blogombal Page 232
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Chapter 495: Choices and Preparations
The cargo ship was so quiet you could hear the faint creaking of the metal walls from the ship's rocking. The news Arya brought weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like a piece of iron chilled to the bone. "Seventy-two hours later, the Void Rift will open, and the Observer will lay a trap..." These words echoed in the cabin, tightening the already tense atmosphere even further, making even breathing feel suffocating.
"Seventy-two hours?" Mark, a member of the Wings of Liberty, squatted in the corner, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the worn tactical knife at his waist. His voice was full of unconcealed exhaustion. "Our ship crashed into the Mirror Force last time, and the engine room is still leaking energy. We'll be lucky if we can patch up the hole in this short time, let alone fight the Observers."
His words acted as a fuse, instantly igniting the anxiety of the others. Just as another team member was about to chime in, a muffled thud suddenly rang out... Vegeta slammed his fist against the metal crate beside him, the dented wall groaning under the weight. Blood seeped from the bandage on his shoulder, clearly aggravating his wound. His lips twitched, but he showed no sign of pain. Instead, he glared at the group, his tone laced with rage: "What's with all those long faces? Giving up before even seeing the Observer? That guy isn't some kind of superhuman, why are you all so scared?"
Some people shrank back at his shout, while others muttered defiantly, "But what about that time with Lin Ye..."
"Shut up!" Vegeta interrupted abruptly, his fist clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white. "That bastard ambushed me last time. If we were to fight head-on, I'd twist his damn mechanical eye off and throw it away as a spare part!" As he spoke, he was about to tear off the bandage on his shoulder, as if he was about to rush out to settle scores with someone at any moment. Lin Ye reached out and grabbed his arm in time.
"Don't act rashly." Lin Ye's voice was much calmer than Vegeta's. He didn't look at the others' reactions and turned to walk towards the porthole. Outside the window, the "Gray Dust" nebula resembled a chaotic fog, with fragments of stars slowly rotating within it, emitting a cold, eerie light. The fragment of the Key of Creation in his pocket was still slightly warm. The feeling of resonating with the distant fragment while simultaneously repelling his mirror image, Lin Ye, was becoming increasingly clear. The words "acknowledged holder" that Aria had spoken of kept swirling in his mind.
His fingertips brushed against the cold glass of the porthole, and he suddenly recalled the scorching heat of the debris when it first released energy in the abandoned space station. At that time, he didn't know what it meant, but now he understood that it might be their only bargaining chip against the Observers.
“We have no right to back down.” Lin Ye turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the cabin: Vegeta’s unwillingness and fighting spirit were almost overflowing, Trunks tightened his grip on the repair tools, his brows furrowed but he did not show any fear, Android 18 leaned against the cabin wall, his fingertips casually tapping on the metal plate, but his eyes held an undeniable determination, and although there was fear on the faces of Night Owl and the team members, no one took a step back.
“The Observer wants to restart everything,” Lin Ye paused, his voice not loud, but every word clearly reached everyone’s ears, “At that time, the planet we stand on, the people we know, and even ourselves will turn into ashes in the void. To retreat now is to wait to be wiped out... There is no other way to go.”
Night Owl was the first to react. He straightened up, wiped his face, and suppressed the weariness in his eyes: "You tell us what to do, and we'll do it!"
Lin Ye nodded and looked at him first: "Contact all the Wings of Freedom members you can find and explain the situation clearly. Those who are willing to come, have them gather at coordinates C7 on the outskirts of the 'Black Abyss' and be responsible for providing support and intelligence; those who are unwilling, don't force them, just make sure they can keep the flame alive."
"Understood!" Night Owl immediately turned and ran towards the communications station. He almost tripped over a box as he passed the shelf, but as he steadied himself, he turned back and added, "I'm going right now. I'll make sure the message gets through!"
Lin Ye then looked at Trunks and Number 18, who had already put down what they were holding and were waiting for his instructions. "The Star Shuttle and this cargo ship need to be repaired and modified as soon as possible." Lin Ye pointed to the Star Shuttle outside the cabin. "Speed and stealth should be prioritized. We should save on shields as much as possible. Anyway, if we really collide with the Observer, ordinary shields won't be able to withstand it."
