Chapter 322: Attack!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“This is the captain of Short Horn Star speaking. Passengers, we have encountered an attack from scavengers. We will start to turn our engine to its full capacity. As long as we enter the jump gate, we will be able to get rid of the enemies. Please do not worry, the enemy will definitely not be able to break the defense—we are very experienced in facing attacks.”
This time, the voice from the broadcast was no longer an electrically mixed voice—it was the firm and manly sound of the captain, comforting the passengers.
As a low-class travel agency, the Short Horn Star could not always avoid facing robberies from scavengers and space pirates, so Short Horn Star had gone through special modifications. Thus, its shield was very tough, easier to escape.
This isn’t good... Han Xiao had a heartache. He just wanted to arrive at the destination safely—why did it have to be so difficult? A space attacks was something that he could not deal with at his current strength. To a certain extent, he could only hope for the best.
More than a dozen scavenger spaceships surrounded and attacked—there was a total of three logos. Suddenly, Han Xiao recognizes one of the logos.
Boneless Bird‽
Han Xiao immediately thought of Cesoly from a few days ago, and he went to look for him in the crowd right after but could not find him. Cesoly had disappeared without a trace. Han Xiao frowned and pulled an attendant aside, described Cesoly looks, and asked, “Where did this person go?”
This attendant was the woman attendant who had tried to seduce Kerlodd back then when they just boarded the ship. She was horrified and said while stuttering, “Tha—that passenger changed to the first class yesterday...”
Kerlodd nervously walked over and said, “These are Boneless Bird scavengers—they were definitely called here by that middle man. I can’t believe they are attacking so publicly. If this spaceship can’t withstand it, we’re all done for. I haven’t lived long enough.”
“You don’t say... No one’s lived long enough.”
The attack was too sudden and could not be prevented in advance. Cesoly had a group behind him and could call for people, but Han Xiao did not have any galactic organization behind him, so there was nothing he could do, and he was at a very passive state. Furthermore, Han Xiao did not actually know how to read minds, so Cesoly’s moves and thoughts were unknown to him. If he started a fight in the spaceship first, he would be chased out instantly.
There was no use of thinking of these things now. Han Xiao calmed himself down and said, “Cesoly is their man, and he is on board this ship, which means that these scavengers will not destroy this ship—they will definitely try to board it. There are two possibilities—one is that they will attack the Short Horn Star till it can’t function, threaten to destroy the ship, and make us give in. The other is that if they can’t break through Short Horn Star’s defenses, they will then attack us from inside and board the ship. We can’t do anything about the former, but we can try to resist against the latter.”
“Then what can we do?”
“We only can counter attack if we have weapons.” Han Xiao thought quickly. The spaceship did not allow possession of destructive weapons except in special cases, such as implants that could not be removed.
“All of the luggage and equipment is stored in the warehouse of the spaceship.”
“Okay, don’t leave me here, I can fight too,” Kerlodd said.
Han Xiao grabbed the female attendant and yelled, “Where’s the warehouse‽”
The female attendant heard their conversation. She opened her eyes wide in surprise upon realizing that the Godoran was the follower and that this low-profile human was the leader instead. It seemed that she had been wrong all along. She regained her focus upon hearing Han Xiao’s yell and pointed the way, shivering.
Without saying a word, Han Xiao was going to dash out of the hall immediately, but the female attendant hurriedly said, “Wait, don’t leave. The spaceship had entered safe mode, so the exit to the hall is locked, and no one can get out...”
Bang!
The players used their strongest attacks one after another. With a loud bang and streams of light, the broken mechanical lock shattered, and the metal gate was blasted away. Han Xiao did not slow down—he led the group and charged out of the gate. The remaining passengers in the hall were left panicking and lost.
The scavengers and the Short Horn Star were still in a stalemate. Most of the passengers were watching in horror. Han Xiao was not acting on impulses—he just never liked to let others decide the outcome, always wanting to have the upper hand.
If the Short Horn Star could escape successfully, of course, that would be the best outcome, but if its defenses were broke through, these actions that he took now in advance would be crucial. If they only started to prepare themselves after they break in, it would be too late.
