227: The ambushes on the return journey and the fangs of the "Shadow Fleet"

The *Morning Star*, having successfully acquired the legacy of Beacon Delta, was like a traveler who had drunk from the spring of wisdom.

Laden with invaluable knowledge regarding the core maintenance protocols of the "Weave" system and energy network optimization, it began to navigate away from the turbulent death maze of the "Shattered Ring."

The atmosphere on the bridge was markedly different from their journey in; though physically weary, every crew member's eyes gleamed with the exhilaration of their success and a renewed sense of purpose.

Zhuo Yue did not rest; he sat upright in the central chair of the bridge, eyes slightly closed, yet his consciousness was intensely active.

The massive stream of information transmitted by Delta surged through his mind like a river breaking free from ice.

He was no longer merely a wielder of power, but rather an engineer gradually comprehending the operational principles of the universe's vast machinery.

The knowledge concerning "Weave" energy flow tuning, local law stabilization protocols, and system redundancy node design corroborated and merged with the spatial perception, energy programming, and historical revelations he had previously acquired from Alpha, Beta, and Gamma.

This fusion resulted in a profound new level of insight.

He had even started mentally outlining several preliminary theoretical reinforcement schemes targeting the "Weave's" known vulnerabilities—mere prototypes, but signifying a fundamental leap in comprehension.

"Navigation system recalibration complete, we have locked onto the third jump beacon outside 'Homeland'," the helmsman reported brightly.

"We estimate arriving at the safe warp point in two hours, after which two short-range jumps will bring us home."

Su Mu stood beside Zhuo Yue, observing his profile—calm, yet with an undeniable expression of deep thought etched between his brows.

She felt a mix of pride and concern.

She knew Zhuo Yue was shouldering not just the shock of the knowledge, but also the increasingly heavy responsibility that accompanied it.

She subtly adjusted the intensity of the energy soothing field located behind his seat, hoping to alleviate his mental strain.

Evelyn’s remote connection remained stable.

Back at 'Homeland,' she was synchronously receiving and classifying Delta’s database, occasionally sending brief confirmation messages, her voice tinged with excitement: 'The structure of the maintenance protocols is even more sophisticated than anticipated, especially the isolation procedures for handling 'Entropy' contamination... Zhuo Yue, the value of this information is incalculable.'

Team morale was unprecedentedly high.

The peril of traversing the "Shattered Ring" and the achievement of successfully passing Delta's trial of wisdom acted like a powerful adhesive, elevating the trust and synergy between the crew to new heights.

They discussed the future "Ark" plan, the potential technological breakthroughs offered by the new knowledge, and even began to envision the cosmic landscape after reinforcing the "Weave."

Hope, like the bright, stable lights within the cabin, dispersed the long-standing shadow of crisis.

However, the malice of the universe often quietly reveals its fangs when hope is at its height.

Just as the *Morning Star* was about to fully exit the final, gravitationally turbulent edge of the "Shattered Ring," and the pre-planned jump point in the void ahead was clearly visible, a sudden anomaly occurred!

That patch of void, previously empty save for distant starlight, suddenly rippled with vast, unnatural spatial disturbances, as if stirred by an invisible hand!

Immediately afterward, a massive fleet, like a pod of ghostly giant whales abruptly surfacing from the deep ocean, tore through its camouflage and abruptly materialized!

At the core of the fleet was a colossal vessel comparable in size to the *Morning Star*, but with heavier, more menacing lines, covered entirely in matte black armor, and bearing a massive dark red vortex emblem embedded in its bow—the Foundation’s newest "Abyss"-class frontline command ship.

Surrounding it were six "Shadow Assassin"-class high-speed assault ships, long, agile, and poised like vipers ready to strike in the darkness.

They had clearly been lying in silent wait, their energy signatures suppressed to near zero.

Only when the *Morning Star* fully entered the optimal crossfire range did they instantly drop all camouflage, their cold muzzles and missile silos uniformly turning to lock onto the target!

"Warning! Detecting a large-scale unknown fleet! Energy signatures match... it's the Foundation's 'Shadow Fleet'! Flagship is 'Abyss' class!" The radar operator’s scream tore through the brief calm of the bridge.

The captain's face instantly turned ashen, and he slammed his fist onto the control panel: "They calculated our return path exactly! They waited for the moment we were most relaxed, just about to go home!"

