Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 177: Reinstating Lightning

"In 2070 when the Gliesens invaded Blue, a group of emergency rescue teams with 10 members each was sent to systems where it was suspected that life existed to prepare a way out for Blue in the case of defeat. I was ordered to head to Planet Eternal to seek help. I can only remember the origin of my mission," said Li Yizhi.

"How did they determine the location of each planet so accurately? Back then, Blue had yet to develop the wormhole travel technology," said Old Du.

"Blue's Hans binoculars had discovered countless planets suspected of hosting life. These planets were all we were aiming at," said Li Yizhi.

"It's weird that your ships were all provided by a Gliesen. Who is that Gliesen, exactly?" muttered Old Du to himself.

"This ship is called Lightning. According to the records, it is a ship owned by the Eternals. Why are you on this ship? Where is Captain Fangfang? Is she still here? Also, we found a Blueling footprint in the cockpit. That doesn't look like it belongs to you," I asked several questions in a row.

"The things that have happened here are too complicated. It is dangerous that we're all still on this ship. We need to leave first before I tell you the story," said Li Yizhi firmly.

Her words carried a sort of power that was irresistible, causing all of us to stop questioning her.

"Are those monsters still alive?" asked Li Yizhi.

"A large portion of them are. However, the survivors are all in the nutritional tanks. They aren't awake," said Baron Sisse.

"What? They're not all dead even after so long? Have you entered each room in the ship?" asked Li Yizhi who was visibly agitated.

"Only two," said Baron Sisse.

"Not good. Did you shut the door after leaving those rooms?" asked Li Yizhi, who seemed to have recalled something.

"These fools left the door open!" Wind Spirit called us out.

"This is bad! Exposure to air will accelerate the growth of the lion-faced beasts. The time of their awakening will also be shortened. Go shut those doors now!" Li Yizhi shouted.

She had barely finished when Baron Sisse rushed out of the room. At the same time, sounds of nutritional tanks opening came from the room next door. In the span of a few seconds, we heard the sound of the door shutting from the room beside us. But at the exact same time, a lion-faced beast appeared before our room.

A delicate hand suddenly snatched the laser gun in my hands, aimed it at the beast's head, and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately for the beast, it was killed so soon after its awakening. Li Yizhi's skilled movement in combat caused all of us to be dumbstruck. After killing the lion-faced beast, she charged out of the room.

We followed behind her and found that the other lion-faced beasts had not been able to rush out of the room before the door was shut. Only then did we heave out a breath of relief. Suddenly, an intense knocking came from behind the shut door.

"We must remove the air in these growth rooms immediately. With the strength of these lion-faced beasts, they will be able to break through the door easily," said Li Yizhi as she tossed my gun back to me and rushed toward the cockpit.

While passing the pile of withered corpses in the cockpit, Li Yizhi turned her head and picked up the raygun on the floor. Then, she stepped onto the operation platform and took over the control of the ship from the baron.

The 20 years of slumber seemed to not have caused any damage to her memories at all. She was able to quickly find the corresponding button and push it to expel all air from the growth rooms. The knocking sounds from the growth rooms started growing lighter. Without any air, the beasts were losing their strength. Eventually, the knocking sounds stopped.

"That was close. Good thing the air regulation system of the ship is still in good condition," said Li Yizhi with some lingering fears in her heart.

"Ma'am, just what is up with these lion-faced beasts?" asked Baron Sisse.

"This ship carries a batch of the beast army. These beasts were all embryos produced in laboratories before being slowly grown in the nutritional tanks. They require the movement of air to continue growing. In fact, the moving of air will accelerate their growth. But stripped of oxygen, they will choke and turn dormant. Thus, the nutritional tanks must be kept in sealed cabins," said Li Yizhi.

"You mean the lion-faced beasts next door are only unconscious, not dead?" asked Baron Sisse.

"Yes. Those beasts have incredible physical capabilities. Even without oxygen, they will stay alive for 30 days, and they can wake up in less than 5 minutes after their supply of oxygen is returned," said Li Yizhi.

"How do you know these beasts so well?" asked Old Du.

"Because my last mission was to eliminate them," said Li Yizhi without even moving her gaze from the dashboard.

Right at that moment, she started Lightning, and the engine started running.

"Good gracious. Canyue, she started the ship directly! We're exposed!" exclaimed Zhang Bao'er.

"What are you trying to do?" I asked, somewhat angry at being caught by surprise from the sudden activation of the ship.

"We need to leave immediately and kill all these beasts in outer space. If they are allowed to actually land on a planet, they will be able to copy the knowledge of other life forms on the planet and escape. At that time, we will no longer be able to contain them," said Li Yizhi.

