Chapter 85: Abyss
"Young man, are you serious?" asked Master Crystal with a trembling voice.
"Absolutely," I replied. "However, can you prepare more food? I''m getting hungry as well."
In a sh, Master Crystal offered all the food he could on such short notice.
"Wow, so you actually have so much good food hidden away!" Dondon started stuffing his face with food without hesitation.
"Master, you''re also a Storm?" I asked while eating.
"Um. Let''s talk about you first. Why did you return? I thought you were all on the run," said Master Crystal.
I told him about our meeting with the emperor and our mission. I also told Master Crystal what Master Wind had to say to him.
"Sigh. That fellow is still so stubborn after so many years," said Master Crystal with a sigh.
"Master, what is the meaning of that poem?" Zhang Xingxing asked.
"It has been tens of thousands of years of waiting in silence, yet that fellow perseveres," said Master Crystal. "Forget that fellow. The emperor is sending you to Abyss? That is a dangerous ce."
"Just what kind of a life form is it? What does the emperor want with it? Don''t tell me he wants it for his zoo," I said.
"There has been a rumor that Eternals have the ability to control beasts. However, that rumor has never been proven. It is said that about 100,000 years ago, an army had ambushed the empire''s beast-rearing base. Not one of the attackers was able to survive the attack. Thus, the empire''s beast-rearing base remains a rumor. Even today, no one has seen the base with their own eyes," said Master Crystal.
Hearing those words, I was reminded of Nommo''s projection I saw on Sirius B. I described what I saw to Master Crystal.
"So the prophet was the one who had attacked the beast-rearing base. That answers a lot of questions. It is extremely possible that the beast-rearing base is hidden in the Horsehead Neb. No wonder the empire ssifies that ce as a restricted area, even going to the point of spending arge number of resources to guard it," said Master Crystal.
"Are you saying that the emperor wants this beast for his beast-rearing base as well?" I asked.
"Likely. The empire has spent decades trying to catch that beast only to fail over and over again. It is said that the beast has extremely powerful sensory organs, capable of detecting anything that approaches it," said Master Crystal.
"Are you aware of the senses it relies on?" Zhang Xingxing asked.
"Stealth, infrared, vibration, air movement, temperature, and so on have been taken into consideration by all the teams before, but none has seeded. Every single team suffered a total defeat," said Master Crystal.
"Do they want this beast to enhance the genes of their beast army?" I asked.
"Yes. Apart from its sharp senses, the beast also has an extremely powerful control ability. It is said that the beast can control the brainwaves of other life forms. But nobody knows for sure since nobody has survived an encounter," said Master Crystal.
"That emperor is clearly sending us to our deaths. How are we supposed to capture a monster like that?" I scolded.
"You have no choice. At this point, you can only risk it," said Master Crystal.
"Master, are you also a descendant of the Storm race?" Zhang Xingxing asked.
"Yes, but this is rted to a major secret. I can''t tell you much. That was also why Feng had delivered this fellow to me immediately. Otherwise, our race''s hard work for over 100,000 years will all go down the drain," said Master Crystal.
We stopped questioning upon learning how important the matter was to them.
"Remember. The emperor will have aplete grasp over anything you do on any in the Orion Constetion. For now, this fellow''s identity is my grandson. He met you on Lidu with the prince," reminded Master Crystal.
"Why am I suddenly your grandson? Like I said, I have higher seniority than you!" Dondon protested.
"Stopining. Eat your food," said Master Crystal.
"Master, we will return to our friends tomorrow to get ready for the mission. I''ll be taking Dondon with me," I said.
Master Crystal nodded. "Rest early."
For some reason, after drinking Master Crystal''s beverage, I was able to get an extremely restful sleep. The moment the morning sunlight sprinkled over my face, I knew it was time to set off. I got off the bed and walked out of the room. There, I saw Zhang Xingxing, Dondon, and Master Crystal already waiting. Master Crystal even had a backpack on him.
"Master, what are you doing?" I asked in astonishment.
"Cough, ahem. You have yet to pay me the gold coins you promised. Also, I''m bored of staying here, so I decided to take a stroll at the trade station," said Master Crystal.
I did not know whether tough or cry. He did not sound like a master at all. Zhang Xingxing seemed happy that Master Crystal wasing with us. Together, we walked to our shuttle.
"This thing won''t reach outer space directly. We need an actual space shuttle. Since the emperor has issued you temporary passes, we can go to an immigration checkpoint to leave," said Master Crystal.
We did as told and took the shuttle to an imperial checkpoint. Countless haulers werending and taking off all around us. After parking our shuttle properly, we walked toward the inspection gate.
