Interstellar Survival: Invasion

We followed Old Du into a different room. The room looked like a workshop; hanging on the walls were all sorts of projectors. Old Du pointed at something that looked like a workbench. There, an empty hexagonal depression could be seen.

"Is this where the prophecy case should be placed?" Zhang Xingxing exclaimed in excitement.

"Yes, and it fits perfectly," said Old Du calmly.

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

The good news came so suddenly we couldn't get used to it. From the workbench, it was clear that the prophecy case was most likely a key to activate something.

"Bao'er, give me the case," I said to Zhang Bao'er.

He gave me the case, and just as I was about to place the case on the workbench, he shouted.

"Canyue, will this cause an earthquake, volcanic eruption, or the appearance of the two-headed monster?" Zhang Bao'er asked.

My heart skipped a beat. Yes, too many odd things had happened in this world. I couldn't convince myself that we would be able to solve this mystery so easily.

I looked at Zhang Xingxing. "Team leader, what do you think? Do we place it?"

After thinking about it, Zhang Xingxing said, "Turn on the shields. Canyue, place it. We'll cover you."

At her command, everyone turned on their shields. I then lightly placed the case into the hexagonal depression.

"Ka, ka, ka, ka," mechanical clicking sounds rang out as the workbench started moving.

"Success!" Zhang Xingxing cried out in excitement.

Everyone grew excited at the prospect of finally unveiling the case's secrets. The workbench shifted and moved, ultimately moving the case into one of the devices in the room. A ray of white light shot out from the device, connecting to the circuit on the wall before moving through the circuit.

Ultimately, the white light ended up in a projection device. The device was spherical in shape and had the appearance of a ball with countless camera lenses. After the white light entered the device, it started spinning rapidly.

"We will have our answers soon. Everyone, pay close attention," said Zhang Bao'er joyfully.

Everyone was waiting expectantly when suddenly, the sound of a machine slowing down rang out. The device slowed down as a purple alarm light blazed.

"Come on. Did it malfunction at such a critical moment?" I complained inwardly. "This is way too lame."

Before long, the spherical device stopped spinning, leaving only the purple alarm to flicker on and off. Everyone sank into silence, and I could see the anxiousness covering Zhang Xingxing's face.

"Old Du, you're the tallest here. Go take a look," I said.

Old Du walked forth and raised his head to get a closer look at the device and the purple light.

"There is a paw-shaped handprint here," Old Du said.

"Handprint?" I asked.

"Yes, and there is a button beside the device. The imprint is on the button. It looks similar to a fingerprint lock," said Old Du.

"Dondon has paws. Is this a lock of the Storm race?" I asked.

"That's possible. Bring Dondon here," said Old Du.

"Dondon is not here. It's still looking at its ancestor in the other room," I said.

"I'll go get Dondon," offered Old Du. He then ran out of the room. In less than a minute, he returned with Dondon.

Old Du lifted Dondon and pressed its paw on the print. But even after trying all four paws, nothing happened.

"Old Du, this isn't right," I said. "This lock belongs to Dondon's ancestor."

At this time, Amethyst ran into the room. "Canyue, come, quick. Something new is happening."

I placed Dondon back into my bag, and we returned to the other room.

"Team leader, Canyue, come. There's a new discovery," said Dodo.

We looked at where the android was pointing and saw a small blue tube behind Plum's glass container. The tube was connected to some sort of machine.

"I already performed a detailed scan. The temperature inside the vacuum container is negative 300 degrees. The air in there is made up of pure solid-state hydrogen that is perfectly transparent. In short, Plum is actually frozen, not hovering," Dodo said.

"Is he hibernating? Why can't we see the solid-state hydrogen at all?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"Yes, the purity of the hydrogen is extremely high. To revive Plum, we need to slowly increase the temperature in the container," said Dodo.

"How should we control the temperature?" I asked.

"We don't have to do it. Everything we need is here. Earlier, I had studied this machine," said Dodo as he pointed at the machine connected to the tiny blue tube. "We only need to activate this machine and we might be able to revive Plum."

"Really? Excellent. How do we turn the machine on?" Xingxing asked impatiently.

"We need energy. Beside the machine are three empty slots where the energy crystals can be inserted. I already scanned one of the existing crystals in the slot. The crystal is made from an element unknown to us," said Dodo as he pointed at the three crystal balls on the ground.

I picked up one of them and studied it. It was perfectly round, and at the top, bottom, left, and right of the crystal were tiny round holes, seemingly there to allow the flow of energy. Without any energy, the ball was silvery white in color.

