by Zhttty
"Remember to be on the lookout for my signal!"
Yao Yuan unclasped his Gaussian gun wordlessly and took another away from Chou Yue’s shivering hands. Pointing both guns forward, Yao Yuan took a deep breath and shouted, "Go!"
However, taking the direction opposite from everyone else, Yao Yuan charged towards the room entrance!
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Chapter115 The Line between Life and Death!
This was not the first time Yao Yuan had used his Homo Evolutis power in combat.
He had the unfortunate experience of doing so during one of his previous missions at the space station.
Of course, he didn’t know he was using his power then.
The truth of the matter was that the central Homo Evolutis experience, which was the suspension of human senses, especially that of sound, was not something that was uncommon on the battlefield. At the height of combat, or even when one’s life is seriously threatened, many reported the sensation of having lost the feeling of pain, and that of hearing. Some said in those situations that one could barely hear oneself.
This is a psychological phenomenon that is widely reported on. One doesn’t truly lose the sense of sound or pain, but rather the trauma one was under was so overwhelming that it shut down those senses.
On the other hand, the Homo Evolutis power was more than a simple twitch in the brain, for it had been proven time and again to observably heighten one’s natural abilities. It would not be wrong to call Yao Yuan a superhuman then, but only in the sense that his human potential was further unlocked and not because he could fly or could shoot laser out of his eyes…
Speaking of the Homo Evolutis powers, Yao Yuan, in this particular combat situation, used 3.
The first was the power of the Perceptor, which drastically increased his reaction time, second was the power of the Seeker, which greatly improved his sight, and last was the power of the Diviner, which gave him the ability to predict danger. Individually, each of his powers was less powerful than the pure version wielded by respectively Ebon, Ying, and Zhang Heng. However, when all his powers were used in sync with one another, they could achieve even supernatural effects…
While Yao Yuan was rolling over to the entrance, Ren Tao was helping Chou Yue over the opening in the wall. Yao Yuan, ever careful, didn’t rush headfirst into the fray. Instead, he used his diviner’s power to predict the enemies’ location and then unloaded his bullets at that general direction.
The lack of a definitive pop from the gunshots and the unexpectedly strong whiplash from the Gaussian guns unhinged Yao Yuan’s balance. Thanks to his Perceptor power, he recovered quickly. Leaning into the whiplash’s momentum, he landed a kick on the wall he was falling towards, and the rebounding force sent him careening out of the room. At the end of the corridor, a robot crumbled in a rain of sparks.
There was a noticeable lack of explosion because instead of relying on pure firepower, the Gaussian guns relied on strong penetration, and they disabled the robot by severing its internal chips as well as wiring.
"It’s finally time to test my own limits…"
As Yao Yuan took another deep breath, his eyes moved resolutely to the red light on the top of his helmet. It was time to make use of the propellers.
"…Yao Yuan, even though I’ve spent 1 whole year doing in-depth research on the Homo Evolutis, I still doubt the actual cause of this Virus X. No matter, that’s beside the point. What I meant to say was that this Homo Evolutis is probably some sort of biological adaptation. Just like how there’s always a small pocket of immune cases during period of epidemic, this power is most likely how man adapts to the cosmic environment… or threats," Ivan explained.
"…Here’s the thing you asked for, or rather, the best version we can come up with in such short notice. Using the new battery prototype, it can operate upwards of 5 minutes… under the best circumstances. If you were not so eager to grab this alien technology, my team could have more time to perfect the technology, but… you’re the boss. Just a precaution: none of the prototypes lasted for more than 3 minutes in all three sets of our trial runs, so keep that in mind," advised Bo Li as she handed Yao Yuan the propeller-equipped spacesuits.
"Cosmic threats and 3 minutes, huh?"
Yao Yuan continued inhaling, for he hoped the surfeit of oxygen could help invigorate his brain.
Yao Yuan felt 3 distinct spots tremor on his back before a strong force sent him flying straight forward. He took several last-minute turns during his deathly charge, but because his line of sight was so in tandem with the direction his body was facing, it felt like he was dashing down a straight line.
