Age of Cosmic Exploration

Chapter 150: Tricked!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ying led Zhang Heng, Ren Tao, Ebon, Liu Bai, and 5 Survivors, so 10 Black Star troopers in total, to the surface in the shuttle on the 3rd day after the activation of the creator’s particle. It was dusk and thus the time to take over the surveillance shift from Ye Mu’s unit.

As Ye Mu was getting on the shuttle to return to the Hope, Zhang Heng ran to catch up to her. "I’ve spent years looking for you. Now that we finally meet, are you seriously going to ignore me?" Zhang Heng asked.

Ye Mu turned to glance at Zhang Heng. Born of an Asian-European heritage, Ye Mu had exotic and handsome features. A short scar ran in the middle of her brow, but instead of ruining her face, it lent her an air of valiance. She replied lightly, "Is there anything you need from me, Lieutenant?"

A self-conscious Zhang Heng mumbled as if to himself, "I’ve been meaning to thank you. If not for your help a few years ago on the meteorite base, I wouldn’t be standing here today. I meant to find you to thank you personally after I woke up at the hospital..."

A faint blush rose to Ye Mu’s face. She interjected, "I’m sorry, but that was so long ago that I’ve forgotten all about it already. Is there anything else, Lieutenant?"

Zhang Heng stared blankly at Ye Mu for an extended period of time before sighing. "No, there’s nothing else. I’ll get out of your unit’s way now."

Ye Mu saluted and led her team to the shuttle without a backward glance.

Zhang Heng stood watching the shuttle drift away. After some time, he heard Ebon’s mocking laugh beside him. Then he felt a harsh slap on his shoulder before Ebon’s baritone voice drifted down. "Actually, we knew you’ve been searching for her all these years, but... since Ol’ Wong said she’s not a good pair for you, we’ve been keeping it under wraps. You only have yourself to blame since you couldn’t pick up the courage to ask any of us or to directly flip through the army log."

"What do you mean by not a good pair?" Zhang Heng questioned.

Ebon’s tone turned serious. "She’s an elite soldier of an Eastern European sect. They were trained to kill since they were young. It’s a miracle that she still has traces of humanity left... Don’t look so shocked. Many of us from the old Black Star Unit are just like her. With the exception of Ol’ Captain and Ol’ Wong, our lives are spent killing. Our brains are wired to think like a humanized weapon. And she’s just the same..."

"...I heard she has a brother," Zhang Heng said to no one in particular.

"That person is technically not her brother." Unexpectedly, it was Ying who came over to explain. He added in an uncharacteristically gentle voice, "The guy is the son of her former comrade. She fell during one of their skirmishes. The guy’s mother died to save Ye Mu’s life, so ever since, she has been taking care of the guy on her behalf."

"But the person is too close to her age to be her adopted son! Don’t tell me... she’s already in her fifties?!" Zhang Heng exclaimed.

Ying shook his head. "When she joined the Hope, she was only 21, and the guy was 17. I heard that she adopted him when he was only 8, so yes, they’re more like siblings than parent and child."

"17? That means she has been his sole caretaker for... 9 years. Since she was 12? How does a 12-year-old managed to do all that..." Zhang Heng said disbelievingly. However, he looked at Ebon’s and Ying’s serious expressions and knew that they weren’t kidding.

"That’s right. She joined her sect when she was 10. No wonder she has such an imposing aura. Call it the shared intuition of the predator, but whenever she’s close by, I get unconsciously alert. Many others in the military have told me the same," Ebon added.

(So she... had her first taste of killing when she was 10. I can’t imagine what her life’s like...) Ying addressed him. "Zhang Heng, don’t take this the wrong way, but even though you’re part of the Black Star unit, deep down in our hearts, we all know that you belong to a world different than ours. I would die for you, but there’s just a gap that it’s impossible to cross. Girls like Ning Xue and Mao Miao belong to your world; you guys share the same world vision. Know your boundaries, or else it’ll be you that will end up getting hurt, understood?"

Zhang Heng balled his hands together, but he uttered no retort. Within his heart, other than the previous appreciation and curiosity about this woman by the name of Ye Mu, a new sense of empathy emerged.

Then everyone went back to work. The surveillance unit was tasked with taking pictures of Moon 2 at 30 minute intervals, while the rest was spent lying on the grass waiting for stuff to happen. So far, the diagnostic on the planet’s atmosphere and virus was still progressing, so the team had to be in spacesuits because no one was allowed to have direct contact with the planet’s environs for the sake of safety.