"Where can we get the energy? There's no clue about that at all," said Zhang Bao'er.

"There's no need for any clue. I know where we can get the energy," I replied calmly.

Everyone looked at me, awaiting my answer.

I pointed at the lava lake. "Terror Island's lava lake is the energy source. We need to look for the correct spot to harness the energy and charge the energy spheres with the energy of Sirius B's core. We will then be able to revive Plum."

Everyone grew excited at the idea, especially Zhang Xingxing who looked exceptionally joyful that we were getting closer and closer to solving this riddle. After so long, after so many difficulties, success was finally before us. We were at the final step.

"I'm curious about one thing. When we landed, we searched around for a long while without being able to find a suitable landing site. If so, where should we go to harness the lava lake's energy?" asked Dodo, the sole person who remained calm when everyone else was busy getting excited.

Dodo's question was simple yet critical. Everyone sank into silence.

"Comb through the entire ship and see if we can find any other clues," Zhang Xingxing commanded.

Everyone split up and started searching as ordered. After half an hour, we reconvened and confirmed that nothing was found. We had reached an impasse. Everyone sank into deep thought, trying to think of a way to harness the energy here.

"I'll go search outside one more time with Zhang Bao'er," I volunteered.

"Have your little Storm come sniff this ball before you go. This ball must have been charged at least once before," Titan suddenly said.

Zhang Bao'er took out Dondon from my bag. The little fellow then sniffed the energy ball and started pawing at it, leaving blue footprints on the energy ball. The footprints glowed, but the energy ball itself remained dormant.

"This fellow thinks the ball is a toy. I doubt we can count on this thing that is acting like a cat," grumbled Zhang Bao'er.

Suddenly, a clang rang out when Dondon accidentally pushed the ball onto the ground. The ball landed loudly before rolling onto the corner of the room.

"Little guy, what if you broke it?" complained Zhang Bao'er.

As a response, Dondon hissed defiantly at Zhang Bao'er.

"Canyue, look! Something is different with the ball!" Old Du's voice rang out.

I turned around and saw Old Du holding the ball in his hand. The part that had faced the ground when it dropped was now shining. A pattern akin to a spiderweb spread around the ball as the ball turned bright red. The pattern was black, and the very middle of the pattern was connected to the inside of the ball. At the bottom of the pattern was a flickering purple sun.

"A map! This must be a map containing the location we can harness energy. Dondon actually found us a map! This ball will only activate from the footprint of a Storm and an intense collision," I cried out.

"Why is your Dondon so lucky all the time?" said Zhang Bao'er.

I couldn't be bothered to reply. "Dodo, analyze the map and pinpoint the location."

"I already performed a full scan of the island before entering. The map refers to a spot about three kilometers from us, halfway up the northwest mountain," said Dodo.

"That must be where we can harness the energy," said Zhang Xingxing. "The answer is really before us this time."

Dodo then had Dondon repeat what it did earlier to the two other balls.

"Old Du, Zhang Bao'er, and I will each take a ball to the three spots. Xingxing and Dodo can stay here and provide support through the communication channel," I said.

"Old Du can stay. I'll go. I know my fish, Little Snow, better," said Zhang Xingxing.

'So Xingxing had named her fish Little Snow,' I mused inwardly.

"It's better if I go. You're the team leader. You should stay here to retain command over the mission. Your task is much more important than ours," said Old Du calmly.

"I agree. Remember the principle of optimal selection? Xingxing, I hope you can provide us with the required support," I said.

In truth, apart from her suit, Xingxing had nothing else that could actually provide us with support. I might not be a supporter of the optimal selection principle, but I did not want her to take risks if I was being honest with myself. Thus, this was the perfect timing to hide behind the shield of the optimal selection principle the league favored.

"Fine. Be careful. You have to return safely," said Zhang Xingxing with concern.

"Don't worry. We will complete the mission," I said.

Seeing the concern she showed, the fear in my heart vanished, replaced by heroism.

"Canyue, Old Du, Bao'er, remember to pay close attention to the potential two-headed monster outside. That fellow has yet to show itself. Something isn't right. Be very careful," Dodo replied.

"Thank you, friends. Prepare to set off!" I declared loudly.

Blueflash, Toruk, and Little Snow had recovered much of their stamina after their short rest. They carried the three of us on their backs. After taking one final look at the ones staying behind, I lifted Dondon, turned on my shield, and took off.