A total of 3 robots were coming towards him from both ends of the corridor, and using his diviner’s power, he could tell about 10 more were tailing him.
(Damn, if a warship husk already has so many robot guards in one area, won’t there be an army of robots on the main battleship’s broken husk?)
In that unlikely moment, a thought came into Yao Yuan’s mind, but it disappeared as quickly as it arrived. Yao Yuan needed undivided focus to handle the robots that were closing in on him and the propellers.
Seconds before he would slam into a wall, Yao Yuan nudged his shoulder forward and his body made an emergency turn. Using his abdominal strength, he managed to swerve 180 degrees around. Now with the wall behind him, he instinctually kicked against it, and that propelled him forward.
It was not a moment too soon because the minute he bounced off the wall, it was riddled with bullet holes. The bullets came from the 2 robots closest to Yao Yuan, which had their tentacle-like arms materialized into gun barrels.
(The first one)
Yao Yuan did another pirouette, and in the instant, he turned around and fired off at the chest of one of the robots. The robot convulsed for a short moment before finally crumbling to the floor.
Yao Yuan bounced off the wall before the bullets could get him. Escaping certain death, Yao Yuan pulled another trigger, ending the other robot.
(Second one)
It was like a scene out of a superhero movie. Yao Yuan was effectively teleporting between the two opposite walls, stopping at each for barely a second.
It was to be expected that the propellers would grant superhuman speed in space, because there was no counteracting forces like wind resistance or gravity. Normal human beings could easily meet their ends by slamming into surfaces at an extremely high speed.
It would require intense concentration to just move using the propellers in space, much less committing to the stunts Yao Yuan was doing. He had to pay attention to factors like the trajectory of the robots’ and his own bullets, the angle of his body, the area of contact his foot should make, the choice of retaliating or evading, and many more.
Yao Yuan’s heroism was possible not only because his 3 powers were in use, but also because, unbeknownst to him, his Thinker’s power was also in effect.
The complicated dynamics of the situation shouldn’t be underestimated. The absence of a constantly downwards directional pull of gravity would unhinge the most veteran of combatants. Yao Yuan would find himself on the ceiling looking down on the killer robots or he would find the world being turned upside-down. He had to adapt to these varying situations in a matter of seconds and end his opponents before they could end him.
With a loud bang, Yao Yuan could feel a sharp pain pierce his body. As impressive as his moves were, Yao Yuan was grossly outnumbered. Furthermore, even if Yao Yuan had superhuman abilities, the robots weren’t lagging much behind with their scientifically-accurate aim and lack of fatigue. When Yao Yuan took down his fifth robot, around 10 robots had gathered around the corridor. Assaulted by a barrage of bullets, he was finally hit on his upper thigh. This severely impacted his dexterity. Last-minute veers away from the wall became an increasingly common occurrence.
Yao Yuan had a bigger worry on his mind though… Does this mean that
his combat suit was pierced?
Yao Yuan breathed in deeply to calm down, and with an acrobatic twirl off 2 surfaces, he flipped back into the room which was laid with mines. Dropping the 2 Gaussian guns, he grabbed hold of one of the fixtures in the room with one of his hands to slow down his forward-moving momentum. His other hand went searching for the bullet wound on his calf.
(Thankfully, there’s no puncture. Just like how Ren Tao predicted, the robots aren’t programmed to use high-penetration bullets in the warship… Then again, this spacesuit sure is sturdy; it held even after being shot… It saved my life, but it looks like the femur’s fractured.)
Yao Yuan was calculating his course of action, but suddenly he heard screaming coming from his communicator. It sounded like Ying and Zhang Heng.
"Yao Yuan, get over here quick. Another partition is coming down the end of this corridor."
"Quick! It’s almost completely closed!"
"F*ck, let me go. I’m not going to let Ol’ Cap’n die alone!"
Yao Yuan was unable to piece together the whole picture with these snippets of information, but as far as he could tell, there was another partition coming down on the still open end of the other corridor.
Yao Yuan made a split-second decision to click down on the detonator. Then, it was his intention to utilize the propeller to send him dashing through the hole on the wall.
