The blue streak grew thicker very quickly.
Everyone was shocked!
As the blue streak grew thicker, the blue nebula around the starship seemed to vibrate. Even the ship was shaking a little. Everyone onboard was keen enough to notice this. The wave appeared like a disaster on a galactic scale. Whatever hopes they had were crushed by the sight of it.
The nebula vibrated even more violently. It was suffocating to watch the endless calamitous stretch that was about to befall them. What a tempestuous blue wave! It reached up for hundreds and thousands of kilometers, and was as wide as the eyes could see.
Everyone on the ship was devastated.
Only four of them managed to keep their calm - Ye Chong, Rui Bing, the young boy and Scarface, the bodyguard. In fact, Ye Chong was nervous as well, his body tensed all over, but he knew that if he did not stay calm now, there would be no chance of surviving this threat.
This gigantic natural disaster must be avoided at all costs!
The young boy’s eyes glowed up, reminding Ye Chong of Mu and Shang’s bionic eyes. "Why am I thinking about that now?" Ye Chong smiled wryly to himself, and felt a little tension released from him.
"How long do we have?" The young boy asked in a peculiar and mature voice.
No one answered. They were too shocked. Ye Chong stared at the image from the optical systems and did some quick calculations in his head.
Perhaps the danger had stimulated Ye Chong, for he felt his mind particularly clear right then as he did the calculations quickly. "15 minutes!" It was the young boy who came up with the answer first, however. After 5 seconds, Ye Chong arrived at the same conclusion. He looked to the young boy in surprise.
What impressive calculation speed!
The young boy abruptly stood up and rushed to the main photon processor. "Out of the way!" His youthful voice was full of authority.
The bodyguard beside the main photon processor was shook out of his shock, and quickly stood aside.
The young boy was too short, and he had to climb onto a chair and stand on it to reach the photon processor. His small hands pressed the controls on the photon processor awkwardly. Seeing his unfamiliar handling, Ye Chong frowned and went to the photon processor. He pushed the young boy’s chair to the side and said hurriedly, "Tell me what to do."
The young boy stared for a moment before laughing and said, "Big guy, you’re the best." He then turned serious and gave his first order, "Activate the weapons."
Ye Chong’s hands moved cross the photon processor console smoothly, a sharp contrast to the young boy’s awkward controlling. The young boy was unaffected by the thought, however. He looked perfectly calm, and even Rui Bing could sense an odd feeling of maturity in him.
"Show the weapons directory."
"Activate the energy delivery photon circuits."
"Activate the manual restoration system."
"Connect the photon circuits …" A long list of numbers and names of parts came of the young boy’s mouth, faster than anyone could process.
But Ye Chong heard them clearly! "What a bold plan," he thought to himself as he quickly did as told. He understood the young boy’s intention well enough. The boy wanted to wanted to redirect the energy on the ship to quickly improve the firepower of the ship.
Ye Chong was surprised that the young boy was so familiar with the starship’s photon circuit system. This was not something anyone would know. The starship industry was well established, and would not tolerate modifications easily, much less what they were doing now!
The thought was set aside quickly as Ye Chong focused on his work. A series of technical terms and jargons came from the young boy, and Ye Chong had to focus all his attention in order to keep up with the young boy.
It was a strange sight to behold - a young boy standing on a chair, staring at the photon processor with a grim expression, giving out orders non-stop; a young man was beside him, sweating all over as he manipulated the controls on the console at breakneck speed.
After three minutes, they showed no signs of stopping what they were doing. The young boy’s forehead was already covered in sweat, but he was still spitting out technical terminologies as quick as he could. His blue eyes shone brightly. Ye Chong was drenched in sweat as he worked on the controls.
After five minutes, the young boy’s forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and his face was growing slightly pale. Sweat rolled down Ye Chong’s cheeks like a river, but he was still focused in his task and did not look tired at all. His hands did not slow down.
