At this particular moment, Marcus was completely immersed in his own research projects.
Most of the Warframes had been successfully crafted, and he was now dedicating his attention to studying improvements to mod crystals—the specialized enhancement components that could dramatically amplify a Warframe's capabilities.
Perhaps because he was so thoroughly absorbed in the work, it didn't take Marcus very long to completely master the manufacturing process for high-level mod crystals. He'd even successfully researched several specialized mod crystals of equivalent power level.
"Primed Pressure Point [High-Level Critical Strike] gave me tremendous inspiration," Marcus observed, picking up the newly developed mod crystal in front of him with satisfaction. "But I honestly didn't expect creating this would be so straightforward."
He examined the glowing crystal carefully, admiring his handiwork.
"I'll call you 'Son of Krypton,'" Marcus decided.
That's right—the mod crystal Marcus held had been created by channeling and analyzing the unique properties of the Kryptonian biological force field. It could allow any Warframe equipped with biological force field capabilities to exert significantly more powerful effects.
[Son of Krypton: Bio-force field strength +165%, Kryptonite resistance +30]
These were the enhanced parameters the Son of Krypton provided. Although the numbers might not seem overwhelmingly impressive at first glance, this represented absolutely tremendous assistance for Kryptonians who relied on biological force fields as their primary power source.
"Successfully creating the Son of Krypton proves my fundamental theory is sound," Marcus said thoughtfully. "Perhaps I can finally prepare to pursue that project."
For quite some time now, Marcus had been contemplating one critical question: whether he could craft an entirely original Warframe according to his own creative vision and specifications.
Based on his recent successes, this should definitely be feasible. Unfortunately, he didn't currently possess sufficient quantities of Aya Essence to attempt such an ambitious project. Otherwise, he would absolutely attempt to craft a brand-new Warframe of his own original design.
"After I've crafted those last five remaining frames, I can attempt it," Marcus planned aloud. "As for right now, besides collecting enough Aya Essence, I need to conceptualize the new armor's appearance and design the unique rift crystals that would belong exclusively to that frame..."
Just as Marcus was deep in contemplation, someone suddenly knocked on his door.
Dong dong dong
"Mr. Marcus, it's me—Locke," a voice called from outside.
"Captain Locke? Why are you looking for me at this hour?" Marcus wondered aloud, genuinely puzzled.
Captain Locke had never come to visit him at this particular time before. And judging from the man's tone, it didn't sound like he'd encountered any serious difficulties. So why had he come?
Still somewhat confused, Marcus opened the door. Captain Locke stood in the corridor with a broad smile on his face.
"Mr. Marcus, I'm here to deliver some excellent news," Locke announced. "Our exploration team has successfully located a new mineral deposit. Once the veins here are completely exhausted, we'll be ready to relocate the entire operation."
A new vein had already been found?
This revelation left Marcus slightly confused. Were energy crystal deposits really that easy to locate in this universe?
It had only been a short time since the exploration team departed, and they'd already discovered new reserves.
"What are the estimated reserves at the new vein location?" Marcus asked. "I'd hate for you to relocate only to have to move again after just a few days of mining."
"Based on our preliminary geological surveys of the deposit, we can probably maintain full production operations for approximately half a year," Locke reported.
Half a year of continuous mining?
Hearing this timeframe, Marcus immediately understood that the reserves at this new location were definitely substantial.
After all, as an interstellar civilization—even just the most basic tier of such civilizations—mining efficiency was extraordinarily high compared to planetary-bound operations.
For civilizations restricted to a single planet, mineral deposits might last for decades or even centuries of exploitation. But interstellar civilizations with advanced extraction technology could completely deplete those same reserves in just a few months.
A mining operation lasting half a year represented genuinely excellent reserves by interstellar civilization standards.
"I understand. Just let me know when you're prepared to begin the relocation," Marcus confirmed.
"Will do. Now I should go find General Zod and inform him as well," Locke said with a nod. "This news should be quite important to the Kryptonians too."
Captain Locke turned and walked toward where General Zod and his people were working, leaving Marcus to return to his research undisturbed.
After watching Captain Locke depart down the corridor, Marcus stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"It looks like everyone's preparing for the big move," he mused. "Now then... what exactly should this new custom Warframe be designed to do?"
Marcus continued pondering the possibilities. He absolutely had to create something truly suitable and innovative.
The day when the current mineral veins were completely exhausted finally arrived.
The entire base became increasingly busy with relocation preparations. As the various production facilities were systematically launched into flight mode one after another, the ground level of the base became progressively emptier.
"Supply depot is beginning disassembly sequence! Bunkers are beginning disassembly!" an engineer shouted into the communication channel.
These structures that couldn't achieve flight naturally had to be carefully recycled and packed. After all, they weren't wealthy enough to simply abandon these expensive installations everywhere they went.
Moreover, reinstalling these prefabricated structures was extremely convenient—at minimum, far easier than constructing them from scratch using raw materials.
"No wonder Zod—who's mastered incredibly advanced Kryptonian technology—feels genuinely envious of human engineering," Marcus observed with appreciation. "This modular construction methodology isn't just simple to build initially, but also remarkably fast to disassemble and relocate."