(Four…)
Yao Yuan’s broken femur incapacitated his ability to expediently align his body down the direction he intended to head towards. He finally got the angle right after some fidgeting around, but by then, his Diviner’s sense was already tingling.
(Three…)
As the propellers powered on, Yao Yuan shot through the hole like a loosened arrow. After his whole body entered the blocked corridor, Yao Yuan did a mid-air twirl by extending his hands and using the center of his body as a fulcrum. His unharmed feet tapped against the ground mid-twirl, and that changed the trajectory of his flight, sending him away from the already down partition.
(Two…)
The twirl caused Yao Yuan’s flight to be decidedly slanted, but just before he would crash into the wall, he extended his hands once more. Instead of bouncing himself off it, his hands caught the surface for purchase to further propel him forward. With that, he righted himself as he shot directly ahead.
(One…)
In the blink of an eye, Yao Yuan glided through the 20 centimeters that were still left at the bottom of the dropping partition. Right at that moment, the room at the other end of the partition exploded. Still caught in the memory of that room, Yao Yuan could feel the fire blistering his skin.
With a violent quake, the partition dropped down completely, effectively cutting off the shockwaves of the explosions. At the same time, Yao Yuan careened into a wall of bodies that stopped him in his tracks.
Drained both physically and mentally, Yao Yuan dropped into a deep unconsciousness almost instantly.
At the last moment, with regards to the line that separated life and death…
Yao Yuan came out the other end ultimately victorious.
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Chapter116 Strategy to Claim the Warship Husk!
Yao Yuan opened his eyes to a warm glow. Swaddled in a warm blanket, he hadn’t felt so comfortable and relaxed in a long time, which in and of itself was alarming. He quickly scanned his surroundings and mentally checked his body’s condition.
(My upper thigh’s bandaged in plaster, so it does appear that I’ve suffered from broken bones. I’m no longer in my combat suit, and this looks like the Hope’s infirmary. So they’ve carried me back to the Hope… I wonder what else happened on the warship husk… Were there any deaths? Did we manage to carry some of the broken robot parts back to the Hope? Have there been other discoveries?) Yao Yuan thought to himself. Suddenly, he felt an intense ache in his head as if it a vise was clamping down on it. Unable to tolerate the pain, he screamed out in agony.
His scream attracted 4 Black Star close guards who stood outside his room to come rushing in. Expecting an assault, they entered the room with their weapons drawn. Their experience as Special Forces made them spread out to secure the perimeter while one of them squatted by Yao Yuan’s side, shielding him.
"The room’s clear! The Captain seems to be in extreme pain. Call the doctor, quick!" The person who knelt beside Yao Yuan quickly performed a check on Yao Yuan’s signs of life. By then, Yao Yuan had stopped screaming, but he sweated profusely, gritting his teeth. This was the face of a man who was fighting for life.
The 4 close guards were shocked by the quick development of events, but their formal training helped them speedily recover. One of them pressed the emergency button beside Yao Yuan’s bed and another kept a close hand on his pulse while talking slowly to Yao Yuan to keep him from slipping into unconsciousness, the third one kept a vigil over Yao Yuan’s body, while the last lopped out of the room to get the doctors.
In less than 2 minutes, the doctor on duty and a group of nurses entered the room. Yao Yuan had started foaming at the mouth, and the whites of his eyes were showing. After feeling his pulse and breathing, the doctor ordered, "Give him a shot of tranquilizer and painkillers, now. And then get me his X-rays. I’m afraid we have overlooked some internal wounds the captain might have suffered…"
That was all Yao Yuan could capture before the chemicals took effect and fatigue overtook him. He barely uttered a sentence before slipping back into sleep.
"…You’re feeling tired now, aren’t you?"
"Hmm… Yes, you’re right. I’m physically, mentally, and spiritually tired. I feel like even my soul needs a rest…"
"…Then why don’t you use this opportunity to take a good rest? But promise me you’ll work that much harder after this. For me and our child's [1] sake, you mustn’t slack off…"
"Of course… I’ll do anything for our child…"
When Yao Yuan opened his eyes next, he feigned yawning and surreptitiously wiped the tears that had gathered at the corner of his eyes.
