Chapter 96: New Crisis Under the Apocalypse (Peach Blossom Fan Additional Chapter)

“By the way, what exactly is that Blue Light Starship?” After introducing Du Yun to his team, Boss quickly moved on to the main subject. The atmosphere shifted abruptly from festive to heavy.

This Blue Water Star teems with zombies, and their numbers vastly exceed anyone’s imagination. Supplies are nearly impossible to obtain, and if you linger too long without resupply, starvation here would be humiliating.

“We didn’t pick up these starships on the radar before atmospheric entry. When we were about to land, they materialized out of nowhere behind Haimo and opened fire,” Liya said. As deputy captain and commander of Haimo, her rank placed her just behind Boss, so her answer was only natural.

Out of nowhere? It took the group more than thirty seconds to see them, yet Haimo had only registered the vessel when the attack began. Clearly these vessels possessed advanced shielding technology that blocked radar. But blocking radar does not block human sight. That, they realized, was their one weakness.

“Quantity?” Boss continued.

The ground was blanketed in dense rows of starships. Calling them thousands would be generous, yet their count was far less precise than Haimo’s records.

“Haimo recorded 1,872 vessels within our radar range,” Liya added, her voice dropping. If they had spotted them sooner, would Haimo have been destroyed?

“Boss, I’m sorry. If I had noticed them earlier, Haimo…” Liya’s shoulders sagged. She stood before Boss and bowed her head in apology.

“You’re not at fault. As long as everyone is safe.” Boss shook his head and offered no comfort. The situation was exactly as it had unfolded. Even with early warning, the odds of Haimo escaping an encirclement by thousands of Blue Light Starships were virtually nil. Better to preserve the surviving crew than to risk everything in a desperate flight.

Boss actually held Liya in high regard. Her strength and composure under pressure were exceptional. Even granting her a share of responsibility for the delayed reaction, the fact that the entire crew had survived was already a remarkable outcome.

“Rest up. We’re stealing a starship and heading home,” Boss said, noting the team’s subdued moods.

“Stealing a starship?” Eyes brightened instantly. The Boss had come up with a brilliant solution! No ship? Then seize one!

Before the group could continue, a deafening explosion echoed from outside. The entire underground bunker shuddered violently, as though an earthquake had struck, and the tremor only ceased after nearly a minute.

“What’s happening?” Everyone in the command center and those resting in the rooms rushed to the entrance. Through the monitors they saw nothing but utter darkness.

Outside… had night fallen?

Clearly not. It had been morning only hours earlier; the time was at most afternoon. How could it turn night in an instant?

“It’s the starship!” Du Yun stared at the irregular surface for a long moment, then remembered the Blue Light Starships she had seen in the sky earlier. “The Blue Light Starship has landed.”

“Confirmed. Sensors identify it as a Blue Light Starship,” Douzhi’s voice echoed inside her head, validating Du Yun’s conclusion.

“What? A Blue Light Starship?” Murmurs of disbelief rippled through the group. They had been planning to seize one, and now it sat at their doorstep.

Shock and dread warred in their hearts. Fear of the unknown purpose of the Blue Light Starship mingled with a strange, unearned sense of relief.

“Shall we go out and bring it down?” A young soldier said, eyes gleaming as though he had survived a brush with death.

“Chongtou, calm down!” Slim Monkey strode over and slapped the impulsive soldier on the forehead. “Obey the orders, or my fist will remind you.”

Chongtou, a high-ranking fighter under Slim Monkey’s command, possessed raw combat prowess but suffered from a crippling flaw: he was impulsive and charged ahead. The nickname “Chongtou” had stuck.

“Hmph.” Slim Monkey’s words snapped Chongtou back to reality. He snorted twice, then fell in step behind Boss. Though silent, his glare burned with expectation that the order to seize the starship would soon be given.

At that moment, a rapid clattering noise erupted from the surface. The bunker entrance trembled as though struck repeatedly by heavy vehicles.

The team swiveled toward the monitors. The sight that met their eyes sent a chill down every spine.

The starship’s layered, jagged surface peeled away like crumbling plaster, dropping in sheets. Once on the ground, the debris transformed, as though by magic, into oddly shaped small vehicles that sped away.

Hundreds, thousands of these vehicles peeled from the hull one after another. The sight of dense streams of them fanning out to scour the port area left the team members’ faces grim. This starship carried not only aerial forces but also an astonishing ground complement. Seizing it would prove far more difficult than imagined.

No one spoke. No one moved. They simply watched the relentless tide of small vehicles roll toward the harbor.

“Look there!” Du Yun pointed. Several vehicles converged on a single, nondescript gate and smashed it open. Zombies poured out.

These once-ferocious zombies met the strange vehicles with no resistance. Mechanical tentacles lashed out, seizing them before they could close the distance, then hurled them under the vehicles into hidden compartments.

“They’re collecting zombies!” The scene was beyond belief yet undeniable. The team watched in horror as the vehicles swept through every building and crevice of the port, gathering every zombie they found before driving onward.

What would become of these captured zombies? The thought sent a shiver through Du Yun. She recalled the energy crystals she had harvested by killing zombies—for survival. What purpose drove these colossal Blue Light Starships and their ground vehicles to collect them?