Number 18 raised an eyebrow, his tone tinged with skepticism: "Overclocking the engine can increase speed, but the risk is too great. What if it explodes halfway through?"
"It's better than not being able to reach the Void Rift at all." Lin Ye took out his terminal and brought up the energy reserve points he had marked earlier. "I remember that Wings of Liberty has a batch of high-energy batteries in the abandoned mine. When you two are repairing the ship, have someone go and transfer a batch over, and give priority to the Star Shuttle."
Trunks took the terminal, his fingers swiping rapidly across the screen. Suddenly, he looked up at Lin Ye, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something. Lin Ye noticed his expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Fragments..." Trunks hesitated for a moment before speaking, "When I tested it last time, I found that the energy of the fragments would interfere with the engine frequency. If we install high-energy batteries on the Starship, the combined effect of the fragments might cause problems."
Lin Ye was taken aback; he hadn't considered that. After a few seconds of silence, he took the fragment out of his pocket, his fingertips tracing the patterns on it, clearly feeling the energy flowing within: "Let's not worry about that for now, let's fix the ship first. I'll think of a way to deal with the fragment later."
Number 18 tugged at Trunks' arm and shook her head at him: "Don't waste time, every minute and second is important now." As she spoke, she walked towards the hatch. Trunks put the terminal in his pocket, took one last look at the fragment in Lin Ye's hand, and followed her out. Before leaving, he didn't forget to remind her: "Don't be too hasty either. The energy of the fragment is unstable. Don't keep holding it."
Finally, Vegeta was left standing there, the blood seeping even more from his shoulder, yet he still stubbornly refused to admit defeat. Lin Ye walked over and pointed to his shoulder: "You need to treat your injury quickly, don't push yourself. When we get to the Void Rift, we'll need you to be the main force."
Vegeta scoffed, cracking his knuckles as he stretched his arm, wincing in pain, but his words were sharp: "None of your concern! This little injury will heal in a couple of days in the gravity chamber. Then I'll show that bastard Lin Ye who's the real fighter!" He turned to walk towards the gravity chamber, then turned back after a couple of steps, staring at the shard in Lin Ye's hand. "If that thing is useful, don't hold back. If you lose because of your hesitation, I won't forgive you!"
Lin Ye watched his retreating figure and smiled helplessly... This guy is always so competitive.
After everyone left, only Lin Ye remained in the cabin. He walked to the cargo box, sat down, placed the fragment on his lap, and gently traced the texture of its surface with his fingertips. The fragment was warmer than before, as if responding to his touch, and there was a faint buzzing sound. When he put it close to his ear, it sounded as if some sound was hidden inside, indistinct and elusive.
"What use are you anyway?" Lin Ye asked in a low voice. The fragment did not react at all, but the temperature rose a little more, making his fingertips shrink back from the heat.
For the next several dozen hours, the two ships were transformed into a bustling modification workshop. Number 18 and Trunks, along with the mechanics from Wings of Freedom, worked almost non-stop. In the engine room of the Star Shuttle, sparks flew constantly. Number 18, wearing protective gloves, moved her welding torch rapidly across the circuit board, sweat streaming down her face, but she had no time to wipe it away.
"No, the interface still doesn't fit!" Mechanic Lao Wang stamped his feet anxiously, holding the spare interface. "This interface is an old model and doesn't match the Star Shuttle's engine. If we force it in, it will definitely leak energy!"
Number 18 put down the welding torch, took off his goggles, and rubbed his sore eyes: "The batteries from the mine haven't arrived yet?"
“I just contacted them. They encountered a Mirror Force patrol ship on the way, so they have to take a detour. It will take at least two more hours to get there.” Trunks walked over, holding a piece of bread, and handed it to Number 18. “Eat something first, don’t force yourself.”
Number 18 took the bread, took a bite, and immediately put it down: "If we can't wait two hours and still can't find a suitable connector, even if we install the battery, the engine won't last ten minutes." She looked around, her gaze falling on the old parts dismantled from the cargo ship, and suddenly her eyes lit up, "Take the spare engine connector from the cargo ship! Although the model is different, it can be modified!"
