Chapter 678: Brief Offense and Defense

High above, the Moon Landing Shuttle collided with the silver stream of light, like a bluish-purple meteorite crashing down upon a pillar of light that shot up from below.

The silver stream of light was, in essence, micro-solid dust accelerated by electromagnetic force. Though it resembled an energy beam, it was in fact a physical projectile attack. Even if armor was sturdy enough to block its destructive power, withstanding the sheer force of its impact was another matter entirely.

Just as the command module had been blasted out of near-lunar orbit, the smaller, lighter Moon Landing Shuttle was now facing an even stronger silver stream. Even if its hull held, the sheer impact force would likely send it flying—perhaps even knocking it completely out of the Moon’s orbit.

But with Su Zhou’s power reinforcing it, everything was different.

For at that moment, the impact force contained within the Moon Landing Shuttle was far greater than that of the seemingly magnificent silver pillar of light.

The moment the shuttle’s pointed nose made contact with the stream of light, it tore right through it. Faced with a power far superior to its own, the thick blast of high-energy dust had no choice but to splinter into dozens of tributaries. It forked and scattered before the shuttle, dissipating into a cloud of glowing motes that slowly drifted down.

In the span of a single breath, the Moon Landing Shuttle plummeted toward the surface at a speed the naked eye couldn’t track. Then, it hurtled directly toward the silver-armored humanoid figure who had launched the attack.

The Deep Space Caller wasn’t blind. Seeing his attack was utterly useless and that the enemy was now hurtling toward him with the force of a meteor striking the Moon, he naturally turned to flee without a moment’s hesitation. In a flash, he had put several hundred meters between them.

And then, the Moon Landing Shuttle made impact.

Watching the Moon’s uneven surface rushing up to meet them, Bai Jingtiao, far from being alarmed, actually laughed. As the pilot, he even yanked the control stick, accelerating the shuttle further. Gu Yaoluo, on the other hand, had gone deathly pale and was muttering, ‘Rockets were bad enough, but I never even designed the Moon Landing Shuttle! Why do I have to suffer through this?!’

But before he could finish his sentence, the Moon Landing Shuttle slammed diagonally into the ground, in a way its designers had never intended.

BOOM! The moment it hit, the solid Moon Rock of the surface instantly shattered, erupting in a cloud of pulverized rock and dust. A violent tremor shook the shuttle’s interior. Its smooth, spindle-like shape caused it to behave like a skipping stone. The instant it struck the Moon Surface, it bounced high into the air before crashing down again.

It left a series of huge, shattered impact craters in its wake. Spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly across the ground as vast quantities of rock fragments and dust were kicked up from the Moon Surface, scattering into Cosmic Space.

Finally, Su Zhou managed to use his full power to suppress the enormous force of the crash. By then, however, the shuttle had already skipped and bounced forward for over ten kilometers. In the final few seconds, it plowed a deep, straight trench behind it as it ground to a halt.

Inside the Moon Landing Shuttle, despite the extremely violent ride, everyone was safe. This was because all personnel were Extraordinary Tier Cultivators, and moreover, Su Zhou had used his Spiritual Power to stabilize every single component of the shuttle, both inside and out. Had they been ordinary people, they would have been reduced to a bloody paste on the first impact—the kind that not even Su Zhou could have saved.

“That guy’s not weak, and we don’t know what other tricks he has up his sleeve. We need to get out of the shuttle.”

Without hesitation, Su Zhou sent a jolt of his Spiritual Power into the still-dazed Bai Jingtiao and Gu Yaoluo. He opened the shuttle door first, his expression grim as he gazed into the distance.

On a crater ten kilometers away, the Deep Space Caller was also looking back toward the Moon Landing Shuttle’s position.

The two parties stared at each other across the vast distance. The silver-armored figure, however, let a provocative smile spread across its face. Then, it turned, leaped into the crater, and ended the standoff.

Soon, Bai Jingtiao and Gu Yaoluo emerged from the Moon Landing Shuttle, clad in full spacesuits like Su Zhou, and accompanied by a host of intelligent machines.

At that moment, Gu Yaoluo demonstrated his exceptional professionalism. He, too, had spotted the Deep Space Caller who had been facing off against Su Zhou. He immediately took control of several lunar exploration drones at his side, commanding them to float and fly at high speed toward the crater.

The lunar exploration drones were equipped with small Spiritual Power engines that used Spiritual Power Crystals as their energy source. They were capable of floating and moving via a dual-engine system of anti-gravity and electromagnetic levitation, and were one of the lunar exploration machines designed by the Aviation Administration Bureau after the Spiritual Energy Revival.

“Should I give chase? I’ve locked onto his Spiritual Power signature.”

Now in his element, Gu Yaoluo seemed much more confident. A faint purple Spiritual Light flickered in his eyes. His vision was clearly linked to the exploration drones, and he was searching for any trace of the enemy in real-time.

“We won’t catch him.”

Su Zhou had also been trying to sense the Deep Space Caller’s location, but the result was incredibly vague. His senses indicated that the Deep Space Caller was present over a very large area; his aura wasn’t just here, but in the distance as well.

Su Zhou had never encountered such a bizarre situation. He frowned, glanced at the satellite map on his spacesuit’s display, and issued his orders. “We have three objectives. One: investigate the source of the unknown signal and shut it down. Two: gather intel on the alien ship and bring samples back to Earth. Three: kill or capture the New Dawn Society Leader, the Deep Space Caller, John Harrison.”