CH 266

Hearing the announcement, all of us returned to our seats. Even the few who had gone to recharge our suits returned to the command room. Through the window, I could see all the smaller ships land on a massive conveyer belt. Our ship joined the procession, slowly landing on the massive belt strip. After us, more ships were arriving and landing one after another on different belts. Suddenly, a small ship approached us and landed right in front of us.

"This is bad, Canyue. Looks like we have been discovered already," said Zhang Bao'er nervously.

"Stay calm, everyone. That ship is computer controlled. Its system merely became confused after we took its position. It will automatically leave and return to the base to have its code readjusted in a bit," said Big Forest through the ship's communication system.

Sure enough, the small ship took off after a few minutes. Before long, the conveyor belts were parked full of ships. The entire process felt like a massive system, with the ships being a part, each playing their own role. With all the ships in their positions, the belts started moving. Before long, we were placed somewhere on the upper levels of the platform holding the transport ship.

The saucer-shaped transport ship was right above us, propped up by three massive limbs. A black hole was present on its belly, and there, the conveyor belts were bringing in the numerous small ships carrying the required supply into the transport ship. At the other end of the transport ship was another opening. The ships from the earlier supply batch were being brought out of the transport ship through this opening.

"This entire thing looks like a machine while we're its components. It is surprising the heights technology can reach. How is the Interstellar League supposed to defeat these monsters?" muttered Old Du with a sigh as he looked at the disorderly work around us.

Carried on the conveyor belt, our ship slowly approached the black entrance. At the entrance, we could see guards performing inspections on every supply ship. The inspection of each ship took about five minutes.

"When it's our turn, don't say anything. Let me deal with the inspection," reminded Little Forest.

Time passed, and before long, it was our turn. I could clearly see that apart from the guards, there were also over a hundred ray guns aimed at the inspected ship from the entrance. Any suspicious movement might result in complete annihilation.

"Calm down, everyone. The defenses here are mostly gathered around the entrance. It will be better after we get in," comforted Big Forest.

With a clang, our ship stopped moving. My heart thumped rapidly as I instinctively gripped my gun tighter. After all, we could no longer risk even a single mistake. The indicator in our ship was blinking white. Shortly after, the door opened, allowing five smart robots to step inside. These robots, in particular, were shaped like Eternals. Having noticed us, the leader appeared bewildered.

"We're a field squad here on a special assignment to escort some special data," said Little Forest while taking off his helmet.

The leader blanked out the moment it saw that there was a Sacred Wing on the ship. The other guard, who was about to start going through the ship, also paused.

"Where are you escorting your data to? We need to verify the information," said the guard.

Find the original at "pawread dot com".

The moment that question was asked, I noticed Zhang Bao'er and the others reaching for their weapons.

"My apologies, but the data is meant for an individual from the empire's surveillance organization. He is part of the control center's security and can't be easily exposed," replied Little Forest calmly.

Perhaps it was because of Little Forest's calm, but the robotic guards started whispering among themselves. I could see that on Black King, the Sacred Wings were the rulers whereas these regular guards were mere commoners. They were definitely unwilling to offend the ruling class for no good reason. After a short discussion, the guards decided to let us through. Their heavy workload had likely played a part in that decision.

"Success. We're not entering the transport ship. Please remain in our seats. I'll take the ship to the temporary parking bay," said Big Forest.

After leaving the belt, our ship flew freely in the transport ship. Numerous layers formed the insides of the transport ship, and each layer was meticulously designed to carry different sorts of supplies. A few layers were parked full of small ships like the one we were in. We soon arrived at where the small ships were being parked. Big Forest picked an empty spot and landed on the floor.

"Everyone, you may take a short rest. The transport ship will return shortly. In 30 minutes, we will be at our destination," said Big Forest while walking out of the cockpit.

"I didn't expect this plan to work so flawlessly. Looks like the control center's sole opening isn't that hard to abuse after all," said Zhang Bao'er, who was feeling smug yet again.

"The security inside the control center is much tighter. When we're there, we need to split up as a precaution against being totally defeated when caught," said Little Forest, reminding us of the difficulty waiting for us.

"Splitting up? What is the control center's layout? What should we do, and where should we reconvene?" Old Du immediately pushed for details from Little Forest.

"We'll work in groups of two, all heading toward the core server room. There are five routes leading to the room. We will be using three of them. After entering the core room, we can search through the code to locate the rooms imprisoning Temo and Dodo," said Little Forest.

"How are we supposed to locate the rooms through the code? What command should we enter?" asked Old Du.

"The core server room contains five independent servers. Two of them are involved in the control center's core operations. The other three are related to the base's managerial functions. By inserting the command into them, you might be able to find traces of Temo and Dodo," explained Little Forest while taking out three small devices that looked like probes.

"What are these?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"These are the probes you can use to insert the required command. When you see the servers, just insert the probe into the system, and it will start retrieving the relevant data based on its program. If any relevant data is found, the system will alert you," explained Little Forest patiently.

"I have a question. I think we are neglecting something important. How do we enter the core server room? Is the room not guarded?" asked Anxashe.

"We'll split into three and enter through the ventilation ducts," said Big Forest.

"Ventilation ducts? Are you saying that the robots still need to breathe, so there are ventilation ducts?" asked Old Du doubtfully.

"The ventilation ducts are not for breathing. They're there to expel heat from the core room. Before my imprisonment, I frequently went to the core room to insert the relevant commands. I discovered that there is a ventilation grill in each room along the way. I believe that among the many ventilation ducts, there must be some that lead to the core room," said Big Forest.

"Do you have the blueprint of the place? If not, how do we know which duct to take?" I asked.

"There is no need for that. I'll find the correct entrances for you," said Little Forest.

The two of them seemed to work really well with each other. Seeing how confident they were, our worries lessened. After about half an hour, the indicators in the transport ship lit up alongside a blazing alarm.

"We have arrived at the control center. In a short while, I'll drive this ship into the docking bay. There, our mission will start," said Big Forest before going back to the cockpit.

At that point, our morph-capable suits had been recharged to about 80 percent. Led by Little Forest, Ada and Anxashe returned with our suits. We did not know how he had performed the charging, but 80 percent was enough for us to complete our mission.

"There are a lot of patrols outside. I suggest you stay dressed as guards. You can carry your suits in bags," suggested Little Forest.

We followed his suggestion and carried our suits in bags before getting ready for our mission. By now, the ships around us were already leaving the transport ship one after another. They were all heading to the docking bay, and at the same time, the ships from the previous batch were entering the transport ship. It was then that Big Forest drove our ship out. We moved quickly, and the moment we left the transport ship, a building of peculiar design appeared before our eyes.