Chapter 126: The War Dragon Sets Out

Chapter 126: War Dragon Departs

Liu Shaoyu felt a sense of relief. It was hard to tell whether Wang Weifu had guessed his intentions or simply wanted to save time and effort, but the batch of supplies Liu had "borrowed" from the Ross previously had been specifically intended to convert this massive transport ship into a backup base for the War Dragon.

Now, that task was complete.

"It seems that there is strength in numbers," Liu Shaoyu sighed softly.

Watching him, Arisa remarked, "Actually, the Professor was under a great deal of pressure to modify this transport ship. You might not be aware, but the organization isn't exactly unified internally." She paused, perhaps feeling a touch of sorrow.

Sensing her mood, Liu Shaoyu offered comfort: "It’s alright. Everything will get better."

Arisa, not one to remain immature, quickly composed herself. "Yes, I believe so too. Now, let’s initiate the test connection. The basic modifications are finished, and the Professor has upgraded the War Dragon’s weaponry. The rest is up to you, but you can proceed with a simple connection for now."

"Great, I’d like to familiarize myself with it," Liu Shaoyu readily agreed. He was about to head to the battlefield, and it would be inexcusable not to be well-acquainted with his own weapon. He was eager to test the connection to the War Dragon again.

The process was familiar, the steps ingrained. Perhaps because he had done it once before, the connection felt swift this time, free from the anxiety of a long, drawn-out wait.

"Test complete, everything is normal. Ready for launch!" A string of commands was issued, and the scenery outside rushed backward. In the next instant, Liu Shaoyu found himself suspended in the void of space.

Liu Shaoyu raised his arm, noticing that the entire War Dragon was emitting a crimson luster. This metal outer armor was a new product of the recent improvements; the material was far more complex than it appeared. While Liu didn't know the intricate details, he knew it was a micro-organism with metallic cell walls, refined through electronic programming. It possessed capabilities like self-repair, which would greatly enhance the War Dragon's combat endurance.

"How does it feel?"

Arisa’s voice reached Liu Shaoyu’s ears. He knew she was asking for data for their statistics.

Perhaps because this was his second time merging with the War Dragon, the sensation was much better. He felt his control over the machine was more fluid. In reality, the energy issues he had faced while fleeing in the War Dragon last time had been a massive headache. Although he had barely managed to scrape by because he hadn't encountered any obstacles, he knew that if he had faced a few real battles, he and the War Dragon would likely be drifting in space like asteroids for who knows how long.

"It feels pretty good," Liu Shaoyu answered simply. He knew that even if he brought up the energy issue, it couldn't be resolved immediately. The energy source used by the War Dragon was already at the pinnacle of human technology; wanting something better wasn't something that could be achieved overnight.

"Understood. The data I’m receiving is also normal. The weapon systems aren't fully equipped yet, so we can't conduct further testing," Arisa said with a hint of disappointment. Clearly, she was far more interested in the War Dragon’s data than in whatever war was happening in Huaxia.

While Arisa might have been disappointed, Liu Shaoyu felt quite happy. He discovered that after merging with the War Dragon again, that faint, elusive sensation from before had strengthened. What he didn't know was that Wang Weifu had already anticipated this change. It was precisely because of this connection that Wang Weifu’s voice could appear directly in Liu Shaoyu’s mind.

This ability was not mysterious; it was merely a stage in the evolution of the S-gene.

What followed was a period of waiting. Liu Shaoyu had to wait for the Thinking Society to mobilize so he could depart with the main fleet. The latest reports from the front line had arrived: the first direct confrontation between Huaxia and the Vanti Theocracy showed no significant gap in strength between the two sides. However, the Vanti Theocracy’s numerous small-scale raids had caused significant grief for the garrison and transport troops stationed away from the main front. These raiding enemies were like ghosts; border checkpoints seemed useless against them, and none of the stargates had registered their intrusions.

Though the scale of these raids was small, the cumulative damage was not insignificant. To Wang Weifu, however, this was good news. Exposing one's trump cards early in a war was never a wise choice. Consequently, there hadn't been a clear strategy for the placement of Liu Shaoyu and the War Dragon. Wang Weifu’s initial thought had been to keep them hidden until a truly critical moment.

But this was a reluctant choice, as the War Dragon lacked real combat experience. Since it had undergone numerous upgrades and updates following the last experiment, combat testing was necessary. In this regard, the War Dragon could use these small-time pests to sharpen its edge.

In fact, Liu Shaoyu had still underestimated the capability of the Thinking Society. When he saw the fleet the Society had mobilized for the jump, he felt a sense of daze.

