Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 146: Operation Underwater Evacuation

In the lobby, I saw several familiar figures. Zhang Bao'er, Old Du, and Domo had relied on the guidance sent to them in the message to navigate the underwater tunnel and come here.

When we arrived at the lobby, Old Du said to Prince Gede, "The underwater tunnel is extremely complicated. It is not suitable for a mass evacuation."

Zhang Bao'er then saw me and ran over, "Canyue, after we lost contact with you, everyone has been worried sick. However, I believe that you are always able to turn misfortune into a blessing. Can I get the chance to carry out these missions next time?"

"Get lost. A single mishap is enough for an eternity-long regret. Don't create trouble for the deputy captain," sneered Domo.

"Stop bickering. We need to first decide on a withdrawal plan. We can talk about everything else after leaving this place," I said, stopping the two from bickering.

Everyone sat around a round table and started the discussion.

"Old Du is right. The underwater tunnel is too complicated. It is not enough to withdraw the tens of thousands of people you have here. Keep in mind that we don't even have enough diving gear for so many people," said Baron Sisse.

"Firstly, we need a fleet of ships to haul all the people here. Even now, the empire's Southstar Army is still surrounding the planet from outer space. Large transport ships have no way of entering the planet," said Old Du.

"Due to the circumstances we are in, I suggest that we first evacuate Prince Arude and some individuals that urgently need medical attention. After we reconvene with the league fleet, we can draw out a new withdrawal plan," I suggested.

"I agree. The storm generators have been pulled back. I reckon the storm in Akko will stop in a few days. At that time, the rescue operation will also be much easier. However, do you have enough supply to last that long?" asked Old Du.

"Don't worry about supplies. Milk City has enough wartime supplies to last three more months," said Baron Sisse.

"In that case, let's follow this plan, then. Prince Arude and the injured individuals will evacuate first. We will wait here for reinforcements," said Prince Gede decisively.

"Uncle, you should leave with me. It will be easier for us to come up with a new plan after meeting Royal Father," said Prince Arude.

"Prince, I need to stay with my soldiers and people. I will have Baron Sisse go with you. The baron is resourceful. He will be of great help to you," said Prince Gede with a shake of his head.

It was not a good idea to be argumentative and indecisive during wartime, so Prince Arude did not insist. And thus, everyone prepared for the evacuation. Both Domo and Zhang Bao'er came over with massive backpacks. I could see that the backpacks contained shield devices and medical supplies. All those things were left behind for Prince Gede.

After roughly 40 minutes, the team and those selected for evacuation gathered in front of a massive body of water. Because Nyx was too big, I decided to temporarily leave it in Milk City for now. I would return for it after the water receded.

"This was where we came from. We will reach the surface of the water after traveling through this route for one hour. Spacetime will be waiting there for us," said Zhang Bao'er.

"We will need more than 10 hours to evacuate completely," I said as I looked at the group of roughly 300 people behind us.

The number of injured soldiers and refugees had reached over 300 people. Milk City's few remaining pieces of diving equipment were given to these people. They all appeared excited after learning that they were going to be evacuated. Prince Arude stood before the group with his arms around his little fero canine. There was also a piece of diving gear attached to the puppy's face.

"We don't even have enough diving gear. Why are you using one on a puppy instead of a wounded soldier?" muttered Zhang Bao'er.

"You are being prejudiced against animals! All life in the universe is equal!" Domo immediately retorted after he heard Zhang Bao'er's grumbling with his sharp ears.

"Keep your voice down. Remember our mission. Don't create unnecessary trouble," I stopped the two from more senseless bickering.

Old Du and Baron Sisse started coordinating the group as they dove into the water one by one. Zhang Bao'er and I were in charge of escorting Prince Arude, and we were the first batch to dive into the water.

Not only was the water underground cold and turbid, but it also contained undercurrents. Thus, everyone in the group was forced to turn on their underwater searchlights. Zhang Bao'er swam at the very front of the group while holding a rope. The rest of the group was holding the rope as we followed behind him.

Prince Arude and I stayed at the very back of the group, and we were in charge of keeping watch over them. After around 10 minutes, we arrived at a zone with violent undercurrents.

I could see that the prince's puppy was tightly holding the rope with its four limbs. The undercurrents were fierce, and there was a risk that some of us would be washed away.

