Interstellar Survival: Invasion

"Then, how do you intend to get through this door?" asked Dodo.

"Sarje, with all the martial arts you've learned, how good are you at precision?" I asked.

"I can't say I have a precision of 100 percent, but I can confidently say that I will hit my target 90 percent of the time," said Sarje. He had been listening to our conversation, so he had been quick to reply.

"Good. Aim your staff at the middle of this door and keep striking a single spot. See if you can damage a part of the circuits inside," I ordered, pointing at the part where the door's two frames meet.

Sarje immediately stepped forth with his staff to carry out my order.

"Wait," Old Du said. "Canyue, if Sarje hits the door with his staff, the noise will attract the beasts' attention. They might not have found us yet. It will always be better for us to stay hidden than to be exposed."

Dodo said, "Yeah. Maybe they aren't even sure there are intruders yet. The only thing they know for sure is Temo's disappearance. If we make too much noise, even if we can escape this pipe, it will only make our goal of sabotaging the production of the superweapon much harder."

Their reminder made me realize that I had nearly created a big blunder. This lapse in judgment was probably caused by the anxiousness that I had been feeling since the start of this mission.

"We'll put that plan on hold since it won't work. But we still need to open this door," I said, admitting the mistake I had made.

Anxashe walked up to us.

"Deputy Commander Canyue, how is the progress on the door? All the bombs have been planted. The enemies have gathered in the room we hid in previously. They're searching for the hidden exit. We keep hearing knocking sounds. This pipe will probably be found in a few minutes," said Anxashe.

"We still don't have a way to open the door without exposing ourselves," I said helplessly.

"Why don't you let him try?" Anxashe pointed at Temo, whose mouth was covered.

Realization struck me when I heard Anxashe's words. All of us were busy thinking of a solution, completely forgetting the Sacred Wing official we had with us. He definitely knew a lot about this planet, and he might even know how to open the door.

"Temo, can you open the door for us? If you can, I promise we will release you after completing our mission," I said.

Temo looked at me with an odd glint in his eyes. Ultimately, he blinked, seemingly signaling that he agreed. Seeing that, I removed the strip of cloth covering his mouth. At the same time, Anxashe raised his bow and arrow behind Temo, seemingly prepared to deal him a fatal blow the moment he screamed for help.

The moment the cloth was removed from his mouth, Temo complained, "Remove the strips of cloth around my hands as well. How am I supposed to open a door with my hands tied, you lowly beings?" 

I could understand why he would be displeased after having his mouth covered for so long. I hurriedly helped relieve him of his bindings.

Temo stood up and asked, "Do your words count?" 

"Of course. That is a promise," I said solemnly.

With my promise, Temo walked up to the door. He reached out with both hands and pressed down on both frames of the door. The moment the door's sleek surface came in contact with Temo's palms, flowing electrical currents appeared on it. Green currents coursed out of Temo's palms in a certain pattern and spread across the door's surface. In a short while, the green currents had spread through the entire door. With a hiss, the door slowly slid open.

"My god. So his palms are basically the key to the lock. Why didn't you say anything if it was so simple?" exclaimed Dodo.

"You stupid robot. Why don't you try speaking with your mouth covered?" Temo derided.

"I can still speak with a covered mouth. My voice generator is actually in my abdomen, not my mouth," said Dodo with a smile. Temo had not thought his retort through, allowing someone of a so-called lower civilization to talk back to him.

Naturally, Temo's face turned ugly upon realizing that someone he regarded as a lower being had won an argument against him.

"Anxashe, have Zhang Bao'er remove all our planted bombs. We need to stay hidden. Afterward, have him join us behind this door," I ordered.

Anxashe rushed off with my order. The others started moving through the door. It was pitch-black behind the door, to the point we couldn't even see our own fingers. Beside me, Old Du hurriedly opened his flashlight.

"Temo, can you turn on the light here?" I asked, learning from my previous lesson of disregarding Temo.

I heard a satisfied grunt from Temo. He waved at Old Du to light the way for him, and he turned on the room's light with the control panel beside the door. A green source of light appeared above us. Although it wasn't exactly bright, it provided enough light for us to see our surroundings.

After giving my eyes several seconds to adapt, I started studying my surroundings. The room was peculiar; it was filled with numerous large pipes connecting to a massive rhombus-shaped machine.

Dodo and I stepped forth to observe the machine. The machine was in the center of the room. The numerous pipes propped it up, allowing it to stand about 10 meters from the ground. A loud sound was constantly coming from within the machine.

