Chapter Forty-Eight: Strange Occurrences in the Depths of Space

Chapter Forty-Eight: Strange Events in Deep Space

“Target set. Switched to autopilot.”

The artificial intelligence’s voice echoed in the cockpit. This was a 296-meter long-axis cruiser, its hull clad in pale yellow metallic armor, manufactured by Galactic Universal Technologies. Shaped like an inverted triangle, this cruiser boasted an advanced engine cooling system, making it far swifter than ships lacking such technology.

Onboard were Liu Shaoyu, Long Ruyuan, and Monkey.

The journey to the desolate star region would take roughly nine days. Having already traveled for three, Liu Shaoyu and his companions were now in the Feiyoumus System of the Biyoubo Cluster, located within the Angelica Sector.

“Radar detection: Unidentified warship ahead,” Thomas’s voice reported to Liu Shaoyu.

Through the scanner, a battleship appeared before them—although it seemed to have suffered some kind of impact.

According to the Galactic Code, it was everyone’s duty to assist distressed vessels.

“Request communication link,” Liu Shaoyu ordered.

One minute passed, then two, then three. No reply.

“Request communication again. Thomas, bring us alongside.” The prolonged silence filled Liu Shaoyu with foreboding.

Five minutes later, there was still no response. By then, their cruiser had docked beside the stricken warship.

“Long Ruyuan, Monkey and I will board and investigate. You stay here and cover us.” By now, Liu Shaoyu was almost certain the ship had suffered an accident and intended to see for himself.

In the starry void, two armored figures—one clad in black, the other in yellow—stepped onto the deck. They were Liu Shaoyu and Monkey, both in new-model armor.

“Monkey, you search from the front, I’ll take the rear. Keep in touch,” Liu Shaoyu instructed, and they split up.

After a brief search, Liu Shaoyu easily found the emergency access hatch.

Inside, darkness reigned for reasons unknown. Liu Shaoyu entered at the forward lower deck, where the drone bay was located.

The quickest way to learn what had happened was to reach the command center.

“Thomas, download this ship’s schematics. We’re heading to the bridge.”

Moments later, a blueprint of the battleship appeared before Liu Shaoyu. The ship had entered emergency status for unknown reasons; all corridor bulkheads were sealed, significantly complicating their task.

Fortunately, Liu Shaoyu’s armor was human-sized; he avoided the awkwardness of piloting a mech inside the ship as he’d done before.

The schematics showed this was a standard Galactic battleship, divided into eight decks. The lowest five were uninhabited. Only on the upper three levels could any survivors possibly be found.

“Thank heavens for emergency systems,” Liu Shaoyu muttered, prying open the final emergency pneumatic valve leading to the upper decks. At last, he reached the sixth deck—the crew rest area, according to the blueprint.

He opened a door, but the room was empty. Luckily, gravity was still functioning. By the beam of his narrow searchlight, he saw the room was tidy. Liu Shaoyu moved on to the next cabin. Again, everything was in order.

“Where did everyone go?” he wondered aloud.

“No life signs detected,” Thomas reported. The armor’s built-in scanner could detect living beings by bio-thermal signature. Thomas’s words confirmed there was no one alive nearby.

“Monkey, what’s your status?” Liu Shaoyu called.

“Damn it, did everyone go to eat or something? No one near the engine. I’ll keep looking,” Monkey replied irritably.

Eat? The thought struck Liu Shaoyu. Pulling up the schematics, he located the mess hall.

Entering, he was stunned by the sight that greeted him. Indeed, they had been dining. But... they were as lifeless as statues.

In the mess, people seemed frozen mid-meal. Suddenly, for reasons unknown, death had claimed them all at once. There was no pain on their faces. One crew member still held a forkful of food halfway to his mouth.

Even Liu Shaoyu, seasoned as he was, was shocked by the scene.

“Monkey, look,” he said, transmitting the live feed to Monkey.

“Holy shit! What the hell happened?” Monkey was equally stunned, cursing to steady his nerves.

“Thomas, can you determine the cause of death?” Liu Shaoyu urgently inquired.

“The armor lacks detection capabilities, but based on analysis of the scene, it appears to be the result of a psychic attack,” Thomas responded. As a robot, his judgments were always data-driven. Even without specialized equipment, he could analyze the images. The probability of death by psychic assault was over 98%.

“Psychic attack?” Liu Shaoyu frowned, recognizing the method immediately. It was the signature tactic of the Fengtower Insectoid Swarm, the Galaxies’ adversaries. But why here? This was neither the Galaxy nor the Fengtower system.

The Biyoubo Cluster was not under Insectoid control. And even if there had been a psychic assault, shielding should have mitigated it; it was unlikely everyone would die so quietly, especially while eating. There were no signs of combat—could it have been a sneak attack?

Liu Shaoyu shook his head. The Fengtower Insectoids’ attacks never left a ship intact after a strike.

Just then, Monkey’s voice broke Liu Shaoyu’s thoughts.

“Captain! Come quick! There’s a survivor!” Monkey’s excited shout came through.

In front of a massive bulkhead, Liu Shaoyu found Monkey.

“Behind the door! I’m picking up a life sign!” Monkey said urgently.

Activating his bio-scanner, Liu Shaoyu confirmed it—there was indeed something alive behind the door, and by the heat signature, it appeared to be human.

“A brig?” Long Ruyuan wondered aloud, reading the sign.

“We’ll know when it’s open,” Liu Shaoyu replied, noting the same inscription.

It was ironic—a shipful of corpses, and the only survivor was in the brig. Was it luck or misfortune?

“Thomas, can you open it?”

“Command bridge authorization required.”

“Anything faster?”

“Please use the particle cutter,” Thomas replied succinctly.

With a metallic clang, a human-sized section of the door was sliced away.

Behind the door, a figure was curled in the corner, shielding her eyes from the sudden glare. It was—a naked human woman.

Long Ruyuan’s eyes nearly popped from his head. It was a bizarre scene.

“Take off your clothes!” Liu Shaoyu ordered.

“What?”

“I said, take off your clothes.”

“Oh.”

After removing his armor, Liu Shaoyu tossed Long Ruyuan’s clothing to the huddled woman.

She had already heard them cutting through the steel, and once her eyes adjusted, she curled herself even tighter.

Stripped down to his underwear, Long Ruyuan hurried to put his armor back on. Although the oxygen system was functioning, he shivered, unsure if it was the temperature controls or something else.

The woman accepted the clothes, staring blankly at the two men.

Sensing her gaze, Liu Shaoyu realized something and gestured to Long Ruyuan; the two stepped outside to wait.

After a time, there was the sound of movement, and the woman emerged, now dressed.

“Do you know what happened?” Liu Shaoyu asked.

She frowned slightly at the question, as if not understanding him.

Not from Earth? Liu Shaoyu wondered. He now noticed her hair—a mysterious blue-violet shade—and her eyes, whose pupils were not those of an ordinary human.

Genetic modification? Liu Shaoyu speculated.

She wrapped her arms around herself, visibly shivering. The temperature in the corridor was far colder than her cell, which had its own ventilation system. Only now did the chill bite.

“Let’s return to the ship,” Liu Shaoyu said. It seemed their questions would have to wait.

“Long Ruyuan, prep the docking corridor. We’re coming back,” Liu Shaoyu instructed their companion still aboard.

The docking passage had an emergency manual coupling system.

With a signal from Liu Shaoyu, he and Long Ruyuan led the way, the woman following behind.

Suddenly, a strange, unsettling smile spread across the woman’s lips.