"Copy the knowledge of other life forms? Are they capable of stealing our thoughts?" asked Wind Spirit nervously.

"Canyue, since the ship has been started and we're already exposed, we might as well leave with this ship. That will be better than returning with empty hands," Baron Sisse suggested a compromise.

"Fine. There's nothing we can do anyway. Senior, what do you need from us? We need to leave as soon as possible. This planet's garrison has formidable firepower. They even have magnetic mines around the planet. We can have our ship take Lightning and leave," I said.

Instantly, the indicator light of the ship's engine started blinking.

"Weird. Why is it saying that the ship is over the weight limit? What other things did they load onto the ship?" said Li Yizhi in astonishment.

"Nothing was loaded onto the ship. We merely have three battleships stacked on top of us. This is a battleship dumping ground. Lightning is squeezed at the very bottom of the pile," I explained.

"I see." Li Yizhi finally understood what was happening.

"The black screen outside the cockpit is covering our line of sight. We need to remove it," said Zhang Bao'er.

At that time, Li Yizhi projected a hologram above the dashboard. From the hologram, we could clearly see our ship at the bottom layer of a pile of discarded ships within a valley. All around us, countless other piles of discarded ships could be seen.

"All of you need to find a fixed seat and sit down. I am going to perform the rotating maneuver to throw off the ships piled on us," said Li Yizhi.

We scrambled for seats and fastened ourselves into the seats we found. Then, Li Yizhi started increasing the power the ship was exerting. The hull shook intensely while the layers of dust that had accumulated over decades fell off the ship. Surrounded by a cloud of dust, the ship slowly lifted above the ground.

Carrying the massive weight on its back, Lightning was shaking violently. All the indicators in the ship were blazing incessantly, notifying us that the old ship had reached the limits of what it could withstand.

Suddenly, the ship spun 360 degrees. The movement became faster and faster, throwing off the three battleships above the ship while Lightning continued accelerating. Eventually, even the black screen around the cockpit was thrown off. Finally, Lightning had regained its freedom.

Without the heavy weight on it, all the indicator lights in the ship returned to normal. After 20 years of slumber, the engine was once again operating steadily. In fact, the ship functioned much better than we had imagined it could.

"Commander, a small fleet is in pursuit of you. Do we intercept them?" asked Dodo through the communicator.

"Commence interception. We still need some time to repair this ship's operating system," I said.

"Roger. Spacetime, begin the interception mission," said Dodo.

Li Yizhi was fully focused on repairing the ship's operating system. I found it interesting that she was actually standing steadily on the operation platform despite the ship's rapid spinning. Her sense of balance was astonishing, and she was performing a grand feat of controlling a massive battleship like this all by herself.

"Senior, an enemy fleet is approaching us rapidly. We need to leave immediately," I reminded.

"I need two of you to help pilot the ship. You can help me with command," said Li Yizhi as she looked at me.

At this point, the ship had stopped spinning. Upon hearing her command, I took off my seat belt and ran over. At the same time, I ordered Dondon and Baron Sisse to help with the piloting.

"This ship's propulsion system was inactive for too long. It can only recover after roughly 10 minutes. We will be able to leave after that," said Li Yizhi.

"I have arranged an interception. We will buy the 10 minutes you need," I said confidently.

Li Yizhi nodded at me and returned her focus to restoring the ship's various functions.

"Canyue, we have come into contact with the enemy fleet. An exchange of fire has happened. The enemy is a small fleet of five battleships of various sizes and a bunch of fighter drones. Their firepower is impressive," said Kelly.

"No matter what, you need to hold them for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, withdraw into outer space together with us," I said.

All the systems on Lightning were recharging at a rapid pace. The power system had been rather dry on energy due to the long period of inactivity. Thus, the ship's nuclear power was rapidly recharging the various systems.

"Shit! The heavy water in the nuclear reactor has dried up. In fact, that was how we got into the cockpit. The airlock system was damaged by us, so the radiation will reach this place. Without a defensive suit, will it be dangerous for you?" I suddenly recalled.

"There is a reserve heavy water depot on the ship. I've already filled up the reactor with heavy water. Otherwise, the reactor wouldn't even be able to start. The opening you created to enter has been repaired with the ship's automatic electrical repair system," said Li Yizhi without even looking away from her dashboard.

Her calm when handling the various issues shocked me. Her level of experience was a complete contrast to the young face she bore.

"Canyue, a battleship is rapidly approaching us," Zhang Bao'er suddenly called out in alarm.

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