Chapter 939: Chapter 939: Emergency Rescue
Taville sent the emergency information to each of us, from the Emperor to the Mistress. All Empire leaders with the authority to directly inquire about SS-level research projects received the message. In half a minute, except Pandora and Visca, who belong to purely military personnel and completely do not intervene in the research institute’s work, our family arrived at the disassembly space of the research center.
Her urgent communication was justified. The Abyss Deep Diving Ship, one of the last research projects from the Old Empire era, is an ancient relic that the Fallen Apostle would sacrifice an entire fleet to seize. It possesses immeasurable potential value, and its analysis work has always been prioritized at the forefront of all research projects. Any information about it has the highest priority. Now, this ancient relic, which has affected countless nerves, is on the brink of collapse. An inexplicable technical issue caused the segment containing the onboard database in one of the two starship debris to suddenly activate, and the fragile research module is in immediate peril.
Within the vast disassembly space, only the segment of debris experiencing the accident was floating. Another portion of the deep-diving ship’s fragments had already been urgently transferred to another space to prevent an induction reaction between the two fragments, which could lead to disaster. When we rushed to the scene with urgency, we immediately noticed the abnormality of the gigantic debris before us. Distorted, jumping energy sparks floated on its surface, while thick smoke and flames erupted continuously from beneath the cracked armor plates. Along the point where the starship was divided into two, it was visible that more than half of the internal ship pathways had automatically locked due to the system activation, and continuous small explosions were erupting from other areas of the split, suggesting imminent disintegration of the entire debris.
A multitude of autonomous machines and Imperial Technicians dashed swiftly across the surface of this mountain-sized starship debris, entering and exiting through its split outer shell, attempting to suppress the increasingly dangerous energy environment within the spaceship. Many small-scale energy raiders had been put online and connected to the debris on the verge of disintegration, emitting hundreds of bright blue beams straight into all exposed energy pipelines of the deep-diving ship, feebly absorbing the rampaging Ghost Energy. Occasionally, you’d see injured Imperial Technicians retreating from the armor cracks of the spaceship, disheveled, with burned marks covering their researcher uniforms, signaling that the situation inside the spaceship was even less optimistic than it appeared outside.
Taville was distributing tasks at the command seat on the disassembly platform, her voice urgent and her demeanor anxious but still orderly:
“Group Three! Abandon the upper passage! Go support Group Two!”
“Energy raiders! Connect more energy raiders! If you can’t use large ones, use small ones, overpower with quantity!”
“The Paswell System of the debris is out of control; all personnel immediately withdraw from under the Shield Generator! Weapons group, destroy the Shield Generator! Do not damage the Paswell Crystal Ring below, or the onboard lab will vaporize…”
“Has Group Four entered the Power Ring? Good, very good, find the emergency console and adjust several parameters: Paswell System, disconnect; Shield Generator, disconnect; engine room, increase energy by two hundred percent; onboard lab, disconnect; database, decrease energy by seventy-three percent! Good, then stabilize these data. Before your control loses effect, I require that none of the values fluctuate at all—this is a command! Group Two, once the energy path to the engine room opens, immediately redirect the Ghost Energy Well output port in front of you, let it power the engine part of the debris at full capacity… Weapons group, as soon as you see the engine light up, immediately target the energy raiders onto it, then according to the main-sub chain principle, destroy the auxiliary vents of the debris and allow them to leak. This should relieve the internal pressure of the debris’s energy in a short amount of time…”
Standing on the disassembly platform, issuing orders to her subordinates like a General on the frontline, Taville spared no effort to save what seemed destined to be a losing battle. She didn’t even realize that there was already a line of leaders standing behind her and continued giving concise and precise orders quickly. Under her swift and precise judgment, the rampaging energy sparks on the surface of the debris were finally temporarily suppressed, and the excess energy was directed toward the starship’s engines, then transferred by energy raiders to energy release points set in Other Space. But I knew everything was far from over, although I did not understand the high-tech engineering before me, I could judge, whether it was Taville’s still grave expression or…
Yes, most importantly, Lin Xue said, “The debris can’t be saved.”
