Chapter 501-510

Chapter 501: Hope to Live I
nd because of this, his concern towards this fleet and this mysterious Master Jay only got stronger over time. He had been trying all sorts of channels to obtain information regarding this fleet. Unfortunately, it was fruitless most of the time. This Master Jay apparently had a method of his own when it came to management. The fleet was made out of utter folks yet they had the discipline of an actual military troop. That was mission impossible to him. He felt that was the core issue of his capability. Xiao Wan might be the supreme leader of this fleet, but hardly she had interfered Arwa.
And this time around, Jay’s fleet had performed such an overhaul that it was beyond his expectation. Since in his viewpoint, it was hard to unite an army of a variety. Any bit of ember on the haystack could strike a forest fire. The fleet could disband on its own upon crisis. So he had been treading the ground carefully, handling the fleet with care.
It wasn’t him alone but everyone who had interests on this fleet would probably never expected that the instructor, Ye Chong did not really concern on the day the fleet disbanded.
The size of the fleet had decreased, contrary to everyone’s expectation. It felt like the worst move to make at this period since not only it would weaken the entire force, but also it could kill the confidence in people.
That should have been his final conclusion, but the old captain of the fleet had given an explanation which changed his mind.
The old captain basically pointed out Jay’s judgement in the situation, which Arwa actually noticed. Jay should have other channels to get the necessary intelligence. It was evident as he at least knew the severity of raids of red-tailed beasts around the galaxy. Getting good intelligence had been Arwa’s biggest problem. The Xiao Family’s army was actually dead despite the mention of its existence to the public. Furthermore, they had not even established a working network of intelligence. So Arwa was literally blind to the outside world. He could not make a fair judgement.
Technically, yes, one would very likely be destroyed if one traveled into the Calamitous Asteroid Belt, be it Jay’s fleet or Arwa’s. Not even the trained army could survive the asteroid belt, let alone this fleet conisisting ordinary citizens whose mentality and strength were probably far weaker.
That explained the shrinking size of Jay’s fleet. Everyone just left the party before they marched into the mouth of the giant calamitous beast.
Even though Jay had led them through one victory against the red-tailed beasts and another, they were no longer facing red-tailed beasts but nature itself. The universal law of nature. A thing that humanity could never conquer.
Nonetheless, Arwa agreed to Jay’s decision…well… assuming Jay was right on his intelligence.
Arwa himself was confident that he would make the same decision given that he got the same intelligence as Jay. He had sufficient experience fighting against the notorious brilliance of the cunning red-tailed beasts. He had witnessed the collapse of the front-line and had surely tasted that close-shave moment of his life. It was the most agonizing event in his memory.
The mysterious Master Jay rather took the most treacherous path of the galaxy, gambling with his and his fleet’s lives, than gambling with the odds of the red-tailed beasts completing the very siege that would swallow the entire galaxy.
What would that imply?
Arwa’s schemata ran rapidly.
That would imply that Jay was very confident of the intelligence he had obtained as well as his own judgement. That was why he took the greatest risk.
The conclusion was a little beyond Arwa’s expectation. But there was already no time for him to act surprised. He should be figuring out their next move. Assuming Jay was right about his judgement, that would mean a capital punishment for Arwa and his fleet. Based on the old captain’s illustration, Arwa could make out of location of Jay’s fleet which was much closer to Kasent. Jay should be presuming that his fleet would not be able to go beyond Kasent before the red-tailed beasts finished their circle. Well, neither could Arwa’s fleet.
The options had become clear then – either Arwa followed the planned course as before, disregarding Jay’s change of course or he would follow Jay into the Calamitous Asteroid Belt.
Arwa was getting indecisive on this, as he was fully aware of what his decision could bring to him as well as the entire fleet. Arwa was becoming more impressed of Jay, on how Jay could pick the treacherous path so calmly. It certainly required ounces of courage.
Currently Arwa was 70 or 80% convinced of Jay’s judgement. He might as well followed Jay into the asteroid belt but that would inevitably lead to massive casualties which might disband his fleet immediately.
While Arwa was hesitating, Ye Chong no longer was troubled by any of these.
The people in Ye Chong’s fleet had been working from day to night not noticing the hours passing by. A few of them started to run out of stamina that they fell. Their weights were dropping significantly yet their spirit burned high. On the other hand, the folk mechanics like Yang Ming had already a few of them collapsed. None of them were retreating however, some of them even used stimulants to keep them working.
All of them knew how much each second would matter. It was a race with not only time but also fate as well as the Reaper. Under the lead of these mechanics, the entire fleet was enthralled carrying out the operation, including their indifferent leader, Ye Chong.
T-1 to Calamitous Asteroid Belt and they managed to finish the strengthening of every spaceship in line. Half of the technicians, included Yang Ming, fell down. Their blood and sweat had inspired the others, especially the young pilots who eagerly awaited the next phase of the operation once they entered the deadliest zone of the galaxy.
Ye Chong took a day off earlier. Being the sole leader was far more occupying than any other position, especially in a timing like this, without the help of the artificial intelligence. He was the most experienced person regarding the asteroid belt.
The asteroid belt was boundless like the sea with the clusters of irregularly shaped rocks hovering around. The gigantic fleet was looking like a dust particle when compared to it. Most passengers were mentally prepared for the adventure but they were still overwhelmed by the difference in size when they marveled at the belt itself.
That was when they received an order from Master Jay to proceed. The firm voice rang profoundly in the ears of everybody, which calmed them somehow. No worry, no bewilderment or hesitation could be found in their eyes.
The Calamitous Asteroid Belt is the greatest view in the galaxy.
Then we shall be greater as we conquer it!
Confidence rocked in the heart of every sailor, as their actions became more efficient.

Shrink the formation. War units take care of both wings.


All combat units into position.


Mechanics standby in your positions now.


Medical units on standby too.

…
A chain of orders came from Haskel and spread throughout the entire fleet. The captain’s room on every spaceship was now the busiest, liveliest spot in the whole spaceship. All sorts of micro-commands, signals were passed around from people to people, through the public address system.
The fleet then reformed into a diagonal, as they gradually moved towards the asteroid belt. The members could already make out of the shapes of each asteroid hovering in waves.
It was another period of dead silence after the instruction had been passed and carried out. Everyone was staring at the hologramic screen.
They were close.
They got closer!
The entire fleet was traveling like a diagonal shuriken striking at the piece of patterned plate of rock.
Because of the fleet’s colossal size, it was impossible to dodge every asteroid perfectly. They were forcing in, as they could see the handful of rocks being bounced away by the armor of their ships. It was like a domino when it happened. One rock being bounced away would hit into another piece of space rock, the momentum went on, like a droplet of water into a pot of boiling oil. The waves of asteroids started boiling…
There were asteroids crashing into the fleet like cannonballs, specifically the spaceships at the outermost layer.

All onto steers! Hold it, do not tilt!


Stay calm! Stay on speed!


Mechanics perform inspection now!

The voices of captain were chilling the atmosphere in the midst of silence.
There were no command from Haskel. Ye Chong did not influence the other ships, as he knew it was just the prelude before the storm. If they could not even settle this problem on their own, the later would be unimaginable.
Spaceships were not made for asteroid belt travels, especially the deadly ones. Its size would disrupt the pulling forces between each peacefully traveling asteroids, which could be dangerous. Mechs, however, were more suitable for asteroid belt travels. Their size as well as the mobility gave them better safety, well except if there was a whirlpool in the end, that would be a gamble.
Thump. Klink. Bump.
It was like a rain of asteroids as a few sizable rocks just hit the armor like meteor shower.
Fortunately, there had not been actual damage to any of the spaceships, although dents could be seen on the ships… It was a painful sight to the captains.
Chapter 502: Hope to Live II
he warships at both wings were not having a fun time being the first line of defense, as they were preoccupied with the task of destroying the larger space rocks coming towards them. The damage caused by the collision between these space rocks and the spaceship would be horrendous. It would be easily a critical hit on any spot of the other ships. So they had to crush them before the space rocks could touch them, as what Master Jay ordered.
They might be as busy as bees, but they were better off compared to the transporting spaceships. Their armors were far thicker, to begin with. Every single part of their warship was armored. As long as collision on the same spot did not occur consecutively, they were very much safe.
The fleet traveled steadily towards the depth of the asteroid belt.
It was the second day of penetrating the asteroid belt. Clearly the density of asteroids had increased 3 times more than the day before, which consequently stressed the people more. Haskel remained at the center of the entire formation so no space pebble could even touch it.
There had not been any form of casualties at the moment. The crew members had a boost in will, as they seemed to have seen a light of hope despite being in probably the darkest, the most treacherous corner of galaxy. Nonetheless, the leader, Ye Chong did not seem particularly happy with the situation.

This isn’t right,
Shang said without cheekiness in his tone.
There is high activity in asteroid region.
Worries were flooding his beeping,
It could destabilize at any moment, especially with our intrusion. There is a considerable amount of possibility that an asteroid whirlpool could occur.
He was not entirely wrong. The Calamitous Asteroid Belt was known deadly for its great deal of unstable regions which were identified to be frequented by whirlpool phenomenon. If Ye Chong was traveling alone, he would have chosen to leave the area right away.

Mhm,
replied Ye Chong. He was as worried as Shang but there was no workaround for him at the moment. The area of this region was exceptionally sizable. They had been traveling on the shortest course to perform a space jump. Yes, they could have made a detour but there would be no guarantee that they could avoid the entire region safely while only consuming more time. The shortest course was estimated to be a three-day travel, yet they would need to spend a few more days breaking the rocks if they took a turn. The longer they took in the asteroid belt, the more risk they would get.

Shang, calculate the chance of us, at maximum as well as the current speed, being able to pass this region before a potential whirlpool phenomena occurred.

