Age of Cosmic Exploration, 3

by Zhttty

  Before Guang Zhen could finish, he felt something coming towards him from behind. He ducked instinctively, but because he had forgotten they were in space, he got the angle all wrong. Unable to avoid the blow, Guang Zhen fainted and slumped to the floor.

  His assailant was a young soldier. He knocked Guang Zhen out using the butt of his rifle. Everyone trained their weapons at him, and the young soldier tossed his weapon away without giving much resistance. He then said lightly, "Let me be the volunteer. I was the back-up unit for the space troopers but ultimately didn’t make it in. I’ve been through the training and simulations, plus I know how to pilot the shuttle. Most importantly, I hold no important position and am emotionally unattached… No one will mourn my loss, so give me the codes and let me do this."

  Everyone put down their guns and went into silence. Bo Li squatted down to pull the codes out of Guang Zhen’s hand. Handing it over to the young soldier, she said, "…anything else you want to say?"

  The young soldier accepted the codes with a candid smile, saying, "I believe I have said everything I want to say… Actually, one final word: I love the Hope like it is my home. A place where neighbors smile at one another as everyone works towards a better future. It’s a paradise on Earth… or I should say, in space…" Then he put on his spacesuit and walked to the shuttle hangar where the robot was already waiting. It was programmed to carry the shuttle piloted by this young soldier towards the nearest alien signal relay… the invisible battleship husk!

  "We didn’t even catch his name," Chou Yue whispered.

  Ren Tao grimaced as the young soldier’s final candid smile crossed his mind. He sighed, "It’s always the nameless ones… that surprise everyone."

  The soldier seated himself in the shuttle. He grabbed hold of the cross that hung from his neck and prayed as the Hope drifted further away from view.

  "God, please hear me. Please lend your aid to humanity by protecting the Hope, this slice of heaven where people exist in blissful harmony…

  "Amen!"

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  Chapter129 Courage!

  When Yao Yuan propelled himself towards the pair of robots, he harbored neither reservation nor hope of coming out the other end alive! The odds were greatly stacked against him.

  He had no weapons and planned to tussle with the robots barehanded!

  The robots had guns, electromagnetic shields, and not to mention, 6 legs and 4 hands!

  If this was a movie, this scene would be where the hero sacrificed himself in a glorious death!

  Yao Yuan knew Homo Evolutis were uncannily strong in space combat, but there was ultimately a limit to that strength. One couldn’t single-handedly change the course of nature even if one poured one’s entire life in it… (Fine, one last gamble! No, I can’t die yet! The Hope still needs me! But I’m so tired…What I’m doing is evading responsibility! I can’t let myself sink so low! I promised to lead humanity to a better future!) As Yao Yuan stared at the specter of death, all these indelible memories and commitments flashed through his mind.

  In his mind’s eye, he could see 2 distinct Yao Yuans, one was the leader of the Hope and the rock humanity placed its faith on, while another was a loving husband who stood beside a beautiful young woman, teasing the baby cradled in her arms… The dual images of himself seared themselves into Yao Yuan’s mind even though they had only appeared for less than 1 second. Yao Yuan then trained his attention fully at the 2 humanoid robots.

  They had to be exemplary products of this alien civilization because there was, in total, so few of them. Other than that, Yao Yuan had some inkling about the electromagnetic shield, a technology partially mentioned by the Academy as possible future-tech, a shield produced by an electromagnetic device that could construct a strong static field without harming its user. Yao Yuan had seen it in action because the robots were metallic products, but they were obviously unharmed by the electromagnetic field.

  All of these were technological conditions that mankind still couldn’t meet. Nevertheless, it didn’t mean that there wasn’t improvement available for this technology. Unlike energy shields found in typical sci-fi, these electromagnetic shields could only defend against metallic threats, and they exhausted an enormous amount of energy. Furthermore, they only worked against fast-moving threats. For example, if one was to come at the shield with a slow-moving knife, it wouldn’t be able to block it.