When the debris of the deep-diving ship finally calmed down a bit, and Taville had a chance to catch her breath, I proactively spoke up, “Taville, we’re here.”
The other party immediately turned around, although she hadn’t noticed the arrival of her superiors just now, it didn’t affect her innate composure as an Imperial Soldier. Taville quickly gave a military salute and reported, “Your Majesty, the debris is temporarily stable, but it won’t hold for an hour.”
I noticed that Taville now appeared in front of me in her original form rather than as a Mass Projection, which meant she might have already suspended all other research projects and concentrated her entire focus on rescuing this ancient debris before us. This further underscored the severity of the situation.
“What exactly is going on?”
Sandora furrowed her brow, looking at the deep-diving ship debris still billowing with smoke and flames, with rescue team members constantly entering and exiting, and asked softly.
Taville bowed her head: “The previously obtained deep-diving ship blueprints were incomplete, lacking a crucial component: its Abyss diving equipment’s energy source wasn’t a Ghost Energy Reactor, but a set of small Ghost Energy Wells, whose output power is almost three times the combined output of all known energy sources on the blueprints. The pre-prepared safety devices on the disassembly platform couldn’t meet the suppression standard. More fatally, there was an unforeseen technical error, a mistake in my assessment of the debris’s decompression program, which led to the activation of the debris’s intelligent alarm when the last safety valve was removed. Under the effect of preset programs, the Ghost Energy Well of the deep-diving ship began to operate again, overloading the experimental cabin section.”
Taville can also make mistakes, although I found this incredible, one must accept the fact that everyone makes mistakes. Even the Divine Race are not truly omnipotent, and Taville is certainly no exception, especially when confronted with a completely unfamiliar Old Empire starship under circumstances of only having half the design blueprints, and with the starship structure being fragmented. Despite the seriousness of the accident, one can only resign to fate. The immediate priority isn’t to investigate who is responsible but to minimize the losses caused by the incident.
“The front experimental cabin is entirely beyond rescue,” Sandora, though not a scientific expert, was familiar with the basic principles and parameters of various Old Empire starships. Next to us floated a large number of holographic projections showing the energy parameters and damage conditions of the deep-diving ship debris. At a glance, she judged that certain cabin sections had already burned down, “The energy readings are too high, any sensitive equipment should already be destroyed, however, this section was among the first to be explored, so quite a bit of data should have been collected, right?”
“Yes, sixty-four percent of the front experimental cabin’s equipment has undergone data collection,” Taville nodded, “but there remains an unknown area: the database storage room. Originally, we planned to extract the deep-diving ship’s storage devices from the database today, but an accident happened.”
“Can’t we go in?” Sandora crossed her arms, seemingly having made some decision.
“The energy readings inside are soaring, researchers’ control over the debris’s energy is limited to the Outer Ring; the core remains a hellish zone. Although the database has ample protection and is temporarily unharmed, it can only be watched as it melts away.”
“Well, abandon all experimental cabin sections. Let them burn if they will, exert all effort to keep the debris’s structure intact for a bit longer; we’re going to dismantle the database.”
“Your Majesty? Are you suggesting…” Taville appeared hesitant, which was normal; she must be consistently concerned with our safety. Nevertheless, before anything else, she is an Imperial Soldier, with obedience to orders ingrained in her from birth. So, after a half-minute of comprehensive consideration, she reached a conclusion:
All right, abandon all experimental cabin equipment; let it burn if it must. Concentrate all efforts on preserving the structure for a bit longer. We will remove the database.”
