Chapter 397: Chapter 172: Layers of Mystery

“Colonel, the warship has escaped; it was quite alert. We hadn’t even managed to locate it with cluster bombs before it fled using the irregular flow of asteroids in the region.”

“It seems that the message was indeed true! No worry, at most it means some of the Star Thieves are still clinging on desperately. Dispatch more warships immediately and blockade the area.”

“Yes.”

The major saluted and left.

In the secret command room, Li Shen quietly gazed at the star map in front of him. Three hours earlier, he had received a mysterious message containing just a single sentence.

[Disappeared Star Thief Battleship docking location: (1219, 2105, 1903)]

A set of three-dimensional coordinates, pinpointing directly to an area within the asteroid belt.

Due to the complex terrain, the radar could not effectively detect the situation inside the asteroid area.

Li Shen knew many people had his Sky Communication number. He leaned towards the possibility of it being someone’s prank, but when the intelligence department told him the source was unknown, he decided to give it a try.

Thus, he dispatched a team of disguised Rain-class Missile Destroyers to investigate.

Sure enough, he just received a confirmation.

It was real!

Lately, there had been many incidents, all somehow linked to Ding Chuan.

Some time ago, he was instructed to deal with a cadet, which somehow involved the backing of Ruan Xiongfei, that old soldier.

The academy was always a place with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. He probably never expected that a boy who hadn’t even officially enrolled had such a strong backing.

Even had to use Colonel He to threaten me… Hmm, I’ll remember this favor.

At that moment, the previously closed metal door opened again. The major who had just left rushed back in, exclaiming in shock, “Colonel, the fleet… has been attacked!”

What!?

“Switch the screen for me!”

“Reporting, Colonel, the destroyer fleet only retained a twelve-second video footage, after which the communication was… interrupted!” The disbelief was evident in the major’s tone.

The screen switched to the perspective from the lead ship. In the tranquil universe, distant planets turned into dots of varying sizes.

Five or six seconds had passed, and nothing unusual had occurred.

Suddenly, a dazzling blue light illuminated in the distance, and a long arc began to appear.

It seemed just the beginning, as the screen simultaneously displayed no fewer than twenty dazzling light bands.

“Enemy attack!” someone in the captain’s room shrieked in agony.

However, the warship’s view hadn’t even fluctuated to evade when it was hit by over twenty blue light bands.

The screen turned to a blanket of white, then pitch black.

Li Shen’s shoulders trembled suddenly, angered by the audacity to attack the Federation fleet!

It was clearly a precise ambush!

The enemy moved in sync with some small asteroids hiding behind them. When the four Federation destroyers appeared, the enemy struck from beyond visual range while cloaked.

Such a far-fetched story, as though concocted for a movie, making the Federation fleet appear as if sent directly to the enemy’s doorstep, never even seeing the enemy’s face till death.

Thinking back on the Sky Communication message he’d received, Li Shen’s expression grew viciously grim. To him, who viewed himself highly, this was an utter disgrace!

“Heh, ultra-range ion main gun firing, at least eight cruisers or higher class warships, they really went all out. Deploy the Fourth Reconnaissance Fleet, and let’s go see Colonel He!”

Thinking back to the previous information, it was clear they had fallen into a trap that had been set long ago. His facial muscles twitched as Li Shen turned to leave with a cold expression.

The major, watching Li Shen’s departing figure, thought to himself that this was indeed a big deal.

Ten minutes later, the Major General of the War Department signed the order. Twelve ships from the Fourth Reconnaissance Fleet set sail first, followed by forty ships from the Blue Star Fleet.

Any enemy daring to provoke the military would be fiercely torn apart!

Meanwhile, certain pieces of information also spread through various channels to some interested parties, stirring up undercurrents.

…

Mu Fan naturally didn’t know any of this because Black had masterfully navigated the ship, deftly avoiding hitting asteroids over a hundred times and shaking off those who attacked, using a complex route.

