CH 127

"Duke Yidon needs us, but we can't risk a Zeus-class battleship for this rescue operation," said General Edward.

"But Duke Yidon is trapped on Akko. We must get him out," said Captain Carter.

"I need to return to the fleet and organize a proper rescue team. I also need to deploy some scouts to Akko and gather more information before doing anything. Only then will there be a chance at succeeding in this mission," said General Edward.

"I'm willing to take part in the scouting operation," offered Captain Carter.

"No. As the captain of a battleship, you have more important tasks," refused General Edward.

"General, I volunteer to take on the scouting mission with Fearless," I offered after seeing the result of their argument.

"I also had that in mind. Since your status as fugitives has yet to be removed, it won't be too convenient for you to return to the league immediately. I wish to assign your team to this scouting mission. I'll also have Kelly go with you," said General Edward, showing his support and confidence in us.

Kelly's face turned excited when she heard that she was going to go on the mission with us. The authority of a general was unquestionable, so we all accepted the mission.

"Although this ship is repaired, it still needs further reinforcement. Carter, order the engineers in Star to further repair and reinforce Fearless. Additionally, prepare morph-capable gear for everyone participating in the mission," said General Edward.

"Roger. I'll get it done immediately," said Carter.

A mechanical maintenance drone flew toward Fearless. Meanwhile, Kelly, Dondon, and I took a shuttle back to the drifting ship. The shuttle then returned with the Gando warrior and the Eternal soldiers we had captured, leaving only the few of us on the drifting ship.

I immediately told everyone about the new mission. They were all happy to know that we could go back and rescue Zhang Bao'er. Only Zhang Bao'er appeared unhappy when he heard that Kelly was joining.

Everyone seemed to be in a state of excitement upon learning that we were going to throw ourselves into danger once again. Sounds of discussion broke out as everyone started talking. After roughly 20 minutes, the shuttle returned to pick us up. Everyone rushed toward the shuttle, but I suddenly noticed Wuzhou crouching silently in the corner with a lonely look in his eyes.

"Shit. I forgot about Wuzhou," exclaimed Zhang Bao'er, also noticing my gaze.

"We can't leave him here alone. He is the final surviving member of his people. It is too sad to have him drifting about all alone in the universe," said Dondon.

"This is his home, and we still need to go on a difficult mission that might kill us. I don't know if Wuzhou will be willing to leave with us," I said with worry.

"At the very least, we should have him stay with the fleet," said Kelly.

"I'll ask what he thinks about it," said Old Du decisively.

Old Du then lifted Bulu and approached Wuzhou. He gestured at Wuzhou to place a hand on Bulu. Bulu's body started shining, and a few minutes later, the light dimmed.

"He agreed to come with us and emphasized that he wished to come with me," said Old Du.

Old Du was an honest and sincere person. Nobody objected to the fact that Wuzhou wanted to follow him. Wuzhou seemed somewhat reluctant to leave the place his people had lived in for generations. He started packing, eventually accumulating dozens of bags to take with him.

"Yes, yes, he is definitely moving. Look at how he's bringing anything of even the slightest value," sneered Domo to the side, showing no intention to help.

The rest of us helped Wuzhou carry his luggage into the shuttle. Both Old Du and I accompanied Wuzhou as he paid a final visit to his parents and ancestors' cemetery. Wuzhou kowtowed to his parents and ancestors a dozen times before standing up. Even when walking away, he kept looking back reluctantly.

Slowly, the door of the drifting ship closed behind us. The drifting ship would continue drifting about with the bodies of Wuzhou's elders. Perhaps this was the last time anyone would step foot into the ship. Even if someone else encountered the ship in the future, they would probably assume they had encountered a random asteroid.

As for Wuzhou, he finally moved on from the life of a lonely wanderer. He might have been reluctant to part with his home, but he immediately returned to his cheerful self after entering the shuttle. He looked left and right curiously. 

The shuttle brought us back to Fearless. Thanks to Blue engineers, Fearless had undergone yet another transformation, looking completely new.

The weaponry system and engine system had all been overhauled and upgraded, bringing Fearless's offensive prowess to a level equivalent to a Poseidon-class battleship. Captain Carter supplied all of us, including Wuzhou and Bulu, with morph-capable gear, causing the overall combat prowess of the team to take a qualitative leap forward.