She then added, “Four group is entering the Power Ring? Good, very good, find the emergency console and adjust the following parameters: Paswell System, cut off; Shield Generator, disconnect; Engine Room, increase energy by two hundred percent; onboard laboratory, cut off; database, reduce energy by seventy-three percent! Good, now stabilize these numbers, before you lose control, I require not a bit of fluctuation in all values—this is an order! Group two, once the energy path to the engine room is open, immediately redirect your Ghost Energy Well output port, let it be at full power to provide the engine part of the debris with functionality… Weapons group, as soon as you see the engine light up, immediately place the energy raider on top, and then in primary order destroy the auxiliary nozzles of the debris, let them vent, this should offload the internal energy pressure quickly…”
Standing on the disassembly platform, Taville was issuing commands to her subordinates with the demeanor of a General on the front lines, making every effort to save a battle that seemed destined for failure. She didn’t even realize that a line of leaders was already standing behind her and was just quickly issuing clear and accurate orders. Under her swift and precise judgment, the wild energy sparks on the surface of the debris were finally temporarily suppressed; the excess energy was directed toward the starship engines and then transferred to the energy release ports set in the Other Space by energy raiders. But I knew everything was far from over. Even though I didn’t understand the high-tech operation before me, I could judge that whether it was Taville’s still heavy expression or…
Well, most importantly, Lin Xue said one sentence: “The debris can’t be saved.”
When the deep-diving ship debris finally calmed down a bit, Taville had a moment to catch her breath before I spoke up: “Taville, we are here.”
She immediately turned around. Although she hadn’t noticed the arrival of her superiors earlier, it didn’t affect her inherent composure as an Imperial Soldier. Taville quickly issued a military salute, reporting promptly, “Your Majesty? You’re planning to…”
“If evacuation is not timely, even if you don’t get blown up, you’ll end up in some random world, right?” Sandora seemed totally unfazed, “Don’t worry, I’ve thought it through.”
With this said, Taville felt no need to elaborate, so following Sandora’s orders, he started preparing to send our group into the increasingly troubled core of the deep-diving ship.
Only Sandora and I accompanied, Qianqian and Big Sister, although capable of achieving immunity from any harm using their special spiritual power and abilities, require energy to cut through space or reverse the effects on themselves, and they aren’t scientists, so spending such energy for a sauna with us seemed inappropriate. As for Lin Xue, she couldn’t join either; her powers weren’t suitable for this mission, not to mention if she could withstand the molten ghost energy conduits. Even if she could, I’d be worried sick if anything happened midway.
Some staff who had ventured deep within the ship withdrew, almost everyone was injured, risking deadly energy leaks to suppress the safety valves inside the ship debris. Their shields and various protective devices were almost completely destroyed; now, Taville had ordered to abandon all experimental cabins and connect all the energy raiders to the tail of the debris where the database is located, giving them a chance to catch a breath.
Several autonomous machines flew to the end of the debris, using phase shift cutting rays to sever the fixed plugs there, lifting the engine armor plates entirely and exposing a deep vertical shaft beneath. Taville positioned Sandora and me at the entrance and issued his final advice, “Proceed with caution, the database has never been opened, so I can’t guarantee what dangerous items might be inside. The deep-diving ship had navigated through the Abyss; its core area likely contains an Abyss sample storage room or similar.”
“Got it, can it be more dangerous than a ghost energy well about to explode?” I hooked my arm around Sandora’s, guiding the surrounding bursting energy sparks away with my power, “We are men meant to create miracles, mark my words, I will definitely return safely, it’s a promise…”
Before I finished speaking, Miss Lin kicked me into the shaft. Amidst the roaring wind in my ears, I could still hear her furious voice, “You’re crazy! What nonsense are you babbling about before setting out!”
The shaft was very deep; I might not hit the bottom for a while. I clearly heard Lin Xue’s outburst, thinking this was just to lighten the mood, was it worth getting mad over? Then I saw Sandora descending above me, her posture much more graceful than mine, presumably a score of at least 9.9 upon water entry.
“Can’t you be serious for once?” Sandora accelerated past me, trailing a blue light arc, grabbing my arm to rush toward the shaft’s bottom, her other hand holding down her skirt, “By the way, should I have worn a skirt today?”
“No worries, showing me doesn’t incur any loss. Speaking of which, again with the pure white today…” I blurted casually, grabbing Sandora sideways into my arms, maintaining a princess-carry position as we plummet straight down this shaft likely once used for engine repairs.
…
“Help me, pull me out, I’m stuck.” My thighs were trapped below in the weakened ship structure’s metal beam due to energy scouring. Helplessly, I put Sandora down on the ground, literally just placed on the ground without needing to bend my waist, she landed.