  Because of these weaknesses, Yao Yuan managed to engage the robots in close-quarter combat. Here was another sign that the shield wasn’t perfect. If the shield was powerful enough to completely block all metallic objects, Yao Yuan wouldn’t even be able to get near because there were metallic devices sewn into his spacesuit.

  As Yao Yuan jumped out of cover, the pair of robots trained their weapons at him and fired. Yao Yuan could feel the bullets slicing the air beside him.

  Yao Yuan dared not rush at the robots down a straight line. Instead, like Ji Jie, he flitted through the area, moving towards the robots from multiple angles. Thanks to his Perceptor power, every single one of his landing sites, flight time, angle, and rebound force were intuited with surgical precision. In less than 5 seconds, he found himself in front of one of the robots.

  With a powerful kick against the ground, Yao Yuan sprung straight into the air, aided by the propeller. Just as it appeared he was going way too far over the robot’s reach, he grabbed at the robot’s head as support, pulling himself back before latching on to the robot’s back!

  Of course, the robot wasn’t going to go down that easily. It turned its head 180 degrees around and its hands started spinning upwards. As Yao Yuan stared into the robot’s glassy eyes, the 4 robotic arms were closing in on him like a metallic venus flytrap.

  Yao Yuan cursed loudly and then, using the robot’s head as a fulcrum, spun out of its deadly grasp. The arms closed with a resounding clang. If he had leaped one second later, he would've been crushed!

  Simultaneously, the other robot fired another round of bullets at him. Stuck in mid-air, Yao Yuan knew it was physically impossible for him to evade. He bit down hard, preparing for the pain… Surprisingly, none came. All of the bullets were caught in a shimmering shield before falling flatly to the ground. It turned out Yao Yuan was under the protection of the other robot’s shield.

  Yao Yuan didn’t stop to count his lucky stars. Instead, he grabbed onto one of the robot’s arms and, using the propeller, flew once again up into the air. Using the arm as an axle, he started spinning in mid-air. He spun for 3 complete circles… before everything resolved in a loud bang and a violent quake!

  Yao Yuan had twisted the arm off the robot’s body. Flailing about in a shower of sparks, the arm flew about 10 meters away directly into a wall, bringing Yao Yuan with it.

  "Nice!"

  Yao Yuan yelled inwardly, while Ying, Liu Bai, Zhang Heng, and the rest yelled out loud. Acknowledging the break they need, Ying waved for his unit’s attention and shouted, "Other than Zhang Heng and Xiao Niao, who have been tasked to stay, the rest, if you’re not afraid of death, follow me!" Then he leaped out from behind his cover.

  Everyone else, both Homo Evolutis and normal soldiers included, followed suit, chanting a blood-raising war cry as they charged towards the room housing the AI. Both Zhang Heng and Xiao Niao stayed obediently put, more than a little disgruntled that they couldn’t participate in the action.

  Finally noticing them, the pair of robots switched to focus on Ying and his party. However, they were ultimately too late. Yao Yuan slammed into one of them from afar, carrying it with him several meters away. The robot with 1 arm torn off was the one remaining. As it prepared to fire… "For humanity!"

  One of the soldiers suddenly screamed. He already had his eyes close to the red dot before the robot made its move. With his propellers activated, he flew directly into the robot’s trajectory line. Because he wasn’t a Homo Evolutis, his body convu
lsed as the bullets made impact before blood spluttered out in floating pools from the many puncture wounds like a grotesque show.

  The soldier’s last words still reverberated into everyone’s communicator… for humanity!

  The soldier’s body was carried helplessly forward by the propellers and rammed hard into the robot. More blood oozed out upon impact, and tiny globules of blood started filling the air around them… "Tell my wife that I love her!"

  Another soldier activated his propellers and knocked the robot down again before it could recover. Before the soldier could escape, 3 robotic arms surged towards him and impaled him. The arms pulled themselves apart and blood exploded in circular halos… Watching the scene unfold, both Zhang Heng and Xiao Niao had tears flowing freely in their spacesuits. At that moment, they understood why people said that the road towards victory was paved with the blood of heroes and warriors!

