually took out four small ships and one Armed Merchant Ship. How much would that cost?
Thus, it actively asked, "Take over the opponent’s weapon system?"
It’s unavoidable; the boss set the bottom line that proactive attacks must be authorized!
"Take over!" Qu Jianlei responded without hesitation, "Open fire freely!"
In the next moment, the arsenal ship that the opponent had relied on, unexpectedly turned its artillery towards its own Starship.
Caught off guard, a Space-Air Carrier erupted in flames.
The fire wasn’t particularly large, but the Energy Protection Shield’s strength was rapidly declining, "Are you out of your mind?"
But the commander quickly reacted, "Control has been seized, the opponent’s artificial intelligence is too uncanny!"
"Firepower Ship, order your ship to cut all external links, cease the attack!"
At this point, Little Lake’s computational power is mainly on the Firepower Ship’s weapon control system, while the relatively independent communication system is still usable.
The Firepower Support Ship quickly shut down the external data channel, but unfortunately, Little Lake’s subprogram has already completed its stationing!
In desperation, this Starship completely shut down its power system.
The Protective Shield’s strength significantly decreased, but fortunately, the ship still has a relatively independent backup power, allowing it to maintain temporarily.
At this moment, Little Lake’s main focus is no longer on it, but rather on seizing control of two Space-Air Carriers.
Big Head Butterfly’s computational power is at work, and Qu Jianlei wasn’t idle either, pointing out new targets.
"Prioritize hitting the two newly arrived Armed Merchant Ships, don’t let them escape."
The Starships previously involved in the battle were all heavily scarred, and the Armed Merchant Ship where the two Paranoids were found also sustained quite a bit of new damage.
These injuries would definitely slow down the sailing speed, so taking out the reinforcements first is essential to complete the final encirclement.
"Understood," Little Lake’s computational power increased significantly, surprisingly finding time to respond amidst the busyness.
"Boss, don’t worry, no one is better at multitasking than I am."
Two small ships and four main ships, dragging their battered bodies, began to focus fire on the two Merchant Ships.
The opponent’s commander was stunned upon seeing this, "This means... they’re intending to keep us all here?"
(Updated until, seeking monthly tickets, subscriptions, and recommendation votes.)
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