Chapter 53: Meeting – Section 8

A long wait is boring. But in Li Feng’s cabin at this moment, it was the only thing to do.
The universe was simply too vast. Without any reference points, it was extremely difficult to determine one’s exact location. Some might say, “But don’t we have high-powered scanners? They should be able to cover an entire star region, right?” Yet in reality, the most powerful scanner on Li Feng was currently running, but the results showed…
Not a single star within its range!!
What did this imply? It meant that this empty expanse of space covered at least a considerable area of the starfield. Such a vast region was more than enough to cause Hei Fa’s fleet to get lost hundreds of times.
So unless they planned to return the same way, they had no choice but to wait patiently here until the Mosquito-style reconnaissance drones sent back results. Unlike the ship’s scanners, the Mosquito drones had exceptional capabilities in detecting details, and perhaps they could bring special news to Hei Fa.
Time passed slowly. Soon, the scheduled patrol time for the Mosquito drones arrived. But to everyone’s surprise, not a single drone returned. Those tiny machines seemed to have truly been swallowed up by the endless space.
“What’s going on?” Monkey’s forehead broke into sweat. Even the slowest person could sense something unusual about this place by now. All around was utter darkness; even with the fleet’s lights, they could only illuminate a short distance. The psychological pressure from such an environment was immense.
“We can’t confirm, sir. All drones have lost contact,” replied the crew member in charge of scanning.
“Nonsense!” Monkey snapped irritably. In such a situation, couldn’t he tell that the drones had lost contact? He just wanted to ask if anyone else had experienced something similar. But it seemed no one had any experience to share. The cabin was silent, except for the sound of the air conditioner.
Seeing this, Xue Tong next to him touched his nose.
“Maybe we should go deeper. Leaving a coordinate generator here should prevent us from getting lost.”
“But that would also tell them we’re here,” Monkey thought for a moment before shaking his head slowly. A coordinate generator was indeed easy to place, but the problem was what happened after that. It meant handing over their lifeline to the enemy. If someone destroyed it, they would truly be lost.

For a moment, everyone fell silent. This situation far exceeded their expectations. If possible, they would have preferred to face the enemy directly—even if it was an irresistible trap, it would still be far better than being trapped here.

In the quiet space, the voice of the black-haired man suddenly rang out. “Anti-space… have you sent scouts?”

“We’ve sent reconnaissance drones, but there’s still no response,” Monkey replied immediately.

“Then no need to send more. The Nomad tribe’s anti-space machines are useful, but they’re not living beings after all. Send in the Buckworm tribe. There are quite a few of them aboard this ship, right?”

“About a ‘hundred-man squad,’” Monkey thought for a moment. “I placed them on the last virtual puppet. After all, they’re not very useful in large-scale battles.”

“But they’re crucial here,” the black-haired man interrupted Monkey. “Tell them I need to know the situation in anti-space right away. I hope they can act quickly.”

“Understood,” Monkey replied, imitating Bloodpupil’s gesture of touching his nose with a frustrated expression.

Speaking of which, the Buckworm tribe, like the Nomad tribe, was one of the four original permanent races on Death Star. They were originally essential for combat. But over the years, Death Star has developed so rapidly—just the addition of the Black Prison tribes has already significantly boosted the combat strength of the Blood Wolves. Now, they’ve even surpassed the limits of ordinary forces and can nearly confront the greatest empire in the universe, the Moore Empire. As a result, these four permanent races are rarely seen in battles now. As foreign races, it’s sufficient for them to contribute to Death Star’s stability.

Yet at this moment, the black-haired man’s suggestion was the best. If scouting anti-space was needed, who could be more suitable than the Buckworm tribe? After all, they are the only race that can operate normally in anti-space. And aside from them, perhaps only the black-haired man could do this. Surely he can’t be sent on the scouting mission himself, right?

So moments later, the virtual puppet at the back of the formation slowly detached itself from the group, its cabin opening as small black dots leaped out and quickly disappeared into the dark starry sky.

Another tedious wait. But this time, the result came quickly. It was a seemingly young Buckworm that had just entered anti-space for a short while before emerging. Even so, its appearance on Li Feng’s screen shocked everyone.

Its hard Buckworm shell was covered with countless holes!!