After watching the supply depots and bunkers being rapidly broken down and converted into neatly folded modules, Marcus couldn't help but feel impressed.
Although humans didn't possess superhuman physical capabilities or overwhelmingly advanced technology compared to other species, they could always identify optimal solutions and survive in the narrow gaps between countless larger conflicts.
With the disassembly of the final supply depot, the base had been completely cleared and packed for transport.
"Everyone, move out!" Captain Locke's voice echoed across all radio frequencies.
The human colony began its organized migration toward the target coordinates.
The combat troops didn't board transport ships. They had critical responsibilities protecting the flying buildings during transit. Therefore, beneath those hovering structures, a substantial combined-arms force composed of marines, vehicles, and walkers slowly advanced in protective formation.
In the air, besides the human structures, General Zod and the other Kryptonians were also flying escort patterns to protect the main human forces.
Of course, Marcus was among them as well—though he wasn't actually performing escort duties. Instead, he was testing various mod crystals he'd created over the past several days.
"I genuinely didn't expect that after the Son of Krypton was integrated into this weapon, there would be such a dramatic transformation!" Marcus exclaimed, examining the C14 gauss rifle in his hands with genuine surprise.
The C14 gauss rifle served as the standard-issue weapon for all marines. But now, after integrating the Son of Krypton mod crystal, this weapon displayed completely different performance characteristics.
Although the rifle itself couldn't directly utilize biological force fields, every single bullet fired from it became imbued with bio-force field energy.
Yes, exactly that—the biological force field was somehow being attached to the projectiles themselves, allowing these rounds to exert power unique to Kryptonians. This unexpected result left Marcus thoroughly confused but intrigued.
Dada
The muzzle spewed bright flames as the weapon fired. The bullets emitted a distinctive red glow, shooting outward and drawing two crimson arcs through the air before slamming into distant ground with tremendous force.
Then, the impact points suddenly erupted. The earth that had been struck instantly exploded and transformed into pools of bubbling molten lava.
This was the effect of bullets imbued with biological force field energy. Each individual round could cause such devastating power—not only was the penetration capability amazing, but the raw destructive force couldn't be underestimated either.
"What exactly did I create?" Marcus wondered aloud. "Not only can it be integrated into weapons, but how did it transform the weapon's function so dramatically?"
However, Marcus definitely hadn't failed to identify problems with his creation. When he'd fired the weapon, he'd immediately discovered the primary disadvantage of this particular mod crystal: it consumed absolutely enormous amounts of energy.
The C14 gauss rifle in his hands served as perfect evidence of this limitation.
Marcus hadn't deliberately chosen to fire only two shots just now—rather, after those two rounds, the weapon's power supply had become completely insufficient to fire again.
"I suppose this weapon can only be properly used by marines after all," Marcus said with a helpless smile, removing the Son of Krypton mod.
There was excellent reason why this electromagnetic rifle served as standard marine equipment. The weapon featured a power supply port on its back that could replenish energy through direct connection to a marine's powered armor suit, allowing the gauss rifle to operate continuously during extended engagements.
However, this experimental weapon had definitely given Marcus some valuable ideas. Perhaps the exclusive rift crystal for his custom Warframe was beginning to take shape conceptually.
After carefully storing the weapon, Marcus landed smoothly on top of a flying barracks structure and gazed into the distance. Their destination lay in that direction.
Buzz~
Dust billowed across the ground as a Vulture hoverbike rapidly approached their position from ahead.
"One of our scout units is returning? But... why do I get the feeling something's happened?" Marcus murmured.
Looking at the Vulture approaching quickly from the distance, Marcus seemed to sense something concerning. His eyes began emitting a faint glow as he activated enhanced vision. The distant scene appeared with perfect clarity before him.
"Is that... creep?" Marcus said with surprise.
He could clearly see a section of ground covered with black, sticky organic substance—the mucus secreted by the living creep carpet that provided nutrients for Zerg forces.
"The creep has already spread this far toward us? Looks like another battle is about to begin," Marcus observed.
Sure enough, shortly after the Vulture scout rejoined the main convoy, all ground troops entered heightened alert status. Even the Siege Tanks transitioned into siege mode standby, and several Hurricane missile platforms loaded with extensive ordnance entered combat-ready status.
"Everyone, attention!" Captain Locke's voice broadcast across all channels. "Zerg creep has been detected ahead of our position. Prepare yourselves and be ready to enter combat status at any moment."
The alien creep was still quite far ahead, but their convoy's approach might have already been detected by Zerg forces. They absolutely had to prepare for potential surprise attacks by alien insects.
The entire convoy, now fully defensive, slowed its advance considerably. But nobody complained or protested—they understood perfectly well the deadly consequences of encountering unprepared Zerg swarms. Caution was absolutely necessary.
After receiving news about the creep spread, all personnel stationed at the new forward base entered their fortified bunkers. Siege Tanks transitioned to full siege mode, prepared to unleash devastating firepower to keep alien insects at bay.
Their defensive preparations were entirely correct. But what nobody realized was that far beneath the ground, a massive insect creature was rapidly breaking through hard bedrock and moving underground toward their positions.
