Age of Cosmic Exploration, 4

by Zhttty

  "This is…"

  The mother nest on Moon 2 had completely curled into a ball. It looked like Moon 2 had grown a malignant tumor. It was ready to launch into space any time soon.

  The surprise, though, was the appearance of a new flesh monster… or rather a flesh warship.

  The new monster was more than 1,000 meters long and was shaped like a stick. From the high definition pictures taken of it, almost every corner of its surface was punctured with Gaussian cannon barrels, giving it an appearance of a spindly meat stick. It looked straight out of someone’s demented nightmare.

  There was more than several thousands of these monster warships, and they were surrounded by a gauntlet of flying monsters.

  There were also millions upon millions of those meat blobs. From their previous combat, Yao Yuan knew that the purpose of these blobs was transportation. Each one of them housed about 2,000 monsters. In other words, all of the monsters added up to an army that could drown out the Hope’s planet with just their sheer numbers. Their numbers this round was several times greater than their numbers from the previous 2 wars combined!

  "Prepare the whole defense unit! Make sure you have all the necessary weapons, armor, ammo, and batteries!"

  Yao Yuan ordered inside the war room, "Stand ready, all Black Star Troopers. We’ll be heading out after the combat jets’ last check-up. This will be our last stand against this enemy!

  "Everyone, a picture speaks a thousand words, so I implore you to look at this stretch of blue sky, land, and sea! This could be ours… if we win this war. We will disappoint humanity if we fail!"

  Yao Yuan roared for inspiration. "So we can only return with victory in our laps! I shall fight until my last breath out there. If I die, you’re all allowed to return to warp, but before that, I request that you give this war your all!

  "Guang Zhen, I’ll leave the defense of the base to you. When the Hope lifts off, I expect it to be assaulted by the flying monsters, so Black Star Troopers, we have to be ready for that!

  "I need every single Black Star Trooper to be out there! The Hope can only lift off in about 3 to 4 hours, so before then, we have to secure this opening. After lift-off, the combat jets will provide support to the ground unit, so Guang Zhen you better make sure the base holds until then!

  Let’s make Operation Celestial Wolf a success!"

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  Chapter164 Operation Start!

  The lights in Bo Li’s room weren’t on. She lied quietly on her own bed staring into the darkness, accompanied by the sounds of her own breathing.

  There was an apprehension clogging her heart, but she couldn’t tell where it came from…

  Was it because of her unfinished experiments or miscalculated data? Or was it because of the final plan…

  The final plan… Did he accept it? He should be on the space combat jet right now if he did…

  Matter of fact, he wasn’t. Yao Yuan was actually standing outside her door. The 4 soldiers that were on guard duty saluted when they saw him approach. Yao Yuan returned the salute and said, "It’s okay, you guys are relieved of guard duty. As long as she doesn’t leave the Hope, she has the freedom to go anywhere she wants…"

  After the guards left, Yao Yuan stood transfixed in front of her room door. He didn’t make to enter or knock, he just stood their quietly. The guards threw him some questioning gazes, but they didn’t dare to comment anything.

  "Bo Li, I know you can hear me. I want to apologize… for what happened earlier, but make no mistake, the marshal law still stands. As a Whisperer, you’re still not allowed on the battlefield. You have to understand that if you fall into enemy hands, it will not only harm our winning prospects in this war, it will be a great loss to the Academy…"

  Needless to say, Bo Li could hear him clearly. Yao Yuan perhaps didn’t realize he was using his Anima power. Bo Li, though, refused to reply. She bit down hard on her lips and could feel tears swirling in her eyes. The feeling of apprehension that was bugging her increased and it suffocated her heart…

  (My death… will only be the Academy’s loss…?)

  "…and..."

