Chapter 421: Dark Nebula

"Dodo, have Spacetime enter the dark nebula immediately. Use the dark clouds to hide from the enemy's targeting system. The other two ships will move at the same time as well," I said.

"But we have yet to link our shields. If we enter now, we might split up after entering," said Dodo.

"There's nothing we can do about that. We need to move now. The enemy's targeting system is like a sword hanging from above, waiting to fall down on us," I insisted.

At that point, we were less than 30 seconds from being attacked. Thus, Spacetime accelerated suddenly and rushed into the waist of the Horsehead Nebula. Fearless and Skyhawk followed closely behind.

The moment we entered, we found ourselves surrounded by thick, dark clouds. The clouds looked calm outside, but upon entering, we discovered that the cloud movements inside were rather violent. The clouds constantly moved, similar to the clouds on Blue during a typhoon.

"I did not expect that this dark nebula, which looks so calm outside, is actually so intense inside," said Old Du in astonishment.

"Dodo, has Spacetime escaped the enemy's targeting?" I asked. Compared to the dark nebula, I was more worried about being hit by the enemy's attack.

"Reporting to the deputy commander, the enemy's targeting system is still locked onto Spacetime. They will attack in 10 seconds," reported Dodo.

"Canyue, what should we do now?" asked Old Du anxiously. He was also within Spacetime.

"We wait. There is no alternative," I decided. In truth, I did not know what to do either. However, I believed that the dark nebula would be capable of obstructing the enemy's attack.

"Counting down," Dodo started the final countdown while everyone waited with nervous expressions.

"Five, four, three, two..."  Dodo suddenly stopped.

"Dodo, what happened? Are you still alive?" Zhang Bao'er asked.

"The targeting system vanished during the final second," Dodo replied.

Once again, luck stood on our side. The dark nebula had successfully obstructed the enemy's targeting system, allowing Spacetime to escape the crisis. Our strained nerves relaxed, and I breathed out in relief.

Our ships flew within the dark nebula and were temporarily safe from the threat and pursuit of the Midstar Army. Compared to war, I would much rather spend my time exploring the dangerous parts of the universe.

Outside the window, the turbulence of the dark nebula was extremely intense. With the lighting system of our ships, this was perhaps the first time the scene within this dark nebula was presented before organic life forms.

"Reporting to the deputy commander, Dondon and I have discovered a location where our scans indicated that there might be a three-star system. I suggest we go there for our search," said Dodo.

"Agree. Let's head there," I said. We didn't have any other targets anyway.

We accelerated toward our new target. The deeper we went, the thicker the dark nebula was. The clouds with different elements mixed within seemed to be gradually intensifying. At that point, only pure black clouds could be seen outside the window instead of the ash-gray clouds we saw when we first entered.

"Why would there be different colors in the dark nebula itself?" asked Zhang Bao'er. This was something not available in his downloaded knowledge.

"I believe that might be due to the temperature and elemental makeup of the regions in the nebula. The region we are in is completely dark, which means that there are no newborn stars nearby. The temperature here is lower, and the probability of metallic elements appearing here is higher than regions with higher temperature," said Baron Sisse.

"In other words, you believe that the dark clouds are composed of heavy metals. That causes a change in the shape and form of other elements such as hydrogen and helium," said Zhang Bao'er as understanding came to him.

"The Divine Empire probably knows this place more than us. After all, the league has never really explored the Horsehead Nebula," said Old Du.

Our ships continued moving through the thick dark clouds. All of us were relaxing and recuperating. We also took some food to replenish our energy. According to Dodo's calculation, we were still three hours away from our target. Right at that moment, Skyhawk initiated a docking request. During the high-speed travel, someone was trying to enter our ship through the docking bridge.

"Canyue, the prince and I are going over to have a face-to-face meeting," said Zhang Xingxing.

With the order from the commander, Zhang Bao'er and Wuzhou hurriedly cooperated and adjusted Fearless's flying speed to the same speed as Skyhawk. Then, a docking bridge was extended from each ship.

It was extremely difficult to complete the docking process during high-speed travel. Everything needed to be done in accordance with the calculations of the computer program. This wasn't a task one could manually complete.

In accordance with the flying speed and docking channel, Zhang Bao'er and Lin Feixue only needed to insert the commands for the correct docking channel. The system would complete everything else.

Fearless's docking bridge attempted to connect with Skyhawk's docking bridge. Although the two ships were moving at a high speed, the system's accurate calculation allowed the two to move at the same speed.

A few seconds later, the two bridges touched. After several attempts in accordance with the simulated data, the two bridges were finally locked together. The docking process had been completed.

