Interstellar Survival: Invasion

I could not afford to waste my time dealing with the mechanical beast. Thus, I turned around and leaped off the tunnel into the sewer. Behind me, a loud explosion erupted. The collapsed debris covered the entrance. Zhang Xingxing was waiting for me down inside. She was only relieved after seeing me in the sewer. We started running through the sewer.

"I can't even remember how many turns we have made so far," Zhang Bao'er suddenly said.

"We have no choice. This is the only thing we can do to stay alive," said Old Du with a sigh.

The sewer was dark and damp, and it seemed to be part of a massive drainage system. We continued moving through the sewer, and after a while, loud sounds of water finally appeared ahead of us.

Not long after, we stood before a large exit. There, we found that the prison sewer was actually connected to Gero City's drainage system. Ahead of us were the exits of tunnels connected to different parts of the city. The water flowing out of the exits was forming massive waterfalls. Below the waterfalls was a massive pond. The loud sounds we heard came from the waterfalls. Regretfully, the tunnel we were in was the only tunnel blocked with a metallic gate.

"If we open this gate and enter a random tunnel, they will probably not be able to find us anymore," said Baron Sisse.

Our issue was opening the gate in front of us. The gate had a genetic lock system, and it looked too sturdy to be blasted open. Lin Feixue crouched down and started studying the gate.

"We need to be faster. The debris won't be able to stop the Wargods for long," said Zhang Xingxing.

"This gate is very sturdy. We can only blast it open if we use a nuclear warhead," said Lin Feixue.

"What? Nuclear warhead? For a single gate in this narrow tunnel?" exclaimed Zhang Bao'er.

"You can get a feel of this gate yourself," said Lin Feixue.

Zhang Bao'er and I stepped forth and touched the gate. Sure enough, it felt completely different from anything we had touched before. The thick and heavy sensation it gave off seemed to be telling us that it could stand its ground against anything.

"This gate's material composition does not seem to be anything we have seen before. The material choice is very odd," said Zhang Bao'er.

Temo, Lamo, and Somo also stepped forth to study the gate. After a while, Temo turned around.

"How is it? What material is it that makes it so sturdy?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"I think they mixed some substance from a neutron star when making this gate. Therefore, it is very sturdy," said Temo.

"Neutron star? How is that possible? A neutron star is extremely heavy. If this gate is made of the same stuff, it would basically pierce through the planet," said Kelly.

"I'm not saying the door is made of pure neutron star. It merely has some substance from a neutron star mixed into it," said Temo.

"Temo is right. I don't know how the Wargods got this magical substance, but this gate is likely to have such a substance within it. After all, the neutron star is the hardest object in the universe. It is much, much harder than even steel. When used as a material for a door, the door will definitely be a sturdy one," said Somo.

"This doesn’t make any sense. Why didn't they use the neutron star substance for the doors in the actual prison instead of a random gate in a sewer? That doesn't make sense," said Domo.

"There is a reason for everything. This gate might not be here to stop escaped prisoners," said Master Crystal.

"Master, we're all trapped here. If it's not for escaped prisoners, what's the purpose of this door?" asked Domo.

"I believe this gate can help us stop the pursuers behind us," said Master Crystal. At that point, sounds of footsteps were starting to come from behind us. It was clear that the Wargods had cleared the collapsed entrance.

We could no longer keep waiting around. However, our path forward was blocked by a gate made of the sturdiest material in the universe.

"Use explosives. This gate might be sturdy, but I doubt the walls around it are also as sturdy. Just blast the frame around it apart," suggested Old Du.

With the enemies approaching, we had no other options. Zhang Xingxing accepted the suggestion. The group pulled back temporarily while Zhang Bao'er and I stepped forth to install some cluster bombs around the door, trying to see if we could blast through the walls.

The frame of the gate was embedded into the walls, with the exposed parts holding the heavy door in place. The gate was akin to a delicate work of art, to the point I blanked out momentarily while looking at it from a close distance.