"My god, this is almost as big as one of our military districts!" Xu Meng said, staring in astonishment at the fleet being deployed.

"This is just the deployment from this one planet. As far as I know, the Thinking Society definitely doesn't just have one planet. And this is only a portion of their forces," Long Ruyuan said calmly. Everyone knew that by normal military standards, this wasn't an overwhelming number. But this wasn't a normal military; this was the power of a single organization.

Compared to the others, Liu Shaoyu felt a sense of relief seeing this, for he understood the true significance of the Thinking Society’s existence.

"Alright, it's time for us to head out. Xu Meng, you take command of the troops assigned by the Society. The rest of you, come with me to the Dragon Roamer," Liu Shaoyu said, seeing that everything was ready.

The Dragon Roamer was the transport ship capable of carrying the War Dragon. In reality, it could now be called a strategic transport carrier. Because it housed the War Dragon, in addition to the extensive support systems, it also served as the logistical hub for Liu Shaoyu’s special fleet. In total, Liu’s special operations fleet comprised thirteen warships, including the Dragon Roamer. There was one battleship acting as the flagship, and the remaining eleven were battle destroyers.

Despite the sheer size of the Dragon Roamer, the fleet was not cumbersome. It was rare to find warships fueled entirely by ice ore. This was mainly because not everyone was as wealthy and generous as Liu Shaoyu. Aside from the small portion used in their last trade, Liu still had a vast supply left over. He could afford to burn a few chunks as fuel.

Because of the specialized nature of Liu Shaoyu’s mission, and with Wang Weifu’s assistance, the entire special fleet was powered by ice ore. Consequently, Liu Shaoyu could now claim to have the fastest fleet in the universe.

The Society’s overall mobilization was, generally speaking, somewhat sluggish, so Liu and his team were to strike out a step ahead.

"Hey, Hua Qiang, why do you look so excited?" Liu Shaoyu asked, noticing Hua Qiang nearby. They had been on the road for a day, and everyone had barely spoken three sentences combined. Liu decided to liven up the atmosphere.

Hua Qiang looked surprised. "Ah? Me? Excited? Do I?" He followed with four questions in a row. Liu Shaoyu felt that trying to strike up a conversation with Hua Qiang had been a mistake.

Hua Qiang’s personality had actually improved quite a bit compared to before, but idle chatter… clearly, Hua Qiang hadn't yet evolved to that level.

"Did I… say something wrong?" Hua Qiang looked at the room full of people staring at him in silence, thinking he had made a mistake, and began to scratch his head.

Hahaha! Everyone in the room knew what was happening, but Hua Qiang had completely detonated their laughter. After this little disruption, the tense atmosphere began to ease; people started chatting, drinking tea, and smoking.

"Hey, Ruyuan. I heard you hooked up with a young lady as soon as you got to the Thinking Society? Word is she’s the Chairman’s daughter?" Liu Shaoyu winked and smiled at Long Ruyuan.

"…Xu Meng, come here. I want to have a word with you," Long Ruyuan said, turning to look at Xu Meng.

Xu Meng, clearly possessing keen survival instincts, replied, "Ah… that, let me go check on the command post. Sigh, these people really don't let a man rest." With that, Xu Meng left the lounge at light speed.

The group erupted into laughter again. Before the laughter had even died down, Liu Shaoyu’s heart tightened; he felt as if something was about to happen. Before this thought could even fade, the ship’s alarms began to blare.

Everyone in the lounge possessed strong nerves and remained calm despite the alarms.

"Everyone to your stations. Enter combat status. I’m heading to the Dragon Roamer," Liu Shaoyu ordered.

Once he had given his instructions, Liu Shaoyu took a transport craft to the Dragon Roamer. On the way, he analyzed their current position. Because of the vast distances, they had to jump through many stargates, so they were still a distance away from Huaxia territory. This was why he had been on that specific warship with them earlier.

The alarm had detected a fleet, and they were already being locked on. Their outgoing signals received no response; instead, the opposing force accelerated and closed in rapidly.

"Whether you're pirates or enemies, I’ll use you to sharpen my skills," Liu Shaoyu said with a smirk.

"Arisa, prepare the War Dragon. Equip all melee weapons. I’m going to show you a thing or two." Seeing that he was about to reach the Dragon Roamer, Liu Shaoyu began communicating with Arisa.

Soon, he received confirmation that everything was ready.

"Countdown, prepare. War Dragon launching," Arisa’s voice echoed in his mind.

"Countdown: 10, 9, 8… 1." The countdown ended, and the view before Liu Shaoyu shifted as the vast expanse of space filled his vision.