"All hands to Level One combat readiness! Maximize all shields! Boost engine power to emergency combat speed, execute the 'Spirit Serpent' evasion maneuver! Immediately send a maximum priority distress signal to 'Homeland,' repeat, send it immediately!" A string of commands burst from the captain's mouth, hoarse with desperation.

However, the enemy's preparation was despairingly thorough.

Almost simultaneously with the *Morning Star*'s reaction, several complex arrays on the hull of the "Abyss"-class command ship lit up, and a powerful, strange interference field instantly swept across the surrounding space for several light-minutes like an invisible black tide!

The *Morning Star*'s newly activated emergency faster-than-light communication module emitted a piercing overload wail; the signal strength indicator instantly dropped to zero, leaving only the large red words 'CONNECTION LOST' on the screen.

Long-range communication was completely severed.

Simultaneously, the six "Shadow Assassins," like sharks smelling blood, rushed in from different directions!

Instead of a full salvo, they employed precise alternating suppression fire—high-energy pulse cannons, ion beams, kinetic armor-piercing shells... A deadly net of various light beams and physical projectiles, leaving virtually no blind spots, descended upon the *Morning Star*!

"Boom! Boom boom!"

The *Morning Star*'s reinforced shields flickered violently under such dense and fierce attack, and energy readings plummeted.

The hull shuddered constantly from the shockwaves of the explosions, and the groaning of twisting metal resonated throughout the ship.

Although the helmsman struggled to execute high-difficulty evasion maneuvers, the space for dodging was severely compressed by the meticulously organized firepower of an enemy several times their size.

"Shield energy down to 45%! Starboard Section Three shield overloaded, reallocating power!"

"Minor hull damage detected; Thruster 7 vector nozzle efficiency decreased!"

"We are locked down! Their fire control system is extremely advanced, their prediction is spot on!" The weapons officer’s voice was filled with anxiety.

Su Mu had drawn her sidearm and stood with the other security personnel, guarding Zhuo Yue and the critical control consoles, but individual bravery seemed insignificant against a ship-to-ship battle of this scale.

She looked at Zhuo Yue.

He was still standing there, but his former contemplative expression had vanished, replaced by an extremely calm, almost icy focus.

His eyes were fixed on the tactical screen, rapidly analyzing the enemy's formation, firing rhythm, and potential weak points.

Evelyn’s voice came through the internal comms channel, laced with clear static, but she still managed to sound composed: 'I'm trying to analyze their interference pattern... It's too strong, bearing traces of 'Entropy' contamination.'

'Conventional countermeasures are having little effect! Zhuo Yue, their objective is very clear: they want to capture or destroy us here. We absolutely cannot let them succeed!'

"We can't fight them head-on," Zhuo Yue's voice rang out calmly, cutting through the roar of explosions and the shriek of alarms.

"In terms of numbers, firepower, and preparation, we are at an absolute disadvantage."

His brain raced.

The knowledge transmitted by Delta, the spatial understanding taught by Gamma, and the experience accumulated through countless brushes with death collided and merged frantically at this moment.

Suddenly, a concept he had just understood but not yet practiced flashed through his mind—the description in the Delta database about using specific energy frequencies to generate local, temporary resonance with the underlying framework of the "Weave," thereby slightly affecting the stability of real space.

There was no time for verification, no time for hesitation.

"Attention all departments!" Zhuo Yue stepped forward, his voice transmitted clearly through the ship’s internal broadcast to every corner, carrying a strange, reassuring sense of control.

"Stop the futile full-power evasion.

Concentrate shield energy in a 60-degree cone area forward of the hull.

Energy core operator, heed my command: Adjust output frequency, focus on the Delta-7 resonance spectrum, and prepare for a wide-area field release!"

"Zhuo Yue?" The Captain looked at him in astonishment.

"Trust me." Zhuo Yue said only two words, his gaze sharp as a knife.

He placed his hands hovering over the main control panel, sinking his consciousness into the ship's energy network, and began an extremely precise and dangerous operation.

He guided the ship's energy core, adjusting the output to a very peculiar frequency—one that seemed to synchronize with a hidden pulse within the cosmic background noise—and then released it at full power in a specific waveform!

"Activate the 'Weave Resonance' protocol! Now!"