One was not meant to travel at maximum speed in Calamitous Asteroid Belt. With these asteroids, the spaceships would only be hindered. Not only the spaceships would be damaged greatly, the space would be further destabilized. The damage was not an issue compared to the chance of being sucked into a quantum singularity.
Ye Chong had no idea what the maximum destabilization the space could take before a whirlpool phenomena would occur. Thus, he asked Shang to perform simulation on both properties to get a basic reference on whether an asteroid whirlpool could form; if so, they also had to find out the timing when it occurred. They must not be the passive ones here. They must do something, however, the acceleration would highly increase the likelihood of the formation. So, which would be a better choice then?
5 minutes lapsed,
5%,
muttered Shang.
Assuming the fleet accelerated, the likelihood of a safe escape would be 5% higher.
Then he added,
That is Mu’s calculation, by the way.
Even though Mu did not provide the entire sequence of calculation, Ye Chong was fairly convinced.

Alright, we have to leave this dangerous area as soon as possible,
commanded Ye Chong firmly after a moment of ponder.
5% might not look like something in the eyes of most people, but that could be the very feather that tilted the scale of life for Ye Chong.
The fleet was speeding up upon his command.
The asteroid shower intensified!
The domino of asteroids were breaking up.
The zone was destabilizing rapidly!
The activity was getting stronger, as the fleet sped up.
Boom!
One spaceship at the end of the fleet was crushed by a giant spaceship with a diameter of 300 meters right in the body. The spaceship blew up.
That was the first casualty.
People could not help but to flinch at the scene. Simply no one would have survived that explosion. They could not do a thing to the situation. They were already occupied in saving themselves.
It was as if the wails of people rang in their ears. They were watching out for the rocks, but their lips were tight.
Ye Chong remained in the commander’s room, his eyes soullessly gazed on the holographic screen. He saw everything through the projection. He must think for the entire fleet. He needed to be calm. He had to make decisions that would cause the least casualties. That would what a leader like him should do. He did not have time to mourn for the dead.

Shrink further. Formation – 20 meters away from each other,
said Ye Chong. The crew members quickly passed the order to every spaceship. Ranged firearms like warships were scarce in the fleet. Most of their firepower came from the close-combat models. Although the models allowed them an easier time dealing with red-tailed beasts, such setup gave them a lethal weakness – vulnerable to ranged attacks. It was clear, that the space rocks would cause horrible damages if they were not destroyed at range. They might have strengthened the armor of each spaceship but it was only effective against the smaller asteroids. The large ones would be an overkill.
The density of the rocks was great, as if an actual sea of rocks. The fleet was as if an icebreaker, opening a way further into the frozen ocean.
The first explosion seemed to be a trigger.
A trigger for more casualties.
Just when Ye Chong’s fleet was struggling in the asteroid belt, Arwa was leading his fleet into the asteroid belt.
Eventually, Arwa chose to follow the Master Jay.
He did receive a number of objections from his men but he had his authority of giving ultimate command like Ye Chong. His order was unchangeable. At least Xiao Wan was fully supportive on his proposition. He thought everyone would be against him at first, that was a relief.
And it was when the news of his decision reached the entire Gray Valley.
People were confused, of how the two greatest leaders had made the exact decision, one was the military genius, Master Jay who first wiped out the wave of red-tailed beasts successfully; the other being Arwa, the wise strategist who managed to break through the siege during the front-line collapse.
It was a signal for the people, that probably it was a right decision to head into the asteroid belt.
The moment when Arwa ordered for a full acceleration into Calamitous Asteroid Belt, Kasent suddenly had a massive migration.
Residents on Kasent were preparing to migrate, as countless spaceships could be seen zooming into space. With the hope to live, they headed for the world beyond their reach.
On 6 a.m. the third day, a large wave of red-tailed beasts was detected at the few watching points near Kasent.
And that was when people who was trying to travel beyond Kasent jerked their steps. The spaceships approaching Kasent were accelerating to the maximum right away, while the distant ones took a turn and ran towards the warping point within the Calamitous Asteroid Belt frantically.
Ye Chong was unaware of the happening outside, but he knew he was in hot water. It was as if they were treading on the landmine area. They might have 5% more likelihood if they travel fast, but once a whirlpool phenomena occurred, the likelihood would drop to 0% immediately. No argument would be needed. It was undeniable.
…(Meanwhile at the mechanics)…
A new mechanic took over Yang Ming’s position. He had not fully recovered. He overclocked himself too much. It was true, he wanted to work more, so he dragged himself to the front-line, he had to chase the time, he had to repair all the damaged armor or the ship would be sinking if they got hit by another space rock.
It was a tiring a task to fix it. It was a tugging war. He could hear the panicked voice of the messenger passing updates on the damages. There seemed to be a new area dented.
Well, he eventually did not need to even hear the messenger speaking. Every quake occurred at the ship was sufficient to convince him that there was another collision occurred. He had a handful of assistants around him. It felt like a stormy ride to him, especially when he was working on the repair. The pebbles were hitting the armor like bullets.
And now he got replaced.
Finally he could take a break…
He almost tripped on himself when he got off the platform.
Chapter 503: Hope to Live III
e wanted to close his eyes. He coveted that warm, fluffy bed in his room. But reality hit him, reminding him that there were far more important things to do. He tried to relax by sitting at the corner, with a mug of warm water in his hands and a dry bread in his mouth. He had to restore his stamina as soon as possible. With that in mind, the hollow eyes were reflecting the glow of the flares occurring sometimes out there.

Man this place is just hell.
He heard Stringy the repairman, the mechanic, ranting out loud opposite him. His curly hair reminded people of the rounded strings at the workplace, so they called him Stringy.
Yang Ming was smiling, showing agreement on what Stringy had said. He took a few sips. He would love to give a word or two but his throat was cracking from drought.
Suddenly, the ship shook violently, that the water escaped Yang Ming’s grip and shattered on the ground.
Both Yang Ming and Stringy looked at each other, their eyes were illustrating the same thoughts – the ship was collided by something huge again, during which their eyes reflected another blooming flare in the dark void.
Yang Ming was a little bewildered upon seeing that one last sight illuminated by the explosion.
It was chaos. A mayhem. Rocks of different sizes were flying everywhere, hitting on anything that stood in their way, be it a spaceship, or another piece of rock. The fleet was having a hard time maintaining the ever-deforming formation.
Those days felt heavenly now when they only had to fight red-tailed beasts.
Before the flare faded, one could see that young face of Yang Ming, at loss of joy belonged to someone of his age, complicated with horror, worries, nostalgia…
Was the exploded spaceship a prophecy of what they would become in the near future?
And somehow Yang Ming could hear the answer, uttered firmly and indifferently by Master Jay, flashing by in his mind.

Area B-3 has been struck! Area B-3 has been struck! All technicians please proceed promptly! I repeat, all technicians please proceed promptly!
The alarm broke Yang Ming’s schemata.

Kek… my bottom hasn’t even relaxed on the ground and they got new task for us,
said Stringy with a smile, revealing the pair of yellowish buckteeth of his. He got up and headed B-3 fast.
…(Meanwhile)…
Ye Chong did not look pleased. It was the first time the crew members had seen such expression on their Master Jay. One could already imagine the crisis they were going to face.

Ye, the destabilization! It’s climbing!
alerted Shang.
Honestly, Ye Chong had already perceived the worsening situation even without Shang’s reminder. He had already lost 25 spaceships at this point. Way before the fleet sank into the rocky sea of Calamitous Asteroid Belt, Ye Chong had already reallocated most members of the 200 ships at the outermost spaceships to the 300 spaceships at the protected center, which included Haskel that got fairly crowded at the moment. There remained about 20 crew members on every ship at the outermost layer of formation.
The formation consisted of 3 protection layers occupied by those 200 ships, the sole duty for them would be to protect whatever inside.
20 members on each ship at the layers, totaling up to 4000 members guarding the 3 levels of shell for the people.
And all 4000 of them volunteered themselves.
Ye Chong was having headache when he plotted this. He knew what the people on those ships would eventually become.
But Shang gave him a suggestion way back – instead of ordering a random few, let the members volunteer themselves.
He felt it could be an effective way… however as expected from Shang’s intelligence.
It was effective, too effective.
Only on the third day after the announcement, he had already received 30,000 applicants for the positions. Under Shang’s assistance, Ye Chong picked out 4000 out of those at last.
And they had already lost 25 spaceships, which meant at least 500 men had lost their lives.
The destabilization rate was increasing.
Nonetheless, mortality rate was not the only outcome of the explosion. The explosion had created waves which had negatively affected the stability of the asteroid belt. It was obvious that the destabilization shared a directly proportional relationship with the chance of a whirlpool phenomena formation.
It was a major loss. Not only they lost a portion of their forces on every explosion, but also they faced a higher risk of being destroyed by an asteroid whirlpool.
If they could not figure out a counter for this, they would lose everything in the end, even their lives.
Ye Chong ground his teeth, he thought of conserving forces at first, but he no longer had the option, he must do something. He had to let go off the last bit of forces,
Order : Combat Unit A, battle station.

The commander’s room of Haskel got busy as every spaceship containing the pilots was heard. The saving grace was, none of the spaceships with his trained pilots blew up.
10 spaceships containing the pilots readjusted their direction and had their gates opened.

Charge!


Go! Go! Go!


Charrgggeeee!

In 5 seconds, the order was carried out. The pilots hopped into the waves of asteroids in their mechs.
Within a minute, the entire Battle Unit A, consisted of 1200 D-6s had been fully discharged from the ship.
They traveled in small groups, with 3 units each. So 400 small groups swam across the ocean of rocks freely like fishes. Mechs were far more flexible than spaceships in an environment like this. Their mission this time would be to hold up the coming asteroids – slowing them down or destroying them directly – anything that could work but safety would be their first priority.
Ye Chong regained control of the situation the moment he sent the 1200 mechs into the asteroid belt. The units would become the net that helped filtering the asteroids, which lessen the protecting units’ burden.
The pilots were not having an easy time however. They got to be focused. There were far too many of asteroids around them. They might be trained soldiers, but the environment were far too consuming for their mentality. One could never predict an asteroid. It was like an assassin that would give one’s back a stab when unnoticed. There was no second life, it was no game, it was war.
Ye Chong was the first to realize the issue. For some reason, he had amazing intuition on battling, not even Mu/Shang could do it better.

