It was learning, adapting.
Suddenly, Leah warned, "Commander! Abnormal fluctuations detected in the target's energy field! The core energy source's brightness has increased! It may be about to take action!"
Kane's heart tightened, and he pressed his finger slightly against the launch button.
However, the polyhedron did not advance or attack. Instead, the energy flowing across its surface began to converge in a certain direction. Soon, on the side facing the "Nightingale," the energy condensed into a **blurred, constantly shifting outline**.
That outline… vaguely resembled a **human figure**!
Then, a clearer "face," still composed of flowing energy, appeared on the head of that humanoid outline. The face twisted and contorted, sometimes resembling Station Chief West's pained face, sometimes like a teammate who died ten years ago in Kane's memory, and even occasionally flashing with Rex's rugged features!
**"Look… we are all… one…"** A wave of consciousness, mixed with countless familiar voices, filled with allure and distortion, directly assaulted Kane's brain! "**Give up resistance...merge into eternity...no pain...no loss..."**
A mental attack! It attempted to break his will through such a vile method!
Kane felt a violent dizziness and nausea; the faces and voices of the dead stirred up the deepest pain and guilt within him. But he bit his tongue sharply, the sharp pain instantly bringing him back to his senses!
"Shut up!" he roared inwardly, his powerful will acting as a shield, forcefully blocking the pervasive mental erosion! "You are dead! And I will live, to stop you!"
Seemingly sensing the limited effectiveness of the mental attack, the energy face twisted, becoming even more ferocious. The humanoid silhouette raised an arm made of energy, pointing it at the "Nightingale."
**"Then...destruction..."**
The light from the polyhedral core surged once more! A condensed, much thicker gray-white energy ray than the one encountered in the laboratory shot forth from the fingertip of the humanoid arm, striking directly at the hull of the "Nightingale"!
It wasn't aiming to get close; it was aiming for **remote destruction**!
"Evade!" Kane roared, but the Nightingale was completely immobile!
The energy beam struck the Nightingale precisely on its port side near the engine!
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion reverberated through the ship's structure! Kane felt the hull beneath his feet shudder violently! The flash of the explosion illuminated his area!
"Port armor breached! Compartment three and surrounding area severely damaged! Pressure leak! Isolation door activated!" Leah's urgent voice rang out, accompanied by the alarm.
It wasn't even willing to risk getting close, choosing instead to dismantle them piecemeal from a safe distance!
The balance was broken. The hunt had officially begun.