The true enemy of the day was boredom. Time was spent literally staring at clouds in the sky. Even though the spacesuits came with 1 TB storage, making it possible to upload movies or music into it, no one dared to do so for fear of Ying’s wrath. When the situation required it, Ying could be more heartless than Yao Yuan, and no one dared to test the extent of his wrath.

Time whiled away until it was almost midnight and the team started to nod off. The only person fully awake was Ying. To preserve his energy, he only used his seeker’s power during the photo sessions that occurred every 30 minutes. Regardless, it was impressive that Ying had managed to maintain full alertness while everyone else, including those who weren’t using their powers, were already leaden with tiredness.

Zhang Heng found himself drifting into his dream when he was suddenly assaulted with a tense warning. He shot up into a seated position so drastically that the gun that sat in his grasp flew out into the air.

"Danger! Everyone be prepared, danger incoming!" Zhang Heng yelled at the top of his lungs.

The rest of his team came to their senses immediately. No one doubted Zhang Heng’s capability as the Diviner. Ying reacted the fastest; with an arch of his body, he sprung up to train his gun at the sky as he activated his power. He whispered, "Where’s the danger? From the sky? Around us? Is it the mutated meat ball? Or a threat from this planet?"

Zhang Heng had paled considerably. His eyes wandered their surrounding aimlessly, adding, "Not from the sky, it’s coming from around us. I’ve never felt so disgusted in my life. I feel like I’m being slimed all over with guts, blood, and offal. The feeling also won’t recede."

With that, everyone knew what he was referring to... the meat thing on Moon 2!

Ying whipped his head upwards. The sky was empty, not even a cloud in sight. With his seeker’s power, he could see the creatures still crowding the meat monster on Moon 2; they were inactive. He yelled, "Everyone return to the shuttle, but don’t let your guard down. Liu Bai, I need you to take a look at Zhang Heng; he’s not doing so well. Ren Tao, tell me, what do I need to do now?"

Ren Tao issued a bitter laugh. "Why does every single one of you sound like Yao Yuan? I can’t help you if we don’t know anything, okay?"

Ying glared at Ren Tao and shouted, "Ebon, come with me! Ren Tao’s right, we need information. Where is the source of malice, how will the enemies from Moon 2 appear? There are too many unknowns... Liu Bai, you need to bring Zhang Heng back to the Hope. Then report to Yao Yuan immediately and tell him we need back up!"

Liu Bai saluted and carried the limp Zhang Heng in his arms as they rushed towards the shuttle.

The expressions of the 5 Survivors instantly soured. The shuttle was their only way back; if there was apparent danger, why couldn’t all of them just retreat? Now they were trapped.

As if reading their minds, Ren Tao warned, "Don’t even dare to think of running. This hole is the only way to reach the Hope. If there is an actual alien threat, we’ll have to keep this entrance safe with our lives. Don’t you guys get it? If this entrance is lost, all our families and friends will die trapped in the ship!"

Simultaneously, he ran to the shuttle and yelled, "Liu Bai, tell Yao Yuan, we were tricked! The creature on Moon 2 had already sent over its underlings when the sun was still high in the sky. Their traces were covered by the planets’ rotation. We forgot to account for the back of the moon that was hidden during the day."

Liu Bai didn’t verbally respond, but he waved his hands to signal that he had heard Ren Tao. 10 seconds later, the shuttle door closed and it descended down the hole.

Ebon and Ying scanned their surroundings with their weapons out. Ying had a Gaussian sniper rifle, and strapped onto his back was an electromagnetic sawblade. Ebon had a mini Gaussian rail cannon in his hands and a sawblade on his back. However, to match his size, Ebon’s sawblade was so ludicrously big that it looked like a cardboard cutout.

Before the pair could begin their recon, they found themselves blanketed by shadows. Under the 2 moons’ weak light, the shadows materialized into monstrous silhouettes... Their attackers had sturdy exoskeletons, scythe-like claws, and mouths that extended to 6 gaping cavities. The smaller among them was about 1 meter tall, while the bigger ones were more than 6 meters in height. There were more than a million of them, and each one occupied a different form... "As Black Stars!" Ying yelled.

"For life or for death!"

Came Ebon’s lonely echo before it was drowned out by the artillery sound of his rail cannon!