I placed the morph-capable device on Bulu's head. From afar, Bulu looked like it was wearing a pair of goggles, looking exceptionally adorable. Lastly, Captain Carter also gave Wuzhou a translation device. Wuzhou immediately installed the device onto his suit. Everyone held their breath, waiting for Wuzhou's first word.

"Lililalakikigaga," Wuzhou meekly spoke his first words to us, but none of us understood him.

"Without any data on Wuzhou's language, the device is unable to translate quickly. We need to have him carry the device around for a while, allowing the device to gather more data before it can slowly start translating," said Zhang Bao'er.

We might not be able to communicate, but the three little fellows of the team, Dondon, Bulu, and Wuzhou seemed to get along fine. It did not take them long to happily start play-fighting.

"Childish," remarked Domo, the other small fellow in the team, with his arms crossed coldly.

When all preparations were done, Captain Carter called us all to the command center.

Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

"Planet Akko is completely surrounded by the imperial army. We only have one hour left before the ceasefire ends," said Captain Carter, initiating the military meeting.

"Will that emperor bastard even stick with his words and wait out the 12 hours? I thought he should have continued attacking long ago," said Zhang Bao'er.

"That might not be the case. Nothing is a joke when it comes to the words of a monarch. I believe the emperor will keep to the agreement," said Old Du.

"We still have a precious hour remaining. Nobody will expect that the league would try to break through the blockade during the ceasefire to enter the encirclement around Akko," said Carter.

"In that case, we will do something unexpected and pass through the blockade. Half of us will try to enter the underground palace, while the other half will maintain the communication signal and guide the league ship that is taking part in the rescue operation," I suggested.

"Sounds good. By my estimates, the empire would not have imagined that we would use a battleship for the rescue operation," said Kelly.

"Exactly. Gather our force like a clenched fist and punch through the blockade," said Captain Carter.

"We don't have much time. Let's move out immediately. We need to be quick. The team leader and the others are still waiting for us," said Zhang Bao'er in excitement.

"You make it sound so simple. How are we supposed to even break through the blockade?" said Domo, pouring a bucket of cold water over our excitement.

"Good question. I have already deployed some high-altitude mechanical scouts farther away from Akko. Using their laser probe technology, we found an opening in the blockade's blind spot," said Captain Carter.

While the captain spoke, Dondon controlled the hologram projector and displayed a map showing the imperial fleet around Akko.

Amid the defensive perimeter, a green line was drawn. The winding line cut right through the blockade's blind spot.

"This is amazing. A tiny opening like this was actually discovered, and it has a proper path drawn through it," exclaimed Zhang Bao'er.

"Yes, and we can move according to the coordinates provided by the system to avoid the patrols. It will only take us 30 minutes to get through the green corridor," said Captain Carter.

"We still have 55 minutes left in the ceasefire. Move!" I commanded decisively.

"Canyue, the black and white Gandos are right at the entrance of the underground palace. How do we deal with them?" asked Zhang Bao'er, reminding me of two troublesome opponents.

"We can't afford to keep thinking. Let's focus on reaching Akko first," I said resolutely. In truth, I was betting on Bulu.

"Alright. I wish you good luck. Remember, since the emperor had ordered your execution, do not pretend to be imperial envoys anymore. Otherwise, you might walk right into a trap," reminded Carter.

"Understood," I replied.

"We'll get going. Have the support crew ready as soon as possible," said Kelly to Carter.

"Don't worry. I'll be there on time. Be careful and return alive," said Captain Carter.

The captain then left with Star's other crew members. Dondon immediately activated the wormhole production system. Mere minutes later, we found ourselves outside Planet Akko. From inside Fearless, we could see countless imperial ships of all sizes hovering all around Planet Akko, forming a complete encirclement.

"Only 50 minutes left on the ceasefire, and we need 30 minutes to get through the blockade. Permission to begin immediately," Dondon asked.

"Granted. Let's move," I commanded decisively.

Fearless entered stealth and moved in accordance with the indicated route, approaching Akko at a rapid speed. Everyone gathered in the ship's command room and focused on the map of our route. Fearless was moving speedily under the cover of stealth when suddenly, the map indicated that a red object was approaching us rapidly.

"Shit! Were we discovered?" asked Dondon nervously.

"To die before even starting the mission properly. What a good plan. We were discovered the moment we came here," complained Domo.

"Don't make any rash judgments. If we were discovered, there would be more than one ship heading our way. Let's observe first," I stopped everyone from speculating.

In less than five minutes, the map indicated that the red dot had neared our ship. Everyone looked outside the window and saw that a fighter drone had appeared before us.