Old Wang was stunned for a moment: "If you dismantle the cargo ship's connectors, what will happen to the cargo ship?"
"The cargo ship doesn't need overclocking, a standard interface will do, just make do for now." Number 18 had already grabbed his tools and was running towards the cargo ship. "Hurry, there's not enough time!"
Trunks watched her retreating figure, shook his head helplessly, and then picked up his tools to help. While disassembling the connectors, Trunks accidentally cut his hand on the metal edge, and blood dripped onto the parts. He simply wiped it off with a cloth and continued working... No one had time to care about such a minor injury right now.
On the other side, Night Owl's eyes were bloodshot from working at the communications station. Messages kept popping up on the screen, mostly replies from Wings of Liberty members. He recorded the coordinates and confirmed the time with the other party, his fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard.
"Captain, the squad on the east side said they're being targeted by the mirror forces and can't get to coordinates C7. They're asking if we can change our rendezvous point?" Zhang, a teammate next to him, leaned over, his voice full of anxiety.
Night Owl stared at the map on the screen, swiping his finger across it for a long time before finally finding a hidden asteroid belt: "Send them to the A3 asteroid belt. There are abandoned space stations there where they can hide temporarily. Tell them to avoid conflict with the Mirror Force as much as possible; preserving their strength is the priority."
Just as Xiao Zhang was about to reply, the communicator suddenly emitted a piercing static sound, and the signal on the screen abruptly dropped, leaving only static. Night Owl's heart tightened, and he quickly checked the equipment: "What's going on? Is the signal being interfered with?"
He tried adjusting the signal several times, but it still didn't recover. Just as he was getting anxious, a faint interference code suddenly popped up in the lower right corner of the screen. It wasn't the frequency commonly used by the Mirror Force, but rather it looked somewhat like... He abruptly looked up in the direction of Lin Ye... That frequency was almost identical to the energy fluctuations of the Key of Creation fragment.
"Could it be a problem with the fragments?" Night Owl frowned, his mind full of doubts, but he didn't have time to think about it. He could only switch to a spare communicator and continue to contact the other teams.
Inside the gravity chamber, Vegeta was undergoing training under ten times the force of gravity. He was wearing training clothes, the bandages on his body soaked with sweat and clinging to his skin, causing sharp pains from his wounds. Yet, he seemed oblivious, punching the training dummy again and again with all his might, making the dummy vibrate.
"Ha!" Vegeta roared, sweeping his right leg across, shattering the training post. He panted heavily, bending over to rest, his hands on his knees, when suddenly the image of being knocked down by Mirror Image Lin Ye flashed before his eyes. Back then, he didn't even have a chance to fight back, and could only watch helplessly as the other mocked him.
"Damn it!" Vegeta slammed his fist into the ground, creating a small crater in the gravity chamber floor. He stood up, wiping the sweat and blood from his face, his eyes burning with even stronger fighting spirit: "Again! Twenty times gravity!"
The control system beeped a warning, clearly indicating that twenty times the gravity was beyond his body's tolerance. But Vegeta ignored it and pressed the confirmation button. The gravity instantly intensified, his body slumped, his knees nearly hitting the ground, but he gritted his teeth and stood upright, clenching his fists once more.
Lin Ye would occasionally check on the progress in various places, helping to hand over tools and move parts. Most of the time, however, he was still studying the fragment. He tried to place the fragment close to the Star Shuttle's engine, and sure enough, just as Trunks had said, the engine's frequency began to erratically, and the needles on the dashboard jumped wildly.
"It seems it really does interfere." Lin Ye removed the fragment, and the engine frequency slowly returned to normal. He sat at the engine bay door, twirling the fragment in his hand, pondering: If the Observer can control the mirror image of Lin Ye, it must also be able to sense the energy of the fragment. If I take the fragment to the Void Rift, will I just fall into its trap?
But without the fragments, they wouldn't even be able to find the entrance to the void rift, let alone stop the observers.
Just then, Trunks walked over, holding a newly repaired circuit board in his hand: "What are you thinking about? You look so worried."