  Yao Yuan dithered before completing his sentence, weighing what he wanted to say. "...me, it’ll be a loss for me too…

  "So please don’t take such unnecessary risks again. I will never allow you on the battlefield! But... I remember everything that I’ve promised you; we’ll go to the beach together, go swimming if the sea’s safe… and lie on the beach at night to enjoy the night sky. I remember every single promise that I’ve made, and I always fulfill my words. I’ll do my best to keep my end of the bargain, and you have to promise me you’ll do the same too…"

  Yao Yuan’s voice slowly petered away. Bo Li’s tears were flowing freely now. She pushed herself up from her bed and rubbed her tears away as she rushed to open the door. There was no one out there anymore.

  Even so, she didn’t feel disappointed. Instead she felt warmed, intertwined with wisps of bitterness... It reminded her of her favorite tea drink, a light sweetness and warmth that always permeated her body after the initial bitterness.

  "Professor Bo Li?" a soldier that passed by asked tentatively.

  Bo Li coughed and replied lightly, "Can you accompany me to the lab...? I’m sure that idiot doesn’t have the foresight to tweak the propeller to its maximum setting. Let’s get to work since we still have time before the operation officially starts."

  Yao Yuan saw the tired Guang Zhen off to the temporary base. Guang Zhen would be responsible for holding the safety of the base until the Hope could lift off into space. His order was to not budge from his post under any circumstance, and based on his personality, Guang Zhen would die before he would allow the base to fall.

  "Ol’ Wong, I’ll leave the defense of the surface to you. For the sake of humanity… please do your best." Yao Yuan saw Guang Zhen’s diminishing figure and he sent him these parting words through his Anima power.

  Without turning around, Guang Zhen lifted his hand and waved before getting on the shuttle.

  "Come on, now it’s our turn."

  Yao Yuan turned to address the gathered Black Star Troopers. The 110 plus troopers included new Homo Evolutis that shouldn’t even be on the battlefield. If all the troopers were to be wiped out, humanity would have suffered an indescribable loss.

  "I’m not sure whether this will be our last confrontation with this alien, and there are definitely many things humanity still needs to worry about, like the safety of the planet and the well-being of our future generation, but all those things will come after we win this war!

  "Let us fight for the sake of humanity, for the sake of future, for the sake of our children, and for a new home planet!"

  Then all the Homo Evolutis got on their assigned combat jets. With Yao Yuan leading, they soared through the sky as their ECS systems were activated. Within a blink of an eye, they were already in space.

  In front of them was the mother nest that was previously on Moon 2. One had to wonder how such a giant thing had extricated itself from the moon's surface. Currently, it was still in Moon 2’s orbital range. Due to its size, it had to contend with Moon 2’s gravitational force, so it was travelling extremely slow.

  "The first step of Operation Celestial Wolf is to clear out as many monsters as we possibly can. The mother nest requires some time before it can birth new monsters. Therefore, the more monsters we take down now, the easier it’ll be for us later. Similarly, we’ll be using guerilla tactics. This first step will last for an hour. An hour later, we’ll gather at coordinates 3612, 7161, 2351."

  Yao Yuan took in a deep breath and led the troopers into the cloud of monsters. The second space war was going to start…

  Back at the Hope, Ivan and Saburo were slaving in the biology lab. Their eyes were ringed with black eye from god knows how many sleepless nights. They weren’t even given rest when the
soldiers came back and went for their forty winks. The 2 of them only managed short naps in between quick meals.

  The pressure on them only increased after 20 more infected were sent into quarantine. Among the 20 were Ren Tao and Zhang Heng. One of them was a rare Thinker and the other was the best Diviner. Yao Yuan gave specific orders that they must be saved no matter what.

  But it was easier said than done.

  It was already a miracle for a planet to be able to support life. However, the evolution of the creatures on it would definitely be different from that of Earth’s. The same could be said of its microorganisms. A common virus on this planet might be fatal to humanity because mankind didn’t develop immunity against it.

  "There’s just no way. We’ve tried all the antibiotics we have. Even the lab rats have entered metabolic shock from ingestion of so many medicines. Obviously, one or more of the virus strands are activated by our antibiotics. Instead of suppressing it, the medicines are activating it." Ivan sighed in defeat.

