CH 294

All conversation in the ship stopped. Once again, an identification verification request appeared on the ship's screen. Master Crystal and Wind Spirit went through the same gene inspection and passed the check without much trouble. I breathed out in relief. Master Wind must have given the genetic password the highest level of authority.

After the inspection, Markus continued traveling along the green passage. We went on a long journey through the massive fleet and went through three more inspections. Finally, we flew out of the fleet, and the green path was finally leading us toward Pluto.

"Looks like the journey has been scary yet safe. We're finally out," said Zhang Bao'er.

But right that moment, the alarm in the ship blazed yet again. It wasn't the lightnet defensive system this time. Rather, a massive battleship had stopped in front of us. Right before we were out of the enemy's army, a new crisis appeared. The ship in front of us was a Star-class cruiser. It had suddenly exited its invisible state right in front of us.

"Shit! What's going on? I thought all the inspections are supposed to be automated?" said Temo. The sight of the enemy ship had caused him to become nervous.

"This is an enemy cruiser. What will happen now?" asked Old Du when he saw that Temo had become nervous.

"Looks like they're going to enter our ship for the inspection. Everyone, into the storeroom," ordered Temo.

Soon, the cruiser delivered its docking demand. We followed Temo's request and rushed toward the storeroom at the back of the ship and hid inside. Through our communicator, we learned that five imperial army officials had entered our ship for inspection.

"Huh? Someone from the Storm race? Why would there be a Storm here?" asked one of them.

"There's a robot too. This design resembles the Interstellar League's style," remarked a different individual.

"What is the meaning of this? Can you shoulder the risk of delaying this young lady's work?" said Wind Spirit. Her temper was not something that would change regardless of who she faced.

"My apologies, superior. I know you Storms are His Majesty's close advisors. In fact, this is the second time I met someone from your race. But according to our latest order, all ships trying to approach Pluto must be subjected to inspection. The purpose of the visit must be made clear as well. We're in an active war, so the correct password is required to enter Pluto," said an official.

"Are you blind? We only got here after having our password verified. You're asking me for another password? What password do you need?" said Wind Spirit. The more she spoke, the fiercer she became.

"A-about that. We don't need the password anymore. Please state the purpose of your visit," asked the official politely.

"Who told you I'm going to Pluto? I heard that this is a unique planet. I only wanted to observe it from a closer distance and see if there is a suitable space here where us Storms can gain some spiritual power," said Wind Spirit. She was quite an excellent liar.

"I see. In that case, please accept our apologies. According to our orders, we also need to search the ship before we can let you through," said the official who appeared relieved after hearing that we were not going to land on Pluto.

I broke out in cold sweat upon hearing that a search was required. Who would have guessed that this tiny ship of ours carried the league's final hope? If we were discovered, it would be the end of us.

"You dare to search my ship? Do you want to die?" Sure enough, Wind Spirit objected to the search.

"My apologies, superior. The order to search every passing ship came from the emperor himself," said the official. This time, not even Wind Spirit dared to object.

"There are a lot of my personal belongings on this ship. If you damage any of them, you'll pay with your heads!" said Wind Spirit fiercely, putting even more pressure on their shoulders.

Before long, we heard some sounds coming from outside the storeroom. The only fortunate thing about this whole incident was that we had maintained a state of constant readiness, with all our weapons carried on us at all times. Thus, no trace of our presence was left anywhere in the ship.

"Remember to carefully search every room. If there is any problem, heads will roll," said one of the officials. Wind Spirit's threats seemed to have failed in keeping them from doing their job properly.

Hearing that they were going to search every room carefully, we all grew nervous. Markus was not a big ship to begin with, so it did not take much time for the sounds of the search to come closer and closer to us.

"This is bad! Canyue, what should we do now? We will be exposed the moment they enter this room," asked Zhang Bao'er.

I saw Anxashe draw the dagger strapped to his knee, preparing himself for a brawl.

"Perhaps this is the fate of the league. Ready your weapons, everyone. Prepare for combat," ordered Zhang Xingxing before I could say anything.

The sound of a door being opened rang out. The search had reached the room next door, and it would be our room's turn soon. Following Zhang Xingxing's order, we prepared ourselves for combat.

Shortly after, the door in front of us opened. A young Eternal soldier appeared before us. Thanks to Domo's cloak, he couldn't see us. The storeroom wasn't big, so he could see the entire room with one glance. But for some reason, he still decided to enter the room to perform a more detailed search.

Step by step, he advanced, oblivious to the fact that he was walking toward his death. I could see that both Anxashe and Baron Sisse had already drawn their blades in preparation to deal the enemy a fatal blow. The rest of us were also ready for combat.

Perhaps the heavens were standing on our side once again. Fate itself did not seem to intend for humanity to end here. Something odd happened—one step away from us, a military alarm sounded outside the room. The Eternal soldier immediately turned around and rushed out of the room.

All of us heaved a breath of relief. Zhang Bao'er slumped down on the floor while I discovered that my entire body was wet with sweat. We had once again escaped disaster in a miraculous manner.

"Apologies, superior. We have completed the search. There is no problem. You may proceed toward Pluto's low orbit,"  said an official respectfully. Next, we heard people leave the ship.

Even though we were hiding in the storeroom, we could feel Markus moving swiftly. A few minutes later, Wind Spirit shouted that it was safe. We immediately returned to the command center.

"What were you doing, Master Crystal? You weren't even aware of the inspection. We nearly failed then and there," Zhang Bao'er started complaining again.

"My apologies. I did not know that they would board the ship for inspection. Good thing Wind Spirit was quick-witted enough to help us avert disaster," said Master Crystal.

"Good thing we were lucky enough. The soldier nearly found us earlier," said Zhang Bao'er.

"For some reason, their leader's eyes suddenly turned empty and he sounded his alarm, calling back all his soldiers. He seemed to have regained clarity after that, but since all his soldiers were already back, he decided to just leave," said Wind Spirit doubtfully.

Hearing Wind Spirit's words, I hurriedly took Bulu out of my backpack. The fellow's body was shining brightly, indicating how energetic it was. If I was right, what happened earlier was Bulu's handiwork. So it turned out that it wasn't the heavens that had helped us. Instead, it was Bulu who had once again saved us, the people of a low-leveled civilization.

When the others saw Bulu, they came to the same realization. Everyone came over to offer Bulu a friendly greeting and show their respect. I placed Bulu down, allowing it to move about freely.

"Everyone, stop celebrating. Our target, Pluto, is right ahead of us. Where are we landing? There are tens of thousands of robots waiting to reap our lives," said Temo, dragging us out of our celebratory feeling.

We were all reminded that we had only survived the first obstacle. An even more difficult task was still waiting for us.

"Temo is right. We're already near Pluto. The dots of light on the heart and the Cthulhu Macula are probably where the robotic army is assembled. No trace of activity can be seen on the other parts of the planet," said Zhang Xingxing.

"We have two questions to answer. How should we land and who should land?" said Baron Sisse.

"Haven't we decided on the ones who will be landing? Are we going to make a last-minute change?" asked Zhang Bao'er. He had instantly turned nervous at the prospect of changing the members of the team.

"You misunderstood, Bao'er. I was trying to ask about Wind Spirit and Dondon. What should they do if we land with Markus? Are we keeping them in space on a shuttle?" asked Baron Sisse.

Zhang Bao'er was relieved to hear that he still got to participate, and he sat back down on his seat.

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

"Pluto's surface is filled with danger. Don't worry about us. I already have a solution," said Dondon.