After eight minutes, the young boy’s forehead had gone dry, but his face was now reddening unnaturally, and his blue eyes were glowing brightly. Ye Chong was still sweating a lot, but he was also still very tensed. His hands were still as fast as before, and he was now slightly faster than the boy’s orders.
After 12 minutes, they were finally done! The young boy was looking deadly pale, and Ye Chong noticed that the boy was a little out of breath. However, he continued to stand on the chair. While he was there funnily standing on the chair, no one laughed at him, not even Ye Chong. He had proved his own strength with his actions.
The young boy looked at his bodyguards and said, "Everyone, take a shooting hub each. You must destroy all the large rocks around us." After that, he closed his eyes and slumped onto his chair. Ye Chong quickly swooped up him and brought him to Rui Bing. "Please take care of him."
"Alright," Rui Bing nodded. There was nothing else she could do for the moment.
Scarface moved first, sitting inside one of the shooting hubs silently. The other bodyguards finally got themselves together. They were deeply ashamed. In the He Yue Galaxy, it was a disgrace to have the young master sacrificing for them in the face of danger.
Everyone took their places at the shooting hubs.
The starship had 15 shooting hubs. They were usually automated, but can be switched to manual for trained shooters.
Ye Chong could not help at all. There was nothing he could do in their situation now. In fact, what they were doing now had very limited effect. Perhaps only divine intervention could help them escape unscathed.
Ye Chong stared at the holographic screen, his muscles all tensed up.
The starship was shaking violently. Old Jalopy and Fei Si had already secured themselves. Ye Chong and Rui Bing knew combat, so it was still manageable for them.
Only three minutes left, before the huge wave would strike on Cornerstone. Everyone looked miserable. When you’re watching an endless stretch of a tsunami coming towards you, that fear that came from the depths of your heart would sear through every inch of your nerves.
It was completely silent, but they could almost hear the deafening roars of thunder outside.
Even Scarface with his usual calmness had his hands whitening from gripping too firmly on the shooting controls.
The starship was climbing upwards, but its engines were nothing against the huge wave. It was like a tiny sailboat riding a wave in the storm.
It was close now!
The wave was like an endless stretch of dark blue walls, coming down onto them with all of Heaven’s wrath.
Suddenly, the first laser beam was fired from the starship. Ye Chong knew that it must be from Scarface. The rest of the bodyguards quickly recovered from their initial shock as well.
Laser beams were shot across space like rain. While the laser beams looked so insignificant in the face of such a humongous wave, barely perceptible amidst the natural phenomenon, it represented the iron will and determination of mankind against nature. This was how mankind had come to their present state of civilization.
When an ant faced an elephant, how could it just give up without a struggle against the giant animal’s strength? How could it just allow the elephant to stare down at it while its huge foot came crashing down?
Everyone did their best. Ye Chong found that the bodyguards excelled at shooting. Scarface was the best of them. It was as though he did not need to lock on his targets at all. He never stopped shooting, and never missed.
The fact was, Ye Chong and the young boy had the same concern. The most terrifying part of the huge wave was not its sheer strength, but the rocks and other solid material that were pushed in front of its path. These rocks were highly dangerous at their speed. Besides, if the rocks were big enough, they could smash their starship into smithereens.
Hence, the young boy had came up with the idea of redirecting the energy available to increase the starship’s firepower, then using the bodyguards’ excellent shooting skills to deal with the large rocks.
Bang! The starship was hit. The world turned upside down. Fei Si vomited all over, and Old Jalopy was not looking too good as well. Only Ye Chong and Rui Bing stood where they were, unaffected. The young boy in Rui Bing’s hands was also not looking so well.
It was surprising that the seemingly weak bodyguards could now be so capable. They fired competently. Any slightly larger rock that came into range would be fired upon. Despite the ship’s unstable flight, they managed to shoot with tremendous accuracy.
Plop! Plop! Plop! Debris rained down on the starship’s armor with an otherworldly quality. However, no one was in the mood to appreciate it.
The alarm blared, and Ye Chong felt his heart skipped a beat.