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After a short depressurization process, Fearless's airlock opened. A group of people walked in. Next, the bridges disconnected and returned to their respective ships. Zhang Xingxing and the two princes entered. Surprisingly, three other people were behind them: Wind Spirit, Dondon, and Domo.

"Are the children here for tourism?" sneered Zhang Bao'er the moment he saw Domo.

"We are assisting the commander on an important assignment. We will not waste any time with slow-witted individuals," said Domo to Wind Spirit, deliberately ignoring Zhang Bao'er.

"Commander Xingxing, what is so important that you have to come yourself instead of using the communicator?" I asked doubtfully.

"Prince Toruse has some thoughts he wishes to share with us. I believe it will be better for the conversation to be private," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Is there a problem? Why must you be so cautious?" I asked Prince Toruse.

"Canyue, I have a presumptuous request," said Prince Toruse without beating around the bush.

Hearing his words, I understood that he was about to make another big request.

Unsurprisingly, the prince requested, "Is it possible to lend me and Arude a battleship? We need to carry out a secret mission independently. We will regroup with everyone after our mission."

I found the request shocking. I wasn't shocked by the prince's audacity in making the request but by the prince's words, which made it clear that there were more secrets buried in the Horsehead Nebula. The two princes were still holding back some information from us.

"Secret operation for the two of you. How are you going to pilot a ship with only two people?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"Princes, can you tell me about your mission? If it is appropriate, we can even help you with it," I suggested.

"The two Storm warriors, Wind Spirit and Dondon, will be helping us. We only need to borrow five more Blueling soldiers to help us staff the ship. We really can't reveal the contents of the mission at this time. We will arrive at the predetermined location after 24 hours. At that time, I will tell all of you about the mission," said Prince Toruse with a polite yet resolute tone, completely unwilling to leak anything.

I looked at Zhang Xingxing. It wasn't an easy request to agree to. Zhang Xingxing sank into deep thought and remained silent for quite a while. Seeing that, I was prepared to reject the prince. After all, we were already lacking in numbers. Losing another ship would greatly reduce our strength.

Before I could speak, Zhang Xingxing suddenly asked, "Wind Spirit, Dondon, are you willing to accompany the prince on this secret mission?" 

"What secret is it that he's so tight-lipped about? I don't mind going along to take a look," said Wind Spirit. She had always been a curious one.

And so long as Wind Spirit was willing to go, there wasn't even a point in asking Dondon. The only thing he wanted was to spend all his time with Wind Spirit. I could see that Zhang Xingxing had reached a decision after confirming that the two were willing to join the secret mission.

"I am willing to lend you Fearless for the secret mission. I'll also lend you 50 soldiers. We will reconvene at the predetermined location in 24 hours. Keep the communication channel open at all times," Zhang Xingxing said, agreeing to their request. I wasn't even surprised that she would reach this decision.

And since the commander herself had agreed, I did not disagree.

"You're not invited to the secret mission. Why are you here?" Zhang Bao'er suddenly asked Domo.

"This officer is carrying out a classified task. Only the commander has the clearance to know about my task," replied Domo smugly.

"A junior sergeant like you dares to call yourself an officer? You even claim to be equal to the commander? Don't you think that's a little excessive?" said Zhang Bao'er.

"Bao'er, this is not the time to bicker. Reconnect with Skyhawk. We will retreat to Skyhawk. The two princes will take Fearless," I said.

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At that time, I noticed Prince Toruse rejecting Baron Sisse's offer to help with the secret mission.

"Just what are the two princes planning? Just like that, they took one of our ships away. And Zhang Xingxing even agreed!" I was still doubtful.

But since the decision had been made, there was nothing I could do. Zhang Bao'er and Lin Feixue worked together to have the docking bridges link up again. At the same time, we picked 50 capable soldiers to help the princes with their mission. In less than 10 minutes, the bridges were connected. We started moving out, leaving Fearless to the princes.

"Princes, we will be moving out. I look forward to hearing good news from you. Please return safely with Fearless and the crew members," said Zhang Xingxing.

The princes promised firmly that they would return safely. We then walked through the bridge and entered Skyhawk.

The moment we were inside, Zhang Bao'er said, "Commander Zhang Bao'er, why did you agree to let them go with our ship? With the strength they have, I don't think they will be able to complete their mission safely."

Zhang Xingxing calmly looked at Fearless's withdrawing bridge without saying anything. I understood how she felt. She had chosen to believe in the two princes and was waiting for the two to bring everyone an unexpected miracle.

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