There, the imperial police reached out and stopped us. I did not say anything and walked toward the gic scanner. A green light swept over my body. After verification, I was allowed passage.
"Looks like Wind is still as efficient as ever," praised Master Crystal.
With legal identities, the three of us were able to easily pass through the checkpoint with Master Crystal. We took a shuttle and quickly reached the orbital station. There, we contacted Dodo. Before long, Fearless arrived. When the door opened, I was the first to enter.
"Boss, you have been hiding your wealth too well, big boss," Domo quickly said before anyone could say anything. "Some people came and delivered a bunch of stuff for free. Also, there are 10,000 gold coins in storage. Do all of us get a share?"
"Canyue, Xingxing, Dondon, it''s great to see all of you fine!" Old Du said.
"Master, why are you here too?" Sarje eximed in surprise when he saw Master Crystal enter behind us.
The sight of Old Du and Zhang Bao''er filled me with joy. We gave each other a firm hug.
"Huh? Where''s Prince Toruse? Why isn''t he with you?" Zhang Bao''er asked in astonishment.
I told them everything that had happened, and an ufortable silence descended.
"Canyue, team leader, we should just run. The universe is so wide. After leaving the Orion Constetion, where can they find us?" said Zhang Bao''er.
"We can run, but Blue can''t run. Can you really bear to see Blue embroiled in war once again?" I asked.
"Maybe that was only an empty threat? Furthermore, the league won''t sit around doing nothing if Blue is attacked," said Zhang Bao''er.
"Emperor Fille never goes back on his words. Do not look down on his determination," said Master Crystal.
"We are fugitives. The league will not go to war with the Divine Empire for us. In fact, they will probably hand over Blue to the empire," said Old Du.
Zhang Bao''er sank into silence.
"I refuse to believe a life form that can''t be captured exists. At this point, our only option is to head to Betrix," said Zhang Xingxing.
"I''ll follow the team leader," said Old Du.
The rest voiced their agreement one after another. It warmed my heart to see the unity of the group. Wealth? Power? Nothing was more important than unity and the team!
Suddenly, a shout came from Fearless''smunicator, "Ship ahead of us, prepare for docking. The imperial battleship is going to engage the docking mode soon."
I looked outside the cockpit and saw a massive battleshiping out of stealth.
"What is the emperor doing now?" Zhang Bao''erined.
"Calm down. Let them dock. There must be a new development. Fille IV is not one to go back on his words," said Master Crystal.
"Dodo, activate the docking procedure," said Zhang Xingxing.
Dodo did as told. A massive bridge extended from the battleship and mped down on our docking bridge. With a ck, the bridges connected. A few minutester, three individuals in imperial police uniforms arrived with severalrge chests.
"Team Leader Zhang Xingxing, as decreed by His Majesty, the three of us will apany Fearless on the mission at Abyss," said the leader.
"We can do this ourselves. We don''t require any help," rejected Zhang Bao''er.
The three policemen did not say anything. Rather, they each found a seat and sat down,pletely ignoring Zhang Bao''er. Old Du once again pressed the furious Zhang Bao''er down.
"We''re grateful for the empire''s help. How may I address the three of you?" asked Zhang Xingxing.
The leader stood up and said, "Respected team leader, I am their squad leader, Lifu. They are my deputies, Snow and Adn."
"With that done, let''s disconnect the bridge and prepare to set off," said Zhang Xingxing.
Dodo immediately detached the bridge from the battleship before piloting the ship into outer space.
"We are 390 lightyears away from Betrix. Fearless will be activating the wormhole procedure," said Dodo.
"Everyone, get to your positions. Dondon, assist Dodo,"manded Zhang Xingxing.
Upon arriving at the designated spot, Fearless started producing the wormhole. After a constant shaking, a transparent tear in existence appeared before the ship.
"Activating leap," reported Dodo.
I could feel a burst of speed as the ship entered the wormhole. After about 10 minutes of wormhole travel, the ship left through another tear, appearing in the middle of dark space. A blue star appeared in the distance. Betrix. This was probably the first time any Blueling had ever been this close to this ancient star.
Compared to Betelgeuse, Betrix was dimmer. It had the appearance of a light white star. The system indicated that we were 110 billion kilometers away from it.
"Be on the alert, everyone. We have gone through Betrix''s outer neb and have entered the low orbital zone," said Dodo.
Betrix''s orbital zone was rather peculiar. Unlike the Sr System where the star was orbited by nine bigs and countless smaller celestial bodies, this star seemed to be enveloped in only darkness, an empty expanse of darkness. Only the lonesome figure of Betrix was visible.