  Zhang Heng suddenly growled. Activating his propellers, he too flew towards the robot. He was immediately followed by Xiao Niao. The pair followed the previous soldier’s trail, right at the 1-arm-missing robot.

  When Ying saw Zhang Heng and Xiao Niao rushing forward, he cursed lividly. "Those 2 idiots… Stop using your propellers! Leave the robot to the two of them! They are at least Homo Evolutis… Damn it, quick, follow me! We will make the AI pay for pushing us to such crazy ends!"

  The rest of them followed Ying and Liu Bai silently deeper into the building. Unknown to many, their lips were already bleeding from grinding their teeth too hard, as angry, determined, and shocked as they were. They soldiered on with courage in their hearts… a courage that stemmed from their willingness to lay down their lives for the safety of their families, the Hope, and humanity!

  Leading the team, no one noticed that Ying’s lips were already bitten until they were blood red… "You lovable dummy, I have a question for you. What do you think life is?"

  "Life? Being alive I suppose."

  "Wrong answer! Let me tell you, everyone has a different definition of what life is. Like how it’s written in the book, for some it’s heavier than a mountain, for others it’s lighter than a feather. How about this, when you grow older and have a better understanding of life, could you tell me what it is?"

  "…Okay, I promise you."

  When Yao Yuan came to, he was hugging the robot’s arm. He tried to twist it off, but the robot made use of his own force to throw him hard against the floor. He coughed out a mouthful of blood and then fainted.

  When he came to next, the robot was ready to slam him again into the floor. Putting every bit of his energy into his arms, Yao Yuan pushed himself up and leaped onto the robot’s head. With a mighty roar, he pulled the head into a gridlock and, using the power provided by the propellers, twisted it off. The robot was finally forced into deactivation.

  "Life is courage."

  The courage to fight, the courage to live, and the courage to sacrifice oneself for others, the courage that was exemplified by Zhang Heng and Xiao Niao, who were still in combat with the robot, and the other 5 to 6 soldiers who gave their lives to aid humanity… Tears slid down Yao Yuan’s face. He looked at Zhang Heng and Xiao Niao keenly, but with a turn of his heel, he ran down the other direction, pursuing Ying and Liu Bai, heading towards the AI!

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  Chapter130 Victory!

  Yao Yuan rushed straight ahead. However, his speed started to slow because the energy of his propellers started to run out. Along the way, he saw 5 more bodies!

  Thankfully, neither Ying nor Liu Bai were among them. Weirdly enough, the bodies looked like they had been sliced through by a sharp wire, and their wounds had signs of burning. It was obvious that they had been killed by laser weapons!

  The corridor was set with laser traps.

  As Yao Yuan stepped into the corridor, he instantly noticed that something was off. The apparatus found in the area looked crude and arid; in other words, not products that corresponded to this civilization’s technological status.

  "…Does this mean the AI wasn’t born here but moved here after the battleship was destroyed?"

  Yao Yuan activated his Thinker’s power to search for a logical answer. Depending on this answer, there could be 2 wildly different scenarios.

  If the AI was originally born here, then it meant that the AI had a similar importance as the Hope’s central mainframe. This meant that the alien civilization would heavily guard this AI’s existence, so the road ahead would be incredibly dangerous. Chances were he might perish before he could lay eyes on this AI.

  If, on the other hand, the AI moved here after the civilization met its end, that would mean that either the AI was, in some way, restricted by the aliens before they perished, or it had gained singularity while in service to its creators. Either way, in these cases, the AI had to rely on pre-existing tools for defense, and they wouldn’t be as advanced as the AI itself, so things should be easier.

  While Yao Yuan was lost in his thought, he turned a corner to find Ying’s party forming a barricade with their weapons trained in his direction. He quickly waved. "It’s me! What’s wrong? Why are we stopping?"

  Ying’s party sighed in relief and their morale had a conspicuous raise. A few of them couldn’t even get their words out, overwhelmed by excitement of seeing their captain.