  Saburo glared at the test tubes of samples with bloodshot eyes. The whole situation reminded him of the tragedy that he had once experienced, but as frustrated as he was, he had to concede. "You’re right. It would be much easier if there was only 1 virus or bacteria. In that case, we could use the electromagnetic cellular separator, but… these people took in the air of the planet. They were contaminated by a whole bouquet of bacteria and viruses that live in the air. Of the earlier patients, a few of them died from internal bleeding. If the symptoms are the same, this new batch of patients will die in the next 30 minutes."

  "Things definitely would be a lot easier if they had been contaminated by one or two viruses or bacteria, but now… I don’t think even medical technology from the 5th revolution could save them in such a short period of time…" Ivan concurred.

  Saburo balled his fists and growled, "If only there was an immune system that could counter any and all viruses and bacteria… Wait a minute, Professor Ivan! We do have something like that, an organism that has perfect immunity! Yes…

  "We’ll use the alien cells to create the vaccine!"

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  Chapter165 The Dismantled ECS System

  Yao Yuan’s combat jet focus-fired on a monster warship. It exploded in a shower of green goo and broken flesh. Some had even splattered on Yao Yuan’s combat jet. Yao Yuan wasn’t worried, because they weren’t corrosive and the ECS system wasn’t affected by the appearance of these liquids. It twisted the light around the entire combat jet, including the splattered marks.

  Due to the success of their previous war, many pilots, including the new Homo Evolutis, gained confidence this time around. Some of them even conducted the guerilla strike successfully.

  The monster army decreased greatly in number. When the troopers went closer to the mother nest, it finally retaliated.

  Many small monsters flew out from within the mother nest. Their size and shape suggested that they were still growing and unformed. In fact, they didn’t even appear to have combat ability. They floated aimlessly around the mother nest. Before the troopers could give a proper reaction, the monster warships shot at the clot of tiny monsters, taking them down.

  This was repeated multiple times, forming a large expanse of monster carcasses around the mother nest.

  "What is it doing? Suicide? But why…"

  Yao Yuan couldn’t understand what was happening, but he knew they didn’t have the time to idle. The monster army behind them was inching closer and closer to the Hope’s planet. Yao Yuan had no choice but to lead the troopers onwards.

  However, right before they entered the field of tiny monster bodies, a series of conjectures and images flashed across Yao Yuan’s mind. He hurriedly used his Anima power to order, "Everyone, spread out!"

  Then Yao Yuan’s combat jet did a corkscrew spin and turned back the other side.

  However, the troopers’ locations had already been exposed. More than 10 monster warships aimed their Gaussian cannons at the troopers’ general direction and almost instantly, 10 silhouettes of Space Combat Jet Prototype 003s appeared in space. This was the electromagnetic shield in action.

  The more responsive among the troopers had followed Yao Yuan out and found themselves safe more than 10 kilometers away; however, the Gaussian cannons weren’t slow themselves. Under the focus fire of more than a million Gaussian cannons, about 3 combat jets exploded.

  "Damn! They’re nullifying the ECS system through this method! How many monsters dud they have to sacrifice to make this work?!" Yao Yuan was livid. The 0 fatality rate the troopers had been maintaining suddenly shot up to 3. What was worse was they had to go through the body field and thus expose themselves, or the mission would not succeed!

  Yao Yuan sighed and used his Anima power to give a firm order. "Every 3 jets will form a unit. Don’t waste time on the monster army heading towards the planet, leave them to Major Guang Zhen and the defense unit. Focus on the mother nest! Keep on fighting until either your jet is damaged or you’re incapacitated! Attack!"

  Yao Yuan knew full well what his order meant. He had left Guang Zhen with millions upon millions of alien monsters to deal with, and simultaneously, more than half of the troopers might end up dead… However, he knew they had reached a stage of no return. Giving up was not an option!

  Yao Yuan roared, pushed his jet to its maximum acceleration, and shot towards the mother nest.