All units revolve about the spaceship. Maintain coordination.

No one had doubted a single word Ye Chong had said, as they executed the order right away. The wandering mechs had now gathered up and reformed themselves about the spaceships. They would only leave their orbit when an asteroid was approaching them.
A few of them would get onto the incoming rock itself and blasted off to pull the rock aside, while there were also members who would knock themselves into the rock from the side to deviate the orbit of the rock away from the ship. Some of them would also smash the asteroids with their weapons. If it was not D-6 they were piloting, everything felt like walking on thread.
Ye Chong’s order was very effective. The situation was under control again.
After the first few incoming attacks, the bond between pilots grew stronger. As they were revolving about the spaceship, they would not have to worry about the rocks hitting them behind. And they believed in each other, letting their mates taking up the sides beyond their viewing scope, so it was less of a chore to protect the ship. Most essentially, they would confirm the coordinate upon seeing a giant rock beyond their control heading towards a specific spot. Then they would inform the warship to launch a stronger firearm to crush it.
It was a shame they had no ranged units or they would be having a winning fight. Only the real giant among the asteroids could do actual harm to the spaceship. They could have shoot everything down if they had ranged weaponry.
Because of the recent exposure to red-tailed beasts, Ye Chong had gained a habit of prioritizing close-combat models while almost all his trainees were made into melee fighters as well. A single type of troop would be the strongest in a particular situation while being the weakest in the others. Ye Chong had never foreseen the travel to Calamitous Asteroid Belt, especially with such a substandard army.
This would be a good lesson, that no one could ever predict anything, even if you had a supercomputer to check out the trend. Murphy’s law still stood strong. If anything could go wrong, it would go wrong. It was also this uncertainty that gave the world an irresistible charm.
But Ye Chong did not fancy the charm, so did the crew members on Haskel, as they all were tensed as ever. Master Jay (Ye Chong) had hardly an expression in the past but this time the grimness could be easily perceived by the crew.
They might have regained control of the situation, but Ye Chong remained pessimistic on it. He planned to discharge the combat units on the third day of travel, as a guarantee to lead them to safety, since based on the intelligence he had in hand, the density of the asteroid belt grew dramatically greater the deeper they ventured. And it was only the second day, he had already sent out his trump card.
Right when Ye Chong was worried of the danger tomorrow, the Gray Valley had something happened.
…(Somewhere near Kasent)…
A small team of mechs were carrying out their routine patrolling.
They had heard stories of red-tailed beasts showing up nearby, so they were assigned to watch out the area for the people.

Wh-What is that! Holy Kasent!
screamed one of the pilots.
The others shifted their sight onto the screen.
They could feel goosebumps crawling every corner of their skin.
It was a conglomeration… a massive, dense, rumbling wave of red-tailed beasts dashing towards them… The pilots could perceive the sizes of the beasts being about the size of a standard mech model. The skin was glowing in dark. The beasts seemed bulky with their muscles, the scarlet tip of their tails were swinging in aggression. The dark-red pupils of theirs were somehow illustrating the death.

RUN! TALK LATER!
One of them shouted, which woke the others up from their astonishment. They turned up their engines and ran at full speed.

