Chapter 368: Chapter 143: Unexpectedly Got Forcefully Kissed
Everyone could feel the rising ship suddenly halt, causing several officers to fall over unexpectedly.
Lin Hao’s hands bulged with veins as he pressed down on the command console and finally managed not to fall over.
“Warning: Engine Unit 2 has been attacked, damage level at 60%.”
“Warning: Engine Unit 2 has been attacked, damage level at 61%.”
“Why is the damage level still increasing?!”
“Show me the engine room’s feed!”
“Major… the monitor is damaged, I’m sending someone to check now!”
“Warning: Engine Unit 2 damage level at 62%…”
Each time the red light blinked, the damage level increased by one percent.
The starship’s shaking finally steadied slightly.
Mu Fan’s ears filled with the cursing voice of Black, “I was just about to cast my net for the third time. If it wasn’t for this damned ship, I would have been successful!”
The command room was in chaos now, with the lights flickering and the sound of people running in and out to report.
Mu Fan asked in a lowered voice, “What’s happening?”
“Acidic spore bullets! And it’s from a leader-class Swallower too. You should count yourselves lucky it only hit one engine unit. Once it hits, it sticks to the metal surface and continuously corrodes it. The damage level is rising because of the ongoing corrosion! Good thing I’m here…”
“What did you do?” Mu Fan was a bit alarmed now, hearing Black’s overly confident tone.
“I cut off and detached the engine room from the ship’s hull,” Black said, even sounding a bit smug about it.
Muscles on Mu Fan’s face twitched with irritation. Was this their solution!?
Two soldiers hurried over, one of them stepping forward to salute, “Reporting, Major, mechanic Yun Jian reporting.”
“What’s the situation?” Lin Hao asked the young-looking soldier before him.
“I was patrolling Engine Unit 2. After the violent shaking just now, I noticed something was off with Engine Room 2, so I rushed over. Through the monitoring window, I saw the entire engine room covered in a green gas or liquid. Then… then those metal walls and the engine began to melt away!”
“I tried to toggle the switch, but found the engine room was already locked. Then, somehow, it just detached automatically.”
Now there were only three out of the four engine units remaining.
“Is the warp engine damaged?”
“No, but the energy supply will be affected.”
“Phew, that’s a relief.”
Looking at the monitor data, all the indices began to return to normal. Thanks to the rapid detachment of Engine Unit 2, the starship’s outer shell was miraculously spared from the spread of the corrosive damage.
“Where’s that damned Zeg? It’s not going to attack again, is it?”
The officers, who had regained their composure, suddenly remembered.
Looking over, they realized that the unusually large flying Zeg was now slowly turning and flying away.
Was this insect… taunting them!?
The starship had now reached an altitude of 220,000 meters, about to break through the atmosphere.
This time… they finally felt safe!
“Please take your seats.”
The ticking of the clock echoed in everyone’s hearts.
Three, two, one.
Mu Fan felt momentarily weightless.
That intense sensation of acceleration finally disappeared, and now they were re-entering space.
Cheers erupted within the ship!
Now the two starships were one behind the other.
Ship 1 had one engine unit damaged, Ship 2’s lower isolation chamber was severely hit.
But in the end, hadn’t they still survived?
Lin Hao looked at the screen, at those cheering cadets, and his face finally showed relief.
“We’ve survived.”
“Yes!”
“Confirm if spatial jump is possible?”
“Confirmed.”
“However, Ship 1 has insufficient engine output, preventing a synchronized jump between the two ships.”
“Then let Ship 2 make the jump first, and both ships will return in sync.”
“Yes, sir!”
With just a few words, Lin Hao had set the return plan in motion.
He saw Mu Fan standing at the wide window, looking at the planet outside, and walked over to pat Mu Fan’s shoulder.
“What’s up, still thinking about what happened on Planet 131?”
“Yeah.”
Mu Fan was digesting the information Black had just told him.
Black said he had successfully used the Starship’s channel to construct a triple network that could remotely control over vast distances.
