Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The ship moved quickly. Because Vampire was equipped with a top-notch Black Mamba 130 engine, its speed of advancement was around twenty percent faster than normal warships. It rushed to the outskirts of the Poison Scorpion Swamp military base three days before the escort fleet arrived.
Halleh was very quiet along the way, hiding in his room and rarely going out. He would only occasionally chat with Xia Fei during mealtimes. Mingjing was still thrown into the warehouse by Xia Fei, with the little robot Dou taking care of her daily needs.
Dou Dou was very caring toward this little girl, helping her bathe, comb her hair, and change her clothes. Xia Fei once went to the warehouse to take a look. Through Dou Dou's careful care, Mingjing more or less looked like a human girl. She had her long golden hair coiled up and was wearing Xia Fei's outdated white shirt as she curled up in a corner, a worried look on her face.
In truth, Xia Fei also felt a little sorry for her. Meeting a human in insectoid territory was always a happy occasion. Mingjing was a mute, and with her pitiful appearance, who knew how many tears of sympathy she would garner?
However, Xia Fei's vigilance quickly masked this emotion. Xia Fei might not kill her now, but he would not easily trust her.
In short, Xia Fei no longer hated Mingjing. The little robot Dou was very perceptive, bringing Mingjing three times a day, asking her questions, all of which were related to humans and the Alliance.
Xia Fei no longer brushed her off like he did in the past. Instead, he earnestly answered Mingjing's questions. He even saved several books in Mingjing's electronic notebook for her to read in her spare time.
Her electronic notebook was made using insectoid technology, and it was not compatible with the Pan-Human Alliance's equipment. Xia Fei had spent a total of twenty minutes modifying it, and for the usually busy and nervous Xia Fei, this was already a great deal of care.
Books were humanity's best friend. This saying was not false at all. Xia Fei, who had once been a poor student, had relied on reading to become an expert in electronics, machinery, warships, and other fields. Through reading, Mingjing had also gained some understanding of human life.
However, this only made her even more curious about Xia Fei. Every day, she hoped that Xia Fei would come to the warehouse to see her. Alas, ever since the last time Xia Fei nodded at her, he had not appeared again.
One could not leave too deep of an impression on the enemy. This was a creed that all warriors understood. Mingjing, at least for now, was still his enemy. Thus, Xia Fei resolutely carried out what he needed to do, maintaining his distance from her and preventing them from getting to know each other.
What he did not know was that Lil Pea would often show Mingjing scenes of Xia Fei's life and battles to satisfy her curiosity. Poor Xia Fei, the more he tried to fade his existence, the harder it was for him to do so. Gradually, the figure in Mingjing's heart became clearer and more profound.
…
Halleh walked out of the room and went to the command deck, where he saw Xia Fei standing in front of the porthole, looking at the dense crowd of warships in the distance. Because they were relatively close, he could clearly see those giant capital ships in Venoscorpion Swamp.
Halleh frowned and stepped forward. "We're too close to the military base now. It's better to keep some distance just in case. Although your battleship can turn invisible and my Darkness Esper can cover it, it's not safe."
In truth, it was mainly the Estamel's cloaking system that allowed them to remain undetected at such a close distance. As for Halleh's Darkness Esper ability, it only gave the ship an additional layer of protection. It could not block energy fluctuations or electronic signals, merely a visual and ability shield.
Xia Fei nodded. "I'm getting this close to observe the movements of the base. You insectoids truly aren't simple. After sending several thousand fleets into the Pan-human Alliance, you still have so many capital ships."
Halleh said, "These flaunting fellows are the blood and sweat of the common people. The insectoids have worked hard for thousands of years to create so many steel monsters. The insectoids' territory and population far surpass the Pan-human Alliance's, and they're also single-mindedly focused on developing their military. In this war, they naturally have the upper hand. In truth, I hope that these aren't warships, but a glorious culture and history like yours. In the history of the insectoids, there's probably nothing worth writing about other than war."
His finger lightly pressed a few buttons on the control panel, and Vampire flew farther and farther away from this star system filled with warships.
"Have you determined the rendezvous coordinates?" Xia Fei asked.
Halleh shook his head. "Old Qing is still working on it, but it's not easy to find out about core secrets like this. Uti's a very vigilant person, and anyone he doesn't think is reliable will never be able to enter this level."
Xia Fei nodded. "We have to be quick. There's only forty-eight hours left."
…
Time passed, and the escort fleet was getting closer and closer to their arrival, but Qingliu was still unable to obtain the rendezvous coordinates.
It must be understood that warships could warp fifty thousand lightyears at a time. If the escort fleet was not planning to rendezvous with their brethren at the base, the vast space around them would become their temporary anchorage. Unless they had the exact coordinates, even if they discovered the escort fleet, they would find it very difficult to catch up to them.
Halleh grew more and more anxious. He paced back and forth in the command deck, constantly looking at the encrypted communicator in his hand as he waited for news from Qingliu. Meanwhile, Xia Fei was sitting in front of a computer analyzing some data, his expression focused.