Sec.
And one responsible pilot remembered his duty and recorded everything to be sent back to the base on Kasent.
Chapter 504: Perseverance I
hen the video reached Kasent, the entire planet exploded in chaos. People had begun to move to Kasent since a few days ago, but many still harbored illusions of their own. Besides, it was difficult for the civilians to find starships that allowed them to hitch a ride. For the moment, many civilians found themselves stuck on the planet.
It was mayhem in the cities. Mechs were flying around everywhere, trying to escape. Occasional explosions happened when mechs ran into each other. On the ground were the anxious masses, carrying their belongings and holding onto their children, their faces betraying fear and hopelessness.
The docking zones in the cities were also in a mess. The starships were all trying to depart, and the crowds on the ground were all trying to get a place on the ships. People were crying, yelling, begging … The glorious cities were now reduced to a living hell.
The docking zone control centers were overwhelmed. Without instructions from control, the starships lifted off by their own discretion.
Suddenly, two starships in the air collided into each other. One of the ships suffered heavy damage to its tail engines, while the other ship lost its half its starboard side hull armor.
The two ships lost balance and began to spin in the air, struggling to regain their balance.
It was all futile in the end.
The two starships wobbled their way down from 900 meters up, like drunken sailors, and crashed heavily into the docking zone crowded with both starships and people.
Boom! Boom! Two loud explosions followed, and two humongous flames flared out. Debris sprayed out from the center of the explosions.
The two fallen starships acted like ignition, and the docking zone, full of fuel, exploded.
One by one, the starships exploded like a chain reaction.
All around them, the crowded masses suffered from the explosions. They barely had time to scream before the flames engulfed them. People who were further away from the starships did not escape the effects of the explosions. The debris and fragments from the explosions came at them, burning hot and fast, piercing their bodies, cracking their skulls.
The injured lay in their own pool of blood, struggling, wailing in pain or fear. No one was left standing in the docking zone.
The predictions of the mysterious man, Jay, had finally came true on this day. The Heavens did not give the people who doubted or hesitated a sliver of chance. Reality was cruel and determined.
Only a meager few survived the incident. The rest had paid the full price of their decisions with their lives.
Just as Jay predicted, the red-tailed beasts arrived on Kasent three hours later, and completed their surrounding formation. Two hours later, they had secured the surrounding areas of the planet.
Thus, Gray Valley was divided into two parts.
The people who were surrounded by the red-tailed beasts panicked. When news of the invasion spread, ships that were headed for Kasent immediately turned back and headed for the Calamitous Asteroid Belt, hoping to get to the rumored warp jump point. They had no other choice.
The lucky survivors and the people who were watching from afar now witnessed the sudden appearance of a legendary genius. If the truth of Jay’s victory before was not yet ascertained, no one doubted his abilities this time.
Jay’s reputation rose to a whole new level. People honored him, praised him, worshipped him. In short, he was put on a pedestal.
The mysterious man Jay became an enigma. To the average person, he was the symbol of invincibility, and Gray Valley’s last hope.
The people hoped that the man would appear once again. They prayed that he would survive the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. Many volunteers had began their journey to Planet Spectre, hoping to join the remarkable fleet. They believed that the mystical Sir Jay would once again be victorious.
Ye Chong ordered for the ships to accelerate past this unstable region, but the floating rocks were too dense for higher velocities. They were still advancing slowly.
Casualties were reported every day, but never on the same scale as what happened in the beginning.
Ye Chong dared not be careless, however. It was already the third day, their last, in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt. This was the most crucial part of their journey.
Distance-wise, they were already very close to the warp jump point. It was only 1,800 kilometers away. Usually, they would cover this distance in just an hour, but now they would have to take 12 hours.
They finally flew past the unstable region, but as the fleet advanced further, the pressure on them grew. Ye Chong was forced to assign all remaining 1,300 mech pilots on protection duty. With more manpower, their situation improved slightly, but five hours later, the situation became more difficult.
Ye Chong had no more extra personnel at his disposal.
With only seven more hours to go, they could only soldier on. The rest of the journey would be the most dangerous and hardest part of their flight.
To reduce areas exposed to risk, the starships were positioned very close to each other, but this did not improve their situation by much.
The mech pilots guarding the starships in their mechs were exhausted, and they were beginning to suffer from casualties. Before this, none of the mechs had been reported damaged. Now, as the danger around them increased, they had finally reached a breaking point.
Ye Chong was deeply troubled by this.
The rocks all around them came crashing down on the starships like a heavy downpour. In just three minutes, they lost 50 mechs. It was no wonder Ye Chong looked so troubled. At this rate, they would lose all their mechs in just two and a half hours.
This was unacceptable for Ye CHong.
However, no amount of tricks and strategies were going to save them this time. The fleet members would have to persevere.
Ye Chong decided to step into the field himself. He had no concept of how leaders should not be in the frontlines.
He believed that every bit of effort would push them further towards victory.
Hence, he made his move!
Among the entire fleet, only Xi Qing, Shu and the other students had seen Ye Chong in combat. The rest had never seen Sir Jay fight. Even Xi Qing and Shu had never seen Ye Chong fight with a mech. To them, Sir Jay was their leader, more suited for strategizing.
No one realized that Sir Jay’s expertise was in fact not in strategizing, but in actual combat!
When Sir Jay decided to step into the field himself, all of Haskel’s crew members were dumbfounded. They stared at their leader in disbelief.
Ye Chong did not give them the chance to object, only turning his back to them and leaving with determination.
When news of Sir Jay’s decision came through the comms to the mech pilots who were struggling outside, everyone thought they had heard wrong.
When Ye Chong’s Han Jia exited Haskel’s Passage 1, the comm channels were flooded with thunderous cheers. Everyone felt their exhaustion evaporated. They were invigorated, they were ready to fight!
Ye Chong did not know how his actions had brought about this boost in morale in his soldiers. In fact, he believed that while he had improved from before, there was still much for him to learn before he could become a true leader.
Ye Chong only hoped that he could do his part in fighting for their survival. That was all.
The beautiful Han Jia danced across the dark outer space that was raining asteroids. Its beautiful body moved economically and with great precision. The mech was fast and powerful, a mechanical wonder to behold.
The mech pilots were surprised to find Sir Jay much stronger than they were. No matter how he asteroids rained on Sir Jay’s mech, his agile mech would always be able to avoid the rocks, or used its weapons to deflect them.
Some of the larger rocks became Sir Jay’s weapons. He used his mech to change the course of these rocks to collide into other rocks that were coming towards them.
Sir Jay’s skillful and confident maneuvers had affected all the mech pilots. The comms channels once again roared with cheers. All the fleet members felt encouraged.
Right then, Sir Jay’s mech was not the only one showing off. Beside him was a one-armed mech in blue and white. Its right arm held a Farqua sniper rifle. The unremarkable sniper rifle turned formidable in the hands of this mech.
The unknown mech pilot fought with extreme calmness. His shots never missed. The mech balanced between long range sniping and wide area coverage, demonstrating the skills of a long range mech in this dazzling battle.
The unknown mech pilot worked well with Sir Jay. They coordinated their movements perfectly. Sir Jay adjusted his position accordingly as the one-armed mech went about its near-supernatural shooting spree. The deadly rain of asteroids was no challenge for the two mechs. Shots of thick and thin blue lines fired through the air like a blooming flower, while the small and nimble Han Jia did its petal dance around the shots.
No one knew who the mech pilot in the one armed mech was, just as no one knew that Sir Jay was an ace mech pilot. Only the very first few members of the fleet could guess that the mech pilot in the one armed mech was the other leader they had, the one who never showed their face.
In the end, Shang could not help but interfere in this critical situation.
Chapter 505: Perseverance II
erseverance II
Of course it made a world of difference when Ye Chong and Shang worked together!
Sir Jay’s fleet members got a morale boost because of his reputation amongst his people. To them, Sir Jay was walking the talk, impressing on them his will to fight till the end!
The performance of Sir Jay and his mysterious and strong partner was like an adrenaline injection to the fleet members, giving them strength to carry on.
…
Ye Chong never expected this.
It was too long ago since he had fought side by side with Shang. Now, he was enjoying the moment.
The rocks came from unexpected angles, and fast enough to strain him. Once, he was in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt by himself, giving chase to a single six-fingered red-tailed beast. Now, he had brought with him an entire fleet, massive enough to feel the effects of dangers within the asteroid belt.
The rocks came in waves like animals in a frenzy, attacking him ferociously and aggressively.
Instead of being afraid of this danger, Ye Chong felt very excited. He felt like he was unleashing all the energy that he had been saving recently. Every ounce of blood in him boiled angrily. The pores on his skin opened up, and he felt an electrifying sense of comfort running through him.
Nonetheless, his mind was still calm as ever. He enjoyed this sensation of calmness and excitement mixed together. Shang’s appearance relieved him of the many feelings that he kept hidden in his heart.
Shang had not warned Ye Chong before he came out.
Fighting alongside Mu and Shang was an incredible experience. From the first time he set eyes on Mu and Shang, Ye Chong had never thought of flying the mech himself, but more as a friend, a teacher. As he grew older, one of his driving forces was to become stronger than the mech one day, so that he would earn the privilege of piloting the mech. However, deep down in his heart, Mu and Shang had always meant the same to him – the mech gave him meaning, like a student trying to prove himself to his teacher.
Mu and Shang’s identity was a sensitive issue. The mech seemed to be closely related to the Xue Lai Clan. Hence, Mu and Shang preferred to stay in their dimension keystone most of the time. Besides, for a long time, Mu and Shang had been separated from Ye Chong.
They had long since fought together, side by side.
Just how powerful could Ye Chong be in his state of excitement?
Everyone in the fleet was shocked by Ye Chong’s strength! Close range mechs could usually do little against these rocks due to their limited attack range. However, Sir Jay’s attack range was about six times larger than a normal mech squad’s. He did not even seem to be pushing himself.
The one-armed mech also had an astonishingly wide attack range. The mech covered an even wider range than Sir Jay, with it’s long range capabilities, amounting to about 10 times larger than that of a normal mech squad.
The two of them were fighting at the position where the fleet was receiving the heaviest damage, at the very front tip of the fleet.
The timely involvement of Ye Chong and Shang managed to stabilize the situation. The number of mech pilot casualties and deaths reduced drastically.
Additionally, with the two super powerful mech pilot clearing the path at the front line, the fleet advanced significantly faster. The seven-hour journey could now be achieved in four hours.
Everyone felt optimistic again. They believed that the fleet could now reach their destination safely.
As the people expected, their situation was now under control. If everything went smoothly, they would arrive at their destination in another four hours if they held out.
Would these last four hours go as smoothly as they hoped for?
Perhaps Ye Chong and Shang were the only ones in the fleet who did not share this optimism. The fleet was safe for now, but they were only pushing their luck ever closer to their limit.
The fleet was like a spring, stretched longer and longer, not breaking at first. However, if the spring never stopped stretching, it would eventually reach a point where it would break.
Will they reach their destination before that breaking point, or not?
Deep underneath Ye Chong’s state of calmness was a feeling a dread.
In fact, Ye Chong’s feeling was warranted.
30 minutes before they reached their destination, when almost everyone in the fleet felt that they were going to make it after all, they reached their breaking point!
After more than three hours of intense combat, Ye Chong’s body was beginning to tire. His defences were weakening. If even he was feeling the pressure, the other mech pilots suffered even more. Ye Chong was a little surprised to find the other mech pilots holding out for so long. Little did he know that it was a lot to do with him putting himself at the front line.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang! Suddenly, six balls of flames went up in the dark sea of asteroids. Six mechs had exploded!
Mech battles usually did not last very long. It was rare to have two sides of equal strength drag the battle on for an hour or two. Piloting a mech required concentration. If the fight dragged on, the pilot’s mind would eventually become dulled.
This was a very risky state to be in. Mech pilots who reached this state would commit even the simplest mistakes, not because of their lack of training, but due to reaching the limits of what their mind and body would take. Of course, stronger mech pilots would not fall for this weakness so often. They could fight longer, and were mentally stronger.
The explosions of these six mechs were like the opening lines of the climax act. All at once, the other mech pilots began to show signs of breaking down.
One by one, the mechs began exploding again like fireworks. The comms relayed horrified cries, the loud sound of explosions, and the deadly silence that followed. The explosions happened again and again, and it was hard to keep track how many they had lost.
Even in the midst of the battle, Ye Chong was following their situation closely.
They were now in the situation that he had feared and dreaded.
Given the criticality of their situation, any delays on their side would have serious consequences. Ye Chong gave his next order without hesitation,
All combatants, return to your ships!
The exhausted mech pilots could do little now. In Ye Chong’s words, the outcome did not warrant their efforts.
The mech pilots took their orders and dragged their tired selves back to the fleet.
As they made their way back, mechs continued to be hit and destroyed, leaving scattered debris in space. The mech debris crashed into the starships, damaging the hulls.
Ye Chong realized that they had reached the most critical moment of their journey.
He felt an unusual calmness descended upon him.
All ships, full speed ahead!

They could not escape from here. Instead of dying in the asteroid shower, it was better to go full speed ahead for the slightest chance of survival.
With the mechs gone, the starships on the outer edges of the fleet were now directly exposed to the asteroids.
Their hulls, already dented in many places, were now even more distorted as they received the full impact of the asteroids outside. However, the ships stayed in position, shielding the ships on the inner parts of the fleet from the rain of asteroids outside.
The fleet members in these ships knew that the inner ships carried their wives and daughters, their families and friends, their hopes. All this while, they had only watched Sir Jay leading a bunch of young people fighting against the red-tailed beasts for the basest reason – to survive.
Now that they needed people to step up, they volunteered themselves.
They did not view themselves as particularly honorable people. They were only betting their own lives for their families, their loved ones, to give them a chance to live. There were no regrets.
The starships on the outer edges held their positions with difficulty. The fleet members ignored the heavy shower of asteroid on their ships as they guarded the ships inside the fleet.
One of the ships took a direct impact from an asteroid over a hundred meters in diameter. It was a critical blow to the ship.

Captain, we lost our gyroscope!
A crew member reported anxiously.
The captain had over 30 years of experience in his position. The corner of his eyes ended with wrinkles. His hair was in a shade of light gray. Right now, he looked entirely calm. All 200 starships on the outer edges were led by experienced ship captains, since their mission required not only their courage, but wisdom as well.
The experienced and wise captain made the right decision,
Switch to emergency manual mode, maintain our flight speed and adjust our course outwards, away from the fleet. Inform the other ships immediately.
If their starship lost control in this critical moment, the other ships behind them would be affected, and the fleet would lose its formation. The asteroids would then be able to pass through the opening, crashing directly onto the ships within the fleet.
Their starship slowly left the fleet as another ship went in to take their position.

Wonderful!
The ship’s crew cheered. They were satisfied, not at all saddened by their impending deaths.