Sandora: “…”
After a particularly clumsy yet strangely familiar landing, Sandora quickly found the right direction based on the ship’s structural map from Taville; swiftly we advanced amid the continuously bursting energy sparks around us.
The corridor, originally for maintenance, now exhibited abnormal distortion, the warped stubble wasn’t “fresh,” indicating the damage was from the battle seventy thousand years ago, not due to current energy leaks. The intense ghost energy pervaded the entirety of this space, making the view before us a captivating azure blue. The energy concentration was so high that a brief walk invigorated Sandora; I suspected she was fully charged.
“The environment here is really harsh.” I expanded a shield, protecting both Sandora and myself inside, cautiously navigating around the large holes rupturing along the corridor, heading forward. Due to ghost energy scouring, many structures near the energy conduit within the ship debris became very fragile, especially this maintenance corridor. The once indestructible interstellar alloy now lost micro-stability, turning akin to decayed steel. As we progressed, the ground began showing signs of large chasms due to gravity field imbalances, underneath which there was an endless expanse, nearly crystalline blue mist — absolutely not a good thing, but ghost energy reaching critical concentration. Falling in would equate, every second, to being hit directly by a medium main cannon, if not dead, you’d be skinned.
Sandora’s own ghost energy shield was naturally sufficient in this environment, yet she chose to remain under my energy shield. It wasn’t an act of intimacy but rather the most optimal work plan: my defense against any form of energy assault is nearly 100%, barring instances where it instantly reaches a limit, there’s essentially no non-physical damage capable of breaking my energy shield-this is the innate ability of a void creature, requiring minimal consumption. On the other hand, Sandora’s ghost energy shield demands constant recharging of her energy core, comparatively she’s decided to let her husband act as the shield upfront, while she focuses on fiddling with high-tech later. That’s why this “illiterate” me travels with Sandora, not to do tech work; my primary role is as a tank.
After advancing for ten minutes down this perilous maintenance conduit, we encountered a small “safe station,” a triangular work platform protected by a powerful shield generator, specifically designed to provide a time-limited safe zone for a limited number of researchers in extremely dangerous sites. It was secured by several robotic arms in a wide interchange area, facing a corridor a hundred meters wide within the ship, and within the safe station’s solid blue shield, were several Xyrin technicians busy working.
“Why haven’t you evacuated?”
Sandora and I immediately entered this mere tens-of-square-meters safe station, temporarily isolated from the rampaging ghost energy currents and constant explosions outside. Noticing the work platform was displaying a scan image of a nearby area, I promptly asked.
“Your Majesty, the energy readings in the core area remain critically high. Presently, relying on this work platform to directly intervene in the nearby data lines barely allows control of a small portion of the core area’s energy valves. Upon shutting the work platform, the core area will immediately burn out, destroying the database. Autonomous machinery performances are limited, unable to handle such rapidly changing complex environments, thus we must stand guard till the last moment.”
A swiftly reporting Angel Envoy donned in a white robe, marked with the badge of a standard assistant technician on the chest, His prompt led me to notice several blue luminous information cables extending outside this safe station, though crudely inserted under a few metal panels at the end of the maintenance corridor, their dim glow suggesting active data communication with the last few pressure relief conduits in the core area of the wreck.
Upon hearing his words, I realized the core situation of the deep-diving ship was worse than initially anticipated; a runaway ghost energy well was already charging eighty percent of its energy into the core area. Without these technicians forcibly intervening to dissipate this energy to the outer ring, the core would have collapsed long ago.
“This is too dangerous, this platform likely won’t last for more than two hours…”
I frowned, observing the ghost energy shield outside this triangular safe station, already showing signs of flickering amidst incessant energy bombardment — a testament to the shield’s gradual overloading.
It appears to ensure that the database is securely accessed, we must first deal with the culprit behind the core energy runaway — the last energy plug that hadn’t been dismantled before. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for recommendations, monthly votes on Qidian (). Your support is my greatest motivation.)