Instead of powerful offensive energy erupting from the exterior of the Morningstar, layers of strange, translucent spatial ripples spread out. These ripples rapidly expanded, seemingly making the space around the spaceship "viscous" and "active." The next moment, a shocking scene unfolded: several high-energy beams, originally precisely aimed at the Morningstar's vital points, strangely deflected after entering this ripple zone! They seemed to have struck an invisible curved mirror, their trajectories bending unpredictably. Some grazed the hull, while others even collided and annihilated each other. Enemy missiles also experienced a brief guidance system malfunction upon entering the area, darting around like headless flies.

"What?!" the commander of the Abyss, a grim-faced middle-aged man, watched the inexplicably ineffective attacks on the tactical screen, his pupils contracting sharply. "A spatial deflection field? How could they possess such technology?!"

"Now!" Zhuo Yue roared. "Hard to port 120 degrees, dive 30 degrees, maximum combat speed, cut into the dense asteroid belt in C3! Use the environment!"

Taking advantage of the enemy's brief astonishment and the lull in their firepower caused by the failed attacks, the Morningstar's massive hull displayed astonishing agility, sharply altering its course. Like a startled giant whale, it plunged into a complex asteroid field nearby, formed by the lingering effects of the "Shattered Star Ring," filled with asteroids of varying sizes.

"Pursue! Don't let them escape! Activate gravity anchors to restrict their maneuverability! All units, follow them in!" The Foundation commander reacted, ordering with exasperation.

The pursuing fleet followed closely into the asteroid belt. However, here, Zhuo Yue's almost prescient navigation ability, honed by the hellish journey through the "Shattered Star Ring," became the Morningstar's most potent weapon. He seemed to merge with this chaotic world of rock, always able to "sense" safe passages, deadly traps, and exploitable obstacles in advance.

"Large asteroid to the front right, use its shadow for cover. Enemy shelling will arrive in three seconds."

"Detonate the unstable ice asteroid three kilometers to port, create a debris cloud to interfere with pursuit."

"Sharp turn, cut into the gap between these two moving asteroids. Their heavy ships can't pass through!"

Under Zhuo Yue's extremely calm commands, the Morningstar weaved through the asteroid maze like a phantom, leaving the pursuing fleet, especially the several agile "Shadow Assassins," spinning in circles. One brilliant deceptive maneuver even caused two "Shadow Assassins" that were too close to collide with each other while trying to avoid a sudden asteroid, erupting in two fireballs and temporarily losing combat capability.

"Damn it! Damn it! This guy isn't human! How can he fly so smoothly in this godforsaken place?!" The Foundation commander watched his units continuously being lost on the screen and the distance that couldn't be closed, so furious he almost smashed the control console.

However, the disparity in strength could not be entirely compensated for by skill alone. Although the Abyss-class command ship was slightly less maneuverable, its firepower was terrifying, and its heavy armor allowed it to ram through the asteroid belt. Like an enraged steel rhinoceros, it brutally blasted away smaller asteroids blocking its path with its main cannon, relentlessly clinging to the Morningstar's rear, maintaining continuous suppressive fire.

Finally, a preemptive volley, a thick, dark red energy torrent, grazed the edge of the Morningstar's port shield. The shield system, already overloaded from maintaining the "Web Resonance" and high-speed maneuvers, finally reached its limit.

"Bang—CRACK!"

A piercing cracking sound erupted, and large sections of the port shield generators overloaded and burned out, with the violent energy directly impacting the hull armor! The intense explosion and vibration instantly dimmed half the bridge lights, countless control panels sparked, and the acrid smell of burning permeated the air.

"Report damage!"

"Mid-port armor breached! Compartments 7 through 12 depressurized! Automatic isolation doors activated! Some pipelines broken, fire alarm!"

"Overall shield strength dropped to 18%! Resonance protocol cannot be maintained!"

Su Mu helped Zhuo Yue, who almost fell, and saw a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, the impact and sustained high-intensity mental load had also injured him. "Zhuo Yue!" Her voice trembled.

Zhuo Yue wiped away the blood, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic bridge and the enemy ships, fangs bared, closing in again on the screen. The path back to "Homeland" was completely blocked, communications were down, and reinforcements were hopeless. Continuing to circle in the asteroid belt, with the ship's condition deteriorating, capture or destruction was only a matter of time.

