Chapter 427: The Escort Fleet
The flight was very quick. Vampire, which was fitted with a top-cla.s.s Black Mamba 130 engine, could advance at around 120% the speed of an ordinary wars.h.i.+p. Three days before the escort’s appearance, it arrived at the outer edge of Venoscorpion Swamp Base.
Halleh had been very quiet the entire journey, remaining in his room and rarely emerging. Only during mealtimes would he chat a little with Xia Fei. Mingjing had once more been thrown into a storage compartment, with little Pod taking care of her.
Pod was very concerned about this young girl. Let alone providing her food and drink, he also helped her bathe, comb her hair, and change her clothes. Xia Fei had gone to the storage compartment to look once. After experiencing Pod’s meticulous care, Mingjing had more of a human odor about her. Her long golden hair had been coiled up, and she was wearing one of Xia Fei’s old white s.h.i.+rts as she worriedly curled up in a corner.
In truth, Xia Fei was also somewhat unable to bear it. Encountering a human in the insectoid territory should have been something to be happy about, and Mingjing was a mute. This and her pathetic appearance could probably earn many sympathetic tears.
However, this sort of emotion was quickly drowned out by Xia Fei’s wariness. Currently, Xia Fei would not kill her, but he would not so easily trust her either.
In short, Xia Fei no longer felt disgust for Mingjing. Pod had sharp eyes, and every day, he would always bring exactly three of Mingjing’s questions. All of them concerned humans and the Pan-Human Alliance.
Xia Fei did not answer perfunctorily to them as he did before, and had rather earnestly addressed all of Mingjing’s questions. He even stored a few books in Mingjing’s electronic notebook for her to read in her free time.
Her electronic notebook was originally made from the insectoid technology, and it was not compatible with the equipment of the Pan-Human Alliance. Xia Fei had spent twenty minutes modifying it. For the constantly busy and tense Xia Fei, this was quite a good deal of attention.
Books were man’s best friend. There was nothing false about this phrase. In the past, when Xia Fei had been in the lower cla.s.s, he had read tons of books in order to become an expert in electronics, machines, and wars.h.i.+ps. By reading, Mingjing could also understand a little about human life.
However, this made her only more curious about Xia Fei. Every day, she hoped that Xia Fei would come by the small storage compartment to see her. Alas, other than that one time he came by and nodded at her, he never appeared again.
‘Do not leave too deep an impression with an enemy.’ This was a principle that all warriors understood. At present, Mingjing was still his enemy, so Xia Fei continued to do firmly what he should do, keeping a distance from her so that they would avoid understanding each other.
Still, he had no idea that Pod would frequently give Mingjing pictures of Xia Fei living and fighting, satisfying her curiosity, so the more Xia Fei wanted his existence to fade from her heart, the more impossible it became. Gradually, the shadow he cast on Mingjing’s heart grew deeper and more distinct.
…
Halleh emerged from his room and onto the command deck. Xia Fei was standing in front of the window, gazing at the distant ma.s.s of wars.h.i.+ps. They were rather close, so he could clearly make out the giant capital s.h.i.+ps over Venoscorpion Swamp Base.
Halleh frowned, walking up and saying, “We’re too close to the base. It’s better to create some distance to be safe. Although your wars.h.i.+p can cloak, and there’s also my darkness ability on the outside for concealment, it’s still not safe.”
In truth, they were only able to get so close without being discovered due to the Estamel cloaking system. As for Halleh’s darkness ability, while it could add an additional layer of protection to their s.h.i.+p, it could not block energy pulses and electronic signals. It could only block vision and abilities.
Xia Fei nodded. “I went this close only to get a closer look at the movements in the base. You insectoids truly aren’t simple. After dispatching several thousand s.h.i.+ps to the Pan-Human Alliance, you still have so many capital s.h.i.+ps back home.”
Halleh replied, “These flashy s.h.i.+ps are made from the blood and sweat of the common folks. The entire insectoid race have worked for thousands of years to construct all these metal monsters. The insectoids have far more territory and population than the Pan-Human Alliance, and they’ve been single-mindedly focused on developing the military, so it’s only natural that we would have the upper hand in this war. In truth, I have hoped to have a resplendent culture and history, like your race, than to have all these wars.h.i.+ps. In the history of the insectoids, there’s nothing to write about except war.”
A finger lightly tapped on the control board a few times, and the Vampire flew into the distance, swiftly leaving this system which was packed with wars.h.i.+ps.
“Have the rendezvous coordinates been confirmed?” Xia Fei asked.
Halleh shook his head. “Old Qing is still working on it, but it’s not easy to pry at crucial parts like that. Uti is an extremely paranoid insectoid, and any insectoid whom he doesn’t believe to be trustworthy will never be allowed into his inner circle.”
Xia Fei nodded. “It has to be done soon. There are only forty-eight hours left.”
…
The minutes continued to pa.s.s, and the time of the escort fleet’s arrival drew closer and closer, but Qingliu was still unable to get the coordinates for the rendezvous point.
It had to be understood that a wars.h.i.+p could cross fifty thousand lightyears with every jump. If the escort fleet was not planning to join up with the security fleet at the base, then any point in the vast expanse of s.p.a.ce could serve as their temporary mooring point. Unless one had the exact coordinates, one would find it very difficult to keep up with them in a timely fas.h.i.+on.
