Chapter 119: The Rescue Has Arrived
On the left side of the large screen in the command center, the real-time image displayed a boundless expanse of ink-blue, occasionally streaked by a few dimly lit celestial bodies. Apart from that, let alone a starship, there wasn’t even a shadow of a spaceship.
However, on the radar map to the right, two partially overlapping red dots flashed incessantly. One represented the Zerg starship, and the other was Yan Gui Xingâs terminal signal, which they were currently tracking.
The absence of the Zerg starship on the real-time image suggested they had engaged a cloaking device. The two starships must be very close for the radar to pick up the enemy vessel.
The overlapping red dots indicated that either Yan Gui Xing, Mu Mu, or both were aboard the Zerg starship.
Regardless of who it was, the outcome on the Zerg starship looked bleak. Mu Mu was just an ordinary person with no background or status; he held little value to the Zerg, so they likely wouldn’t keep him alive for long.
If it was Yan Gui Xing, once the Zerg discovered his identity, what awaited him would be brutal torture and death.
Achi and the others understood that time was running out.
Achi tapped a few keys on the console, splitting the large screen into eight different zones. Besides the radar map and the external real-time image, it displayed the main ship’s weapon status, the interiors of the other three starships’ command centers, and a real-time link with the Second Legion’s starship.
“Adjutant Wen Si’erte, we’ve located the Zerg starship and our boss’s terminal signal. Sharing coordinates now.”
“Received,” replied the handsome blond man in uniform on the screen, Aolesi Wen Si’erte. A few seconds later, upon receiving the radar map and seeing the two pulsating red dots, his expression darkened.
“Admiral Yan is in Zerg hands?”
Achi’s face, already fierce by nature, looked terrifying enough to silence a crying child when he frowned. He said in a deep voice, “Yes, we suspect so. We haven’t found any sign of the civilian spaceship on our end. Have you found anything?”
At the mention of the spaceship, a slight crease appeared between Wen Si’erte’s brows. He nodded grimly. “We salvaged some debris and matched the serial numbers. The Transport Department confirmed it’s from the missing ship traveling from the Frontier Star to Glass Star. I suspect everyone on board has been taken hostage by the Zerg.”
Just as Achi was about to respond, Commander Fang, with his uniform jacket draped over his shoulders, suddenly popped up on the large screen.
Achi’s expression tightened. Unsure why Commander Fang was contacting him at this time, his mind raced, but outwardly he greeted him respectfully.
Commander Fang didn’t look happy, his tone laced with a suppressed rage. “General Yao of the Zerg just video-called me. Admiral Yan and all the passengers on the ship have fallen into his hands. Admiral Yan has been tortured, and his condition isn’t optimistic.”
“The enemy demands that we tear up the security treaty, issue a statement admitting we invaded the Zerg, and hand over ten starships. If we don’t agree to these conditions in ten hours, he will execute them on a galaxy-wide livestream.”
Hearing Commander Fang’s words, Achi’s dark pupils constricted to pinpricks. The next second, his eyes became bloodshot, and he clenched his jaw so hard his face contorted in anger.
He gripped his fists tightly, blue veins bulging on the back of his hands like earthworms. He tried to hold back but failed, slamming his fist onto the edge of the console with a loud BANG!
On the screen, Wen Si’erte jumped, looking at Achi with a newfound admiration.
To lose his temper in front of the Commander without caring about his careerâwhat guts! As a fellow Major General, I honestly wouldn’t dare. Respect.
Commander Fang, threatened by the Zerg with the lives of Yan Gui Xing and a ship full of people, had been holding back his own fury. But as the Commander, he couldn’t panic. If he panicked, his subordinates would follow suit.
So, watching Achi’s outburst, he said nothing, only speaking in a serious tone: “Adjutant Achi, Adjutant Wen Si’erte, I hereby appoint you as commanders, with full authority over this rescue mission. I want you to rescue Admiral Yan and all the survivors at any cost and completely annihilate all Zerg on that starship.”
In their respective starships, Achi and Wen Si’erte snapped to attention and saluted in unison, their voices solemn: “Yes, sir!”