Get the ship under control, keep our ship parallel to the fleet. Let’s send them on their way,
the captain ordered calmly, his expression dignified, as though it was the natural thing to do.
The starship kept its hull parallel to the fleet. The ships that passed by were shielded from the asteroids by their starship. It was only for a few seconds, but it was the best they could do. As the fleet advanced further ahead, the crew members of the starship watched it leave from their windows, bidding farewell in their last moments.
Every ship that passed by them saluted their sacrifice. Mothers and daughters and lovers felt tears in their eyes. In the inner parts of the fleet, family members of the crew cried devastatingly.
The captains were all seasoned veterans, but they were still pained by this turn of events. However, they knew exactly what to do so that their sacrifice was not in vain.
The fleet advanced, full speed ahead.
Chapter 506: Perseverance III
he damage inflicted by the asteroids was compounded as the ships accelerated. While the warships continued to fire their cannons at the larger rocks that assaulted them, the other starships gave up on evasive measures and focused on advancing as fast as they could.
At the forefront of the fleet were Ye Chong and Shang, feeling the pressure mounting on them.
The asteroids were now coming faster at them. Ye Chong had to concentrate harder, dealing with the dangerous and life-threatening rocks. If any of the asteroids hit the ship directly, the chances of his own survival were near non-existent.
Shang had replaced his energy cell five times. He was now at the tip of the front most starship in the fleet.
All they could do now was buy more time with the ships.
Directly exposed to the asteroids, the starships began to fall one by one, losing control or exploding into flames. The fleet did not slow down because of these casualties. The asteroids in the area were disturbed by the rapid advancement of the ships.
The starship leading the fleet was exposed to most danger. It would have exploded a long time ago if not for Ye Chong and Shang holding the line. The hull was damaged beyond repair, but the starship continued stubbornly, leading the fleet.
Back in their ships, the mech pilots sat or lay down on the floor, looking up at the holographic screen that was showing Sir Jay and the one-armed mech fighting their battle.
No one made a single sound throughout.
The captains who were still alive shouted at their crew, ordering for them to push their way forward.
Abruptly, another ball of flames went up in front. Another ship had exploded! The ships following from behind did not decelerate as they plunged right into and through the explosion.
Time seemed to slow down. Every second stretched on for longer than it should be.
Ye Chong felt his hands growing heavier, but he could not afford to slow down. He could hardly think at all, much less keep up with their situation. He was now holding the line as best as he could. Sweat seeped through his combat uniform. He was panting heavily. His eyes were set on the holographic screen in front of him as he reacted according to the asteroids that came towards him. He could no longer anticipate and react as before. He was now operating entirely on instinct.
Shang was shooting less frequently now, but Ye Chong knew that it was not due to Shang himself. The Farqua sniper rifle was overheating.
However, to the eyes of the mech pilots who were resting in their ships, Sir Jay’s mech was still moving ever so swiftly, attacking with great precision. The one-armed mech was still shooting the asteroids in a dazzling and crazy show of blue laser beams.
They were still not capable enough to tell that Ye Chong and Shang were now in a dire situation. If Ye Chong and Shang were in control at the beginning of their fight, they had now lost that control, dragged into the rhythm set by the asteroids that came crashing down on them.
After who knew how long, Ye Chong felt his mind slowing down even more. As his senses began to dull, someone yelled in the comms,
Look! Over there!

Ye Chong felt reinvigorated. He knew that they were almost there!
Right in front of them was a clearing, about 25 kilometers across and 150 kilometers long. The warp jump point’s marker was there.
There were no asteroids in this stretch of space. The flying rocks mysteriously avoided entering the place.
The fleet pushed their way into the clearing without resistance.

It’s here! It’s here!
The former space pirate felt overwhelmed by emotions. The captain had stayed in Haskel’s control room, since he was the only one who had ever been to this jump point. He faced a tremendous amount of pressure throughout the journey. Many in the fleet treated him with animosity, believing that he was the cause of their predicament. Some suspected that the jump point was a lie, as they had never heard of a warp jump point in the Calamitous Asteroid Belt before.
Besides, the dangers they endured recently that led to the sacrifices of many of their comrades were directly due to this captain’s idea. If he did not suggest this warp jump point earlier, would Sir Jay have thought of a better plan, perhaps one that did not require so many sacrifices?
As all these thoughts overwhelmed him, the former space pirate finally burst into tears.
The fleet was finally safe as they entered the clearing. In that moment, after more than three hours of intense combat, Ye Chong felt drained. He could barely lift a finger.
The fleet members were overjoyed. The joy of having survived put them all into a celebratory mood. True, they had not done their warp jump, but it felt like a success already! This interesting stretch of empty space had also convinced them of the reliability of this warp jump point.
When Ye Chong returned to Haskel, he was greeted like a king! The surviving starships aligned themselves in formation, like an army awaiting the king’s inspection. Every fleet member saluted their leader. As Ye Chong entered through Haskel’s hatch, everyone on board came to welcome Sir Jay, the man who had once again led them to victory. They stood in two lines, crowding the narrow passageway.
Ye Chong had no choice but to step out of Han Jia.
In reality, he looked like a mess. Sweat had covered every inch of his uniform, like he had just come out of a shower. His face was glistening with moisture. Drops of sweat dripped off the ends of his hair.

Salute!

Everyone stood at attention, saluting him with formality.

Welcome back, Sir!
Xi Qing and Shu bowed in unison, in an attitude that was close to worship.

Welcome back, Sir!
The 900 odd crew members greeted thunderously.
Ye Chong did not know quite how to react. He had never experienced anything like it. He was more used to the silent way the Sang Tribe worked under his lead, no bells and whistles. What he needed was rest. Even a single step forward felt like hard work right now.
He quickly gathered himself, waved at them and said unceremoniously,
Back to your stations.

The one-armed mech had mysteriously vanished, but no one dared to pursue the matter. What else could they do? Ask Sir Jay himself about it?
In the wake of the joy of surviving, they began to grieve for the people they lost.
Ye Chong and his fleet recuperated for eight hours in the clearing. Who knew what was awaiting them on the other end of their warp jump! If they encountered a threat in their exhausted state, they would be incapable of even the barest self-defence.
Ye Chong did not spend all eight hours resting. In fact, he was pretty much restored after five hours. In these eight hours, the fleet reorganized itself, and the tally for casualties was done.
The figures were shocking.
Of the 150 starships placed on the outer edges of the fleet, only three survived. Six of the starships positioned deeper inside the fleet were lost. Of the 2,500 mech pilots they had, 600 lost their lives while another 400 were injured. Now, Ye Chong had only 1,500 mech pilots with battle-ready capacity. Most of the mech pilots died while retreating to their starships. The entire fleet suffered a total of 8,641 deaths.
However, now was not the time to contemplate on this matter. They faced a bigger problem, which was the actual warp jump itself.
Ye Chong made plans for all kinds of scenarios they might encounter after the jump, especially in deciding on a rendezvous point in case some ships got lost from the fleet. Ye Chong had been mostly lucky in the past, but warp jumps were prone to accidents in general, and the stakes were high this time. There was no room for carelessness.
After the preparations were made, it was time to leave. It was at this moment that Arwa’s fleet reached the edges of the Calamitous Asteroid Belt.

Sir, we are a go,
Xi Qing reported nervously. Besides him, Shu’s expression betrayed nothing, but his tightly clenched fists showed how anxious he was as well.
Ye Chong nodded,
Let’s go.
Unlike Xi Qing and Shu, Ye Chong had been through more dangerous situations than this. All the preparatory work was done. The mech pilots were rested and ready for combat.
If the former space pirate was right, they would reach Planet Spectre on the other side of the jump. Their preparations would be warranted.
Spectre was a strange place. Rumors were abound about the planet. It was shrouded in mystery ever since Gray Valley came into existence. Starships that went close to the planet simply vanished into thin air.
At first, many confident explorers went to investigate, but none of them came back. The planet became notorious. In the end, the Research Consortium had to set up an outpost in the vicinity to stop people from getting too close. Gradually, Spectre came to be a place that no one dared to approach. Not even the space pirates felt adventurous. It became an unspoken rule to space travelers of all trades.
Chapter 507: Spectre I
ost people did not believe him when the former space pirate captain said that the other side of the warp jump point was Spectre. No one had left the vicinity of the planet alive before – this was common knowledge for everyone from Gray Valley.
When Ye Chong inquired further, the captain explained that he and his crew were also shocked to find that they were very close to Spectre after they made the warp jump. They left immediately, and by whatever good luck the Heavens bestowed onto them, their escape went without a hitch. It was after they quietly circled their way around the Research Consortium outpost that they finally felt relieved.
Spectre was a dreadful place, but this sentiment could not be appreciated by Ye Chong, who was not from Gray Valley.
The empty stretch of space they were in was long enough for the ships to accelerate towards the warp jump point.
Everyone held their breaths when the first ship did the jump. On the ship were 500 mech pilots, all in battle gear, ready to engage. They were chosen to go through first out as a safety precaution. No one knew what was on the other side.
The first starship accelerated, then accelerated some more, and finally disappeared in a stream of light.
The second ship went, then the third ship …
Haskel, Ye Chong’s ship, went in fifth.
Beyond Gray Valley, the situation in He Yue Galaxy was worsening. The entire galaxy was now in a state of unrest. The Three Aristocratic Families were all dragged into the war against the red-tailed beasts. The Ye Family fared the best, but they were all barely holding the line. An army of red-tailed beasts had taken control of the Gateway that led to Gray Valley. No one knew what was happening over there. However, the news was comforting to many of the people in He Yue.
Right now, starships carrying numerous civilians came in waves towards Yi Ju for shelter.
The Sang Tribe, a bloodline with a long history, finally resurfaced into the world. The Colllision Army was no longer the assorted crew that people seemed to believe at first. They were the only army that had ever destroyed a red-tailed beast army. The Collision mech that looked like half fitted junk metal had become the symbol of power, a mech that many dreamed to have.
People who could manage long distance space travelling all went to Yi Ju to seek protection.
The Sang Tribe never rejected these refugees. Yi Ju was secluded, with a sparse population. Massive in-migration led to rapid developments on Yi Ju. Schools with high reputation all relocated to the planet. The Sang Tribe had inherited Ye Chong’s thirst for knowledge, rendering special assistance to any academy that wanted to move to Yi Ju. They had first priority, and would sometimes even be aided by transport ships and escorts from the Sang Tribe.
That was not all. Highly skilled workers could apply for protection through the virtual world. The Sang Tribe would request, out of their strong influence, for the local authorities to send these people to Yi Ju. Nowadays, the Sang Tribe was a dominating force. People could hardly afford to say no to their requests. The routes that led to Yi Ju were cleared. In just a short moment, countless fleets bearing the flags of the Sang Tribe made their way towards Yi Ju.
Almost 70 percent of all the educational institutes in He Yue Galaxy had relocated to Yi Ju due to the Sang Tribe’s policies. The planet was now full of talents in all fields. The once backwards Yi Ju had grown into a planet with a huge advantage in technical skills and knowledge. Plenty of civilians were moved to the planets around Yi Ju. Currently, the seven planets around Yi Ju were under the control of the Sang Tribe. However, the cautious Sang Tribe did not expand its territory too quickly. Rapid expansion of power was dangerous to the Sang Tribe, which did not have enough people to back its power.
Most of the members in the leadership were from the Sang Tribe, such as Sang Pu. Qiu Man was tasked with government affairs. In fact, much of the governing structure came from her suggestions. Her expertise in this area won the approval of Sang Pu and his people, and she was unanimously voted to be the highest authority in matters of governance. On the other hand, Sang Pu was made leader of the Collision Army.
Qiu Man examined her situation expertly. She knew exactly what to do to survive. If she made any funny moves right now, it would be like digging her own grave. Their public enemy number one now was the red-tailed beasts. Who knew when Ye Chong would return! Qiu Man harbored a deep fear for that reserved young man.
Without Ye Chong with them, the Sang Tribe did not sink into a state of chaos. On the contrary, they took the opportunity to expand their forces.
Nevertheless, searching for Ye Chong had become the top most priority for the Sang Tribe. They had sent out massive search parties to find Ye Chong. Little Rock had even set up a cutting edge virtual world laboratory. He had much help from the education institutions that moved in to Yi Ju on this. With access to the virtual world, and Little Rock’s terrifying competency, he had set up backdoors in almost every corner of the virtual world in He Yue. These backdoors allowed him to monitor almost everywhere in the galaxy, except for some central areas of the Three Aristocratic Families. He hoped to find Ye Chong through these backdoors.
Currently, the Sang Tribe faced a dilemma. Of the Three Aristocratic Families, the Xue Lai Clan, which fared the worst, had sent representatives to Yi Ju, requesting for assistance.
To help, or not to help. That was the question.
It was a difficult problem for everyone.
Should they decide to help, they would have to deploy the entire Collision Army. The safety on Yi Ju would be compromised. Besides, the journey over would be long, and the risks too high. They would definitely suffer heavily from this endeavor. Most of the Sang Tribe members were against this option. They would rather not sacrifice their own to help outsiders.
On the other hand, rejecting the Xue Lai Clan was not a simple matter. News of the Xue Lai Clan’s request had somehow spread amongst the common people, invoking a massive uproar. These days, almost all the councillors of the education institutions and people of high status or reputation had come forward to Sang Pu and Qiu Man, asking for them to lend assistance to the Xue Lai Clan. It was not only the survival of the Xue Lai Clan at stake. Living in the vicinity of Xue Lai Clan’s headquarters were numerous civilians.
If the Sang Tribe openly rejected to assist the Xue Lai Clan, the common people would surely turn their backs to them. The Sang Tribe’s long nurtured relationship with the common people would be shattered. This would endanger their future as a whole. This was a conclusion that did not require Qiu Man’s expertise to reach. Even a brute like Sang Tie understood the consequences.
The Sang Tribe was a strong militant organization. Their Collision mechs and outstanding war tactics made them the strongest force on the human side of the war. These were the advantages of the Sang Tribe. Their disadvantages were on the technical side of things. The Sang Tribe’s scientific and technical knowledge were primitive compared to that of the Three Aristocratic Families. These would be the bottleneck of the Sang Tribe’s development moving forward. It was why Sang Pu and the leadership spent so much effort in recruiting the education institutions and high skill workers. They had enough talents for now, but still far from developing a technical edge.
If they did not handle this request properly, all their efforts before will go to waste.
If only their good sir was here! That was probably what most of them were thinking. In critical moments like these, they needed a leader who was willing to make decisions and act on them. However, their leader, Ye Chong was nowhere to be found at the moment.
After all the starships did their warp jumps successfully, Ye Chong exhaled in relief.
However, it was not time to rest just yet. This place was rumored to be cursed, and it intrigued Ye Chong.
This was a dangerous place!
Ye Chong organized his fleet into groups of starships so that the fleet would not be thrown into confusion if they were under attack.