Lin Ye looked up and handed her the fragment: "Test it again and see if you can find a way to shield its energy."
Trunks took the fragment and attached the detector to it. A series of data quickly appeared on the screen. She looked at the data, her brows furrowing more and more: "The fragment's energy core is very unstable, and its frequency keeps changing. There's no way to shield it... unless you drain its energy, but then it'll be useless."
Lin Ye sighed, took the fragment and put it back in his pocket: "Okay, that's all for now."
Trunks looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and then comforted him, "Don't worry too much. If we really run into problems, we'll figure something out. Right now, the most important thing is to fix the ship. As for the rest, we'll take it one step at a time."
Lin Ye nodded, stood up, and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't overwork yourself, take care of yourself and get some rest."
Time ticked by, and the seventy-two-hour deadline drew ever closer. The cargo ship's conversion was nearly complete; all the excess equipment in the cargo holds had been removed, leaving only the reinforced metal frame to prepare for potential boarding maneuvers. The Starship's engines had also been overclocked, and its hull had been coated with a stealth coating removed from the cargo ship, making it virtually invisible in the darkness of space.
News also came from Night Owl that most of the Wings of Freedom members had arrived at coordinates C7, with only a few squads tied up by the Mirror Force and unable to come over for the time being. As for "Shattered Wings," no matter how many signals he sent, there was no response; it was as if he had completely vanished into the universe.
When Vegeta emerged from the gravity chamber, he was pale and his lips were chapped, but he was still full of energy. He walked up to Lin Ye and stretched his arms: "Is the ship ready? When do we set off?"
Lin Ye glanced at the time on his terminal; there were less than ten hours until the Void Rift opened. "Let's wait another hour until the last batch of batteries arrives, then we'll set off."
Vegeta nodded, his gaze fixed on the Starship outside the porthole, his eyes filled with anticipation: "This time, we must take care of that Watcher guy!"
Lin Ye also looked out the window. The nebula seemed darker than before, like a harbinger of an approaching storm. He touched the fragment in his pocket; its temperature had risen slightly, and the faint buzzing sound had become clearer.
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his fingertip, as if he had been pricked by a shard. He quickly took the shard out and found that a trace of golden liquid had seeped out from the patterns on its surface, but it was quickly absorbed back by the shard.
"This is..." Lin Ye was stunned. Before he could think about it, his communicator suddenly rang. It was a message from Night Owl.
"Captain, we've spotted traces of the mirror unit at coordinates C7!"
Chapter 496: Infiltrating the Black Abyss
The cargo ship's engines hummed softly, as if afraid to disturb this desolate region. With less than thirty hours remaining before the Void Rift, which Arya had mentioned, opened, the Star Shuttle and the cargo ship sailed one after the other, skimming the edge of the "Gray Dust" nebula towards the outer reaches of the Milky Way... That place was the Black Abyss, known as the "Death Zone."
The further they went, the fewer stars remained. The faint starlight that could still be seen was gradually swallowed by the impenetrable darkness. Trunks stared at the Starship's control panel, his fingers flying across the keyboard, beads of sweat forming on his forehead: "The gravitational turbulence is getting stronger! The navigation system is drifting; the coordinates we just calibrated are now off by a full three kilometers!"
Lin Ye stood behind him, hands in his pockets, his fingertips clearly feeling the scorching heat of the fragments... The temperature was even higher than in the nebula, and it pulsated slightly, as if resonating with some kind of frequency. He closed his eyes, trying to focus his attention on that resonance, then a few seconds later he snapped his eyes open: "Shift 15 degrees to the left! The gravitational turbulence is weaker over there; I can feel the fragments being drawn that way."
Trunks didn't hesitate and immediately pulled the control stick. Just as the Star Shuttle adjusted its course, it was suddenly yanked by an invisible force, the entire ship shaking violently, and the warning lights on the screen instantly lit up. "Damn it!" Trunks cursed, staring intently at the porthole... Outside, a meteorite larger than the Star Shuttle was hurtling towards them at an angle, its surface embedded with half of a twisted spaceship wreckage, and faint blue energy traces remaining at the broken ends.