“Ship… fleet… enemy attack!!” After managing to say a few words, the young Buckworm collapsed, its head drooping, and exploded into pieces with a loud bang under everyone’s anxious gazes. Countless viscous liquids sprayed out, resembling a flower blooming in space. At that moment, even a fool could understand what had happened. No wonder the space here was so strange, no wonder they couldn’t see the enemy. The trap was actually hidden behind the starfield. And judging from the poor state of that Buckworm, the enemy must be quite powerful—otherwise, it wouldn’t have dealt such severe damage to the Buckworm race, which could operate in anti-space in an instant!! “Damn it!!” Even the usually calm Blood Pupil could no longer hold back. “We can’t fight in anti-space!!” “Whoa…” As Blood Pupil spoke, everyone’s expression changed. Indeed, this was a fatal problem. Anti-space could be considered unexplored territory for humans. Aside from ordinary navigation, no one had thoroughly studied it. Until now, the time distortion and mental disturbances in anti-space had been major challenges for humans. They could only rely on hibernation pods when in anti-space. But now, the enemy was hiding below, and judging from the behavior of that Buckworm, they could not only hide but also fight in anti-space like the Buckworms. This created a desperate situation… They were now trapped, unable to fight back!! “Damn it, is there really no way? Should we return right away?” Blood Pupil said through gritted teeth. “It’s too late. If it’s a trap, the enemy won’t give us a chance to escape. The corridor we came through is probably blocked now.” Monkey sighed helplessly. Soon, the crew at the control panel confirmed his view—the virtual corridor, which had been unobstructed moments ago, was now sealed, with no way to open the entrance. “Oh, damn it!!” Seeing this, Blood Pupil was completely speechless. The atmosphere in the cabin became heavy, and everyone’s expression turned grim. None of those seated here were novices; they naturally understood how dire the situation was. It could be said that even after years of experience, Blood Wolf had never encountered such a tricky situation—unable to fight or escape. Staying here was almost the same as being lost. With the entrance to the virtual corridor closed, all their escape routes were cut off. The person who set this trap was truly vicious…

“No, maybe it’s not a complete trap after all.” In the silent cabin, the black-haired man’s voice sounded rather abrupt.
“Not a trap?” Monkey was stunned. “Then what is it? Head, are you crazy? Can’t you see we’re all trapped in this situation now? If it’s not a trap, could it be that someone wants to talk to you?”
“That’s likely.” To Monkey’s surprise, the black-haired man actually nodded.
“If it’s a trap, we all know that attacking when emerging from the transition is the most effective method. Although the virtual corridor is somewhat special, it’s basically similar to anti-space travel. There’s no reason for them to miss this opportunity.” Facing the puzzled looks of Monkey and the others, the black-haired man spoke confidently.
“And then, we found ourselves in a universe with no basis at all. Trapped with no way out. This is also part of their plan. If we follow this line of thought, the purpose of their blocking anti-space becomes clear.”
After a pause, a glint suddenly appeared in the black-haired man’s eyes.
“They want to push us into a desperate situation. To make us feel hopeless and frustrated. Because only in this way can they fundamentally undermine the confidence of a fleet. It’s like birds in a cage. Only then can they complete the preliminary preparations and gain absolute control and advantage.”
“Then why?” Hearing this, Monkey’s eyes reddened. Having followed the black-haired man for so long, this was the first time he’d heard himself compared to a bird in a cage. Anyway, it was a blatant insult. If he could, Monkey really wanted to catch the one who planned all this and teach him a lesson, to make him realize who the real bird in a cage was.
“Why? You already said it.” The black-haired man glanced at Monkey. “They want to talk. All the preliminary preparations were done for this purpose. Now, they’ve succeeded. They can face us with the attitude of having everything under control, while we can only obey their commands, otherwise we’ll be lost here forever…”
As he spoke, the black-haired man’s gaze swept past Monkey, past the blood-red eyes, and into the depths of the universe outside the window. His voice gradually grew softer.
“It’s just… they don’t realize that in this world, not everything can be compromised. And some people possess trump cards that don’t require compromise at all.”
At that moment, the black-haired man glanced at the officer at the control panel and spoke in an extremely calm tone, “Get ready, black hole cannon. Target… ahead of the fleet. Shatter that space completely!!”