Conduct a maximum range scan of our surroundings.
This was Ye Chong’s second order, right after they organized the fleet.

Sir! Red-tailed beasts sighted!

Everyone paled when they heard the report. Even Ye Chong looked disturbed. They had rested, but the mech pilots were still far from being at their best. They were not fully ready for battle.
It was terrible news indeed if they encountered any red-tailed beasts right now!
Ye Chong did not panic, however. Calmly, he said,
Show me the feed.


Yes sir.

On the holographic screen were a few red-tailed beasts, floating in outer space, watching the brown colored planet that was Spectre. They were oblivious to the starships that were now behind them. Ye Chong was calm by now. They had no choice but to engage. They were too close to the red-tailed beasts. The odds of escaping were not in their favor. The red-tailed beasts were so much faster than their starships.
Instead of escaping, they should initiate an attack!
On the other hand, Ye Chong noticed that the red-tailed beasts were scattered around in a disorganized fashion. There were not too many of them, about 200 in total. To Ye Chong’s fleet, this was only a tiny army.
Abruptly, Ye Chong stood up.
Zoom in and focus.

The staff in charge quickly executed the order.

Zoom in further.

The image was further enlarged.

Focus on the red-tailed beast.

Parts of a red-tailed beast took up the holographic screen.
Ye Chong’s eyes twinkled. He said lowly,
The upper body!

The camera angled towards the creature’s upper body. The edges were blurry now, but the zoomed in view drew everyone’s attention to something peculiar on the holographic screen.
Chapter 508: Spectre II
ounds!
The red-tailed beast’s upper body was covered with many small wounds that were hard to see from afar without zooming in.
Upon closer inspection, Ye Chong found that the creatures all looked tired and spent.
Ye Chong was surprised. He pondered on their situation, then asked,
Is Shu here? Xi Qing?


Here, sir!


Here, sir!

Shu and Xi Qing answered simultaneously through the comms.

Take 500 mechs each and kill those red-tailed beasts. Remember! Take it slow and steady!


Yes sir!
The two of them acknowledged.
The two young men were doubtful. Before this, Sir Jay had never asked them to initiate an attack. After all, they held the disadvantage in outer space. This time, Sir Jay had even asked them to drag on the battle, which was contrary to their fast paced battles before.
Even though Sir Jay’s orders sounded unusual, they believed that there must be some reason behind them.
1,000 mechs came out from their starship and silently creeped up to the red-tailed beasts. The 200 over red-tailed beasts were absorbed in watching something, oblivious to their ambushers.
It was when the 1,000 mechs completed their surround formation that the 200 creatures realized what they had fallen into.
Just when everyone expected a vicious battle to take place, the 200 creatures seemed to panic and tried to escape.
This was unusual, too unusual!
Xi Qing and Shu quickly noticed that something was different this time. Before, the red-tailed beasts they encountered would never give up without a fight. They had never seen a red-tailed beast flee from battle, much less an entire army of 200.
They began to understand what Sir Jay was thinking, but now was not the time to consider it further.
Xi Qing and Shu gave the same order,
Noose strategy!

The noose strategy was designed by Sir Jay himself. Sir Jay had designed 13 strategies, and the noose strategy was the ninth. This was a typical strategy for when one had the advantage in numbers. It involved surrounding one’s enemies, not engaging them directly, but slowly whittling down the enemies’ stamina.
In past battles, Xi Qing and Shu had never used the noose strategy, since mechs could never keep up with the energy and strength of the red-tailed beasts.
While this was the first time they were using the noose strategy, they had no problem executing it. After all, they were by now familiar with all 13 strategies designed by Sir Jay.
The 1,000 mechs spread out wide, grouped in twos or threes. They blocked the red-tailed beasts, kept them surrounded and occupied. All the groups worked together, doing their parts, moving swiftly. They did not initiate attacks with the creatures, only stopping them from escaping. Like a noose, they wrapped around the enemy’s neck, an inescapable death trap.
Soon, the noose strategy’s effects became noticeable. Xi Qing and Shu also noticed by then what was wrong with the red-tailed beasts. It seemed the creatures had survived an intense battle, and were now exhausted from the fight. The 1,000 mech pilots may not have fully recovered, but they were more than enough to deal with these 200 exhausted red-tailed beasts.
After half an hour, none of the red-tailed beasts managed to escape. More importantly, they were able to catch 30 over red-tailed beasts alive. They had never had a live catch before.
Living red-tailed beasts would be invaluable for research purposes. This would allow the human side to find ways to eradicate these creatures. However, this was irrelevant to Ye Chong. He had no specialists on his end, and no effective way to contain these red-tailed beasts. In the end, he ordered for the 30 over red-tailed beasts to be killed as well.
With the 200 over red-tailed beasts dealt with, the tension in the fleet was relieved. It was bad news to encounter these creatures right after they escaped the dangers of the Calamitous Asteroid Belt.
Ye Chong considered the situation. The red-tailed beasts seemed to have survived an intense battle, and they were watching Spectre. What happened here? What were they fighting against? Humans? Or other organisms?
The red-tailed beasts must have ended the battle not too long ago. They were watching something, and what was that supposed to mean? Ye Chong went through the details he observed and tried to understand them.
From the degree of exhaustion they were experiencing, the other side must have given them a good fight. However, both sides were probably an even match, or the red-tailed beasts would have escaped long ago, and not stay behind and watch.
They were watching Planet Spectre.
What happened there? The dirt colored planet had dark brown streaks across it. There was hardly any greenery. From the looks of it, Ye Chong would have thought it was a barren planet, unsuitable for life. However, he also knew that there were all kinds of weird living things in this world. If this apparently barren planet harbored life, he would not be surprised.
He decided to investigate. He had a feeling that they would find something interesting.
This was not the kind of feeling that mentalists have, not their strong premonitions. Even so, Ye Chong could not ignore his gut feeling. He knew that whatever he felt was the result of his accumulated experience. There must be something that his conscious mind did not quite grasp, but understood somewhere deeper in his subconscious.
Xi Qing and Shu objected to Sir Jay’s risky decision, but they were powerless against him. They could only be comforted by the fact that Sir Jay was an excellent mech pilot, and his mech was of no ordinary make. No matter what was down there, he should have no problem defending himself.
Ye Chong took Han Jia and flew towards Spectre. Shang was with him.