"Engine overload! Hold on!" Trunks' fingers flew across the control panel, the Starship's engines screeching as it narrowly missed the edge of the meteorite. The crew was thrown to one side by the inertia. Vegeta, gripping the metal frame beside him, his face grim, exclaimed, "Just how many junk rocks are in this place? If this keeps up, we'll fall apart before the Observers even need to lift a finger!"
Lin Ye touched the fragment in his pocket. The fragment's temperature had risen a bit when it shook earlier. "The gravitational field of the Black Abyss is unstable. The fragment's resonance can help us avoid the most dangerous areas, but it can't completely shield us. Sit tight, it might shake even more now."
Suddenly, the cargo ship's communications came through, and Night Owl's voice, crackling with static, said: "Lin Ye, we've seen a lot of spaceship wreckage here. One of them looks like the Falcon that went missing three months ago. Its hull wasn't hit by a meteorite; it was cut open! The cut is extremely clean, like it was made by the Observer's laser weapon."
Upon hearing the words "Observer," Vegeta clenched his fists instantly: "That bastard has been using this place as a hunting ground for a long time? Perfect, this time he'll learn what it means to be humiliated!"
"Don't act rashly." Lin Ye pressed the communicator. "Have the cargo ship's radar operator keep a close watch. Report immediately if there's any signal from observers. We need to stay hidden now and not expose ourselves."
After sailing for another half hour, the cargo ship's radar operator suddenly shouted over the public channel: "Weak energy signal detected! At three o'clock ahead, the distance is unclear, the signal is blocked, and we cannot identify what it is!"
Night Owl's voice immediately came through: "Is this our rendezvous point, or the Observer's patrol?"
Lin Ye frowned. Besides them, only members of the Wings of Liberty should be in the Black Abyss. He looked at Trunks: "Send a stealth detector over there and check the situation."
Trunks nodded and pressed a button on the control panel. A palm-sized probe ejected from the bottom of the Starship and silently flew towards the source of the signal. A few minutes later, the probe's image appeared on the screen: a small space station hidden in the shadow of a massive meteorite, its outer shell covered in rust and bullet holes, looking dilapidated, but its architectural style was completely different from that of the observer—more ancient and more robust.
Most surprisingly, a blurry pattern was painted on the outer wall of the space station: a pair of broken wings, their edges faded but still discernible. "It's 'Broken Wings'!" Ray exclaimed, leaning closer to the screen, his voice filled with astonishment. "How did they get here? We didn't get a response to our signals; we thought they'd already evacuated!"
Just then, a hoarse, processed voice suddenly came through the public communications channel. It was the same voice that had warned them twice before: "Lin Ye of the Wings of Freedom, you are seven minutes later than expected. Follow the guide beacon in, and hurry up. The Observer's stealth reconnaissance ship just passed through this area and may be back in ten minutes."
A faint green beam of light shot out from the space station, tracing a thin path in the dark universe, pointing directly in the direction of the Star Shuttle.
Vegeta immediately shoved the communicator close, his tone hostile: "Why should we trust you? You were the one who issued the warning last time, and now you suddenly appear as a guide. Who knows if it's an observer's trap? I think this crappy space station is just bait, waiting for us to fall into it!"
Number 18 leaned against the bulkhead, her fingers tapping absently on a metal plate, her eyes fixed on the space station on the screen: "The beacon's energy is stable, with no abnormal fluctuations, it doesn't seem like a decoy. Besides, the Observer's reconnaissance ship just left; if they wanted to set a trap, they wouldn't have had time to set it up so neatly." She paused, looking at Lin Ye, "But we need to have a backup plan... Trunks and I will go in first in the Star Shuttle, the cargo ship will stay outside the port on standby. If there's a problem, the cargo ship will immediately come to our aid for evacuation."
Lin Ye nodded: "Let's do it this way. Night Owl, you guys drive the cargo ship to the back of the meteorite, activate stealth mode, and have the radar monitor the surroundings the whole time. Once there is a signal from an observer, no matter what the situation is on our side, immediately sound the alarm."
"Understood!" Night Owl's voice was crisp.