Rumble...
"Does anyone else hear that sound?" one marine inside a bunker asked his squadmates.
"What sound? Don't scare yourself," another marine replied dismissively. "The main convoy will arrive soon. We just need to hold position a bit longer, then we can rest."
This second marine insisted he hadn't heard anything unusual.
Rumble...
"Everyone, attention—there is a sound!" someone with the main force called out urgently.
They'd heard all kinds of environmental noises during their journey, but definitely nothing like this. Moreover, the sound seemed to be originating from underground.
"Don't talk nonsense—we're not hearing anything," someone retorted, still unable to detect the vibrations.
But the moment those dismissive words were spoken, Faora suddenly descended from her aerial patrol position and landed on the ground, pressing one ear against the earth to listen carefully.
After several moments of concentrated attention, Faora opened her eyes and looked at the assembled troops around her.
"He's correct—there definitely is a sound, and it's coming from underground," she announced with absolute certainty. "Living creatures are approaching our position from beneath the surface."
Living creatures approaching underground?
Now everyone present immediately became alert and tense. After this critical information was reported directly to Captain Locke, his expression became deeply troubled.
"Living creatures underground? Could it possibly be..." Locke began, then his eyes widened with terrible realization.
As if he'd suddenly thought of something absolutely critical, Captain Locke stood up abruptly, pressed the broadcast button, and shouted urgent warnings.
"Everyone, attention—watch your footing! Alien insects are approaching from underground!
Everyone, attention—watch your footing! Alien insects are approaching from underground!
Everyone, attention—watch your footing! Alien insects are approaching from underground!"
Captain Locke repeated the warning three times consecutively, his voice carrying obvious urgency and anxiety.
He'd remembered a particularly dangerous specialized Zerg unit that might appear: the Nydus Worm. These massive creatures could rapidly transport enormous numbers of Zerg forces through underground tunnel networks, allowing swarms to emerge suddenly at various strategic locations.
Right now, if Locke's assessment was correct, the living creature moving underground was a Nydus Worm approaching at high speed.
The main convoy, having received this critical warning, immediately became hyper-alert to the ground beneath their feet. The Kryptonians integrated among the human forces used their X-ray vision and superhuman hearing to constantly monitor subsurface conditions.
Rumble...
The sound beneath their feet grew progressively louder and more intense. Even those who hadn't detected it previously could now clearly hear such vibrations.
The ground itself began trembling noticeably, which made everyone in the convoy become even more vigilant and prepared. They didn't know precisely what kind of Zerg they were about to face—they could only maintain maximum alertness.
BOOM!!!
The earth suddenly shattered explosively. An absolutely enormous worm erupted from underground, its massive body breaking through the surface. Fortunately, personnel in the convoy had dispersed their formation appropriately and didn't suffer excessive casualties.
"Open fire!!!" the order rang out.
Everyone immediately began attacking. Marines' gauss rifles spewed electromagnetic fire, Hellion flame vehicles shot concentrated streams of fire to ignite the Nydus Worm's body, while Siege Tank artillery shells and Hurricane platform missiles poured down in devastating volleys.
ROAR!!!
The Nydus Worm bellowed with rage, its massive mouth opening wide. A seemingly endless stream of alien insects began pouring from that gaping maw, attacking everyone in the vicinity.
"Stop them!" General Zod's command issued simultaneously.
A series of scorching heat vision beams released from multiple Kryptonians, sweeping across the battlefield and slicing the emerging alien insects cleanly in half.
But there were far too many insects contained within the Nydus Worm's massive body. Combined with the incredibly tough dermal plating protecting the worm's exterior, it simply continued disgorging Zerg despite the concentrated artillery barrage.
Hiss~~~
A distinctive sound echoed through the distant air. Large numbers of massive flying insects were rapidly approaching their position from multiple vectors.
"Is the master intelligence controlling these alien insects still alive?" Marcus wondered, frowning as he observed the coordinated Zerg assault.
If this were just a simple mindless swarm, he could accept that—after all, insect tides only required a Queen to continue reproduction operations.
But now even specialized flying units were appearing in coordinated attacks. The massive Nydus Worm on the ground also proved to Marcus that there was definitely an intelligent controller directing these alien insects strategically.
"Interesting. Seems I'll need to take direct action after all," Marcus decided.
Looking down at the human-Zerg battle unfolding beneath him, Marcus's body tipped backward and he fell from high altitude in a controlled dive.
As he descended, Marcus's form transformed in a brilliant flash of light—shifting into Rhino Prime. Tremendous kinetic energy gathered in his legs as he plummeted toward the Nydus Worm like a meteor.
BOOM!!!
Marcus struck like an actual meteorite. His Rhino Stomp ability activated on impact, and the corner where he landed collided with the Nydus Worm's massive body. The enormous creature's body was instantly crushed under the devastating force, transforming into countless fragments of blood and flesh that splattered across the battlefield.
Inside the tunnel network within the worm, the alien insects that hadn't yet been deployed were also violently expelled—lifted into the air and frozen in place by the massive shockwave from Marcus's devastating stomp attack.
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