"What do you have inside this thing? What is the purpose of this thing?" I asked Temo.

"Pitiful lowly beings. It's better you don't know this. With your level of intelligence, you will only damage this grand piece of technology," said Temo, still as arrogant as ever.

"Canyue, is this guy reciting a poem or something? Why does he sound so odd when speaking? Maybe he needs me to beat him up," said Zhang Bao'er, who had returned from his job of removing the planted bombs.

Something peculiar happened. After all of us entered the room, the door closed shut again.

"Bao'er, be polite. I'm asking Temo some questions," I said.

"This room is part of the energy system powering this planet. A powerful special substance is being used to provide the energy required to construct the superweapon," said Temo, who was pleased to see me defending him.

"Special substance? Can you be clearer?" asked Dodo politely.

Temo shot Dodo a glance before looking at the rhombus-shaped machine. He then sighed.

Zhang Bao'er said, "You're acting up again. Be aware that there is a limit to my patience!" 

In fact, Zhang Bao'er was even more curious about this place than me. He had merely been too stubborn to admit it.

Temo abruptly faced the sky and prayed, "Seniors and elders of the Sacred Wing race, today, I have unfortunately fallen into the hands of some inferior life forms despite the so-called strict protection of Fille's imperial clan. My noble life is under threat, and I am forced to expose the secret of a star-level civilization. Elders, please understand my position. I do not fear death, but it will be regrettable if the noble knowledge in my brain can no longer be used to help the Sacred Wing race reach a greater height of technological advancement. Thus, I have no choice but to share some of my knowledge with these inferior life forms, allowing them to take a glimpse into the secret of the Sacred Wing God."

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Zhang Bao'er rushed forth to give Temo a beating, but he was stopped by Old Du.

Even as Old Du held him down, Zhang Bao'er still continued to roar, "Just admit that you fear for your life. Why create such a lie to excuse your cowardice? How hilarious. I can't take this anymore. I need to teach you a lesson on how a proper person should behave."

"Violence is the only thing an inferior life form like you is capable of. I am not a person; thus, I don't need to behave like a person. I am a member of the superior Sacred Wing race," said Temo, who seemed to be infuriated by Zhang Bao'er's words.

"Zhang Bao'er, if you keep shouting, you'll be on watch duty outside the door," I quickly said when I saw that the situation was going out of control due to rising tempers.

"Great Temo, that's the kind of person Zhang Bao'er is. Don't mind him. The rest of us absolutely adore you. We're all waiting to learn from your noble star-level civilization," said Dodo, who seemed infatuated with the promise of high-level knowledge.

"This special substance is only a millimeter in length. It is stored in this rhombus-shaped device. In the device, there is a special vessel forged from a material extracted from a white dwarf. Only a vessel like this can contain such a substance," said Temo, saying something so surprising he instantly had all our attention.

"A vessel forged from the extracts of a white dwarf? How do you even begin to extract something like that? And just what kind of substance needs to be stored in such a vessel?" asked Dodo.

"Robot, you ask too much. This is truly the standard behavior of someone from an inferior civilization," said Temo, who started feeling all superior again. One ought to admit that all Jidos behaved the same, likely due to their genetics, regardless of how technologically advanced they were. This only served to prove that no life form could escape the mysterious grasp of the Creator.

"You only need to answer the question," I said, helping to alleviate the awkwardness Dodo was feeling.

"The substance came from a super black hole, and it contains a massive amount of energy. Something with a length of only a millimeter is enough to devour an entire planet. Thus, only a vessel forged from the extracts of a white dwarf can contain it," said Temo.

"Super black hole? Are you referring to a bigger-than-average black hole? And how does one begin to extract this substance from a black hole?" asked Anxashe. At this point, he was completely awed by what Temo had said and was basically presenting himself to receive more insults from Temo.

"That's why inferior life forms like you are only worthy of being soldiers. Emperor Fille has all of you completely within his grasp," said Temo with disdain. At this point, it was no longer surprising that Temo would speak with such derision.

However, Anxashe was sufficiently awed that he did not lose his temper like Zhang Bao'er. Rather, he continued waiting for Temo's answer with a devout look on his face.

"The so-called super black hole refers to a black hole that is not only massive but also active. It is a high-energy black hole with a high level of activity. As a result, it houses a source of energy too powerful for words to describe," said Temo.

Dodo blurted, "You're referring to a quasar?"