And now, on Planet 131, that huge underground Light Computer integration had not been discovered by the Zeg Clan; the Zeg raiders retreated after seeing them ascend into space.
It seemed that the objective of these bugs was very clear this time—it was Mu Fan!
To be precise, it was the unintended aura of the Dark Breath on Mu Fan that attracted the attention of the Zeger.
To these Zegers, cold metal held no appeal whatsoever.
As Mu Fan pondered these things, he felt a gentle pat on his shoulder.
Then he saw Lin Hao’s gaunt face.
“Mu Fan, this time, the credit goes to you.”
Mu Fan shook his head, “This is the first time I’ve felt the reality of war. I wonder if there are still soldiers like Major Zheng in the Federation?”
Looking at the young man’s bright eyes, Lin Hao smiled, a very radiant smile, “Not only do they exist in the Federation, but there are also many of them. This is the country we dedicate our lives to.”
“After this, once you return, I’ll keep my word. The Centurion Medal is certainly yours, and you will officially be noticed by the military’s upper echelons. How does that feel?”
A slight smile appeared on Mu Fan’s face as his gaze passed through the large window into space, “I’m honored.”
The two shared a smile, understanding each other without words.
…
“Yawn~”
Mu Fan stretched lazily, finally awake after a day and a half of sleep, just as the alert had announced departure from the wormhole.
Due to engine damage, the number two Starship had returned to the Academy early; their travel time on the first Starship might be extended by a day.
The atmosphere outside the lounge was quite lively, with the students in high spirits.
These past several days had been like a dream to them.
Even in their dreams, they envisioned ugly and ferocious bugs suddenly charging at them.
Waking up to find themselves back in normal society, their minds fluctuated wildly from the highs and lows.
As Mu Fan passed by, he heard many people discussing where they were going to indulge in mad consumption or participate in events to vent.
In short, these people were all pent up!
“Mu Fan, thank you. Your Mecha operating level… is really amazing,” Tracy approached slowly. After being injured before, she was already recovered from soaking in the Biological Repair Chamber and was now looking at Mu Fan with a smile.
Her voice, still hoarse and full of a peculiar charm, the sincere praise in her tone made Mu Fan’s eyes squint.
He enjoyed the affirmation of his ability to control a Mecha.
“Beautiful sister, does the promise of a kiss for every two hundred Zege still stand?” White Hair joined in from the side with a mischievous smile, refreshed after a day’s rest.
“It stands, of course,” Tracy’s lush red lips curved into an attractive arc. Mu Fan watched in stupefaction as this golden-haired beauty naturally leaned in and lightly pressed a kiss on his cheek, turning her face slightly.
“Damn, damn, damn… shit!”
Yin Shuai couldn’t help but blurt out a swear word, then immediately pointed at himself, “What about mine?”
“As soon as you start acting like a normal person, we’ll talk, little brother White Hair.” With a wave of her hand and a teasing smile, Tracy sauntered off.
Mu Fan stood there, dumbfounded, covering his handsome face in agony.
Even a dork like Mu Fan got forcefully kissed, and here I was, a handsome guy getting nothing…
Meanwhile, Mu Fan’s brain seemed to short circuit, having completely forgotten to dodge at that moment.
His hand robotically lifted to touch his own face.
He had actually been kissed by a woman!
Meanwhile, White Hair continued to grumble and curse, unheard by Mu Fan.
Black, who was supposed to be reporting the damage to the base on Planet 131, also saw Mu Fan’s bewildered face through the monitor and grumbled, “Women are such troublesome creatures, you really should keep your distance from now on! Mu Fan, are you listening to me, Mu Fan?”
“Damn it, Mu Fan.”
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PS: (The SC setup is just an interlude, don’t think the real enemy will be anything like this; careful readers recall the second volume… maybe you will discover******, wrong, a big secret! Cough, cough, next, after battling through blood and slaughter, Mu Fan resumes his return to normal society, think about Mu Fan’s current situation… So, the Mecha craze is about to surge again!!!)
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