  As expected of him, Ying explained calmly, "There’s a wide laser field ahead blocking our way. We already had volunteers die going into it… but so far, we still can’t find the energy panel necessary to shut it down."

  "Use a hand grenade!"

  Yao Yuan said, without hesitation, and he retrieved from his toolkit one of those and passed it to Ying, adding, "I have 1 extra, here. Time’s running out, 2 minutes, quick!"

  Ying took the grenade and yelled, "Get back behind the safety line! Prepare to storm ahead!" Then he pulled the safety pin off the grenade.

  After everyone scurried behind Yao Yuan, Ying activated his power to full capacity as he prepared to lob the grenade. The weight of the grenade, the arc, and the landing spot were intuited by his power. The Seeker’s power was pretty much a godsend for a long-ranged snipers like him. As the grenade left his hand, Ying quickly scurried back. With a helpful pull from Yao Yuan, he slid behind the safety line.

  The corridor was blasted with a resounding boom. People tumbled to the floor while debris blown away by the blast flew dangerously over their heads. As the dust settled, Yao Yuan was the first to stand up. He strode to the end of the corridor and a giant crater came into view. Broken circuits littered the area, stray electricity surging everywhere.

  "Let’s move! The ceramic weaved spacesuit is electric-proof! As long as none of the lasers are still functioning, we have nothing to fear!" Yao Yuan howled as he moved forward.

  There was not one shred of fear that still lingered among the troopers. After witnessing so many brave sacrifices, every one of them had stared directly at the abyss of death, and none looked away. With death-defying awareness, they followed Yao Yuan.

  After scurrying for so long in the dark, the first thing that hit them about the final room was its overwhelming brightness. In the middle of the room was an amalgamation of multiple reflective metallic plates that looked like solar panels. This weird amalgamation was also where hundreds of wires congregated. Its construction looked surprisingly haphazard, and with Yao Yuan’s and Ying’s Seeker powers, they saw that the connecting joints were also welded amateurishly.

  As they walked deeper into the room, the panels started blinking a phenomenon not unlike the synapses in our brains starting up.

  "Is this the AI?" Yao Yuan looked at the weird amalgamation closely. To be frank, it was totally different from the image of the AI he had in mind. From appearance alone, it was just a bunch of metal plates welded together with random wiring. It looked less impressive than the Hope’s central mainframe. Yao Yuan had a hard time believing this was the m
astermind behind The Hope’s biggest threat yet.

  Regardless, Yao Yuan didn’t intend to dawdle. He waved his hand in the air and everyone trained their weapons at the metal plates. Yao Yuan took out his last grenade, and just before he was going to remove the safety pin, a voice could be heard through everyone’s communicators.

  "Iseijin, a proposal for collaboration. I have tons of technology that can, according to your lingo, usher in your 4th industrial revolution, and I’ll even offer 3 items from your 5th industrial revolution that I’ve bought from other iseijin merchant…"

  "Cut the crap!"

  Yao Yuan threw his grenade. The room was large enough that those standing at the entrance wouldn’t be affected by the grenade blast. They stood staring ahead with steely gazes, unmoved by the AI’s offer.

  "Yes, mankind still has a long way to go, but we will never stoop to liaising with a heartless AI…"

  Yao Yuan said, rather condescendingly. "There are definitely difficulties in store for us in the future, but I’ll see that we overcome it with our own strength… Now, 1 last parting word, have you not learned anything after scouring through our history like a desperate pervert?

  "We forgive but don’t forget! Consider yourself lucky that we’re only taking your 1 life in place of the many you’ve taken! [1]"

  The grenade detonated above the heap of metal plates. The place started to collapse under pressure, and before long, the room was buried… Simultaneously, outside of the Hope, the shuttle was still gliding towards the invisible battleship. As it passed the null zone, the electricity within the shuttle returned. The young soldier who was praying in genuflection leaped up and activated the shuttle’s rocket propeller and scanner.