He found himself sleeping on another bed, but this time it came with a decontamination layer, not unlike the one they had at the Hope’s ICU room. Not far away from him was a nurse who was trying her best to not nod off. Yao Yuan calmed himself and surveyed his surroundings.
After some time, he uttered in a hoarse voice, "Hello, nurse, I’m awake."
Shocked into response, the nurse almost tripped on her way over to Yao Yuan’s bedside. After checking all the monitors around Yao Yuan’s bed, she exhaled in relief and steepled her hands in apology, saying, "Captain, I’m so sorry. I stayed up late last night catching up on a drama series. I swear I’m normally not as clumsy as this, so could you please keep this between us and not tell my supervisor?"
Yao Yuan smiled. "Don’t worry, I won’t rat you out, but please don’t stay up late again. Your work requires full concentration. Human lives hang in the balance here."
The 20 something nurse stuck out her tongue innocently and replied, "Captain, please wait for a moment. I’ll go get the doctor."
Before she left, Yao Yuan asked, "How long have I been asleep?"
"12 days," answered the nurse as she walked out of the room.
Memories from his previous resuscitation slowly came back to Yao Yuan. The ghost of the pain from back then still lingered. Wary of exacerbating his situation, Yao Yuan let his focus wander around the room, waiting for the doctor to arrive.
Doctor, nurses and guards arrived not long after.
After another series of check-ups, Yao Yuan asked hesitantly, "Doctor, tell me honestly, is there something wrong with my brain? Like a tumor, or I’ve contracted some weird brain virus? Please be frank so that I can arrange for the Hope’s future."
The doctor shook his head. "Don’t worry, Captain. Your results have come out negative for all the tests that we’ve done. In fact, you’re at the p
ink of health. The CAT scan showed you were in deep sleep for the past 13 days, so you weren’t in a coma. But I’ll be frank, we were quite worried should you decide to continue sleeping."
"13 days?" Yao Yuan scanned the crowd for the nurse. He found her pulling an innocent face in the crowd while stealthily begging him to keep his promise. Yao Yuan smiled in spite of himself and decided to let it go.
More tests followed, and in the process, several government officers, Black Star members, Ren Tao, Chou Yue, members from the Academy, all came to pay Yao Yuan a visit. They totaled up to about 200 people, and they had to line up on a field in front of the hospital because the hospital wasn’t large enough to accommodate such a crowd.
The mass of people in turn had attracted more people, and it didn’t take too long for the field to throng with life. Many westerners even came with banners in their hands, ready for a celebration.
Inside, Guang Zhen was relaying to Yao Yuan the things that had happened on the Hope in the past 13 days.
First, it took 9 hours for the warship husk exploration team to return to the Hope. Other than exhaustion, no one was hurt. The moment they descended from the shuttle and went through the decontamination room, most collapsed on the spot.
Soldiers, scientists, and government officers who stood by waiting rapidly rushed into the shuttle to inspect its load. There were 5 relatively intact robot remains and alien products of varying sizes. After removing the spacesuits, they discovered the injury on Yao Yuan’s thigh and immediately rushed him to the infirmary. Everyone else was sent to the hospital to recuperate.
Yao Yuan was still in slumber when everyone awoke the day after… "The first time you rose was 2 days after, but that period of cognizance didn’t last for long and, from what I’ve heard, was critical and painful. The hospital conducted more tests after that, but all the reports said you were fine."
While they were waiting for more medical machines to be wheeled into the room, Guang Zhen continued.
"There was nothing of note in the first week, but inflammatory statements started to circulate among the public after you’d been in bed for more than 7 days. They said that you had entered a vegetative state and I will usurp the administrative power to remodel the Hope under a draconian rule. And that’s not even the worst. Some doomsday cult started a rumor that we’re sinners for having escaped God’s rapture, while some mysterious party said that since the alien civilization behind the junkyard has been proven to be more advanced than ours, we should find some ways to appeal to them so that they would teach and lead us."