At this time, Prince Arude turned around and made the gesture representing a rope, pointed at the wounded individuals in the group, and made another gesture showing someone leaving the rope. I immediately understood what the prince meant. I extended my shield and utilized my underwater thrusters to cover and escort the wounded individuals out of the zone.

Prince Arude's eyes showed approval as he continued onward. After escorting about 20 wounded individuals out of the zone, I saw Domo swim toward me.

"Domo, help me get these wounded individuals away from the undercurrents. I need to go up and continue watching over Prince Arude," I said.

"Thisfine. Yes, superior," Domo agreed unhappily.

After handing over the task, I swam up and soon caught up with the prince. I gestured at him that I had someone else take care of the group, relieving him of his worry. I continued following the prince through the winding tunnel, passing by numerous collapsed sections in the process. After more than an hour of swimming through numerous dangerous locations, we finally started floating straight upward. I knew that we were approaching the surface.

Before long, we saw a bright light above us. We rushed upward, and finally, we emerged on the surface. As the storm raged all around me, I looked at the massive searchlight of the beautiful ship Spacetime hovering right above us. As we emerged, a massive steel ladder dropped down from the ship.

Everyone grabbed the ladder and started climbing; I was following closely behind Prince Arude and his puppy. It wasn't until I saw Kelly and Zhang Xingxing that a realization hit me: the arduous mission had been completed.

I lay weakly on the floor, wishing to give myself a moment of peace. Everyone else was busy helping the wounded individuals, so nobody bothered me. After a minute, I stood up and started helping as well.

We spent the next few hours helping the evacuees. During the process, I realized that the actual number of people was far more than the 300 I had estimated. In fact, we had helped nearly 500 people into the ship so far.

'Looks like they added quite a lot of evacuees toward the end,' I thought.

Finally, Old Du and Baron Sisse appeared with the last batch. Also appearing with them on the water's surface was a massive whirlpool. Nyx flew out of the whirlpool and roared at me with its head raised high.

"Canyue, we have no choice. Your mount insisted on holding its breath and entering the water. We couldn't even stop it," said Old Du helplessly.

At this point, we could only accept the additional evacuees. After another 30 minutes, everyone was finally finished with their tasks, and we all gathered in Spacetime's command center.

"Have all the wounded soldiers and refugees been settled down?" asked Prince Arude.

"Don't worry, Prince. Everything has been arranged appropriately," said Old Du politely.

Next, I introduced Prince Arude to everyone present. The crew members were rather astonished by the maturity and wisdom displayed by a prince so young.

"Next, we need to leave Akko," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Captain, do we produce a wormhole back to the Sirius base immediately?" asked Lin Feixue.

"Captain, I have a request. I hope to receive your support," Prince Arude suddenly said.

"What is your request? Feel free to say it," replied Zhang Xingxing gently.

"Before leaving to meet my royal father, I wish to meet privately with Prince Toruse. Will that be possible?" asked Prince Arude.

Zhang Xingxing gave it some thought before looking at me. After I gestured at her in agreement, she ordered Lin Feixue to bring Prince Arude to see Prince Toruse. Then, Zhang Bao'er and Kelly started bothering me to tell them about my experience.

I told them everything about my encounter with Clearsky, my experience in the time tunnel, the changes that I had witnessed of the universe from ancient times to the present day, and my experience at Milk City's upper levels. They all appeared rather disappointed upon learning that I had forgotten to record what I had seen in the time tunnel.

"Canyue, according to what you say, there are still tens of thousands of wounded soldiers and refugees waiting in Milk City? We need to return as soon as possible and come up with a plan to rescue them with King Xido," said Zhang Xingxing after hearing about the soldiers and refugees still stranded in Milk City.

"The two princes are still talking. Perhaps they might have a different idea. Let's wait for them to finish their talk," I said.

Everyone waited silently. Some soldiers came to deliver us some food. After the long search-and-rescue operation, we suddenly realized that our stomachs were rumbling with hunger when the food was presented to us. We wolfed it down, and one whole hour later, Prince Arude returned.

"Prince, how was the talk?" I asked.

"Captain, Canyue, after our talk, we wish to request a favor from you," said Prince Arude.

'How surprising. I did not expect them to actually reach an accord,' I thought.

"Prince, what do you need? Feel free to say it," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Captain, can you send us brothers to Orion Constellation's Horsehead Nebula first?" said Prince Arude with a determined tone.

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