"Canyue, install the bombs. We're running out of time," Zhang Xingxing's voice rang out.

With that reminder, I got to work. Suddenly, I noticed a genetic scanner in the center of the gate. Master Crystal's words resounded in my mind once again. There must be a reason for everything. The situation had been so tense that I had completely forgotten about the highest authority King Carter had given me. At that thought, I reached out with my forefinger and pressed down on the scanner. The sound of grinding gears rang out as the gate actually opened.

"My god. Canyue, how did you do that?" asked Zhang Bao'er in astonishment.

Zhang Bao'er wasn't the only person who was shocked. The others were similarly shocked.

"Canyue, did you really open this gate?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"Yes, but it's a long story. Let's focus on escaping first," I said.

The footsteps behind us were already getting louder and louder. The enemy was quickly approaching us. We weren't given any time to hesitate. We hurriedly ran through the door.

Anxashe and I were the last ones to get through the gate. After we were through, Anxashe hurriedly turned around to shut the gate just as several mechanical hounds leaped out from the darkness behind us. Anxashe was fast enough to shut the gate right before the mechanical hounds could reach it.

"Well done! This is the sturdiest gate there is! Come on, try getting over here, you fools!" shouted Zhang Bao'er smugly. He even ran to the gate to make the provocation, completely forgetting the danger he was in.

"Open the gate!"

"I can't. We don't have enough authority!"

"Notify the superior to give us the authority."

The Wargod soldiers started trying to open the gate.

When Zhang Bao'er saw that, he became even more insufferable. Together with Domo, they started dancing in front of the Wargod soldiers to provoke them.

Their actions weren't harmful but definitely insulting. Suddenly, a loud hiss rang out. I saw an arrow fly through the gate straight toward Zhang Bao'er's head. The sudden attack stunned all of us. During the critical moment, Anxashe raised his shield and blocked the arrow.

The arrow pierced through the arrow, with the arrowhead only stopping right in front of Anxashe's eyes. An arrow released with such a force would probably be enough to give even our morph-capable shields a hard time. Looking at the end of the arrow that was still shaking, Zhang Bao'er blanked out. Anyone who dared to disrespect a Wargod would be subjected to violent retribution.

"Retreat. Stop blanking out," reminded Carter.

With the reminder, Zhang Xingxing and I released our morph-capable shields to cover the rear while the team moved away. Only then did I notice that after going through the gate, we entered a tunnel system leading upward in several different directions. These alternative paths would be the greatest cover for our escape. With Anxashe at the front, we started climbing upward, trying to escape as quickly as possible.

"We need to find Skyhawk. With Skyhawk, we will be able to leave Rumble," said Zhang Xingxing to Lin Feixue.

"Commander, I have another task to accomplish," I said.

"You have a different task? What is it?" asked Zhang Xingxing in astonishment.

"I don't have the time to give you a detailed explanation. I suggest that you guys continue looking for Skyhawk while I go meet the guardian of Gero City, the divine bird."

"What? You want to meet the divine bird? That's too dangerous. If you're going, I need to go and watch your back!" Zhang Bao'er hurriedly said.

"A task so difficult will require the protection of an entire squad," Old Du offered as well.

"Why do you want to meet the divine bird at this time? Can it help us?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"There might be a different method to help Blue. I must give it a try," I said.

"Sigh," Zhang Xingxing sighed heavily.

Living in chaotic times plagued by war, separation was nothing unusual. We should be happy that we were still able to see each other after our separation. However, that was not the case for those left behind on Mars. I could understand the reason behind Zhang Xingxing's heavy sigh.

"You three brothers are always together, Anxashe knows this planet well, and Dodo can assist you with data analysis. The five of you can work together on this task. Everyone else, leave with me. We will try to reclaim Skyhawk. Three hours later, be sure to return to the ship regardless of whether you've met the divine bird or not," ordered Zhang Xingxing.