Chapter 498 - 430: The Final Crisis (Part 2)

Chapter 498: Chapter 430: The Final Crisis (Part 2)

Hm?

Just then, Guan Tong made another discovery.

Through their shared vision, he saw traces gradually appearing on the tangible Shadow, like spots left behind by scorching.

’Are these caused by cosmic rays?’

Guan Tong thought to himself that the various cosmic rays, radiation, extreme cold, and vacuum of space were all fatal to humans. That was why astronauts had to wear meticulously designed protective spacesuits for any extravehicular activity.

His Shadow wasn’t a human body, and while it was immune to certain types of harm a person would suffer, it was still susceptible to things like cosmic radiation.

After this test, Guan Tong dematerialized the tangible Shadow in space and retracted it.

He concluded that his Shadow was usable in space but subject to numerous limitations, like planetary Gravity and cosmic rays. As it stood, the strength of his Shadow was still insufficient for the space environment.

This updated his understanding.

He believed this realization was more important than any increase in Sublimation Coins or Psychic Power.

He’d always had a premonition that the Fire Thief would, sooner or later, issue rules related to outer space and other planets.

In his opinion, it was essential to learn about it and prepare in advance.

Not long after he retracted his Shadow, he received an update from Zhang Minglu.

"We have news!" Zhang Minglu appeared on screen, his face a mixture of excitement and worry. "According to the surveillance video, after the Crimson Fear receded, the woman from Lu Rui Country screamed, ’They’re gone! I’m finally free!’ and then passed out!"

"’They’..."

"This means your theory was correct. But..."

Zhang Minglu gave a wry smile.

"It’s just that she passed out, like many trauma victims. That means Robert has probably passed out, too. This doesn’t solve the problem, because he already set the spacecraft’s course."

Guan Tong said, "So, you’re saying that even if he’s unconscious in the cockpit, Dream Ship One will still head for us at its set speed and trajectory?"

"Yes." It was Vilanko who spoke. He had also appeared on the screen, his expression grave.

"We tried to contact Robert but couldn’t get through. If this isn’t stopped, the two spacecraft will collide in just over thirty hours."

"..."

"We could force the Imperial Pioneers to turn back, but that carries its own risks," Vilanko said. "Either way, changing the Dream Boat’s flight settings is the best-case scenario."

The three of them fell silent.

A moment later, Zhang Minglu’s phone rang. It was a call from the Strategy Research Room.

He took the call and quickly hung up, then turned to inform Vilanko, "Let’s head back. We must ensure Guan Tong’s safety."

"...If we do that, even if our return is successful, your Dream Boat is certain to be destroyed—by missiles."

Without the Imperial Pioneers as a target, if Dream Ship One continues on its original flight path, it will fall directly toward Celestial Water Star.

If they were lucky, it would crash in the ocean or an uninhabited area of a ruined nation. If they were unlucky, and it landed in a densely populated major city of a Human Federation member state, the consequences would be utterly unacceptable.

To be safe, the Human Federation would be inclined to launch a barrage of missiles to destroy it before it landed.

"North Star can accept the loss of the Dream Boat. I imagine what Director Vilanko is truly worried about isn’t the spacecraft, but your agency’s own Robert, who’s on board."

A corner of Vilanko’s mouth twitched in tacit agreement.

The fact that Robert had been sent as the mission leader for a space colonization task proved he was the Soloma Space Agency’s most outstanding astronaut.

As the director, Vilanko had likely worked with Robert a great deal in the past; perhaps the two were even close friends. For both professional and personal reasons, he certainly didn’t want Robert, who was presumably still alive, to be blown to pieces by missiles.

But no matter what he thought, he had no power to make the final decision. Whether to force the Imperial Pioneers to turn back was a decision to be made by the higher-ups of North Star and Soloma. Since the Strategy Research Room had called, it meant the two sides had already come to an agreement.

"In that case, let’s begin preparations..."

Just then, Guan Tong suddenly spoke up, "How can we stop the Dream Boat from moving forward?"

"The commands have to be changed on the Dream Boat’s main operations console. Remote control is impossible because the Dream Boat is currently running with the highest level of authorization," Vilanko said.

"In other words, to stop it, someone has to get inside the Dream Boat."

Vilanko was stunned for a moment. Beside him, Zhang Minglu said in shock, "Guan Tong, are you thinking of going over there? That’s impossible! We considered this problem long ago. Someone even suggested using Teleportation Items to get inside the spacecraft. But first of all, Teleportation Items are completely useless in space. The reason is that there are no fixed coordinates in the universe, only relative positions!"

Snapping back to his senses, Vilanko also frowned. "Mr. Guan, your idea is too impractical. The Dream Boat is currently traveling at full speed. Do you know how fast that is? Plus, that extreme velocity is made unstable by the effects of Gravity. It would be impossible for even the most skilled astronaut to board it."

Guan Tong nodded.

He really didn’t know much about astronautics.

His idea hadn’t been to use a Teleportation Item, as Zhang Minglu had suggested. He had been thinking of using his Body Shifting ability to somehow get one of his Psychic Power constructs onto the Dream Boat.

But after hearing what Zhang Minglu and Vilanko said, it seemed a bit unrealistic. The spacecraft was moving too fast; a miss by an inch would be a miss by a mile. It would be extremely difficult for his Shadow or any other Psychic Power creation to make contact.

Besides, trying something like that in space was far too dangerous.

Risking his life to investigate the Crimson Fear was one thing, but risking it for an astronaut he didn’t even know and a single spacecraft was something else entirely.

Success with the former could not only save many people but also grant him access to some of the underlying secrets of the Apocalypse Rules, which was why Guan Tong had been willing to take the risk.

As for the latter...

Guan Tong abandoned his original idea and said, "I understand. In that case, let’s prepare to turn back."

"Director!"

Just then, an urgent shout came from off-screen. Vilanko turned his head and saw it was the team leader responsible for contacting Robert.

"What is it?"

"We’ve received a reply from Robert! He says he has recovered and wishes to have a video call with you, Director!"

Vilanko was overjoyed. "That’s wonderful! Patch the call through here immediately!"

"Wait!" Zhang Minglu cut in. "Director Vilanko, calm down. I don’t think this is right."

"Requesting a video call is indeed suspicious," Guan Tong, who had been listening from his screen, added. "Don’t forget, he’s very likely the ’source of transmission’ for the Crimson Fear."

Vilanko looked hesitant. "But didn’t the woman from Lu Rui Country prove that everything is fine?"

Zhang Minglu immediately corrected him, "No, she didn’t prove anything. She passed out after the Crimson Fear subsided and hasn’t had contact with anyone during that time—who’s to say she isn’t still a source of transmission!"

A chill ran down Vilanko’s spine, and goosebumps broke out all over his body. "So you’re saying Robert might be deceiving us? To spread the Crimson Fear through the video feed?"

"We can’t rule out that possibility," Guan Tong said.

After the Nanomite Swarm Intelligence left Celestial Water Star, the piece of the Nanomite Swarm in his hand could still perform its decomposition effect.

After the main body of the Wailing Furnace was devoured, who could guarantee that the woman from Lu Rui Country and Robert couldn’t still use the "fragments" they obtained to activate the ability?

Zhang Minglu offered a suggestion.

"Director Vilanko, use audio communication to contact Robert. First, have him immediately halt Dream Ship One’s course. Then, tell him to manually remove Wei Xuan’s top-level authorization from the central control console, allowing the spacecraft to be remotely controlled by our North Star Aerospace Agency. He’ll only have a measure of credibility if he agrees to these terms."

"Alright, we’ll do it that way!"