Interstellar Survival: Invasion

"This place is eerily calm," said Old Du.

"The dark space here feels like how things were like prior to the big bang, a static space with no matter or time," said Dodo.

"How are you certain that prior to the big bang, space was completely empty? A lot of Blue theories still need to be verified," said Master Crystal.

"True. There is another theory claiming that the universe was the result of the collision of two black holes. There is also a theory claiming that the universe came into existence after countless high-energy particles exploded, causing the universe to swell before condensing," Old Du added.

"Perhaps we will only get the answer when we truly reach the edge of the universe," said Zhang Xingxing.

Just like that, Fearless hovered silently surrounded by darkness. Zhang Xingxing unfurled the scroll Master Wind gave us. Surprisingly, the scroll was actually an image projector. On the scroll, the exact coordinates of Planet Abyss were projected. But when we checked the location given by the scroll, we saw nothing.

"Weird, is the planet constantly changing its coordinates?" said Old Du.

"Impossible. Each time our explorers came, they landed on the same coordinates," said Lifu.

"That's odd. Don't tell me this planet also knows how to hide," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Ignore that for now. Dodo, head to the coordinates," Zhang Xingxing commanded.

Old Du continued browsing the scroll. The next scene displayed by the scroll was a team that had landed on Abyss. The scene was pitch-black, and relying on their lighting system, they could see that it was a world of darkness.

"From how it looks, there shouldn't be anything on this planet," I said.

"The fact that the monster lives in such an environment should be enough to show how powerful it is," said Lifu.

"Have you not studied these recordings?" asked Old Du.

"This is the empire's highest-level secret. Only his majesty and those from the Sacred Wing race can know about it. This is my first time seeing it," said Lifu.

"Why is there no sound from the scroll?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"Yeah. The audio files of the recordings have been lost. Even the scenes we're looking at are reconstructions from the words of the explorers. The original recordings have all been lost," said Lifu.

"What? Video reconstruction from words?" exclaimed Zhang Bao'er. "I thought they were filmed by the crew on the ground."

"At the same time your eyes see something, your words are recording your sights. That is the theory of five-dimensional technologies," said Lifu.

Zhang Bao'er stuck his tongue out.

'Looks like the Eternals have already grasped five-dimensional technologies. Good thing I didn't decide to let them attack Blue,' I thought inwardly.

"Team Leader, Canyue, come take a look!" Old Du cried out.

We huddled around the scroll and saw that the scroll was displaying a series of white lights. In the midst of the white light, a massive mountain-shaped silhouette could be vaguely seen.

That was where the recordings in the scroll ended.

"What? It's over just like this? Just what kind of a clue is this supposed to be?" Zhang Bao'er complained.

"Even after spending so much time and energy on it, this is all the empire has learned after all these years. Sigh," said Master Crystal.

"There is already a lot of information in this scroll," a voice rang out.

Everyone looked over and saw that it was Dodo.

"Ah, big-brained robot. Come tell us. What did you glean from the scroll?" Zhang Bao'er said.

"The scroll carries several important pieces of information. Firstly, the planet consists of a black substance, resulting in a planet that does not reflect the light from Bellatrix. Its surface temperature is probably low. Also, when I checked, the outer space's temperature here is negative 150 degrees.

"Secondly, the white light we saw was probably the range of the creature's light control. In other words, the area beyond the white light is also the area out of the creature's reach with its control ability.

"Thirdly, a mountain-like silhouette was shown. I had a 3D model of it constructed, and it might be the creature's lair," said Dodo.

"What a surprise. Your robotic brain is quite capable, after all," even Zhang Bao'er was impressed.

"There is still something we don't know. How many of these creatures are there? If there's only one, we can send some robotic scouts to search the planet's surface before landing beyond the creature's range after locating its lair," said Dodo.

"If there is more than one…?" Zhang Bao'er asked.

"Then we can only rely on luck when landing," said Dodo.

"How many of these creatures are there in existence?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"I'm unclear. But I have a rough idea of the landing site. All our previous teams landed in the center of the planet's equator," said Lifu.

Immediately, Fearless's sound wave reflector sounded.

"This reflector will only activate when it encounters something solid," said Old Du.