Commander Fang said no more, ending the call with a final “stay safe.”
Achi, Wen Si’erte, and the other high-ranking officers in the command centers held a brief meeting to discuss the rescue strategy.
Truthfully, there wasn’t much to discuss. The Second and Fourth Legions represented the elite of the military, and they had executed countless rescue missions like this.
The only difference was swapping space pirates for Zerg, and adding a reckless admiral to the list of hostages.
Okay, that was the hardest part of the mission.
From Commander Fang’s tone, Yan Gui Xing had been severely tortured and was gravely injured, his life in danger.
The ten-hour deadline given by the Zerg was enough time to complete the mission, but it was uncertain if Admiral Yan could hold on for ten hours.
Wen Si’erte wasn’t greedy for credit, nor was he willing to climb the ladder over dead bodies. He proactively stepped back, stating they were still some distance from the Zerg starship and would need at least an hour to arrive at top speed, so they could only provide support.
Achi was only half an hour away from the Zerg starship. If they used mechas, they would be faster than the starship, cutting the travel time by at least half.
He already had a plan in mind, but since Commander Fang had assigned both him and Wen Si’erte to the mission, he had to include Wen Si’erte in the plan.
Hearing Wen Si’erte voluntarily yield command, his grim expression brightened slightly. He nodded to Wen Si’erte and said sincerely, “Thank you.”
Wen Si’erte waved his hand. “I understand how you feel. When our Sir went missing, we were so anxious we couldn’t eat or sleep, ready to turn the universe upside down until we got news of him.”
He paused, then comforted, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. They… aren’t ordinary people.”
Thinking of his boss’s death-defying madness on the battlefield and Admiral Desimo of the Second Legion, Achi nodded vigorously, finding it hard to disagree.
Time was tight, so Wen Si’erte and Achi didn’t chat for long. Maintaining the communication link between the starships, they went about their tasks.
Achi turned to look at Sha Xia and the others behind him. “You heard it too. The boss and the little madam are in Zerg hands, and the boss has been tortured. Honestly, I have a bad feeling about this.”
Sha Xia and the others remained silent, their expressions grim.
Gongsun pushed up his glasses, the reflective lenses hiding the turbulent emotions in his eyes. He said calmly, “I’ll prepare the repair pods. The boss can go straight in as soon as he’s back.”
Gongsun’s words were harsh, but everyone knew they were true. They just looked downcast, offering no rebuttal. He continued, “Although the number of treatment pods and healing devices is limited, with the boss there, the others shouldn’t be seriously injured aside from shock. It should be enough.”
Achi nodded to Gongsun, signaling he could leave first.
With the medical logistics arranged, all that was left was the rescue. Achi’s idea was simple: a surprise attack with mechas, followed by a main assault from the starship while the mechas boarded to rescue the hostages.
Although they had lost Yan Gui Xing’s SSS mecha, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, and a large number of mechas in the recent war, they could still scrape together an SS mecha squad, enough to pin down a lone Zerg starship without reinforcements.
This strategy relied heavily on the coordination between the mecha squad and the starship. If the coordination failed and they couldn’t break through, it would backfire and endanger Yan Gui Xing.
No one offered an opinion, silently staring at the floor or the large screen. A oppressive atmosphere spread through the command center.
After about two minutes, Sha Xia wiped his face and shouted, “Damn it! Let’s do it!”
“But will it implicate the boss?”
Sha Xia shot a sharp glance. “Hesitating here is what will really implicate the boss!”
Everyone understood. With the boss and a ship full of people in Zerg hands, any strategy, no matter how perfect, was fraught with risk.
It was better to catch the enemy off guard and buy Yan Gui Xing a little more time.
Achi had intended to lead the squad, but Sha Xia and the others stopped him.
Sha Xia joked, “You’re the commander now. You need to stay in the command center and direct the overall situation. You can’t charge to the front lines.”
Achi looked at Sha Xia and said matter-of-factly, “The boss charges to the front.”
“…” Sha Xia choked, thinking the boss really hadn’t set a good example. He rolled his eyes at Achi, patted his arm, and said, “Don’t fight me on this. Stay put in the command center. Let’s go.”