"There's only six hours left! What's Old Qing doing?! We still don't know the exact coordinates of the rendezvous point. What should we do? "Halleh anxiously asked.
Xia Fei indifferently replied, "There's no rush. The escort ships from Venoscorpion Swamp Base haven't made a move yet."
Halleh replied, "They have the coordinates, so they only need a few warps to reach the rendezvous point. Of course, they're not in a rush. If we don't know the coordinates and use follow-up tactics, we'll lose the initiative."
He walked up to Xia Fei and saw that the screen was filled with time and numbers. A timer was constantly jumping, calculating when the escort fleet would arrive.
"What's this?" Halleh curiously asked.
"The Venoscorpion Swamp Base fleet will send out patrol ships every once in a while to patrol the area. This is the record of their patrol."
"What's the point of looking at this?"
Xia Fei raised his head and glanced at him. Smiling, he said, "The escort is a highly confidential mission, and Uti places great importance on this matter. If I were the commander of this base, I would definitely be very nervous. As for the location where the escort fleet will be docked, they'll pay even more attention to it. Perhaps they'll send a few more scouting ships to patrol. If I can find a place that's being patrolled more frequently than in the past twenty-four hours, it means that it's a last-minute change and not part of the original plan."
Halleh was startled. Xia Fei's words were true. The military always had a fixed plan for patrolling, and the routes and ships would rarely change. If a place was suddenly being patrolled, it could only mean that it was being heavily monitored! There was a high chance that it was where the escort fleet would be docked!
"How is it? Did you find anything? " Halleh sternly asked, feeling some admiration for Xia Fei's meticulousness. It turned out that Xia Fei had already planned what to do if Qingliu could not get the coordinates.
Xia Fei nodded. "In the past twenty-four hours, Venoscorpion Swamp Base has been patrolling more intensely than before. There are three places where the number of patrols has increased. The closest one is sixty-seven thousand lightyears away, and the furthest one is one hundred and forty thousand lightyears away. They're all large uninhabited areas that can accommodate a fleet."
"Three places?!" Halleh muttered to himself. "That's rather strange."
As he spoke, the radar system suddenly detected the movement of the Venoscorpion Swamp Base's fleet!
The dot indicated that three fleets had simultaneously set off from the base, each heading in a different direction, their composition identical!
Xia Fei clenched his teeth. "Uti's truly cautious. He's so cautious even in his own territory, even using the Disorienting Formation!"
Halleh somewhat helplessly said, "Isn't this all because of you? Ever since you used that unknown super bomb to destroy half a star system, Uti has become even more cautious, afraid that you'll use the same trick again."
Phantom said, "With three fleets setting off at the same time, no matter which one you follow, you'll only have a one in three chance. Forget about that mysterious treasure; just take this chance to blow up this damn base! That many warships will be enough to make Uti's heart ache. "
Xia Fei shook his head. "Look, all the warships are spread out in a fan shape, and only a few are near the port, while the rest are spread out to the periphery of the star system. Even a Star of Ruin will only be able to destroy a twelfth of the fleet, unable to damage them at all. I'm sure that Uti intentionally arranged this."
"I only have two Stars of Ruin on hand, and I'll need to save them for the most crucial moment."
Phantom cursed. Uti was the smartest insectoid king in all of history. His intelligence was extremely high, and he had a knack for arranging his troops. The reason why the Venoscorpion Swamp Base had arranged such a strange formation was clearly to target Xia Fei.
"The reinforcement fleet has already set off. What should we do?" Halleh anxiously asked.
Xia Fei lowered his head and looked at the radar for several minutes before smiling and pointing at one of the fleets. "Just follow it."
* Whoosh ~ *
Vampire unhurriedly followed this fleet, and after three warps, it arrived 140,000 lightyears away. This was the location that Xia Fei had previously focused on monitoring.
Halleh was depressed for a long time before he asked, "How can you be so sure that this fleet is the real reinforcement fleet?"
Xia Fei casually answered, "Setting off six hours in advance means that the reinforcement fleet will be heading to a location between one and five warps away. The first two locations require two warps, which means that it will take two hours to reach. Only this location will take three hours to reach. If it's a two-hour journey, isn't setting off six hours in advance a little too impatient?"
Halleh was speechless. Xia Fei's reason was not unreasonable, but he still felt that something was missing.
Xia Fei stood up, leaving Halleh behind as he headed for the warship control room alone.
This was the place responsible for the maintenance of combat equipment. Xia Fei took out a Star of Ruin and installed it in a torpedo before carefully installing it in the very front of the launcher.
When the fleet arrived, if Xia Fei found that he had no chance of infiltrating, he would not hesitate to use this ultimate bomb and destroy the escort fleet in one fell swoop! He would rather die in glory than live in dishonor!
It was just that Xia Fei did not want to do this. After all, that mysterious object was extremely attractive to Xia Fei, and he was not willing to do this unless he had no other choice.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