The group ran for about ten minutes. The tremors from the attacks never stopped. They could feel the Short Horn Star trying to speed up, but it just could not enter the wormhole tunnel. Han Xiao knew that something was wrong.
There was a lot of equipment that could stop spaceships from entering the wormhole tunnel, and since scavengers did robberies, they definitely possessed such equipment to prevent their prey from escaping.
Suddenly, the spaceship trembled tens of times harder than it did before with deafening sounds of explosions. The group staggered and almost fell.
Han Xiao’s expression turned very serious. The universe was a vacuum, so the sound of the explosion meant that the enemies had destroyed the shield and broken in.
This captain had jinxed it!
The moment that he heard the sound, a notification showed on his interface.
_____________________
You have triggered an emergency mission, [Protect Short Horn Star].
Mission Introduction: Due to certain reasons, some groups of scavengers have their eyes on Short Horn Star. They are preparing to board and attack all the passengers. Your fate is intertwined tightly with this spaceship.
Mission Requirements: Repel all the scavengers and protect Short Horn Star.
Reward: 350,000 Experience, 1,500 Enas, unlock area prestige.
_____________________
Looks like the scavengers chose the second method. There are two other scavenger groups other than Boneless Bird. The reason for them to work together and attack us is definitely more than just to capture a group of slaves...
Han Xiao turned around and saw the twenty or so players behind him standing in a daze, which meant that they were looking at their interface and had triggered the same mission. Fortunately for him, he would not have to spend his own quota.
Han Xiao opened the communicator and realized that there was no signal. There could only be one explanation for such a phenomenon—the scavengers had advanced equipment that could block the signal, which was definitely to prevent their prey from requesting help from nearby civilizations. It was clear that they were very well prepared and determined to catch their prey.
“The enemies have broken in,” Han Xiao said with a low voice. “We can’t rely on the guards of this spaceship, and I don’t want to give up fighting. We have to protect this spaceship. I have a plan. First, we’ll retrieve our weapons from the warehouse. Then, we’ll split up into three groups. One group will head toward the main control room, and another group will look for the captain and the cadres—they have authority to operate the spaceship, so the enemies will definitely head toward these two targets as well. There’s a very high possibility that we will get into combat, and we know nothing about how strong the enemies are, so act with caution.
“The last group will find the emergency escape ship. Such a large spaceship definitely has this kind of measure, so this will be the last resort.”
Players splitting up was very advantageous. They communicated with their interface, which would not be blocked, and Han Xiao could control the situation by talking to the players.
No one had any objections.
Without further ado, Han Xiao led the others onward and immediately headed toward the warehouse.
...
On the side of Short Horn Star, a hole had been created on the shield by the scavengers’ focus fire. Before the shield could recover, mechanical horns extended from seven scavenger spaceships and rammed into Short Horn Star. Thick smoke came out of the hole, and a large group of scavengers boarded the ship successfully, entering the interior.
Hundreds of scavengers equipped with various firearms battled the guards of Short Horn Star, shooting out beans and bullets, and people were screaming in agony as they fell.
Most of the soldiers were normal people of various races, and there were also a few supers.
One of the spaceship guards was an Insectman Pugilist with six arms who used the six swords style. Scavengers fell one after another under the cold blades.
Huuu!
Suddenly, a large shadow fell rapidly and shrouded this Insectman Pugilist.
The strong wind pressure was like a black hole, sucking away the air nearby, and the surrounding people felt suffocated.
“Buzz...” the Insectman Pugilist let out an angry buzz as he raised the six swords to block the attack.
Boom!
The Insectman disappeared in an instant. The floor suffered from the attack and sunk, but at the border of the impact, it protruded with edges like a ring of mountains!
An enormous war hammer rose up slowly, covered in the acidic, green blood of the Insectman, dripping down to the floor and making a sizzling sound.
One hit, and the Insectman had been flattened!
Serpent Braid placed the silver war hammer on his shoulder with one hand. It rubbed against his stone skin and clanked. He yelled, “Kill the guards quickly! Gazers, go to clean up the main control room; Beast Hoofs, get some hostages...”
Serpent Braid had invited two other scavenger groups for this job called ‘Gazers’ and ‘Beast Hoofs’.
“And the rest...” Serpent Braid swung his braid and smiled hideously. “Follow me to find that Godoran!”