Shadows of the Deep Space Chapter 1647: 531: I'm Sorry
Chapter 531: I’m Sorry
“Everyone, keep up with me!”
Su Ming commanded as he guided Rhein and the others toward the Light Shuttle, infiltrating the interior through a wide, jagged breach in the hull.
Inside, the ship was shrouded in darkness and devoid of life; the primary systems had completely flatlined. Only the flickering, dim emergency lamps persisted, illuminating various bits of debris drifting in zero gravity.
Moving deeper into the vessel, Su Ming’s party breached several locked partition doors that hindered their path.
As they delved further, the situation grew increasingly unsettling. Not only were there no survivors to be found, but they had not encountered a single corpse—not a soul, living or dead.
“Boss, don’t you find this place strangely eerie?”
Ankaga queried, his voice laced with anxiety.
Usually, even in the wreckage of a shattered ship, some remains would linger. Yet, the Light Shuttle was largely intact, rendered empty of all human presence.
“It is rather strange. Stay alert, everyone,”
Su Ming cautioned with a grave expression.
“Understood!”
The group responded in unison.
As they pushed deeper, they reached the transfer hall, a cavernous, empty space illuminated only by sporadic, dying lights. The massive ship felt like nothing more than a drifting ghost.
Su Ming brought his mecha to a halt and turned to Little Grey with a stern fixation.
“Little Grey, can you detect any signs of life?”
Confused by the inquiry, Little Grey scanned the area and shook his head back and forth.
A wave of dread surged within Su Ming upon seeing the gesture, yet he maintained his composure and issued his orders calmly.
“We’ll split up to search. Ankaga, take a squad to scour the central control room. Rhein, lead your team to explore the living quarters.”
“Yes!”
Rhein and the others acknowledged.
“Regardless of what you uncover, regroup back here once the search is complete!”
Su Ming instructed.
“Understood!”
Rhein’s team moved out immediately.
“I hope nothing has gone horribly wrong,”
Su Ming murmured to himself. He maneuvered Ilyas into a stationary position, temporarily severing their neural bond. As a biological mecha, extended operation could be detrimental to the pilot’s physical well-being.
Hours drifted by in silence.
Rhein was the first to return with his squad.
“Any luck? Did you find any survivors?”
Though hope was thin, Su Ming still asked.
“None. The ship is impossibly strange. There are no survivors, but also no bodies; it’s as if they were simply erased from existence,”
Rhein admitted, clearly unsettled.
Moments later, Hamiu arrived with his group and reported,
“Boss, the hangar is clear. We found mechas, but they are all completely empty.”
“Understood,”
Su Ming nodded.
Finally, Ankaga returned with his men.
“Ankaga, what is the status of the central control room?”
“Nothing there, boss. No survivors, no monsters. I tried to access the logs, but I couldn't get the console to boot up,”
Ankaga explained.
“Let’s head to the central control room together.”
Su Ming piloted Ilyas to follow them. Upon reaching the exterior of the control hall, he realized Ilyas was far too bulky to fit inside.
He popped the cockpit, floating out alongside Celeste and Little Grey, then turned to Hamiu.
“Hamiu, stay right here and watch over my mecha!”
“Sir!” Hamiu responded sharply.
Su Ming led his team into the central control deck.
The area was in complete disarray, with chairs overturned and debris scattered, yet the consoles and technical equipment remained mostly unscathed. Everything looked just as it had left its last operation.
Su Ming gestured to the console,
“Celeste, inspect it.”
“The hardware is fine, but there is no power. The main reactor must have been compromised,”
Celeste reported after a brief scan.
“What about the backup systems?”
“Depleted,”
Celeste replied. “A vessel this size cannot sustain operation through emergency power for very long.”
Su Ming turned to his subordinate,
“Rhein, have the mechanics bridge the mecha’s power to the console using external cables.”
“On it.”
Rhein immediately set to work.
Su Ming waited in the silence. Soon, they connected the console to a V-type mecha, the Grey Hunter Envoy. While it wouldn't power the flight systems of a ship this size, providing enough charge for a control console was a simple task.
Celeste hovered over the console, inserting slender metal filaments into the interface.
Whoosh!
The computer surged to life, casting a holographic display across the room.
Celeste rapidly input commands, and a series of windows materialized, revealing the ship’s logs. Su Ming scrolled through the text:
October 2, 6:00 a.m.
The Light Shuttle accompanied the fleet to support the GS03 mining site, where it was ambushed by the Dark Star Empire, inciting a brutal clash.
The Federation fleet was outmatched and attempted a breakout, only for the Light Shuttle to be targeted by the Blood Ghost. Forced to flee into the mist, the ship was hunted relentlessly.
October 2, 12:00 p.m.
Disoriented within the Mist Star Sea, the Light Shuttle could not shake the relentless pursuit of the Dark Star Empire’s Blood Ghost.
October 2, 3:00 p.m.
The Blood Ghost landed a direct hit on the Light Shuttle’s main power plant, causing catastrophic damage.”