“There are no areas to hide after we leave this meteorite region,” Black reported on the situation.

“Can this warship perform a spatial jump?” Mu Fan asked a key question.

“Yes, it is specially equipped with an Ice-breaking Engine Group. The engine grade of this warship is 1.5 levels higher than that of a Starship.”

“Jump Point 131 on planet has been blocked by the Zeg Clan. Check for nearby spatial jump points and prepare for a round trip leap,” Mu Fan thought back to the tactics that the craftiest prey would use against hunters in the wilderness.

The Icebreaker now served as prey, with an unknown entity trailing behind as the hunter. His task was to utilize numerous jump points for a confusing leap.

Such tactical thinking was beyond the comprehension of Black, a digital life-form, as it was a gamble between human hearts.

However, after a brief calculation, Black said, “It’s feasible. After activating the Ice-breaking Engine Group, the nearest space jump point is about 40 minutes away, leading to the border area between the Second Administrative Star Region and Hinchlo Business Alliance, crossing through two jump points. I’ve also planned another return route.”

Mu Fan suddenly remembered something and asked, “What is the situation with the Star Thieves in the sealed area of the ship?”

“I’m not sure, as multiple surveillance devices in many rooms have been destroyed. I can only monitor through various equipment, and due to the damage, I’m temporarily unable to obtain information on life activity in the isolated areas. I suggest conducting air extraction and entering a vacuum environment.”

“When external pressure drops, bubbles form in the blood, and lungs will be damaged within minutes. Since nitrogen will be dissolved out of the blood, the nervous system will be compromised within hours. A sudden drop in pressure is deadly to humans, hence the air infiltrating the lungs will explode within seconds. According to estimations, these Star Thieves will only survive for a maximum of 2 minutes. Given the high level of this order, I need your approval,” Black casually explained the consequences of air extraction while waiting for Mu Fan’s response.

There was no fluctuation in Mu Fan’s gaze, he quietly said, “Proceed with the air extraction for five minutes, and deploy cleaning robots to dispose of the bodies.”

“Yes.”

With a simple command, the deaths of hundreds of Star Thieves aboard that warship were sealed.

Black did not say much this time, as he greatly admired one aspect of Mu Fan; in matters of urgency, Mu Fan seldom hesitated.

Decisive individuals survive longer in this world.

This disposition was highly admired by Fighters.

“In the eyes of a Warrior, there is only victory or defeat!” This was something a Fighter had said to Mu Fan during a training session on the Battle Net.

But Mu Fan thought further; the Icebreaker was harder to obtain than from the Shadow Base, even if his knowledge of the warship was minimal, it did not prevent him from understanding the significance of a warship at this stage.

It would be his base of operations, controllable at any moment.

Ten minutes later, hundreds of corpses floated in space.

After about 30 more minutes, a fleet composed of six deep black Starships appeared.

These ships were not very large, only slightly bigger than the Federation’s Rain-class Destroyer, but each one was outfitted with four fearsome dual-mounted giant cannons.

Dual-plasma ship guns!

This was the firepower of heavy cruisers installed on a warship that was not much larger than a destroyer.

The fleet hovered momentarily before a hatch on the lead ship popped open.

Shortly thereafter, a Mecha about fifteen meters tall flew out.

Its eerie black, green, yellow tri-color pattern with dual serpents wrapped around each arm up to the shoulders, each serpent head opening wide to expose its fangs, the high metal sensor on its head covered in blood-red was unmistakably metallic, as indicated by the glinting icy light.

Behind, two green flame jets made this Mecha appear ghostly sinister.

The Mecha, halted in space, suddenly gestured with its hand.

The metal serpent on its right arm shot forth quickly, then retracted like lightning.

The yellow glow in the Mecha’s head brightened as it looked at the corpse in its palm and then gently squeezed it.

Then it indifferently returned to the black fleet.

“This is one of our own, Lord Andumari…”

“Set up the mother net.”

“Yes.”

*****

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