Halleh grew increasingly nervous and started pacing back and forth on the command deck, constantly glancing at the encrypted communication device in his hand for news from Qingliu. Meanwhile, Xia Fei sat in front of a computer and a.n.a.lyzed some data with a focused expression.
“Only six hours left! What is Old Qing doing? We still don’t know the exact coordinates of the rendezvous! What are we going to do?” Halleh said in a panic.
Xia Fei indifferently said, “Don’t panic. The s.h.i.+ps of Venoscorpion Swamp base have yet to move.”
Halleh answered, “They have the coordinates, so they only need a few jumps to reach the rendezvous point. Naturally, they’re in no rush. As for us, if we can’t get the coordinates and execute our plan to get close, we’ll lose the chance.”
He walked up to Xia Fei and saw numerous times and numbers on the screen. A countdown was currently jumping around, calculating the time of the escort fleet’s arrival.
“What is this?” Halleh curiously asked.
“The Venoscorpion Swamp Fleet sends a patrol fleet out at certain intervals. This is a record of their patrol times.”
“What’s the point in looking at that?”
Xia Fei raised his head to glance at him and smiled. “The escort task is an extremely secretive mission, and Uti places a great deal of importance on it. If I were the commander of this base, I would definitely be very nervous. As for the place the escort fleet will soon stop at, it’s surely going to be placed under heavy surveillance, so I may send several drones to inspect the area. If I can find places patrolled more frequently than once every twenty-four hours, it means that the schedule may have been altered.”
Halleh was startled. Xia Fei was right. Military patrols always had a set schedule, and the route and fleet composition would rarely change. If one place was suddenly patrolled more often, it meant that it was under heavy surveillance, which translated to that place possibly being the escort fleet’s stop location!
“How is it? Did you discover anything?” Halleh sternly asked, feeling some admiration for Xia Fei’s meticulous mindset. It turned out that Xia Fei had already had a solution on what to do if Qingliu could not get his hands on the coordinates.
Xia Fei nodded. “In the last twenty-four hours, the number of patrols coming and going in Venoscorpion Swamp has become much more frequent. Three of these areas are being patrolled more frequently and with more s.h.i.+ps. The closest is sixty-seven thousand lightyears while the farthest is 140,000 light years away. All of these areas are deserted and are capable of serving as an anchoring point for a fleet.”
“Three places?!” Halleh muttered to himself. “That’s rather strange.”
The radar system suddenly detected a fleet moving out from Venoscorpion Swamp Base!
The points of light indicated that three fleets had launched from the base at the same time, heading off in three different directions, and each fleet had the same composition!
Xia Fei clenched his teeth. “Uti is truly cautious so much that he would even use decoys in his territory!”
Halleh helplessly said, “That’s really because of you. Ever since you used that unknown superweapon to destroy half a system, Uti has grown even more cautious. I’m afraid that you won’t be able to use the same move this time.”
Phantom commented, “The three fleets took off at the same time, so no matter which one you follow, you’ll only have a thirty-three percent chance. Forget about this mysterious treasure and just use this chance to blow up the base! The loss of so many wars.h.i.+ps is certain to leave Uti furious.”
Xia Fei shook his head. “Look here; all the wars.h.i.+ps are spread out. Besides a few by the port, the rest are scattered on the outer edge of the system. Even a Star of Ruin will only be able to destroy one-twelfth of the fleet, and that’s barely only a flesh wound. Uti probably specially arranged for it to be like this.
“I only have two Stars of Ruin, and I need to keep them for use on only the most crucial of moments.”
Phantom cursed. Uti was the smartest insectoid king in the history of the race and had an incredibly high IQ. He also knew how to spread his armies. The strange formation the s.h.i.+ps of Venoscorpion Swamp Base had taken up was clearly aimed to counter Xia Fei’s moves.
“The receiving fleet has probably set out. What do we do?” Halleh anxiously asked.
Xia Fei looked at the radar and smiled. Pointing at one of the fleets, he said, “We just follow this one.”
*Whoosh~*
Vampire followed this fleet at a leisure pace. After three jumps, they crossed 140,000 lightyears. This place was one of the areas Xia Fei had been watching.
After sulking for a long while, Halleh asked, “How did you determine that it’s the real receiving fleet?”
Xia Fei casually replied, “As they left six hours ago, it means that the destination of the receiving fleet must be within one to five jumps. The first two areas will only need two jumps, which is a trip of about two hours. Only this one requires three hours to reach. If it’s just a trip of two hours, heading off six hours early is a little too hurried.”
Halleh was speechless. He could not say that Xia Fei’s reason was absurd, but it also felt like it was missing something.
Xia Fei stood up, leaving Halleh behind as he headed alone to the combat equipment room.
This place was where his equipment was stored and maintained. Xia Fei took a Star of Ruin and installed it in a projectile mine, then he cautiously placed the mine into the launch tube.
When the fleet arrived and Xia Fei found that there was no opportunity to infiltrate, he would use this ultimate explosive without hesitation and destroy the escort fleet! He would rather break the jade than leave the tile intact!
However, Xia Fei really did not want to do this. After all, he was greatly tempted by that mysterious object. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he would be unwilling to use this plan.
After three more hours had pa.s.sed, more than one hundred dazzling warp tunnels opened up, and the escort fleet carrying out this special mission arrived!