Chapter 403: Wormhole
Chapter 403: Chapter 403: Wormhole
Long Ming frowned at the sight. ’To be so thorough under such urgent circumstances... they must be extremely cautious.’
Just then, Luoxue led Long Ming to the back of the line.
Before long, it was their turn.
"Officer’s card. Your ship’s size? How many standard cargo containers can it hold?"
A statistics officer said, glancing at Luoxue.
"A 320-meter small freighter."
Luoxue handed over her officer’s card and replied.
"XS501-520. A total of twenty standard containers. Don’t lose this slip; they’ll need to verify it on delivery."
The officer quickly wrote out a manifest, handing it to Luoxue with an instruction.
"Understood."
Slip in hand, Luoxue immediately led Long Ming and the others into the storage area.
The warehouse was massive. Rows upon rows of sealed metal crates filled their vision, and soldiers stood guard everywhere.
Luoxue followed the manifest to find the XS storage section.
The soldier on duty glanced at the manifest and stated plainly,
"Take these twenty crates. Don’t take more, don’t take less. You will be held responsible for any mistakes."
"Right!"
Luoxue then had Qian Wei and the others use their loaders to start moving the cargo.
Long Ming didn’t stand idle, either. He stood to the side, keeping watch.
The soldier on guard gave Long Ming a puzzled look. ’A custom Mechanical God escorting manual laborers? What’s the world coming to?’ They didn’t say anything, though.
Soon, Luoxue’s team finished loading the crates and left without delay.
...
「Guangxiao Star Sea – Front Line Defense」
Inside the command room of the Level 5 flagship, the *Thunderfish*.
Piercing alarms blared continuously.
Operators reported in one after another.
"Squadron X77 annihilated! Captain Hai Qi is KIA!"
"Squadron X185 wiped out! Captain Si Di is critically wounded!"
...
On the enormous virtual operations screen, one captain’s portrait after another turned gray.
"Dammit, what the hell are the other support fleets doing?!"
Listening to the casualty reports, veins bulged on Ola Ray’s forehead.
"The support ships are at maximum firepower, but the enemy numbers are just too high. On top of that, more wormholes are opening. Sir, we’re being too passive. Are we really going to hold the line to the last man?"
Kaxie replied, their nerves stretched to the breaking point.
"I know we’re on the defensive, but we have to hold the line. We must hold out at least until the supplies on Guangxiao Planet are fully transferred. Only then can we consider a strategic withdrawal."
Ola Ray said, his face grim.
"Understood."
Kaxie nodded.
"Report! Scanners detect a massive swarm of black-armored flying insects heading for us!"
An operator brought up an optical image on the main screen.
A suffocatingly dense swarm of flying insects surged forward like a tide. The starfighters intercepting them fired wildly, but their attacks were like raindrops on an ocean, creating nothing more than faint ripples.
The swarms absorbed the attacks, overwhelming the intercepting starfighters.
KABOOM—
In an instant, the starfighters exploded one after another.
"Launch tubes one through three thousand—fire at will!"
Ola Ray ordered, his face dark.
"Yes, sir!"
The operators responded in unison.
WHOOSH—
Volleys of missiles launched into the swarm.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Countless explosions ripped through the swarm, swallowing hordes of the insects.
At the rear of the swarm, an insectoid standing atop the head of a giant flying insect watched with cold indifference as innumerable kin perished.
They clearly had more forces but did not press the assault. They merely maintained a high-intensity barrage, suppressing all the fleets within the defensive line.
...
「Guangxiao Planet – Tefu Base」
After stuffing the last supply crate into the transport ship, Qian Wei said to Luoxue,
"All set. Are we taking off?"
"Take off. We’re heading to Light Tower Base to rendezvous with the *Kunpeng*. We’ll depart with her."
Luoxue told Qian Wei and the rest of the team.
"Well, looks like this mission is pretty easy after all."
Qian Wei and the others boarded the transport ship, all in high spirits.
"On a group mission like this, we just have to go with the flow. Normally, there shouldn’t be any problems."
Long Ming said with a smile.
"Yeah, you’re right."
Luoxue nodded.
「Meanwhile, at Light Tower Base.」
Outside the *Kunpeng*.
Large construction mechs were loading a giant, egg-shaped object wrapped in special canvas onto the *Kunpeng*.
Deputy Legion Commander Bassaf stood with a man wearing a second-generation mechanical exoskeleton. The man had a special Star Alliance insignia on his chest and held an advanced smart-tablet.
"Bassaf, I’ve loaded ’that item’ onto the *Kunpeng*, along with the Energy Crystals and Level 4 rare ores mined from Guangxiao Planet. The Star Alliance specifically requested these items. If anything happens to them, not even your Legion Commander could bear the responsibility."
Chief Statistics Officer Shinaka warned Bassaf, his voice extremely grave.
"Rest assured. I’ll be escorting it personally. There will be absolutely no problems."
Bassaf replied to Shinaka politely.
Although his military rank was higher than Shinaka’s, he couldn’t pull rank on a representative of the Star Alliance.
「In the central control room of Star Tower Base.」
A man in a major’s uniform sat in the command chair with a lazy expression, his feet propped up on the control console.
Just then, a capable-looking, blue-skinned woman in a captain’s uniform reported.
"Major Asiga, the *Kunpeng* and the many smaller vessels have finished loading. They’re ready for departure."
"Get them out of here, now. Once the first wave is gone, the pressure on me will ease up. Everyone says this post is a cushy gig. They have no idea I’m on pins and needles all day!"
Asiga grumbled.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm blared.
Black warning windows popped up one after another.
"WARNING: Abnormal spatial fluctuations detected!"
"WARNING: Wormhole detected!"
...
Asiga tumbled out of his chair and scrambled up, asking frantically,
"What’s happening?!"
"It’s bad. A wormhole has appeared within the planet’s atmosphere."
Mona reported, her expression grim.
"Holy shit, a wormhole here? You’ve got to be kidding me! Sound the Level One combat alert! Quick, notify Bassaf and Shinaka!"
Asiga felt like cursing his own mother.
"Yes, sir!"
Mona responded instantly.
In an instant, piercing alarms echoed throughout the entire Light Tower Base.
「Outside the *Kunpeng*.」
Bassaf and Shinaka were startled by the alarms as well.
"What’s going on?"
Just then, an NCO ran over in a hurry, reporting to Deputy Legion Commander Bassaf and Shinaka.
"It’s bad! A wormhole has appeared in the atmosphere of Guangxiao Planet!"
"Dammit."
Shinaka’s face instantly darkened.
"These damned bugs. Of all the times to show up, it had to be now."
Bassaf’s expression was just as grim.
"What’s your plan?"
Shinaka asked, looking at Bassaf.
"I can’t worry about anything else. I’m taking off now!"
Bassaf told Shinaka.
"Go."
Shinaka gave a heavy nod.
The *Kunpeng* immediately ceased all loading operations, and all personnel returned to the ship.
Moments later, the *Kunpeng* activated its anti-gravity systems and began to slowly gain altitude.
...