Interstellar Survival: Invasion

"And how do we do that?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"The entirety of Lidu is powered by the light energy plant on the surface. By gathering Betelgeuse's energy, the plant provides power to the entire planet," said Domo.

"That's similar to the solar energy systems on Blue," explained Dodo.

"To cut the power of their defenses and remove their electromagnetic system, we need to ruin their energy provider, the power plant," said Dodo.

"Why do we hesitate? Let's do it," Zhang Xingxing decided.

"Additional payment is required. Otherwise, forget it," said Domo.

I saw Old Du push down Zhang Bao'er, who was raging.

"Money is not an issue. We will settle the bill after getting our ship. Tell me the plan," I said.

Domo looked at me before helplessly saying, "Fine, fine, I already made a loss. I can only trust you now."

He fished out a map from under the table. The entire power plant could be seen on the map.

"The surface temperature of Lidu reaches as high as 400 degrees. The massive Betelgeuse constantly bakes the artificial planet, and the power plant makes use of that to supply the entire planet with all its energy needs. Look, this is a large-scale energy conversion station," said Domo as he pointed at a construct on the map.

"So by blowing that thing up, we can paralyze their energy system?" I asked.

"Yes. But their light panels will have enough energy to last the planet for an hour. Thus, we need to split up and damage both the station and the panels at the same time," said Domo.

"How do we reach the surface?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"I'll think of a way to send you to the plant. You can disguise yourself as soldiers escorting prisoners to work at the surface," said Domo.

"Who will be the prisoners?" I asked.

Domo pointed at Titan, Amethyst, and Dodo. With the plan drawn, Domo vanished behind the black wall yet again. We rested and grabbed a meal. By this point, Dondon had awakened. He had not suffered many injuries.

"Canyue, are we really going to meet the emperor?" Old Du asked.

"Only by meeting the emperor can we help the prince. Only by helping the prince will we have the chance to go to Akko and have a face-to-face with the league," I said.

"But we are wanted criminals of the league. Will the emperor offend the league for our sake?" asked Old Du.

"The league has already offended the empire by stationing troops at Akko. This is our best opportunity," I said.

"The political situation is very complicated. You need to be careful. We can very easily start a war," said Old Du.

While we spoke, Domo returned.

"Dear customers, everything is ready. You may start," said Domo.

"Everyone, check your equipment. See how much energy you have left," said Zhang Xingxing.

Everyone checked their equipment. Most of us had fully drained our defensive system's energy. Only Zhang Xingxing had three hours' worth of energy left.

"We must finish the mission within 45 minutes. I'll make the assignments. Canyue, Zhang Bao'er, and the prince will escort Dondon and Amethyst to damage the inverter. I'll escort Titan and Dodo with Old Du to damage the panels," said Zhang Xingxing.

Everyone agreed to the plan. After sharing the remaining energy among us, the planning phase ended.

"I'll go with you," said Domo. "Otherwise, I might be left unpaid if all of you get caught."

I was rather speechless to hear that, but it was always good to have a disguise master with us. Domo then drew a new time door on the wall.

"So, you suddenly have money for an energy source again?" Zhang Bao'er sneered.

"All the cost will be charged to you anyway," said Domo.

'Sigh. These two must be mortal enemies in their past lives,' I thought.

Zhang Xingxing nodded at everyone. Everything was ready. She took the lead and rushed through the time door. We arrived at a public transport terminal. The terminal was filled with stranded passengers. Because the governor had shut the flow of traffic in and out of the planet, numerous passengers were stranded. All of them complained incessantly, and a group of armed soldiers were keeping watch over the crowd. At the distant boarding gateway, I saw the white Gando with a single glance.

"Everyone, watch out. The white Gando is right ahead of us. The other must be hidden somewhere. Be alert to your surroundings," said Zhang Xingxing.

We then split into two teams and took a detour around the passengers' section to enter the prisoner transportation section. Fortunately, the Gandos had not discovered us. Domo had taken the appearance of a short Eternal soldier, walking ahead of us. Soon, we reached the checkpoint heading to the power plant.

Compared to the passengers' waiting section, this section was obviously much more relaxed in terms of inspection. The governor had probably assumed that we would not seek our deaths at a place as dangerous as the surface.

We promptly arrived before the exit. There, Domo passed a document to the guard in a well-practiced manner. The guard performed a simple check before letting us through. Just as we were about to get onto the shuttle, the familiar sound of steel footsteps rang out behind us. When I looked back, I saw the black-eyed Gando heading toward the checkpoint.