Everyone looked outside the window, but apart from the blanket of darkness, we could see nothing else.

The reflector was getting louder and louder.

"Team leader, we have arrived at Planet Abyss's coordinates," said Dodo.

"Stop the ship immediately. Stop advancing," commanded Zhang Xingxing urgently.

Dodo immediately had the spaceship stop.

"Is this where your people came before?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"Yes. However, it was never mentioned that the planet would disappear," said Lifu.

"When was the last time a team was here?" asked Master Crystal.

"Five years ago. A team of 15 was here. However, they were wiped out," said Lifu.

"Five years. That is nothing for a planet. Nothing so major should have happened," Master Crystal muttered.

The mood in the ship turned heavy, as though a mountain was pressing down upon us.

"Activate the laser scanners and perform a full scan around the ship," commanded Zhang Xingxing.

"The laser and infrared scanners found nothing. Only the sound wave reflector is reacting," said Dodo.

"How far is the feedback coming from?" Zhang Xingxing asked.

"About 50,000 kilometers," said Dodo.

Everyone looked out the window again. Apart from darkness, nothing could be seen. When I looked at the blue Bellatrix to the left of the ship, a brazen idea suddenly rose in my mind.

"Dodo, have the ship retreat in a straight line for 50,000 kilometers. After that, adjust the front of the ship to directly face Bellatrix. And then, slowly make a full circle around our current location while maintaining the same distance. Keep paying attention to the reflector's feedback," I said.

Dodo looked at Zhang Xingxing. She nodded to indicate her agreement.

"Roger. Dondon, assist me," said Dodo.

As Dondon pressed down a button, the ship started slowly retreating.

"Slowly increase the speed," said Dodo.

The ship gradually increased its speed. About one hour later, the sound wave reflector indicated that we were 100,000 kilometers away from the source of feedback.

"Activating circular movement. Keep the ship facing Bellatrix," said Dodo. Slowly, the ship moved in a circular trajectory.

I was extremely nervous, but my intuition was telling me that I was right. The ship slowly moved in a circular trajectory. After about 10 minutes, a massive black silhouette appeared, blocking the dazzling Bellatrix from our view.

I felt a chill creep up my spine. To have something so massive near us without being able to see it felt the same as having a massive creature staring at you while swimming in the sea.

"My god. Is this Planet Abyss? It blends perfectly with the space around it," exclaimed Zhang Bao'er.

The ship continued circling Planet Abyss, borrowing Bellatrix's light to measure the planet's size.

"Canyue, you're really quite something! How did you determine that the planet was right ahead of us?" Zhang Xingxing praised.

"Natural sixth sense," I joked with a smile.

"Canyue employed the principle of a solar eclipse to look for the planet itself, making use of the fact that the planet would block the starlight. On Blue, this is known as transit photometry," explained Dodo.

"Yes, but transit photometry is usually used on the planets surrounding distant stars. It is quite original that Canyue is using it on a planet so near," said Old Du.

"The Interstellar League does have a lead in observations of the universe when compared to the empire," said Lifu.

"How did your people find and land on this planet previously?" I asked.

"I don't know how they got the coordinates of the planet, but I believe our explorers had directly charged straight toward the coordinates," said Lifu.

"In that case, we should avoid making the same mistake as best as we can," I said.

"The data is out. This planet has a diameter of roughly 8,000 kilometers, about two-thirds of Blue's size," said Dodo.

"Launch the robotic probes according to our data and perform a scan on the planet," said Zhang Xingxing.

"The probes have been launched. They will return in about two hours," said Dodo.

"Alright. Let's wait for the results," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Team leader, I have an idea," I said.

"Just say what you have in mind. Why are you being so formal?" Zhang Bao'er said.

"Just say it," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Planet Abyss has complicated and dangerous terrain. The six teams before us have all perished. We can't let everyone land at once when our chances of succeeding are so low. It's too risky," I said.

"Do you intend to have everyone land in batches?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"I suggest that we send a team down while the rest remain on Fearless on standby while performing support duties," I replied.

"That makes sense. I agree," said Old Du.

"But who are we sending? Everyone would want to play a part in completing this mission," said Zhang Xingxing.

"I already have suitable candidates in mind," I said.