Following the green beacon, the Star Shuttle slowly entered the hidden port behind the meteorite. The port was even more dilapidated inside than outside, with piles of discarded parts on the ground and the lights on the walls flickering, but the equipment was surprisingly complete... an energy supply station, a repair station, and even a small medical bay.
A figure in an old spacesuit stood in the center of the dock. He slowly walked over only after the Star Shuttle had come to a stop. He lifted his helmet, revealing a scarred face. There was a long scar on the corner of his left eye, running from his forehead to his cheekbone. His eyes, however, were sharp as an eagle's, and when he stared at someone, it was a little intimidating.
He clutched an old metal ring in his hand, engraved with dense, tiny patterns, and his left hand kept stroking the ring as he spoke: "I am 'Gravekeeper' Kai, one of the last members of the Watchers. Time is short, so let's get straight to the point."
Lin Ye stepped off the Star Shuttle first, followed by Vegeta and Android 18. Vegeta sized Kai up, his tone wary: "The Watchers? The one who cooperated with Wings of Liberty before? Didn't we hear you disbanded ten years ago? What are you still doing here?"
Kai's gaze swept over Vegeta, finally settling on Lin Ye, or more precisely, on the area in Lin Ye's pocket, where a faint light emanated—the temperature of the fragments was so high that the fabric was almost burning hot. "We didn't disband, we just went into hiding," Kai said in a deep voice. "The Observer has been looking for us because we know one of his secrets... the secret of the Key to Creation and the Void Rift."
Lin Ye's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously touched the fragment in his pocket: "Do you know about the Key of Creation?"
Kai nodded, pointing to the metal ring in his hand: "This ring is engraved with the coordinates of the Abyss, passed down through generations of Watchers, and it resonates with the fragments of the Key of Creation. The reason you were able to find this place, besides the guiding beacon, was because the fragments were resonating with this ring." He paused, then suddenly took a step forward, his expression turning serious. "Which fragment is the one you have in your hand?"
"The second piece." Lin Ye didn't hide anything. "The first piece is in the hands of the Observer. He wants to use the two fragments to open the void rift and restart everything."
Kai's expression changed instantly: "He's already got the first piece? Oh no... Once the Void Rift is opened, it's not just a reboot, it will also release the 'Void Beings' inside... That's something even more terrifying than the Observer. Ten years ago, my brother was surrounded by the Observer's forces because he was trying to stop the Observer from getting the first fragment."
Vegeta frowned: "The Void? What is that? Is it even more powerful than the Watchers?"
“You haven’t seen it, so you don’t know how terrifying it is.” Kai’s voice lowered. “The Void has no physical form and can devour energy, whether it’s the energy of a spaceship’s engine or the life energy of a person. Once you’re entangled with them, you can forget about escaping. Ten years ago, we lost half of our people just to keep the Void back into the rift.”
Number 18 suddenly spoke up: "Since you know so much, why didn't you reply to our signals before? We thought something had happened to you."
Kai sighed and pointed to the communicator in the corner of the port: "The Observer's signal interference is too strong. Our communicator can only send but not receive. We took a big risk by sending you a warning before. Besides, we are not sure if you really want to stop the Observer. If you are here to steal the fragments, we don't need to expose ourselves."
Lin Ye looked at the metal ring in Kai's hand, then touched the fragment in his pocket: "You said this ring can resonate with the fragment, so can it help us find the exact location of the void rift? Arya only gave us the approximate coordinates, we need a more precise location to set it up in advance."
Kai nodded and held up the metal ring... The patterns on the ring suddenly glowed faintly, corresponding perfectly to the light from the fragment in Lin Ye's pocket. "This ring can not only resonate, but also locate the position of the rift. But we can't give you the coordinates now," Kai's eyes became wary, "We need to confirm that you are really here to stop the Observer, not to help him."
Vegeta immediately flared up: "What do you mean by that? If we were helping the Watchers, would we be risking our lives to come to the Abyss? Are you deliberately trying to cause trouble?"
“Vegeta!” Lin Ye stopped him and looked at Kai. “How do you want to confirm this? As long as we can find the rift and stop the Observer, we’ll cooperate with you.”