Sigh, ain’t no pretty ladies there, I don’t understand why you insist to go!
Shang said disapprovingly, then added something that Ye Chong simply had no reply to,
Could it be that you’re so deprived that you don’t really care anymore? Err, doing it with an animal? Or it this some cross-cultural kind of love?

Even with Ye Chong’s solemnity, he could not help but rolled his eyes. He did not answer back, since he knew that Shang would only get more and more into it if he did.
Shang continued with mock earnestness,
Ye, you gotta control yourself, Bing Bing is waiting for you! Take it easy, take it easy now.

Ye Chong could not stand it anymore.
Shang, can you shut up?


Hehe, Ye, how about I share my divine ladies album with you? It’s all the latest graphics! Actual size holographs, accurate measurements, best collection in town. I’ll add on the latest Dragon Tiger Battle vid for free, what d’you think?

Ye Chong ignored the mech.

Alright alright, looks like I have to bring in the big ones. You’ll definitely love ’em. Bing Bing, Feng Su, Lunatic Guan, or Qiu Man. Just tell me which one you want. Ye, I’m only offering since we’re such old time friends,
Shang continued to entice him.
Ye Chong was unmoved. He kept his eyes fixed on the holographic screen.
Shang sneered,
Ye, people shouldn’t suppress their emotions, it’s not healthy! Man’s gotta do what he has to do. What’s the use of having a big heart? To love them all of course -

Abruptly, Shang’s blabbering stopped.
Not knowing what he was up to know, Ye Chong remained silent.
After three minutes, the mech still did not say anything.
Five minutes later, it looked like Shang had simply disappeared. Ye Chong grew worried and asked,
Shang, what is it?

It was 10 seconds later when Shang replied lazily,
Mu was saying, a man has to be strict to himself. Devotion is the best option.


What’s that supposed to mean?
Ye Chong could not understand.

I asked him that too,
Shang continued listlessly.
The mech explained,
In the end, Mu said, ‘It conserves energy.'

Ye Chong did not quite understand that, but he nodded,
Yes, Mu’s right.
It did not matter what Mu really meant, but conserving energy was always a good thing. He did not muse further on the relationship between being devoted and conserving energy.
The two PSI’s and one human pondered on a very human topic.
…
Spectre had a thick atmosphere, so Han Jia had to slow down during its descent. Shang had came out of its dimension keystone and flew alongside Han Jia.
Not knowing what was underneath, Ye Chong moved cautiously.
The two mechs descended rapidly.

Fly straight ahead,
Shang told Ye Chong. Shang’s holographic scanning system was much better than Han Jia’s after all.
Ye Chong followed his lead.
Mountain ranges sprawled across the ground below. Deep valleys separated the mountains. Han Jia and Shang flew along one of the mountain ranges.

Ye, look!
Shang no longer sounded light-hearted. He was now in serious mode.
Han Jia’s photon processor brought up a video feed.
It was a red-tailed beast! A dead one, it seemed. It was lying quietly on a rock. Its face was peaceful, and its dark crimson eyes looked back lifelessly.
Han Jia and Shang landed beside the body of the creature.

Died not too long ago,
Shang concluded. There was still some warmth in the body, but the skin had started growing loose.
Ye Chong quickly noticed something else.
Shang, over here!

Han Jia leaped to a spot not far from the creature’s body. There lay the remains of a damaged mech.
Chapter 509: Spectre III
here was a rather giant hole at the cabin of the mech, which should be the
creative
work of the red-tailed beast. Ye Chong shook his headN no one would have survived from that tail attack under such circumstance. Ye Chong had seen this model before, twice – the first being back in Crysound where he saw 10 golden units zooming by in the sky at the ruin; the second being at Centuria University, during which 12 mechs were fighting against 5 red-tailed beasts, the golden mechs joined as a trio and stole the kill immediately. That was the only time Ye Chong ever saw the golden mech performed.
Well, the pilots of the trio were not particularly good, not as competent compared to himself, but they certainly had no problem handling the red-tailed beasts even in a 2 on 1 fight. Practically speaking, only an elite could fight off a red-tailed beast alone.
Judging by the debris of this mech, it should belong to the series of those golden mechs, though the weapon setup was a little different – the mech was wielding a golden ancient lance. Ye Chong believed in the capabilities of this ex-pilot, he or she should be about the level of the trio he encountered.
But that would be odd. Assuming they were at similar levels, it should not be a problem for this pilot to knock out one red-tailed beast. The pilot should have won. And that was when Ye Chong noticed the few tiny scratches around the debris. The layout of the scratches were messy, which some looked pretty new on top of the older ones. However, these scratches weren’t old. That would mean the mech had suffered a considerable amount of damage before encountering a red-tailed beast. It was in another fight, an intense fight too.
Han Jia proceeded with his team, only to discover more debris of mechs along with carcasses of the red-tailed beasts. Some of the carcasses still looked fresh, while some had darkened with dried body fluid all over the body. And again, the debris resembled the same mech series Ye Chong had first spotted. The shocking discovery however was the burn marks across the carcasses which was clearly caused by heat ray firearms. They also found out a golden mech armed with ranged weaponry. It was a golden laser shooter, of a real, non-streamlined mechanical design with the code
G-Z
printed.
It was the first time Ye Chong saw a ranged weapon that could hurt the red-tailed beast.

Such gun!
Shang hurriedly discarded his Farqua and picked the G-Z up,
I knew it, it’s a good gun,
he muttered. Well, it was a good gun indeed, but… it looked kind of odd being held in the hands of a blue-white mech. Gold with blue and white?
Shang turned on the gun and shot once. A golden beam with breadth of an arm escaped the muzzle and created a crater on the rock nearby. Clear burn marks could be seen around the edge of the crater. The golden beam had a strong color, the energy seemed highly condensed, probably the most condensed ray Ye Chong had ever seen, not even the laser cannon of a spaceship could be this condensed. A laser fired by spaceship weaponry might be far brighter and broader but could never be as condensed as this, which explained why the golden beam could cause actual damage on red-tailed beasts.
The next discovery after G-Z was the number of debris around.
They had at least discovered over 200 scraps of such golden mech model around, while the carcasses of red-tailed beasts should go up to 400. That would mean… at least 200 supreme pilots had been here, while… there were more ahead of them.
Ye Chong was pretty much astonished.
No word could be used to describe the earth-shattering experience he had.
If there was only one pilot or a pair of these pilots, Ye Chong would not be surprised as it would clearly be just another tragedy of exploring pilots being engulfed by the beasts. But there were at least 20 of them, all elites and whoever owning them must only be from either of the aristocrats, or an organization with a similar authority – an authority as strong as the Sangs perhaps.
But they were in Gray Valley, so obviously, only Research Consortium could have owned these!
Research Consortium was the sole force that could possibly fight against the aristocrats…
However… would that mean…
Ye Chong pulled the lever and proceeded, his speculation grew stronger in his head, as he sighted more debris and carcasses, the craters and the burns.
It must be a brutal fight.
Both Ye Chong and Shang remained silent. Caution would be the topmost priority now. The place was blatantly a hazardous zone. They had heard stories about Spectre and there was simply no way the folks could cook up these stories out of nowhere. There must be something going on, although Ye Chong had yet encountered anything that spelled
hazard
. There were only surprises so far. He never expected the consortium would send men to check out here, a large troop it was too. It was a relief however, the sight of these debris had proven that the consortium frequented this area, they must be watching out from somewhere too.
Han Jia dashed forward with Shang wielding G-Z as followed carefully behind. Shang would cover Ye Chong if anything went wrong. They accelerated, disregarding the messes around them.
Ye Chong had fully recovered from the shock.
They could not find anything alive.
They then took a break after five minutes. They seemed to have found the target.
It was a valley of a breadth about 5 kilometers, where one could see the steep, rocky walls below the cliff into nothing. The dust on the ground would swirl occasionally as a gale blew by. The valley supposed to look grand, but it was all clogged by the metallic debris and bloody carcasses. Ye Chong could imagine the smell of bloodshed.

Ye, 3534 dead red-tailed beasts had been detected,
reported Shang something important.
Now Ye Chong could estimate the scale of the war, though the figure was a bit of a shocker to him. They discovered over 200 carcasses the very first moment they got to Spectre, summing all up the number of red-tailed beasts should reach about 4000, which was a horrible number for humanity.
That explained the heat detection from some of the carcasses by the system. The carcasses were indeed fresh. It was not war of a single day, the war must have lasted for days – that would justify the piling carcasses.
Both Ye Chong and Shang then zoomed to the very bottom of the valley and hovered a few meters above, they certainly would not want to tread upon the disgusting bin of the slaughterhouse.
Ye Chong took a look around, something caught his eyes. There seemed to be a piece of rock loosened from the edge of the wall. He zoomed in with his camera and revealed a corner of an alloy plate behind the rock. The piece of rock was leaning against the wall, so one would not be able to see anything unless from side.
It was a camouflage!
An alloy plate… It must…
It must be a base! There’s a base right here?
Ye Chong suddenly worked up.
The discovery alone was more than enough to make the entire Gray Valley boil. The creepy planet, Spectre, had a secret base. For what? Why? Those would be the interesting part of the story. Spectre had always been rumored as the most terrifying, ghostly, paranormal place by the residents in Gray Valley. Well, the name
Spectre
was self-explanatory. But the discovery of this gate started to make Ye Chong feel that if those rumors were an intended propaganda to keep this base forever in the dark.

Kek!
Shang laughed,
Spectre of the Spectre huh?