Two-thirds of Yan Gui Xing’s personal guard had the mental strength to pilot SS mechas, making them the elite of the Fourth Legion.
Plus, they lived and ate together daily, so their coordination was naturally better than others. To ensure the rescue went smoothly, this SS mecha squad was made up almost entirely of the personal guard.
Led by Sha Xia in his dark green SS mecha, Verdant, more than twenty mechas of various colors launched from the rear bay of the starship, speeding toward the hidden Zerg vessel.
Achi watched Verdant, barely visible on the screen, on the screen. He held back for a moment, then whispered a complaint to the person next to him. “Seriously, every time I see the color of Sha Xia’s mecha, it bothers me. Why did he have to pick green? It’s so unlucky.”
The man corrected him, “It’s dark green.”
Achi pouted. “Dark green is still green.”
The man: “…” Right, dark green is green. Can’t argue with that.
Ten minutes later, led by Verdant, the twenty-plus mechas silently approached the hovering Zerg starship.
Sha Xia stared coldly at the massive black object before him and reported, “We have reached the vicinity of the Zerg starship. Shall we attack?”
Achi looked at the green dots scattered around the two overlapping red dots on the radar map and said, “Attack with full force!”
Achi’s command reached everyone’s ears, and the twenty-plus SS mechas fired their quantum cannons simultaneously.
Quantum cannons were the highest-grade weapon an SS mecha could carry. A single shot could easily penetrate a shielded spaceship or deplete 50% of a starship’s shields.
Each SS mecha could carry five quantum cannon rounds.
Blinding white light erupted from all sides of the starship, striking the dark vessel almost simultaneously.
In the next instant, flames shot into the sky, and the starship sustained varying degrees of damage on all sides.
Sha Xia, Achi, and the others were stunned. This starship has no shields? Is there really such a good thing?
Sha Xia reported, “Commander, this starship has no shields.”
Achi: “Understood. The starship will arrive five minutes ahead of schedule. Continue your attack and board the ship if you see an opportunity.”
Sha Xia: “Received!”
Inside the Zerg captain’s quarters, red lights flashed. A mechanical voice reported the extent of the damage.
The Tentacle Adjutant looked at the mechas on the screen, his face changing drastically. He coldly ordered, “Sink them,” then turned and ran out of the captain’s quarters toward General Yao’s private quarters.
The silver-white starship of the Fourth Legion streaked across the ink-blue universe like a meteor. Soon, a blinding blaze appeared ahead.
Few starships or mechas used such a bright color because it was hard to hide in the dark universeâit was basically a moving target.
Yan Gui Xing, with his flamboyant personality and immense skill, used conspicuous silver-white for both his mecha and the Fourth Legion’s starships. Gradually, this color became his signature.
Because of Yan Gui Xing’s fierce reputation, pirates who didn’t want trouble would avoid this color whenever it appeared in the star sectors.
Now, General Yao watched the silver-white starship ahead, his face expressionless, like a gray-white statue.
“How did they find us so quickly? It shouldn’t be…” Yao had a moment of panic, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on reasons.
A feverish light appeared in his scarlet eyes, like a beast spotting its prey.
The Fourth Legion is all here. Perfect. I’ll kill them all as a sacrifice to His Highness!
General Yao ordered, “Open fire!”
Achi stared coldly at the pitch-black starship on the screen and shouted, “Open fire! Sha Xia, board the ship!”
The blinding white light of the nuclear cannons instantly illuminated the dark star sector, trapping the black prey like a giant net of light.
The intense light from the weapons was blinding, but Achi stared unblinkingly at the screen, as if accustomed to it. The light illuminated his serious face, making it starkly white, his cold demeanor bearing a striking resemblance to Yan Gui Xing.
Because it lacked shields, the Zerg starship was at a disadvantage. The hull was breached in multiple places, and fires sprang up around the ship. Sha Xia and his team seized the opportunity to infiltrate the starship through a hole blasted in the bottom.
[Author’s Note]: Achi is here. The finale is near.
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