He looked at the star map, his eyes falling on an area marked deep red, not too far from their current position (in terms of jump scale)—the edge of the "Void Corridor." The spatial structure there was extremely unstable, filled with unpredictable folds and traps. Conventional navigation was an absolute no-go zone, and jumping was incredibly risky, a one-in-ten chance of survival.

But this was the only theoretically possible direction to shake off pursuit and seize a glimmer of hope. Entering there meant throwing themselves into another desperate situation, but at least, the initiative would still be in their hands, and they wouldn't draw the war to "Homeland."

A resolute glint flashed in his eyes, and Zhuo Yue made his decision.

"All units, listen," his voice was hoarse from injury and fatigue, yet carried an undeniable decisiveness. "Abandon the route back to 'Homeland.' Transfer all remaining energy, except for the minimum required for life support and stable systems, to the main jump engine and spatial stabilization anchors! Prepare for an unconventional, ultra-short-range, high-precision forced jump!"

"What? What are the target coordinates?" the captain asked in surprise.

"Target: outer perimeter of the 'Void Corridor,' coordinates Kappa-7 region." Zhuo Yue rattled off a string of numbers. "The space there is extremely unstable, and the jump channel will be unusually fragile and distorted. But similarly, the enemy would never dare to pursue easily, and their interference field might also fail there. This is our only chance."

"But a forced jump to such a place, the risk of engine overload and spatial tearing..." The chief engineer's face turned pale.

"Staying here, the risk is one hundred percent." Zhuo Yue interrupted him, his hands already on the ultimate override interface of the jump engine, a cold sensation emanating. "Trust me, and trust our ship. Su Mu, have everyone brace themselves, prepare for violent impact."

He said no more, gathering all his remaining mental power and understanding of space, and began to personally guide and stabilize this insane jump. His consciousness forcibly linked with the ship's jump core, attempting to carve out a brief and dangerous "path" within that chaotic spatial structure.

The Abyss-class ship evidently detected the abnormal fusion in the Morningstar's energy core and the intensifying spatial disturbance. "They're trying to jump away! Full interference! Main cannon, charge up, keep them here!" the commander roared.

But it was too late. Under Zhuo Yue's forceful activation, the Morningstar's not-yet-fully-repaired jump engine at the stern erupted with dazzling blue-white light far beyond its design limits. The entire hull was enveloped by the jump field, beginning to blur and become ethereal.

"Fire!"

The Abyss's main cannon finally charged, and a dark red torrent of destruction spewed forth.

However, just as the torrent was about to engulf the Morningstar, the spaceship completely transformed into a distorted stream of light, not smoothly disappearing, but as if violently "pulled" by an invisible giant hand into a suddenly opening, extremely unstable spatial rift ahead, its edges flickering with dangerous purplish-black arcs!

The dark red energy torrent only struck the lingering spatial ripples and a few unlucky asteroids.

Everything returned to "calm," leaving only the damaged Abyss-class command ship and a few scarred Shadow Assassins, suspended in the chaotic asteroid belt, facing an empty void.

"Report... target energy signal lost, jump destination... untraceable, presumed heading towards the 'Void Corridor' direction." The sensor operator reported dryly.

The commander's face was so dark it could drip water, his fists clenching audibly. The cooked duck, incredibly, had flown away in such a suicidal manner.

"...Collect wreckage data, recover damaged ships. Report to 'Singularity' Command: Target 'Key' carrying newly acquired Delta-level knowledge, has fled into the edge of the 'Void Corridor,' survival probability... assessed as below twenty percent. Suggest... continuous monitoring of overflow signals in that area."

And at this moment, amidst an indescribable, extreme pain and chaos, as if body and soul had been thrown into a cosmic blender, the Morningstar completed this suicidal jump. When the violent vibrations and tearing sensation slightly subsided, and the bridge's backup lights dimly illuminated the chaotic interior, they found themselves suspended at the edge of a bizarre void, where spatial ripples were visible to the naked eye. Multiple parts of the ship's hull were damaged, internal system alarms exceeded one-third, and energy reserves were bottoming out.

They had temporarily escaped their pursuers, but were now completely lost in a desperate situation even more dangerous and unknown than the "Shattered Star Ring." The true test, perhaps, had only just begun. But at least, they were still alive, and the spark of hope, within the Morningstar, this scarred but unyielding ark, burned faintly yet tenaciously.