Shadows of the Deep Space Chapter 1651: 531: Sorry 5
Previously on Shadows of the Deep Space...
“Huh? What’s that?”
Li Menghan and the remainder of the crew were visibly startled.
Su Ming’s expression tightened as he warned, “It’s a VI-type monster. I never anticipated its return. Maintain the energy barrier at maximum output!”
“Understood!”
Li Menghan and her subordinates promptly complied.
“Little Grey, where did it go?” inquired Su Ming.
“Squeak, squeak!”
Little Grey shook its head vigorously.
Celeste translated the creature’s report. “Little Grey says it flew away.”
“Escaped again?”
“Indeed.”
“Forget it for now. Full speed ahead!” Su Ming commanded with a frown.
“Yes, sir!” responded Li Menghan.
The Light Extinction had barely advanced for ten minutes before Little Grey chirped sharply. An instant later, the same unidentified monster darted past the bow of the ship once more.
Su Ming moved to depart for the hangar, but the creature vanished into the void before he could reach the exit.
Li Menghan and the others turned their gaze toward Su Ming.
“Sir, what are your orders?”
Su Ming’s expression flickered with indecision. “Continue our course.”
“Understood!”
Moments passed, and once again, Little Grey let out a warning chirp as the monster swept past the ship's flank.
“Boss, is that thing deranged? It keeps hovering right in our path,” Rhein remarked, confused.
“Exactly! And yet, it makes no attempt to strike,” others chimed in.
Su Ming’s expression hardened as he sensed a hidden motive. “Celeste, doesn't it seem like its purpose is to draw us into a chase?”
Celeste’s eyes widened in realization. “Now that you mention it, that appears to be its intent.”
“Little Grey, in which direction did it head?” Su Ming asked.
“Squeak, squeak!” Little Grey pointed a tiny claw.
Su Ming turned his attention to Li Menghan. “Adjust our heading and follow the path indicated by Little Grey.”
“Are you sure? Understood.” Li Menghan looked surprised but immediately executed the adjustment.
Rhein looked at Su Ming with hesitation. “Boss, is this not too reckless? How can we be sure it isn’t a trap?”
“It could be, but it’s unlikely. If it had hostile intent, it would have attacked long ago. Furthermore, I engaged it within the mist, yet it chose not to retaliate,” Su Ming reasoned.
“That makes sense,” Rhein replied. “But where is it trying to take us?”
“I have no clue, but we will discover the truth soon enough,” Su Ming replied solemnly.
Time ticked by as the Light Extinction followed the beast. The creature ceased its playful buzzing, appearing only to signal a change in direction.
Su Ming and his team grew increasingly certain that the animal was acting as a guide. Due to the dense white mist, they felt blind, unable to see the shifting geography around them. While Little Grey possessed superior vision, it could not communicate the nature of the terrain.
In reality, the Light Extinction was drawing ever closer to the heart of an immense fog vortex. As they reached a critical threshold, Little Grey reacted with a high-pitched, frantic series of squeaks.
“Little Grey, report!” Su Ming demanded, his senses on high alert.
“It says… there’s a gap ahead! Great heavens, a massive hollow!” Celeste exclaimed, her voice frantic as she translated.
Before they could reverse course, a violent, overwhelming gravity seized the Light Extinction, dragging it headlong into the abyss. The ship shuddered violently as it plunged.
“Damn it!” cried Rhein.
“Brace yourselves!” ordered Su Ming.
The turbulence eventually subsided, and the vessel stabilized.
“By all that is holy… where are we?” Li Menghan gasped, staring at the optical display.
Surprised, Su Ming and the others looked toward the screen. The thick fog had thinned considerably, granting them clear visibility. Even their sensor arrays and scanning equipment regained functionality.
Floating before them were the mangled remains of mechas, debris from mechanical insects, and in the distance, the skeletal silhouette of a massive derelict warship.
“Have we reached the ancient battlefield?” Rhein whispered, dumbfounded.
“Adjust the steering slightly so I can analyze the identification codes on those mechas and the ship,” Celeste requested.
“Understood,” Li Menghan replied, maneuvering carefully.
Celeste began cross-referencing the debris. After a few beats, her digital avatar displayed a look of sheer disbelief. “These marks—they belong to the Federal Joint Army! And that wreckage is the original Level 5 Battleship of the First Legion, the Skyline. We have stumbled upon the site of the Red Light Battle.”
“The Red Light Battle?” Su Ming realized heavily. “The battle where the Grey Angel was lost?”
“Wait, Boss, isn't the Grey Angel a Federal ship?” Rhein asked, confused.
“The current one is a replacement. The original sank here,” Su Ming clarified.
“Ah!” Rhein and the others stood frozen in shock.