  When his jet crossed into the field, the warships trained their cannons his way. Yao Yuan activated all his powers and then his world fell silent.

  Yao Yuan felt all the malice that was directed at him, and the dangers warnings crowded his mind. However, he also saw the warship’s weakness… There was inconspicuous protrusions on their backs, and every few seconds, they would light up. It should be the monster’s power source…

  Yao Yuan’s combat jet had reached an impressive 150 kilometers per second in acceleration and it was still increasing. It was at a stage where the scenery flew past in a flash even for the Homo Evolutis. Mankind’s anatomy was not created to handle super acceleration like this; even with the electromagnetic growth field, it was pushing it.

  There were 2 distinct combat jet models. Their maximum speeds were indeed 200 kilometers and 150 kilometers per second, but those numbers, like many numbers in science, were just placeholders…

  Generally speaking, the common speed for the combat jet was at 80 to 100 kilometers per second. For many, this would hinder their capability because they wouldn’t be able to respond fast enough to issue any attack.

  Of course, the Homo Evolutis, especially the Perceptors, Seekers, and Diviners, were the exception. They could rely on their superhuman power to assimilate to such high speed.

  Yao Yuan… was activating all his power like how he did on the warship husk when he was confronted by the group of alien robots. Under such a state, his reflex response could only be described as being nonhuman…

  100 kilometers per second, 150 kilometers per second, 200 kilometers per second…

  Yao Yuan’s jet kept climbing in speed. He zipped through space like a flash of lighting. Even though his location was exposed, the monsters couldn’t catch up to his speed… He was too fast for the monsters to handle!

  He fired off a series of Gaussian bullets.

  In less than 10 seconds, he had racked up more than 100 kills. He was unstoppable. He broke through enemy ranks, not caring whether his fellow troopers could even keep up with him. The 4 gleaming spots on the mother nest then came into his vision. Pulsating with a light that was visible to the naked eye, these were where the 4 polymerized reactors were located. Yao Yuan intended to destroy them!

  However…

  Security around that area was extremely tight. Throngs of monster swamped Yao Yuan’s jet when they saw him approaching. They closed in on him from every side.

  "Get lost!"

  Yao Yuan kept pressing the fire butt
on. One monster after another shattered into pieces, but the space they left behind was quickly taken over by others… There were simply too many of them; it was a number beyond mankind’s comprehension…

  Yao Yuan’s jet shook at it rammed through the wall of monsters and came through the other side. The monsters that stood in the way were shredded into pieces, but his jet was greatly damaged. The front end of his jet started sparking and the jet body was dented in many places. One of its particle fluxes started to flutter before eclipsing. The jet’s speed started to take a nose dive…

  "Is this the end?"

  Yao Yuan clenched his teeth, refusing to back down. He didn’t want to die just like that. He wanted to keep fighting to lead humanity to a brighter future. More than that, he still had many places he wanted to see and the people that he wanted to see them with… The girl that he had laid his hands harshly on and the woman that she reminded him of…

  "Damaged combat jets, please return to the Hope for repairs. The rest keep on going. Harass the monsters to reduce their numbers!"

  Yao Yuan turned to lead about 30 smoking jets back to the Hope. They were going to change for new jets.

  On the way back, his mind was fogged by the memory of a girl who stood expressionlessly beside a red-colored combat jet. When no one was looking, she carved her lover’s name into the jet’s wing…

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  Chapter166 Red Lightning!

  Everyone mobilized when Yao Yuan reached the jet hangar. He leaped out of his damaged combat jet. Other replacement jets were already sitting at the rails, ready to lift off.

  Other Homo Evolutis mulled about in silence, austerity and severity following them like a cloud. Some opted for a cigarette break, while others closed their eyes in meditation. Few stood staring at the Hope’s walls as if in a trance. They despaired after the upcoming battle, but they knew they couldn’t surrender. If they weren’t doing it for themselves, they at least had to do it for their families who depended on the Hope to survive.