Ye Chong’s mind ran fast as he suddenly remembered the golden debris they encountered before. Perhaps, those elite pilots were not camping somewhere near Spectre but in Spectre itself! Right inside this base! Well, that would make better sense. No way the consortium would invest its precious elite workforce in guarding a haunted planet merely for
safety
of the people who would
accidentally
trespass the area. The workforce was meant for guarding something really, really important on the planet, like this base for example.
They pulled the rock off and system said it was another pitch darkness welcoming them.
They turned on holographic translation to reveal a pathway within. The gate was huge, about 200 meters tall and 300 meters long. The two pieces of alloy were tightly shut together and were covered with a thick layer of rocks. It was a clever design to utilize the darkness and the rocks of the valley to keep everything in stealth.
Han Jia flew into the gap between the gate. Shang tailed after and prompted the holographic detection system to project the visual.
It was a region far more spacious than Ye Chong imagined beyond the gate. It almost felt as if it wasn’t a base. It felt more like a city, like the Nine Gates City, the same underground urban jungle he had been to!
And Ye Chong was not wrong. He was welcomed by also a city, only much more larger than Nine Gates! His sight could not reach the end of it despite viewing from height. The city seemed to have far more superior technology than Nine Gates. Well, the height of each building justified it. Even the lowest building had a height of 20 kilometers, while mechs were flying smoothly inside.
The top of the sky was giving off a gentle white light. You would never be able imagine how there was a white glow coming off your head, showering towards every zone within the proximity of a few hundred meters. It was a really soothing glow yet it gave the entire city daylight. It was as if Ye Chong was the god, bestowing the underground the light. Ye Chong took a closer look at the top, only to find out the source of light being a kind of moss…?
The roof of the underground world was veiled by a layer of glowing moss.
Ye Chong thought Nine Gates was the greatest, that it could send him a stunning spell, that he thought he would be immune to anything else ever since, yet he zoned out a little upon seeing the city.
The catch was… despite it being the probably the fascination of civil development itself, the city was silent, horrifyingly silent, like a dead city.
Ye Chong lowered the altitude, only to see something.
Chapter 510: Spectre IV
n the ground it was a familiar sight.
Bodies of people, carcasses of red-tailed beasts, debris of mechs and the stench of blood.
The city looked all grand and majestic afar, yet it turned out to be a hollowed sculpture at a closer look. There were splashes of blood over the fair white wall, and the buzzes of flies.
The stench of blood circulating in the air seemed to have grown spiking and choking in Ye Chong’s nose.
There were far more deaths in the city compared to the outside. The pilots outside were at least armed to last a few turns from the red-tailed beasts’ attack, but these were the ordinary citizens which probably immediately pounced to death. Their uniforms had clarified their identity. They were the non-combat units, the technicians perhaps. Not many golden mechs could be seen around. Instead, the standard models filled up the streets, of different colors yet all unarmed.
Ye Chong might have undergone countless wars and seen countless deaths, yet the sight was shaking him a little.
Judging by the size of the city, the population should have easily 300,000, yet Ye Chong could not see, or even hear any survivor around.
Everything was dead, both the people and red-tailed beasts.
Including the red-tailed beasts here, the figure should already be over 5000. That was enough to cause a mayhem in Gray Valley.
Ye Chong could now synthesize the entire event in his mind. So this city should be an important investment by the Research Consortium to perform something, which could be justified by the vast number of elite pilots around. And to make sure that there would not be any uninvited guests from Gray Valley, they had begun spreading creepy rumors about Spectre. They probably paid a few people to get the ball rolling.
But somehow, one day, unfortunately, the red-tailed beasts could smell them underground, so the beasts launched an attack upon them. Nonetheless, similarly, the red-tailed beasts were also unfortunate as they had underestimated the vastness of consortium’s force, so the war was too intensive and had lasted for too long.
The red-tailed beasts still fought hard for some reason, which led to the scene now.

Follow me, Ye.
It sounded like Shang’s usual tone of big discovery, as he zoomed away the moment the last syllable rang.
And Ye Chong hurriedly pulled the lever to launch Han Jia’s engine.
The city was utterly destroyed. One could already call it a ruin for real. Both Han Jia and Shang weaved in and out from one crumbled building to another, rapidly.
Out of sudden, Ye Chong’s face looked drained, as he spotted something on his screen.
There was a small group of red-tailed beasts barraging the alloy gate where a golden mech stood behind it.
The golden mech’s sword was broken into half and the mech itself was full of scratches. Its shield was long gone and it was holding the thrashing beasts back at its best. It was protecting someone, a man seemingly who looked wounded at the back.
The beasts were having fun apparently, as Ye Chong could identify a few chances to break through the defense and annihilated their last two targets. Yet, the beasts never did it and just thrashed blindly.
Ye Chong could also see the mech losing anytime soon.

Shang, go!
he shouted and instantly launched himself towards the mech. It was no longer an issue of identity, whether the raided pilot being a friend or foe. Under the attack of red-tailed beasts, every human would be his friend.
Zap!
A golden beam took over Ye Chong and struck on head of one of the red-tailed beasts.
The broad golden beam, as if the judgement from heaven, penetrated the skull of the beast.
The other beasts, upon noticing the sudden attack, got panicked.
Klink!!!
The three crimson arrows crushed the struggling golden mech, which one of them pierced the cabin. The pilot probably had been sacrificed.
Even the calmest snow hill would have an avalanche due to spark of heat. That was Ye Chong’s feeling when his eyes lost the glow and fully accelerated his Han Jia.
The golden mech should be dead, yet its arms began constricting the 3 tails that impaled its body.
The 3 red-tailed beasts were struggling to withdraw their tails, while their one free compatriot was going to help them, yet – Zap
 another golden ray passed by Ye Chong and sent that red-tailed beasts rolling on the ground.
Han Jia pulled out its daggers and stormed by the three red-tailed beasts.

Awrrrrrr…
Their eyeballs enlarged drastically, as they wailed loud. A fine lining of blood was streaming off their neck.
Thump! Thup! Thump!
The three heads had fallen to the ground.
The golden mech was still gripping the tails and did not take any further action, as if stoned.
Well, that was a clear sign.
Ye Chong sighed softly as he looked into the opened cabin. The pilot was already dead.
He gently pulled the mech to the side. Ye Chong had high respects towards the sacrifice. The pilot had fulfilled his or her duty – to protect the people – till the very end. Shang lifted his new toy,
G-Z
and walked to Han Jia’s side.
There was a moment of silence till Ye Chong turned to the wounded man behind.
Ye Chong got off Han Jia and walked to this man.
The man had a square face and thick brows. He might look weak, still he exuded a kind of solemnity. Nevertheless, he did not seem to be in the best shape at the moment. There was a severe cut on his left chest. The cut started from his collarbone, all the way to the end of his ribs. Ye Chong could see the bones revealing from the open-wound.
He frowned, such injury, he thought. The chances of surviving would be very low. He could help bandaging simple injury, but this was far too serious. Ye Chong was not a certified physician after all.
The man’s lips wriggled, as he breathed faintly his words.

…Bag…bag… potion… blue… potion…
That was what Ye Chong heard when he approached the man.
He naturally lowered his eyes and noticed there was indeed a bag, about size of his palm, resting at the waist of the man. The design seemed luxurious yet not practical enough for Ye Chong’s taste. The number of buttons were not helpful in getting things out of the bag. A bit of his strength was applied and the buttons hopped everywhere.
There was a blue potion, as the man had said, inside an injection-gun for medical uses probably. Ye Chong took the gun out and brandished in front of the man, to convey understanding.
The man used the ounce of strength he mustered to make two nods.
Ye Chong removed the cover at the needle tip and stabbed it into the right arm of the man. He pressed the trigger and injected everything into the man.

Ahhh…. HAHHHHHHH!
The man roared profoundly like a beast, as his body vibrated vigorously. For the past 30 seconds he shuddered continuously and slowly regained his serenity after.
The former pale face of the man had now become rosy.
Right when Ye Chong was showing deep concern towards this man, the changes of event were not in his script.
The man was no longer weak, as he got up like a normal person. Ye Chong intuitively grabbed the neck of the man and pushed him down the ground. If the man would like to do anything funny, his neck would be ripped.

My, my, relax, I meant no harm,
said the man wryly.
Ye Chong’s hand was not moving an inch.
The situation was getting strange. This man was horribly injured, breathing dead a second ago and now he had fully recovered while having the mood to sound cheeky. Furthermore, the wound was still bleeding on his chest, anyone with such wound would have collapsed at this point, yet he was standing up.

I am fairly intrigued. Who are you guys? How do you find this place?
the man asked curiously, as if there was no hand wrapping his neck.
There was no reply from Ye Chong. He glared right into the man’s eyes and asked,
Who are you?


Hah. I’m Kui,
the man introduced himself, with a bright smile.
Kui? I had never heard that name before.

What is this place? What’s that blue potion and what is it for?

Kui raised his brows and looked at Ye Chong interestingly,
This place is known as the central base of the Research Consortium. The scientific name for that blue potion is called Nerve-sustaining Reagent. Its effect is to give a person with injury beyond healing an additional 5 hours to live at maximum. Within the 5 hours, the person would act as if unhurt, not feeling any form of pain. But the person would die the moment after that. The side-effect of this potion? Well, it makes the person impossible to cure.

Kui sounded so calm, as if he was not the one who took the potion.
Ye Chong observed the parts of Kui. His skin and his physique showed nothing about the warfield. He should be a non-combat member. Well, Ye Chong never expected this futuristic city being the central base of the Consortium. He once thought this was a mere base for a more major scientific research project. That explained the overwhelming number of guards around.
Ye Chong loosened his grip and sat in front of Kui.

Haha… Looks like we are on business?
Kui smiled briefly upon seeing Ye Chong’s gesture.
He was relaxed at first, till he looked at Shang, his pupils shrunk drastically,
You are the people of Xue Lai clan?!