"Heavens. This fellow is relentless. Why is he everywhere?" Zhang Bao'er said.

I rejoiced that we had arrived at the checkpoint before the Gando. We hastily entered the shuttle and started heading toward the power plan.

"If we were even a step slower, things would have been troublesome," said Old Du.

Everyone had the same look of relief after surviving a close brush with disaster.

The shuttle moved toward the power plant quickly. After about 30 minutes, we arrived at the planet's surface.

Exposed to the red giant Betelgeuse, the steel ball's surface was bright and shiny. The bright reflections were blinding, making it hard for one to see with one's naked eyes. We covered our eyes with the lenses while Domo took out eye protectors and handed them to the prince and the others without a suit.

Around the plant were numerous light panels. These panels were all greedily absorbing the light energy from Betelgeuse while countless massive tubes transferred the energy to a huge white building.

"Our targets are all here. After you guys enter, I will create a mirror surface to provide cover for you. Complete the mission speedily and return to the shuttle for withdrawal," said Domo.

"Thank you. Without your help, we would have been stumped by all sorts of difficulties," said Zhang Xingxing.

Soon, the shuttle entered the parking area. We got off the shuttle and followed Domo as we escorted our so-called prisoners toward the entrance. We walked through a long corridor. To the two sides of the corridor were several rooms where some sort of cooling liquid was stored.

"Follow me, everyone," said Domo in front of the door of one of the rooms. He then went through the door.

We followed behind him. Inside the room, he took out two transparent sheets and had the two teams cover themselves with them. The moment Zhang Xingxing's group covered themselves with the sheet, they vanished from my vision. The sheets were actually capable of turning one invisible.

"This treasure is too magical. Canyue, after this mission, remember to take this thing with us before leaving," said Zhang Bao'er.

"I think so too. We might need it again in the future," I agreed.

"Canyue, turn right after going out. Go through the handover section and continue ahead to reach the panel room. There is an elevator in the room. Go down to leave the building. You will then reach the surface. The surface temperature is 400 degrees. Good luck. I'll work with the female customer," said Domo.

"Since when did you become our leader, dwarf?" said Zhang Bao'er.

I stopped him. We were on an urgent mission. Now was not the time to argue.

"Canyue, our communication system has a limited range on this planet. After losing contact with each other, carry out your mission according to the plan. Gather here after 40 minutes. Remember, we only have 45 minutes' worth of energy. Don't stay outside for more than that," reminded Zhang Xingxing.

"Understood. Let's go," I said.

We followed Domo's plan and left the room together. Then, we rushed toward our respective destinations. I led my group to the handover section. The place was bustling with activity with people walking everywhere. Our group walked alongside the walls until we reached the exit. I waited until there were a few people around us before rushing through the exit with the team.

We continued traveling according to Domo's map. Soon, we reached the panel room with the elevator. The room was completely empty. It seemed like the operation in the room was completely automated. We then took the elevator to the surface. The sight that greeted me gave me a big surprise.

There were two massive gateways. Beyond one gateway, countless prisoners in red protection outfits were each carrying a heavy battery-looking object. The soldiers were monitoring them, and the prisoners seemed to be heading out to perform some maintenance work. Beyond the other gateway was a group of prisoners who had just returned from work. Their entire bodies seemed to have been cooked by the burning temperature, and they were all sprawled out weakly on the ground, vomiting incessantly.

"My god. No wonder these people rather fight in the pit than work here," said the prince.

"Prince—you, Dondon, and Amethyst will hide here. You can't go outside without a suit. I'll go with Bao'er and finish this as quickly as possible," I said.

"Alright. We'll wait here to save on energy. Remember, don't stay more than the time limit," reminded the prince.

I nodded. "I don't want to die either. Amethyst, you are the strongest combatant among the three of you. Protect them well."

Amethyst nodded with a firm look in her eyes. I then nodded at Zhang Bao'er, "Brother, let's go."

We found a big table and hid behind it. Then, when the guards weren't paying attention, we rushed over.

"Canyue, your boar-headed disguise is truly well done. In fact, your disguise is quite close to your actual image. It's like this appearance is meant for you!" joked Zhang Bao'er.

"Screw you," I said.

The joke eased the tension in my mind. We quickly reached the gateway. When the guards weren't looking, we stole two red outfits and wore them over our suits.

"We'll take a battery each and activate our defensive systems. Get ready for the operation," I said.

Then, we joined the line of prisoners, and we accepted a heavy battery from the guard before joining the prisoner procession walking through the gateway.